Sunset woke up bright and early Saturday morning to the pleasant aroma of fresh coffee brewing. Looking around as she stretched, popping her back and neck back into place, she noticed that the only one of her friends that was actually up was Rarity. Rarity winced at the sounds of Sunset's bones popping and cracking. Getting off the couch that she had chosen to sleep on the previous night--much to Rarity's disapproval--Sunset cracked her neck, then yawned as she headed into the kitchen.

Rarity got up from the kitchen table, poured Sunset a mug of hot, fresh coffee, and handed it to her. Sunset smiled warmly to her friend and said, “Thank you, Rarity, and thank you again for allowing me to sleep over last night. I know I haven’t been the best friend right now, so I just wanted to thank you for everything.”

“Think nothing of it, dear. Now, you drink that and allow yourself to wake up, and then we can see were the day takes us.” Rarity turned to go back to the table, stopping to say, “Oh, uh, there is one thing, though. If you choose to sleep over again--and I would love it if you would--no more sleeping on the couch. I can and will provide a proper bed for you to sleep in.”

Sunset giggled slightly, then nodded to Rarity, who smiled back warmly. Finishing her coffee, Sunset said pleasantly, “Rarity, would it be alright with you if I use the shower?”

“Of course, darling. There should be fresh towels and shampoo in the cupboards above the sink. While you get yourself ready for today, I will go about waking up our friends.”

“Sure thing. But you might want to be careful with how you wake up Rainbow. From what AJ told me, she can be, well, a little temperamental when it comes to being woken up.”

"Darling, I've slept over with Rainbow before. Believe me, I know what she's like."

Rarity grinned happily as she watched her friend head upstairs. She, too, headed upstairs, stopping by her sister's room first. Softly knocking on the door, she opened it and went inside to wake up her sister. Sweetie Belle was curled up in her blanket with her head lying on her pillow. Rarity smiled, then tapped her sister on the shoulder, saying, “Sweetie Belle, it's time to wake up.”

Sweetie Belle waved her hand at Rarity, moaning out, “Meeeh, go away, Opal. I’m trying to sleep."

Rarity giggled. “Come on now, Sweetie Belle. You need to get up to help me make breakfast for everyone.”

Sweetie Belle cracked an eye open and looked at her clock, which read seven in the morning. Groaning, she slowly yawned, then sat up, her hair a complete mess. Rarity let out a gasp of shock when she saw her sister's hair full of knots and tangles. Looking over at her sister's vanity, she picked up a brush, then proceeded to sit down behind her sister on Sweetie Belle's bed. Rarity started to brush her sister's hair, much to her little sister’s complaning about the unwanted attention.

Once finished, Rarity got up and smiled to her sister, saying, “You head downstairs now. I will go wake up our friends, and then we can all have a nice breakfest together.”

“Uh, Rarity, what is that noise? It sounds like running water.”

“Oh, Sunset is taking a shower. Why do you ask?”

Sweetie Belle's eyes went wide as she gulped. “Sunset is in the shower, like, right now?”

“Uh, yes. Again, why do you ask?”

“Because Opal is in there with--”

Before Sweetie Belle could say another word, both of them heard a loud meow, followed by a slight splashing about. That was followed by the bathroom door opening and a very wet cat scurrying out, running under Sweetie Belle's bed. Sweetie Belle grinned nervously to her sister as Sunset came out wrapped in a towel looking very unhappy. Rarity looked back to her sister. “Why was Opal in the bathroom, and why didn’t you say something sooner, Sweetie Belle?”

“She was meowing last night, and it drove me nuts, so I put her into the bathroom to get some quiet. I kinda forgot she was in there.”

Sunset shook her head, then turned to head back into the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day. Rarity closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh, while Sweetie Belle hopped off her bed and headed into her own bathroom to take a shower as well.

Rarity headed into the guest room, where she found Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow all sleeping on the floor. Pinkie's head was on Applejack's stomach, Rainbow was sleeping with her head propped up against the closet and her feet over Applejack's mouth, while the farmer herself was snoring soundly.

Rarity knelt down next to Pinkie and tickled her left ear, causing the pink-haired girl to sit up and yawn. She was about to wake up Rainbow, when Sunset, finished with her shower and already dry, came into the room. Rarity looked at her friend, who was dressed in pajamas, then down at the sleeping, rainbow-haired girl in front of her. “I think it would be a better idea to wake up AJ first, then wake up Rainbow. I have something in my bag that might wake her up much faster than you asking her to wake up,” Sunset said.

“Well, if you insist, then I will leave this up to you, dear,” Rarity replied, getting up and walking back over to the door of the room. “But are you sure you can do this without Rainbow causing any trouble?”

Sunset didn’t reply. She very gently tapped Applejack on her shoulder, causing the farmer to wake up and see that Rainbow's feet were in her face. Applejack let out an angry grunt as she shoved them off of her, got up, and went downstairs without a word to either Rarity or Sunset, who smiled and reached into her backpack.

To Rarity's shock, Sunset pulled out an air horn, placed it next to Rainbow's head, and pressed the button. A loud 'HONK' shattered the silence of the room. Rainbow jumped up, nearly knocking Sunset over as she yelped out, “DON’T DO THAT!”

Sunset smiled as Rainbow picked herself up off the floor and headed downstairs to join her friends. She looked to Rarity, who stood with her mouth hanging open. “What?”

“Sunset, why did you have to wake her up like that?”

“Hey, it worked, didn’t it? Mr. Cake told be me once that he found Rainbow sleeping in a booth at Sugercube Corner one day. He told me he had tried everything to wake her up, from banging pots and pans together to dumping water on her, yet nothing worked. So then, when he was at his wits' end, he took out his air horn, pressed the button, and presto, she woke up.”

“Yes, but to wake up someone like that, I mean, that is so rude.”

“Would you rather she slept the entire day?”

“Well, no, but what would the neighbors think? And I certainly hope you don’t plan on waking up Fluttershy like that.”

“I won’t have to wake her up, Rarity.”

“Oh, and why is that, Sunset?”

“Look behind you.”

Rarity turned around to see Fluttershy standing behind her, holding in one hand a soft, tan teddy bear and in the other her blanket. Fluttershy looked from Sunset, then to Rarity, smiled and yawned at once, then headed downstairs as well. The sounds of chattering teenagers and pots and pans being set on the countertops could be heard from the downstairs area. Sunset looked to Rarity, then said with a slight smile on her face, “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to get dressed without you staring at me.”

“What? Oh, yes, of course. Come down when you are ready, dear. I’ll have some more coffee ready for you.”

“Thank you, Rarity. I’ll be down in just a little bit.”

Rarity noticed that Sunset looked a bit lost in thought. She was about to say something, when the sound of a loud crash and dishes breaking drew her attention to the clattering from downstairs. After Rarity went downstairs as quickly as she could, Sunset sighed, then took out her journal and sat down on the floor to begin to write a letter to Twilight. Once finished, she closed the book and took out her notepad, starting to write a letter to Applejack. When she finished that letter, she noticed her journal was buzzing and glowing. Opening the journal, she saw that Twilight had replied, arranging a time to meet up with her later that day.

Putting the journal away for the last time that day, she got up off the floor, got dressed then headed downstairs herself. Rarity was in the kitchen, with Sweetie Belle and the rest of her friends all sitting at the table except Pinkie, who was standing in front of the stove, crying.

As Sunset was about to ask why her friend was upset, Applejack said when she noticed how concerned Sunset looked, “Don't worry, Sunset. She's just cuttin' onions.”

"Oh. What was that crash, then?"

"Pinkie was a bit too eager pullin' plates outta the cupboard. Some fell on the floor and broke. And speaking of loud noises, what in tarnation was that noise upstairs?"

"Well," Rarity piped up, shooting an irritated look at Sunset, "Sunset wanted a surefire way of waking Rainbow up, and apparently, that meant blasting her with an air horn."

To Rarity's frustration, Pinkie and Sweetie Belle started giggling, and Applejack started chuckling. Fluttershy merely smiled good-naturedly, while Rainbow Dash was the only other person in the room with a scowl on her face. Ignoring Rarity's glare, Sunset said, “Well, now that that's settled, what are we having?"

“Eggs. With onions, garlic, cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms,” Pinkie said with tears running down her cheeks.

“Here, Pinkie let me do that so that you can take a break,” Sunset said, walking over to her friend and picking up the cutting board. “Besides, you look like you could use some coffee. How about you go sit at the table and get yourself some coffee, and I’ll take care of this?”

Pinkie was reluctant at first, but the smell of fresh coffee won out, and she happily handed the tray over to Sunset, who finished cutting up the onion. A few moments later, everyone was sitting at the table, eating their eggs.

Once finished, Sunset cleaned up her plate, put it into a dish drainer next to Rarity's sink, then headed for the door, stopping when she heard Fluttershy call out to her, “Uh, Sunset, where are you going?”

“What? Oh, I'm meeting with Twilight at the portal. I need to talk with her about some…things.”

“Oh. Would it be alright if I come along? I would like to say hello to her as well. If that's alright with you, I mean,” Fluttershy spoke, barely above a whisper.

“Sure. In fact, you all can come if you want.”

“Thank you, Sunset, but I am going to stay here. I need to feed Opal, and she can be a bit cranky if I don’t get her meal to her on time.”

“I'll go, Sunset. Besides, I want to hear what new, awesome stuff Twilight learned about since we last saw her,” Rainbow chimed in, a look of determination in her eyes.

“Ah'll go along too, if only to keep Rainbow here outta trouble,” Applejack said, tilting her hat back. “Besides, it would be nice seein' her again. Maybe Ah can get her to buy some apples from m' farm, or at least take some pies home to her friends back in Equestria.”

Finishing her coffee, Rainbow got up, stretched, then headed upstairs to get dressed. A few minutes later, she came back down, carrying's Sunset buzzing journal in her hands. She handed it over to Sunset saying, “I noticed it was buzzing, and I didn’t want you to miss a chance to talk with Twilight, so I thought I'd bring it down here.”

“Thank you, Rainbow. You, uh...” Sunset blushed slightly as she rubbed the back of her head, trying to think of the right words to say. “You didn’t, you know--”

“What? Read your journal? No way, that'd be so not cool. What kind of awesome friend would I be if I did that? Besides, doesn't the journal stop buzzing when you open it?”

“Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry I thought you read my journal Rainbow. I'm a little skittish about other people reading it. Do you forgive me?”

“Of course, I do. Now, let's let Fluttershy and Applejack get dressed, then we can all head out, okay?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Ten minutes later, both Applejack and Fluttershy were completely dressed and ready to head out to the school and the portal. Sunset, with her friends in tow, headed outside and down the street towards the nearest bus stop. While waiting at the bus stop, Sunset sat down on the bench, opened her journal, and read Twilight's second message to her.

Dear Sunset,

I am very happy with all the progress that you have made and are making. I have the item that you asked for and will meet you outside of the school, though I can’t stay long. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Your friend,

Twilight

The bus came, and everyone got on. In half an hour, Sunset found herself and her friends standing in front of the portal. Twilight was sitting on the front steps, holding a small, metal box in her lap. She looked up and smiled pleasantly to Sunset, who smiled back to her. Twilight got off the step, handed over the box, which Sunset took and put into her backpack, then hugged her friend.

The next twenty minutes were spent with Twilight talking about Equestria and the rest of Twilight's friends laughing. All but Sunset, whose thoughts dwelt mainly on the letter that she had written to Applejack.

As Twilight waved her goodbyes to her friends, she said to Sunset while taking her hands in her own, “Hey, don’t worry. I'm sure everything will work out for the best. Now, before I go, is there anything you would like me to do for you while I'm in Equestria?”

“There is one thing, Twilight. But I'm not sure I should ask this of you. I'm not sure if you'd be able to do it.”

“Well, how will I know unless you tell me? Please tell me.”

“A-Alright. I would like you to tell Princess Celestia that although I want to come home right now, I simply can’t. Also, I need you to check on something for me.”

“Sure. What do you need me to check on?”

“I need to know if Crystal Ridge is still standing.”

“Uh, okay. Why do you want to know about that old town? I mean, it was used as a lookout during King Sombra's rule over the Crystal Empire.”

“Please, Twilight. It's really important to me that I get this information.”

“I’ll have to clear this with Princess Celestia first before I go there.”

Looking down at her feet, Sunset let, go of Twilight's hands. As she began to fidget with her coat, she said, “I...I understand. Thank you, Twilight”

Twilight saw the look of uneasiness in Sunset's eyes but said nothing, feeling that Sunset was simply worried about coming home and facing Princess Celestia.

Finally, Twilight turned to leave, waving one last time to her friends. As she disappeared through the portal, Rainbow stepped up behind Sunset, chuckling nervously and saying, “So, uh, Crystal Ridge. What's that? Sounds kinda cool.”

Sunset didn’t reply. Instead, she wordlessly crossed the street to the bus stop, leaving her friends to wonder what she was talking about. Rainbow looked at her friends, who all looked back at her with concern in their eyes as each of them headed over to the bus stop to get back to Rarity's house.

Everyone got onto the bus when it came a few moments later. While each of her friends sat on the bus waiting to be dropped off at the bus stop near Rarity's house, Rainbow couldn’t help but think about what Sunset was referring to and what the metal box that Twilight had given to Sunset before she left was.

Next Chapter: Le Cheval D'or (Edited and Titled by Icecreammac) Estimated time remaining: 20 Hours, 28 Minutes