Canterlot High School; The Wondercolt Statue; Monday, 12 pm.

Sunset had faced many a challenge and hardship. Mind controlling sirens, rouge magic, her own personal demons as well as Twilight's; she'd faced them all and come out on top each and every time and come out stronger as a result of those hardships. However this was one trail she'd been dreading for the longest time; it'd been years since she'd returned to Equestria; the last time she'd visited her home world she'd stolen the element of magic from the otherworldly princess version of her hopefully soon wife to be and had practically spat in the face of her former teacher and had once again forsaken her home in the pursuit of a power that was too great for her.

She had dreamed of this day, how she'd feel when she'd step through that portal and face the one pony who she had not yet reconciled with; she wondered what she would say to her, how she'd react when she'd see her; would Sunset cry? Would she be angry? Would she blame Celestia for everything or admit she was wrong the entire time and throw herself at Celestia's hooves pleading for forgiveness that she felt she didn't deserve? It was very hard to tell and her nerves were certainly getting the better of her as she gazed upon the marble white surface of the portal which was due to be active and ready for use any minute now; all she needed to do was wait for that little flash of watery light to shine onto the portal to know it was ready.

And then as if on cue, the portal shimmered to life and activated; placing her hand on the surface she saw the rippling effect and sighed in content as she prepared for the single most emotional experience she'd had in the past four years. Behind her, all of her friends from the rainbooms to the dazzlings stood in support of her; Twilight holding her hand reassuringly and giving it a gentle squeeze as she prepared to step through.

"Thanks for coming with me to see me off girls; it means a lot and I promise I won't be gone longer than three days; I'll be back in time for our pre-graduation sleepover and for graduation day." Sunset said as she squared her shoulders which felt heavy and she couldn't wait for the weight to be dropped in the coming days.

"Ya'll be careful over there ya hear sugarcube? And be sure to say howdy to the princess fer us" Applejack replied patting her friend on the back.

"Indeed darling, it takes a strong person to acknowledge their past mistakes and an even stronger one to face them and seek forgiveness for them; and I am certain your former teacher will be delighted to see you."

"Totally! I mean like your a total ubber awesome hero here! You've helped save our butts and everyones butts like a bunch of times! I'm sure princess Celestia will be really happy to see you! I bet she'll even throw you a party! Oh oh oh! Maybe pony me can throw you one!" Pinkie cheered with her usual amounts of enthusiasm. "It could be a 'I'm so sorry I was bad mommy please forgive me' party!"

"Yeah Shims; You've made a good name for yourself here and I'm sure Twilight has told her everything, no doubt she's proud of you more than anything else" Rainbow replied nudge sunset with a fist.

"I hope you make up with your teacher and everyone else back home Sunset" Fluttershy said standing next to Rainbow.

"And be sure to tell Sun-butt we're being well behaved here in this world and that we don't plan on causing anymore mischief or chaos in the worlds." Adagio said with a smirk

"Can do; and I'll see about your 'request' hopefully with the research me and Twilight conducted, you should be singing like angels again in no time." Sunset said with a smile and looked at Twilight and brushed a strand of her hair out of the girls face and looked her in her big beautiful purple eyes and smiled. "I'll be back soon alright Sparky?"

"I know you will Sunny; say hi to the princess for me and try and have a little fun while you're back home alright? Who knows when you'll have a chance to visit again." Twilight said with a smile holding Sunset's hands in her own.

"I'll try Twi; well I should get going...I've put this off way too long." Sunset sighed and turned to leave but not before Twilight yanked her back and planted a big loving kiss on the girls lips and wrapped her arms around her neck whilst Sunset blushed madly at the public show of affection, melting into the kiss slowly but surely returning Twilight's passion and wrapped her arms around her waist and held her close. Twilight's right foot popped into the air ever slightly as her blush burned her cheeks but at this point she didn't care, she was far past the point of being to bashful to make out with her girlfriend in front of others and the other girls made it clear that they didn't really mind if the two of them shared a kiss in front of them.

The kiss lasted a good minute and a half and when they broke away a small line of saliva connected them until it snapped only seconds later as they stared into one another's eyes completely lost to one another. After a few seconds Twilight was the first to speak.

"I'll be right here waiting for you when you come home Sunny; I love you"

"I love you too Sparky; and I'll be back before you know it and when I come back, I promise that everything is going to change for you and me...for the better. This is my final act of repentance and with it I'll finally have peace; and I wouldn't have had the strength to do it if not for you Twilight." Sunset said with a smile and brought Twilight into a loving tight hug. "Thank you Twilight."

"You're welcome Sunny; now run along, your teacher is no doubt waiting for you and you know how teachers feel about tardiness" Twilight teased with a wink and a grin.

"Hehehe you're right, I should get going; time to show Celestia just how much the magic of friendship has taught me." Sunset said as she released Twilight and turned to the portal and took those first few step, each step making her body feel heavy with emotions; nervousness, excitement, anxiety, fear...all of them swirled inside Sunset at once but she did her best to remain positive.

'Everything'll be alright; You've been a good girl and I'm positive Twilight had let the princess know just how good I've been, I just hope its enough'

Sunset thought to herself as she stepped through the portal. The feeling of the magic morphing and changing her body took hold and for a few moments she felt the warmth of all that magic surrounding her at once and then found herself flung head first through the portal into a crystal pillar but was luckily stopped by a field of magic before he face could make contact with the pillar and as she was set down she came face to face with princess Twilight who smiled at her as she helped her up.

"Hey Twilight; long time no see...well, not as long for me I suppose since I only saw you a few minutes ago." Sunset chuckled as she wobbled and struggled to get on all four hooves properly trying to readjust to her quadruped body.

"Good to see you too Sunset; and welcome back to Equestria...and to my castle!" Princess Twilight cheered with a smile as she helped up her friend and brought her into a hug.

"Thanks Twilight; it's so good to see you again and to be back home; hehehe last time I saw you like this was when I stole your crown...ehehe sorry for that again by the way." Sunset smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head

"All water under the bridge Sunset; come, come! The other girls are just dying to meet you!" Twilight said as she began to trot into the next room where the cutie map and thrones sat.

"I can't wait to meet them too; it'll be a bit weird since I technically already know them but I've got a few days to make another impression on them so I hope they all like me" Sunset chuckled

"If they're your best friends in the human world I'm certain they'll be your best friends here too; after all the magic of friendship is everywhere remember? It connects all of us through friendship both in this world and any other, though it'd appear your friendship magic has gotten quite more powerful hasn't it?" Twilight teased looking back at Sunset.

"What can I say? Love is powerful and what is love if not an extended form of friendship right? I'm so thankful for all the friends I've made in that world, and it's my hope I can make and leave a better impression on everypony this time...especially Celestia." Sunset said with a small sigh.

"Of course; and I've already arranged a meeting between the two of you; she's cleared her entire schedule for tomorrow to see you Sunset." Twilight said with a proud smile.

"R-Really?" Sunset asked completely surprised.

"Of course! She's very proud of you Sunset, I've been telling her about all the amazing things you've written to me about and needless to say she couldn't be more proud of you and is very excited to see you again; she's taking care of some important business today but has asked that you speak with her sister tonight before seeing her; you've not met Princess Luna yet either and she feels it'd be good for you to talk to her...and there is a pony I would personally like you you to speak with as well." Twilight said still heading for the room that contained the thrones and the map as Sunset followed.

"Of course Twilight; anything to make a good impression here again" Sunset replied following close behind Twilight, taking a look around at her surroundings and taking in all the imagery on the walls and the mere design of the castle, it was a work of art to say the least, a bit gaudy but still very nice and befitting of a princess.

"Excellent; well here we are." Twilight said as they stopped in front of the door that lead to the throne room and she opened it with her magic and at the round table of the cutie map at their respective thrones sat the elements of harmony plus Spike & Starlight Glimmer. "Hey girls; our special guest is here; everypony, I'd like you to meet Sunset Shimmer; Sunset, I'm sure you're somewhat familiar with everypony here?" Twilight asked with smile.

Giving a small bow of her head and a smile she'd greet them all. "It's nice to meet you all and I'm sorry for the impression I left the last time I was here...needless to say I wasn't the best pony back then and even though I didn't directly cause any of you any harm I still want to apologize for my behavior and hope you can forgive me and be my friends" Sunset said humbly.

"Wow Twi you really are good at reforming mares; no way this is the same pony that you said turned into a raging flame headed bat monster" Pinkie answered with a smile bounding over to Sunset and shaking her hoof happily. "I'm Pinkie Pie; but you knew that already right? It's nice to meet you again! Oh oh oh! This totes calls for a 'welcome back home after running away and terrorizing another dimension until you were reformed party!' Pinkie cheered with a broad smile

"Heheh funny thing is I kinda had one of those back in the human world, your still one helluva party thrower over there Pinkie" Sunset chuckled happy to know that Pinkie was just as bubbly and happy on this side of the mirror as she was on the other side.

"A pleasure to formally meet you darling; as you already may have guessed I'm Rarity" Rarity said in her usual posh tone with a gentle smile. "and my dear let me be the first to say I absolutely ADORE the style and pattern of your mane; it's simply marvelous! You simply MUST model for me before you go!" Rarity pleaded.

"Sure thing Rarity; in fact your human world counterpart was wondering if you could send me back with a few sketches of your work so she can do comparisons; I brought over a few copies of her own work for you if you'd like to see them." Sunset said pointing to her saddlebag.

"I'd be delighted darling!" Rarity said clapping her hooves in excitement.

"Howdy there sugarcube; ahm Applejack, might nice ta finally meetcha muzzle to muzzle." Applejack said tipping her stetson and giving Sunset's hoof a powerful shake.

"T-Thanks AJ; it's nice to meet you too."

"Say over in that other world am I still workin' on the farm?" Applejack asked.

"Uh-huh; you actually run the entire thing now next to Big Mac, Apple Bloom helps where she can but she's doing her own thing with the other CMC nowadays"

"What about granny?" Applejack asked

"Oh..."Sunset's expression turned grim for a moment. "Um AJ I think you have the right to know she...she passed away in the other world about a year ago; she'd worked long and hard but her time was finally up...but she couldn't have been more at peace knowing the farm was in good hands"

"Oh...ah see; well um, least I know she went peacefully and is resting up like she deserves over there; shes still alive here thank the sisters but her health ain't lookin' all that good what with her back problems and all; thanks for bein' honest with me sugar." Applejack said kindly

"It's no problem AJ."

"And of course ya know me; names Rainbow Dash; 'sup?" Rainbow said with a grin as she hovered over Sunset. "So like; you're an egghead like Twilight and Starlight right?"

"Rainbow!" Rarity chastised.

"What? They are! It's a compliment!" Rainbow whined.

"It's fine Rarity; yeah I'm an egghead rainbow, proud of it too." Sunset grinned broadly. "After all my eggheadness is one of the reasons why in that world you've managed to keep your title as fastest in alive so it has its uses." Sunset said smugly with a smile.

"I like this pony" Rainbow grinned crossing her hooves.

"um...h-hi; I'm Fluttershy." Fluttershy muttered

"Hey there Shy, don't worry I don't bite" Sunset gave a teasing catlike toothy grin.

"And I'm Starlight Glimmer; Twilight's other student." Starlight said with a smile. "Nice to finally meet you; she's told me so much about you" Starlight replied walking up to Sunset.

"Same here, you've got quite the impressive former villain resume; we should compare notes some time" Sunset chuckled. "But I do know you a little; me and Twilight of the human world are actually good friends with you of that world."

"R-Really? What am I like? Did I start out evil over there? Was I ever evil at all?" Starlight began to panic a bit.

"Oh no no no, nothing like that....a small rivalry between you and Twilight but it soon turned into a close friendship."Sunset reassured her. "We've taken good care of you over there so don't worry, you're in good hands there as well as being in good hooves here." Sunset said with a reassuring smile.

"Phew; thank the sisters for that." Starlight wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Say has anypony seen Spike?" Twilight asked looking around for the dragon who had just been present a moment ago before she'd gone to meet Sunset at the mirror

"Somepony call me?" Spike said entering the room and clearly he wasn't a baby dragon anymore. He'd grown to be about Ember's size, grew in his horns and wings and even a couple of extra spikes along his back and on his head. In his hand was a large red ruby that he'd been taking bites out of.

"Whoa...Spike? Is that you?!" Sunset asked in complete surprise; it'd been awhile since she'd seen spike and while she knew that Twilight's little pup spike had grown into a fine young dog she had no idea Spike the dragon had grown into an almost full grown dragon save for the massive size however he was certainly not a pipsqueak baby dragon anymore and it certainly showed.

"The one and only; been awhile huh Sunset? How ya been? Is earth me doing alright?" Spike asked

"He's doing great, even got himself a little girlfriend of his own; her names Ember."

"Wow! I dunno if that is karma, destiny or just plain luck!" Spike laughed to himself and chomped on the rest of his gem.

"Awww little spikey wikey is all grown up now" Rarity teased with a giggle.

"Anyway now that introductions are out of the way; Sunset would you like a tour of the castle and ponyville? I'm sure everypony in town would be delighted to meet you; Princess Luna will arrive to see you when the moon is highest in the sky; she always makes a dramatic entrance so be prepared." Twilight said chuckling

"Duly noted; so first question...where did this castle come from? And whats this map and those thrones for?" Sunset asked curiously looking over the map.

"I obtained it after defeating Lord Tierk and the tree of harmony planted it here; I'm still discovering new things about this place; why do you ask?" Twilight asked wondering what Sunset was thinking

"I'unno I just feel like my magic feels...stronger in here...like stronger than usual strong and not just because Equestria naturally just has more magic...it feels like my magic belongs here..." Sunset said looking over the map and then suddenly her magic shined to life and a red aura cast itself from her body into the map and the castle began to shake shimmer and flash different colors of the rainbow each collating to a different element of harmony.

Sunset's cutie mark symbol shined on her flank and then appeared on the table along with the markings of the other girls and on the map it revealed a location in the Everfree forest and all seven symbols were gathered there in that one spot.

"Whoa...that's new and weird...even for this thing" Rainbow replied

"Indeed; what do you think it means?" Rarity said

"Only one way to find out; do you know where this is Twilight?" Sunset asked.

"Yes; it's the location where the tree of harmony is located; it must be summoning us back there for some reason, everypony get close to me; Starlight, lets try out that new portal spell we've been practicing with the map" Twilight said to Starlight who nodded in agreement.

The two mares would stand next to each other with their friends in a circle and would intertwine their magic into the map and would open up a portal that lead directly to the tree of harmony and the cavern it rested in which was under constant Equestrian guard. Equestia's power and relations had grown quite strong in these past few years what with the alliance with the newly reformed Changeling Kingdom, the dragon lands & of course the crystal empire; ponyville was a legit kingdom now and Twilight Sparkle was its ruler, the elements of harmony its guardians and the alliances of the other kingdoms their trusted friends and allies. Twilight Sparkle even bore her own royal regalia complete with a new crown, chest plate and hoof-guards all adorned with her six pointed star cutie mark symbol.

As they all stood before the tree of harmony they noticed it glowing a red shade, flickering in and out and getting stronger as Sunset came closer to it. Then from around her neck, the gem that had once been the magic geode she found at Camp Everfree morphed into a gem version of her cutie mark and floated and implanted itself into a small part of the tree just below Twilight's where the mark of the Sun and moon lay resting. The sun mark changed to that of Sunset's cutie mark and the tree exploded in a flurry of rainbow light and the tree began to crystallize everything and had even made the girls turn into crystal ponies much like how it would happen in the crystal empire and from the tree a constant beam of seven colors would shine through the Everfree forest and envelope all of ponyville with its light. Each of the girls also noticed that their elements of harmony had once again taken physical form in the form of more regalia like necklaces and an even newer fancier crown for Twilight.

"Incredible; what do you think it means?" Twilight asked looking over the tree and wondering what exactly just happened.

Sunset for her part felt a new sort of magic, it felt different from when she'd achieved her new level of magical power after getting her geode; this was far more powerful and she felt like the possibilities were limitless for her now more so than they'd ever been. Realizing at last what it all meant a smile crept on to Sunset's face as she said.

"The seventh element" Sunset replied to Twilight's question

"What?"

"Isn't obvious Twilight? Think about it...all this time there have only been six elements of harmony and six colors to your rainbow; but if you remember correctly a rainbow is meant to have seven colors." Sunset explained. "It appears the tree was just waiting for the right wielder of the last element of make themselves known; and I think this power leaked its way into the human world through this tree." Sunset explained. "But my element...the last one needed to complete the tree of harmony...is Empathy; hehehe it makes so much sense now that I think about it."

Sunset said with a smile as she recounted her life and her past experiences and truly she felt empathy, redemption, forgiveness...all of them were apart of who she was and she could remember the warm and embracing rush of power she felt when she first truly and properly accessed the magic of friendship to defeat the dazzlings, she felt what her friends felt then and had shared many of their feelings since; and her ability to see into the memories of others and understand their thoughts emotions and feelings had to be apart of that too and so that power made a ton more sense now as well.

"Well I'll be a fresh picked zap-apple; never woulda guessed"

"But wait wouldn't that mean your supposed to be here to take the role?" Starlight asked.

"Nope, I think this was just the trees way of finally accepting a new element in this world...I've already attained the power in the other world and believe it should remain there; however from what I feel from this tree...it wants me to bestow the power to somepony...somepony who embodies the values of empathy and forgiveness." Sunset smirked and trotted up to Starlight and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "And I've got the perfect candidate right here."

"W-What?! ME!?! But...why?" Starlight asked completely aghast and taken aback.

"You and I aren't so different Starlight; I may not know you too well in this world but in the human world you're one of the few people who truly understands me and can empathize with; I won't lie to you and say you've had a perfect life there...you've made some mistakes but it was because of us that you managed to change around and be a better person, Twilight and I helped you to discover the real value of friendship and helped your other self off a very bad path; she knows what its like to fall and have to pick yourself back up and I know you do too...and its for that reason why I hereby bequeath to you the Equestrian Element of Empathy; and I know in my heart I couldn't have picked anypony better; after all your Twilight's student, if anyone has prepared you for this...its her." Sunset said with a smile

"I-I...Thank you Sunset; really I...I don't know what else to say." Starlight said trying her best to fight back tears. "I promise I won't let you down, I'll wear the element proudly and do it justice; I promise!" Starlight said with a salute and even made the motions of the scared pinkie promise to show her seriousness.

Sunset nodded and used her magic to give Starlight her necklace and Starlight placed it upon her neck, the gem in the middle turning from Sunset's mark to Starlight's having accepted the change and its new bearer, the elements color had even changed from Red to a greenish teal matching the streak in Starlight's mane.

"I know you'll do the elements proud Starlight; now with that out of the way; lets get back to ponyville and party! I assume there is a Vinyl Scratch in this world?"

"Pft, duh! I've got her on speed-letter!" Pinkie said turning to spike. "You know what to do"

"On it" Spike wrote out a note to Vinyl Scratch and breathed fire on it making it vanish in a cloud of sparkling ash and got a reply back almost seconds later and Spike read it aloud. "Totes up for a par-ty, when, where, how long and how loud do you want the wubs?"

"Tell her right now, the castle of friendship, all night and loud enough to shake the Everfree Forest! Tell her its a welcome home party for a friend"

"Got it; sent it." Spike had recorded everything Pinkie said and sent it out by letter.

"So Sunset...ice cream or cake?" Pinkie asked

"Yes" Sunset said with a smirk

"Ice cream cake it is!" Pinkie grinned broadly.

"Even in this world you know me so well!" Sunset chuckled giving pinkie a big hug.

"D'awww shucks." Pinkie blushed and smiled hugging sunset back. "Least I can do to welcome a new friend to ponyville; Oh! And congrats!" Pinkie nudged Sunset playfully. "Ready to slip the ring on huh?"

Sunset blushed and looked around at the other girls who all looked at her with teasing yet happy smiles; looks like her little surprise wasn't so much of a surprise. Giving Twilight a pouty look that she tried to make a scowl as she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the princess. "Gee thanks for waiting for me to tell them princess blabbermouth!"

"Well sorry! They were right there when you sent me the letter that you're getting m-m-m..." Twilight blushed furiously. "Married to me! Oh my Celestia that is still so weird." Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. "But regardless we're all happy for you Sunset, really"

"Thanks girls, I really appreciate it, now c'mon, lets go back home and party like ponies!" Sunset willed her magic at its maximum strength which was much easier to access now and she teleported all of them back into the castle of friendship effortlessly. Shaking out her mane and blowing it out of her face she grinned and blew the steam off her horn too. "Phew; still got it!"

"Impressive teleport! And you haven't used magic in how long in that world?"Starlight asked

"Roughly four or more years up until the fall formal, the battle of the bands, the friendship games and the camp Everfree incident but since getting the ability to use magic back again in that world I've been practicing more with the geode necklace I have or rather had and whoa...that's new..." Sunset said as they came back into the throne room to see that the castle had undergone a 'super crystallized' metamorphosis due to the addition of the final element, the castle and even the entire town it was now attached too was magically changed, buildings were much larger, there were more towers, everything still had its normal look but everything looked just...brighter, and newer and the streets were paved with crystals each of a different color of the rainbow. The main castle looked now a lot more like the castle held by Cadence in the crystal empire but it bore the symbol of the elements of harmony, and now there were seven thrones, with Twilight's obviously being the largest but was now in a position more akin to how Celestia's throne was. Each throne was marked with one of the elements of harmony and at the center of them was the map which had now expanded to more locations across Equestria and even showed places beyond.

"incredible; the way you found the castle must've been its first form before the final element was discovered, once you did that I guess the elements felt it necessary to truly give you your friendship kingdom Twilight...it's beautiful; the crystal empire can't have anything on this." Sunset looked around.

"I concur with Sunset; this is simply marvelous!"

"Awesome! So like we're all royal or something now?" Rainbow asked

"In a roundabout sort of way yeah; you're all the bearers of the seven elements that make up the one magic that will forever protect Equestria...Friendship. Each of you, even myself and the girls in the human world, its our duty to spread the magic of friendship and light the darkness where ever we may find it; Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Empathy & Magic, these are the seven virtues of harmony...and its with them that we're destined to shine harmonies light across whatever lands we grace." Sunset said with a sage like tone and a warm grin. "It's funny; not so long ago I'd have found that notion, that entire prospect foolish, childish and just plain stupid...but I was a flank-headed jerk back then and knew nothing about the true value of friendship; and it wasn't till I took that rainbow blast to the face that I knew just how wrong I was about everything...and it helped lead me on a better path." Sunset said fondly remembering the path that brought her here, even though it wasn't all bright sunshine and rainbows she still managed to remember all the good times she had and the good she'd done to make up for her past misdeeds and was very much looking forward to righting her final wrong. Looking to Twilight she smiled and brought the princess into a hug. "Thank you Twilight; for all you've done for me; I'd never have ended up where I am without you."

"You should be proud of yourself and the strides you made Sunset; I just knew leaving you with those girls would be the best thing for you; and luckily my princess instincts didn't let me down."

"They sure didn't; and I promise that I'll make you proud as an element of harmony by your side on the other side...and of course, be the best wife you could ever ask for in any life time." Sunset smirked and winked at the princess which instantly caused her to blush.

"Hehehe oh you're welcome" Twilight blushed sheepishly and waved a dismissive hoof. "I just know you'll make human me the happiest girl on Earth, and if I know her like I know myself well....you two are in for a blissfully long and happy marriage I'm sure." Twilight said with a chuckle.

"I'll take your word for it then princess, now enough chit chat; lets party!" Sunset said prancing in place in excitement.

"Woo-hoo! Shake your tails everypony! Tonight we party into the sunrise!" Pinkie cheered having hopped over to a large DJ table that had some big sub-woofers next to it and pulled up Vinyl Scratch out of nowhere whom begun to play off some sick wubs that everypony could dance and bang their heads to.

The elements of harmony and their many friends from the kingdom of ponyville would all party throughout the castle and even in the streets of the town celebrating the return home of Sunset Shimmer, she felt so welcomed, it was really going to be a shame to have to leave however knowing princess Twilight she'd find a way to keep the portal open so they could all see each other. Sunset by no means wanted to abandon her homeland, it was where she was born granted she didn't know her parents since she was adopted by Celestia but she'd always had hope of perhaps meeting them one day and of course its where she'd began her journey in life; however the human world was where she became a new person, where she made her first and greatest friends and most importantly it was where she'd found love and she couldn't bare to give that up either. It'd be difficult going back and forth between worlds but Sunset knew she could make it work as long as she had her friends by her side.

As the minutes turned to hours and the clock clicked down the sun had set upon Equestria and pony's young and old danced and partied about; Sunset Shimmer herself had broken away to have a little talk with Starlight Glimmer; Twilight had mentioned she wanted to have a personal talk with the former villainous mare.

"So whats up Sunset?" Starlight asked.

"Well, its about when I go to see Celestia in the morning..."

"Nervous huh? Starlight gave a wry smile.

"Yeah; I know Celestia is probably overjoyed to want to see me but...part me just keeps thinking she'll be really angry with me and turn me away; I deliberately disobeyed her wishes attacked her guards, stole an ancient and vital artifact used to protect Equestria and then got turned into a raging she demon after terrorizing an entire dimension out of spite for my home and almost killed six innocent girls who'd done nothing to me..." Sunset hung her head in shame.

"Yeah that's...that's pretty bad; but hey you're not the only one remember? I mean I brainwashed an entire village and forced them to hide their special talents but then when Twilight stopped me I went totally insane with a need for revenge and completely bucked up the timeline out of spite all because my childhood best friend got his cutie mark before me and moved away...and I had to face Twilight AND her friends afterwards; but look at me now? An element of harmony just like you; honestly I don't even feel like I deserve it but...you entrusted it to me and so feel I have a responsibility to live up too it....I know it's hard to face the consequence of what you've done wrong, but sometimes facing them is the best way to get past the fear of what could come next. Twilight and her friends forgave me and gave me a chance to learn the true value of friendship and she gave you the same chance; and I just know when you see Celestia tomorrow she'll welcome with you open hooves." Starlight finished with a smile.

Sunset smiled and wiped away an emotional tear and giggled a bit "Thanks Starlight, you're as good a friend here as you are over there; speaking of which are you friends with Trixie in this world?" Sunset asked.

"Marefriends actually; why do you ask?" Starlight quirked a curious brow.

Sunset stifled her laughter and smirked "Oh no reason, just curious is all; parallels and all that"

"Riiiight; anyway I'm gonna get back to the party, you coming?" Starlight said heading back down the stairs.

"In a bit, expecting another guest for the evening," Sunset said waiting in a large room with a moon stain glass window. A few moments passed before a glowing white and blue light shined into the room and from it came the elegant and gracious form of princess Luna. Giving a proper bow Sunset would address to moon princess with a kind smile. "It's an honor to finally meet you princess Luna, well in this world anyway; we're very good friends in the other world." Sunset said

"Yes, young princess twilight tells me that I am a 'vice principal' of a school in that world, fitting I suppose; I have been always the more disciplinary between myself and my sister; and its a great honor to meet you as well Sunset Shimmer; Tia speaks very highly of you."

"S-She does?!" Sunset asked aghast.

"Oh yes indeed! She has told me many a great story of your feats of magic, how you got your cutie mark, how you became her student...that she adopted you....and about your um ahem...'fall from grace'...and if I have to admit young sunset...yours was not that much different from mine." Luna lamented.

"Really?"

"Yes; as a young mare I too scorned the idea of friendship but that was only because I couldn't understand its warmth and true magic and all I wanted was to be more powerful and loved than my sister and I abused dark powers in order to achieve that goal and it ended with my sister using the elements of harmony against me...cut to 1000 years later and I am struck down by the elements a second time but am freed of my dark corruption..."

"Sounds familiar" Sunset chuckled wryly.

"Indeed; since then I've made many an effort to make up for my past misdeeds and to get to ponies of Equestria to accept me once more and while it had been a long and difficult process I have long since achieved the love and adoration of many across Equestria much like that of my sister and she sees too it that our spotlight is shared as to not have history repeat itself."

"What was it like? Up there on the moon I mean...you don't have to tell me if you don't want-"

"No, no it's quite alright Sunset...it was...cold...lonely...the enchantment my sister had cast when using the elements turned me into a living blanket of magic aura that stained the moons surface with the infamous mare on the moon symbol. For 1000 years I lay asleep, locked within my own body as well as the moon I have sovereign over and all that the darkness would allow me to think about was revenge, hatred, make the night last forever, kill Celestia, destroy the elements of harmony...all of those dark thoughts swirled in my mind on repeat for 1000 years until the enchantment was weak enough for me to escape and we all know what happened after that." Luna said fondly with a chuckle.

"What happened...after you were freed?" Sunset asked.

"After the elements of harmony celebrated and ponies welcomed me back personally; Tia and I returned home to Canterlot and enjoyed an evening together at the castle...we of course talked things out....made apologizes for the horrible things we'd said to each other in the midst of our battle against each other both before and after my transformation...we....we cried in each others hooves for quite awhile...Tia had missed me dearly and I missed her just as much if not more so; 1000 years apart can do a lot to make you appreciate what family you have dear Sunset so I give you this advice; fear not what you think my sister may feel or say when you face her tomorrow, she wishes not to dwell on the past but to focus on the today and look forward to the future." Luna said to Sunset.

Sunset listened to what Luna had said and decided she was right, it was foolish to think Celestia would hold a grudge, the little filly in her was just being scared and was afraid of big mommy Celestia yelling at her or punishing her for having done something so stupid and irresponsible. She'd fought with and banished her only sister for 1000 years and managed to not only forgive her sister but herself and that should have been more than enough for Sunset to know that her reunion with Celestia was going to be a good one.

"Thank you princess Luna; are you going back to Canterlot tonight?"

"I am"

"May I come with you? I think its best if I at least am in the castle when its time for me to face her, it'll make things much easier...though I would like formal permission to come to the castle...one of the last things Celestia told me was that I was never again welcome in her castle...so if its alright with you I-"

Sunset was cut off by Luna's magic teleporting them into her personal chambers of the Canterlot castle and Sunset was taken aback at how fast and powerful Luna's casting power was but then again she shouldn't have expected less from the princess of the moon and stars.

"Any friend of mine is welcome in this castle and I am sure Tia's previous order is null and void by now since she asked to meet with you and personally cleared her entire schedule for tomorrow." Luna answered with a smile and walked out into the hallway and spoke to her night guard.

"Shade, Dusk; this is Sunset Shimmer, Celestia's former pupil before Twilight Sparkle, she has a meeting with my sister in the early morning, see too it she has a proper room and accommodations and send word to Ponyville that Sunset has taken up rest in Canterlot for the evening."

"Yes night mistress!" The two female bat pony's saluted; one flying off and the other leading Sunset to what would be a guest room.

As Sunset trotted through the halls of the castle she saw after images of her old life, she wasn't always a stubborn jerk for a time she was as happy go lucky as Twilight and loved learning and impressing Celestia but she quickly let her ego and pride go to her head and it turned her into something ugly which resulted in her literally turning into a monster. Shaking her head free of those thoughts she allowed herself to relax.

'You're not a monster, you've changed...the past isn't today remember? Let's look forward to the morning sunlight and the many to come once this whole thing is done and over with.'

Sunset thought as she arrived to the guest room she would be using and as irony or fate would have it, she couldn't tell which at this point; it was her old room. Completely untouched by time, every single last thing exactly as she left it and only looked like it'd been touched to be cleaned but otherwise everything was in its exact place, even all her books were arranged the same way. A few tears escaped her eyes and she blinked them away as she came into the room and slipped into the bed that had her favorite red and yellow silk sheets. Laying down she'd drift off to sleep with dreams of her reunion with her teacher,mentor...and mother, danced in her minds eye and the entire night she slept, Sunset Shimmer couldn't stop smiling.

'See you in the morning mom...' Sunset thought to herself as she allowed sleep to take hold of her.

Author's Notes:

The next chapter is gonna be one helluva tearjerker! Prepare the tissues boys and girls because this one is going to make you cry like little bitch! I'm a big fan of Sunset returning home and having a tearful reunion with Celestia and dammit if the show won't do it I WILL!