//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Should I Stay (or Should I Go?) // by fallen starr //------------------------------// The phone on the nightstand was buzzing. Sunset forced her eyes open, squinting at the bright light coming from her phone screen. She grabbed the phone and blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the light, all the while her phone buzzing intermittently. text after text coming in about graduation preparation. With a groan, she sat the phone face down and sat up. Her room was still perfectly dark, though a slit of light could be seen under her door, letting her know Celestia was awake. She blinked a couple more times before picking her phone back up. Someone had started a new group message, and everyone was talking as they got dressed for graduation. Rarity had sent pictures, asking for help with her entire wardrobe, and ultimately choosing something different entirely. Twilight was having a melt down over giving a speech to the entire class. While everyone knew she was the top of their year, switching in the middle of senior year like she had, no one expected her to actually get valedictorian. Rarity was reassuring Fluttershy, who was afraid she would fall and everyone would laugh. Pinkie was talking about how great it would be after the ceremony, when everyone’s families was going to get together and celebrate at the Sweet Shoppe, which had closed especially for the day. It seemed Rainbow Dash wasn’t awake yet. At least, she hadn’t been active in the chat. A knock came on the bedroom door. “Sunset, are you awake? We’ll have to be there early.” “I’m awake. Thank you.” She stared down at her phone for a moment, but she wasn’t sure what to say. In the two weeks since the dream, she had been trying her hardest to spend as much time as she could with her friends, and to cherish the time they had left. Today was the marking day for everyone, they would be free of high school, and Sunset couldn’t help but feel they would be parted from each other. She sat her phone back on the night stand and went to the bathroom to shower. Once she felt sufficiently cleaned, she got out and cleared the fog off the mirror. Her reflection stared at her, biting its bottom lip. She readjusted the towel she had wrapped around her and, with a sigh, quickly applied some make up. Then she looked at her hair. Rarity would no doubt be doing something just marvelous and want everyone else to do so as well. After a moments consideration, she shrugged, going about her everyday routine. It would be under the cap anyway. Once she finished in the bathroom, she walked back across the hall to her room. The dress Celestia had bought her lay draped over her desk chair. She ran her fingers over the sleek material. It was red, and strapless, falling just above her knees. She had loved it the instant she had laid eyes on it in the store. The price tag, however, had made her rethink her love. She had returned home from school one day to see it lying on her bed. She had picked it up, open mouthed, before turning to see Celestia in the doorway. “If you truly don’t like it, I’ll take it back, but you seemed enamored with it,” Celestia had said. Sunset had sat the dress back down, carefully, and walked over to Celestia, wrapping her in a hug. “Thank you,” she had whispered as Celestia returned the hug. “I love it.” Now Sunset smiled at the memory. She sat about getting dressed and finding the shoes that she was going to wear today. Looking herself over in her mirror, she nodded. Then she walked out of her room and down the hallway to get breakfast. She was met with a plate of pancakes, topped with whipped cream and freshly cute peaches. Behind the plate of food was a small gift bag. Celestia also sat at the table, just adding whipped cream to her own plate of pancakes. “Good morning!” Sunset looked between the gift and Celestia. “For me?” She sat in front of the plate and picked up her fork, her eyes never leaving the tiny bag. She cut into the pancakes, relishing in their sweet flavor. “Of course. You’re graduating. I’m not sure what that means in Equestria, but here it’s very important and a huge reason to celebrate. I’m proud of you.” Sunset suddenly found it hard to swallow her breakfast. Celestia was proud of her. While Sunset didn’t think she had done anything spectacular, it still caused a lump in her throat to hear those words. She looked up and smiled at Celestia, but said nothing. They finished their meal in silence, though Celestia kept looking at Sunset, as if she wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure that now was the right time. After another of the looks, Celestia smiled. “Well, go ahead, open the bag.” The bag was in Sunset’s grasp in a flash. She looked at Celestia, who seemed just as eager for Sunset to opened it as she was. She pulled it open and carefully removed the decorative papers to find a single key. She picked it up, holding it in her hand. “A key? I don’t get it.” Celestia seemed to deflate some, but she stood and led Sunset to the garage. Sunset nearly dropped the key. Her eyes wide, she looked over at Celestia. “A motorcycle? Seriously? You got me a motorcycle?” She moved slowly, fearful that a wrong step could activate something and she would discover this was all a dream. “I mean, a motorcycle.” She giggled as she looked it over. “It’s amazing. I…I don’t even know how to say thank you.” “I do. Be careful on it.” Celestia raised her eyebrows in an attempt to look serious, but her huge smile defeated the look. “Now come on, you’ll have time to ride it later. We’re going to be late.” Sunset ran back inside to grab what she needed to take with her, still giggling. They weren’t late, of course. Sunset didn’t think Celestia had ever been late for anything. They arrived promptly two minutes before they were due, which gave them more than enough time to walk to the gym. Despite only the faculty and staff having to arrive this early, some parents and family were already parked and waiting outside the gym doors. Celestia greeted the parents as they walked through the doors, explaining when guests would be allowed in and the procedures. Sunset walked in behind her, looking down at the rows of foldable chairs set out on the gym floor. She took a seat on the bleachers as Celestia walked to the stage and talked with the technicians. They ran through the same gambit they had the day before, making sure no wires were crossed and everything would go off without a hitch. She sighed, checking her messages again. The chat had flooded with both words and pictures as everyone was finishing and doing things with their family. Rainbow Dash had even woken up and was active. Everyone was so excited. Their last day in this building together, and they were all ready to leave it behind. If it weren’t for this school, these halls, none of them would be friends. How could they be so willing to just leave it behind? Did they even really care about her? Were they just her friends so she would ‘stay reformed?” Sunset shook her head. Those weren’t good thoughts. They weren’t true, either. Her friends loved her. She looked at her phone again and turned it on silent. It was graduation day, which meant a lot more than just leaving behind high school. Her friends could go and do what they were meant to be doing. That’s what their excitement was about, and she knew that. It just hurt to be left behind. She looked up at the stage, where Celestia and Luna were doing last minute note comparisons. They had been going over who should say what for the last two weeks. She looked around, realizing other graduating students were filling into the gym. She felt someone stomping down the bleachers and then jump, landing hard next to her. “Heya, Sunset.” She looked up to see Flash Sentry. “How are you?” She shrugged, looking back out over the empty rows of seats. “I’m fine, I guess. It’s graduation.” She put on a falsely cheery smile and spun her fingers around in mock celebration before rolling her eyes. “I’m so over it already.” Flash nodded. “I’m pretty excited. My whole family are waiting outside the gym doors to watch.” He smiled at her. “You know, I don’t think we’ve really talked since that Fall Formal.” “We haven’t.” Sunset looked over at him. “It’s been crazy, but we’re here now.” “Yeah.” Flash rubbed the back of his neck. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. I know you had other reasons for everything, but if I could have done something…” Sunset shifted on the hard bleachers. “No, there wasn’t anything. I was dead set on total world domination.” She chuckled. “You were a good friend.” Flash smiled. “Okay. Umm, I guess this is probably it, then, huh? You’ll go off to do amazing things. I’ll be at Canterlot Community.” He winked and laughed. “Be good, Sunset. And you know, you were alright, too, when you weren’t trying to drive everyone apart.” “Thanks, Flash.” He nodded and walked away, toward two other boys who were talking on the other side of the gym. She stayed seated, watching him go. The first goodbye in what was promising to be a long string of heartbreak. She looked back to the main stage, where everyone was finding their spots. Celestia stood at the podium. “Okay, graduates, if you could all follow Vice Principal Luna to the starting point, we’ll begin letting your families in.” Sunset stood and walked with the rest of the crowd through the doors side doors. She sighed, looking at her phone again. The chat was still going strong, it seemed. She opened it up to see where everyone was. She could have expected Rarity or Dash to be late, but that all of the girls were late surprised her. In fact, she was certain Twilight was supposed to have been here when she and Celestia had arrived. She opened the chat, eyes skimming the messages, looking for the smiling picture of Twilight. Near the bottom she saw where Twilight had replied again. >> Of course, my brother’s car would break down. >> Were u at twi ill come get u guys Sunset sighed. Knowing Twilight, she was near panic mode. She looked at the time stamps and nodded. They should be arriving at the school any moment. She looked around, seeing the door open and five of her six friends walking through. Rarity spotted Sunset, giving a little wave and leading the rest to her. “There you are, darling. We’ve been looking for you. You didn’t meet us out front.” “What are you talking about?” Sunset pulled out her phone, scrolling through her phone. She reached a section that was nothing but people posting her name. “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking.” “It’s okay. You were just unusually quiet.” Rarity reached up and adjusted the cap on Sunset’s head. “There now, perfect.” Sunset looked over the group, realizing one person still hadn’t arrived. “Where’s Twilight?” Dash laughed. “Freaking out. Vice Principal Luna cornered her the instant we walked through the doors.” At that moment, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna walked in. Principal Celestia stepped forward, smiling at them. “You’re parents are all seated and it’s nearly time. Your class has been one we won’t shortly forget, but—“ Vice Principal Luna cleared her throat. With a sign, Principal Celestia nodded. “But I’ll save the speech for when you’re in your seats. For now, it’s time to go out, but first, we need you to line up.” Groans were heard as everyone shuffled to be in the right place, next to the right people. Sunset found Sandalwood and stood behind him, avoiding looking at Celestia and Luna. The students quickly called off their names so they would know they were in place. Then the doors opened and they were led out, all following Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna as the music began. Sunset swallowed. Several of her classmates were giving small waves and smiles, finding their families in the crowd. She was let out a breath of relief when everyone was seated. Principal Celestia was on the stage behind the podium. She started her speech, talking about how special the class seated before her was. Sunset had heard it gone over several times at home, so much so that she mouthed the words along with Celestia to the parts she knew. Vice Principal Luna gave her, thankfully shorter, speech afterwards. Then Twilight was called up. She visibly took a deep breath and stood, walking to the podium with what Sunset assumed was a practiced pace. She sat her notes down, straightened them, looked up, and smiled. “Hello, my fellow graduates. I did a lot of research on how to write the best valedictorian speech. It all said the same thing. Talk about the shared experiences you’ve had and how the four years you spent together meant a great deal and how close you’ve became and variations on that. I can’t do that” She paused for just a second. “I didn’t spend four years at Canterlot High. It feels like I only just arrived. What I do know, however, is that this school is special and especially the students graduating today.” She released her tense grip on the podium, relaxing some. “I can say that and believe it with every fiber of my being. I came and was welcomed with open arms, smiles, and laughs. When I did something excellent, I was celebrated with. When I failed, I was supported.” Trixie leaned over to Sunset and whispered, “She failed something? Did I miss it?” Sunset just smiled and shook her head, listening to her friend. “The point is, fellow graduates, I know you all have the best of humanity in you. I might be up here, giving a speech because I had the highest grade point average, but that would mean nothing if I didn’t have a whole class of friends to share it with. It would be a cold. What it comes down to is this. You’ve all faced challenges the likes of which most others haven’t, and you’ve came out on top because you band together and fight for your friends. Life is about to get really scary for all of us, so remember. Be there. Celebrate the highs, support the lows, and always, always, remember the magic of friendship.” Then Vice Principal Luna was behind the podium as Twilight scurried to take her seat next to Trixie. As the names started to be called, Twilight leaned forward and tapped Sunset on the knee. “Oh my goddess, that was stressful. Was it okay?” She looked truly worried. Sunset nodded. “It was perfect, Twilight.” Twilight beamed. “Thanks! I’m glad you’re here. We were worried.” The students in the row in front of them began to return to their seats, so their row stood, cutting off their conversation. Sunset turned and faced Sandalwood’s back. She listened and soon enough, her name was called. She walked forward, the silence deafening after the roar the families had been making for the other students. She was halfway to the stage when she heard what was unmistakably Spike’s voice. “Yeah, go Sunset!” followed by a cheer from Twilight’s family, her other friend’s families soon joining in. She grinned as she climbed the stairs to the stage, her eyes starting to tear up. She walked toward Principal Celestia, who was looking at her with a huge smile. She was handed her diploma and when she reached out to shake Principal Celestia’s hand, as they had been instructed during practice, it was bypassed for a gripping hug. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered again, as the camera flashed, and then she was ushered off stage. She walked back to her seat as the room exploded in noise and air horns for Trixie Lulamoon. Her friend’s families had cheered. Celestia had, again, said she was proud. With all the emotion floating in the room, it was all she could do to not cry. It would all be gone in a few short weeks. Her friends would be gone, graduation a long forgotten moment, and her left with nothing.