Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-jig

by Justice3442

First published 11th of June, 2017

The mysterious Table of Harmony has called on Starlight Glimmer to solve a friendship problem at Canterlot Castle, but wait! A second cutie mark belonging to a magically inclined alicorn has appeared, and unfortunately for Twilight, it’s not hers.

The mysterious Table of Harmony has called on Starlight Glimmer to solve a friendship problem at Canterlot Castle, but wait! A second cutie mark belonging to a magically inclined alicorn has appeared, and unfortunately for Twilight, it’s not hers.

Can Sunset Shimmer help Starlight Glimmer untangle this mysterious problem in Canterlot, or will her own personal past prove more a hindrance than anything?

Spoilers for 'A Royal Problem'

Sunset vector by Sunsetmajka626.
Starlight vector by Cloudyskie.

Chapter 1: The Hound of the Harmony Table

Author's Notes:

Sorry to heap more required reading on you all, but this chapter will make slightly more sense, at least as much as it can, if you read The Order of Things here.

And hey! Accompanying blog post here!

Chapter 1: The Hound of the Harmony Table

“Sunset! Sunset, come quick!” a small purple and green talking dog cried from the classroom door.

Sunset frowned as she ceased absentmindedly fiddling with the red pendant that was dangling from a simple cord around her neck and turned towards the classroom door. Sure, she could lament the fact that her calm school day had just been interrupted, or wonder why it was that a talking dog was now so routine none of her fellow students so much as made mention of it, but mostly she was concerned that she wasn’t sure which green and purple talking dog had come to seek her out.

“Spike!” Sunset exclaimed as she got to her feet. “Did something happen to Twilight?!” Sunset’s frown deepened. Well the answer to that question won’t answer anything, genius!

“It’s Starlight!” Spike added.

Sunset sighed internally. Well, that answers it. “Sorry, Ms. Cheerilee!” Sunset said as she weaved around desks heading for the classroom door. “Duty calls!”

Cheerilee rolled her eyes. “Sure… Just teaching Human Geography here… Not like knowing how many people live in Ecuador is important or anything…”

“Thanks for understanding!” Sunset shouted as she opened the door to the classroom. “And also for noting this class is worthless!” she added as she followed Spike out, the small dogs nails scratching on the tile as he bolted.

“THAT WAS SARCAS-UGGGHHHHH!”

“Pffft, really? Sarcasm?” Aria Blaze said from the back of the class, her large purple boots resting on the top of her desk. She shook her head. “This class is full of the most useless information ever, and Sonata’s shown me charts on the names of characters from puppet shows.”

Cheerilee narrowed her eyes. “Aria. Why do you have to be so… so…”

“Truthful? Honest? Correct?”

“Untactful!” Cheerilee cried. Cheerilee motioned towards a green skinned woman with red dreadlocks who was sitting next to Sunset whose lilac-colored, rather bloodshot eyes were wide open and pointed towards the front of the room. “What can’t you show a little interest like Tree Hugger there?”

Aria glanced to her right. “Man, Tree Hugger isn’t even on this planet right now,” Aria said as she waved a hand in front of the green girl’s face.

Staring forward unblinkingly, Tree Hugger uttered, “Whoa, dudes… Did you know Jupiter has a secret fifth moon?!” She leaned closer to Aria. “NASA doesn’t want us to know about it ‘cause that’s where they keep area 51,” she whispered.

Aria jerked a thumb towards the stoner. “See?”

Cheerilee let out an annoyed sigh.

With a couple zaps, Spike and Sunset found themselves on the other side of a mirror that was surrounded by metal plated wooden doo-dads that blazed with purple energy. Spike used his claws to brush off some dust from his small, scaly dragon form. Sunset took some time to get used to her lower center of gravity and to admire her relatively new wings and looked with a small degree of satisfaction that her pendant was still present around her neck.

“Alright, what did she do this time?” Sunset asked as she folded her wings against her torso.

“Nothing, yet,” Spike answered. “But there’s the potential for some Starlight related trouble here, and all of Equestria might be affected!”

“You could have just mentioned the Starlight related trouble, Spike,” Sunset replied, “I could have figured out the scope of the problem just from that.”

“Fair ‘nuff,” Spike replied. He motioned for Sunset to follow him where the two made their way down a crystalline hallway flanked by door after identical door.

“So, what’s the sitch?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, you know the big table in the throne room?”

Sunset snickered. “What, did Starlight and Trixie lose it again?”

“You know about that, huh?”

Sunset smiled. “Twilight and I tend to use our journal to vent about whatever problems we dealt with when we talk to each other.” Sunset chuckled. “Plus the whole incident is something I get to tease Starry about,” Sunset frowned slightly. “Provided she doesn’t do anything we’ll all regret.”

“Well, the table shows Starlight’s cutie mark.”

“… Okay, and?”

“Uh, and it’s just her cutie mark?”

“Do you think Starlight did something to the table?”

“Naw,” Spike replied with a shrug. “Guess the table just wants her for this friendship problem.”

“… Okay? So, why’d you grab me?”

“Well, you told me to get you in case there might be Starlight related problems!”

Sunset shrugged. “Sure, but… It sounds like the magical table thinks she’s got this… I’m sure she can handle whatever the issue is…” Sunset looked around. “Gee, no wonder Starry gets lost in this place. How do you figure out when to stop? I don’t remember the throne room being this far.”

“Oh, it’s right there…” Spike said as he stopped and pointed towards a Hallway.” We passed it once already.”

Sunset’s face tightened. “You’ve been walking us in circles?!”

“Just the one!” Spike insisted. He threw his claws up in the air. “You wanted me to fill you in! Figured you we should do that outside of earshot of Twilight and Starlight.”

“Spike!” Sunset said in a chastising tone. “Okay, you’re right, but still, this is Starlight we’re talking about! Time is of the essence! Every moment we waste can bring us closer to certain doom!”

Spike folded his arms across his chest. “Exaggerate Much? Besides,'s you just told me you didn't think this was a big deal!”

Sunset frowned. “Too much?”

Spike nodded and held up a claw, allowing for a little space between his thumb claw and index claw. “A little bit, yeah.”

Sunset shrugged. "Well, I'm sure the magic table thing knows what it's doing, but there's always a chance Starlight can endanger us or the entire planet between now and however long it takes her to get to her friendship problem."

Twilight’s blood-curdling scream sounded out from a hallway next to Sunset and Spike.

“Hah!” Sunset exclaimed. "Like that!" she added as she pointed down the hallway with a forehoof.

“Sunset!” Spike snapped as he bolted down the hallway. “We need to help Twilight!”

“I know!” Sunset shouted as she broke into a gallop behind Spike. “But just in case things are bad, I want to get my ‘I told you so’ out of the way in case it’s super insensitive to bring up later!”

Spike rushed towards a pair of massive double doors, pushing them open a hard shove which sent the doors flying open despite Spike’s small size. “Twilight?! Starlight?! What’s wrong.”

Twilight stared at the table in bewilderment. “This… this can’t be happening! I mean… She’s not even here!”

“What?! What?!” Sunset cried as she galloped into the room, and skidded to a halt.

“Sunset?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Hey, Twilight!” Sunset greeted hastily. “What’s the problem?!”

Starlight let out a massive sigh. “Hello, Sunset…” she greeted unenthusiastically.

Sunset raised an eyebrow in Starlight’s direction. “Uh… Hey, Starry… Who pissed in your cereal this morning?”

“You know what?” Starlight narrowed her eyes. “It’s starting to look like you and Twilight took turns doing it.”

Spike shuddered. “Didn’t need that imagery, Starlight.”

Starlight pointed an accusatory forehoof at Sunset. “Hey, she asked!”

Sunset’s eyebrows lowered into an annoyed look. “Just trying to help. What’s the big deal any-Why the heck is my cutie mark floating above the big hologram table thing were Canterlot Castle is?!”

“That’s what I want to know,” Twilight said. She turned towards Sunset. “What the heck are you doing here?!”

“I just said I’m here to help!”

“With what?!” Twilight and Starlight exclaimed in unison.

Spike spoke up, “Sunset asked me to get her in case there was a possibility of Starlight related disasters she might have to help deal with.”

Starlight let out an indignant gasp as Twilight glared at Spike and then Sunset.

Sunset shot a dirty look at Spike. “Snitch!” she accused.

“Whoops…” Spike said.

“Sunset, what the hay?!” Starlight shouted.

Sunset gave Starlight a sheepish smile. “Okay… Now I pissed in your cereal.”

Spike threw his claws up in the air. “Could we stop with the gross cereal metaphor, please!”

“It’s just…” Twilight glanced at Starlight and Sunset’s cutie marks that circled above Canterlot Castle on the table’s map of Equestria. “You two aren’t even element bearers!”

“No, this is fine,” Starlight uttered indignantly. “Just make me more nervous about this whole situation, sure…”

Sunset shrugged. “Well, maybe Starry isn’t but I kind of am.”

“Uh. No?” Twilight replied. “I mean… my friends and I got the element stones. Though, the Tree of Harmony sort of took them back.”

“What?” Sunset pointed towards the red pendant dangling from her neck. “You mean like this?”

Twilight scowled at the pendant then looked back up at Sunset. “Well… Mine was bigger!”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Real mature, Twilight.”

Starlight frowned. “Wait, you got like… an element necklace?”

“Erm, yeah…” Sunset said. “Or something like that… Guess I haven’t kept you in the loop, but my friends and I got these Equestria stones that gave us powers during summer camp.”

“... Can you invite me to the next summer camp?” Starlight asked.

“We didn’t get them as prizes or ‘merit stones’ or anything!” Sunset said. “We got them when we were fighting some crazy nature manifestation that possessed a camp counselor slash co-owner of the place.” Sunset looked down at her pendant. “Plus my power works independently of the pendant… I just wanted to look pretty today.”

Spike smirked. “Like you need a pendant for that.”

“… Awww!” Sunset said with a chuckle. “Thanks, Spike.”

Spike rubbed a claw against his chest proudly. “It’s what I do.”

“So, what’s your power?” Starlight asked.

“Oh, I can read minds when I touch someone,” Sunset answered.

Everypony took a few steps back from Sunset.

“Not every time I touch someone!” Sunset exclaimed. “No need to treat me like I got the plague, alright? Besides! I don’t need to read minds to tell that I’m just ticking off everypony.” Sunset sighed and turned. “I should go…”

“No, wait!” Starlight said. “I’m sorry I got upset with you.”

Sunset stopped and turned. “Uh, really? I mean… I’d be pretty upset with me if I was in your shoes… horseshoes? Whatever…”

“Well, the table must be calling us for a reason!”

“It called you, Starlight,” Sunset said. “It’s probably just showing my cutie mark because it needs some magical maintenance. I’m sure whatever is wrong, I’ll just get in the way.”

The red and yellow sun cutie mark above the castle suddenly grew several sizes and began spinning even faster than before.

“See!” Sunset said motioning to the table. “Totally busted! Welp, I better get going…” she said as she turned again.

Spike piped up. “Or maybe it’s super important you both go to Canterlot. Like possible end of the world important!”

Starlight began to shake nervously.

“What?! No! That’s dumb!” Sunset declared. “Why would it need me to go there?!”

Spike scratched his chin. “Oh! I get it! You’re trying to avoid Celestia!”

“WHAT! NO! DUMBER!” Sunset said. “I love Mommy and would love to see her again!”

“So… You’ll go to the castle, then?” Spike replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Ugggh…” Sunset uttered. “Look, maybe the table just thinks Starlight could use some emotional support or something! I mean, Twilight can go!”

Suddenly, Twilight’s cutie mark appeared above Canterlot castle.

“Yes!” Twilight exclaimed enthusiastically.

A red circle with a slash through it appeared over Twilight’s cutie mark.

“No!” Twilight cried angrily.

Sunset peered at the table suspiciously. “You know… For a table, it’s really tracking our conversation pretty well.”

“Oh, I know why!” Twilight shouted.

“Oh?” Sunset said in interest.

“YEAH!” Twilight shouted as she stormed to one side of the table, crawled under it, and began to rap an angry forehoof against the side. “HEY! YOU! WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?!”

“Uh, Twilight?” Sunset said in a confused tone. “You’re yelling at a table…”

“NO!” Twilight insisted. “I’M YELLING AT THE TINY DOG INSIDE THE TABLE.”

“…Okay!” Sunset replied as she forced a smile and her eyes went wide. “Well, I think Twilight could really use some rest, and—”

‘KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!’

“OPEN UP!” Twilight demanded. “OPEN UP OR I’LL SHAVE RARITY’S CAT AND TELEPORT THE FUR DIRECTLY IN THERE!”

“Twilight, calm down!” Sunset said. “You’re yelling at a—“

“ALRIGHT, ALREADY!” A deep, masculine voice shouted back. “Geez! Keep yer non-existent shirt on!”

“—table?!” Sunset said in reply.

Sunset, Starlight, and Spike suddenly crowded around the table as a rectangular portion suddenly slid away revealing a tiny tan dog with a white underbelly, muzzle, and paws which sat on a small metal swivel stool, working a much larger, but still tiny, control panel with a collection of monitors set above buttons, knobs, and dials.

Sunset, Starlight, and Spike all stared in disbelief.

The dog smiled at the audience he had collected. “Guess that cat is out of the bag, huh? Or the dog is in the table.”

“Tiny… tiny Shiba Inu…” Starlight uttered.

Sunset turned towards Twilight. “Why the heck didn’t you tell me about this before?!”

“Because it would have sounded crazy!” Twilight fired back.

“Tiny dog…” Spike uttered. “Much small. Very control station. Wow.”

“You raise an interesting point!” replied Sunset.

“Thank you!” Twilight shouted back.

“Would ya girls keep it down?” The dog barked out. “We’re all justa few inches away from each other!”

Sunset stared into the little hole in the table in bewilderment, working her mouth a bit before coherent words finally came out. “Uh… Hi? I’m Sunset Shimmer…”

The dog nodded. “Yeah, I know who you are. I remember watchin’ ya grow up in the castle. Ya used to say some pretty messed up things in your sleep.”

“Okay!” Sunset said as worried smiled appeared on her face. “Totally creeped out now!”

“Name’s Order,” the dog greeted. “I help these girls keep the peace in Equestria …” Order turned to look at Starlight. “Sometimes from each other.”

Starlight let out a sad whimper.

“Okay,” Twilight spoke up, “so why are you sending Starlight and Sunset to Canterlot Castle?”

“Well, I can’t just tell them that!” Order snapped. “I mean, c’mon! What would be the point if I just told ya girls how to fix yer friendship problems?”

“… We’d fix things and faster and with less damage?” suggested Twilight.

Sunset waved a forehoof in front of Twilight. “No, no… I think the creepy, tiny, talking dog has a point. I mean… We’d never learn anything for ourselves if he just told us exactly what we should do and why.”

“See!” Order replied as he motioned out to Sunset. “That girl gets it!”

“… Just like Mommy…” Sunset muttered.

“I mean, she’s troubled, but she gets it!” Order added.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Okay, but why them?”

Starlight sighed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Twilight.”

“Yes, why us?!” Sunset exclaimed.

Starlight turned and glowered at Sunset. “Really?”

Sunset grinned nervously and shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“There’s problems in Canterlot Castle that need, fixin’ alright?” Order replied. He pointed at Sunset with one paw and Starlight with the other. “Those two are the girls ‘ta do the fixin’!”

Starlight frowned. “Wait… problems, plural?”

Spike raised a claw. “Question.”

“Yeah, little guy?” Order replied.

The three ponies present all raised their eyebrows in the tiny dog’s direction.

Spike continued. “If you called on Starlight and Sunset, why didn’t their cutie marks vibrate? Can you only do that for element bearers?”

“Oops!” Order said as he turned towards his control panel. “Almost forgot the best part!” he said as a paw slapped a couple buttons.

‘Buzz! Buzz!’

“Ah!”

“Wha!”

Sunset and Starlight suddenly stood up, both their heads hitting the above table with twin thuds. Rubbing the pained spots, they turned to glare at Spike who smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

Twilight sighed. “So… What… You can just butt dial anypony in Equestria?”

“That’s not what that means, Twilight,” Sunset said. “Though, this version is way more accurate.”

Order shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”

Twilight groaned. “Great… Why don’t you just get everypony in Ponyville or even all of Equestria to solve friendship problems!”

Order narrowed his eyes at Twilight. “Hey. Keep moanin’ like that and I just might.”

Sunset closed her eyes shook her head as if trying to clear the weirdness she was seeing. Opening her eyes, she noticed nothing had changed. Scrunching her lips to the left side of her face, she said, “So you’re the animal-anthropomorphic representation of order in Equestria.”

Order smirked. “Obviously.”

“And you’re a dog…” Sunset added.

Order narrowed his eyes slightly. “What? Ya think it’d be better if I was some pony or alicorn? ‘Cause that’s pretty speciesist of ya to even think.”

“No, no!” Sunset said waving a forehoof in front of her. “I just, you know, thought of order more as just an esoteric concept…”

“Oh, suuuure, some crazy creature that looks like it was the result of some bizarre pony, dragon, lion, eagle, goat, and elk orgy as the spirit of chaos is fine—”

Everypony winced.

“Didn’t really need that image in my head, thanks…” Sunset said.

“Ugh, no kidding…” Starlight added.

Order continued, “—but as soon as you all find out there’s a tiny dog trying ‘ta keep yer cockamamie magic world from falling apart, yer all up in hooves about it.”

“Alright, sorry!” Sunset said.

Order looked around. “What? Is it question the living embodiment of order day? I try to keep ya ponies on the straight and narrow and all ya do is complain! Yer all worse than my ex!” he screamed.

“Alright, already!” Sunset snapped. “I already said I was sor… You had an ex?!” Sunset’s face began to twitch uncontrollably. “The manifestation of order got married and divorced?!”

Twilight’s expression went distant. “I have so many questions and concerns…”

Order shrugged. “Well, ya. I mean… We tried our best, but it’s hard living with the same entity for century after century, you know?”

The ponies and dragons present all looked at each other and shrugged.

“Especially the bitch that was my ex,” Order muttered.

Starlight narrowed her eyes. “Maybe if you didn’t call your ex a bitch you’d still be together.”

Order gave Starlight an indignant look. “Hey, that’s OUR word! You can’t just use it like that.”

Starlight cocked an eyebrow. “What?”

Twilight spoke up. “I think he meant that ‘literally’, as in his ex is actually a female dog.”

“Oh… my apologies,” Starlight offered.

Spike smirked at Order. “Bitches, am I right?”

“Spike!” the mare’s present all said in unison.

“Naw, it’s fine,” Order said. “The kids a dog when he swaps worlds, so it’s okay when he says it.”

Spike grinned to himself and brushed a clenched claw against his chest. “Heh… I have ‘b’ word privileges.”

Twilight let out a groan.

Sunset and Starlight trotted down a Ponyville street, their saddle bags bouncing lightly on their backs as the passed ponies going about their business. Ponies who often stopped to stare at the unknown alicorn. Although usually not one to mind a little extra attention, Sunset’s mind was anywhere but her immediate surroundings. She threw her head up sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going home after all these years based on the vague recommendation of some tiny, creepy dog!”

Starlight cocked her head slightly. “So you were trying to avoid going back to the castle.”

“Well, yeah!” Sunset admitted. “I mean, I’m at least on speaking terms with Celestia again, but talking to her is a lot different than going back to the castle where I spent a great deal of my childhood and wayward teen years.”

Starlight nodded. “Sure, sure… I can relate. I mean… I was nervous about talking to Sunburst, but luckily I had somepony who forced me to talk to him under pain of farting noises to embarrass me!” she growled out.

“Hey!” Sunset said in a protesting tone before she glanced up towards her eyelids and thought for a moment. “Okay… Sorta hypocritical of me…”

“’Sort of’?”

“Look, I reconciled with Mom, Cadance, and even Twilight!” Sunset stared forward, her turquoise eyes unfocusing a bit. “But there’s plenty more ponies in Canterlot my bratty, youthful self-ran afoul of… Not to mention I might end up getting into many heated arguments with Celestia! I mean, that’s not good for anypony.”

Starlight sighed. “You handled things well enough back at the Crystal Empire… I mean… I mostly just screwed things up!”

“You saved everyone from that huge storm!” Sunset pointed out. “I mean, sure, you also did it by condensing the moisture in the air into a giant iceberg in the sky that almost crushed everypony, but you helped there too! Sooo… Net positive goodness!”

Starlight groaned. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I have you to keep me from screwing up too bad.”

“Honestly, I think you have… whatever the problem is in Canterlot,” Sunset said. “I mean, the weird talking dog didn’t even Bat-signal me until Spike dragged me to this side of the mirror.”

“… Bat-signal?”

“Cutie mark signal, whatever…” Sunset put a forehoof on Starlight’s shoulder getting the mare to stop. She smiled. “Look, I know you’ve gotten better and even dealt with that whole changeling thing. I’m sure you don’t need me for this one, but I’ll be around if you need me. To paraphrase something I heard quite a few times during summer camp, Yooooou’ve got this.”

Starlight smiled. “Thanks, Sunset. It actually means a lot to hear you have confidence in me.” Starlight frowned and turned back towards Twilight’s castle. “At least somepony does.”

Sunset shrugged. “Eh, Twilight just responds with paranoia to every problem she’s not asked to help solve directly. I wouldn’t let it get to you.”

Starlight dropped her eyelids slightly and tilted her head. “… You didn’t…?”

“… What?”

“You know… Read my mind?”

Sunset pulled her hoof up to her forehead and closed her eyes. “I’m sensing… sensing… That you’re nervous about this whole trip and scared you’re going to disappoint Twilight and the rest of your friends.”

Starlight gave Sunset a startled look.

Sunset pulled her hoof from her forehead and grinned. “I don’t need mind reading for that!” Sunset said. “Anypony can figure that out just from talking to you. Don’t worry, you’ll knock ‘em dead!”

Starlight winced.

“Not literally.” Sunset chuckled and shook her head. “Hey, the sooner we get there and you fix this problem, the sooner I can get home before things get to awkward, or angry, or violent, or all of the above with my Mom.” Sunset looked around. “How are we getting to Canterlot anyhow?”

Starlight shrugged. “The train, of course.”

Sunset’s face tightened almost on instinct. “You bitch!” she growled out.

“Hey!” Starlight protested. “You don’t have ‘b’ word privileges!”

Chapter 2: Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter

White towers speared upwards into the blue sky, their golden roofs sparkling in the daylight. Massive sun and star sculptures adorned the tops, dotting the skyline of Canterlot as these juggernauts jutted upward. Amongst these golden displays were deep, nearly black purple stripes, swirls, and underhangs that only served to enhance the sparkling and pure-white majesty of Canterlot Castle. Staring up at it all, Sunset Shimmer scowled, sighed, and said, “Home again, home again, jiggity-jig,” in a slightly scorn-ridden tone.

A plump, bespectacled male griffin, who was hurriedly rushing away, paused just long enough to look at Sunset and say “Hah! She said it!” in a nasally voice. His prize, a dirty look from Sunset before he continued his scramble elsewhere.

“Was that really necessary?” Starlight Glimmer’s voice called out.

Sunset turned towards Starlight. “What? What I said?” Sunset turned back towards the castle. “It’s just a thing you say… A thing you say when you’re home… and possibly not totally happy about it.”

“Not that!” Starlight exclaimed as she trotted up to Sunset. She motioned with a forehoof. “THAT!”

Starlight turned towards the train with a pink steam engine complete with a heart-shaped window and several brown passenger cars with different colored pastel roofs. One car stood out as it was a different color, purple with a magenta top, and also because of the black smoke pouring out of either end.

“It was just a little fire,” Sunset insisted. “It’s not like I set the whole train ablaze!” she narrowed her eyes slightly. “As tempting as that sounds.”

“Nothing of note even happened on the train!” Starlight cried. “Heck! The ride was also short. Ponyville is just one stop away!”

Sunset crinkled her lips into a tight frown. “That’s all part of the train’s game! It’s trying to lure us into a false sense of security, and then, bam! Appearing-disappearing train cars that inexplicably change order mid-trip! I just gave it a little warning that Sunset Shimmer doesn’t have to put up with that sort of nonsense!”

Starlight let out a sigh. “Are you going to be like this the entire time we’re here?!”

Sunset scowled at nothing in particular. “… Maybe.”

“Sunset!” Starlight said in an exacerbated tone. “This is my first friendship problem that’s not my own! I would at least like a chance to fix it properly.”

Sunset shrugged as she turned and began trotting. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“… Okay, but what if I don’t?!” Starlight said in a worried tone as she followed Sunset. “What if I fail this so hard that Twilight sends me back to friendship kindergarten?!”

“Ok. Just. What?” Sunset replied with a blank stare. “Is that even a thing Twilight had you do in the first place? I mean… That sounds pretty silly, even by Twilight’s bizarre friendship lesson standards.”

“Well, no… But what if she makes it up because that’s just how bad I screw everything up?!”

Sunset merely blinked a few times. “I guess I understand your concern to some extent, but maybe you’ve been hanging out with Twilight a bit too much.”

“Well, we do kinda live together.”

Sunset let out a short chortle. “Yes. In a castle. It’s not like you two share a small house or apartment or anything. I’m not saying you should start avoiding her, but you can certainly pick a wing of the castle to hang out away from her from time to time so you’re less of a neurotic mess.”

Starlight felt her jaw tighten. “Okay, okay. Maybe I can hang out with somepony else more often. Just… Why’d you feel like saying that ‘home again’ thing in the first place?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Well, ‘abandon all hope, ye who enter’ felt melodramatic, even for me.”

The griffon’s voice suddenly called out, “Hah! She did it again!” in an excited tone, much to Sunset’s chagrin.

Starlight grit her teeth. “I’m specifically asking why you’re being such a grump about this!”

Sunset gave Starlight a blank look. “You, Starlight Glimmer, are asking somepony why they might be upset about returning to a city where they spent a lot of time being something of a tyrant to every pony around them.”

Starlight’s head suddenly shuddered in frustration. “I don’t have a good response for that!” she cried.

Sunset smirked.

Starlight took a deep breath. “But I do want to know why you seem to be picking on me specifically!” Starlight narrowed her eyes. "Or am I imagining things because I'm just such a neurotic mess?"

Sunset’s smirk turned to a frown as she sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Starry. You’re right. I was being a real bit-‘b’ word.” Sunset turned away with a sad look on her face. “Guess it’s just my superpower to tick off everyone around me when I’m in a bad mood.”

“I thought your superpower was mind-reading.”

Sunset chuckled as she glanced back at Starlight. “That’s my new superpower. I’ve been ticking off ponies since I was a filly.”

Starlight gave Sunset a half-smile. “Okay well, apology accepted.”

Sunset nodded. “Thanks for calling me out on that so quickly.”

Starlight’s smile grew slightly. “I learned not to let these things build up thanks to Trixie,” Starlight’s smile plummeted as she opted to stare down at the cobblestone path she and Sunset were walking on, “and, you know… storing up my negative emotions in a bottle until they got out and possessed ponies.”

Sunset chuckled. “Well, Trixie can certainly have that effect on ponies.” Sunset’s joyous look fell. “Wait, hold the phone,” she said as she stopped in her tracks and turned towards Starlight, “now give the phone to me. You did what?!”

Starlight frowned and glanced up slightly. “What’s a phone?”

“Not important right now,” Sunset replied. “What’s this about your negative emotions possessing ponies?”

Starlight sighed. “Trixie was being, erm…”

“Trixie?” Sunset suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that,” Starlight replied, “and rather than confront her about it, I started magically siphoning off my negative emotions and storing them in a bottle.”

“Oh, yes, uh-huh. I see,” Sunset said with a knowing expression that slowly gave way to complete and utter befuddlement. “Why?”

“She had just learned how to transmogrify and just seemed so happy to have an understanding friend! I just… I guess I didn’t want to disappoint her or make her sad.”

“No, I mean, why did you think to pull out your emotions and store them like that?!”

Starlight let out a huge sigh before letting everything out like an angry, broken faucet, “I don’t know, Sunset. Maybe because I’m just that much of a screw-up that I need constant supervision from my friends to make sure I don’t make a mess of things!”

Sunset flinched. “Okay… I deserved that…”

Starlight groaned. “No, no… Sorry… I mean. It’s true, isn’t it? Every time I’m out of sight of you or Twilight for too long, I end up causing problems for everypony.” She looked down at the street sadly. “No wonder Twilight freaked out when Order chose me.”

Sunset smiled and place a forehoof on Starlight’s shoulder. “I’m sure the tiny stalker dog knew what he was doing when he sent us here… I mean… Apparently, he’s been making sure Equestria doesn’t fall apart for a long time. And look, I’m sorry I told Spike to come get me if he thought you might cause trouble.”

“Why?” Starlight replied. “I mean, I’ve already proved to you and everypony else I need the help.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe Twilight said I ‘graduated’ from being her student. I mean, almost right after she says that I turn around and mess up again!”

Sunset glanced around, taking notice that she and Starlight had suddenly quite the audience of staring onlookers. She waved a forehoof in the air mysteriously. “You can go about your business.”

Starlight glanced out at all that pairs of eyes focused on her and Sunset, cringed, then leaned in close to Sunset. “Uh… What are you doing?” she whispered.

“I’m testing my new powers…” Sunset whispered back. Sunset waited for a beat and noticed nopony had stopped looking at her and Starlight. “Nope… Not working… Guess I’ll try the old-fashion method.”

“What’s the—”

Sunset’s eyes suddenly glowed red as did her horn. Almost immediately, a jet of flame shot out and upwards high above Sunset. The flame spread into a large, blazing circle with two eye holes and a large maw full of massive flickering teeth. The fire face leered angrily at the ponies around it who now stared at it in near abject terror.

“Er, never mind,” said Starlight.

“Mind your own business!” Sunset bellowed in a nearly supernaturally loud voice, the face perfectly fire-lip-syncing with her. Ponies suddenly fled, leaving the two ponies alone on the street. Satisfied, both Sunset and the face smiled. The fire dissipated and Sunset’s glowing eyes returned to their normal, turquoise selves. Sunset snickered to herself. “It’s been too long since I’ve done that.”

Starlight shook her head. “Somehow I doubt Celestia would approve.”

Sunset grinned. “Who do you think I learned that trick from?”

Starlight’s jaw dropped. “No…”

Sunset’s smile turned full demonic, she began trotting again. “Yep. Mom would pull that out whenever we were having an, er… public heated debate and there were too many looky lous.”

Starlight’s lips pulled to one corner of her mouth as she once again began following Sunset. “I wish I had your confidence to pull tricks like that.” She sighed. “Of course, knowing me I’d probably take it way too far.”

Sunset’s smile softened. “You remind me of somepony.”

“… Who?”

Sunset grinned and paused just long enough for Starlight to catch up so she could playfully bump her shoulder against the lilac unicorn. “Who do you think?” She shook her head from side to side and looked off into the distance. “I used to obsess about all the mistakes I made or thought I might make. I figured everyone was just waiting for me to cause a problem.”

“… Really?” Starlight asked with interest.

Sunset nodded. “Really.”

“Well… How’d you stop worrying about it?”

Sunset smirked. “You know… I saved the world a few times… Kind of like you did.”

Starlight grinned sheepishly. “Well, I was just lucky…”

“Hah! You stood up to Queen Chrysalis. That had to take more than luck. I mean… Twilight ranted and raved about what a good job you did in between complaining about how hard it was to get all the Changeling pod goo out of her mane and tail.”

Smiling, Starlight’s cheeks flushed slightly. “It’s not like I knew Thorax would be able to blast her and all the Changelings would, well… change.”

Sunset smiled silently at Starlight for a bit. “I’m sorry, I don’t have a good response to that. Still! You should be proud of what you accomplished! Not walking around scared you’re going to cause another problem.” Realization suddenly hit Sunset. “Wait, is that why you were getting on my case? Not that I didn’t deserve it. You think this trip is your big chance to prove yourself?”

Starlight grinned nervously. “Maybe? I mean… In my defense, you did set our train on fire.”

“I started a fire in our train!” Sunset clarified. “Big difference. Anyways, I’m sure whatever Peeper-Pups sent us here for is a small thing. So don’t worry so much! The way Twilight tells it, the table-er-Order doesn’t usually send ponies out for really big things.”

“Twilight said something similar.”

“Oh?”

Starlight nodded. “Yeah… She thought maybe it was just the cooks fighting over who had the best butternut squash soup or maybe the royal hairdressers are fighting over a comb.”

Sunset thought for a moment. “Well, Kitchen Nightmare has the best butternut squash soup in Canterlot, probably Equestria. Any pony who thinks otherwise is insane… and he’d tell them so.” A wistful smile spread across Sunset’s face. “By shouting right in their face.”

“… Kitchen Nightmare?”

Sunset grinned. “Yeah.” Sunset looked off into the distance. “I wonder if he remembers me…” she frowned. “I wonder if it’d be a good thing if he did.”

“Why wouldn’t it be? I mean, I get that maybe you were mean to him back when you were little, but you can always apologize.”

Sunset winced. “That’s not how that would go down… I mean, you know how Cadance cowered in complete terror at my mere presence when she first saw me?”

Starlight nodded.

“Okay, now imagine that I’d be the one cowering. I mean… I’m good at yelling, but there’s no way I can out yell K.N.” Sunset’s wistful look returned. “God, have I missed him… and his cooking.”

“… You miss a pony who’s good at yelling?”

Sunset nodded. “He’s kind of an idol of mine. Anyhow, if it is the comb thing, we’ll just say that we’ll split the comb evenly among whoever is fighting over it.”

“Won’t that ruin the comb? Unless it’s huge and there are only a few hairdressers.”

Sunset chuckled. “Clearly you haven’t seen the combs my Mom uses… but ruining it is the point. See… The true owner of the comb will refuse to let any harm come to it!” Sunset smirked. “I got that idea from an old story back on Earth.”

Starlight nodded. “But what if more than one hairdresser doesn’t want to see it destroyed, or like… None of them care that much if it’s split?”

Sunset shrugged. “We’ll just use a duplication spell or, I guess, break the stupid comb? It’s just a comb, as presumably fancy as it may be.”

“That sounds somewhat anticlimactic.”

“Yeah, well… It was a baby in the earth story.”

“What?!”

Sunset nodded. “I know, right? Earth stories are so much cooler than an Equestria ones. Besides, both those problems sound a little too pedestrian for the ancient personification of Order to dispatch us.”

Starlight frowned. “Okay… Well, what if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on something and there’s the possibility that they’ll both lose control and turn into nightmare versions of themselves?!”

“Uh… Well, yes… That would certainly be worth our time… But where’d you get an idea like that?”

“Erm, Spike suggested it.”

“Oh, really?” Sunset thought for a moment. “You know, the little guy is usually pretty sharp. He might be on to something.”

Starlight let out a small whimper.

Sunset gave her a scrutinizing look. “Did he really think they’d go ‘Nightmare mode’ though?”

“Uh… hehe… No… I just added that part.”

Sunset smirked. “You know, I’m learning a lot about how your mind works and I haven’t had to read it even once.”

“… I don’t have a good response for that.”

Sunset just shrugged her shoulders. “Even if we need to beat some sense into the Princesses—”

“Uh… Do you mean ‘talk some sense’ into them?”

Sunset’s demonic grin returned. “Depends on how stubborn they are. But between the two of us, this should be a cinch! Besides, Order doesn’t seem to send ponies out for the real dangerous stuff. You know… aside from the occasional village that’s being run by a crazed, cutie mark stealing despot.”

Starlight couldn’t help but wince at that.

“I’m joking! Geez!” Sunset shook her head. “Haha! I mean, hello! Former Demon transformed coup attempting pony here.”

A small smile appeared on Starlight. “Right, right…” Starlight looked around. “So, uh… When are we going to make it to the castle?”

“Well, I’m grumpy and hungry, so we’re heading somewhere that used to fix both things for me.” Sunset paused and looked at Starlight in bemusement. “I mean… Didn’t you notice we’re heading the exact opposite direction from the castle?! You can see it from here!” Sunset said as she stopped, turned, and pointed a forehoof.

Starlight turned around as her cheeks burned crimson. “So we can…”

“How could you not notice we were heading away from the castle?”

“I don’t know! I was following you!”

“And you… what? You thought I was taking a shortcut that was further way from the castle or like… going to reveal some sort of secret entrance that’s really far away from the castle?!”

“Okay, okay! So, I’m still bad at directions!” Starlight admitted. She groaned. “Wow… Today is just off to a great start!”

Sunset shook her head. “You’ll feel better about it after you’ve had a snack.” She took a few more steps and pushed open one of two glass doors with her forehoof, a bell ringing above it signaling it had been opened. Sunset paused to sniff the air as a smile crept across her face and Starlight walked in. “Ooooh… now that smells of delicious nostalgia.” Sunset grinned and stared inside at wooden tables amongst a checkered black and white tiled floor, green walls with large windows and paintings of doughnuts, and most importantly, a front counter with a clear display case full of pink, brown, white, and yellow doughnuts as well as two tall shelves behind it that were similarly loaded.

Starlight’s face lit up. “Wow, those look really good.”

Sunset walked in, the door closing behind her with another ring of the bell. “I know, right? I’m really glad this place is still here!”

A gray door from behind the counter swung open and out stepped a tan unicorn stallion with a tousled brown mane wearing a white a white cook’s coat and white paper cap. “Hello, girls! What can I…” the unicorn trailed off as his emerald eyes settled on Sunset and lingered there for a bit.

“Hey, Joe!” Sunset greeted. “Erm… Look, it’s been a few years and you might not remember me, but Celestia and I used to—”

“AAAAAHHHH!” with that, Joe suddenly dashed back behind the gray door he had appeared from, the door swinging in and out on its hinges.

“—come here all the time and I see you remember me quite clearly!” Sunset finished, her turquoise eyes having gone wide and worried as her smile cracked a bit.

“… Yikes…” Starlight said. “Just, yikes.”

Sunset motioned towards the spot Joe had been moments ago. “And that’s an example of it being bad when some pony recognizes me! Spoiler alert: There’s going to be plenty more times when ponies recognize me and they’re all probably going to go about this well!”

Chapter 3: Disparaging Day-old Doughnuts

Sunset Shimmer leaned her body against the doughnut display case, her forehooves dangling off the edge slightly as she stood up on her hind legs and looked towards the gray door which Joe had just disappeared behind. “Joe…? Joooooe!” she called out. “Look, I’m really sorry about the years of being a tyrannical child with an over inflated sense of power who made unreasonable demands and threatened to burn this place down or tell my mommy on you if they weren’t met! …Joe?”

Sitting on a pink stool at a wooden pink table, Starlight Glimmer glanced over at Sunset. “You threatened to burn down Joe’s shop?” she asked, not in disbelief, but in a simple inquisitive tone as if she was clarifying the time of day.

Sunset sighed and threw a forehoof up into the air. “I was just a filly and had somewhat unreasonable expectations about being the daughter of Equestria’s ruler! Like…Raspberry rosemary buttermilk doughnuts, for instance.”

“That sounds… heavenly,” Starlight replied.

“I know, right?”

Starlight nodded. “Much better sounding than jalapeño red velvet omelet cupcakes, at least.”

“Uh… What an oddly specific and gross-sounding comparison!”

“It’s, uh, better tasting than it sounds in a somewhat degrading sort of way…”

“... I don’t have a good response for that! Still!” Sunset let her head dangle over the side of the display case. “I’m sure I could have asked Joe nicely back then instead of threatening property destruction and implied imprisonment…” Sunset sighed loudly. “Story of my life… Oh! Bear claws!” With a crimson glow of Sunset’s horn, two large glazed masses of browned dough were lifted from the display case. Sunset trotted over towards the table Starlight Glimmer sat at and floated down the pastries in front of Starlight and herself. With another red glow of her horn, she unclipped the lock on a brown saddle bag that bore her cutie mark, pulled out a modest pile of bits, and floated them over to the counter.

Starlight stared at this scene and disbelief. “Sunset… Your… your magic…”

Sunset stared back at Starlight in confusion. “Uh… Yes? I mean… I kinda grew up as a unicorn and became an alicorn has just made me more magic… Not to mention the new, magical super powers? This shouldn’t be news to you, you know… being the super magical unicorn that you are.”

“No! Your magic is red now!”

“It… Wha…” Sunset lifted the bear claw in front of her and stared at the red glow that surrounded it. “Oh, what the heck?!” She set the bear claw down and looked downward, glaring slightly. “What did you…” Sunset pursed her lips as she tilted her head to the right then to the left. “Stupid muzzle…” she uttered. With another red glow, she shifted her pendant up and to the left as she tilted her head down and to the right and glared up at the offending piece of jewelry. “What did you do?!” she exclaimed as she cocked a foreleg to awkwardly point accusingly at her pendant.

Starlight tilted her head slightly and leaned forward as she examined the pendant. “So, you think the color change was triggered by your new super power?”

Sunset threw up her forehooves in an exaggerated shrug. “I guess?!” Just as dramatically, she collapsed onto the table, her face facing her bear claw. “Why does my life have to be complicated from my past actions and also outside forces… Can’t it just be one or the other?”

Starlight smiled at Sunset. “I like the red. It suits you,” she said as she levitated her bear claw in front of her face and took a bite. Starlight let out an audible “Mmmmm…”

“But the turquoise matched my eeeeeyeeeees!” Sunset complained. She let her head fall back down to the table and stared off into space morosely. “Hashtag Jumping Through Dimension Problems…”

Starlight chewed and swallowed. “Hashtag?”

“It’s uh… Earth slang… Not really important.” Sunset placed her forelegs on the table and spread them out toward Starlight. “Staaarliiiiight… StaaaaaarliIiIiIiIiIt!” Sunset whined pathetically.

“Uh, yes? Sunset, Sunset?”

“Go out and do something bad!”

Starlight looked taken aback. “Uh, why?!”

“You know… Distraction tactic. Everypony who remembers me will momentarily forget all the bad things I did as a filly and teenager if you’re out running around teleporting tables and turning everything into teacups!”

Starlight gave Sunset a miffed look. “Trixie did those things!”

“Oh, I know,” Sunset replied, “but suggesting you go steal cutie marks or bend time to your will seemed mildly insensitive.”

Starlight winced. “Just a little bit.”

Sunset rubbed her chin and stared upwards. “Although…”

“Oh, no!” Starlight exclaimed. “No, no, no! We’re not going back in time to change your past! I’ve already learned that what seems like the littlest things can mean the end of the entire world!”

Sunset dramatically puffed out her lower lips as her eyes went wide and watery. “You really think me going to tell my younger self to be nicer would mean the end of the world?”

“I have no idea what kind of stuff would happen, but I’m sure if you didn’t end up going to Earth things would be wildly different. Plus, who knows how you’d change? I mean… I know I’m a lot nicer now after Twilight forgave me for my many, many crimes.”

Sunset winced slightly and smiled. “Well, forgiving ponies who’ve almost killed her is Twilight’s modus operandi. The moment Twilight pulled me out of a smoking crater certainly was the beginning of my life improving.” Sunset chuckled. “And not just because she pulled me out of a smoking crater.”

Starlight gave Sunset a little half smile. “Plus, if we changed your past, you might not have met me and then I’d be missing such a special friend in my life.”

Sunset looked at Starlight in surprise for a moment. “Awwww… Thanks, Starry. That’s really sweet of you.”

Starlight’s smile widened and she rubbed the back of her head. “Really, that wasn’t too over the top?”

“No, no… That was good…” Sunset said. “I mean… I guess there’s a good chance I would have ended up in Twilight’s place and we’d still have met.” She frowned. “But ‘forgive’ is usually not my first impulse so uh… Yeah… Let’s not do the time travel thing for your safety.”

Starlight chuckled nervously. “It would be nice to remain unincinerated.”

Sunset thought for a moment. “Of course, I could ask young ‘told to be nicer’ me to find and befriend you as a filly.”

Starlight paused as her eyebrows began to slowly crawl towards each other. “I’m trying very hard to say ‘no’ to this!”

Sunset smiled. “Come on! Young you could be like… my personal yes-pony and servant!” she said excitedly.

“...It’s suddenly much easier to say ‘no’,” Starlight replied dryly.

Sunset shrugged. “I said ‘nicer’, I didn’t say ‘saintly’. I mean, let’s be realistic here.” She sighed. “But no time travel means I’m left with the same problems.”

Starlight waved her bear claw a bit in front of Sunset. “Try your bear claw, you’ll feel better.”

Sunset lifted her head and floated her bear claw up in front of her. She pointed a forehoof at it. “Fix my problems!” she ordered.

The bear claw remained inertly silent.

Sunset looked at Starlight. “Nope. Not working.”

Still smiling, Starlight rolled her eyes. “You know what I meant!”

“Hehe. Yeah, yeah…” Sunset replied with a small smile. She floated up the bear claw and took a bite. Chewing, she let out a hum of contentment and closed her eyes before swallowing. “Just as good as I remembered…”

“See! I knew you’d feel better!”

Sunset sighed. “A little bit! I’d feel better if Joe wasn’t, oh I don’t know… Probably hiding behind a doorway ready to pelt me with some day-old doughnuts and scream if he so much as sees an inch of my horn.”

Starlight chuckled. “You’re exaggerating…”

“And you never met me as a filly!” Sunset countered.

“That bad, huh?” Starlight took another bite of her bear claw.

“My mom didn’t just ‘fake’ banish me because she thought it was funny.”

Starlight swallowed her food. “… ‘Fake banish’?”

Sunset waved a dismissive forehoof. “Long story…” She took another bite of her own bear claw, chewed, and swallowed. “Still, at least this is pretty good… Not as good as blueberry basil doughnuts, though…” Sunset sniffed the air. “Hmmm… I can practically smell them…”

The gray door behind the counter practically exploded open as Joe appeared, a tray of glazed, purple doughnuts balanced on his back and a smile on his face. “Well hi there, Sunset Shimmer! Long time, no see!” Joe’s happy expression dipped slightly. “Heh, or should I call you ‘yer highness’.”

Sunset turned slightly, grinning sheepishly. “Sunset is fine, Joe. Uh… How you’ve been?”

Joe smiled. “Can’t complain. Who’s this?” He said as he nodded towards Starlight.

“Oh, this is Starlight Glimmer. She’s Twilight’s friendship student, or, uh… ascendant friendship student, I guess.” Sunset nodded at Joe. “Starlight, this is Joe. He runs and owns this shop.”

Joe extended a forehoof. “Any friend of Twilight is a friend of mine.” He glanced at Sunset. “No offense.”

Starlight gave Joe’s hoof a slight bump with her own forehoof as Sunset eyed the plate of doughnuts on his back hungrily. “None taken…” Sunset said in reply. “I mean… assuming you brought those doughnuts out for my benefit and not just to withhold as a form of punishment for transgressions I made against you when I was younger… Not that I could blame you.”

Joe let out a small, jovial chuckle as he took the tray off his back with an emerald glow of his horn. He sat it in the middle of the table between Sunset and Starlight. “Now what kind of pastry chef would I be if I withheld doughnuts to punish you, especially after all that apologizin’ ya did?”

“A vindictive one,” Sunset said as she took one of the purple doughnuts in a red glow. “But I’m glad you’re a forgiving chef instead. Thank you, Joe.” Sunset took a bite then let out a tiny squeal of delight. “Oh, this! I’ve missed this!” she declared. “Starlight, you have to try one, or maybe a half-dozen.”

Starlight took a doughnut in an electric blue glow, floated it to her mouth, then took a bite. “Oh… Oh, wow!”

“I know, right!” Sunset exclaimed as she took another bite, chewed, then swallowed. “Maybe if I could get these doughnuts back on Earth, I wouldn’t have been quite so bent to take over Equestria.”

Starlight nodded. “Geez, if I had some of these, I definitely would have reconsidered stealing cutie marks if it meant erasing these from Equestria.”

Joe glanced between the two mares, a pensive smile forming on his face. “Uh… I don’t really get it, but I’m happy you two are enjoying yourselves!”

Sunset and Starlight gave Joe embarrassed smiles.

“Uh, yeah…” Sunset said. “Maybe you should forget you heard that… Or at least refrain from printing either quote and putting them up on your wall as some sort of endorsement of your shop.”

Joe smiled and pulled a forehoof across his mouth. “My lips are sealed!” He gave Sunset a quick look over. “But look at you, eh? A princess! What da ya know!”

Sunset shook her head. “Well, an alicorn. It’s not like I’ve had a coronation.” Sunset let out a small sigh. “Another conversation I get to have with mom, again…”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Joe began, “is that why ye’re back? Visiting your mom?”

“Uh… Sort of…” Sunset said. “The short version is Starlight and I got tapped for some magical friendship errand.”

“Sounds important,” Joe commented.

“Eh, probably not,” Sunset replied. “Think less, ‘saving the world’ and more there’s probably a handful of ponies who need to be told their lives would better if they stopped being jerks.”

“… ‘Handful’?” Joe said.

“Uh… Hooffull,” Sunset said. “I’ve been living… away. Picked up the local slang a bit. Still though, I’m sure whatever brings us to Canterlot isn’t a huge deal.”

“You know…” Starlight spoke up. “Assuming Spike’s wrong and it doesn’t involve Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” she said in a worried tone.

“… Did you just freak yourself out?” Sunset asked with a slightly amused look.

“A little bit, yeah,” Starlight admitted.

“Hey, I can handle Celestia if it comes to that.”

“Okay, but that leaves me with Princess Luna?” Starlight asked as her apprehension began to set up shop in her voice to the point it was selling shiny baubles. “I mean… Call me paranoid—”

“You’re paranoid,” Sunset quipped.

Starlight rolled her eyes. “—but if Princess Luna has seen the dreams of ponies all over Equestria, she’s sure to have come across some sort of nightmare version of me! Either stealing cutie marks or having ponies eat bland, tasteless muffins.”

Sunset smirked. “Those two things don’t really sound equivalent in the ‘bad’ department.”

“Clearly, you haven’t talked to Pinkie about the whole thing.”

“You worry too much,” Sunset said, shaking her head. “I mean, Sure you were a terrible despot and nearly destroyed the world a few times over—”

“… Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Starlight asked in a dry tone.

Sunset continued, “—but Princess Luna has no doubt had to deal with Nobles! Have you ever met a noble pony? Most of them seem to wake up amongst their crazy opulence and wonder why the world doesn’t revolve around them.”

“I’m tempted to point out the obvious,” Starlight said, “but I feel that might be insensitive.”

Sunset flashed a wicked smile. “Oh no, no, no… The world really did revolve around me, better yet, the sun. Anyhow, you at least meant well… minus the seeking vengeance on Twilight thing… But hey, she was willing to talk to me and I’m sure she knew all about the aforementioned attempt to take over Equestria.”

“Huh…” Joe uttered. “I should be surprised, but somehow I’m not… In fact, come ta think of it, that makes a lot of sense.”

Sunset winced slightly before her smile returned.

“Okay, but,” Starlight began, “you’re basically family to Princess Luna!”

“Surprise family!” Sunset replied. “It’s like regular family with much more baggage! She had no idea about my full connection to Celestia until she met me, and Luna still was pretty nice to me! So, don’t worry so much.”

Starlight took a deep breath then let it out. “I’ll try.”

Sunset took another bite of her doughnut. “Try your doughnut, it’ll help… And don’t use the same joke I used.”

Starlight chuckled lightly and went back to work on her doughnut.

“So,” Joe began, “does Celestia know you’re coming back?”

Sunset let out a small groan. “No. It’s sort of a surprise trip all around… just filled to the brim and even overflowing with surprises… We’re practically swimming in surprises, Joe! Drowning, even.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again,” Joe replied. “Sounds like you’ve at least met her sister.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Mom and I also patched things up a while back.”

Joe chuckled. “Wha, you were too busy ta see yer old pal, Joe?”

“Oh, this was in the Crystal Empire,” Sunset clarified. “A visit to see Cadance’s baby…” Sunset let out a small swoon as an oddly mischievous smile spread across her face. “Such a destructive force…”

Starlight stopped mid-bite and stared at Sunset along with Joe.

“Uh… a destructive… cutie… Cute!... Powerful… adorable… force…”

Joe smirked. “More run-a’-the-mill magical friendship stuff?”

Starlight let out a groan. “Actually, the entire Empire was nearly destroyed!”

“Really?” Joe replied.

Sunset gave Joe a surprised look. “I’m, uh, kinda surprised you didn’t hear about this.”

Joe shrugged. “I’m not one for readin’ the paper. Too busy making doughnuts.”

Sunset batted her eyelids at Joe. “And chatting up cute mares at your shop?”

Joe let out a guffaw and motioned to both Sunset and Starlight. “Well… Only the cutest.”

Starlight smiled and blushed slightly as Sunset gave Joe a wry grin. “Oh, you owe me for that setup…”

Joe motioned to the pastries on the table. “Ye’re welcome to more doughnuts if you can finish these.”

“Oh, right…” Sunset crammed her half-eaten doughnut into her mouth, chewed several times, and took a heavy swallow. Inhaling then exhaling contently, she picked her bear claw back up.

“So what happened?”

Sunset tensed and nervously swallowed her food. “Uh… What do you mean?”

“Ya know… regarding the Crystal Empire nearly being destroyed.”

A smile reappeared on Sunset’s face. “Oh that… Uh… the Crystal Heart got destroyed, temporarily.”

“What… Some big, powerful villain come along?”

“Er, more like a tiny, adorable, destructive happy-accident… Babies, ya know?”

“Uh… sure…? No…?”

“Anyway, the Heart got destroyed and then we all nearly died in a huge storm,” Sunset motioned to Starlight. “But then Starlight saved us!”

Starlight let out a heavy sigh. “Sure! By almost dooming us all!”

Sunset snickered and shook her head. “I was going to leave that part out! Yes, yes… She turned the storm into an ice block and nearly crushed the castle and everypony else, but then everypony, including Starlight, un-doomed us!”

Starlight smiled. “You left out the best part! You and Spike drilling a hole through the ice block with a magical fuel spell and his fire breath!”

Sunset waved a dismissive forehoof. “Well, I don’t like to brag…”

Joe let out a laugh. “Well that’s certainly different from the Sunset I knew!”

“Hehe… Okay, I love to brag, but I’ve been trying to cut back.”

Joe smiled. “Well, it’s nice ta hear ya patched things up with Princess Celestia. I started seeing a lot less of her after ya left for your trip.”

The atmosphere in the shop suddenly thickened to fill the void left by the silence.

Sunset gave Joe a sheepish look. “Er… Maybe, that’s a topic for later…”

“Uh, yeah. Sure, Sunset.”

Starlight smiled at Joe. “So, you knew Sunset as a filly! You must have such great stories!”

Sunset instinctively grimaced.

Starting from the tiled floor of Joe’s shop, multicolor-frosted doughnuts piled into the shape of stairs led up to a platform, likewise made of doughnuts. Sitting atop this warm, sugary plateau, filly Sunset Shimmer sat on her haunches and glowered from her perch. “More doughnuts! MORE! My doughnut throne should reach the roof!”

“Yes, yer highness!” Joe huffed out, nearly out of breath as he rushed over with a tray on his back piled so high with doughnuts, they swayed one way and the other, threatening to topple to the floor. He hurriedly began to float over doughnut after doughnut in a green glow to create armrests and a back to Sunset’s ‘throne’.

Sunset snatched one of the doughnuts in a turquoise glow, brought it to her muzzle, and proceeded to devour it. “Fasther!” she exclaimed, spraying crumbs in Joe’s general direction. She swallowed. “My throne is going to start shrinking at this rate!”

“Right, Yer Highness! Sorry, Yer Highness!” Joe said as he quickly did an about face and back towards the counter.

“Oh, Lowly Servant~!” Sunset sang out. “Has my crown sufficiently cooled yet?”

“Yes, yer highness,” Joe said as he quickly returned with a massive, yellow frosted doughnut with sprinkles on top. He lowered the item onto Sunset’s head.

Sunset’s smile grew wild, wicked, and thorny over her face like an overgrown rose bush. “Excellent!” she cooed. “Perhaps I’ll spare your wretched little doughnut shop, Loyal Servant.”

“Yes, Yer Highness! Thanks, Yer Highness!”

The chime of a small bell suddenly broke into the shop.

Sunset turned. “Who disrupts my coronation!” Sunset demanded. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped as she caught sight of the surprise attendee.

Celestia looked at the doughnut ‘throne’ and ‘crown’ with a simmering expression of displeasure. “Coronation, Sunset? This is bad comedy.”

Sunset’s face suddenly went several shades lighter as she stared at Celestia standing in the shop’s entrance.

“Uh…” Sunset hastily threw on a grin. “It’s actually an early Mother’s Day present! Surprise!” Sunset let out a precocious giggle. “Guess I just got a little carried away…”

Celestia looked taken aback for a moment. She turned towards Joe. “Joe. Is this true? Did you and Sunset really set this all up for my benefit?”

“Uh…” Joe glanced at Sunset who immediately puffed out her lower lip as her eyes went wide and glassy. Joe had seen sad puppies that looked far less desperate… and adorable. “Yeah!” Joe said. He chuckled. “Guess Sunset and I got a little too much into character, ya know?”

Celestia’s face let up as she let out a gasp. “Oh, Sunset, Joe! This is amazing!”

Sunset got up, trotted back to the floor, and happily motioned to the throne. “Help yourself.”

“Well… I was trying to watch my weight… Oh, but who am I to say no to such a wonderful gift?” Celestia said as she happily trotted over to the throne and began picking off doughnuts and eating them.

Sunset let out a sigh of relief followed by a startled yelp as she was taken up in a canary yellow glow. She quickly found herself wrapped up in a pair of long, alabaster forelegs.

“Thank you, Sunset,” Celestia said. “This is very sweet… literally,” she added with a wink.

Sunset smiled and shimmied in her mother’s grasp so she could wrap her forelegs and her mother’s neck. “You’re welcome.”

Celestia wrapped her wings around Sunset and squeezed her tighter, wincing slightly as she did.

“Mommy? Is something wrong?”

Celestia gently lowered Sunset back to the floor. “I think you just glazed me.” Celestia looked down at her chest and forearms which were now splattered with a medley of pink, yellow, and purple frosting. “I think we’ll both need a good scrubbing after this.”

“Hahaha… Whoops…” Sunset replied, her back and haunches likewise coated with frosting.

“So, uh…” Joe interjected. “Sunset, you still want those fried dough with cinnamon and sugar wings, and maple bar scepter, or…”

Celestia peered down at Sunset and raised an eyebrow.

Sunset turned towards Joe and raised a forehoof to her lips. “Shhh!” She hissed out with a small glare. Turning back towards Celestia, she put back on a sugary-sweet smile. “Sorry. I was really getting into character…”

“Let’s, maybe, totally, talk about something else!” Sunset said hastily.

Something caught Starlight’s attention and she quickly swallowed her doughnut. “Like the fact that there are guards coming here, probably to arrest us?!”

“What?! Oh, that’s ridi—” Sunset turned, her eyes following Starlight’s. Walking past the large, several pony high windows of Joe’s shop were two Equestrian guards ponies in golden armor heading towards the door, both pegasi stallions, one gray and the other white. “AH!” Sunset exclaimed as she immediately dove under the table.

Starlight likewise made a frightened cry and joined Sunset under the table. “Quick! Use your wings to hide us!”

“Oh, uh… Good idea…” Sunset said as she attempted to unfurl her wings. She suddenly cringed. “No, wait… Bad Idea… I think I just touched some gum that was stuck to the bottom of the table! Ew! Ew!” Sunset’s brow crinkled and she turned towards Starlight. “Wait, why are you hiding under the table? You haven’t done anything!”

Starlight gave Sunset a panicked expression. “But what if you convince me to travel back in time in the future so it’s future me who’s committed crimes in the past?!”

Sunset thought for a moment. “I’m a little surprised I parsed that sentence…”

With another ring of the door Starlight and Sunset grit their teeth and pressed themselves flat against the floor as Sunset did her best to hide them both with her wings.

The ring of the shop’s bell and sound of metal hitting tiled floor announced the arrival of the guards.

“Uh, good afternoon, gentlemen!” Joe greeted as he quickly placed himself in between the guards and the table Sunset and Starlight hid under. “Can I interest you in some doughnuts?”

“Oh, I was interested before we walked in!” the white guardspony said enthusiastically.

The gray guardspony turned and gave his partner a quick scowl.

The white guardspony cleared his throat. “Actually, we’re here to retrieve Sunset Shimmer for her majesty, Princess Celestia.”

Joe chuckled. “Well, as you can see, there’s no pony here but me.”

The gray guardspony narrowed his eyes slightly as he craned his head ever so slightly to the right. “Except the two ponies trying and failing to hide underneath a table, you mean?”

“Uh, oh… Is there two ponies hidin’ under a table?” Joe said in his best attempt at a sincere tone.

The gray guardspony pointed towards the shaking wings and the slightly exposed orange and purple forelegs.

Joe turned. “Oh… Right… Now that you mentioned it a pegasus and her friend came in a while ago, but they were so quiet I musta forgot about them!”

“Riiiight…” The gray guardspony replied.

“Hey!” The white guardspony replied. “Maybe one of those ponies has seen Sunset Shimmer!”

The gray guardspony turned to the white pony, clearly irritated, but the white pony merely winked in response.

“Uh… Never heard of this ‘Sunset Shimmer’ you speak of.” ‘Definitely-not’ Sunset called out. “… Sounds like she’s pretty, though… How about you… uh… Moontwinkle Gleamer?”

There was an audible sigh from under the wings. “Moontwinkle…?” a hushed voice replied.

“I…shut up! I’m all flustered and didn’t have time to think of anything better. Just play along, alright?”

“No officers!” ‘Moontwinkle’ called out. “Just me and my friend Sun…rise Shine…Shiny!”

“… I can’t believe you got on my case for ‘Moontwinkle’.” Sunrise Shine-Shiny griped.

“Okay, okay! I admit it’s not all that easy.”

The two guards stared at the scene in front of them, the white guardspony looking on in clear amusement and the gray guardspony far less so.

“Ma’am’s,” the gray guardspony began, “perhaps you could get out from under the table so we could talk face to face?”

“We told you, we haven’t seen this Sunset Shimmer!” Sunrise insisted. “As you can see I’m just a humble pegasus who's dropped her glasses right under this table! I mean… anything I saw would be blurry anyways…”

“… Wouldn’t it be easier to not cover the area with your wings so you could see?” the white guardspony asked.

“Er… I’m-I’m blind!” Sunrise said.

The white guardspony smirked. “But you just said—”

“Legally blind!” Sunrise added. “I’m feeling for my glasses... but really… opening my wings wouldn’t help at all…”

“Okay, but your friend—”

“Moontwinkle is ALSO legally blind! Right, Moontwinkle?”

“Uh… totally! In fact… The light… er… hurts my eyes without my glasses… They’re sunglasses!”

“Uh… right, right! Hence me blocking out the light almost completely!” Sunrise said. “Anyhow, uh… Wasn’t this Sunset Shimmer a unicorn? I think I remembering hearing that long ago from when she still lived in Canterlot.”

The gray guardspony rolled his eyes. “You said you never heard of her.”

“I forgot, okay?! Is that a crime?! Are you going to arrest me for forgetting?! Anyways, I’m clearly not a unicorn so—”

The white guardspony chuckled. “Princess Celestia informed us that Sunset Shimmer now had wings… Big orange ones, too. So far you match the description pretty well.”

“Yes, uh… well…” Sunset let out a massive sigh. “Starry?” Sunset said.

“Yes, Sunri-er, Sunset?”

“A thought occurs that I’m an idiot and could have cast an invisibility spell on myself or teleported away, or any number of other things instead of hiding under a table like a scared filly.”

“… Well. I guess I’m an idiot too for following you down here. I could have done all of that, too…”

Sunset let out another heavy sigh and got out from under the table. She attempted to face the guards with some dignity. “So, Celestia wants me? Did she seem… uh… mad?” she asked trepidatiously as Starlight followed her out from under the table.

The white guardspony smiled widely. “Actually, it was more like completely elated! She just asked us to pick you up. There’s a chariot waiting just around the corner.”

Sunset let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Oh, in that case...” Sunset turned towards Joe and smiled. “Well it was nice catching up, but it looks like I’m being called home for dinner.”

Joe chuckled. “Well, I hope I didn’t spoil yer appetite.”

Sunset winked. “Don’t worry. It’ll be our little secret.” Sunset nodded towards the door. “Come on Starlight, guess it’s time to face our mundane magic destiny.”

Starlight smirked. “You mean our ‘hopefully mundane magic’ destiny.”

Sunset gave Starlight a frown despite the happiness clearly still in her eyes as she walked towards the door. “Well now you’ve jinxed it!”

“Oh, Sunset!” Joe called out. “Here…” with an emerald glow of his horn, Joe produced a brown box from behind the counter, floated it over to the table, and floated the doughnuts into it. He floated the box over to Sunset. “Bring these with you. Maybe offer a few ta Princess Celestia. I’m sure she’d appreciate them now that yer back.”

Stopping near the door, the white guards ponies already holding it open as the gray one stood at attention outside, Sunset smiled at Joe. “Sure, Joe! Thanks again! And, also again, I’m sorry for my years of tyranny.”

Joe snorted out a laugh. “Consider that all doughnuts passed through a pony.”

Sunset winced. “Gross… but maybe apt.”

Starlight waved. “Goodbye, Joe! Though doughnuts were great!”

“See ya, Starlight Glimmer. See ya, Sunset! Stop by again sometime!”

“We will!” Sunset assured. With that, she and Starlight walked past the guards into the bright sunlight of Canterlot.

Letting the door shut, the guards fell into position behind the two mares.

Starlight leaned in close to Sunset. “‘Appreciate them now that you’re back?’” Starlight said.

Sunset sighed. “Yes… I noticed that and took note of the ominousness of the statement.” Sunset’s face tightened. “I just don’t feel like dealing with it…”

Chapter 4: The Sweet Memories of Nostalgia Delivered Via Wrecking Ball

Chapter 4: The Sweet Memories of Nostalgia Delivered Via Wrecking Ball.

“Could you walk to the castle?” Sunset Shimmer asked sweetly, batting her eyes innocently at the white pegasus guard that had met with Sunset and her cohort at Joe’s. “I mean… We can’t be in that much of a hurry, right?”

Starlight Glimmer paused mid-step as the gray guard held open the door for her. She turned and glanced at Sunset, then at the white guard who began to tether himself to the carriage with a collection of other pegasi contingency. He tilted his head slightly and glanced away, likely momentarily mulling over the saccharinely delivered request. He spoke in a tone that was as much apology as it was an explanation, “Er, Princess Celestia requested we bring you back to the castle with all haste.”

Giving the guard a smile so dazzling it could no doubt give the sun a fit of jealousy, Sunset rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh, it’ll only take a little longer!” Sunset swatted at the air with a forehoof for extra effect. “My mother -Princess Celestia- will certainly understand if you say her daughter specifically asked for the scenic route so she could enjoy the sites of Canterlot after oh, so many years. Besides, who wouldn’t want to show them to her dear friend!”

The guards stopped and glanced at one another before shrugging as much with their shoulders as with their wings. “As you wish, princess,” the white guard answered with a smile.

Starlight couldn’t help but notice an eye roll from the gray guard, but whatever annoyance he felt clearly didn’t warrant a verbal response, as he continued to silently hold open the door.

Starlight made it the rest of the way into the carriage, followed by Sunset who raised her hooves high with each step like a show pony on a march. The pair took a cushioned bench seat apart from each other and removed their saddlebags, lowering them slowly onto the available space next to them. Soon, the carriage pulled forward smoothly, and the sound of metal armor clanking and clopping against stone gently filled the empty air.

Sunset gazed out the carriage window, mum and pensive; the pristine, white buildings of Canterlot passing by as nostalgic memories danced in her head inviting a small smile upon her face. Starlight was far less interested in what was going on outside, however. Her attention much more focused on her immediate surroundings of lavish golden gildings inside the carriage amongst a white ceiling, padded purple doors, and a comfortable brilliant maroon colored seat. She took a moment to glance at Sunset, noting her alicorn friend seemed to hold little regard for the opulence. “Huh…” Starlight uttered. “I guess it’s been a while, but this ride must be kind of mundane for you.”

Sunset turned and blinked a few times. She took a few moments to glance around before looking back at Starlight with a smirk. “I guess for me it’s like being reunited with a friend you took for granted, but not one who made such an impression that you don’t immediately take for granted again upon seeing them.” Sunset took the time to look about as if her eyes were finally taking in the interior itself. “In a lot of ways, this carriage brings back a lot of happy and not-so-happy memories…” Sunset took a moment to look at nothing and seemingly everything all at once. “This was the carriage that Celestia took me home from my orphanage with…” she uttered as a somewhat melancholy smile drifted onto her face like dead leaves being blown in the wind.

“Wow,” Starlight uttered, “that must have been an abrupt change of scenery.”

Sunset tilted her head and grinned. “Are you kidding? This carriage could have been my new room and it would have been a crazy improvement over my status in the orphanage.” Sunset’s teal eyes began to become glassy. “Riding in this carriage with Celestia the first time… It was an actual dream come true,” Sunset whispered in a tone so delicate, Starlight had to question for a moment if she even heard it.

“Huh… With all that, I’m surprised you can ride in it without a second thought… Until I said something of course,” Starlight added with a chuckle.

Sunset glanced around. “Well, the interior has been changed a few times since that first ride.”

“Huh,” Starlight pondered, “I guess it must have been a while ago. It makes sense that Celestia would have to arrange to have the interior fixed up.”

Sunset nodded with a wicked grin. “Especially when your adoptive daughter throws a tantrum and incinerates the interior once… twice… er… several times.”

Starlight gave Sunset a befuddled look as her mouth attempted to convey words her brain hadn’t come up with yet. “Uh… Er… Okay…”

Sunset just shook her head and went back to looking at the window. “Not to turn things into some sort of ridiculous screwed-up past competition between us, but there are many ways to be a blight on a country.” Any hints of happiness on Sunset’s expression fled as an aged look of bitterness took hold. She began to take note of familiar landmarks that informed her she was approaching Canterlot Castle, which was once-upon-a-time her home. Raising a forehoof, she said, “Sure, you can try and instate a revolutionary and creepy-brain-washy way of thinking and roll the dice when a princess comes around and hope that works on her; but you can also ensure you do some damage by spending years on a campaign of emotional warfare on the ruler of a nation.” Sunset took a deep breath, then quietly murmured. “Even if it’s the pony you love the most…”

Starlight paused for a moment, her brain desperately running through Twilight’s lessons as she tried to figure out a response. Luckily, her mentor had lectured her on the odd situation when a friend seemed to be pouring her heart out, and -just maybe- Twilight’s lesson would help fix the situation. “… Do you…” Starlight paused, and gathered herself, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sunset turned and stared at Starlight blankly. For a moment, Starlight couldn’t help but feel as if she had just found a landmine by tripping and planting her face directly on it. Thankfully, for Starlight’s sake, Sunset spoke. “I-I don’t know…” the bothered mare shook her head, “I don’t know if talking about it will make me feel better… I just…” Sunset glanced out the window again. “It’s really happening... I’m back, but… Do I deserve to be? I-I was pretty much a monster when I left, and in the end I became a literal monster.”

“Er… Well…” Starlight stared up at the carriage ceiling thoughtfully for a moment. “I don’t have experience becoming a literal monster, but what I did do to Equestria was certainly monstrous.”

Sunset swiveled her head, her teal eyes already having turned slightly glassy. She took a deep breath. “I know… It just feels a bit different going back to the place where you spent your time being a monster… er… figuratively in this particular case.”

Starlight smiled. “I totally understand that feeling. I ended up being invited back to the village I started by ‘equalizing’ it! That was pretty overwhelming at first.”

“Oh, yeah… Twilight mentioned that briefly amongst all the talk of you, uh, changing the changelings and defeating Chrysalis.” Sunset tilted her head slightly. “That must have been difficult for you.”

Starlight chuckled. “Right! At first I was afraid they just invited me to the annual Sunset Festival to be polite.”

A small smile appeared on Sunset’s face. “ ‘Sunset festival’? You should take me next year.” Her smile grew slightly coy. “Maybe I could even be the Mare of Honor!”

Starlight let out a short, mirthful, “Hah!” Her own smile grew. “Well, I was afraid when I got there they wouldn’t have forgiven me or that they might even laugh at me for showing up! Instead, it was more that they were really friendly.” Starlight let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m getting tired just thinking about it.”

Sunset’s forehead tightened in confusion.

Starlight continued, “They asked if I could help them pick out a banner for the celebration and also help with a relay race routes.” She shook her head. “They even wanted me to judge a pie competition! Can you believe it?”

Sunset simply blinked a few times. “Noooo… Okay…. So… How did you handle that?”

“Oh… Well… I kinda… freaked out and ran away!” Starlight added chipperly with a smile to match

“You… ran away?”

“Well… Trixie was there. So it was more like I collapsed and Trixie helped carry me away.”

“Wait… So you even had someone go with you to help you with your feelings and extra pie?!”

“Uh! Yeah!” Starlight replied. “Like you have me right now! Except, you know… I have the benefit of previous experience that’s pretty much the same as what you’re going through!”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “So… Just to make sure I have this straight in my head. You were afraid your previous Equalizer victims wouldn’t have forgiven you… but when you showed up, not only had they gotten over you taking their cutie marks and brainwashing them. They wanted to include you in all their activities and give you free pie… And you couldn’t handle that.”

Starlight frowned heavily. “Maybe. I’m not explaining it right. Er… I guess… the problem was that they were too friendly and accepting.”

Sunset’s left eye twitched as her lips began to war between the irritation Sunset clearly felt and the happiness she tried to show. “... And you would rather you travel back to the village to find out they invited you as some sort of… bizarre token gesture and that you even thinking for a moment they actually wanted you back warranted laughter from them?”

“Well… no… but uh… Er… Well. I think you’re lucky!" Starlight smile returned, nervousness tugged at one side, pulling it askew.

“I’m lucky because the first pony who recognized me screamed in terror upon seeing me and hid in his kitchen?” Sunset deadpanned.

Starlight nodded her head up and down a little too enthusiastically. “I expected at least somepony to be mad at me, and instead no-one was. The acceptance was almost harder than being yelled at!”

“...”

“Uh… Okay… Look… The important thing is, I got over that first visit, and after the whole changeling hive thing I went back and everything worked out!”

“So… I should freak out… Leave… Solve some sort of potential world-ending event... Then come back. That’ll make me feel better?” Sunset frowned. “Starlight, I’m sorry. That sounds a little ridiculous.” Her forehead tightened. “And sadly, I don’t mean the world ending part.”

Starlight smile faltered. “I guess the point is, I can totally relate to what you’re going through right now! Except the part where ponies got mad at me for what I did to them! That totally didn’t happen to me.”

Sunset whimpered.

Starlight waved her forehooves about in front of her. “Uh… Let me try again…” Starlight gave Sunset one of her patented ‘too symmetrical’ smiles. “Both of us were pulled out of a pit by one pony that saw we could be better than that. And it turned out we did get better...for the most part! Er… I mean me with the last part… For you it’s a monster part… Except for the parts were you scared ponies on the street.”

Sunset slowly began to lower her head and stare at the carriage floor, her eyes becoming glassy and unfocused.

Starlight grit her teeth. “The important thing is that we’re not flawless!” she blurted out.

Sunset looked up.

“W-We’re a work in progress?”

Sunset puffed out her lower lips a water welled up in her eyes.

“Okay! I know that sounded corny, but—“

Sunset leaned forward and wrapped her forehooves around Starlight.

Confusion plastered on her face, Starlight returned the hug.

“Starlight?”

“Yes, Sunset?”

“Thank you. Shut up, but thank you.”

“Uh... you’re welcome?”

Sunset leaned back, took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Still, I don’t think any pony realizes I’m still a work in progress, or I put in a lot of work or anything… They think I’m the same small filly!”

“Well, you’ve grown!”

Sunset flashed Starlight an unamused expression. “Yes. Now that I’m bigger, they’ll think I’m more of a threat.”

“No! I meant, uh… emotionally. You’re a much nicer pony, now!” Starlight smiled. “I mean… snark and sarcasm aside, you’re usually one of the nicest ponies I’ve ever met.”

Sunset smiled slightly and turned back to look outside. “Well, that’s certainly true. Still… being nice now doesn’t magically make up for all the bad I did.”

Starlight took a deep breath then let it out. “I know exa-approximately-exactly what you mean.”

Sunset turned again. “Yeah. I guess I’m talking to the right pony.” She let out a tired sigh. “Starlight, what am I doing here?”

Starlight grinned nervously. “Er… Mundane magical destiny stuff delivered by dog?”

“I know! But said ‘dog’ picked you before I showed up!”

“Well… I guess you’re making me feel better about being here for my mundane magical destiny stuff delivered by dog?”

“Yeah, yeah…Sorry, guess it’s my turn to freak out about this whole trip. Uh… Not to put the pressure back on you, but I guess I also don’t know if a table or tiny talking dog pasting my cutie mark over a city means the correct choice was made.” Sunset turned and frowned out the window. “I’ve already caused trouble just by showing up and being a pyromaniacal brat…” Sunset thought for a moment. “Guess that’s an improvement from being a pryomegalomaniacal brat, so… baby steps.”

“Er…” Starlight rubbed the back of her head and grinned nervously. “I guess with your past here that does make my own hang-ups look a bit silly.”

Sunset’s head whipped around, her face pulled tight around her eyes and nose. “No.”

“… No?”

Sunset closed her eyes and shook her head. “No,” she repeated. She opened her eyes and stared at Starlight with orbs of piercing turquoise. “Don’t think like that. Don’t think my personal baggage about coming back here somehow diminishes your own fears. I mean…” Sunset motioned out into open air with her forehoof. “Sure, I’m standing by my previous comments that you’ve got nothing to worry about, but just because I had a moment where I doubted myself doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to feel the same way. Okay?”

A small smile crept onto Starlight’s face. “Okay.”

Sunset nodded satisfactorily and moved back toward the window.

Something hot and anxious stirred in the back of Starlight’s mind as she stared at the back of Sunset’s head with its red and yellow mane seemingly blazing like fire. Maybe it was something in Sunset’s tone… something didn’t feel quite right, like trying to see the world through a pair of reading glasses. Or maybe it was more akin to Twilight’s voice urging her to press what was certainly a major friendship issue. “So, uh… er… Are you okay?”

“Of course!” Sunset said as she turned with a smile that suddenly gave Starlight clarity to why her own fake smiles often un-nerve other ponies. “I mean, why wouldn’t I be?!” Sunset let out a somewhat unsettling giggle. “I mean… I’m home! I get to see my Mommy again! And Auntie Luna! And all the ponies I knew when I was a filly! It’s going to be fine! FINE!” Sunset stressed through clenched teeth as her eyes silently, desperately, pleaded for help.

“Uh, right… It’s just that—”

The carriage suddenly slowed, coming to a complete stop. Before Starlight could so much as get another word out, Sunset’s horn glowed red and her saddlebags floated onto her back. The red-maned prodigy pushed open the door so quickly there was an audible ‘clank’ as the door slammed into the helmet of the gray pegasus guard that had reached out to open it for them. Ignoring the cry of discomfort, Sunset jumped out into the bright sunlight as the guard back paddled and quickly adjusted his helmet. “Ahhh! Good ol’ Canterlot Castle!” Sunset cried, her eyes drifting one way, then the other like a pair of marbles let loose on a ship at sea. “It’s been far too long since I’ve been here!”

Starlight stepped off the carriage, her saddlebags on her back. She gave Sunset an unsure look as the guards went about untethering themselves from the carriage.

Sunset paid this no mind. “Just,” She inhaled through her nose, then let it out with a satisfied ‘Ahhhh!’ “Just smell that Canterlot air! It smells like—” All at once, Sunset’s face seemed to come to a screeching halt, her smile broke just as her eyes went glassy. Her pupils began to quiver while she gazed upwards at the castle as if her eyes themselves were struggling with the weight of it. “—home…” she quietly murmured to herself.

Home. The place where most of Sunset’s happy memories had taken place. On the other hand, it as where many of her worst memories had occurred. Sure, she had hit rock bottom back at Canterlot High, but she dealt with that every day to the point where she had become to numb to the sharp pain the school's entrance inflicted on her every time she walked up to it. But Canterlot Castle had just been something she accidentally glanced at from the outskirts of Ponyville before she averted her attention to something else. Now, it was all around her once more. Her entire world. A world controlled by… by…

“Sunset?” Starlight asked in an unsure tone. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Sunset said nothing, instead continuing to stare up at the castle wordlessly as the quivering of her eyes stopped and her smile evaporated from her face. Her expression now unreadable, as guards and Starlight stood around expectantly. After a few moments, Sunset took a deep breath, turned to the grey guard, and said a simple, cold, “Leave us.”

From behind the gray guard, the white guard turned with the barest hints of a frown. The gray guard looked at Sunset with a look of stern professionalism. “Princess Celestia ordered us to escort—”

Sunset’s horn blazed crimson for a moment, then burned a fiery orange that exploded into a demonic face radiating a sweltering heat, fire flickered like a raging bonfire as a cacophonous “BUCK OFF!” was bellowed in a supernaturally loud voice. It echoed off the castle walls and reverberated like a small aftermath of an earthquake.

The guards froze, their fight or flight instincts coming so far forward in their minds one could see the conflict in their eyes. After a moment, the gray guard shook his head dismissively to regain his senses, before uttering a sharp, “Yes, Princess,” and motioned for the other guards to depart with him. There was no further protest. The remaining guards dutifully shuffled toward the castle, opened the double doors, and marched briskly inside.

As Starlight watched the guards trot off, their bodies tense and feathers clearly ruffled, she turned towards Sunset, hoping for some sort of explanation.

What she got from Sunset’s expression stole any demand for an answer from her lips.

Staring at Starlight with desperate eyes that were draining tears like buckets bailing water from a sinking ship, Sunset’s stalwart expression had more than cracked; it had shattered. Starlight was looking at what was unquestionably one of the strongest ponies she had ever known. Said pony had not only reached the end of her rope, but it looked like a rope or a lifesaving tether was an utterly foreign concept to the mare in front of her.

Nearly gagging on sobs that seemed a hair's breadth away from consuming her. Sunset choked out a frantic “S-s-star-Starlight?! I. Can’t. Do. This!”

Starlight had often taken comfort in Sunset’s assertions that friendship wasn’t something you learned from a book, or flashcards, because Twilight’s lessons had NOT gifted her with the analytic mathematically proven method to deal with what was in front of her. Thoughts raced through the purple mare’s head like eager rats darting through a maze- without purpose or direction, crashing and crawling over each other while trying to find an exit that might not even exist. Words failed her. She had no answers. She had no context, nor platitudes regarding moms to help Sunset. She was simultaneously jealous that Sunset was lucky enough to be in this situation, and wracked with guilt for her jealousy. Starlight had no parents- adopted, estranged, or otherwise- to work from as a frame of reference.

But she did understand loneliness.

Beyond that, she understood the overpowering emotions surrounding the all-encompassing certainty that what one had previously done was wrong, and that forgiveness was not something one deserved.

So, Starlight did the only thing that she could think to do in the situation presented. She leaned forward, wrapped her forelegs around Sunset, and hugged her.

Sunset’s breath immediately caught in her throat.

For a while, neither mare spoke. Starlight merely held on tightly and Sunset did little more than stand frozen; before rising her own forehooves, wrapping them around Starlight, and letting loose quiet, but powerful sobs directly into one of Starlight’s shoulders.

Both mares held on for a while until Sunset’s cries died down to silence.

Just as the quiet seemed like it might overwhelm the mares, Starlight spoke, “I don’t get it.”

Sunset said nothing.

“I’m sorry, Sunset… I never had a Mom. But I do know what screwing up is like and…” Starlight trailed off and broke the hug slightly, her hooves still on Sunset’s shoulders as she maintained eye contact, while Sunset’s forelegs dropped back to the ground. Starlight smiled. “I know you’ve at least talked to Celestia; that’s got to count for something, right?!” Starlight grinned. “And you saved Equestria. Like, twice!”

Sunset grimaced. “I almost destroyed it once too, you know…”

Starlight shrugged dismissively. “So, let’s say you saved it once.”

“I…” Sunset pursed her lips. “Okay, I know it shouldn’t work like that, but I also know I wouldn’t hesitate to use a similar line on you, so I’m going to let you have that one.”

Starlight chuckled and nodded. “Celestia is going to be THRILLED to have you back! So what if you maybe terrified a few ponies on your way here, and made your entrance in such a way that has you reliving the very things you kinda hate yourself for doing as a filly?”

“… Starlight? I don’t want to undermine whatever point you’re making, but you kinda suck at pep talks.”

“Yeah, sorry. Not my strong suit- unless I’m delivering some sort of half-crazed megalomaniacal manifesto… Should I stop?”

Sunset shook her head, “No, it’s fine. Keep going.”

Starlight nodded. “The point is, I’m sure Celestia loves you and will overlook your past transgressions… Even if those transgressions are from just a little bit ago!”

There was a beat of silence followed by the sound of a distant colt schilling papers by shouting, “Extra! Extra! Princess Prodigal Progeny Returns, Promptly Proceeds to Punish Populace!”

Nervousness began to contentiously tangle with the encouragement on Starlight’s smile.

Despite this, Sunset herself, forced a smile. “Yeah… You’re right… And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Chapter 5: Sins of the Daughter

Author's Notes:

Some references to Bibliopocalypse: War of the Two Suns ahead.

Sunset Shimmer regarded the large golden gates to Canterlot Castle with a sense of nostalgia mixed with dread. They were less imposing now, given she was substantially taller, though the shift in physical perspective did little to stem the tide of emotions seeing them brought. Still, Sunset likely had a friend that would blast them to pieces if she asked. Sunset wouldn’t even have to be nice about it. Starlight Glimmer would likely comply if it was a request, an order, or even if the unicorn caught a whiff that the gates themselves filled Sunset with unease.

Speaking of unease, knowing that’s how Starlight might react wasn’t all that comforting… Still, having any sort of friendly back-up, especially one that would use actions to help instead a bunch of empty platitudes lifted out of the greeting card aisle was comforting. More comfort than Sunset could expect from most her friends… at least without having to prod them a little. In that regards at least, Starlight was an ideal companion.

Starlight herself also seemed somewhat intimidated by the idea that she was responsible for fixing a mess past those golden gates, and that in itself was also a bit if a relief to Sunset.

Sunset took a deep breath and recited a mantra that had just recently sprung to her mind as she made this harrowing journey to her ‘home’. Or at least a place that still had the lion’s share of her most treasured memories… and the moments she most regretted.

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.

As true as the lines she recited to herself were, Sunset had stolen them from a movie, which in turn, lifted them straight from the book series the movie was based on which she might shamefully admit she couldn’t get all the way through.

Look, it wasn’t HER fault the movies had already been out when she jumped dimensions and that they were so freakin’ good she’d forgo a balanced diet, sleep, and basic hygiene for an entire day to marathon the entire extended trilogy! And, hey! Books were great, but was it her fault she wasn’t born Twilight ‘perfect friend and best bookworm’ Sparkle?! Sunset had had dance popularity contests to win and a high school to rule over!

Sunset frowned heavily. It was amazing what a perspective change brought on by a few world-threatening events could do to make one reflect on several years spent wasted on frivolous pursuits.

The high school stuff, that is. Not marathoning movies. It’d be a below-absolute zero day in HELL before she’d regret any of that.

Anyhow, the mantra had one flaw in that it didn’t offer any advice. On examination of the source material, apparently, the answer was ‘Leave now and never come back!’

Well, Sunset had left, and now she was back.

She wasn’t about to back down now.

“Uh, Sunset?” Starlight interjected. “Are you alright? You’re kinda just glaring at the castle and spacing out…”

“YOU ARE A STUDENT OF TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Sunset unexpectedly yelled at the top of her lungs. “NO MATTER WHAT COMES OUT OF THAT GATE, YOU WILL STAND YOUR GROUND!” Okay, yeah… Maybe it worked in a book or in a movie, but that just sounded stupid otherwise.

Starlight put on a determined smile and stood ready as if the devil himself might throw open the gates and attack. “Okay!” she replied as if the thing Sunset had just said was completely natural and not insane at all.

No wait! I take it back. Cool. Totally cool! I’m being cool now and not an overwhelmed dork who isn’t prepared for this at all!

Sunset put on her game face and prepared for the worst. Her wings weren’t for show, after-all. Facing a reality tearing high-schooler who was possessed by a demon of gluttony by utilizing the combined powers of your friend’s most positive traits had to count for something when you had to deal with your past emotional baggage!

…Right?

And then the gates to the castle opened.

And there stood a lone pony. A pale, off-white unicorn stallion balancing small spectacles on his muzzle and wearing a dignified red jacket and blue-grey ascot. He looked across the way to Sunset with his soft-brown eyes and she suddenly understood what it must be like to have one’s soul set ablaze via ‘penance stare.’

Any illusion that Sunset previously held that she had ‘got this’ shattered.

A new set of guards ready to escort Sunset to her unavoidable fate? Sure. Princess Celestia herself? Been there, done that. A horde of Orcs that charged at her and Starlight after the mighty battering ram Grond destroys the gates themselves? Bring it.

But Kibitz, the closest thing Sunset Shimmer ever had to a father? Nope. There just wasn’t enough time to work out the epic mental obstacle course of the ways that might go down.

While it was relatively well known in Canterlot amongst those ponies with longer memories than most that once upon a time Celestia had adopted a poor little orphan filly and said filly had turned out to be a bit of a hellion, what wasn’t well documented was the castle staff that put up with her.

Out of the servants that came and went, some likely directly because of Sunset, Kibitz had been a fixture of Sunset’s life since the moment she first stepped hoof in the castle. This was somewhat unavoidable with Kibitz being the royal scheduling aid and majordomo for Celestia herself. As of such, he became sort of an unwilling babysitter, at least in Sunset’s eyes.

Then one day Sunset thought she accidentally killed her mother, and this unicorn came across the scene. Towering over Sunset, he looked down at the small filly in judgment.

But instead of condemning or even rebuking Sunset when she was at her absolute lowest, he opened his heart to her and told her that everything would be alright. In that moment he became the second pony ever to really let her know she deserved to be loved.

Though, regarding the ‘tragic death of her mother’, Sunset was admittedly being a tad melodramatic at the time. in her defense, she was just a recently adopted orphan who didn’t have a frame of reference for how much damage a large hardcover book could do when lobbed at a pony's head.

Still, even if Sunset learned to reciprocate all the love Kibitz had shown her by making sure she was always taken care of and even occasionally spent time with the little filly on one of the many occasions when her mother was too busy, it didn’t mean she magically became better behaved. As the years went on this poor pony had dealt with a great deal of Sunset’s tantrums, especially since he was so much quicker to put his foot down than Celestia.

Through it all, never once did he ever give the slightest indication that he’d be anywhere but there to help Sunset when she needed it.

And instead of ever thanking him for that, she ran away from home.

Whatever disagreements she may have had with her mother, Kibitz wasn’t part of them, and still… Sunset was able to cut him from her life the same she did to Celestia.

And she didn’t have clue one as to how a pony could even begin to apologize for that.

So, Sunset stood there like a deer in the headlights of a multi-ton, multi-trailer rocket truck and let out a silent prayer that her heart wasn’t about to be ripped out and shown to her.

Starlight, to her credit, did indeed stand her ground as if Kibitz, of all ponies, might be Celestia’s trained assassin. Though the mare did it with some degree of confusion.

Stone-faced as ever, Kibitz took a step, and then another. Then another… In fact, he strode forward as if he was greeting any other royal dignitary as the caretaker of Canterlot castle and not approaching the adult version of a filly whose tantrums he had weathered for many a year. Nor did he look upon Sunset with the eyes she’d expect from a pony who refused to sit at make-believe tea parties but would instead schedule real tea parties with himself and Sunset in attendance.

Sunset searched desperately for the hints of the pony who’d soothe her when she’d accidentally break an ancient vase while playing where she shouldn’t, or part of her mother’s regalia on one of the occasions where she was pretending to be a real princess. Each time followed by discreetly having the item repaired without a word to Celestia. She looked long and hard for a reminder, any reminder, of the love Kibitz had shown when he would read her bedtimes stories when Princess Celestia was still busy with one of her endless royal duties.

Sunset focused all her attention on the pony trotting towards her and practically attempted will into existence that spark of light that showed that her absence had been marked. That she was indeed still loved.

She. Just. Couldn’t. Find. It.

Quickly, silently, Kibitz arrived within a foreleg length of Sunset.

And there was a gulf of silence as Starlight kept an eye on Kibitz’s horn as if it might be used to blast Sunset at a moment’s notice. As comforting as that might be, a terrified Sunset Shimmer kept an eye on his perfect poker face. Waiting for it to break into anger and tell Sunset that she had gone too far. That she had finally crossed a line and there was no going back.

That this time… this time she really did lose the love of somepony whose feelings meant the world to her.

Out of all the ponies that Sunset had wronged time and time again, no pony had shown Sunset more patience or dealt with her often times miserable behavior with more grace and dignity than the pony walking up to her now. If ever there was a pony who had a right to return to Sunset all the pain and stress she had caused over the years as a filly in one single, brutal moment, it was Kibitz.

Sunset had a bag… no, an entire armory of return-fire ammunition to deal with her Mom if it came to defending herself and her old, insufferable ways.

The mental bag of comebacks and tit-for-tats she had for Kibitz? It was a big fat load of air that read ‘you done bucked up’ when turned inside out.

And then Kibitz took a couple steps forward.

He wrapped a foreleg around Sunset’s neck and rested his head on her shoulder.

He murmured, “Oh, child… Why did you ever leave your home? I missed you terribly.”

Sunset’s geode suddenly flashed red, and a tsunami of regret and longing from the pony holding her hit her in an instant.

Then Sunset recognized that her heart had been ripped out and shown to her.

As tears poured forth and the paper-thin walls that held her emotions at bay were obliterated by this wave of emotion, she rejoiced.

Chapter 6: Raw Emotions

Starlight Glimmer shifted awkwardly in place as she watched Sunset Shimmer embrace a well-dressed, older pony gentleman while the orange alicorn released the floodgates behind her large, turquoise eyes.

I mean, wow! I didn’t even think it was possible to cry THAT hard.

Starlight had seen Sunset lose her composure to tears many times before. In fact, Sunset was one of the most emotional ponies Starlight had even met. It was impressive how well Sunset could express herself through tears and crying. She was so good at it in fact, well… Let’s just say if the Equestrian Games ever gave out medals for ‘crying your eyes out’, everypony else who entered would be competing for silver.

Starlight was simply glad that the pony who had made Sunset cry was busy murmuring that “There, there, let it out…” and gently hushing her instead of berating her in this case. Though… I mean… I thought I deserved to be yelled at too when I went back to my village! I mean… What’s a pony got to do to actually get a little reprimanding for their bad behavior?

Well, at least he wasn’t some well-dressed assassin… Unless he was trying to dehydrate Sunset to death! A real possibility from where Starlight was standing.

Seemingly regaining some semblance of control over her emotions, Sunset managed a smile even as the tears still poured forth from her eyes. “I missed you so much…” she murmured into the collar of the pony’s crisp coat.

“I know, dear… I know… It’s fine. Everything is going to be fine,” the pony assured.

Starlight hooved at the ground awkwardly.

“Kibitz… I know…” Sunset choked out between sobs. “Please… Just… let me go for a sec… Say ‘hi’ to Starlight, alright?”

Kibitz pulled back his head enough to give Sunset a scrutinizing look.

Sunset managed a tearful nod.

Making sure Sunset was stable on her hooves again, Kibitz let go turned to Starlight. “Hello miss, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier.”

“It’s fine!” Starlight insisted, her countenance clearly brightening as she was once again being acknowledged. “It looked like you had other things on your mind than little-ol’ me.”

Kibitz responded to Starlight with an unreadable even expression. “Indeed,” he said simply. “I’m the royal scheduling advisor to Princess Celestia and chief caretaker of this castle. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Wow, that all sounds pretty important,” Starlight remarked.

Sunset tried to let out a laugh, but it came out more as a strained cry for help and the mare collapsed to the ground.

“Goodness gracious me!” Kibitz exclaimed as both he and Starlight raced for the fallen mare. Kibitz got there first and helped Sunset up to her hooves.

“I’m-I’m okay!” she assured in a not very convincing tone. “Ju-just kinda overloaded my emotions with empathy magic!” Sunset groaned as she wobbled a bit as Kibitz supported her by the right foreleg covered by his coat. “Now I know how Scarface felt when he stuck his face in that mountain of blow…”

Kibitz gave Starlight a quick bemused glance that was met with a shrug.

“Ghuh! My references are wasted on you two…” Sunset exclaimed before she nearly took a nose dive towards the ground. Fortunately for Sunset, Kibitz was quick to catch her with his other foreleg. Unfortunately for Sunset, his hoof made contact with her and this just hit her with a dose of concerned parental-like emotion which once again was quite touching in an Oh, God! Why won’t the tears stop?! Kind of way.

“Sunset?” Kibitz said as he continued to support the alicorn. “Perhaps you’d like to sit down?”

“N-no!” Sunset choked out between her sobbing. “I jus-sob-Starlight?”

“Uh… Yes, I’m here?”

“Could-hweeehweee-could you hold me up?”

“Sure?” Starlight answered as she grabbed Sunset’s other foreleg.

Sunset took a phlegmy inhale.

“Here, blow into this,” Kibitz said has a floated up a handkerchief with an ethereal light blue glow of his horn.

Sunset retrieved her foreleg Kibitz and blew into the handkerchief. “Thanks,” Sunset said in an even tone as she floated the somewhat soggy cloth back to Kibitz. “I feel better thanks to Starlight’s near complete lack of emotional investment and general confusion regarding the current goings-on,” She said as she retrieved her other foreleg from Starlight and stood back on her forelegs.

“Uh… you’re welcome?” Starlight said.

“Yeah, thank you…” Sunset said as she floated up her red geode and looked it over. “Apparently emotions directly related to me pack a wallop.”

“Perhaps it would be best if you took a little break, mum,” Kibitz suggested.

“I’ll be fine,” Sunset said in a more convincing tone this time. Managing a smirk, she continued. “I was just going to say that your title is a rather fancy way of saying ‘Castle Butler’.” Much to Sunset’s delight, this remark earned an uncharacteristically undignified flapping from Kibitz lips. “But yeah, considering he often holds the keys to what Celestia does day in and day out, it’s pretty important,” she qualified.

Starlight just smiled. “Well, I’m Starlight Glimmer, Twilight’s Friendsh-Graduated friendship student.”

Kibitz nodded. “Oh, I’m quite aware of who you are, Miss Glimmer.”

A pensive look crossed Starlight’s face. “Oh?”

Kibitz simply nodded. “Yes. Quite. It’s my business to know of all comings and goings into and out of the castle.”

“That’s um… uhhh…”

“Hey!” Sunset said suddenly as she gave Kibitz a resolute look. “I’m feeling like… just a ton better! So, you can take me to see Mom now. You know… just get this emotional overload over with. Go big or go home!”

“You are home,” Starlight pointed out.

“… Oh…” Sunset looked up at the massive white castle that towered over the three ponies. “I guess I am. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m not totally, 100%, absolutely ready to march into that throne room where a good third of the trouble I caused—”

“Fifty percent by my estimate,” Kibitz interjected.

“—Half of the trouble I caused when I still lived here went down and see Mom again!”

Kibitz looked over Sunset again, scrutinizing her through his monocle. He took particular notice of her puffy, bloodshot eyes. “Pish-posh! I can’t very well take you to your mother in this state, can I?”

“It can’t be any worse than the times you took me to see her when I was throwing a crying fit.”

Kibitz raised an eyebrow. “If you recall, I never took you to see her when you were in such a state, you always slipped past my care and barged in on whatever your mother was doing before I could calm you down.”

“… Oh yeaaaah….”

Starlight chuckled. “Well, at least you’re coming to help your mom this time!”

Sunset nodded. “It’s an improvement over wanting to march an army across dimensions and take over Canterlot Castle…”

Kibitz broke out into a surprised coughing fit.

“Er… I probably would have made you my demonic Vizier if that makes you feel any better.”

Kibitz took a moment to carefully take out his used handkerchief, fold it to an unused portion, and dab at the sweat forming on his brow. “Excuse me, but that just seemed rather extreme from your episodes as a filly.”

“Well, it all came about from a botched attempt to turn myself into an alicorn the easy way, but misused magic is a HELL of a drug,” Sunset paused to giggle for a moment, then continued, “but still… It would have been a marked change from throwing ‘I want to see mommy’ and ‘I deserve a snack!’ tantrums.”

“Well, I can tell you that your ‘mom’ is nothing but excited to see you again, regardless of your checkered past,” Kibitz assured.

“Yeah, I’m sure she is…” Sunset said in an oddly melancholic tone.

Kibitz cocked his head slightly at the unexpected response. “I still insist you take a break before meeting with Celestia.”

Sunset glanced at Starlight as if checking what the other mare wanted to do.

Starlight shrugged. “Well, since Canterlot Castle isn’t currently on-fire, I guess it couldn’t hurt to take a little more time.”

Sunset chuckled. “Well… the day is young and the banners in the castle are typically rather flammable.”

“Well don’t cause the friendship problem!” Starlight exclaimed.

Sunset smirked and looked at Kibitz. “It’s only a problem if someone forgot to hang the fire-retardant banners?”

Kibitz shook his head. “Oh, I put the castle staff on notice for that the moment I heard you had arrived in Canterlot. The younger ones are quite intrigued to learn why we’ve always called it a ‘Sunset Drill’.”

Sunset let out a nervous titter. “Of course you did…” She cleared her throat. “Okay, we will take that break, after all, Kibitz. I suppose it’d be good to see more of the castle again before I throw myself to the great, white wolf.”

Kibitz couldn’t help but chuckle. “You exaggerate.” He motioned for the two mares to follow him and the trio made their way into the castle’s courtyard, an open space of well-manicured grasses, the odd small bush, hedge, or tree, and a small pond the group all trotted past on the way to the main structure of the castle.

“Knowing Mom? Yeah, probably,” Sunset admitted.

“Well, speaking of exaggerating,” Starlight began, “I’m glad you’re the castle’s butler. I thought maybe Celestia sent out a pony to, erm… take out Sunset permanently the way Sunset reacted at first…”

Kibitz raised an eyebrow. “If you’ll excuse my bluntness, if her Highness did have a royal Assassin, I’d imagine you’d have been dispatched before your little kerfuffle with Star Swirl’s time spell.”

Starlight let out a nervous “Ha HAAAAaaaaaa…” as her expression visibly tensed.

Sunset swatted at Kibitz’s shoulder. “Oh, be nice to her! I mean, I’d consider the fact she thinks you might have the look of a stone-cold killer a compliment.”

“Hrmph… I suppose you would,” Kibitz said, unable to hide a small smile. “Still, I don’t know where I’d fit the time in to deal with enemies of the state with all my buttling tasks.”

Sunset let out another laugh. “Oh, I don’t know. My time on earth has shown me butlers can make excellent assassins and fighters of the undead.”

“Uh… quite,” Kibitz replied, clearly unsure as to what, if any, was the proper response to that.

“Also, Starlight got summoned here to fix a friendship problem!”

Kibitz raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware Princess Twilight Sparkle was outsourcing her duties.”

“Oh, not her,” Sunset said, shaking her head. “Believe me, she’d be here if Order had given her even half a chance.”

Kibitz crinkled his forehead in confusion. “Ah… so she was otherwise… detained?”

“Huh…? Oh! No, see Order is this tiny dog that lives in Twilight’s table.”

“…Indeed.”

Sunset frowned. “Okay, I suppose that does sound insane when I put it like that.”

Starlight chuckled. “Hey, I was there and it took me a while to believe what I was seeing!”

Kibitz’s expression softened slightly. “Well, I suppose it’s not the strangest thing I’ve heard of.” He groaned. “Or even dealt with! Now that Discord is back and is in her majesty’s relative good graces, it seems the castle staff just occasionally have to tolerate the odd conference room having its furniture stuck to the ceiling, filled to near bursting with raspberry syrup, or guarded by a sphinx who only gives riddles and allows for answers spoken in Pig-Latin.” He shook his head as a pair of guards opened up a large, ornate wooden door on the side of the castle and the trio made their way into its lavish halls with red carpets flanked by rows of brightly colored drapes and suits of armor. “Not to mention all the condiments and occasional slime that’s needed to be cleaned from the walls. Still, it pales in comparison to when he first escaped. He seems positively sedate now.”

Sunset and Starlight chuckled to themselves as Sunset found herself looking at the walls. “Wow… This all takes me back…” she murmured to herself.

“Do you miss it?” Kibitz asked in a tone missing his characteristic professionalism.

Sunset frowned. “Yeah, sometimes,” she admitted. “I mean… being a far-less magic high-school student certainly isn’t as glamorous as a princess…”

“I’m sure it has its charms,” Kibitz said without any condescension from his tone. “Well, it’s always here when you desire a visit.” Kibitz smiled at Sunset. “Besides, there are many ponies here who have missed you, too.”

Sunset let out a short laugh. “Hah! I doubt that.”

Kibitz smile immediately fell from both his face and eyes. “Indeed,” he said simply.

Joy likewise departed Sunset’s expression. “Kibitz, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean—”

“We’re here, mum,” Kibitz said curtly as he opened up ornate, golden double doors to a large and luxurious dining area designed to seat dozens, possibly hundreds of ponies. “I’ll tell your mother you’ll join her in a bit,” he added as he ushered Sunset and Starlight in.

Sunset bit at her lower lip. “Kibitz! I didn’t mean to imply—”

“I’ll see you shortly, I’m sure,” Kibitz interrupted as he motioned to a large dining table. “Good day.”

At once, Sunset felt the urge to shout a demand at Kibitz enter the forefront of her thoughts. Just as quickly, she pushed that feeling deep down as she took a calming breath and watched Kibitz walk away. She instead elected to take a seat at the head of the table while Starlight sat to her left.

“What was that about?” Starlight enquired.

Sunset shook her head. “I just… I think I touched a nerve. Kibitz… he…” Sunset crunched her lips up in contemplation for a moment. “He tends to retreat before his emotions get the better of him…” She stared down at the purple tablecloth atop the table. “It can be… frustrating, to say the least” She flung a hoof up matter of factually. “On the other hand, it kept him from getting into screaming matches with me…” Sunset smirked. “Unlike my mom…” She shook her head. “Who knows, maybe he knew what he was doing all along.”

Starlight smiled. “Heeeeey…!”

Sunset turned and stared at Starlight quizzically. “What?”

Starlight’s smile remained but her eyes betrayed a nervousness that afflicting the mare. “Uh… I was really hoping I’d come up with some encouraging words, but really… I got nothing. I mean, I really just can’t relate to any of this.”

Sunset paused for a moment then broke into laughter. “It’s okay! I’m sure Order didn’t send you here to help me reconnect with my old life. You just concentrate on working out whatever that friendship problem might be. I’ll tackle my own homecoming issues.” Sunset looked around and took in the familiarity of the room. Her smile began to slowly sink as if it were a boat taking on water.

“Phew! That’s a relief,” Starlight said. “Sorry, I know this is a lot for you, but it’s also a bit overwhelming for—”

“We’re in the royal dining area…” Sunset murmured fearfully.

“Uh… yes?” Starlight replied. “I mean… I thought that was obvi—”

"Oi! Is that really Sunset Shimmer I’m seeing?!”

Eyes locked into their full-open-and-terrified position, Sunset turned to face her worst nightmare. Specifically, her worst Kitchen Nightmare, a unicorn stallion that went by that oddly feminine name with an orange coat, shortly-cut, messy blond mane, and chef jacket.

“Ah!” Sunset exclaimed as if seeing forgotten specter from her past, which was becoming a repeating pattern at this point. It’s a trap! was Sunset’s immediate thought as she was confronted with this unexpected change. Her mind immediately came up with a plan to deal with the situation…

Starlight watched as Sunset, for the second time in the day, dove under a table.

…It just wasn’t a very good plan.

Images of being diced, battered and flambeed dance through her head. “Oh…” Sunset uttered to herself as she found herself staring at pony-sized black and white tiles of Canterlot castle. “So this is what Joe felt like.”

Author's Notes:

Ended up splitting what I was working on, so next chapter hopefully soonish. Then we'll finally be up to the 1-minute mark of the episode this is a take on!

Chapter 7: Classic Sunset

Sunset Shimmer looked up as Starlight Glimmer peered tentatively under the table at the currently cowering alicorn. “Why are you hiding from some chef?” Starlight asked in a hushed tone.

Sunset gave Starlight an appalled look. “He’s not ‘some chef’!” She said indignantly. “Kitchen Nightmare is a master chef!”

“Okay?” Starlight said. “Well, why are you hiding from a master chef? I mean, the royal guards I get, but a chef?”

“I’m far more terrified of Kitchen Nightmare than I am of some rando group of guards Mom sent to fetch me!”

The color drained from Starlight’s face. “Oh.” With an electric blue flash and a crackle like the air itself was being torn, Starlight teleported under the massive table to join Sunset.

“How did you remember to teleport but decided that ‘under the table’ was the best place to hide?!”

“How did you forget to teleport somewhere instead of hiding under the table?!”

“I asked you first!”

“Well, I asked you second!”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter because Kitchen Nightmare wouldn’t have any reason to be mad at you!”

Starlight thought for a moment. “Hah!” she exclaimed as had just thought of a legitimate comeback. “He might if he knew how bad the food was back at my equalized village!”

Sunset grit her teeth. “There’s no realistic way of him knowing about the food in your village out in the middle of nowhere!”

“Oh… Uh…” She looked around and frowned. “Well, there’s really no dignified way to get out from under a table.”

“Teeeeleeeeepooooooooort?” Sunset stressed, her tone still quite irritated.

“I’m still teleporting from under a table, so…”

“You could teleport out of the room and just walk in like you weren’t here in the first place.”

“Oh, yeah! Uh… We could also just both teleport and, you know… leav—”

“Found you~,” Kitchen Nightmare sang out. “I mean, you didn’t make it hard this time.”

Sunset swallowed.

“Uh, do I need to help?” Starlight asked.

“No, I got this,” Sunset assured. “Maybe… Look, if I make a bobwhite call, create a distraction and we’ll run.”

“Okay!” Starlight said. “I don’t know what sound a bobwhite makes!”

“Bobwhite,” Sunset answered.

“I know!” Starlight said. “But I don’t know what sound it calls out!”

“Bobwhite!” Sunset said in an irritable tone.

“I heard you the first, second, and third time! But what does the bird call sound like!”

“BOBWH—”

“Well don’t make me wait all day, Sunset,” Kitchen Nightmare called out. “I’ve got a kitchen to run!”

Sunset took a deep breath and crawled out from under the table. Something she remembered doing many times when she was younger, though it was easier when the table seemed so much bigger. She stood up and looked into the face of her confronter. His thin eyebrows framing his angry-appearing eyes, forehead knotted into a look of deep-seated anger… Actually no, that was his default expression.

Much to Sunset’s surprise, Kitchen Nightmare favored her with a smile. “Playing hide and seek for old time’s sake, eh?”

“Uh… Yeah, totally!” Sunset replied as she did her best to remember how behaving while not completely terrified was like.

There was another electric blue flash and the crackle that meant Starlight teleported. Not a second later, the mare pushed open the doors to the dining room and walked in with a smile that suggested she hadn’t just been hiding under the table.

“Good,” Kitchen Nightmare said. “That means you’re not too old for one of these.”

“One of wh—?” Before Sunset knew it, she was in the arms of the unicorn chef and being raised off the ground and spun. Sunset couldn’t help but laugh. It had been years since she had been spun like this. Years, many pounds, and two wings more. She thought she might have even heard Kitchen Nightmare’s back crack a bit as he did his best to spin her in her fully-grown mare glory. And like with Kibitz, a wave of emotions hit Sunset. However, Kitchen Nightmare clearly didn’t carry with him the years of regret or deep-seated loneliness from Sunset’s absence. Instead, Sunset experienced a far more welcoming and warm feeling of his simple joy in seeing her again, and immediately she felt her worries from this meeting melt away. Granted, the spinning probably would have been just as effective in that regard.

Kitchen Nightmare let out a grunt as he sat Sunset down and stretched his back a bit. This time Sunset was certain she heard the clicking of bones realigning.

“Are you okay?” Sunset asked in a concerned tone. “I mean, I might not be getting too old for that, but I might be getting too big.”

“The day I can’t pick you up is the day you better tell your mum to start planning funeral arrangements,” Kitchen Nightmare replied.

Smiling, Sunset cringed. “You better start working out, then,” Sunset said, “I might be as big as her someday.”

Kitchen Nightmare took another look at Sunset and then his eyes opened wide as if he was truly seeing her for the first time today. “Well look at you! A full alicorn princess!”

“Well… those things are technically true separately,” Sunset said with a smirk.

Kitchen Nightmare beamed widely. “I knew you had potential, lass.”

There were the tears Sunset thought had been missing from the reunion, but she managed to keep a grin on her face this time.

“Oh, come on now. None of that,” Kitchen Nightmare said as he wrapped a foreleg around Sunset and motioned to the table she had been hiding under moments ago with his free foreleg. “How about you introduce me to your pretty friend who’s clearly been sitting at the table this entire time,” he said with a wink.

“Ha haaaaaaa…” came Starlight’s nervous reply.

Sunset grinned. “Kitchen Nightmare, this is my friend Starlight Glimmer. Starlight Glimmer, this is Kitchen Nightmare, the best chef in Equestria.”

The two ponies extended their right forelegs and gave the other’s a slight tap before ‘shaking’ their legs up and down. Kitchen Nightmare smiled as he and Starlight retracted their forelegs. “Well best is certainly debatable,” he said.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Fine. Most accomplished.”

“Hah!” Kitchen Nightmare responded. “I suppose that’s hard to argue with.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Starlight said with a congenial smile on her face which quickly turned a smidgen unsure. “Er… You haven’t heard of me, have you?”

Kitchen Nightmare frowned. “No.” He turned towards Sunset. “Should I have?”

“No, no!” Starlight said quickly. “I’m juuuust a humble friendship post-graduate student of Twilight Sparkle,” Starlight interjected quickly.

“Pretty sure that’s not a thing, but okay…” Sunset muttered under her breath.

Kitchen Nightmare’s countenance actually turned sourer. “Twilight Sparkle? Hopefully your pallet is a bit more refined than hers.” His focus turned distant for a moment as if he was briefly reliving a particularly trying event in his life. “And that you can handle cheese-heavy dishes with fewer panic attacks...” He shook his head. “I can’t even remember how long it took to convince her she could ask for more than basic sandwiches from the kitchen.” He favored Sunset with an approving smile. “While this one would pull out all the stops every time she was asked what she wanted.”

Sunset let out a laugh. “Go big or go ho-to your room.” Sunset corrected somewhat awkwardly, hoping to avoid yet another comment of ‘You are home!’ from Starlight.

Kitchen Nightmare seemingly let the awkwardness slide and simply turned to face a set of open, tall purple doors set in an ornate gold frame under a banner with Celestia, Luna, the sun, and the moon positioned as if ‘balanced’ with each-other on a two-tone colored sphere. “Alright you lot, Princess Sunset Shimmer gets anything she wants, and you pour your heart and soul into that dish and then pray that it’s good enough.”

Laughing to herself, Sunset shouted out, “It’ll probably be fine! I’ve been living mostly off fast food and frozen meals the last few years!”

Kitchen Nightmare furrowed his brow and shot Sunset a quick glare. “Well, don’t tell them that! I’m trying to motivate them! Also, are you trying to break my heart?”

“Hah! Sorry!” Sunset said. “Turns out cooking is just one thing I’m terrible at.”

“Well, it’s a bloody good thing you’re back home and have someone to make you some real food.”

“Right, home…” Sunset murmured to herself.

Studying Sunset’s face for a moment, Kitchen Nightmare opted to power on past the sudden awkwardness of the moment. “So, what can your chefs make for you today?”

With a burst of energy like a solar flare, Sunset raddled off an order, “Deconstructed-eggplant-parmesan-with-a-side-of-candied-sweet-potato-shoestring-fries-and-a-multi-berry-honey-yogurt-smoothies-with-granola-and-extra-oats-sprinkled-on-top-and-a-triple-chocolate-six-layered-cake-for-dessert!”

An ice-pick smile appeared on Kitchen Nightmare’s face. “Classic Sunset,” he said in a satisfied tone. He turned towards the kitchen and began barking orders, “You heard the princess! Start julienning sweet potatoes. Get a food processor going! Bollocks to the noble’s hors-d'oeuvres! We’ve got a real meal to create!” With that, Kitchen Nightmare disappeared into his kitchen, already a whirlwind of activity before he shut the doors behind him with a fiery orange glow of his horn.

Starlight’s forehead tightened as she looked at Sunset. “Still nervous?” she asked. “Aside from a few hiccups and cases of arson, things are going great!”

“Well, my unexpected encounters with ponies from my past have gone well enough, but I’m sure there are a few more ponies whose lives I’ve made miserable out there. You know… like my Mom’s…”

Starlight gave Sunset a confused look. “But you talked to your Mom already. You know? Back in the Crystal Empire?”

Sunset nodded. “Well, yeah… but…” She sighed. “It’s not like one emotionally charged crying fest just erases the past between us.”

“Well, you two could apologize to each other.”

Sunset blinked a couple times. “Uh… I mean… we sort of did?”

Starlight pursed her lips slightly. “And that didn’t just make everything better between you two?”

“… No?” The alicorn replied in a blustered tone. “We didn’t talk to each other for a few years, and it felt to me like she just wrote me off when I went to another dimension! It’s a bit more complicated than just saying we’re both sorry.”

Starlight frowned. “Apologizing seems to fix things for me almost all the time.”

Sunset raised a forehoof to her face and mumbled to herself something about Twilight and teaching.

Starlight cocked her head. “Oh! Maybe this is a situation where you say ‘sorry’ and then do some clean –up together? That’s worked for my bigger mess-ups!”

“Starlight, for the sake of Twilight’s snoot, could we change the subject, please?”

“Uhhh… sure,” Starlight replied in a somewhat befuddled tone. After a brief moment of thinking, she smiled slightly. “‘Classic Sunset?’”

“Like I said, ‘Go big or go to your room’, Starlight!”

Starlight smirked. “Yeah, I don’t see that catching on.”

Sunset frowned. “Yeah, it’s not very fetch is it…? Or actually, it’s pretty fetch.”

“What the heck does ‘fetch’ mean?!”

“Exactly!”

One extravagant meal later, Sunset and Starlight once again found themselves venturing down the long and lavish corridors of Canterlot Castle. Sunset strolled down the hallways with a beaming smile and a stride that might suggest she owned the place. Starlight, on the other hoof, pulled herself along with the energy of an animal that had just been hit by a tranquilizer dart.

“H-how can you eat that much and not feel like you need to pass out?!” Starlight practically demanded.

Sunset just tittered to herself. “Trust me. I got used to burning it all off pretty quickly when I was younger.”

“What, like running around the castle after each meal?”

Sunset thought for a moment. “Hmmm… more like running my mouth every waking moment.”

Starlight sucked in air through clenched teeth “Hoo-boy… I guess you are going to have more apologies to hand out before the day is done.”

Surprising Starlight, Sunset shrugged this time. “Maybe, maybe not. After some reflection while we were eating—”

“How did you have time to reflect while eating?! You were like some sort of hyper-focused machine sent from the future specifically just to consume meals with alarming speed and efficiency!”

“I do my best reflecting when eating, alright?!” Sunset countered. “The point is, I thought about it and I guess more ponies wrote my behavior off as ‘precocious’ than I imagined. So, maybe this day will go a little smoother than I thought on the way over here.”

“Oh, my darling little coooouuuusiiiin~!” A stallion’s voice warbled out from behind the mares.

One could almost see Sunset’s blood curdle inside her body. “Aaaaand that’s my punishment for jinxing it!”

The two mares paused and took note of the white unicorn stallion strolling towards them. He wore a neatly pressed black suit collar that was not attached to a suit with the front of a white buttoned-up shirt that likewise had no actual shirt to go with it. Finally, a blue bow-tie and corsage of a single white flower with green leaves completed his ‘front pieces of an outfit’ ensemble which almost made his pristine white coat look like a white tuxedo, save for the fact that yellow-and-blue rose compass cutie marks adorned his flanks. Much like Sunset, he marched with a confidence as if he owned the castle itself, his well-coiffed blond mane and tail wafting a bit behind him.

He stopped a few strides away from the mares and smiled at Sunset. If he had noticed Starlight at all, the stallion was doing an excellent job of hiding that fact.

“Blueblood,” Sunset said in a tone that was so even it had achieved true level. “It is certainly an undeniable fact that I am talking to you, now.”

Blueblood let out a little chuckle. “Classic Sunset…” he muttered to himself. “Quite, quite… Well, word spread quickly that you had returned to Canterlot, perhaps not as quickly as some of the fires you’ve already started—”

Starlight took note as Sunset’s left eye twitched ever so slightly.

“— and I knew I just had to see you.”

“Yeah… well… put on a flight-suit and hang up the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner, because you’re looking at me,” Sunset replied.

“Uh, indeed,” Blueblood said, clearly finding Sunset’s current expression unreadable. He took this moment to acknowledge Starlight by leaning forward and whispering to her, “Do you have any idea what she’s on about?”

“Beats me,” Starlight confessed. “She’s been dropping her ‘other-worldisms’ all day!”

“Hrmmm…” Blueblood replied simply. He refocused his attention to Sunset. “Look Sunset, I know you like ponies to be direct, so I’ll get to the point.”

Sunset said nothing, though Starlight noted that the alicorn tensed ever so slightly, as if bracing herself against an uncoming gust of particularly hot air.

Blueblood continued, “I know our past exchanges haven’t always been cordial, and I’ve always regretted that.”

“… Oh?” Sunset clearly taking more interest in the direction the conversation was headed.

Blueblood nodded. “Yes. And there’s something I feel I simply must get off my chest regarding those unfortunate exchanges.”

“Yes?” came Sunset’s reply, now dripping with welcome expectation.

Blueblood nodded. “I wanted to tell you… I forgive you.”

Sunset clamped her teeth together so hard and fast Starlight was convinced the alicorn had just cracked one of them. “Excuuuuuuse me?” she hissed out.

Blueblood gave Sunset a beaming smile. “I forgive you! You know… for all the horrible things you’ve said and done to me!”

“You constantly referred to me as ‘Princess Celestia’s pet orphan rat’!”

Starlight attempted to make a shocked gasp, but it got caught in her throat and died in a gurgle.

Blueblood nodded. “Correct! But only occasionally to your face!” he said happily. “The important part is you’re pardoned! I pardon you!”

Sunset’s face muscles began to twitch as if they were all attempting to leave her face at once.

“Well?” Blueblood said expectantly. “Isn’t there something you’d like to say to me?”

Starlight watched in amazement as an unnatural serene calm seemingly came over Sunset. “As a matter of fact, there is,” Sunset said.

Blueblood’s smile widened. “Yes?”

Sunset nodded. “Go PARDON yourself, L2B4!” she snapped. “Come on, Starlight, we’re going…”

“Uh… yeah!” Starlight said as Sunset stomped away from the clearly shocked Blueblood.

Blueblood swallowed as a modicum of composure returned to him. “Classic Sunset…” he muttered irritably before turning and trudging back the way he came.

Sunset and Starlight walked in silence a bit, the later a tad nervous to take the first steps out of awkwardly stewing in emotions and back into conversation. After a short while, the tension built up until Starlight practically felt like she was being scoured like a pony rubbing at an itchy scab. “L2B4? Is that, like, a Star Wars reference?”

Sunset let out a breath she seemingly had been holding for a while. “I guess I should be happy you remembered the important stuff I’ve shown you, but it’s something that predates me leaving Equestria.”

“Oh, uh… what—”

“Lucky to be born Blueblood.”

“Oh! That’s… wow…” Starlight couldn’t help but smile to herself. “That’s down-right evil…”

Sunset sighed sadly. “I know! I know! It was a bit harsh.”

“And clever!” Starlight insisted. “Very clever.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Uh… Thanks? It’s probably not something you should encourage though…”

“Oh, right!” Starlight replied as if the idea had just occurred to her. “Uh… Twilight would probably sa—”

“Nope, I take it back,” Sunset said. “We’ll just leave things at ‘clever’.”

Starlight chuckled. “Yeah, sure…”

“He’s going to act like the whole exchange didn’t happen anyways next time I seem him…” Sunset shook her head. “He always does.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go see my mom,” she said, suddenly pivoting completely around.

Starlight did a double take. “We… we weren’t heading to the throne room?!”

“I wasn’t ready!” Sunset shouted back. “I’m ready now!”

“You were taking us in the complete opposite direction!”

“I WASN’T READY!”

Author's Notes:

Okay, I got a little more story in than expecting before they got to Celestia...

Chapter 8: We’re almost up to the 1-minute, 20-second mark before the theme song hits!

Sunset Shimmer stared up at the pair of massive thistle-colored doors; the only things that stood between her and her mother. Well, that and the massive space of the throne room that was in between the doors and the throne itself, of course.

Though the doors were twice as wide as a pony is long and maybe five ponies high before they even hit a fairly-ornate entablature of golden engravings above them, Sunset considered the throne room entrance rather plain looking compared to many of the random doors in the castle. While Celestia had stated the less grandiose door was make her seem more approachable by her subjects, Sunset was always quick to point out that the long distance still required to get from the entrance to the throne would likely counteract any such feelings. This would leave Celestia somewhat flustered, however before the sun princess could mount a proper response, Sunset would add that the throne being elevated while simultaneously being flanked by real fountains also wouldn’t make a pony feel Celestia was anything but royalty of the highest order.

And before Celestia could even process that, Sunset would point out that Celestia was easily twice as tall as most anypony she talked to with a magical mane that seemed to be full of actual sparkling sunlight at all waking hours and that the whole door thing was a farce and maybe Celestia should just admit that she just thought the door thing was a good idea at one point but failed to account for all the other factors built into the castle and that the confusing mess was constructed before she could come to her senses.

This was, sadly, something Sunset could never get Celestia to admit no matter how much shouting was done, objects were thrown, or things were set on fire…

Sunset also used to argue that the throne room was the most appropriate place to lob things around, but that was another debate entirely.

“Uh… Are you sure you’re up for this, Sunset?” Starlight Glimmer asked in a concerned voice.

“You can’t rush genius, Starlight!”

Starlight gave her friend a slight frown. “I’m not? You have been staring at the door for a while, but considering it’s your mom you have to meet for only the second time after you two stopped talk—”

“I swear to my mom, I will boop your snoot so hard Starlight!” Sunset ground out in a clearly stressed tone.

“Classic Sunset.” Starlight said with a grumble before she took a deep breath and once again looked at Sunset with sympathy. “Look, I of all ponies can at appreciate what it’s like to be confronted with something you probably should do, but don’t want to…” She rested a forehoof on Sunset’s left shoulder. “How about you have a quick panic attack here at the door, I’ll whisk you away, and in the meantime, we can solve whatever new thing has cropped up to threaten all of Equestria!” Starlight said with an earnest smile that suggested she was in no way being sarcastic. “You’ll feel a lot better about being home after you’ve saved it!”

Sunset took a few moments to blink and stare at Starlight blankly. “You… you really think that’ll happen?”

Starlight thought for a moment as her smile fell a bit. “Gee, my life is rather busy, isn’t it?”

Sunset let out a laugh as she felt herself relax a bit. “I know the feeling. Also, you’re right.”

“I am?” Starlight said in surprise. “Uh… Okay! Well, start panicking and hope maybe Tirek will have conquered Ponyville!” Starlight frowned heavily. “Just as long as it’s not Chrysalis, again.”

“Uh, that’s not quite what I meant,” Sunset said.

Starlight groaned. “But I already saved Equestria from Chrysalis!” She whined. “And even though everything worked out in the end, some parts were pretty embarrassing…” She added, shaking her head.

“No. I meant the part about a potentially cataclysmic event just popping up is not what I was talking about!” Sunset said. “The point is, I have saved Equestria as well as my new home! Now, if I can just swallow that convincing lie that my deep, unresolved emotional issues with those that I love are easier to deal with than life and death situations despite the fact that my courage always kicks in without fail during those moments and I do the right thing and save the day as if it’s core to my being, then I’ll be all set!”

Starlight immediately frowned. “When I saved Equestria, I hit a big throne made out of solid rock with a much smaller rock before I had to make up some talk about friendship to creatures that literally feed on love…”

“The important thing is you succeeded! And I’ve succeeded! So, let’s just keep on succeeding with a minimal amount of property damage!”

Starlight smiled widely. “I give myself the same pep-talk every morning! Well, with a little reminder about using mind control sparingly.”

“Right, going to just power right on past that one!” Sunset took another look at the door, horn glowing with her red aura before the light in the hallway went dim. Sunset looked up, feeling a sudden chill as she did. The castle was typically lit by sunlight during the day, but this felt different than the sun suddenly dropping. This darkness felt unnatural. Less the absence of light and more the destruction of it. It was as if some malevolent force was consuming the very concept of brightness itself.

Sunset sighed and hung her head. “Starlight, I appreciate the effort, but I really should stop dilly-dallying and just talk to my mom, already.”

“This isn’t me!” Starlight insisted with just a hint of indignity.

Sunset looked up at the darkness. “Wait… Don’t tell me there really is a threat to Equestria…”

One of the plates of a nearby massive window exploded with glass, feathers, and an orange pegasus stallion wearing golden armor with a blue plume and tumbled in a heap at Sunset and Starlight’s hooves.

“Oh, mom damnit!” Sunset blurted out indignantly.

Starlight gasped and bent down to help the pegasus back up to his hooves. “Flash!”

Sunset frowned. “Flash? As in… Flash Sentry?”

“Well, yeah!” Starlight said as she helped Flash to his hooves. “Who else would it be?”

“Starlight! Thank Celestia, I found you!”

“Why? Did she actually help?” Sunset asked somewhat sarcastically.

“What? No, I just need he—” Flash turned, taking off his helmet as he did. Giving his head a shake, his dark-blue tuft of a ruffled mane flowed in tiny waves in all directions as an, admittedly heroic-looking, trickle of blood dribbled down around his muzzle.

“Oh, no…” Sunset whispered to herself. “He’s hot…”

Flash, likewise, needed a moment as he laid eyes over Sunset and seemingly tried to take all of her in through his pupils. “—eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—”

“Hey! Flash, focus!” Starlight called out. “What happened to Twilight and Spike?! Also, Trixie if you happened to see her… and, uh… everypony else, probably.”

Flash turned back towards Starlight. “—elp! Uh, right! Some sort of dark portal opened in Ponyville!”

Sunset groaned. “Seriously?!”

Starlight turned towards Sunset. “Okay, you’re my witness! I was in Canterlot when that happened!”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Uh, obviously…”

Flash continued. “I think… I think the Hay-Burger king has captured Twilight and the other Element Bearers in a terrible slime prison!” Flash involuntarily shuttered. “Just… so much slime…”

Starlight turned to Sunset, beaming smile on her face. “Yay!”

One of Sunset’s eye shot up so fast it was in danger of flying off her face. “The… the Hay-Burger King?! Twilight and everyone are literally being held hostage by a fast-food mascot?”

Flash rubbed the back of his head. “I mean… Whatever it is has appears to be a cow with the same dead-eyed smile as the hay-burger king and a paper crown.”

This statement did nothing to east Sunset’s skepticism. “Wouldn’t the Hay-Burger King have a real crown and not one possible pilfered from a store?!”

Starlight chuckled. “You can’t ‘pilfer’ a crown from Hay-Burger, Sunset! You know… Unless you’re Trixie and you’ve already nabbed about a dozen in a single visit and the staff asks you to leave some around for the kids.”

“Uh… okay, but what it’s not the reeaaal Hay-Burger King, and like… I don’t know… some sort of necromantic ram that’s disguising itself as the Hay-Burger King for extra shock value.

Starlight thought for a moment. “…I probably would be more scared of an evil Hay-Burger King than I would some evil ram, or whatever…” She turned to Flash. “How evil was this Hay-Burger King?”

Flash gave Starlight a bewildered look. “I mean… he arrived out of a land that seemed to be made out of pure evil and trapped Twilight in everyone in a slime prison that he hacked out of his own unsettling grin and is actively devouring light itself!”

Starlight nodded. “Well, obviously.” She continued with, “But would you say he’s more or less evil than creatures that inhabited typically inhabit lands of pure malevolence?”

“I don’t know!” Flash coughed up an impressive glob of green goo. “I barely got out of there with my life!” he added.

Sunset’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at Starlight. “How do you even have a metric for beings inhabiting lands of darkness and evil?”

Starlight opened her mouth.

“No, wait! I don’t want to know!” Sunset interrupted. She smiled once more. “Okay! Let’s quickly defeat this so-called, Hay-Burger King and then we’ll see my mom hopefully after I’m high on ‘just saved the world’ confidence!”

Starlight glanced at the doors to the throne room. “Don’t you think she’ll want to help?”

“No,” Sunset said bluntly.

“Uh… sorry,” Flash interjected as he extended a foreleg. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced, Princess…?”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset replied as she pressed her hoof against Flash’s. “Apparently, I’m Princess of Cleaning up Other Ponies’ Messes.”

With a sly smirk, Flash took a half-step forward and hooked his foreleg around Sunset’s. “Really? I would have guessed you were the Princess of Radiant Beauty.”

Sunset couldn’t help but match Flash’s smile. “Ah, so you’re quick-thinking in this universe too.”

“I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll take it as a compliment.”

Starlight frowned. “Uh… I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but Ponyville, and Equestria probably, is in danger?”

Sunset and Flash, somewhat reluctantly, broke the foreleg link and eye contact.

“Okay, game faces on!” Sunset declared resolutely. She turned again to Flash with an only mildly lovestruck look. “Did you make any key observations about this malignant monarch when you fought him? Any strategies we should be aware of.”

Flash let out another harsh cough. “Don’t get hit in the face with his slime,” he said.

Sunset nodded. “That’s a good note. But do we have any idea of his weaknesses? I mean… how flammable is he?”

Flash thought for a moment. “Well… I’m not sure if the slime is flame retardant or not, but the crown he was wearing was probably made out of cardboard.” Flash shrugged. “That’s probably a weakness.”

“Okay! I can work with that!” Sunset said excitedly.

The light around the ponies dimmed even further until everything was nearly pitch-black.

“I doubt that’s good…” Flash uttered as both Sunset and Starlight’s horns began to glow fiery red and electric blue, respectively, the dual colors casting the surrounding area in an eerie purple light.

Starlight just shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll be fine as long as we get to Ponyville quickly.”

Flash smirked. “Don’t you mean—”

“—in a Flash?!” Sunset quickly interjected with a smile on her face.

“Ahh!” Flash uttered excitedly as he pointed to Sunset. “She knows my thing!”

Starlight’s face turned a lighter shade of purple as she looked between the other two ponies. “Wait… does this mean I have to play ‘straight pony’ for saving Equestria, again!?”

“Oh my gosh, that was amazing!” Starlight exclaimed as she and Sunset once again found themselves walking down a hall of Canterlot Castle. “And by ‘that’, I, of course, mean our harrowing adventure in Ponyville!”

Flapping her wings hard enough to dislodge the odd glob of green sludge, Sunset smiled. “Well, I could have done with less slime, but we saved the day, became closer as friends, and learned a bit about ourselves!”

“We also achieved brand-new transformations that I’m absolutely sure will come in handy for later adventures!” Starlight added.

Sunset grinned. “And Flash also proved himself a capable and brave warrior instead of just providing info to move our adventure forward and add a smattering of romance to the mix!” Her smile dropped a bit. “I still can’t believe he managed to eat all that slime, though.”

“And every pony learned that ‘harmony’ is something we all can achieve if we just believe in ourselves hard enough!”

Sunset smirked. “I mean… in the sense I temporarily uprooted the Tree of Harmony and beat that clearly fake Hay-Burger King with it, but what you said is technically accurate given enough focus and strength of will…” She frowned slightly. “Shame he escaped. I wonder where he went… and why it only spoke in bleats despite looking like a cow.”

Hooves click of stone floors and echo off empty walls as a creature appearing to be misshapen, perhaps somewhat smashed black-and-white bovine climbs ziggurat stairs in a land illuminated only by swirling purple vortexes that constantly disappear, reappear, and even consume each-other. As it steps up, a nearly burnt to a crisp ‘crown’ falls and crumbles to ash before it is blown away by the shifting void-winds of the land. This is soon followed by a cracked masked of a cow that is smiling too widely, which clatters on the steps and tumbles down them towards an unknown fate. Finally, the black and white ‘coat’ of this creature slumps off it. Falling into a fleshy heap with a sickeningly moist sound.

Free of its ‘outer shell’ a dark, fanged ram woozily makes it up to the top of the ziggurat and walks past an alter to a podium. A podium where a book that seems to be bound in a leathery substance rests as books do when left alone, if one ignores the faint sounds of moaning that seem to be coming from the tome itself. Slowly and painfully lifting a foreleg, the ram looks over the book with it’s one eye not swollen shut and flips open to a page full of runes, many repeating on lines, and all crossed out except for the last line.

With a dark, disappointed sounding bleat, it crosses out the last line, scans the previous lines for a moment, then begins recreating one of the sets of runes as it bleats menacingly to itself.

Starlight shrugged. “The unknown fate and peculiarities of the mystery villain aside, I’m sure you literally using the tree as a bludgeon is also a metaphor that’s empowering, but also serves as a good learning experience somewhere… Oh! And Flash got the girl!”

Sunset groaned.

“And by ‘girl’, I - of course - mean Twilight Sparkle.”

Sunset groaned louder.

Starlight frowned. “Uh, is something the matter?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sunset replied.

“Okay, but you know you know can talk to me about whatever, right? I mean, even conflicting emotions about being attracted to a pony who’s in a relationship with one of your best frie—”

“I just said I don’t want to talk about ‘it’, and by ‘it’, I mean specifically THIS topic!”

“Okay, okay!” Starlight chuckled to herself. “Isn’t it weird how us two, relatively new to saving the day in Equestria, just managed to show up and be the big heroes even with everyone who’d usually save the day in the situation right there?”

Sunset couldn’t help but give Starlight a sour look. “Little bit. Yeah…”

Perhaps catching Sunset’s grumpy expression, Starlight quickly switched topics again. “Say, when do you think that strange curse the fake Hay-Burger King hit us with to make us converse in bizarrely specific sentences will wear off?”

Sunset thought for a moment. “I’m sensing about the time I finish this sentence. You know… soonish…” Sunset took a deep breath as she walked up to the double-doors she was standing at just a reasonable amount of time to hold children’s attention spans complete with the occasional break to maybe advertise a toy here or there earlier. “Just in time for me to be ready to talk to mom…”

Her horn glowing with a red aura, Sunset floated her geode in front of her and stared at it. “Better prepare myself for Emotional Overload 2: Electric Boogaloo.”

"Ignoring the fact I have no idea what a ‘Boogaloo’ is, why don't you just take the geode off?!” Starlight asked in a tone that was borderline insisting.

“Because that’s something a quitter would do!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Erm, okay,” Starlight responded. “But you can still take a quick breather if you feel—”

“Nope!” Sunset exclaimed as a determined look came over her face. “Time’s up! Let’s do this!” With a fiery red glow of her horn, Sunset threw open the double doors to the throne room and began sprinting “Sunset Shiiiiiiiiimer!” she shouted as she began to tear across the red carpet, her body eventually reminding her she had pushed it quite a lot in just the last hour. “Right-huff-throne still-puff-stupid far!”

“My Little Shimmering Sunshine!” an absolutely euphoric cry of maternal glee called rang out as Sunset quickly found herself engulfed in a sunny yellow glow that began to float her the rest of the way across the throne room.

“I seem to have miscalculated…” Sunset muttered to herself as she gritted her teeth and braced for impact. Almost immediately, the purple and pinks of the throne room lit by stained glass window were replaced by alabaster feathers and forelegs as Sunset was completely engulfed by her much larger mother. Thoughts and emotions hit Sunset immediately, first and foremost, simple immense joy from how happy Celestia was to see her. This would have left Sunset with a warm and fuzzy feeling, but the lingering guilt over Sunset’s banishment and the years of silence that followed were close on its heels, followed by the worry that Celestia was perhaps not yet forgiven. As perhaps enlightening as the feelings where they mashed against Sunset’s own residual guilt and anger and she could quickly feel her emotions bubbling to the surface in the form of yet another hysterical crying fit.

“M-mom! -gasp- Need space!” Sunset managed to get out.

Celestia immediately relinquished her grasp and looked over her daughter in concern. “Sunset, dear? Are you alright? Are you hurt from your harrowing battle with the forces of darkness that I got to observe from right here in the castle?!”

“I just—” Sunset took a deep breath and took a few steps back. “—need a mom-whoa!” Sunset caught herself as she almost tripped over something or rather, somepony lying in a midnight-blue heap to the right of the floor.

Luna shot up to her full height. “Yes! I am-yaaaawn-here! What is it, sister?!”

Sunset’s surprise got the better of her and mixed with her already strained attempt to keep from crying and what came out sounded like a terrified whimper.

Luna stared down at the unexpected alicorn. “Oh! Sunset Shimmer.”

“I’m here, too!” Starlight exclaimed from the foot of the throne’s steps.

Luna continued, “Forgive me. I did not mean to frighten you.”

“N-not, frightened!” Sunset insisted. “Just, uh… a little worn out…”

“Okay!” Starlight called out. “I guess I’ll just wait for some pony to notice me!” She frowned. “Wow, this pretty much never happens to me…”

Celestia beamed at Luna. “Sunset just saved Equestria from certain peril!”

“I was also there, too!” Starlight called out.

“Oh! And Starlight Glimmer helped!” Celestia added.

“Yay! Validation!”

Luna gave Celestia an absolutely bewildered look. “Excuse me?! When did this transpire?!”

“Oh! Just a while ago while you napped in the throne room,” Celestia explained nonchalantly.

This response clearly did nothing to alleviate Luna’s bewilderment. “Why didn’t you wake me?!”

Celestia frowned slightly. “Well, I thought you’d need your sleep since you passed out waiting for Sunset and Starlight to arrive at the throne room! I mean… you did elect to nap right on the spot rather than retire to your quarters when Kibitz said Sunset needed to rest-up first.”

“Tia, you ruinous barbermonger—"

Sunset found herself giggle-snorting despite still being out of sorts

“—we’ve been over this! Please wake me if lives are at stake!”

“Oh, I knew Sunset and Starlight had this!” Celestia insisted with a dismissive wave of her forehoof. “There was no cause to worry.”

Starlight couldn’t help but send a frown up towards the ponies above. “There were, in fact, several causes to worry. Most slime and evil goat related”

Luna shook her head. “Well, did you at least help them yourself?”

“But who would make sure no pony woke you up if I did that?” Celestia replied.

Luna made an irritated gurgling sound as she held back pure rage. It was a sound Sunset was quite familiar with, particularly as she was making the same sound right at the moment.

Celestia refocused her attention on her daughter. “Sunset, dear, are you sure you’re alright?!” Celestia exclaimed. “Maybe you should sit down, or I can get you a guard to throw things at!”

“What?!” Luna exclaimed in shock as Starlight raised an eyebrow.

Sunset swallowed nervously.

“Well, it always makes her feel better!” Celestia exclaimed as she motioned to Sunset.

“Tia, you can’t just let ponies lob stuff at our guards to improve their mood, you certifiable walnut!” Luna exclaimed.

“They have armor!” Celestia replied, taking on an indignant tone. “So it’s fine so long as Sunset doesn’t aim for the shins, face, or throat.” She pursed her lips. “Which she usually does…”

“No, I’m fine!” Sunset said in a strained voice as she fought hard to return her motions to something far more balanced than she currently felt. “Just… just a little overwhelmed from being back!”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “I told you to take your geode off!” she shouted up.

“That’s loser talk, Starlight!” Sunset snapped back.

Luna snorted out a laugh. “Well, she seems to have recovered quickly enough.”

Sunset wordlessly turned to look at Luna, blank expression on her face.

Frowning slightly, Luna once again took a somewhat formal tone. “Hrmm… I suppose formal introductions are in order. Hello again, Sunset Shimmer. It is good to see you again.”

Narrowing her eyes slightly and lowering her eyes, Sunset shifted her weight to her back then suddenly pounced, using her wings to give her a little more thrust as she charge-hugged her aunt and wrapped her forelegs around her neck.

Though initially surprised, Luna’s larger size allowed her to remain upright. Her initial shock soon gave way to a warm acceptance, which thankfully evened out Sunset’s mood a bit as Luna returned the token of affection.

“Uh… Sorry for making you wait, Auntie Luna,” Sunset said as she broke the hug.

Luna managed a tired smile and glanced at the spot she had been snoozing in just prior. “Well, I suppose it is alright as I made the most of my situation.”

That caused Sunset to cringe, though she too smiled. “Again, sorry! I haven’t been home for a while… and… you know… coming home after an extended absence can be kinda awkward.”

You could hear a pin drop.

“Sunset!” Celestia finally managed to gasp out.

Sunset could feel her body go cold as the realization of who exactly she was talking to set in. “Aaaand… that was a stupid thing to say!” Sunset admitted out loud as her mind raced for an excuse to talk herself out of the current situation. It’s not like ignorance was an excuse, Twilight had given Sunset plenty of details of Princess Luna’s return. Sunset’s mind began to race as she weighed her options to talk her way out of this against how much it would hurt to fling herself out of one of the courts giant windows.

Surprisingly, Luna simply chuckled, perhaps catching Sunset’s expression. “Yes. It can certainly be a taxing transition.” She gave Sunset a grin. “I suppose we should all be lucky you didn’t try to conquer Equestria on your return.”

Starlight smacked a hoof against her face.

“Luna!” Celestia chastised in a tone eerily similar to the one she had just taken with her daughter.

For a moment, one could practically see the gears tick away in Luna’s head as she seemingly acknowledged her own mistake and gave Sunset an apologetic look. “Oh! I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Oh, I like you,” Sunset said simply, which did wonders to clear most of the thick tension in the room.

Celestia cleared her throat. Something Sunset recognized as the sun princess desiring to get to the heart of the matter. “So, now that we’ve finally met up, I'm guessing you’ll perhaps want to spend some time with me? You know… catch up?” Celestia asked in a hopeful tone with a smile to match.

Sunset frowned. “Er… I would but we’re actually here because… uh…The reason we’re here… uh… erm…”

“Friendship problem!” Starlight reminded Sunset in clearly irritated tone.

“Right! That thing!” Sunset said as she disappeared in a red flash and a ‘BAMF’ before appearing next to Starlight. “Twilight’s magic dog-table-thing said there was a friendship problem that Starlight and uh… I guess I, also, need to fix.”

Celestia nodded. “I understand all those words individually.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “’Magic dog-table-thing’?!” she parroted back to Sunset.

Sunset threw her forehooves up in the air. “I don’t know! There’s a tiny dog named ‘Order’ who lives in Twilight’s table and gives out friendship assignments to ponies! I just thought that this was common knowledge to royalty and ponies with magic destinies at this point!”

A small smile appeared on Celestia’s face. “Oh, Order! I can see him popping up back on the scene now that Discord is active.”

Luna nodded. “Right. You could have just said his name right away.”

Sunset let out an exasperated sigh and turned towards Celestia. “Well, mom could have maybe told me about the tiny dog that likes to stick his so small nose into Equestria business at some point or another!”

The accusatory tone of Sunset did nothing to diminish Celestia’s cheerfulness. “Well, you must understand that tales of my encounters with Order are, by their nature, somewhat drab and dull.”

Starlight chuckled. “I’d pay real bits to see Order’s face about now.”

Sunset thought for a moment. “Alright, I’ll let you have that one as I did prefer to hear your exciting adventures when I was a filly.”

Celestia chuckled. “Well, I always have time to go over one of those if you’re intere—”

“Friendship problem!” Sunset interrupted. “Probably super important!” she stressed.

Celestia chuckled. “Alright, business before pleasure, if you insist.” She put on a thoughtful expression. “Though, as far as I know, there’s nothing wrong here.” She turned towards Luna. “Right sister?”

Luna once again wore her tiredness the way a porcupine might curl up and expose her spikes. “No,” she replied in a tone so sour even Celestia’s lips puckered, “Everything’s perfect as usual, sister.”

Starlight sucked in a nervous breath and leaned towards Sunset. “I think I know where the friendship problem lies.”

“Yeah…” Sunset agreed. “Dibs on Luna.”

“… What?”

“Dibs!”

Author's Notes:

This chapter went over a somewhat major revision as I made a continuity error when I wrote it.

Details and original section here.