Sunset and Vignette eventually came out of the building together, satisfied that Madame Cinch finally got what was coming to her. Vignette went back to apologize to the guard for knocking him out earlier, but he seemed to take the news of Cinch being gone rather well, especially after witnessing the Madame’s true colors. As for Rarity, she had finished her role of taking the other stallion out for a quick lunch, before eventually being ready to the entrance of the neon sign building herself. Rarity had trotted all the way back, seeing that Vignette and Sunset were happy, and that the Madame was being taken away in the distance. The trio reunited once more to catch up on everything that had happened, though Rarity was able to surmise that her friends had won that battle.

“So, I take it that neither Vignette nor I will have to worry about that old witch anymore?” Rarity asked with a pleased expression.

“That’s right, the Madame did admittedly put up a good fight here and there, but we eventually managed to outsmart her together.” Sunset replied. “I’ll admit, your assistant and I made a pretty good team together.”

“No kidding.” Vignette agreed. “I wouldn’t have felt confident in doing anything to go against the Madame, at least until your friend Sunset here came along. Once again, the only real drawback is, now I’m definitely out of a job again. But I’d be a fool in continuing to work for the Madame now that her reputation across Equestria has plummeted.”

“That job definitely wouldn’t have been worth it anyways.” Sunset assured. “I’m sure you’ll still find more efficient employment soon though. You certainly demonstrated you can pull off anything you’re absolutely committed toward.”

“Thanks.” Vignette blushed. “With that tyrant now gone from Manehattan, I guess it’s time to go job hunting. Hopefully my landlord won’t decide to already kick me out next week.”

“I’ll be happy to help you out, Miss Valencia.” Rarity addressed formally before turning to Sunset. “Right now though, I would just like to say, you have genuinely saved the entirety of Manehattan from one pony’s complete tyranny, Sunset. If you hadn’t decided to come back to Equestria, I’d have no idea what Vignette nor I would do against that Madame.”

“I’m just glad I could be a true friend who stands up to the bullies.” Sunset said, proudly. “It’s always been a driving motivation for me, considering my past. As you would already know, I wasn’t always this noble and self-sacrificing, considering I used to be the tyrannical bully myself back at CHS. Since that time, I’ve then understood what it’s like to become the victim of the bullies, and embracing the magic of friendship. In some ways, I almost feel like coming back for an extended stay in Equestria is helping me exemplify everything I’ve learned since the crown incident with Twilight.”

“You went from that kind of pony to becoming the one who’d genuinely help others out of the kindess of their heart.” Rarity commended. “Even though we’ve only just met yesterday at Twilight’s coronation, I’ve already grown so attached to you, and definitely quite impressed with how far you’ve come. Me, Vignette, and everypony else in Manehattan are certainly still in your debt for your good deed. From now on, if you need anything from either of us, it’ll be our treat.”

“Very generous of you, Rarity.” Sunset smiled. “But in some ways, I feel like this was also my way of repaying somepony else for their own generosity. Before the coronation, I met a certain someone, and according to what she told me, it was you who helped her gain to courage to stand up for herself. Her name’s Coco Pommel, and she was the main reason I was even able to get to Twilight’s coronation at all, after she decided to give me a ticket to sail the Manehattan ferry. Yeah, you remember how I showed up late to the coronation and awkwardly joined Twilight and everypony else at the last minute? Kind of a long story, but that’s what happened to me.”

“That’s wonderful to hear, I had no idea my own generosity rubbed off on my assistant, Miss Pommel.” Rarity said with awe. “She would willingly miss the coronation just for you?”

“Actually, she said the reason the wouldn’t attend would be due to being busy with her business.” Sunset recalled. “She had an ticket she didn’t plan on using, so she gave it to me in my desperate struggle to attend the coronation before it was over. I did promise her to pass on the generosity toward myself, and I guess I did just that when helping you both deal with the Madame.”

“Miss Pommel’s… business?” Rarity inquired. “Oh, that’s right, Sunset! How could I forget? Miss Pommel’s no longer only my assistant, but she’s recently also started up her own fashion line under the brand name, ‘Pommel’s Piqué’, I believe. Vignette, darling! If Miss Pommel is hiring, maybe she could have you on her team? You do have remarkable fashion marketing skills, after all.”

“I’ll take anything I can find, since my landlord’s not going to like the fact I’ve now been late several months in a row in paying rent.” Vignette replied.

“Splendid, dear!” Rarity exclaimed, before the three ponies trotted away from the beauty pageant center and on the road to Coco’s shop.

As they finally arrived at the destination, Rarity knocked on the door before hearing Coco’s announcement to come in. Upon seeing Rarity, she was happy to have the company of the one friend who changed her entire life, but also found it a pleasant surprise to see Sunset as well.

Rarity, Sunset!” Coco announced from her counter. “Good to see you two again. Have you heard the news lately? I listened to it over the radio while I was working on new fabric designs, I had no idea our town’s Madame was such a… gosh, I can’t even come up with the right words to describe what I heard about her.”

“Yes, I suppose you could say we heard the news.” Rarity replied. “We… caused the news, let’s just say.”

“Oh my, I hope you’re all okay.” Coco worried.

“We certainly are now that we’ve won the battle to expose her.” Rarity affirmed. “It’s a good thing Sunset here came along, as without her help, me and my colleague Vignette here would most likely still be working for her.”

“I can’t imagine anypony would want to work for her now, unless they’re the wardens bringing her food in prison.” Sunset joked. “But we stopped by to visit since Rarity mentioned you actually run a business now?”

“Well yes.” Coco confirmed. “I did start my new business a couple weeks ago, but I’m admittedly not doing so well as far as sales. I’m having a feeling that nopony in Manehattan is too familiar with my lines to immediately order from me.”

“Well, that’s why the Madame’s former assistant would like to have a word with you, since she’s out of a job now.” Sunset winked to Vignette.

“Indeed, now that I’m no longer working for her, I’m still looking for some occupation.” Vignette said. “Would you be interested in having me on your team? I have great skills in fashion designs and marketing.”

“R-Really?” Coco asked, surprised. “You would actually want to work for me? I’ve set up hiring ads all over town for the past week, and I haven’t even gotten a single applicant. Yes, yes! I’ll take any help I can get, especially from a fashionista like yourself.”

“Terrific!” Vignette expressed, elated. “I can start now, if you wish? I just hope you’ll be able to pay me on time, since the Madame certainly never would’ve given me such a luxury.”

“Of course.” Coco nodded. “I absolutely believe in treating all my employees fairly and the way I would want to be treated. Thank you so much.”

“Well, no need to thank me, I wouldn’t even be here right now if it wasn’t for Sunset.” Vignette pointed at the aforementioned unicorn. “She’s the reason the Madame’s now gone, and she reminded us that you have a business which might need more employment.”

Coco looked at Sunset and smiled softly. Sunset did end up fulfilling her promise to pass the generosity onto others, as she not only found her a new assistant for her business, but also saved everypony else in Manehattan from the Madame’s utter tyranny.

“That ferry ticket seems to be one of the best investments I’ve ever made.” Coco said to Sunset. “I can’t express this enough, thank you, Sunset.”

“Hey, what are friends for, right?” Sunset chuckled. “I’m just glad things worked out the way they did. Good luck with the business, you two!”

“Likewise!” Coco replied, as she and Vignette began waving goodbye to Sunset and Rarity as they had now exited the shop.

With the time that had passed since then, the sky had turned into an orange sunset, and it was definitely going to get dark soon. The setting admittedly reminded Sunset again of the eternal struggle she had endured back when she needed to get to Twilight’s coronation, but found that this time around, she had made pleasant memories in Manehattan. Not only with Rarity, Starlight and Trixie, but also unexpectedly with Vignette of all ponies.

“Well, what a day we’ve had together.” Rarity said with exhaustion. “It is going to get late soon, so of course, we may head back to the train station to return to Ponyville, as I still have my creator’s pass. Bringing you back home is certainly the least I could do for you now, so if you’d like, we can check out more of Manehattan, and I’ll get you anything you’d like. My treat.”

“I appreciate the offer, Rarity.” Sunset replied. “But I’ve admittedly had enough of Manehattan for one day. Plus, I already had a decent meal with Starlight, so I think I’m good for now. At the moment, I think I’m just more focused on heading back.”

“Very well then, onward to Ponyville!” Rarity declared.

The two unicorns headed all the way back to the train station and waited a few minutes before the next train had already arrived on the expected platform. While boarding the train with Rarity, Sunset noticed there weren’t too many ponies onboard, so they found plenty of seats. But unexpectedly, while finding a good seat, the two unicorns found a mutual pegasus friend of theirs. As they both approached her, happy to see a familiar face.

“Fluttershy dear!” Rarity greeted, before she and Sunset took a seat next to her, as the train begun to move again. “Fancy seeing you here as well.”

“Oh, Rarity!” Fluttershy replied. “And Sunset too? I didn’t expect to see you both on my way back to Ponyville. I just finished my daily visit to the animal sanctuary. Also, on my way over here, I heard the most horrific news regarding a certain somepony in Manehattan. Didn’t you mention she was your next client, Rarity?”

“Emphasis on the word ‘was’, dear.” Rarity explained. “Thanks to Sunset’s help, we’ve managed to expose her true colors to the public, and it appears that word about her is spreading rather fast in Equestria.”

“And that’s why having those good connections eventually came back to haunt her.” Sunset chimed in. “A reputation can certainly be a double edged sword, since they could be either good or bad.”

“Well, it sounds like you spent some good quality time together, so I’m happy for you both.” Fluttershy smiled. “For now, I’m focused on heading back to my cottage, but along the way, I’ll also head over to the local grocery shop. I admittedly need to stock back up on food after feeding all the critters today.”

“Grocery store?” Sunset responded. “That reminds me, since I haven’t really been back to my old home in Canterlot for ages, my refrigerator has certainly seen better days. Even though I’ve had a few good meals today, I also certainly need to pick up some groceries too. Though I’d have to head back to Canterlot first since I left my bits back in my saddlebag.”

“Oh, well in that case, since I do have plenty of bits on me at the moment, I can get you a few groceries as well, Sunset.” Fluttershy offered. “Anything for a friend, of course.”

“Hmm, I do legitimately need some groceries…” Sunset contemplated. “And it would certainly save me a trip considering it is going to get dark soon. All right, I’ll take you up on your offer, Fluttershy. Thanks! But don’t worry, once I get home, I’ll be sure to pay you back for the food as soon as I can.”

“And see to it that you do…” Fluttershy began in a more assertive tone. “You wouldn’t want Fluttershy angry with you, after all. I wouldn’t just spend bits on you for free and not be paid back, right?”

Both Rarity and Sunset were confused and slightly intimidated from hearing this, but Sunset decided to speak up.

“Err, of course, which was why I offered to pay you back when I could.” Sunset assured, nervously.

“I’m just kidding.” Fluttershy giggled. “In all seriousness, I insist, this will be my treat, Sunset. That was mostly just an active demonstration of what I truly meant when other ponies mention I’m no longer as shy as I used to be. Pretty impressive for somepony with ‘shy’ in their name, wouldn’t you say? Nowadays, my brother Zephyr wouldn’t even dare to attempt asking for bits from me.

“Oh, all right.” Sunset breathed a sigh of relief. “You really had me going there for a second. All I know for certain is, past me would certainly not last long at all against current you, Fluttershy.”

“What do you… mean?” Fluttershy asked, confused.

“Well, back during my bully days at CHS, I used to pick on the other… you, a lot. I’d intimidate her, push her around, and sometimes even acted with blunt violence. I don’t really talk about it much nowadays, since it reminds me of how awful I truly was back then. Thankfully, despite all I did, I eventually proved myself to be the friend she never had, and she ended up forgiving me. That’s certainly the most beautiful gift anyone can give, especially to someone who had wronged them for so long.”

“Oh my, I had no idea.” Fluttershy replied. “But I’m still happy for that things worked out between you and her. I even remember the days when I, myself, was too shy to even talk to other ponies. I like to imagine that thanks to Twilight and the rest of my friends, they’ve helped me shape up over time, even if I was accused to have been learning the same lesson over and over. It’s just baby steps, and my animal sanctuary wasn’t built in a day either.”

“Yeah, my road to friendship wasn’t that simple.” Sunset reflected. “Even Starlight mentioned that everypony forgave her much quicker than she had really expected, but I guess it’s cause she had Twilight to vouch for her, and I didn’t.”

“Well, in the short time I’ve spent with you, dear?” Rarity began. “I can most certainly vouch to Fluttershy here that you’re an absolute diamond with perfectly smooth edges. Couldn’t have asked for a better friend, regardless of you being an initial crown thief whom we haven’t seen in many moons after the fact.”

“Thanks, Rarity.” Sunset smiled. “I’m just doing my part for the team, since I am technically also the leader of the human you’s. And no, being a leader doesn’t entail just bossing everyone around and acting like the queen. Fitting how I use that analogy since I recall Princess Celestia teaching me that most queens are evil. But really, as the leader, it meant that I knew how to effectively communicate and lead the team, even during times where other humans ended up possessing powerful and destructive Equestrian magic. Because of our teamwork skills, we’ve actually saved the human world together a number of times.”

“Very impressive.” Fluttershy noted. “Saving Equestria has been something we’ve all done with Twilight too. The sheer number of creatures who were bent on using magic to take over Equestria or rid it for good were astonishing. But we’ve managed to take them all down thanks to the magic of friendship. I’d just imagine it might be more difficult now, ever since King Sombra destroyed the Tree of Harmony along with the Elements of Harmony.”

“You mean… the crown I stole from Twilight back then is completely gone? Well, at least now Twilight will know for certain I won’t ever steal that crown ever again.” Sunset joked. “But in all seriousness, as long as you all have each other, I’m sure we you can all overcome whatever challenges and struggles the future holds for you. Heck, if I do decide to take an extended stay in Equestria, that means you also got me and Starlight too.”

“I guess that’s true.” Fluttershy replied. “We’re mostly on high alert for anything suspicious that may happen in Equestria, especially now that Princess Celestia and Luna are now retired. Twilight might be the new princess, but we still stand by her side as both her advocates and friends. In these times, we’re mostly hoping to carry on with our lives without anything new going wrong, but I’m pretty sure no matter how hard we try, that’s going to be unavoidable.”

“I agree on that.” Rarity added. “It gets especially bad when you can’t even trust those who seem like good ponies, but turn out to be despicable on the inside. Madame Cinch and Cozy Glow are certainly prime examples of that.”

“Well, I can certainly relate to that frustration, since there’s seemingly no way to stop unexpected Equestrian magic from entering the human world.” Sunset explained. “But to be honest, that’s another factor that contributed to why I wanted to come back to Equestria for a little longer. For some strange reason, we haven’t had any unusual magical occurrences in the human world, and I kinda began to feel life was becoming a little too boring and easy. I was basically nothing more than a typical high school girl who had no real magic and exams I hadn’t studied for. I actually missed being able to use real magic, rather than a simple geode which allows me to read other people’s minds. This horn did end up making me Princess Celestia’s pupil at one point, so I figured I shouldn’t let it go to waste.”

“We’re certainly happy to have you if you’re willing to be our new friend.” Fluttershy replied. “I actually have no idea what that other world is like, but I have admittedly gotten curious based on what Twilight’s described of it.”

“Same here.” Rarity agreed. “Perhaps if you are deciding to stay in Equestria for a while longer, some of us could travel through the mirror and see the extent of this fascinating world. Though I would imagine it’d be a little awkward seeing a double of myself.”

“While I would normally be open to further exploration for you all, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” Sunset warned. “Let’s just say, somewhere along the way, I was told that back when Twilight first entered the world, Princess Celestia forbade you all to enter it with her, vaguely due to involving something upsetting the balance?”

“Oh, that’s right.” Fluttershy recalled. “It’s been a while, but that was the reason Twilight had to go alone to retrieve her crown back. Well, at least until Spike followed her in too, but they both still made it back without any usual effects.”

“Princess Celestia may not be our ruler anymore, but I’ll still follow anything she ordered of us.” Rarity insisted. “I know nothing about magic like her, so if she specifically says that us entering that world could be dangerous, then I’ll follow her orders.”

“Pretty wise thinking, I really wish I had done the same myself back then…” Sunset moped.

“Hey, it’s fine, Sunset.” Fluttershy assured. “We’ve all done things we’ve severely regretted, since nopony’s perfect. I sometimes still think of the time I became too aggressively assertive with everypony after being labeled as a doormat countless times. And believe me, I certainly went way too far before I realized my mistake.”

“And I can certainly recall back when it was Fashion Week in Manehattan.” Rarity reflected. “I drove everypony and Fluttershy to the ground simply because I was adamant on winning first place. I let a dumb achievement stand in the way of how I treated ponies who were my friends, not co-workers. Even then, I shouldn’t have treated anypony that way to begin with. But the important thing was that I realized what I did wrong and corrected for it. We can both certainly see you’ve done the same, Sunset.”

“I’m happy you always try to see the best in me.” Sunset said more cheerfully. “I’m beginning to realize this was always how I’ve picked myself up from the ashes. It’s because I’ve had friends who genuinely cared enough about me to get through tough times. It’s why there is a legitimate magic in friendship, even if we usually see it as a source of power to fight other forms of magic. This would also be another reason why I’ve grown the philosophy to look out for others out of the kindness of my own heart. After all, if you only care about yourself, who will care about you?”

“It’s a wonderful philosophy to take to heart, dear.” Rarity smiled. “Which would be especially true since you’re talking to both the ponies of metaphorical elements in generosity and kindness.”

“That’s true.” Fluttershy chimed in. “Everything you’ve just said, Sunset? It’s definitely another motivation as to why I look out for my many animal friends. That, and the fact I feel more strongly connected to them than anypony else I know.”

“I’m really glad we’ve had this talk.” Sunset sighed in happiness. “I can’t emphasize how much nicer life is with friends than to be a tyrannical ruler. You might as well just be a social outcast who has a power that you’ll inevitably lose eventually. I’m certainly looking forward to us spending a little more time together, Fluttershy. Can’t wait to see what kind of other Equestrian foods the grocery store has to offer for us, it’s been way too long since I’ve tried anything that wasn’t human-made.”

“Oh, speaking of foods, the train is notified when ponies with a creator’s pass come aboard.” Rarity explained. “When they have enough supplies, they may eventually come out with some complimentary food to keep us fed while we wait for our next stop. I believe they didn’t do so on our first ride to Manehattan, since the server was late to her shift.”

“I’m not too sure the service on this train is really good.” Fluttershy noted. “Earlier on the train, I heard a glass shatter somewhere, I’m guessing the server dropped some drinks.”

“Well, I guess it would be nice to try something else native to Equestria before we go back to Ponyville.” Sunset smiled.

Coincidentally, just as Sunset had said that, the train’s back room opened, with a pony pushing a cart holding a tray of food. The pony looked grouchy with her job, but knew she really had no choice if she were to make a living. As she approached Rarity, Sunset began to vaguely recognize her as well. It was that female chef who had worked both on that yacht during spring break, as well as the Postcrush festival. She was the one who made those churros which constantly tempted Pinkie to get both Sunset and herself into trouble several times during that three week loop. Thanks to the private conversation with Pinkie from earlier, Sunset was immediately about to recall her name, Puffed Pastry.

Pastry was ordered to bring a couple of gourmet cucumber sandwiches over to Rarity, as she noted two other ponies accompanied her. Although she was told only two ponies had the creator’s pass privileges, she purposefully created three sandwiches in an attempt to make a little extra money. As she was unhappy with her job, she believed it was only right that the world give back to her in exchange for having to live out a miserable life. Pastry finally made her way to the ponies at the end of the train before speaking up.

“Some cucumber sandwiches for the creator’s pass ponies.” Pastry announced. “One creator and one guest. Who may those be?”

“Me and her, dear.” Rarity raised her hoof while pointing over at Sunset across from her.

“Very well then.” Pastry replied. “But I do have an extra sandwich, and I assume this pegasus here is not covered by your creator’s pass, but would she want it anyways?”

“No, I don’t have this pass, and I’m not covered as a guest, but I am feeling a little bit peckish.” Fluttershy responded. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to get a quick meal before I head home, so sure, I’ll take it.”

With that said, the three ponies each grabbed a sandwich from the tray and ate up. They were especially good due to the fresh cucumbers and extra gourmet ingredients added in. Rarity, Sunset, and Fluttershy all had an absolutely satisfying meal, but Fluttershy was about to choke on her last bread crumb at the next thing Pastry was going to say.

“I’m glad you enjoyed your meals.” Pastry said. “But since this pegasus here wasn’t covered by the creator’s pass, that’ll be 27 bits, please. And before you say anything, train policy states that anypony who eats food without being covered by a pass must pay full price.”

“What!?” Sunset announced in outrage. “27 bits for a sandwich!? What kind of a business are you running here? And that’s not fair, you didn’t say anything about her having to pay full price before she ate it! You implied you had an extra free sandwich lying around!”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules, you should’ve read the train policy.” Pastry smirked. “Plus, those were 100% gourmet cucumbers and spices I used to give you that refreshing taste. If anything, you should pay be much more than 27 bits. The train policy still stands, and it isn’t my fault that you didn’t read the train’s rules more closely. Now you can either pay up, or I call security.”

Rarity and Sunset looked at each other with concern, as Rarity was about ready to offer her own bits to bail Fluttershy out of this hole she had unintentionally dug herself into. However, since Fluttershy was no longer a pushover and also knew how to balance her behavior through simple gestures and mature decisions, she didn’t do anything foolish. Screaming at Pastry or attacking her could get herself into some serious trouble, despite Pastry clearly being in the wrong here. Since her stare worked rather nicely on misbehaving animals back at home, she showed no hesitance on transforming her expression into an intense and aggressive glare at Pastry. The server was initially shrugging it off, before seeing that Fluttershy’s stare was becoming even more intense and intimidating, to where she began to slowly back down.

“O-O-Okay!” Pastry shrieked before grabbing the tray off the cart to cover her face. “I’m sorry I tried to scam you like that, please don’t hurt me! I’ll take the 27 bits off your tab!”

Fluttershy finally softened her expression, but gave a more serious face toward the server, before pointing her to the other side of the train, signaling her to leave them. Pastry interpreted this as it was, and finally grabbed her cart to leave the room in a hurry before anything could’ve happened.

“Wow, Fluttershy.” Sunset said, astonished. “I’m impressed at how well you handled that situation. You definitely weren’t kidding when you mentioned other ponies don’t see you as the shy one anymore. If I was still that mean bully at CHS, I wouldn’t even think of messing with you.”

“That certainly was an impressive display, Fluttershy.” Rarity agreed. “I do know for a fact that train policies can be particularly strict, so I was certainly ready to pay her off just to make sure you didn’t get in trouble.”

“Thanks for wanting to look out for me, girls.” Fluttershy said with gratitude. “But that was definitely another good opportunity to demonstrate that like Pinkie once said, ‘Fluttershy’ is now ‘Flutterbold’. Not even Iron Will was able to teach me how to handle situations this well, so I’ll always be happy with just how far I’ve truly come.”

“That makes two of us, ‘Flutterbold’. Sunset said, also mutual with Fluttershy’s satisfaction at being a changed pony.

As the two unicorns and pegasus laughed it all off, they could then see that their stop at Ponyville was soon approaching. Although Rarity and Sunset were prepared to simply get off the train once it had stopped, Fluttershy had to go into the luggage room next to them to pick up her bag. She was using a bag to carry her essentials to the animal sanctuary, as well as her money. Although Rarity was still wearing her saddlebag, Fluttershy had set it in the other room, as she was exhausted from wearing it all day.

“It looks like we might be arriving Ponyville soon, I’ll need to get my bag.” Fluttershy said to her friends, before she got up from her seat and over to the luggage room.

Fluttershy inserted her train ticket in a slot on the wall and unlocked the luggage room. As she was prepared to pick up her bag early as expected, she let out a shocking gasp that would also alert Rarity and Sunset. The two unicorns trotted over to the luggage room to find Fluttershy in complete disbelief, seeing that her bag was completely empty. Everything from her money and the essential supplies for the animals at the sanctuary seemingly vanished without a trace.

“I don’t understand, how could this have happened?” Fluttershy began panicking. “I left my bag in this room, and you can’t get in here unless you have a train ticket as a key card. Plus, I’ve been sitting here the whole time, and I didn’t see anypony else enter this room!”

As Rarity and Sunset looked around the room for any clues, Sunset eventually recalled a key detail Fluttershy had mentioned earlier. She then noticing something in the room that normally shouldn’t be there at all.

“Wait a second, Fluttershy.” Sunset said before pointing up at a window that had seemingly been shattered. “Didn’t you say you heard a glass shatter earlier on the train ride? I guess that wasn’t actually a drink the server had accidentally dropped.”

“W-What!?” Fluttershy looked in horror. “Did somepony break in here and rob me?”

“I have a feeling that is a definite possibility, dear.” Rarity sympathized, as she turned around and presented another piece of evidence to her friends. It looked like an orange feather that belonged to a pegasus. “Was this in here when you first set your bag in the luggage room?”

“No, this room looked completely empty when I set my bag here!” Fluttershy insisted. “Plus, I’m almost positive that the window Sunset pointed out wasn’t broken when I did so, either!”

“Then I have to surmise… whoever did this had to have been a pegasus with an orange coat!” Sunset announced, before realizing this was exactly the same mystery she had tried to solve earlier that morning. She then recalled the description of the pegasus Derpy had given her. “Thankfully, I think I have a lead on who it may be. Let’s just say we should probably be looking for an orange coat pegasus with blonde hair, purple eyes, and green eyeshadow.”

“How would you know the thief would look like that?” Rarity asked curiously.

“Let’s just say, earlier when I was in Cloudsdale, another friend of mine mentioned getting robbed, and she gave me this exact description of a pegasus we should likely be keeping an eye out for.” Sunset explained. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I’ll do anything I can to help solve this perplexing mystery with you.”

“Well, I do have to head home to my cottage, so my first priority was to go grocery shopping.” Fluttershy said. “But now that I have no bits, I guess I’ll have to go home empty-hoofed.”

“Not to worry, darling.” Rarity chimed in, before grabbing her saddlebag and placing 30 of her own bits into Fluttershy’s bag. “Take this, and don’t even worry at all about paying me back. You need this much more than I do.”

“Oh, Rarity.” Fluttershy addressed her friend’s generosity. “I couldn’t. I should probably just head back to my cottage and see if I have any other bits there. Plus, I did promise to get some groceries for Sunset here too, so I have to make sure I can find enough.”

“No, Fluttershy.” Sunset insisted. “Buying me some groceries is certainly the least of your worries right now. You should take these bits Rarity gave you, it’ll at least guarantee you some food for the night, and possibly other essentials too. There’s no guarantee we can immediately find the crook, so I would take those bits just in case.”

“Sunset’s right, dear.” Rarity agreed. “I promise, those are entirely for you, and I don’t expect anything in return. All I care about is you returning safely with a good supply of food. Plus, I also have to get back to Carousel Boutique to watch after Sweetie Belle, and I still have enough bits for that.”

“Thank you, Rarity.” Fluttershy said. “I won’t take this for granted, and I’ll be sure you won’t need to worry about me for the night. I guess once we arrive at Ponyville, I’ll just head over to the grocery store to pick up some essentials, then head home.”

“I’ll come with you.” Sunset offered. “Not for getting groceries, but to help you carry them, and maybe even keep an eye out for the thief who stole your belongings, if we manage to find them.”

“Thank you both, you have no idea what this means to me.” Fluttershy expressed, touched by both of her unicorn friends’ beautiful selflessness. “We should be arriving at Ponyville quite soon, so we should prepare to get off the train any minute now.”

Within only a couple of minutes, Rarity, Sunset, and Fluttershy had all arrived at their destination. Leaving the train station together, Rarity headed back toward Carousel Boutique, while Sunset and Fluttershy went the opposite direction to the grocery store. The friends all waved goodbye to each other, as the night sky was beginning to make itself apparent. Sunset and Fluttershy were ready to get groceries together while also being aware there was still a malicious thief somewhere who was still on the loose…