//------------------------------// // Where Oh Where Is Sunset Shimmer // Story: The Shadowbolts Adventures // by DragonShadow //------------------------------// It was a bright, crisp Monday morning as Twilight waved to her friend, Starswirl, and jumped down the last step of the bus that took her to Canterlot High School each morning. It had been a long weekend hanging out with her Crystal Prep friends, but now the school week had arrived, and she was ready to hang out with her Canterlot High friends. She felt blessed to have so many people who cared about her, but there was one particular person she really wanted to see after a full weekend of her being gone to another world. As Twilight made her way towards the courtyard, she spotted her friends gathered in front of the mirror in a small pile, though one was most definitely missing among their ranks. "Hey!" Twilight waved enthusiastically as she approached her circle of friends. "What's going on?" "We were just discussing Sunset Shimmer..." Rarity trailed off, rubbing her arm nervously with her left hand. "You see..." "She ain't come back yet," Applejack blurted out before holding her hands up at Twilight's somewhat panicked look. "But I'm sure she'll be back any minute." "Oh..." Twilight blinked and turned to look at the mirror. "Are you sure she just didn't oversleep?" "None of us can reach her on her phone," Fluttershy pointed out. "Either she turned her phone off or she doesn't have it..." "B-but... she said she'd be back on Monday..." Twilight stared at the mirror. "She said she would come back..." "And I'm certain she will, darling." Rarity slipped a comforting arm around her slender friend's shoulders. "She was simply delayed is all, I'm certain of it. Now come, we have classes to get to." Twilight let herself be led, but couldn't remove her mind from the mirror. Sunset Shimmer was an alien from another world, she had known this since they met... but they had become such good friends since the Friendship Games. The idea that Sunset Shimmer would simply stay at home... it was such a painful idea, and yet also one she could understand. Perhaps once she saw her home again she had changed her mind about coming back... Perhaps Twilight Sparkle would never see her again... The day felt so gray she didn't even hear what anybody said to her. The people were gray, the floors were gray, even the words in her textbooks, usually such exciting windows into the knowledge of the universe, felt like dull, lifeless, boring blobs of useless gray. The clouds themselves darkened as the day went on to match her mood, turning a dull gray that blanketed the city itself in gray. Even the rain that began to patter appropriately on the gray cement outside only made the world look more gray. Her eyes were unfocused when she stepped outside of the front entrance to Canterlot High into the rain. Most of the blurry students who rushed past her had grabbed umbrellas or were holding their poor, precious books over their heads, but Twilight just marched limp-shouldered away from her favorite institution of learning towards the mirror. Suddenly, a blob of color appeared before her eyes, a blob made up of yellow and orange stripes. Twilight's eyes darted open and she ran for the figure that had just emerged from the mirror. "Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight threw her hands forward as she ran. "Uuaaaargh!" Suddenly Sunset Shimmer flew towards her through the air powered by Twilight's burst of magic, slammed face-first into Twilight's chest in the middle of her run. They both crashed to the ground in a pile of sopping wet limbs and groans. "Hi... Twilight..." Sunset grunted. Aria Blaze had her hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips as she moved to stand over them. "I'm not gonna lie. That was hilarious." "I-I'm so sorry!" Twilight could feel the heat in her cheeks. "I didn't mean to! It just happened!" "Don't worry about it..." Sunset wrapped her arms around Twilight with a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry I was late, we just got caught up with something in Equestria." "Heh..." Twilight sniffled, thankful that the rain was obscuring the tears of joy running down her cheeks. "I knew you would be back..." "Come on." Sunset Shimmer climbed to her feet and pulled Twilight to hers as well. "We're all gonna get sick if we don't get dried off. Why don't you both come to my place? It's the closest by far, and we can figure out getting you home later." Aria shrugged. "I have no plans." "Okay." Twilight nodded. "Thank you." So the three girls turned to rush down the sidewalk towards Sunset Shimmer's house, where warm towels and cocoa would await them. Twilight Sparkle barely cared about the rain, though. She had almost lost her first best friend... she was just glad to have her back.