Derpy and her friend ‘Doc’ had come to find us, only knowing we had gone to Tartarus by cave. They found the wrong cave but it worked out anyway. One by one, our golden-haired ‘angel’ lifted our battered bodies out of Tartarus and into the cave system above. We had faint glowing rocks, fleeting magic and a flashlight to light the way. On shaking foreleg over injured, minding the broken wing, we made our crawl up the sloping, rocky shaft leading out.

I was focused on keeping my daughter on my back and keeping a pale Carrot Top steady. It was slow going. I was made out of pain and bruises but I was thankful for the weight of my family. Minuette and Blossomforth helped Sunset Shimmer when she tripped. Doc and Derpy helped Cloud and Comet along while they also led the way out. We were all coming back.

Halfway up, the chirping and tweeting started and Sunset regained some of her energy. After a little arranging, the tiny phoenix lay swaddled in human clothes in my open saddlebag. I was listening to the phoenix ‘talking’ as much as I was listening to the stallions in front.

“The Mandela Effect ain’t realities collapsin’,” Comet corrected. “It’s false memories shared by multiple people.”

“Right!” Doc agreed. “That’s why I said it’s like the Mandela Effect! If we’re careful with how we wind the frays back together, we can collapse all realities into a best case scenario but that will still alter some events retroactively.”

“Quantum physics only works on quantum part- sorry,” Comet stopped when he almost tripped the doc.

“Quite alright,” Doc assured.

After a moment the professor resumed.

“...I think I’d remember how many seasons of My Little Pony there were or what year it is.”

“You’d be surprised,” the brown stallion told my friend. “Those things might not change from your perspective, but some other details might. Or they change from someone else’s! But don’t sweat the little things! Just pretend it’s a false memory if you need to. It’ll all work out in the end!”

“Whatd’ya say you were a doctor in?”

“Oh, practically everything really.”

“Uh huh,” Comet acknowledged diplomatically. “Derpy, you got a real… interesting friend.”

“Th’nks!” Derpy said with the flashlight in her mouth. Minuette giggled.

“Still, thanks for dropping in to save us!” Minuette added.

“Yeah”, Carrot Top seemed to agree. “It’s a miracle you found us when you did.”

“...Miss Sunset?” my daughter asked. ‘Miss Sunset’ looked at her. Her eyes lingered on my daughter’s watch-geode-necklace-thing before meeting hers. “You called that thing back there a ‘chaos spawn’. What does that mean?”

“It’s an elemental. That one was fear. It’s old; very old. They can’t be destroyed, just held back. It’s probably already back at the bottom of Tartarus.”

We were at a particularly steep spot in the cavern with a four foot wall so we took a rest while some of us climbed up to pull the rest up. I could see the sky now. It looked orange… and yellow?

“So is Tartarus a prison then?” Blossomforth asked.

“A temporary one,” Sunset agreed. “It’s a place where things were sent to be reformed. Monsters were held until they could be relocated or tamed. Criminals used to be sent there and quarantined by their crime. The scariest things were kept in the pit.”

“Like the chaos spawns?” Blossomforth clarified.

“Like the chaos spawns. The hope was that someday we wouldn’t need to keep anything locked up. That Tartarus would be empty after every last thing was brought into harmony.”

“It’s pretty empty now!” Minuette said while I helped push her up and Comet hauled her up.

Sunset fell into thought. I helped my daughter up the wall before I had a chance to say anything. Fortunately, Blossomforth caught it and nudged her.

“What’re you thinking about?”

“It’s empty. You’ve been gone at least twenty-five years, right? It seems like you mostly forgot about Tartarus. What does Equestria even look like now? Is it still dangerous? How long ago did you defeat Discord?”

“Oh yeah. How’s that going? Did we win yet?” Cloud asked the Doctor.

“Well, we heard a pretty big explosion earlier. That might’ve been something.”

“How big?” Cloud asked. “There’s been explosions all night. Heck, we made some of them.”

“Wait,” Sunset interrupted. “You don’t know if Discord was stopped yet??”

“Your turn!” Derpy cheered. I was caught up in the conversation and didn’t hear the pegasus sneak up on me until it was too late. I was seized and hauled up the rocky surface, bumping on all the rocks on the way.

“Well, we figured The Mane Six would take care of him,” Blossom explained with a shrug.

“‘Main six’? Are those your leaders?”

“...oh. Is that a show thing?” Our flower pegasus said before awkwardly chuckling. “That’s all going to be weird to explain…”

“Mom, look,” my filly said as she nudged me. I went to pet her mane while I looked where she was pointing. It was back up in the sky. At this slightly different angle, I could just make out a hint of green in the yellow now.

I hadn’t been paying attention, maybe we were too soaked in whatever magic we performed, but now that I was looking for it I could imagine that buzz in my hooves again.

“I see it,” I told her before kissing her right on her little horn. I couldn’t stop smiling.

We got Sunset and Blossom up the short wall, the last obstacle. Then finally, we made the last few yards. Together, we escaped Tartarus.

We took in the sight of all that we missed.

We were in awe.

I was so light-headed with relief, so dizzy with exhaustion, I collapsed and Comet helped me up.

Carrot Top started crying and buried her muzzle into Minuette’s chest and to muffle the stifled, bitter sobs of relief escaping her.

I glanced over to see Sunset Shimmer taking the view in. Her literal ashen features couldn’t hide her confusion, slight horror and wonder. Satisfied, I hugged my daughter as I went to take it all in again with my friends.

A glittering, rainbow mist had blanketed the dead landscape around us and even tinted the red sky. The sight was deafeningly bright and beautiful; like a rainbow nuclear fallout drawn on a Lisa Frank trapper keeper. Mixed in with the smell of all the sulfur, burnt wood and ash I could smell ozone and it gave me a buzz like I was five shots deep. This had Rainbow Dash’s signature all over it.

Even at ground zero of a Sonic Rainboom we could still see the remains of Ponyville standing. The occasional dragon moved over the buildings but there wasn't any screaming: there was no more war in the streets or giant monsters swooping down. There was dots of smoke, but I didn’t see any fire. Ponyville was filled with ponies and for the first time in a long time, they weren’t scared.

After we found our bearings, we sent our current best flier on a mission to the gates of Tartarus because nopony else had the energy to go. After a worrying amount of time Derpy brought back news that the passageway had caved in. She also brought back, in a few trips because some of the stuff fell out, the brightly-colored backpack-turned-saddlebag we sent her for.

Sunset recognized it as her friend’s but the sight of it weighed on her. I recognized that look. Whether it was good for her state of mind or not, she wanted to carry it and we let her. It would take a while until that weight didn’t feel so heavy. For now, we helped her carry it back to town.

It was a long walk back and every step was laughably painful but it didn’t feel far. There were no obstacles left as we dragged a straight path through the dead trees and rainbow mist to Ponyville.

As we got closer, we could see the town didn’t look much worse than when we left. Except, we left during the fight. The war was over now but the town's scars and wounds stayed. The streets were still carved with trenches and trampled with hooves and monster tracks. The homes and shops that still stood had been gutted for war and their colorful furniture turned into barricades, barriers and pikes still lining the streets.

Everywhere, ponies resting. There were as many expressions on their faces as colors. Over the murmur of post-war I could pick out distant singing, laughing and crying. Many ponies were bandaged, some were sleeping in the street. Some were eating or drinking rations from the other side of the portal. The majority of us just seemed to be wandering the broken streets, maybe hoping for friends they lost track of in the battle to turn up. It was going to take a while to rebuild home.

“Other Berry!” somepony shouted. It took me a moment to recognize her. Harmony Trebleheart was so dirty and stained that the bandages on her forelegs looked whiter than her coat. Her glasses were still perfectly fine at least, perched on her smiling muzzle. She waved us over to her group of friends around a pack of bottled water and snacks. I saw Cherry Berry curled around a pristine Piña Colada who was chatting amicably with Little Horn. The familiar faces drew us closer.

“It’s good to see you all!” Harmony said as she went in to hug us. She started with me. “I didn’t see you around and started fearing the worst.” She looked at my daughter. “Oh look at you, Ruby. Goodness girl, you’re dirtier than me! …did you all get new necklaces?”

I exchanged relieved smiles with Cherry Berry and Piña before looking back at my daughter. I was filled with the strangest mix of pride and guilt at just how dirty my daughter was. Not to mention her geode-faced watch she was showing Harmony.

“Uh. Yeah! Sun-er. We found them when we found her,” my little gem said as she gestured to Sunset in the back of our pack.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Little Horn lit up when she spotted her. Sunset seemed startled at the little hoof pointing at her until Harmony stepped in.

“Sssh,” Harmony hushed her as she put her hoof down. “Don’t be pointing. That’s rude.” She looked back at us. “Making all kinds of friends, I see. You all look like you could use a drink.” Harmony started levitating water to all of us. “There’s plenty; they’re sending whole crates of’em through the portal.” Harmony cracked mine open for me. Which was good: I was going to bite through and shotgun it.

I downed mine in almost one go. Wetness. That hit the spot. For a moment everyone just drank, Philomena included.

“So… ” Blossomforth spoke up. “This is a dumb question but we won, right?”

Harmony Trebleheart raised an eyebrow.

“You missed it??” she asked our group. “...Wow, you missed it.” She grew a smirk. “Yup. We won. I defeated Discord all by myself! Gave him one good buck.” She half-heartedly mimed the kick with a good grin on her face.

“That’s not what happened!” Little Horn cut in. “Duo said the Cutie Mark Crusaders used the Elements of Harmony on Discord, then Rainbow Dash Sonic Rainboomed his face!”

“Sssh!” Harmony hushed her and laughed. “Eat your apple!” Harmony gestured to Little Horn’s snack. She paused to reflect on her little cousin. “...it got real close for us there. I was thinking we’d have to retreat. Then reinforcements showed up.”

“The dragons?” Carrot Top guessed. “We were there for that.”

“After the dragons! A whole band of fresh pony showed up. Not through the portal either! They’re survivors, ponies who weren’t cursed; ‘The Resistance’!”

“What?” a voice from behind all of us spoke up. I turned in time to see a dusty Sunset frown at all of us staring at her. She reestablished eye contact with Harmony. “Where are they now?”

“I just saw them over by the portal,” Harmony said, gesturing the way. “We moved it to the town square after all the fighting. ”

“Doc?” Derpy asked her companion.

He nodded. “I’m wondering the same thing,” Doc confirmed.

After enough water, the ten of us followed her directions and pushed into town square where ponies were congregating. There were more medical tents set up here and supplies being orderly distributed as fast as they came through a very, very carefully guarded mirror on a still-standing wall.

Sunset carefully pushed past our group to look around. I watched her eyes slowly search the murky sea of dirty, tired ponies. We were all silent as she kept scanning.

“Sunset? Who are you looking for?” Minuette finally asked.

“Anyone; anyone from the Resistance I recognize,” she admitted. Those cyan eyes shimmered with an ounce of hope. I placed a hoof on her withers for some emotional support. Philomena in my bag chirped like she was talking too.

"...Come on Derpy, our part here’s done. Let's go see if we can find Roseluck," Doc said to his companion. Doc headed into the crowd and Derpy hesitantly followed. We watched them go then stood with Sunset a little longer.

After several fruitless minutes, Sunset turned her eyes to the ground and she poured her hope out.

“I wouldn’t even know what any of them look like now,” Sunset finally said. Minuette was quick with the hug.

“Lots of ponies know who you are and would love to be your friend!” Minuette assured her. We all nodded and Philomena chirped. I threw in a nuzzle for good measure and that turned into everypony moving forward to hug her and that turned into a group hug. Sunset seemed reluctant for the affection; she barely knew us, but she needed it and took it.

“Your friends are out there,” I encouraged. It seemed like too bitter a drink for her to swallow. Before she could protest, a commotion started near the portal.

“It’s Princess Celestia!” somepony cried out. The thick crowd was shouting and turning to look and confirm, including us.

A statuesque creature of grace had appeared from the portal. From horn tip to feather end her bare-white coat practically glistened in the rainbow mist. I saw her surprise, then relief slip into a motherly smile as she took in all of the ponies present. Something was off: the aurora that made up her mane and tail was gone and replaced with shorter pink hair, but it was unmistakably Princess Celestia and she was still beautiful.

“I’m sorry I’m late, my little ponies,” her voice carried over the crowd just like the sight of her did. “I’m so proud of you all!” The majority of us started bowing. Others cried out her name or just stood in wonder. I started bowing with the others but looked up when Sunset Shimmer backed up into me then pushed past my friends to hide.

The little phoenix in my saddlebag seemed to have a different idea. Her chirp was shrill and loud. I looked up from my bow, thinking I was crushing the little bird, only to watch her fly past my face, dropping sparks and embers as it flapped. She was hardly half as big as in Sunset’s memories but she gained altitude and cried out again as she took a gliding crash towards Princess Celestia. Some ponies cried out in a panic. Some tried to shield Her Majesty.

“It’s a phoenix!” somepony shouted.

“Get the water!” somepony else reacted.

Princess Celestia’s demeanor instead was still calm and relieved, if not excited. She reached out a hoof towards the creature and the little firebird took to it like her favorite perch. She landed onto the foreleg, without any sign of hurting the princess, and the murmur of panic immediately hushed.

“Philomena! Well, hello!” Princess Celestia said to the mythical bird squeaking and squawking at her. We stood in silence, watching her watch the bird continue to ‘speak’ before Philomena alighted and took off again, coming back the way she came but making a b-line past me.

Princess Celestia headed our way. The sea of dirty ponies parted easily for her. She absolutely looked right at me and my friends and smiled that warm, motherly smile, proud of us, before it returned to where she was going: where Philomena had landed.

I automatically stepped aside and gave her space. As Princess Celestia passed, I saw that her coat was glistening from sweat. Her hooves were sooty. I stepped back to watch where she was going. The phoenix refound one lone unicorn, covered in ash, now standing before the princess. I heard ponies whispering Sunset’s name in the crowd. Sunset didn’t bow. She searched those magenta eyes.

“...Princess Celestia?” she asked. The princess bowed.

“Hello again, Sunset Shimmer,” Princess Celestia greeted her with a gentle smile. That was all it took.

With strength I didn’t know she had, the unicorn bolted for the princess. At the same time, I saw the princess do something undeity-like: she slid to her haunches to sit in the dirt. Her prodigal student embraced her and she wrapped her forelegs around her tight. I expected Sunset to cry but I didn’t expect the tears from the princess. Those angel wings found themselves wrapped around her lost protege.

I think I heard the murmur of whispers meant for only their ears. Even if I had heard them clearly, I don’t think I could have appreciated them the same way. The crowd seemed to be in mostly silent respect at the long overdue reunion.

Mostly.

“Sunny!”

Somepony from out in the masses called out and was pushing their way over to us. Everypony, Celestia and Sunset included, stopped and looked. “Sunny!” she called out again.

‘Sunny’’s eyes grew wide at the pegasus drawing closer with a trio of similarly-dressed ponies behind her. The pegasus leading looked older and was wearing a throw blanket over her back. Wait, I recognized her - from Sunset’s memory.

“Andy??” Sunny asked in disbelief.

“Sunny! It is you!” she cheered and closed the gap between them to wrap her hooves around and laugh in joy. “It’s actually you!”

“Andy? How??” Sunset demanded. I saw so many emotions flood her: shock, joy, confusion, remorse. She felt over her friend, as if trying to still prove this was actually happening. Andy stopped squeezing her friend in half to look at her with the most fish-eating grin.

“You didn’t think a subsonic crash from thousands of feet in the air could actually take me out, did you? Me?” Andy the pegasus asked. The way one of her wings hung loose under her simple clothes told me her recovery hadn’t been as easy as she made it out to be.

Sunset answered with more tears leaving bright coat-colored tracks down the ash on her face. The distress caused Princess Celestia to wrap one supportive wing around her back. Sunset seemed overwhelmed by this double reunion but Andy was still eager.

“Hey, Sunny, Sunny, it’s okay! Just, let me see you again!” She said as she just took in the sight of her again. “I knew I’d see you guys again. I’ve waited almost twenty-five years to see a familiar face.”

I stopped eavesdropping for a moment when I felt my filly and Blossomforth pilfering my saddlebags. They pulled out Princess Celestia’s crown and peytral. I almost forgot we had those. Honestly, there probably wasn’t going to be a better time to give them to her.

“Go on,” I whispered them both on. With as much ceremony as a tired filly and an injured pegasus could, they approached the princess.

As if sensing their presence, Princess Celestia turned around to look up at them. Ruby and Blossom stopped short but she smiled at them.

“Well, hello again,” she acknowledged them. I saw her gaze move away from the crown and peytral down to the beautiful watch around Pinchy’s neck, then the geode around Blossom’s neck. She quickly saw the rest around our necks. “Are those… “

“Your crown,” Pinchy offered.

“And your, uh, bib thing,” Blossom suggested.

“No. Around your necks…” the princess gestured.

“Mom?” a young mare next to Andy asked. Princess Celestia and I reflexively looked but it wasn’t for either of us. Andy looked at her. “Are those the geodes your friends had?”

“Looks like it!” Andy agreed.

“‘Mom’? Andy? You??” Sunset questioned in shock and joy.

The ponified human gestured to all three of the ponies with her. “I didn’t say I didn’t get bored waiting for you,” she said with a grin.

Our sun goddess rose. All of our eyes were on her as she moved. She took in the sight of the crowd of ponies then her eyes traced through our group, landing on Sunset Shimmer.

“May I borrow these ‘geodes’?” She asked all of us.

Without discussion or questioning why, we all bowed. I gave it freely to her. I felt the geode of empathy slip over my mane and past my muzzle to join the rest of them in Princess Celestia’s magical grasp. Her pink mane began to glow with them and lengthen.

“Sunset, my little ponies, ‘Andy’?: I will be right back. There’s something left I have to do.”

She spread her wings to test her strength. Then, on heavy wing beats, she vaulted for the sky. Ponies cheered at her flight. The geodes encircled her as she reached higher: over the crowd, above the buildings and continued higher and higher into the red rainboomed sky.

The magic aura that started at the tip of her horn quickly drenched her whole body in a golden flame. The geodes we gave her spun into a blurry ring.

Ponies began screaming in joy.

The red veil above began dissolving into a black sky, still glittering with the Rainboom aurora stretched in front of it. There was a collective gasp as out of the darkness swallowing the sky, a brilliant, white moon re-emerged from where it had been hiding: watching but unseen.

For the first time since getting back, I appreciated just how enormous the sky was. I was shaking watching it be unveiled and remembering what it took to get here. I found my crying Pinchy and held her.

Our Princess wasn’t done yet though. Slowly, the inky blackness started to glimmer with the Rainboom as an entirely new, yet old, night sky of hundreds, then thousands, of stars faded in all at once to rejoin the moon in their place. I felt hooves on me: Comet Tail hugged me and the rest of my family soon followed. Ponyville and all of its survivors cheered. It was a deafening, bitter and beautiful sound that clearly reached Princess Celestia.

The lengthening auras of the princess’s mane and tail started whipping violently like sails in a cosmic galewind as the moon was wrapped in a honey color. We were tired, battered and bruised but still had the energy to gasp and cry. Princes Celestia held the entire moon aloft in her magic.

The geodes around Celestia started looking more like a ring wrapped around a golden sun as slowly, slowly, the moon moved towards the horizon until finally it was put to sleep. We plunged into a moonless night as the golden aura around our sun princess immediately dropped.

We saw her from her aura and the geodes ringing her body. Her body hung in the air like she was exhausted, but our screams of encouragement gave her tired wings all the wind she needed to stay afloat.

We saw her turn in her gold ring and search the other horizon. We cried out in support and stomped our hooves. We grew deafening again. We knew what she was looking for. All of Equestria needed to see it. Her posture changed, as if resting before something great. Celestia looked tired but she wasn’t done yet. Our sun goddess turned back into a golden flame and we fueled her with our cheers, cries and weeping.

As Luna’s sky lightened into blue, the stars fell back to sleep. The world fell into blue before the pink light hit our princess. Then, it appeared on the horizon. Celestia’s ‘fuel’ only grew hotter and she continued burning.

We chanted her name. She wasn’t able to fail now. Not after everything everyone fought for, the friends and family we lost and all of the ones we gained.

The pinks and oranges joined every color of glimmering Sonic Rainboom in the sky. Then, gold crested the horizon, matching our princess’s light. For the first time in twenty-five years, the sun’s light was welcomed back to Equestria and with thunderous applause and not a dry eye.

The sun cast its rays over a burnt, broken and brown Equestria and countless colorful equines full of warmth and love. I hugged my daughter and my friends with every sore and bruised muscle I had and tears melted from my eyes. I saw Sunset and Andy holding each other and her foals. In a rainbow mist, the wreckage of Ponyville was washed in a sea of hugs and tears on a new dawn.

The sun stayed just over the horizon for the next few days, leaving the world in a warm orange glow. The entire time felt like we were just sleeping in, eating and occasionally making more space for more ponies to sleep in and eat. The neverending slumber party would end eventually, but for now everypony was covered in bruises, scars, bandages and gauze and resting.

The portal was open for a while longer but most of the supplies had been moved through. Now it was mostly just used for hellos and goodbyes. We were walking there now in the peaceful morning of the next thirty moons.

I nuzzled against Nathan’s fuzzy neck and he ended up tumbling on his side with the leg cast. I couldn’t help it: his smell had changed again and it fascinated me. It still smelled like him but ponified. He clearly liked the affection too, much to his embarrassment.

“Well, looks like you do have four good legs!” Cloud cracked behind us. I was going to kick her. Nathan got adorably red though so I dropped it.

“S-sorry,” he apologized and rolled over to hide his shame. I helped him up.

“No. I’m sorry. My fault. You’ll get the hang of it,” I promised. Chad had done better than Nathan -at walking! Having a leg cast didn’t help. Nathan also had a horn though! He was figuring that out too. Slowly but surely.

We continued our walk with less nuzzling.

“...you have to wear whatever clothes they give you at all times!” Andy instructed.

“Yes, Mom,” her oldest daughter agreed.

“And if you see food on the ground, don’t eat it!”

“Yes, Mom.”

”And, uh, don’t ever walk in the street! That’s for the cars!”

“I know.”

“Are you sure you want to go? Maybe we can get it delivered.”

“Mom! It’ll just be a few hours. It’ll be okay. You said it’s better fresh! Pizza’s worth it!” She agreed before turning to the group. “It’s worth it, right?”

A chorus of laughs and nods answered her. Andy, for her part, still looked worried. Maybe it was her own anxiety. My understanding was that she promised to show her Earth a long time ago. A very different person made that promise though: she had been a pony longer than a human by now. She was going to go through it though; her loyalty was showing.

Sunset smiled quietly at them as they talked. I knew that feeling: hearing an old friend talk was like hearing a favorite song. Today, it was a happy one.

“Honestly, I think it’s better the next day from the fridge,” my stallion of loyalty suggested.

“Eh. It’s okay,” my Pinchy disagreed.

“Use a skillet. Then with a few drops of water cover and steam,” Carrot Top offered.

“I still do it that way!” Minuette agreed with a nod. “Gets the crust all crusty!” She checked on Chad to back her up and he nodded.

“...can we bring some back and try that?” Andy’s daughter asked.

I looked up at the portal to check on our destination just in time. Lyra and Bonbon had been talking to Vinyl Scratch and Octavia there. They all hugged, then the latter two kissed and went through together. I glanced at my daughter and her smile told me she caught it too.

We arrived and the portal was free. It was time then.

I saw Sunset contemplating her reflection in the mirror until her gaze drifted and her eyes met Andy’s in it. Her smile was interrupted by Cloud bumping her rump.

“And you’re sure you can do this?” the pegasus whispered.

Sunset nodded.

“They’re out there. Even if they don’t know it yet,” Sunset explained with that shimmer of hope in her eyes. “They’ll need me when the time comes and I’ll find them. I’ll help anypony I can until then.”

“That’s great! I meant the staying ponies thing though,” the pegasus explained.

“Oh. Yeah, that’s no problem. I know portals pretty well,” Sunset downplayed.

“Good. As cool as boobs sound, I’d rather keep my wings,” Cloud admitted.

Sunset hesitantly nodded before she turned her attention to her oldest friend. “Are you ready? You have to go first.”

Andy put her brave face back on after it had been slipping. “Yeah. Just for a day. Just… to know, you know?” She tried to make sense of her emotions. “Make sure I come back! I, uh, my herd couldn’t survive without me.”

“I promise,” Sunset said and hugged her friend. “I’ll be right there. You’ll get back.”

“I believe you. Alright then, let’s-” Andy cut herself short seeing her daughter take off.

“Mushy time up. Let’s do this! Geronimo~!” she shouted, seconds before she disappeared through the portal.

“Oh my god,” Andy stared in horror. “She just ran in.” Andy steeled herself then went in after her.

“They’ll be fine,” Sunset said to herself before looking back to the pegasi going with her. “We’ll stick to the plan. It’s not that dangerous over there.” Sunset froze to reconsider that and turned to me. “Not much has changed in twenty-four years, right?”

Since 1996. It was my turn to freeze.

“Uh… you’ll be fine,” I hoofwaved. Sunset took that in stride and nodded.

“Anyway. Thanks again, Berry. All of you.”

“We just did what you would do, you know?”

Sunset nodded.

“Yeah. I guess so. I really appreciate you for reminding me.”

“You’re welcome. Just… remember why we shine, you know?” I offered. She smiled and nodded.

“...Sunset?” my daughter spoke up. The fiery unicorn looked down to see Ruby remove her ‘watch’ from around her neck. The six other geodes were embedded along the bezel now, circling the emerald heart of the now much larger dial decorated with a sun and moon. “Do you want these?”

Sunset smiled at the offer but shook her head.

“We had a turn with them. They’re yours now.”

“Yeah, but maybe they could help? They’re yours if you want them!” Ruby offered. I don’t think anypony would have disagreed.

“You might need that here more than I will. I’ll be a unicorn; I’ll have plenty of magic.”

“And friendship!” Blossomforth added.

Shimmer nodded in agreement.

“I’ve heard those are often the same thing,” Chad snarked. That got Ruby to snort and Minuette trying to stifle a giggle.

“I think you’re getting it!” Minuette said, nuzzling him supportively.

“I want you to have them. That way I know they’ll be in good hands,” Sunset assured.

“You mean ‘hooves’!” Minuette corrected her.

Sunset went over her words again and smiled.

“I do.”

We said our goodbyes, but they were just goodbyes until next time. Then, Sunset Shimmer did whatever she did and she stepped through the portal with Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth holding on.

Then it was just… the seven of us. We lingered at the portal.

“So, what now?” Chad asked.

“Well, are you all hungry?” Carrot Top suggested. “What time is it? Twenty hours until the portal closes? Nineteen?”

We looked around then down at the one pony still holding a ‘watch’. She seemed to really be considering the geodes.

“What time do you got there?” I asked. Instead of being amused by the question, Pinchy seemed to struggle with it.

“So, does this mean… am I going to have to raise the sun and moon every day now?”

I considered that then made my decision.

“No. Absolutely not. Maybe when you’re older.”

My little pink unicorn seemed surprised by my answer.

“What? But it chose me!”

“I know, but that’s an awful lot of responsibility. How about we go see what Twilight wants to do with it?” I offered.

Ruby looked up at me, slightly hurt then confused when she saw my smile.

“...you really don’t think I could do it?”

I went in for a hug. “I know you could!” I hated seeing that face sad. “But, don’t you think your plate’s full already? …growing up, …playing, …being my little filly.”

“...and my Rubes,” Comet Tail hugged her as well.

“Our Pinchy!” Minuette added before hugging us as well. I felt Carrot Top make it a group hug.

Our Pinchy smiled up at all of us.

It was time to go play.

The last scene I absolutely always wanted to see. Now we all get to.
We've made it.
They've made it.

So, what's all 'canon' to this story? If you want to believe that crazy doctor horse and stretch your imagination that's fine. It's all fanfiction, after all: It's all happening out there somewhere...Or maybe go read some of the Doctor Whooves stories to try and piece together what happened.I often wonder if Roseluck is still out there with All That's Left Behind.Octavia and Vinyl Scratch decided to go be humans, as suggested in Shadejak's comment on their own story The Tunes Are A-Changin. They're heading home.Sunset, Cloud and Blossom are off on another adventure! Hopefully you forgive me for using them. I'm contradicting a few details in Dust on the Wind but if you don't sweat a few unimportant sentences (they could've been half-truths, or maybe you just misremembered) then that's where you can find them next!I wonder if the geode sun and moon dial will ever come up again...Or what Sunset Shimmer might be up to in the meantime...

Don't forget to read the epilogue!