Shortly after arriving in this mirrored world of humans, Sunset soon realized that she needed a place to stay. Thankfully, Principal Celestia was good friends with Frank and Jane so she was able to make arrangements for Sunset to stay with them. Even so, she still wanted to pay them back for their kindness and insisted that she pay rent. Sunset later found a few part-time jobs to help make money until she could return to Equestria. Today's job was at C-Mart, helping stock shelves and pointing customers to the correct aisles. It was a boring job none the less, but she didn’t mind it. The only thing was that Flash Sentry also worked at C-Mart, which was awkward at times. Thankfully, he doesn’t talk much about the past since he’s always looking ahead.

Sunset C-Mart uniform is a combo of black pants and a blue T-shirt with her name tag on it. Her shorter hair no longer needed to be tied back when she worked, so she was able to let it hang loose. Sunset walked into the back stockroom to get some supplies when she saw Flash by the cereal boxes.

“Hey Flash, how are things with you?” Sunset asked, stopping in to get some water bottles for Aisle 5.

“Good, I guess. Not the job I originally wanted, but it will help pay my way into the police academy.” Flash answered, walking over to grab some cereal boxes. Not giving Sunset a single glance, he walked out of the storage room to go restock another aisle.

Sunset sighed a bit as she remembered how she used to date Flash for the first few years in school, just so she could be popular. She never did consider, or cared, how he felt back then. But now, if she could do it all over again, then maybe there could have been something between them.

No point dwelling on the past now. Sunset thought shaking her head.

The rest of her shift went by normal, until that afternoon when she spotted the Dazzlings walking together, looking at the women’s clothing. Sunset could only see from a distance and wanted to drop what she was doing and go talk to them, but her job came first.

“So are you sure he works here?” Aria asked Adagio as she checked out a green blouse.

“Kevin said that he did. Now remember, only me or Sonata needs to touch him. If you see him Aria, just send us a message. Got it?” Adagio said motioning for them to split up and start looking. Aria gave a half-hearted nodded of understanding before they each headed off in their own direction.

Sunset looked backed into the women's clothing aisle, noticing that Adagio and her gang were gone.

Where did they go? She wondered and quickly finishes stocking the rest of the shelves.

Sonata walked from aisle to aisle without any luck. As she continued her search, she spotted the electronics department and decided to take a look. After a quick look around, the sound of music and images caught her attention, so she stopped and decided to check out the latest NextBox Dance Star 4 on one of the big HD TVs. Her eyes were fixated on the 3D dancing girls on screen. Besides jewellery, she also wanted to have the latest in video games. Prices never stopped her from getting what she wanted before, so why let it stop her now.

“Oh wow, I got to have this,” She said, rubbing her bracelet and looking around the area. Sonata soon spotted some girls in the next aisle and grinned.

“Perfect.”

Aria was at the other end of the store as she was looking at the men's clothing and tools. Walking back, her nose picked up the smell of freshly baked pies. Following her nose, she ended up in the baked goods department. Looking over the slices of bread, donuts and pastries, she started to lick her lips at the delicious treats. Behind a glass counter, one of the bakers behind it opened an oven door and removing a freshly baked apple pie.

“Oh, wonderful pie of my dreams, I must have a piece of you,” Aria said out loud then checked her jacket’s pockets, only to remember that she didn’t bring money. Her stomach started to gurgle as the smell of the apple pie made her mouth water.

“Excuse me, Miss. Would you like a sample?” A lady behind the counter asked her.

Aria almost jumped, but calmed herself as she turned to the lady why was handing out small slices of apple pie. She reached over the counter and takes the sample. With a quick bit, she devoured the whole slice of pie, her eyes closed as she savoured the taste.

“Oh, that is some really good pie, mmm. Can I have more please?” Aria asked the lady as her mouth salivated.

“Sorry, only one sample per customer. But you can buy a whole pie to take home.” The lady answered which caused Aria’s eye to twitch.

“Will see about that miss,” Aria said rubbing her knuckles.

Adagio was carefully watching each employee as she walked by, trying to find Flash amongst the workers was not easy. As much as she wanted to look at clothing, she didn't have the money to buy any of them. Adagio had to focus on the mission to find Flash, she started checking each aisle with little luck. Once she reached the back of the store, she then spotted him going into the storage room.

“Bingo!” She said, quickly headed off in his directly, only to be stopped by a steel door that shut closed right before she could reach it. Adagio touched the door, looking for a way to get inside.

The door was marked ‘employees only’ and was locked with a keypad. For now, she'll just have to wait nearby and hope he comes out soon. Adagio waited a good 10 minutes, impatiently checking her phone every few seconds.

Is Flash on lunch or something? She thought, leaning up against the wall. At this point, boredom overtook Adagio as she looked up at the ceiling lights, then down at her boots when suddenly the door opened.

Sunset walked out of the door, yawning when all of a sudden she was grabbed from behind.

“Oh Flash, I missed you." Adagio reached around to hug and noticed that something felt odd because the chest was squishy when she squeezed. She looked up to see Sunset's hair from behind, but it was much shorter now.

"Flash? Seriously? You’re into him as well! Let go of me already!" Sunset said in a loud voice, turning around to push Adagio back. Doing so, she noticing that the green gem on Adagio's right arm was glowing.

"Sunset what, why are you here?" Adagio asked surprisingly, stepping back and quickly covered her bracelet with her left hand.

"I work here, why else would I be here." Sunset said and notice Adagio was trying to sneak away. “What are you up to?” She asked. Not in the mood to let things slide by this time and wanted answers. She grabbed Adagio left wrist before she went out of reach and pulled her to the side behind some delivery carts.

"We need to talk, now," She said to Adagio, who now had her back against the wall.

"Is this about Kevin?" Adagio answered, trying to distract Sunset from her gem, not looking her in the eyes. She looked down at her right wrist, seeing as how Adagio was trying to hide it and grabbed it.

"Ouch, not so hard." She cried out, trying to hold back, but Sunset was able to get a good look at it.

"No, not Kevin, but this bracelet. I may not have my horn, but I can still feel magic coming from it. Where did you get this gem?" Sunset asked with the look of fire in her eyes.

Adagio swallowed hard, remembering what happened last time at the battle of the bands, but knew she could not do anything with so many people around.

"Where do you think? You are the one who stole it right from under Celestia’s nose." She answered, poking Sunset in the chest which caused her to stagger back from Adagio.

"So it was you. You are the one who took my bag that I lost in the park.” They're too dangerous for you, and your friends. Give them back, now!" Sunset demanded, but Adagio looked back with glowing green eyes and new found strength that made her no longer afraid.

"That didn't stop you from taking the gem in the first place. Oh, look how the mighty Sunset has fallen. To think that we once looked up to you. But don't worry, we will finish what you have started." She said now showing fangs which caused Sunset to step back, feeling of magical pressure coming from Adagio was more than staggering.

"Hey Sunset, we have to clean near the bakery and... Who’s that?" Flash said as he walked out of the room. Adagio calmed down and casually walked up to Flash touching his shoulder while looking into his eyes.

"Be a good boy and keep Sunset busy until I leave," Adagio said as her gem flashed green, leaving Flash behind who turned to Sunset with glowing eyes.

Sunset wanted to follow, but Flash grabbed her and held her in place. "Flash she is getting away, snap out of it!" Sunset yelled as she tried to stomp on his foot, but he didn’t move or flinch. Flash push her up against the wall and started to hug her. This went on for almost a minute as she struggled to break free.

"Seriously Flash, if you don't stop now I'm going to..." Sunset was about to do something more drastic when their boss showed up.

"Not on the clock you two! GET BACK TO WORK OR YOU’RE FIRED!" He yelled in a loud booming voice, snapping Flash out of his daze as he let go of Sunset.

"Sorry, sorry. I don't know what came over me." Flash apologised, shaking his head and feeling as though he was sleepwalking.

Adagio walked quickly to find Aria who was still harassing a lady in the bakery department. She noticed that the lady was trying to pick up bits an apple pie off the floor.

"I got what we needed, time to go," She said and grabbed Aria's arm, leading her to the exit quickly.

Both of them rushed outside the store entrance, catching their breath. Adagio looked left and right, but there was no sign of Sonata anywhere.

"What about Sonata?" Aria asked, licking her sticky fingers clean.

"Right here." The small teen said, holding onto a video game still in the security box. Both Aria and Adagio look at each other in disbelief.

“Hold it! I need to talk to you!" A security guard yelled as he quickly walked toward them.

"You have got to stop doing that!" Adagio yelled as they each take off in a different direction.

The guard chased after Sonata, who laughed and ran into a bush at the end of the parking lot.

Sunset ran outside a minute later and looked around, but there was no sign of the Adagio and her friends. "How could I be so stupid, of course, this is my fault!" She screamed to herself as a few customers glanced at her outburst. With a defeated look on her face, she went back inside.

The rest of Sunset shift dragged on even though there was only an hour left. Flash kept his distance after what happened, which hurt because they were almost friends again. Sunset quickly changed back into her clothes and slipped on her leather jacket. She decided to walk home, the fresh air may help clear her mind.

The Dazzles first showed up at my school, and they each had a necklace with a red gem. The red gems absorbed negative magic and power the user, making them stronger. I was able to destroy the red gems with my friends help. So that leaves one green gem which was larger in size. But the Dazzles now have two green gems. How did that happen? Also, when I came to this world my bag only had one large gem. Just the gem, no bracelet attached. Is someone helping them? She was busy thinking until she heard a voice across the street, snapping her from her thoughts.

“Slow down, please Bruce. Snowdrop, you need to stay off the street. Not so fast Angie!” Yelled Fluttershy as she tried to keep control of 6 dogs on leashes walking down the street.

Sunset looked across the street and saw Fluttershy struggling. “Hey Fluttershy, need some help?!” She yelled.

“Yes please, I’m afraid I am going to lose one of them,” Fluttershy said grabbing onto a parking meter.

“Hold on, I’m coming!” Sunset replied, looking both ways before running across the street and walking up to Fluttershy, who is holding on for dear life. The dogs were overly excited as they try to jump on her in the confusion.

A few minutes later, Fluttershy was now only handling three dogs and Sunset was handing the other three. They headed down the sidewalk, which had detached homes on the side with driveways, and green grass. The dogs happily walk and explore their environment in front of them sniffing with tails wagging.

“Thank you so much for your help Sunset. I guess I overdid it this time. It’s just that there are so many dogs at the humane society and I wanted to do my part to help.” Fluttershy smiled as she walked next to Sunset. Some of the dogs stop to sniff at car tires and fire hydrants as they walked.

“You are always thinking about the animals before yourself.” Sunset smiled before noticing that two of her dogs was doing their business on someone's grass. “Ewww!” She mumbled, turning her head from the scene.

“It’s all part of nature, we all do it. Here’s a doggy bag.” Fluttershy said sheepishly, handing Sunset a small bag.

“Seriously?” Sunset groaned, holding the bag and not looking too pleased. Fluttershy nodded as she went to clean up the mess from her dogs.

Sunset slipped her hand into the bag and reached forward. “So gross… yuck.... Oh, it’s still warm…” She immediately flipped the bag over and double tied it, dry coughing as she trying not to gag.

“You’ll get use to it after a while,” Fluttershy said, not really minding the clean up.

It wasn’t long until they reached the animal shelter. The sound of dogs barking and the a few loud meows came from the building. The smell of animals was stronger inside as they entered. Fluttershy first put her dogs back into their kennels, then helped Sunset put her dogs away.

Sunset was not much of a dog person, but the cats she could relate to. She looked down in a cage that had four kittens of different colors. Fluttershy smiled and opened the gate for her.

“So cute… yes, you are.. just a ball a fur and purr.” She said, petting one of the kittens which meowed and batted at her fingers.

I think I have discovered a new use for my fingers now. Sunset thought with a big smile on her face.

“Alright, that’s it for now. I’ll come back in a few hours to walk the next batch.” Fluttershy said to the lady behind the desk who smiles and waved.

Outside the building, Fluttershy gave Sunset a big hug. “Thank you again. If you ever want to volunteer at the shelter just let me know. We could use all the help we can get.” She smiled.

“As long as I get some play time with the kitties after,” Sunset said with a bright grin on her face, waving goodbye as they went their separate ways. She will have to make up for lost time walking back to her place.

It had taken a good 30 minutes to walk home since that detour with Fluttershy to the animal shelter. Not that Sunset minded, it was a distraction from her concerns.

I'll deal with the Dazzles another day after I talk with Twilight about it. Maybe AJ can lasso Adagio and toss her into the mirror. Sunset smirked at that last idea, then remembered she has not told anyone about what is going on. As she got closer to her place, she noticed that someone was sitting on the concrete steps. It didn't take long to see who it was. The pink hair clearly gave her away even if it was shorter now. Pinkie Pie was waiting there and she was dressed differently today in pink shoes, blue jeans and a blue and white striped shirt. Next to her was a large picnic basket. When Pinkie saw Sunset coming, she left the basket behind and ran up to hug her.

"I've been waiting forever. Jane said you should have been back an hour ago. Did you get hurt or something?" Pinkie asked, looking up at Sunset before realizing she will still embracing her and giggled as she let her go.

"No, just a little bit of trouble at work, then I ran into Fluttershy. She needed help walking the dogs." Sunset answered, reaching up to play with her hair, but decided against it. Instead, she opted to just placing a hand on her shoulder and walked with her to the porch.

"That's so nice of you Sunset, I wish I was there, I could have helped you," Pinkie said as she walks with a bit of spring in her step.

"What's in the picnic basket?" Sunset asked as she stopped at the porch steps.

"I made us dinner. Since you always seem to be busy, I decided to bring dinner to you." Pinkie answered with a big grin on her face and opened the basket so Sunset could look inside.

"Mmm, smells good. I see sandwiches, salads, lots of fruits and vegetables. You didn't need to go through all the trouble for me." Sunset said looking at Pinkie who was blushing a lot.

"I remembered no meat. But I did bring some hard boiled eggs for myself." Pinkie said as she pulled out a plastic Tupperware with eggs inside.

"Actually, I am ok with eggs. I still need protein in my diet. I can ask Jane if she has some extras." Sunset said as she started to go inside when Pinkie stopped her.

"We can share my eggs I have plenty," Pinkie said, shaking the plastic container which sounded full and then puts it back into the basket.

"Alright, want to eat here? The table is small but I am sure we can manage." Sunset offered, but Pinkie shook her head.

"Let's eat at the park, the weather is so nice today." Pinkie grabbed her basket with both hands and started walking.

"Wait Pinkie, at least, let me get some blankets, just in case we need to sit on the grass," Sunset said, quickly running up the stairs and into the house. Pinkie sighed happily and looks up at the blue sky.

It was just past 5 in the late afternoon when they arrived at the park. Crickets chirped loudly in the summer heat as they looked around, all but one of the picnic tables were taken. That last table looked like it was ready to fall apart, so they decided to use the blanket under one of the trees to stay out of the sun. They both sat down with their legs crossed. Pinkie opened the basket and served Sunset first with vegetarian sandwiches, then a mix of vegetables and fruits.

"This is great Pinkie. The mix of olives, lettuce, avocado and mayo with white bread is perfect.” Sunset said, chomping down on her sandwich. Pinkie was beaming and took out a boiled egg that was already peeled and cut in half.

“Want some Sunset?” Pinkie asked hoping to try something with her.

“Sure, you can pass it here,” Sunset answered, putting her sandwich down.

“Just open your mouth and say ahh,” Pinkie said, teasing her while holding half the egg.

“Oh come on really. Um, ok Ahhh.” Sunset opened her mouth and Pinkie popped in egg in, her fingers just touching her lips as she lets go. She giggles finding this very cute.

Sunset ate the egg and laughs a little, feeling a hint of a blush on her face. By the time they got to dessert, Pinkie got the chance to feed Sunset a few more times. She now had icing on her face after Pinkie tried to feed her some cake.

“Pinkie, I think I am old enough to feed myself now,” Sunset said, wiping the icing off her fingers and face.

“Aww, but it was soo much fun. You look so sweet now, like vanilla cake.” Pinkie said, licking her lips teasingly.

“Oh really? Well then, we wouldn’t want to waste the chocolate cake now would we.” Sunset reached down and grabbed a piece of chocolate cake, playfully feeding it to Pinkie, who happily eats it, getting some icing smeared on her cheeks. Both girls giggled at their antic, Pinkie then looked at Sunset’s hand, which is covered in chocolate icing, she grabbed her hand as an idea came to her.

“Mmmm, chocolate covered Sunset,” Pinkie said, looking at Sunset’s fingers and starts licking them, causing her to laugh from the ticklish feeling.

“Oh goddess, that's too much, please stop, I can’t take it, it feels so weird, hehe!” Sunset tried to pull back, but Pinkie grinned and sucks on her fingers one at a time which made her feel weird. By the time she let go of Sunset, she was laying on her back breathing heavy

“Are you ok Sunset? Sorry if I overdid it, chocolate makes me kind of crazy.” Pinkie said, looking down at her apologetic, hoping she didn’t freak her out.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just wow, I never felt that before.” Sunset reached over and cleaned her fingers on a napkin and looked at them. She was still feeling tingles in her body and decided to relax on her back.

Pinkie decided to clean up the small mess around her before laying down next to Sunset.

“So Sunset, are we ok? You have been quiet for awhile.” Pinkie asked, laying on her side and looking at her. Sunset, on the other hand, was looking up at the leaves in the tree and then looked back at Pinkie.

“Thank you for dinner Pinkie. And I’m good, just, I’m going to relax here for a bit.” Sunset said, laying back down and watched the leaves moved in the wind, her eyes closed and enjoying life at this very moment.

Pinkie stares at Sunset, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathes, rolling on her back as well, she wonder what Sunset thinks of her.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the delay but I have been actively working on new chapters.

Again a special thank you to Dreagknight who took his time to help with the proofreading. Best wishes on his recovery.

I'm getting better but having a second set of eyes helps pick on on what I may have missed.
There is going to be some interesting developments coming.

Thanks for reading.