"Roads Once Travelled" Preview

Hello all!

Well I said in the last update I'd upload a preview of what I'm working on and here it is, part of the first chapter to "Roads Once Travelled"!

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As is very often the case on the grounds of Canterlot High, the day was sunny and bright.
The reason for this of course is that it was Saturday, and Saturdays are always, as everyone knows, the best day of the week. At least, that is what is expected of them. On Saturdays, we expect that there will be no work to do and that we can do whatever we please, such as go on a trip, watch a movie, play a game or simply meet with friends.

In this Saturday’s case, Sunset Shimmer was hoping for the latter. Having just arrived minutes earlier, she walked up towards the entrance of Canterlot High, stopped just past the now ruined statue of the school’s mascot and checked the time on her watch.

“9:25am” it read.

Good. That would give her plenty of time. While she did plan on spending the day off with her friends, especially after the excitement of yesterday, she did have something to do first, something important.

She turned away from the watch and looked back towards the base of the statue, reaching out to touch it.

The stone flashed and shimmered as her hand made contact with the surface.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t have to worry about that problem anymore. It was working again. When nothing had happened the last time she touched the statue face, she panicked and had become almost certain that she was stranded in this world. Not that this world was all that bad a place to be stranded on though. She did have friends here after all, people that cared for her. But the idea of being cut off from her old home had actually terrified her.

Strange. There was a time not that long ago when she didn’t care much for her world anymore, not even bothering to so much as look back when she left it.

Now?

Now, as she retracted her hand away from the glow of the portal, she actually found herself tempted to walk through. Home had begun to press on her mind since the battle of the bands and as each day passed, her mind kept drifting back to it at an increasingly regular rate. She noticed more and more how often she had to catch herself for saying things like “everypony” or from referring to principal Celestia as “Princess”.

Celestia. Her mentor. The princess that had taken Sunset under her wing (literally), who tutored her in the ways of magic, had tried to guide her into becoming something greater, a better pony than she was…and the one Sunset had betrayed. She grimaced as the thought stung Sunset, as did the mere image of the Princess when it passed through her mind. But it was a thought that kept appearing in her mind, even more so now and especially when she came in contact with the principal. Every time she spoke to… no, even looked at principal Celestia, her stomach churned and it felt as if she was actually talking to her old teacher again.

Not only that, but she was starting to think more and more about her old life. Her family, her friends. Everyone she once knew, the home she was raised in, the busy streets of Canterlot city and its citizens. Even sensations such as magic flowing through her and the burning desire to unlock its secrets with Celestia, of the simple joys of galloping on four hooves and the feel of swishing her tail. Everything she had ever known back there, practically most of her life. All of it.

She now realised how much she now missed them.

Why now? Why were these feelings coming to her now all of a sudden? Shouldn’t this have happened a long time ago, after she had left? In fact, how could she have even stopped thinking about any of them in the first place? She had cared deeply for each of these things. Had she really lost her way that badly? Become so consumed by a lust for power that she had forgotten how much they all meant to her and abandoned them? Her mentor? Her own family?

Apparently so.

Sunset felt a large pang of guilt at the notion. She lowered her head and closed her eyes for a moment.

Now, with that lust gone and finally understanding what Celestia was trying to teach her those many moons ago, Sunset was beginning to realise how much she had lost.

She stared back up to statue’s wall which had now returned to normal.

She wondered…should she? Could she even go back? Would anypony even want her back after everything that happened? Celestia? Her family? Her old friends?

She didn’t know. But she wondered to herself if she should at least try. After all, after everything she had done wrong in this world, she had done well to make amends so far. Everyone she had wronged here accepted her now, so why not in Equestria as well?

She was starting to wonder that maybe now, she actually had something in her that would
be worth valuing.

She stood there and pondered at the idea. While that alone may be enough to step through, she also realised that there may be another reason to consider going back, one that was beginning to worry her.

Sunset took the rucksack off her back, opened it and reached for her journal, opening at the latest note she had written and the following page. There was still no reply. While it had only been two days since she had tried to make contact and she was aware of how busy her royal friend likely was, she also remembered how punctual and attentive to detail she also is. It’d be extremely unlikely that the princess would misplace her own copy of the book as well, something she would consider too important to lose.

But at the same time, she wouldn’t carry it around everywhere she went surely? It’s not as if she’d take it with her whenever she walked out the doors of her home, be it for important royal duties to just going to get groceries. She could be abroad for all she knew. On a trip taking several days, weeks maybe even months.

If for nothing else, maybe she should pass through the gateway. Just to make sure that everything was alright on the other end. While a justified concern perhaps, she did wonder if it was more an excuse for her own sake as well.

But then what about her friends here? After everything they had done for her here, accepting her despite what she had done to them in the past, could she really leave them?

An arriving bus brought Sunset out of her stupor and back to reality. Its door slid open but only one person disembarked. The person that was the reason why Sunset was here.

Twilight Sparkle.

Sunset’s focus returned to the task at hand and she smiled. For now, she had a job to do here. People that needed her here. That was enough to put a spring back in her step.

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Well there it is. To anyone reading this, I hoped you liked it. Please, do give feedback if you'd like, as this is just the beginning of this short story and I am just beginning with writing stories, so feedback would be very welcome.

See you all later!