A young purple dragon with green spines carefully entered the room, with a tray in claw. His balance was impeccable for such a little thing; Sunset surmised he regularly was performing chores which made him so efficient. After all, Princess Twilight had only just sent him away a moment or so ago to retrieve tea for the two of them and sure enough in less than five minutes, he had returned hastily.

Setting the tray on the table, he smiled at Sunset, who returned the smile. A blush appeared on his cheeks causing Sunset to tilt her head and let out a “hm?”

The dragon averted his gaze and kept the smile on his face as he spoke. “It’s nothing…”

Sunset leaned down to be closer to eye level with the dragon. “What is it, Spike?”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “It’s dumb…”

“You can tell me.” Sunset reached forward with a hoof and turned his gaze toward her.

“It’s just… I never saw you as a pony before…” He chuckled softly.

“Oh? What of it?” Sunset blinked.

“You’re really pretty is all…” He looked away again before winking and bowing to Twilight before making for the exit.

Before Sunset could even comment, he stood in the doorway and bowed again. “I’ll leave you two alone for a while.”

After he had vacated the room, Princess Twilight levitated a teacup from the tray to her lips with a few snickers. “My my, aren’t all the boys chasing you?” She teased.

Sunset reached forward and grabbed a cup with her hoof before blinking and recalling her magic. She focused and was able to make an aura appear around the cup and make it levitate toward her lips. Blowing lightly on the hot beverage, she managed to down a sip and let an expression of delight cover her face. She had forgotten what Canterlot tea tasted like, but that single sip brought all the memories of drinking it at school back. It was far more potent than the tea that humans were used to which was the equivalent of leaf water.

Most of her friends back in the human world were into cold tea, shy of Rarity, something that Sunset never really got into. She could drink it, but it wasn’t her thing; hot tea was her nectar.

After another short sip, Sunset closed her eyes and set the cup down, wrapping her hooves around it. “He’s a kid, what do you expect?”

Twilight giggled. “Am I about to have a daughter in law?”

Sunset opened her eyes and rolled them. “Har har, aren’t you funny. Spike’s a sweetheart, but he’s not my type…”

“He really is something else for sure. So how have you been feeling? It’s been a few days since you were bedridden; I wanted to make sure you’re adjusting alright, coming back to Equestria after such a long time isn't easy,” Princess Twilight asked with a raised brow.

Sunset sat there and looked down to her cup, feeling the warmth of the hot drink be absorbed into her hooves. “I’m doing alright, I mean it’s still a bit of a culture shock to be back here for sure, but otherwise I’m doing okay.”

The princess nodded contently as she took another sip and then set her cup down. “I have been thinking about your future here, I’m curious if you’ve considered it yourself?”

Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly. “The thought crossed my mind once or twice…”

Princess Twilight seemed to grow eager and giddy as she leaned in. “I am glad you said that see I’ve been contemplating what you could do around here. I know you’ve been away for a while and finding a job out here isn’t entirely easy when you’ve been away so long, so I gave it some thought…” Twilight’s smile seemed to grow as she paused.

“And?” Sunset raised a curious brow, unsure of where this was going.

“What if… you worked for me?” Twilight asked.

Sunset took a long sip of her tea before speaking again. “Come again?”

“I mean I’d pay you of course, but you could be a royal magic advisor for me! Your knowledge of magic combined with what you’ve learned in the human world? You’d be excellent; you could practice up and eventually come with me to meetings, all that stuff! You could stay here with Spike and me, it’d be great… I mean… if you want to that is…” Twilight coughed and adjusted herself, realizing she perhaps came off as an excited teenager for a moment there.

Sunset nodded. “I’ll think about it, I have a lot on my mind at the moment…”

“Would Shimmer be one of those subjects that you’re contemplating?” Twilight asked.

Sunset smiled sheepishly, it was that obvious. After all, she had mixed feelings about all of this. “On one hand… I feel sort of betrayed that Shimmer would just decide something like this for me without asking… on the other hand, I recognize she panicked and probably was having flashbacks to what happened to her parents. She couldn’t stand the idea of having to see me potentially die… Not to mention, I fully recognize that I sort of… decided a lot of stuff for her life without even realizing it myself by selfishly going to her world in the first place… It's hard to determine which one of us is really more in the wrong...” Sunset frowned, unsure of which feeling was stronger for her.

Twilight merely nodded in agreement before finishing off her tea, slurping the last few drops before blushing and wiping her lips. “Honestly, neither one of you is completely guilt free, to be honest. I don’t think Shimmer meant any malice though, Sunset. Yes, she overstepped perhaps, but she did so because she knows how stubborn you are. She knows if this happened again that you would make her repeat all these steps, I mean you fought her about coming here in the first place she told me, thus why you arrived in such dire condition. You’re lucky to even be alive right now… That and you are correct, the human world isn't our playground, we can not simply go there whenever we feel like it and decide to stay...”

Sunset couldn’t deny that Twilight had a point, albeit one she hadn’t fully considered. It was difficult for her to gauge her own stubbornness until others pointed it out.

“I suppose so… I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it? I mean I have a shot at a real life here, don’t I?” Sunset shrugged.

Twilight stood up and walked over to Sunset, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I’ll do the best I can to give you all you need to be comfortable here, that is my gift to you.”

“Thank you, Twilight, you being here at least makes this an easier pill to swallow,” Sunset admitted.

“What’re friends for?” Twilight winked.

Sunset scanned the lines of a book speedily, trying to absorb the information as quickly as possible. She had spent most of her time since her return reading, part of her wondered if she was going to end up looking like the unkempt mess that Moondancer was if she kept it up.

She had been reading up on the more recent discoveries on magic, and occasionally looking into a few of Twilight’s own breakthroughs. Spike sat next to her with his reptilian eyes locked in a different book. She had brought him along as sort of a study buddy and as a reference for when she had questions for a first-hand witness to most of Twilight’s endeavors.

“Wow, so you guys really beat Tirek huh?” Sunset commented as she read over an entry.

Spike chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, but to be fair, Twilight was given the other three Alicorn’s magic to do so, that made it semi-easier.”

Sunset blinked. “You can do that?!”

Spike shrugged. “I thought the same thing, but turns out there is magic that the royal family keeps hidden so that they can use it in case of emergencies like that.”

Nodding, Sunset smiled in awe. “Maybe one day I can learn something like that… that’d be cool…”

“You’re starting to sound like Twilight…” Spike rolled his eyes.

Sunset giggled and covered her mouth with her hoof. “Is that a bad thing?”

“The world only needs one Twilight…” Spike grunted.

Sunset let that statement sink in for a moment before replying slowly and thoughtfully. “And the world only needs one Sunset…” Her tone was almost robotic as she said those words, her eyes empty as her mind was elsewhere.

“What?” Spike tilted his head in confusion at her sudden change in demeanor.

Sunset shook her head and snapped back to reality. “It’s nothing, say why don’t we take a small break?”

“Finally!” Spike cheered, closing his book quickly and hopped off of his chair to stretch his legs.

Sunset giggled at his eagerness and gingerly set her book aside as she stepped down herself. “Not much of a reader, Spike?”

“When you’re around Twilight all the time, it gets old. She gets me several books for my birthday, and Hearth’s Warming, once she got me one for Hearts and Hooves day as sort of a ‘sorry you’re alone’ present…” Spike grumbled.

Sunset giggled and covered her mouth again to contain her laughter. When it subsided she spoke again. “She just cares about you, Spike. I mean she’s more or less your mother.”

“I wish that care would show itself in other ways,” Spike grunted.

Sunset gestured for him to follow as they made their way to the kitchen. She was feeling quite puckish, and since she arrived she hadn’t eaten too much. She was so used to human food that going back to Equestrian food still felt somewhat alien. She didn’t want to lose all the weight she had finally managed to gain after Shimmer’s help, but the moment she looked in a cupboard she was reminded of how much she felt like an alien in her homeworld as well.

Nothing stuck out to her, and she kept scanning her eyes along looking for human brand names that she knew weren’t going to appear there.

Spike approached and tapped her shoulder to snap her out of her trance.

“Huh? What?” She blinked a few times.

“You okay? You were staring into space there for a minute.” Spike pointed out.

Sunset nodded and fetched some gems from the top shelf, offering them to Spike. He took them graciously and hopped onto a chair as he stuck a claw into the bowl and shoved a handful into his mouth, crunching loudly as he snacked.

After seeing nothing look appetizing to her, Sunset sat across from him with a sigh.

“You sure you’re alright?” Spike spoke with his mouth full.

“Yeah, I just… I don’t know… I feel like I am confused…” Sunset replied.

Spike shoveled another handful in as he tilted his head. “Confused? About what?”

“Where I belong…” Sunset responded.

“Ah, I see.” Spike nodded.

“It’s like… I feel alien here and I felt alien at times in the human world. I feel like I don’t fit in anywhere, but I felt more at home back there… I mean I don’t blame Shimmer I guess now that I really think about it… I sort of fucked up her entire life. If I had just stayed here in Equestria her parents would be alive and she might be a happy girl… Sure I tried my best to make it right, but realistically there would be nothing to make right had I just stayed here. I mean I had no right to even be there…” Sunset frowned as she thought it over, realizing a lot of this truly was her own fault. She knew the consequences of her actions would catch up to her eventually.

Spike shook his head and swallowed; he set the bowl down and leaned in. “Listen, you can’t focus on the past. What’s done is done and you can never change that. Maybe you staying here in the first place would have improved things, maybe not. You’ll never know so you shouldn’t waste your time thinking about it. If you care about Shimmer, that’s all that matters right?”

Sunset blinked but a smile came to her face as she nodded. “You’re right, Spike. Twilight’s lucky to have such a good friend.”

“I’m your friend too.” He winked.

Sunset chuckled and nodded. “Yes, I haven’t forgotten.”

Applejack’s truck pulled up to the front gate of Shimmer’s estate, Rarity in the driver’s seat with Rainbow in between her and Applejack, while the rest of their friends sat in the back, listening to Rarity complain about the vehicle the entire way there.

Parking the truck, Rarity grumbled. “Why didn’t we take my car, again?”

“Because your car don’t got room for six people?” Applejack reminded.

“Well, at least it isn’t big and ugly!” Rarity groaned.

“Will you two knock it off? If I have to hear another complaint out of either of you, I swear I am going to knock both of your heads in!” Rainbow hissed to silence the two girls.

Applejack and Rarity both crossed their arms and gave an annoyed grumble as Rainbow reached behind herself and opened the window to the back. Peaking through the Window she saw Twilight huddled with Fluttershy and Pinkie all in winter attire. Pinkie wearing surprisingly little, but Rainbow surmised that Pinkie just wasn’t like normal humans and that temperature didn’t seem to bother her as she sat there in the cold with just a sweater and a scarf, humming to herself happily.

“Alright, Twilight, you’re up. Make us proud, girl.” Rainbow gave a thumbs up through the window.

Twilight nodded and brought herself to a stand as she jumped over the edge of the truck and landed. She adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat as she went to ring the bell and speak to the intercom.

Pressing the button, Twilight spoke, “Shimmer? It’s me, Twilight.”

A voice came back to her. “Go eat shit, Sparkle.”

Twilight sighed and held the button again. “Listen, I want to talk…”

“Go away or I’m calling the police.” Shimmer replied through the intercom.

Twilight groaned. “Shimmer, don’t make me do this again. I will climb these walls just like last time and I will come in there by force if I need to.”

There was a pause followed by a sigh on the intercom. “Fine, I’ll open the gate; don’t make me regret this, Twilight…”

“Thank you…” Twilight replied before climbing back into the back of the truck, thankful she would not need to brush off her limited athletic abilities this day.

As she managed to get into the truck, the gate opened and Rarity started the engine back up after a few tries. Applejack was about to comment only for Rainbow to give her a death glare, which made her mouth close right away.

A short drive brought them inside and half a mile would bring them to the front door. Rarity parked and gestured for Twilight to go ahead. “We’ll wait in here until you’ve given us the okay. It’ll probably be more productive if there weren’t so many people trying to talk over each other.”

Twilight nodded and hopped back down and made her way to the front door, remembering she still had the key that Shimmer had given her. Fishing into her pocket she retrieved it and opened the door and gave the heavy door a sturdy push to bring herself inside. She allowed the door to shut behind her before stuffing the key back into her pocket and taking a few steps inside.

She came to the stairwell and shouted up it. “Shimmer? It’s me, Twilight.”

A voice called back to her. “Come upstairs, I’m in my office.”

Twilight sighed and made her way up the long stairwell, only to be panting slightly as she reached the top. She really needed to try harder in gym class, because she was far too easily winded.

Making her way down the hallway, Twilight recalled that Shimmer’s office was the third down to the left. She knocked briefly only to find the door swing open granting her entry.

The walls were lined with plenty of books, much to Twilight’s delight, but there in the chair at the desk was a very unkempt Shimmer. Twilight had never seen her with her hair being such a mess, and no makeup, yet there she was, Shimmer as completely natural as she could be. She was sporting only a black scoop T-shirt and skinny jeans as she sat at the desk looking exhausted.

Twilight stepped into the room to feel something tap her foot. She looked down to see an empty wine bottle and then noticed tons of said bottles were tossed around the room.

It was clear that Shimmer had been drinking; Twilight only hoped she was sobered up enough by now to talk.

“Shimmer…” Twilight began.

Shimmer sighed and came to a stand. She yawned and stretched as she approached.

“Twilight Sparkle…” Shimmer responded.

“Listen… I wanted to say-“ Twilight began, but Shimmer cut her off.

“No, you listen… look, I know I fucked up. I panicked, but you guys don’t know what it’s like… After my parents died, my other relatives tried to rob me of my family’s fortune and a ton of other crap that I don’t even want to get into happened… The point is I’m so used to losing stuff that I can be a bit selfish sometimes…” Shimmer frowned.

Twilight remained silent letting her finish.

“I don’t try to be, but it happens… I did what I did because I thought… I thought I was protecting Sunset this way… I could tolerate her not being here, but I didn’t want to lose her… Even if there is a world separating the two of us, as long as I had the journal to contact her with, and I knew she was safe… that was enough for me…” Shimmer admitted.

“And what about us? We are her friends too, Shimmer…” Twilight reminded.

Shimmer nodded and sighed. “Truthfully… I didn’t think about you guys. I should have, but I didn’t… There’s no excuse for it, and I totally understand why you’re all mad at me, hell I would be too.”

Twilight shook her head and carefully reached forward taking Shimmer’s hands. “That may be so… but I overreacted too… I shouldn’t have gone and made everyone shut you out… we could have talked about this…”

Shimmer looked down at Twilight’s small hands holding her own and then back to her face. “Well… there’s still time to talk about it now…”

Blinking, Twilight tilted her head, unsure of where this was going. “What do you mean?”

Shimmer released Twilight’s hands and walked back over to the desk. “Well, I thought about it and you guys were right… Sunset deserves to make her own choices right?”

“That’s generally what we all agreed upon, but what difference does it make now? What’s done is done.” Twilight frowned.

Shimmer shook her head. “I still have the journal. I could probably write to the princess and ask her to meet with me so I can tell her I made a mistake. I could undo all of this… that is… if everyone is still willing to help me after all I did…” Shimmer frowned at the thought, realizing she may have burned some bridges via her phone call with Rarity.

Chuckling, Twilight offered her hand. “They’re all waiting outside for you.”

Opening the drawer of her desk, Shimmer retrieved the journal and kept it close to her chest as she reached forward and took Twilight’s hand with a smile. “Let’s not keep them waiting then!”

“You may want a jacket.” Twilight giggled, remembering Applejack’s mode of transportation.

After a bit of conversation, a lot of apologies and plenty of hugs (especially from Pinkie Pie), Shimmer and her gaggle of friends were reunited and found their way back to Applejack’s abode. It was clear that things wouldn't be perfect, nor would operations simply resume as before, but the path to healing fractured relationships was paved.

Rarity snickered at Shimmer’s appearance. “I swear, I’ve never seen you without makeup on!”

Shimmer rubbed her neck awkwardly. “I’ve been preoccupied, and yes I recognize that this is the most casual that anyone has ever seen me, but let’s not forget we’re here for a purpose. So I think we’re all in agreement now that I should write to Princess Twilight, and see if she’s willing to reconsider what I originally pushed for, sound about right?”

The group all nodded, as Shimmer rested on the couch with the journal in hand. “Shouldn’t someone else write it? I mean the rest of you are closer to Princess Twilight than I am…”

“True, darling, however, you have a deep connection with Sunset, so she’s more likely to listen to you, especially since you were the one who originally set this course of events into motion. You know more than the rest of us.” Rarity pointed out.

“Rarity’s right, it has to be you, Shimmer,” Applejack agreed while nodding.

Rainbow hung over the top of the couch and smiled as she looked down at Shimmer. “You got this, Shimmer. Whatever happens, though we’re all still friends, agreed?”

Shimmer smiled and nodded. “I should have come to all of you in the first place, I’m sorry… I’m really bad at this friendship thing…”

“We all were at one point,” Fluttershy chimed in, reminding all the girls of their previous mishaps, ironically caused by Sunset’s hand.

Shimmer nodded and took a deep breath as she opened the journal and ran her hand across a blank page. After taking a second to think, she placed a pen on the paper.

Dear Princess Twilight,

It’s me, Shimmer; granted considering no one else has access to this journal, I’m sure you figured that out. I’m hoping you still have the journal and haven’t handed it over to Sunset just yet so you get this message.

I made a grave mistake, and I am hoping this letter finds you in time to fix it. Sunset deserves a choice in all of this; I had no right to deprive her of that. Please respond ASAP so we can discuss this matter.

Sincerely,

Shimmer

Shimmer sighed as she closed the book and looked around her at her friends. “Hopefully we made it in time and there’s still time to undo all of this…”

“I don’t think we have anything to worry about, Princess Twilight is a very reasonable person, I’m sure she’ll at least hear us out, after all, you said yourself that you had to convince her to close the portal in the first place.” Rarity pointed out.

“So?” Shimmer shrugged.

“So, that means she wasn’t fully on board with the idea in the first place which means getting her to go back shouldn’t be impossible,” Rarity explained.

It was true too; the initial conversation with Princess Twilight was long-winded and tedious, to the point where it almost became exhausting even. It took a good few hours to convince Twilight to see her way of thinking and even then it only appeared as though she agreed out of lack of a convincing counter-argument from lack of knowledge of the human world. Shimmer managed to win by default more or less.

Shimmer had definitely taken advantage of Twilight’s lack of understanding of the human world to get what she wanted, and just thinking about it made her sick. Regardless of her reasons being noble in her head, she knew she shouldn’t have tried to con Twilight into being in on her plan, which only made undoing the damage that much more pressing.

Her mind raced back to what Sunset likely endured in Equestria the first time. She never talked about her home, and Shimmer knew from her friends and various things that she had said, that Sunset didn’t have much in the way of family or friends to go back to. It only hurt worse when Shimmer thought about the fact that she was sitting there at that moment surrounded by friends and in her time back she had enjoyed a night of lovemaking with her girlfriend while she left Sunset by herself when she likely needed her friends the most. She had to undo this, she had to make this right.

Her thoughts were interrupted however when the journal began to shake, causing Shimmer to pop it back open and scan the new entry that had appeared. The other girls all leaned in to try and read it themselves as well.

Dear Shimmer,

I was not expecting to hear from you so soon, especially regarding the subject matter. It was you after all that convinced me why Sunset needs to stay here, I mean you said it yourself, she’s stubborn and who knows what would have happened if she had been left to decide to come here on her own accord the first time, this conversation we’re having now would be a far graver one for sure. Not to mention all the damage that meddling in the human world has caused.

So what I don’t understand is what changed your mind? You were previously all for this arrangement stating it was and is the only sensible solution, now you’re suddenly saying the exact opposite.

I’m not opposed to making this open for discussion, but you’ll have to indulge me on why what you previously were so adamant on, suddenly you are retracting.

Sincerely,

Princess Twilight

Shimmer looked around confirming everyone had read the page before taking in a breath and exhaling. Her hand went back to the paper on the next page ready to write her reply.

Princess Twilight,

Please understand that while I know I made a big convincing argument, I’m not some kind of ambassador for the human race or this world. I am not saying that we should simply bring Sunset back and pretend nothing happened, I am saying that we should give her a choice in the matter. If she decides to stay there then I won’t stop her, but I think she at least deserves to make the choice herself.

I only ask that you allow me to come there one more time and meet her face to face so she can make a decision if that is acceptable. I’m sorry for this whole ordeal, I wish I didn’t act so rashly in the first place, I hope you can forgive me.

Sincerely,

Shimmer

Shimmer’s friends all reached forward and each placed a hand on her shoulders and nodded. “Y’all got this, Shimmer.” Applejack smiled.

Shimmer nodded in agreement as she sighed and waited. The wait wasn’t long as it was clear she had Princess Twilight’s full attention at this point.

Shimmer,

Honestly I feel the same way, I just had to be sure you were certain on this decision. I’d be delighted to let you come back here to talk to Sunset directly regarding this matter. I think it will give all parties involved some much-needed closure on the matter. If she should return to the human world, I’m sure we can work out something to where she can return here in the event she needed to. I didn’t want to suggest it before because you did have a point that we were meddling in human affairs a bit too much, but now that I see you are willing to discuss the matter, I see no harm in bringing it up as a suggestion.

I will open the portal in one hour, please be ready to travel through, I advise you to come alone as while I’m sure your friends would love to see Sunset again, I don’t want them getting too attached in the event she decides to stay here. I’m sure you understand.

Looking forward to seeing you,

Princess Twilight

“Staying there? You don’t think Sunset would actually want to stay in Equestria, do you?” Fluttershy covered her mouth in awe at the idea, something none of them had considered.

“Dunno, I mean she’s had some time there now to adjust, what has it been, eight days right?” Shimmer asked Rainbow nodded to answer her question, “anyway, that means she’s had time to readjust to life in Equestria… It’s entirely possible that she prefers it there to here, especially since she was under the impression that this would be a permanent arrangement… It's not farfetched to believe she has accepted this arrangement now...”

“What are we going to do if she does want to stay?” Pinkie chimed in.

Shimmer sighed and shrugged. “What can we do? It’ll be her choice… Home is where Sunset decides it is for her, and we have to respect that.”

With Applejack’s truck pulling to a stop, she whistled for everyone to exit. This time, Rainbow was forced into the back so that Shimmer could sit between Rarity and Applejack. She blinked as everyone exited the vehicle and adjusted her jacket before stepping out herself. She looked around to see the broken horse statue that she had somehow ventured through some time ago. It amazed her that a portal to another world was hidden in such plain sight, though she wondered how it got there in the first place.

The other six girls formed a half circle around the portal as Shimmer came to their congregation and looked around to get a series of approving nods.

“So, this is it, huh?” Shimmer asked.

Twilight nodded. “We believe in you, try and not take too long though, it is cold out. Keep it under an hour if possible.”

Shimmer nodded and looked back at the girls and smiled. “Thank you… all of you for being so forgiving and understanding… I’m lucky to have friends like all of you…”

“You can thank us when you get back,” Rainbow smirked giving her a wave to go through the portal.

Shimmer nodded and turned away from all of them and faced the marble statue. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, throwing herself through the portal.

A familiar feeling of being pulled in every direction overtook her as she felt weightless for a moment as she was pulled through the portal, her body changing rapidly as she neared the other side. It was a sensation she wasn’t sure she could ever get used to, but before she had time to contemplate it anymore it was already over.

This time around she knew enough to brace her hooves in front of her and land right side up, skidding slightly to a halt as the momentum from being thrown through the portal was stunted. She exhaled and reached up to feel her glasses had managed to stay on her face this time around. For a brief second, she was actually somewhat proud of herself for such an accomplishment.

Standing next to the portal and stepping forward was a familiar pony princess. Shimmer turned around to face her and bowed lightly, to which Princess Twilight frowned and shook her head. “That’s unnecessary, we’re friends after all, that and you’re technically not one of my subjects.”

Shimmer nodded and rose. “Sorry, still not familiar with the customs here…”

“That makes us about even as I still struggle to understand a lot of things in your world.” Twilight nudged the girl’s shoulder playfully.

Twilight cleared her throat and stood tall. “So you’re sure about this? When you left you gave me an earful about how you were making the right call… I was skeptical, but I went with it because I recognized what all of the meddlings in the human world had done for your life. I felt it was only fair that you got to decide because of that… of all the people involved you were hurt the most… and yet now you’re here wanting to go back on that choice?”

Shimmer nodded. “I chose out of emotion… I let my fear control me, I need to at least try and do what’s right. I’ve been… a bitch for way too long. It’s time I did something right…”

“Are you sure you’re not just wanting to do this because you want Sunset back?” Twilight asked with a raised brow.

“Positive. While I do want her back, I am fully prepared for the possibility that even if she comes back she may want nothing to do with me. I’m ready to start owning my role in things…” Shimmer spoke.

With a nod, Twilight gestured forward and began walking, leading Shimmer to where Sunset was staying. Twilight gestured for her to go ahead, and Shimmer nodded before stepping into the room, seeing Sunset glued to a book, with Spike at her side reading a comic book. Spike looked up to see Shimmer and coughed poking Sunset’s side. Sunset’s eyes met Shimmer’s and she tapped Spike. “Leave us,” she said.

Spike stood and walked past Shimmer and before they knew it the two were alone.

“So,” Shimmer began.

“So,” Sunset replied.

Shimmer sighed and stepped closer. “Listen…”

“No, please… let me go first…” Sunset asked, gesturing for her to sit down.

Shimmer nodded and took a seat on the floor.

Sunset took a breath and ran a hoof through her mane. “It’s been a crazy few days… I spent eight days here torn between how I feel about what happened. At the time I was accepting it because I realized I had no choice, but I’ve had some time to reflect on it and I realize I only didn’t have a choice because you decided for me. You made me feel bad for you, so I sort of let it happen…” Sunset shook her head.

“I don’t know how to feel about you at this moment…” Sunset added.

“May I?” Shimmer asked.

Sunset gestured for her to proceed.

Shimmer cleared her throat and spoke, “alright, I know I fucked up. Trust me, half of my life is a series of fuck-ups and regrets, probably even more than half. I get involved with bullshit that I know will bite me in the ass and then I act like I’m so unlucky… I’m just so used to things being taken from me that I closed myself down to friends or feelings… It’s hard for me to show how I genuinely feel about anything and thus why I feel like I’m so manipulative at times…”

“You are, sadly…” Sunset agreed with a nod.

Shimmer nodded back and frowned. “Yeah… I know. I don’t try to be, I just… I clearly have more wrong with me than just anger problems, I have a really stupid control issue. I’m not saying it’s right, and I’m not saying that saying I’m sorry will fix everything, but I would be remised if I didn’t at least try to make this right. The reality is I did wrong by you, Sunset and I want to try and do right… So I’ve come here to offer you a choice. You can go back to the human world or stay here if you want.”

Sunset let out a long sigh and took a few steps forward shaking her head. “And then what? I’m supposed to act like nothing happened?”

Shimmer shook her head. “No… I am doing this knowing it could mean that even if you come back… we won’t have anything to do with each other…” tears began to appear on her face.

“Sounds manipulative to me…” Sunset frowned.

“No… these are not tears of begging for sympathy… I don’t want you to base your choice on me, I am just sad because I am regretting what I’ve done to you… I know what betrayal feels like, and I'm ashamed I made you feel what I felt before...” Shimmer choked on her words.

Sunset sighed again and shook her head placing a hoof on Shimmer’s shoulder. “No… It’s not just you… It’s me too. I mean I came to your world and I didn’t even care what happened… two people died as a result of the magic I made awaken in you. Two people who were close to you. I can’t pretend that didn’t play a role. We fucked each other up, the reality is we’re both fucked up people…”

Wiping her tears, Shimmer nodded. “Yeah… I guess we are… I know I’ve got a long road to prove myself to you, but-“

Sunset cut her off by placing a hoof over her mouth. “I’ve been here for a while now, talking with the Princess and Spike… I could have a life made here again… The princess is offering me a job as her advisor on magic, I could be something.”

Shimmer could feel her heart sink as Sunset explained.

“However… I know it took guts to come here and face me again and do this. You’ve got problems, Shimmer but I can always look past them because unlike everyone else I can feel how hurt you’ve been in the past. There is a connection between us, remember? I don’t know all the details, but I know you haven’t had an easy life and nothing has remained consistent… I want to be that constant.”

Shimmer blinked and blushed. “E-even if I did something like this?”

Sunset nodded. “I would be a terrible sister if I allowed you to push me away. You’ve got flaws, but I know you did what you did because you cared… after all, you saved my life.”

“I… I didn’t want to think about losing you… I thought if you were here, then at least you’d be safe…” Shimmer admitted.

"I know you did, Shimmer... but I have to decide if I want to be safe myself, you know? It's sort of my choice," Sunset responded.

Shimmer held back tears from the difficult discussion but continued to listen. "Besides... I miss my friends... I care for Princess Twilight dearly, but I also care about the friends I made back in the human world a lot... after all they taught me a lot about friendship when the princess was here. They were the only family I knew before you..." Sunset added.

Shimmer smiled and wiped her eyes. "Well, they all miss you as well, and they want to see you again."

Sunset nodded.

“Let’s go home, little sister.” Sunset smiled.

One more chapter until the end of Act II! The suspense, the drama!

I know Shimmer has been an insufferable bitch the past few chapters, but the ending of Act II will be a big game changer! I can't promise it'll "redeem her" for all of you, but it's going to be huge.