Twilight stood there assisting her mother in placing dishes away into the correct cupboards as she conversed with the matriarch of her household. Velvet handed the girl a wine glass before Twilight began speaking again. “I mean… it looks like things are going to work out for now… We made up, but that’s not to say there won’t be problems down the road…”

Velvet nodded as she passed Twilight a stack of dishes, which her daughter took carefully and began to move toward the other side of the kitchen to put them away. “All relationships have problems, sweetie. You end up working through them…”

“Yeah, but me going back to college soon might put a strain on things…” Twilight admitted. “I’ll be so busy after all…”

“Sunset has her own cars and can visit whenever she likes, I’m sure you’ll be fine in that regard, sweetie,” Velvet pointed out.

Twilight couldn’t deny that. Sunset had vehicles, and access to more or less an unlimited amount of free time thanks to her financial situation, that meant that keeping in touch wouldn’t be much of an issue as they could capitalize on Twilight’s free time without much effort on Sunset’s part. That was at least one of their bases covered, but there still existed another problem. A problem that even Twilight knew would be a challenge to ignore.

“What about the fact that Sunset isn’t human?” Twilight asked quietly.

Her mother paused upon hearing those words and stopped what she was doing to turn and face her daughter. “Is she human enough for you?”

Twilight bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah… I mean it’s never been me that she had to convince… I just worry about other people, you know? It might be challenging hiding that she’s Equestrian from people, also what if we like… Got married and had…” She paused, realizing what she was about to say to her mother.

Her mother, however, had already figured out how that sentence was to end. “Children? There are harder things for children to face in this world, trust me. So long as they have you and Sunset there to guide them, I’m sure they would be fine.”

“Yeah, but they’d be different… Really different… Different from the rest of the world…” Twilight frowned at the thought. She was accepting that her children might not even be human. Could she deal with that? How much harder would being a mother be down the road for her? Was having a family even possible for someone in her position?

“We’re all different, Twilight. Sure, Sunset is different in that she isn’t human, but if anything she at times has proven she’s more human than most people. She’s selfless enough to go out of her way to help you and her friends, and she genuinely cares about the well being of others… I’d say those traits make her more human than most…” Velvet reminded.

Twilight smiled as she realized her mother was right. While Sunset didn’t share the DNA of being human, she certainly displayed the spirit and qualities. Maybe, that was enough. Maybe simply caring about Twilight and their friends was all Sunset needed to do to prove to the world that she was human enough. The rest of the problem could be dealt with whenever it arose. Being with Sunset was worth the effort, it was worth the trials and challenges that laid ahead of the two.

Nodding with confidence Twilight approached her mother. “Maybe… You’re right… I mean Sunset and I have always been a team, and even if our relationship is a series of challenges down the road, we were always better facing challenges together anyway… Together we can overcome anything.”

Velvet nodded and offered her daughter a hug, which she accepted. Twilight moved forward and embraced her mother. After a good eight seconds or so, the two broke their tight embrace only for Twilight’s mother to pet her daughter’s cheek affectionately. “And if Sunset loves you, she will be there for you through all of college. You two will find a way to make it work, your father and I did after all…”

Twilight nodded. “Thanks, Mom… I don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes…”

Velvet winked as she passed the girl another set of dishes. “Well, you’d certainly have a hard time focusing.”

“I could say the same for you…” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Where do you think you get it from?” Velvet smirked.

After sending a message about eighty minutes ago, Sunset was waiting in front of the portal to Equestria expecting her rendezvous with the Princess of Friendship. Princess Twilight had always proven relatively easy to get a hold of, however, it seemed like the process of opening the portal always had to be an event. Sunset recognized, however, that the portal was not something that Equestria understood too well, and truthfully she didn’t either, so it made sense that the Princess wanted to reserve its use strictly for important matter and limit access only to those who were familiar with it.

As a result, Sunset only opted to utilize it when conversing with the princess about matters that she felt would be better suited in person.

Impatiently waiting, Sunset listened to her own foot tapping while she checked her watch repeatedly, waiting for some kind of indicator that the portal was ready to have her.

She closed her eyes and began to go over the things she needed to ask Princess Twilight about. It would be a fairly lengthy conversation, but it was better suited back in Equestria where the mare would have access to any notes or research she had conducted should Sunset’s questions surpass what she could recount from memory; not that the Princess had poor memory though.

If anything, Princess Twilight could recite the entire history of Equestria word for word from various textbooks, a skill that Sunset was certain could be used to bore even the most patient and studious of bookworms into submission. A part of Sunset always wondered how poor Spike was able to keep up with his mother.

A few more moments of standing next to her motorcycle and Sunset noticed that the portal began to whir and make a ripple effect on the fine marble of the statue in front of the school. Stepping forward, Sunset gulped before taking in a deep breath as she placed her hands on the portal, ready to be transported to the place of her origin.

With a confident leap, she felt the same pulling sensation drag her from world to world, her body shifting and contorting as she felt herself change. The experience was alien, but within seconds she felt familiar with herself once more, though she adjusted herself to walking on all fours instead of two feet again.

“No matter how many times I do that… That’s always going to be strange…” Sunset stated aloud.

“Yes, inter portal travel can be disorienting…” The voice of the Princess rang in Sunset’s ear, causing it to twitch.

She turned her head and there standing at the entrance to the room of what appeared to be a library was Princess Twilight Sparkle, looking a bit exhausted and overworked. It figured that she would place the mirror in a library, Sunset couldn’t imagine her putting it anywhere else.

The redhead bowed to the mare as she approached, only causing Twilight to dismiss her gesture and motion for her to come to a stand. “Please… Don’t bow to me… We’re friends, it’s too weird… I’d prefer you acted as though I were any other mare…”

Nodding, Sunset returned to being completely upright. “Right… Sorry… Anyway… You look… Terrible…” Sunset frowned as she commented.

Twilight chuckled and nodded. “It’s been a long couple of weeks, lots going on around here, projects of varying types, you know how it goes… A Princess is never done, and royal duties never seem to be willing to take a break… So I’ve been running all over the place…”

“I can see that… Maybe you should relax… Had I known you were overworked I wouldn’t have messaged you…” Sunset frowned, guilt already taking her over.

Twilight shook her head and waved her hoof dismissively as she ran another hoof through her ragged mane before sitting down in a beanbag chair in front of a shelf of books, motioning for Sunset to join her.

Sunset approached carefully and placed herself in the adjacent chair from Twilight and kept quiet as the mare levitated a book from a stack on a nearby table into her lap. “I actually was about to begin some leisure actually… I was going to curl up with a good book, lock that door over there and hope no one found me for a few hours…”

“Sounds about like you…” Sunset smirked.

“We all have our vices, don’t we?” Twilight giggled as she leaned back in her chair resting.

“I guess that’s true… I’ll try not to take up too much of your time then… Since you’re trying to relax…” Sunset said.

Twilight shook her head. “Take as much time as you need, I’d rather help you fully than leave a job half finished. Tell me all that’s on your mind and I’ll see what I can do to help…”

“You’re too good of a friend for me…” Sunset admitted.

Twilight giggled as she rolled her eyes. “Hey, you helped me save the world a few times, I’d say if anything we’re on equal footing.”

“I don’t know if I’d say equal footing, but I guess we can say that we both owe each other a few favors don’t we?” Sunset suggested.

Twilight chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Fair enough, though you always clearly insist that you owe me more than I owe you…”

“And I’m sticking with that, were it not for you, then I wouldn’t have any friends and I’d probably be in a far worse place right now…” Sunset reminded.

“Alright, alright…” Twilight sighed before giving her friend a smile. “So, why did you come to see me, Sunset?”

Sunset bit her lip and sighed. “Well… There’s been some stuff I’ve been meaning to ask… About a few subjects actually, but I guess we’ll start with the most relevant to you…”

“I’m listening…” Twilight yawned as she rested in her seat.

“I’m under the understanding that you spent Adagio’s last night in her cell with her?” Sunset asked.

Twilight’s expression didn’t even change, she didn’t sound surprised that Sunset knew when she spoke. “How’d you find out about that?”

“One of the guards in the castle was dismissed from guard duty over her cell when you came down… It wasn’t long before that news hit me… I asked around a bit after the execution…” Sunset explained.

Twilight nodded, not saying a word.

“So you don’t deny it?” Sunset raised a brow.

A shrug came from Twilight. “What’s there to deny? It’s clear you already know, not to mention it wasn’t a secret anyway…”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this directly then?” Sunset grunted, a bit annoyed that Twilight withheld information from her, especially information regarding the girl who tried to kill her, and the girl who murdered Shimmer.

Princess Twilight shrugged once more. “You never asked, and it wasn’t really relevant…”

“What did you two talk about?” Sunset asked. “If it’s not really relevant, then you won’t mind telling me?”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Maybe another day, Sunset. What that girl and I spoke of is… Well… It’s something that I’m not sure you’re ready to understand just yet…”

“Did it by chance happen to do with the fact that Shimmer and she were intimate?” Sunset crossed her front hooves and stared Twilight down, trying to see if she could observe any kinds of change in her demeanor.

Somehow, Twilight was doing a superb job at keeping her cool though. “How’d you find out about that?”

“An SD card in an old camera that I found among Shimmer’s things had some photographs of her and Adagio… Kissing…” Sunset said quietly.

Princess Twilight let out another sigh and looked away from Sunset, a small smile on her face. “You’re a regular detective, you know that?”

“Stop avoiding the question, Twilight… If you’re my friend, you’ll trust me to know the truth…” Sunset demanded.

Princess Twilight turned back to face Sunset and nodded. “Alright… Yes, it’s true. Shimmer and Adagio were in a very deep relationship…”

“So she tricked Shimmer into falling for her then?” Sunset questioned.

Twilight shook her head. “No… It wasn’t like that… Adagio…” She paused and closed her eyes. “Adagio loved her…”

“Bullshit! That’s not possible!” Sunset hissed, leaning forward.

“All things are possible, Sunset, you just need to piece things together to make sense of it all… The reality is that Adagio was in love with that girl, she’d have done anything for her, that much I am certain of…” Twilight opened her eyes showing a serious expression on her face.

Sunset didn’t want to believe it, but Princess Twilight’s conviction was too strong to ignore.

“You’re that certain…?” Sunset asked hesitantly.

“Positive,” Twilight replied plainly.

“How can you be so sure…?” Sunset asked.

“If you knew what I knew… There’d be no doubt, trust me…” Twilight insisted.

Sunset didn’t exactly like that answer, but she knew that when Twilight was determined to keep information to herself, it was pointless to try and pry it out of her. Whatever she knew regarding Adagio and Shimmer’s romance was likely going to stay in her mind, at least for the time being.

“Alright… Well did you learn anything else of importance?” Sunset asked with a raised brow.

Twilight nodded happily, a smile coming to her face, a smile that perplexed Sunset. “Oh, plenty… In fact eventually, I think it all might become very useful…”

“Care to share?” Sunset asked.

“Sorry, Sunset… It’s… It’s not stuff that I’m at the liberty to say at this time… Maybe in due time…” Twilight said.

Sunset grunted and looked away. “I really am not liking this new cryptic version of you…”

“I apologize, Sunset… Sadly my position requires me to keep some secrets… I hope you’ll understand…” Twilight frowned.

Looking over at the mare that shared such a resemblance to her girlfriend, Sunset found it difficult to stay mad. Princess Twilight was, after all, a princess, and that meant that some knowledge she held would be reserved for the royal family, which as much as Sunset wished otherwise, she was not a part of. There would be secrets that Princess Twilight would only share with Celestia.

It annoyed her, but then Sunset remembered that there likely would be secrets she’d have to keep from Princess Twilight as well. Fair was fair, and sometimes friendship meant respecting when a friend could not share something.

Deciding to let it go, Sunset changed the subject.

“So… As you probably know by now… I struck up a thing with Twilight…” Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly. It was a bit strange now that she thought about it, telling the Equestrian counterpart of her girlfriend that she was in love with more or less her from another universe.

In typical Twilight fashion though, she seemed to pay no mind to the strangeness of the situation. “Yup, how are things going with her, by the way?”

“You aren’t the slightest bit weirded out by this?” Sunset asked.

Princess Twilight let out a hearty laugh. “One of my best friends is Pinkie Pie, and strange things happen to me on an almost daily basis. If you falling in love with a human counterpart of myself was the weirdest thing to happen to me… I’d be lucky.”

She had a solid point there, a point that Sunset had never considered, but it was true. Life in Equestria could definitely be strange sometimes, and for someone in Twilight’s position, it was likely stranger.

“Fair enough… Anyway… Things hit a minor snag the other day, but I think we’ve moved past it… I’m getting some much-needed therapy and I think in time I can finally move forward…” Sunset sighed.

The Princess clapped her hooves together with a smile. “That is wonderful news, I’m sure you two will be very happy together in the long run. If you ever need help, you can always come to me.”

“Actually… That’s sort of why I’m here now…” Sunset admitted.

“Hm?” The Princess leaned in with interest. “What’s wrong, Sunset?”

“It’s just…” Sunset paused and closed her eyes. “I wonder sometimes… If it’s fair…”

“Fair?” Twilight tilted her head.

“Yeah… You know… Fair of me to be with Twilight… I mean… Is it even ethical? I’m an alien from another world to her… Being with me will cause her a lot of problems down the road… I can’t even promise her a normal life, or even a relatively normal life at that… Do you think… I’m holding her back…?” Sunset frowned as she let it all out. It was something that had been scratching at her for a while. She could overcome their differences, she could move past obstacles, but she had such a hard time shaking this nagging feeling that she was not what was best for Twilight.

Princess Twilight sighed and then smiled. “Sunset… while it’s true that your position may cause Twilight great pain, you also are in a position to give her a tremendous amount of happiness… While you will face hardships, you also will experience great joy together…”

“But what if-“ Sunset was cut off by the Princess.

“So long as you two love each other, that’s all that matters. Love will carry you both, that’s some advice I got once… I think it holds true… So long as you follow it,” Twilight spoke.

There was a hint of personal experience on Twilight’s lips, but Sunset didn’t dare to ask. The last thing she wanted to do was dig up the Princess’ past and make her uncomfortable.

At the very least, Princess Twilight’s words brought her comfort, even if they were just repeating what everyone else was telling her. Somehow, coming from the Princess they felt like they had a bit more meaning.

Adagio stayed motionless in bed with her eyes closed as she felt Shimmer pull herself closer to Adagio’s body, taking in her warmth as she laid in bed with her lover. Shimmer nuzzled Adagio’s shoulder as she caught the scent of the siren’s hair, likely enjoying that it was the scent of her own shampoo, a sign that Adagio had become such an essential part of Shimmer’s life that she now shared a shower with her from time to time.

While Adagio hadn’t moved in, she spent a lot of time with her girlfriend now, every moment that wasn’t spent at her apartment or dealing with business, she was with the millionaire that called Adagio her girlfriend. It was quite an odd arrangement, one that Adagio was starting to feel more and more comfortable with.

Shimmer mumbled, causing Adagio to give a simple “hm?” To get the girl to repeat herself.

“I said this is nice…” Shimmer cooed.

Adagio reached over and stroked the girl’s head, pulling her closer as the two laid there in their pajamas.

“Yeah… I guess so…” Adagio spoke quietly.

Shimmer giggled at her girlfriend’s bravado. “You know, you don’t always have to act all tough and cool…”

“Who’s acting?” Adagio smirked.

“Oh stop it, you…” Shimmer nudged Adagio’s shoulder lightly as she snuggled with her.

There was a silence between the two before Shimmer spoke up once more. “Hey… Dagi…”

“Yeah?” Adagio yawned.

“Have you given much more thought… To what I said before?” Shimmer asked, her voice hinting at a tiny bit of concern.

“What you said about what?” Adagio asked.

“About… Our future?” Shimmer blushed.

The siren’s eyes opened up as she looked over at Shimmer who was staring at Adagio with pleading eyes, eyes that showed a bit of fear, a bit of worry and possibly just a hint of sadness. Shimmer had clearly been thinking about that conversation for a while, while Adagio was spending time trying to work it out.

“Yeah… I thought about it…” Adagio said.

It was the truth as well, she actually couldn’t stop thinking about it. Shimmer had asked her what she felt their future together held, and at the time Adagio had told her that she needed some time to process it all and that she didn’t want to make a decision so hastily. She remembered the sad expression on Shimmer’s face, an expression that she never wanted to see again.

In Adagio’s entire life, it had never caused her so much pain to make someone sad since her sister, but here was this random mortal girl, who had someone made Adagio care enough to actually never want to see her frown or heaven forbid, cry.

“What did you… Come up with?” Shimmer sounded as though she almost didn’t want to hear the answer.

Adagio smirked. “I was wondering which one of us will make the better wife?”

Shimmer blinked before a blush crossed her face. “I think you’d be more of the husband…”

“Fair enough… I mean I’d say I bring home the bacon but by the look of your house… I’d say my earnings are meager in comparison… But… I’ll admit… I suck at cooking, cleaning and virtually anything that a housewife is expected to do…” Adagio frowned.

Shimmer giggled. “I think you’ll make a great husband.”

“And you’ll make a fantastic wife…” Adagio spoke quietly, smiling at her love.

“I guess we’ll see…” Shimmer giggled.

The entire ordeal seemed so surreal. A siren marrying a mortal, Adagio had only seen it once before and that was with her mother, and she recalled how badly that ended for her. Yet here she was, considering marrying this mortal girl, a human mortal girl from another world at that like it was no big deal.

Despite all of that though, she didn’t care. She was happy, it was a weird feeling but somehow without magic, without power, and without having thousands adore her, Adagio Dazzle was happy, and it was the greatest feeling in the entire world.

“I suppose we will…” Adagio smiled back at the girl she loved.

Twilight turned off her car and looked out the window, watching as her girlfriend stepped out of a magical portal to Equestria and back into the human world. No matter how many times she saw it happen, it still came off as strange to Twilight, it was basically another reminder that her girlfriend was an alien from another world.

Sunset adjusted her long hair before composing herself and moving her legs for a moment as she adjusted to standing on two feet once more before looking in Twilight’s direction. Noting her girlfriend standing there, she stuffed her hands in her jeans pockets and decided to play it cool while she watched Twilight step out of her car.

With the keys in her hand, Twilight walked over to Sunset, remaining silent the entire time until she reached the redhead standing there with her hands in her pockets. “So…” She began.

“So…” Sunset said plainly.

“How was your talk with the Princess?” Twilight asked curiously.

Sunset shrugged. “She’s been pretty cryptic lately, but it was… Helpful at the very least. I feel a lot better now that I’ve talked to her about Adagio and… other things…”

Twilight wanted to pry regarding these “other things”, but decided it was best to leave that one alone. The Princess often seemed to be cryptic and mysterious these days, despite Sunset insisting that she was a very simple and straightforward person prior to the Adagio trial; ever since then though, the Princess was more or less an enigma and needlessly mystical. “So… She didn’t tell you much about Adagio?”

Sunset shook her head. “Whatever she knows… She isn’t telling, but she was aware than Shimmer and Adagio were a couple…”

“So it looks like there’s more to that mystery…” Twilight shrugged.

Sunset nodded and sighed. “Yeah… I guess so… I wish I understood it more… I mean… Adagio and Shimmer? That’s just like… So messed up and I don’t even like thinking about them like that… But the facts point to it being reality…”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I can’t say that I like the idea myself, but it looks like we’re not going to understand it any time soon, but perhaps… There was a side to Adagio we didn’t know?”

“Or maybe Shimmer was naive…” Sunset suggested.

Twilight only shrugged. “Maybe we’ll never know…”

“Yeah… Possibly…” Sunset sighed.

The two stood there awkwardly in silence before Sunset coughed and spoke up. “So…”

“So…” Twilight smiled, mimicking her girlfriend.

“So, I guess we’re going to try and make this work from here, huh?” Sunset asked, rubbing her neck.

Twilight sensed uncertainty in her voice. “Did you not want to?”

“No, I absolutely want to!” Sunset raised her hands defensively, waving them frantically at the suggestion. “I just… I just worry that’s all… I don’t like causing you pain, Twilight… I don’t want you to get hurt because of me…”

“Well… in my mind… the pain is worth it for all the joy we both get, right? The truth is… I love being around you, Sunset Shimmer… I love being next to you… I love holding your hand…” Twilight approached taking both of Sunset’s hands in her own as she continued. “I love when you kiss me… I love you more than anything in the world, Sunset… If that means I have to deal with a little hardship… Then it’s worth it…”

“Even if that means magical mishaps will be commonplace?” Sunset asked with a guilty expression, her mind already thinking of all the random magical adventures they were already forced upon, including the most recent with Adagio that almost got both of them killed.

“Even then.” Twilight nodded confidently.

“Even if Equestria plays a huge part in our lives?” Sunset questioned.

“Even then,” Twilight assured.

“Even if-“ Sunset was cut off this time by Twilight reaching forward, placing a finger over Sunset’s lips.

“Even if anything… I want to be with you, plain and simple… Why overcomplicate it?” Twilight grinned.

“Look who’s talking… The queen of over complications…” Sunset teased.

Twilight shrugged. “Maybe I’ve learned to let go and let the dice fall where they may? I’ve learned a lot in the past few weeks after all…”

“Couldn’t have learned that from me… The only thing I taught you was how to undress the way I like it…” Sunset replied.

“Shut up and kiss me…” Twilight smirked.

Following the command, Sunset leaned in and closed the remaining distance between the two, making their lips meet. The moment their lips touched, Twilight reached forward and wrapped her arms around Sunset, causing her to do the same. As they held each other in a lip-lock in front of the portal, Sunset and Twilight both felt elated, no matter what happened, they would do everything they could to make what they had work. Whatever challenges were ahead of them, they could face them together.

A few more days had passed, and the big day was upon Twilight, her family and Sunset. The day she would return to college. It was one hell of a Summer vacation, and while it didn’t go exactly as Twilight had planned, she was content with how everything turned out in the end.

She stood there at the front door of her home hugging her mother tightly, feeling her squeeze just a bit harder back. “Make sure to call us, Twilight!” She instructed.

Once she was released from the hug, Twilight nodded at her mother with a smile on her face. “I will mother, I promise.”

“You said that last time, but I had to keep calling you…” She wagged her finger at her daughter.

“Yeah… I get caught up in my studies…” Twilight rubbed her neck.

“We’ll just have to make sure Sunset reminds you then.” Velvet winked.

Twilight rolled her eyes and looked over at her father who gave an approving nod. “Well… You’re going back to school… Soon you’ll be old enough to drink even… Our little girl is growing up…” Night wiped his eyes as he placed his hands on his daughter’s shoulders.

Twilight looked at his hands and then met his face with a smile. “I promise when I turn twenty-one, I’m not going to turn into some party animal…”

“We all go a little crazy in college, sweetie…” He reminded.

Twilight shook her head and placed a hand atop of his. “You raised me better than that, father. Don’t worry, I’m going to school to learn, so that’s what I’ll be doing most of the time.”

“Just promise me that if you do drink it’ll be with Sunset there so that you have someone watching out for you? You’re not exactly the most… Coordinated even when you’re sober…” Night said, clearly trying to find a more elegant way to tell Twilight she was clumsy.

Twilight merely rolled her eyes and took a step down the steps in front of her home where Shining and Cadence were waiting for her. Cadence quickly pulled Twilight into a bear hug so tight she could hardly breathe.

“I promise we’ll come to visit you! Flurry will definitely miss her favorite aunt!” Cadence spoke, tears already welling up in her eyes. She never was the best when it came to goodbyes or farewells.

“I look forward to it…” Twilight smiled after she coughed when Cadence allowed her to try and get air once more.

Her brother opened his arms for yet another hug, though this one wasn’t as forceful. Instead, he was careful to watch his strength as he held his little sister in his muscular arms, rubbing the back of her head lightly and swaying with her before releasing her and holding her shoulders while he looked down to see her. She had forgotten how tall Shining was.

“If you’re ever in trouble… You know where to find me, alright?” He smiled.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah… Thanks, Shiny…”

“No need to thank me, you’re my baby sister, it’s my job to make sure that you’re safe… But by the look of it… I won’t be alone in that job anymore…” His eyes gravitated over toward a car waiting in the driveway and the driver who was sitting on the hood in her fashionable boots and leg warmers. She had opted for a fur-lined jacket (likely faux-fur) and a beanie atop her head, though her wild red hair still completely draped over her form.

Fall was approaching and they all could feel it.

“Well… I leave her in your capable hands, Sunset… See to it that she gets there safely.” Shining smiled and waved at Sunset as he released his sister.

Stepping off the hood of her Audi, Sunset nodded and gave a salute. “I’ll be sure that Ms. Sparkle makes it to her campus unscathed.”

Chuckling, Shining nodded as he watched his sister approach the car. Sunset walked around the back and came to the passenger side to open the door for her lover and gestured for her to enter. “After you, miss.”

Giggling, Twilight stepped inside. “Why thank you, miss.”

“Don’t mention it, babe.” Sunset winked before going back to the driver’s side and starting the car. She rolled down her window and looked out of it at Twilight’s family. She gave an approving nod before giving a thumbs up and rolling the window back up.

Before they knew it, the car had pulled out of the driveway and taken to the road.

Most of the trip, Twilight spent examining Sunset. While she enjoyed her more “gothic” look that she had been sporting the past few weeks, it was nice to see that she had sort of toned it down a bit, and gone back to being more of just an alternative kind of girl, reserving the more “intense” outfits for when she was trying to seduce Twilight. Twilight suspected that it was likely something she was doing before to feel closer to Shimmer.

After being on the road for a good while, the two eventually would come to the campus where Twilight attended. Sunset made sure to pull up to the dorm building so that Twilight didn’t have to walk far. Once they arrived, Sunset parked the car and turned it off and looked over at her girlfriend.

“So…” She began.

“So…” Twilight mimicked.

“This is it, huh? You go back to school… I go back home… We aren’t seeing each other every day anymore…” Sunset frowned.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You make it sound so dramatic. We’ll see each other on the weekends, promise.”

“A whole week without seeing each other in person? You’re going to be a horny mess by the time I come to see you…” Sunset smirked.

Sighing, Twilight gave Sunset’s shoulder a playful punch. “Look who’s talking! You watch porn like every day!”

“It’s called practicing for the big game!” Sunset defended, rubbing her shoulder.

“I think you’ll be the one who has the hardest time waiting until the end of the week!” Twilight stuck her tongue out.

“Not if I send you some naughty pictures throughout the week… You forget I have an entire closet of lingerie that you haven’t even seen yet… I have an arsenal of weapons at my disposal...” Sunset smirked.

“I bet you are begging for the weekend first…” Twilight teased.

“Alright… You’re on, I bet you are first…” Sunset offered her hand.

Twilight shook the redhead’s hand and nodded. “Loser has to write the other one a sappy poem.”

“Sounds fair, I hope you don’t compare me to a Sunset on a Summer’s day though…” Sunset grinned with confidence.

“Don’t be saying my eyes sparkle like the stars in the twilight…” Twilight replied.

The two sat there after a quick chuckle before silence filled the car. Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly as they sat there. “So… This bet… It can start tomorrow, right?”

“Oh fuck yes it can…” Twilight leaned in and pulled her girlfriend’s jacket to get her into position for a passionate kiss.

In between lip-smacking, Sunset grinned and spoke. “Your dorm?”

“You know it…” Twilight nodded as she quickly got out of the car, Sunset following not far behind as the two girls made their way toward Twilight’s dormitory. Happiness filling their hearts.

The halls of Canterlot Castle were relatively quiet in the night. With Princess Luna attending to her nightly duties, and security-focused around the important sectors of the castle along with the entrances, most of the regular halls were left with relatively relaxed security.

A hooded figure made their way through these mostly unguarded hallways quickly taking cover behind a stairwell as two guards approached. They listened in on their conversations.

“I don’t know Prism, I mean in my honest opinion I think Luna is definitely the hottest of the royal family…” An older guard spoke.

Prism, the guard he was referring to rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I guess if you’re into the whole brooding and sort of dark and edgy sort of thing she’s alright… But you can’t deny that Cadence has a flank that’ll blow your mind away, Bright.”

Bright shook his head dismissively. “No way! I’ve seen Luna’s behind at least a million times and it’s way better!”

“What!? Heresy!” Prism protested, shaking his head.

“Pffft, whatever, I don’t even know why we’re friends… You clearly have inferior tastes, first, you say you prefer strawberry over cherry and now this…” Bright spoke as he walked forward, pausing in the hallway.

“Hey… did you hear something?” Bright asked as he peered around.

Prism shrugged as he approached trying to listen for any disturbances. “No… Why?”

“I could have sworn I just heard hoof steps that aren’t ours…” Bright stated as he peered around the room again with suspicion.

Prism grew quiet as he listened once more, not hearing anything of the sort. “Nah, you must be imagining things. I mean clearly your eyes are going, so maybe your ears are too.”

“You youngins’ just don’t know a good mare when you see one…” Bright retorted as the two returned to their duties, wandering down the hallway as they made their rounds.

The hooded figure could hear one last reply from the guard known as “Prism” before they were gone, something about how he wanted to know the guard’s opinion on Princess Twilight and that she had that “sexy librarian” thing going on, she just needed a pair of glasses.

Once the two were out of earshot and out of sight, the hooded pony stepped out from behind the stairwell and made their way stealthily down the hallway, toward the royal archives. As expected the gate in front of them was locked, but fortunately for them, they had pilfered a key from another guard when they weren’t looking.

Taking the key in hoof, the pony unlocked the gate and let themselves in, gently opening the gate and closing it just as gently behind them so not to raise any suspicion while they searched; making sure not to make too much noise as the gate shut.

So far, everything had gone according to plan, it was almost too good to be true, but that was the very reason why it was important not to start getting cocky. The last thing they needed was to get in over their head and then get busted in the royal archives.

Reaching into a saddlebag that the stranger had tucked under their cloak they retrieved a glowing gem, an artifact with a spell cast upon it, one to help illuminate the dark but the illumination could only be seen by the one holding it. A convenient little trick for one that wished to snoop through old scrolls, books, and texts without being seen.

They began their search for information in the section regarding mythical creatures, only to turn up nothing of interest, shy of a factoid or two about how there actually was indeed no abominable snowman, but instead, the entire story was merely made up by a mountain village to the north some eight hundred years ago. A folk tale that simply refused to die.

The search went through many various articles regarding spells, missing ponies, and even the list of disasters recorded by the Princesses. Sadly, nothing was returning the results that the stranger wanted until a hunch hit them, a hunch to check the criminal records.

Grabbing a rather sizable tome from the back of the room and placing it on the table, the cloaked figure began to flip through the past several entries to find anything of value until they landed on one in particular from around a year or so ago.

It is with conflicted emotions that I, Princess Twilight Sparkle write this entry. This technically was not a public trial and most of the information regarding it will be classified and kept out of the public eye, but I feel it is my duty to document every crime and punishment administered; especially in a case like this.

The facts of the case were fairly easy to determine, however, I’ll briefly document them here. According to the argument proposed by my human counterpart from the human world, after the accused was sent to the human world by Starswirl the Bearded, she would come into contact with one Sunset Shimmer, referred to as “Shimmer” by her friends due to the fact that another Sunset Shimmer existed in their world as a runaway from Equestria some years ago.

By a bizarre series of coincidences, Adagio came into contact with Shimmer and Sunset at the same time with the intention to end the life of Sunset. She fired four rounds from a high powered “rifle” and reloaded to fire another four, shooting the girl in the back a total of eight times before fleeing the scene. It is my understanding that a “rifle” is some kind of human weapon that launches projectiles are alarmingly fast speeds.

The victim died within a matter of minutes from extreme blood loss. She was a mere eighteen years old at the time.

The accused never denied the crime but insisted it was a necessity to gain her magic back. Thus the crime was motivated by the desire to regain her magic. She insisted she was merely a victim of circumstance.

The accused failing to provide an adequate defense that would make myself or Princess Celestia feel sympathetic toward her plight. It was agreed upon by the royal council that there was only one punishment for a crime so heinous, death.

Death sentences are exceptionally rare here in Equestria, the last one being administered over a hundred years ago, but it was the opinion of the royal council that if given the opportunity, Adagio Dazzle would kill again. Her punishment was carried out twenty-four hours after her conviction, and she was put to death via magic.

I pray that I will never have to make the choice to put another pony to death for as long as I serve as princess. I do not believe I could endure such a thing again, guilty or not. Let us put this matter to rest.

The hooded figure could hardly believe what they were reading, an execution in Equestria? Such things hadn’t been done in centuries, even those who would seek to overthrow Equestria itself were seldom given such an extreme punishment.

Quickly, they tore the page out of the book and stuffed it into the saddlebag under their cloak. They had come to the castle unsure of what they would find on their search, or if it would even bear fruit at all, but this was something most unexpected. Nonetheless, the gears in their head began turning as they spoke their thoughts out loud.

“So… This is how Equestria is then, is it? Well… Not for long…” A smirk appeared on their lips.

And with that Act IV is done! Crazy that it's been going on for so long!

The good news is there was far less dramatic events that resulted in death or near death.

Get ready for Act V! It's coming after two intermissions. And that last scene in this act obviously is leading into what's happening next.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has stuck around this long!