Sunset’s recovery was going swimmingly. Within a few days, she was able to get out of bed and stretch her feet, or hooves rather. It felt awkward walking on four legs again, but with a few hours of practice, she was back into old habits without much trouble, though instinctually she still occasionally reached for something with her hoof instead of magic, clear evidence that she had spent a long time in the human world.

She spent the majority of the first few days trying to read up on the local news and what had happened in Equestria since her departure. It was a lot to catch up on, as apparently when Twilight and her friends entered the picture, Equestria had seen a lot of rapid changes. She was impressed at how much she had accomplished in such a short time. It felt far longer than half a decade since she had been home.

She had yet to face Celestia, and Princess Twilight had agreed to keep her stay in her own castle a secret from the two royal sisters, for the time being, figuring she needed more time to recover before such a potentially stressful meeting from royalty and her old mentor.

The most awkward event she experienced thus far though was when the hospital looked up her records and asked if she would prefer to be released to her parents. She adamantly declined, having no interest in seeing the two who had more or less abandoned her. Admittedly she had to control her temper for a moment at the mere suggestion of being asked to see those two again.

After all, was said and done, Twilight tapped on the door to the room Sunset was residing in. The door was already open, but the princess seemed to have quite a bit more manners than most when entering another mare’s room.

“Come on in,” Sunset stated, waving a hoof toward herself to gesture it was alright to enter, her nose buried in a book, a common position that Princess Twilight found her in since she arrived at the castle, much to her delight.

Nodding, Princess Twilight stepped in; Sunset peeked over the top of her book to see she was adorning a rather regal looking outfit along with her signature crown. “Someone is fancy today,” Sunset added.

Princess Twilight blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Royal ceremony, I was required to attend. I like pretty outfits and all, but not when they make me the center of attention… guess I’m still not great at this princess thing yet.”

Sunset smirked and nodded. “Yeah, but that’s okay. I’ll take the real you over some snobby princess act any day, though I will say you probably attract the attention of all the boys when you wear that…”

Sunset managed to get a blush out of the bashful princess, but she took it less awkwardly than the other Twilight, who seemed to get instantly flustered. Sunset surmised that the princess was used to advances like that, given her status likely made her an object of admiration by many and she likely had a legion of fans.

Princess Twilight giggled and nodded as she approached. “I take it the other Twilight doesn’t come off as very regal either?”

Sunset sighed and shook her head. “Oh sweet lord, no. That girl trips on her shoelaces still. One time, I caught her talking to a stuffed animal. She’s as ditzy as they come.”

The princess giggled enough for a snort to escape her, before covering her mouth and clearing her throat, despite being a princess she wasn’t always the most proper lady around. “Yes well… what’re you reading there?”

Smiling, Sunset held up the book to show Twilight a familiar emblem. “Oh wow! Our friendship journal… I’m glad you’re reading that we all worked very hard on it, it takes me back just looking at it...”

Setting the book down, Sunset nodded. “It’s funny… I’ve learned more from this journal than I thought I would. Guess it goes to show you that I still have a lot to learn about friendship…”

“So do I, that’s why the book exists,” The Princess reminded.

“Yeah but you’re the Princess of Friendship, you’re practically a master already!” Sunset poked the girl’s nose playfully.

Twilight frowned and shook her head. “One of the first things I learned is to never assume you’re the master at anything. Sometimes though there are things one must do that will harm their friendships with others… as a princess, I have to accept that responsibility… I try to avoid such situations, but sometimes you are forced to put your friends aside for a greater good.”

“Sounds rough…” Sunset frowned, not knowing how that felt. It never dawned on her that Twilight’s responsibilities could put her in such awkward positions.

“It is similar to what I had to do with you…” Princess Twilight stated plainly.

“Yeah… I figured as much… you were probably scared that I would be mad at you?” Sunset asked.

“It was a possibility I had to accept,” Princess Twilight replied.

Sunset nodded and hopped off of her bed and smiled. “Well… perhaps you can just let me go back? I’m fine now and with that vaccine this problem won’t happen again-“

The Princess cut her off, holding her hoof out and shaking her head. “I made Shimmer a promise that I’d protect you here. The portal is sealed and the spell can only be broken by myself… this is where you’re staying, Sunset. I’m sorry… be angry with me if you like, but I have no power over the human world. It’s bad enough we’ve both meddled as much as we have…”

“I didn’t meddle…” Sunset frowned, already preparing to protest, but Princess Twilight cut her off before she had the chance.

“Maybe not intentionally, but because of the both of us, the fate of their world was changed forever. Perhaps it’s best if both of us remained here…” The Princess said.

Sunset internally admitted she had a point, but she still wanted to protest the decision. Realizing however it was a futile effort she decided that conceding may be the best outcome to keep her stay at this castle from being made more awkward than it already was. After all, she was already here more or less as a guest as a favor from a friend.

“Yes… alright… I mean I guess neither of us thought of it as meddling…” Sunset nodded.

Twilight forced a smile onto her face as she placed a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “You may stay here as long as you like. We’ll get you back on your hooves and weave you back into Equestrian society, it’ll take some time as a lot has changed in the few years that you were away but, you have me at your side, and I will gladly help you. You’re always welcome in my home.”

Sunset nodded and returned the smile, making Twilight’s start to look more genuine. “Thank you, Princess Twilight… It is nice to know I have a friend here at least, that makes this all a little easier.”

Twilight chuckled and winked. “If you need any other accommodations, please don’t hesitate to ask, alright?”

“You have my word.” Sunset saluted as Twilight began to leave the room.

Shimmer had spent the night curled up on her bed, unable to find rest, her encounter with Twilight the previous night still fresh in her memory. She knew she did what she felt was best for Sunset, but Twilight certainly knew how to cast doubt on her decision.

She couldn’t stop thinking about what Sunset was probably going through, but she was too nervous to write her so soon, she didn’t want to remind her of the life she would be locked out of this early after the decision had been made. Still, she needed some kind of comfort about it all, and after a night of staying up, she decided to contact one of her friends.

Dialing, she punched in Applejack’s number on her phone and waited to hear her voice. After a few moments, all she received, however, was a voice mailbox. Deciding not to bother, she hung up and look at the time. At 5:08 PM, there was no doubt in her mind that the group was well out of school. She knew Rainbow Dash didn’t have much in the way of sports after five, so she decided to give her a try next.

Her phone rang a few times, but she was met with the same thing, a voicemail box.

Curiously, she thought for a moment and then decided to try Twilight. This time however it rang a few times and the call ended as if someone picked up and hung up.

Suspicion flooded her head as she tried Rarity. This time, however, the call managed to go through and an answer came to her. “Hello?”

“Rarity? It’s Shimmer,” Shimmer replied.

There was an awkward pause. “Oh… ummm hello…”

Shimmer instantly detected the awkwardness in her voice. “Something wrong?”

Another pause came before Rarity answered, “Shimmer…” she began, already telling Shimmer that there was bad news about to follow, “I… I don’t know how to say this but…”

“Just say it…” Shimmer spoke, her hand on her chest as she could feel it become hard to swallow, already sensing where this was going and knowing she would not enjoy it.

“I’m not supposed to talk to you…” Rarity stated quietly, her voice implying she was speaking words that she didn’t wish to utter but had no choice but to relay.

“I figured as much… I take it Twilight spoke to all of you?” Shimmer asked.

Rarity sighed. “Please… don’t make this any more awkward than it needs to be, alright? I’m just being loyal to my friend, I’m sorry…”

“I thought I was your friend?” Shimmer questioned instantly.

She could feel Rarity struggle to answer as she was put on the spot. “S-Shimmer, I… look it’s not a simple situation… please understand…”

Sighing, Shimmer nodded. “Yeah, I get it. You knew them far longer than me. It’s fine… I understand I’m used to being a social recluse anyway…”

“Shimmer…” Rarity nearly choked on her words.

“It’s fine, enjoy your life Rarity… I guess Sunset really was the glue holding all of this together, so without her, there’s no reason for any of us to be friends is there? I’m just the lone puppy dog she brought home one day after all…” Shimmer’s eyes leaked as she spoke those words.

Another long silence filled the air followed by Rarity uttering, “I’m sorry…”

Closing her eyes, Shimmer nodded. “Yeah, I am too… I thought you guys were different… I guess I was wrong… it never occurs to anyone how this is affecting me… Sunset and you guys just sweep into my life and turn everything upside down and then suddenly all of that changes and I’m just supposed to go back to how things were? You all get to be upset with me and move on, but me? I am supposed to just sit here and be sad…”

“Shimmer, I…” Rarity tried to speak, only for the anger in Shimmer to sneak out and cut her off.

“It’s okay like I said…” Shimmer stated, fighting tears.

“Shimmer…” Rarity started again, but paused once more, clearly fumbling about her words, trying to find a way out of the situation.

“Actually know what? It’s not okay. Fuck you, Rarity. I guess I know why you’re into fashion now, it’s easier to hide what a two-faced bitch you are behind makeup isn’t it?” Shimmer growled viciously.

Rarity struggled to speak, stammering at the insult. “I-I…”

“None of you ever consider how this kind of bullshit makes me feel, do you?” Shimmer asked, not exactly expecting an answer.

Rarity stammered again, unable to form a reply.

“You weren’t there, Rarity. You didn’t see what I saw… you didn’t watch the girl flat line numerous times like I did. You didn’t sit there wondering if she’d live or die like I did. You didn’t get told that someone you care deeply about was going to die and that you should prepare for a worst-case scenario. You just got to sit there at home in blissful ignorance.” Shimmer growled.

Rarity fell silent, not really knowing what to say at this point. Shimmer was far from wrong; she did get to enjoy ignorance to the situation and was only recently finding out what happened after it was all over. She didn’t have to experience it during the time of.

“Go eat shit, Rarity.” Shimmer hissed before hanging up the phone and dropping it to the floor.

Sitting up on her bed, she hugged her knees close and felt more tears escape her. She truly was alone now.

Sunset stood awkwardly with her arm across her front side, gripping her other arm while her bare legs stood awkwardly. The girl wasn’t used to swimwear and felt strange standing in a bikini as she looked toward the pool in front of her with intrigue. Sunset blushed as she checked around to see if anyone was watching, knowing that the chances of anyone able to see her or her sister in her sister’s indoor pool were slim to none, but she was still conscious.

“Come on it!” The voice of her younger sister called from the water.

Sunset’s eyes darted toward Shimmer who was splashing toward the edge of the pool and gripped the side, looking up at her. Her wet hair down, her eyes filled with cheer and joy, and her body could be seen through the clear water, covered only by a small black bikini.

“Sorry, it’s just… awkward is all…” Sunset stated, still shuffling in the spot where she stood, unsure of herself.

“What is?” Shimmer blinked and tilted her head as she climbed over the edge, coming to a stand water dripped off of her pale skin and her body seemed to shine in the low lighting of the building.

“I just… I guess I still don’t feel comfortable in this thing…” Sunset blushed, looking away, but her eyes trailing down to the nice red swimsuit Shimmer had bought her. A cute little half skirt covered part of her bottom half, and the top was a simple red bikini tied in the front.

Shimmer blinked. “Why? You look great? You’re a knockout, sis! A guy would bend over backward for a night with you!”

Sunset’s eyes trailed over her own shoulder toward her back. “Well…”

Shimmer frowned and shook her head, bringing her sister closer, and touching her forehead to Sunset’s. “Listen to me, sis… that scar is always going to be there. You can’t spend your life hiding from it or trying to hide it. You may as well embrace it, because honestly… I don’t think it affects your beauty at all. If anything it’s a badge of honor, showing that you’re a survivor.”

Sunset felt a weak smile form on her face. “Y-you think so?”

“I know so.” Shimmer nodded.

With a sigh, Sunset nodded as well and stepped toward the edge, slowly sticking her feet in the water, and eventually climbed entirely into the pool, Shimmer following shortly after and giving Sunset a splash. “See, what’d I tell you? If we were at the beach right now, all the guys would be checking us out, undressing us with their eyes,” Shimmer commented.

Sunset wiped the water off of her face and giggled. “And what kind of things would they be thinking?” Sunset played along.

“Probably stuff like ‘man I’d love to two time me some twins’.” Shimmer made a false male voice, trying to make her tone sound deeper when she spoke, the effect was more humorous than anything else.

Sunset chuckled and nudged her sister’s breast. “Probably thinking it would have something to do with these.”

Shimmer nodded and chuckled. “Probably imagining how great it’d feel to have them in their face.”

“Boys are weird…” Sunset rolled her eyes.

“To be fair, tits are pretty nice…” Shimmer nodded in thought.

Sunset only rolled her eyes again and splashed her sister. “How does everything think that I’m the pervert?” Sunset asked.

“I’m better at hiding it than you.” Shimmer winked.

Sunset nodded and leaned up against the wall of the pool, looking back at her sister. “So this is it then?”

Shimmer blinked in confusion. “What is it?”

“Us; you and I? It’s really over isn’t it?” Sunset asked with a plain expression.

A frown came to Shimmer, not wanting to discuss this subject. “Sunset… you knew I had no choice…”

“Are you sure you didn’t? I mean I told you before that I can take care of myself, I did for years before you got here…” Sunset reminded her younger sister.

“Equestria is where you belong though…” Shimmer defended.

“Oh yeah, I have a lot of great prospects there… I’m a dropout, my parents don’t care if I’m alive or dead, and I have not a friend in the world to speak of except Princess Twilight. I’m also out of touch by almost half a decade. Yeah, lots going on there for me. Maybe I’ll just start a business and marry some pretty supermodel or something, we can then take our business on the road and live happily ever after. Oh and then I'll write an album and it'll go platinum.” Sunset chuckled as she made the sarcastic remark.

Shimmer opened her mouth to retort, but then closed it, unsure of how to mount her defense. Sunset had some valid points there. “I… I didn’t think about that…”

“Maybe you need to start thinking about all of that then?” Sunset said.

Shimmer nodded. “Is it sad that even in a dream I imagine you just as snarky as ever?”

A smile came to Sunset. “Nah, that just shows how well you know me. Even if right now you’re technically talking to yourself.”

“Even in a dream, you’re one of a kind.” Shimmer giggled.

“True, but eventually you’re going to wake up, Shimmer, and I won’t be there. You can’t stay in this dream forever, and you will have to face reality sooner or later…” Sunset explained.

“I… I know…” Shimmer frowned, already being aware of the truth, but hoping she could exist in the fantasy of a dream for a little longer.

“You can’t let me become what your parents were to you, Shimmer. You know that, right?” Sunset asked.

Shimmer’s inside churned at that statement. The last thing she wanted was to endure what she had endured for the past several years all over again. She had finally moved on from what happened to her parents after all, but it was because of Sunset.

Shimmer turned away and sighed. “I… I hope that doesn’t happen… I don’t want to be that person again… however, if things keep going the way they are… I may have no choice… You were the one who helped me get past what happened after all…”

“You have a choice, Shimmer, you always did, and I wasn’t the one who helped you, you finally helped yourself, I just reminded you of what you already knew,” Sunset said.

She didn’t understand it at the time, but Sunset was right. Shimmer had more options than she knew.

The dream had only made Shimmer more emotional about the ordeal. Now sadness, anger, and confusion had doubt mixed in for a cocktail of misery. She couldn’t force herself to smile, or anything. She was a wreck and had the worst night of sleep perhaps in her entire life. She sprung up many times thinking she should write to Sunset to see if she’s okay.

Eventually, it was 6:18 AM and Shimmer was in her car, driving slightly faster than the speed limit to reach Moondancer’s apartment before she went off to school. If she was quick enough she’d catch her still getting ready, provided she didn’t get pulled over for speeding.

Luck was on Shimmer’s side, as she managed to avoid all traffic and reach the place on time. Shimmer parked her expensive car by the side of the road and retrieved the keys. She adjusted her cardigan and raced outside into the cold, wrapping her arms in front of her to retain as much body heat as possible. Finally making it up the stairs she rang the doorbell.

Answered as Moondancer’s mother who yawned and smiled at Shimmer. “Shimmer? Come on in!”

“Thank you…” Shimmer bowed gently before stepping inside.

“I-is Moondancer here?” Shimmer rubbed her neck awkwardly, realizing how strange it was to ask your girlfriend’s mom where your girlfriend was at such an early hour. She still had no clue if her mother had figured out the two of them had had sex yet.

She nodded and pointed. “She’s in her room right now getting ready.”

Shimmer nodded and fast walked in that direction before turning the knob and letting herself in, shutting the door behind her.

Moondancer jumped in surprise, just finishing putting her bra on. She stood there with just the skirt of her uniform on and a bra catching her breath. “Y-you scared me…” Moondancer panted. Had the occasion been different, Shimmer likely would have found herself whistling perversely, however her current mood prevented that.

Shimmer ignored her plights and stepped forward, grabbing the girl into a deep hug, squeezing tightly.

Confused, Moondancer pet the girl’s hair and blinked. She certainly wasn’t complaining, but she definitely would enjoy some answers as to why her girlfriend had come to her home at such an early hour and now was holding her.

“Y-you okay?” Moondancer asked.

Shimmer shook her head as tears streamed down her face. “No… I need you…”

Moondancer sighed and nodded. She pushed Shimmer off of her gently and smiled. “Let me just tell my mom I’m staying here okay?”

“I don’t want you to miss school because of me…” Shimmer frowned.

Moondancer shook her head. “It’s cool. You’re more important right now, you’ve been through a lot.”

Shimmer found herself merely nodding as she sat down on the bed. Moondancer opened her bedroom door and called out to her mother. “Mom, I am going to miss today. Shimmer’s really upset, sort of a family tragedy.”

Her mother called back loud enough for Shimmer to hear. “Alright dear, tell her I said I hope she feels better. I’m heading to work in a few, want me to pick up dinner for you two?”

“That would be cool. See you around eight tonight?” Moondancer called back.

“You got it, kiddo!”

Moondancer nodded and shut the door, locking it as she did, figuring Shimmer would prefer to not be interrupted again. She sat back down on the bed and crawled up to the headboard, patting next to her for Shimmer to take a seat. Nodding, Shimmer crawled up and rested her head in Moondancer’s lap, sighing as she did.

“Everyone’s mad at me, sweetie…” Shimmer started.

A hand reached down and pet the girl’s hair delicately. “That’s not true, I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re the only one…” Shimmer sighed.

“I take it the others didn’t respond so well to you taking Sunset back?” Moondancer asked with a frown on her face.

“No, not in the slightest… I thought I understood this friendship thing better… aren’t friends supposed to have your back during hard times?” Shimmer asked.

Moondancer shrugged and continued petting. “Beats me, I don’t have any friends, remember? I’m just the loser who someone managed to make it happen with an insanely hot girl. In years from now people will look at me with intrigue and wonder, or they’ll wonder if your glasses are working.”

Shimmer giggled and rolled her eyes. “I’m not that hot.”

“Modest too, I see…” Moondancer smirked.

“Rarity’s very pretty too, you know?” Shimmer pointed out.

“Eh, true… but she’s not my type…” Moondancer shrugged.

“More into alternative girls are you?” Shimmer smirked deviously.

Moondancer chuckled and nodded before turning Shimmer’s head on her lap to make the girl face her. “Guilty.”

“And when did you figure that out?” Shimmer smirked again.

Moondancer rubbed her neck and looked up in thought. “Probably… when you came into the picture?”

“Really? You mean you weren’t into girls before I came around?” Shimmer blinked.

“I mean like… I noticed girls, but remember I wasn’t really into anyone because I had convinced myself that the chances of anyone wanting to get with me were pretty low. So this is all kind of a point of discovery for me,” Moondancer explained.

Shimmer nodded, sighed and locked eyes with her lover. “I’m lucky I have you at least…”

“I’d say I’m the lucky one…” Moondancer smiled back at her.

“How do you figure?” Shimmer blinked, unsure of what she meant.

“To hell with what those guys think, to me you’re the best thing to happen to me. If you weren’t here I’d still be alone in my room all the time. You’ve made my life so much better just by knowing you, Shimmer… I am glad we met…” Moondancer blushed, still keeping her eyes on the girl in front of her.

Shimmer smiled and nodded. “I feel the same way. If it weren’t for you, I don’t even know how I’d weather this all…”

“Resourceful girl like you? I’m sure you’d find a way. There’s a line of people ready to be on your pillow.” Moondancer winked as she pet the girl’s cheek.

“Not as many as you’d think. Remember, I’m a depressing wreck to be around for most, and I like to overcomplicate things, not exactly the most attractive quality,” Shimmer reminded.

“Never bothered me.” Moondancer shrugged and continued to pet Shimmer’s cheek.

Shimmer leaned into the hand against her and nuzzled it slightly. “Even so, I’m glad I don’t have to do this alone.”

“You’ll never be alone when I’m around, promise,” Moondancer pledged.

“I know, sweetie. I trust you on that too,” Shimmer replied happily. While these were trying times for Shimmer, she knew that with her girlfriend by her side she could endure, she could eventually move forward and maybe even find peace with the entire ordeal.

With her mood lifting slight, Shimmer smirked. “You know I never got to see you in your uniform before…”

Moondancer rolled her eyes. “Technically this is only half of it…”

“I know, and I think I like it better that way…” Shimmer winked.

“And you call me a pervert?” Moondancer chuckled.

“You’re certainly not a lady,” Shimmer teased.

“Nothing ladylike about what you did the other night.” Moondancer smirked deviously.

“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Shimmer sat up and feigned ignorance with an innocent smile.

“Perhaps this will refresh your memory,” Moondancer spoke as she pulled the girl backward and held her up, leaning down with Shimmer in her arms; Moondancer planted a kiss on Shimmer’s lips, feeling an arm come up around Moondancer and grip the back of her head, tugging at her hair to pull her closer.

Rarity hadn’t exactly had the best phone call with Shimmer and it still resonated in her mind as she pulled her Mazda up to Applejack’s house to go meet with their friends. Overwhelming guilt was taking over her mind, and she couldn’t find it in her to think about anything else. On her way over to Applejack’s abode, she attempted to use music to drown out her thoughts, with little to no success. The guilt screamed too loudly in her brain for her to ignore.

She stepped out of her car and sighed as she rang the doorbell. After a brief few seconds, Twilight answered and smiled, ushering the fashionista into the house. Rarity bowed lightly and entered the living room where the remainder of her friends were awaiting her arrival. Applejack and Rainbow were already locked in a fierce video game battle that stole their attention; the two hardly even noticed she entered. She saw the same determined expression on Rainbow that she had always seen when she gets into a competition.

Pinkie and Fluttershy appeared to be taking turns painting each other’s nails, and Twilight sat down on the couch patting next to her for Rarity to join.

Rarity nodded awkwardly and planted her firm rear on the seat next to Twilight. She wiggled into the couch and sighed as she relaxed her body.

“Something wrong, Rarity?” Twilight asked with a concerned tone.

Rarity nodded and let out a long sigh that she had been holding in for hours at that point. “Yes… I… had a very awkward phone call…”

“From Shimmer?” Fluttershy guessed, looking over at her friend with concern. It was impeccable how observant Fluttershy was sometimes, considering most of the time she was the most oblivious, shy of Pinkie Pie.

Rarity nodded. “Y-yes… from Shimmer… she was… very upset with me…”

“Understandable, I mean we kind of totally shut her out, so I’d be pretty mad too, part of the whole point was to piss her off, so I guess mission accomplished,” Rainbow replied, her eyes stuck on the TV screen as she waved her arms about with a controller in them, trying to defeat Applejack.

Rarity leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs as she looked up in thought. “I just… keep thinking about what she said…”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked, leaning in with interest.

Rarity bit her lip for a moment before speaking quietly. “She… called me a…” she paused before speaking the phrase, “two-faced bitch…”

“What!?” Applejack shouted, pausing her game and dropping the controller. She came to a stand and growled. “Ah’ll show her!”

“She also told me to go eat shit, but that’s not the point…” Rarity sighed and shook her head at Applejack’s anger, but noticed she had only made it worse. Applejack was far too predictable at times, almost laughably so. Rarity, however, took comfort in knowing that she always knew what to expect from the girl, however.

“Fuck her! Ah’ll kill that bitch!” Applejack hissed, venom dripping from her voice. She was practically already seething.

“Applejack calm down!” Rarity barked in return, trying to keep Applejack in check.

“No one calls-“ Applejack was cut off by Rarity’s increase in volume.

“She’s right, Applejack!” Rarity shouted.

Applejack paused and shook her head with a dumbfounded expression. “What? Nah. Y’all ain’t-“

“It’s true Applejack. I mean I at least feel like a two-faced bitch about all of this… how can I possibly be angry at her saying something that feels like it legitimately applies to me?” Rarity asked with a raised brow.

“Rares…” Applejack paused, unsure of how to answer. She could argue it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t argue against feelings so instead she crossed her arms and huffed in annoyance.

“Why do you think it’s true?” Twilight asked curiously.

Rarity stood up and looked around the room with a frown. “Look at us! I mean we’re all still here acting like nothing has happened, but something has happened! And we’re all just trying to carry on with our lives!”

“To be fair, we agreed to cut her off because she decided to basically decide what happened with Sunset’s life without her consent…” Rainbow reminded as she set her controller down and turned around with an extended finger.

Rarity’s eyes pierced Rainbow like daggers as she objected. “We weren’t there, Rainbow.”

“So what?” Rainbow raised a brow.

“So, we didn’t have to see what Shimmer saw. Something like seeing your friend almost die several times like that would affect any of our judgment don’t you think? On the phone, she sounded like she was a wreck… it sounded awful what she was forced to witness… I don’t think I could stand to see Sunset like that either; could any of you?” Rarity asked the group collectively. All of them lowered their heads, afraid to admit that the answer was “yes”.

Applejack shook her head and tried to cut through the excuses. “Either way, she still should have let Sunset make the choice herself.”

Applejack’s attempt proved ineffective, as Rarity just shook her head and wagged her finger.

“People make mistakes, Applejack. I don’t recall you being perfect.” Rarity growled.

Applejack fell silent, gulping a bit as she heard Rarity emphasize her name, but Rainbow stepped in to defend the group decision. “Look this is a loyalty issue, so it’s my expertise. We are showing our loyalty to Sunset by showing we don’t agree with her being given no say in all of this.”

“And how do we know how Sunset feels about any of this? How do we know she would not want us to stand by Shimmer?” Rarity asked with a raised brow. “Has anyone talked to Sunset since this all began? Anyone at all?”

As the room fell silent, Rainbow could not find an answer to the challenging question. “Well… uh… I guess you got me there…”

“If anything, we’re demonstrating what poor friends we are… right now Shimmer is alone, while we at least have each other. We never bothered to get her side of the story… she needs us now more than ever, imagine what she’s going through. We may have lost a friend, but she lost all of hers in a single day and her sister to top it off…” Rarity explained.

The room remained silent as Rarity added to her statement, “how would any of us feel?”

Twilight was the first to chime in. “I guess… pretty terrible… I suppose maybe I overreacted a little to her telling me Sunset wasn’t coming back… I never considered how she or even Sunset felt about it…”

Rarity nodded and a small smile appeared on her face knowing that she was convincing at least one of them.

“I agree… she must feel awful right now and we only made it worse…” Fluttershy chimed in quietly.

“’Ah suppose… y’all have a point…” Applejack crossed her arms and looked away, still not one for admitting she was wrong, “but ‘Ah don’t appreciate her callin’ you a bitch.”

“Yeah, only we’re allowed to do that!” Rainbow smirked, causing Applejack to punch her shoulder, causing Rainbow to grunt and rub the spot that was just hit.

“I can’t believe I’d let anger blind me so badly that I would allow myself to hurt a friend like this…” Twilight admitted.

Rarity stepped forward and placed a hand on Twilight’s cheek. “There’s still time to make it right.”

Twilight nodded and smiled back at her friend.

“I say we try to reach Shimmer and make this right, who’s with me?” Rarity raised a hand triumphantly in the air only to see all of her friends do the same.

“Glad to see we’re all on the same page, now… does anyone know how to get a hold of Shimmer?” Rarity asked.

“We could call her?” Twilight suggested.

“I doubt she will want to accept a call from any of us at this point if what Rarity said was true… She’d likely deny the call before we got the chance to even speak to her…” Rainbow frowned.

“I guess we will have to go to her house…” Twilight suggested.

Applejack blinked and shook her head. “If she ain’t gonna let us call her, what makes ya’ think she’ll let us into her home?”

There was a pause followed by Twilight sighing. “If it comes to it, I’ll climb the wall again. I did it once before, I can do it again.”

Applejack chuckled and ruffled Twilight’s hair affectionately. “Nothing stops you, ‘eh Twilight? Should call you Unstoppable Sparkle.”

“Just a concerned friend is all…” Twilight brushed her hair back into place with her hands.

“Either way it sounds like we have somewhat of a plan formed. Twilight, we’ll bring you there, you storm the gates if it comes to it and we’ll get her to talk to us, sound like a plan?” Rainbow asked, looking around the room for any objections.

After hearing no objections, she nodded and gave a thumbs up. “It’s settled then, tomorrow we go there and make this happen. How does after school sound?”

“Works for me.” Twilight nodded.

The rest of the group gave a resounding “mhm” with a nod as well and with that, the plan was approved. Twilight only hoped she would be able to convince Shimmer to give them all a second chance, all her friends were counting on her after all.

Naturally you can imagine Shimmer is not off the hook so easily, but I promise you the finale that is coming up in 2 chapters is... Well it's big. I can't spoil anything, but I can say that it is going to be bigger than Act I's finale, it's going to be a game changer even so to speak. To everyone who has stuck with me, thank you. I've been listening to your feedback as we go along and making minor changes. I know a lot of people were upset over Shimmer in the last chapter, but I promise her behavior is going to be addressed and everything will be shown very soon. Next chapter deals with a lot of that, I promise! I have been listening!

Instead of a behind the scenes this week however, I'd like to take a moment to talk about Applety who does all the artwork for the story. This woman sits down every week to draw the scenes of this story and helped craft a lot of the story. She is super busy outside of that, so it really is a privilege that we all get to enjoy her illustrations that depict the scenes played out. I want to thank her for all she's done, because she's been doing many sketches a week literally for free so that we all can enjoy them.

Speaking of being busy, she is working on a big story that hopefully will come out in the coming months, and I am going to be sitting down with her sometime in the next few weeks to help her. I am hoping that you all keep an eye on her and when it does come out, you'll give her some support. She really does work hard, and I appreciate all she's done. She's a wonderful person and the love of my life. Without her, Shadows may have never even gotten off the ground. Her encouragement, artwork, brainstorming sessions and pre-reading has proven a godsend.