As Spring passed its blooming stage and entered the point where most of the delicate petals had long since fallen, due either to time or a storm, replaced with the ever-broadening leaves of what trees existed in the middle of the city, Canterville’s thousands of humanoid worker bees had long since settled into their daily doldrums – commute, work, commute, eat and/or watch television, sleep, repeat – glad at least to be free of the uncertainties of Winter.
Over at the public high school, though, this subtle shift in the season meant only one thing: Final Exams were coming soon. A palpable sense of concern permeated the entire building, through every room and hall, spilling out onto the grounds whenever students were around. During free periods when the weather was nice, as it was this particular day, it was common to see teenagers by the dozens finding some place outside the main building to cram as much rote knowledge as they could into their heads before the inevitable that they all knew was coming closer by the day. They all knew they would inevitably forget ninety percent of it during the long summer holiday, but that was in the future and thus not worth considering.
Normally, one would expect to find several students in the library as well. While this was definitely the case, with its main floor filled almost to capacity with students checking out books, sitting at tables reading or taking notes, or looking up information on one of the computers, the mezzanine level directly under the frosted glass dome was oddly devoid of people… with one exception.
Sunset Shimmer sat at one of the only tables on the mezzanine, several notebooks and her leather-bound magic diary spread out in front of her as she wrote obsessively on a piece of paper, occasionally looking at something in the diary before writing some more. She was so engrossed in her work, she had no idea someone had walked up right behind her.
She nearly leapt out of her chair when she felt hands touch both her shoulders, punctuating her surprise with a startled yelp, her pencil arcing away onto the main floor until it hit some poor schmo from the Math Club in the head. Turning around, she came face to face with the thing that scared her, and her brain instantly calmed down, though her heart rate took a few additional seconds.
“Oh. Rarity. It’s you. Sorry about that,” Sunset said quietly, remembering where she was.
“Good morning, darling,” Rarity whispered as chipper as she could, which was not very given the circumstances. “It’s been awhile. I apologize if I interrupted you.”
Sunset shook her head. “No, it’s not a big deal. How can I help you?”
Rarity looked blankly at Sunset. “Uh… well… I hadn’t thought that far.”
At that, Sunset held the bridge of her nose, stifling a laugh. “And here I thought you were the one of the two of us who was actually ‘with it’.”
Assuming a pouty face as she walked a few feet so as to not be directly behind Sunset, Rarity responded, “Well, we all have our off days, yes? Though I’ll admit I have been… more than a little distracted lately. Anyway, This is the last stretch before finals week, so you can imagine all of us are on at least a little bit of edge.”
Sunset tilted her eyes upward in contemplation. “Oh yeah. Finals. You all do have those coming up.”
“And so do you,” Rarity intoned.
“Erm, I actually, uh… don’t,” said Sunset, barely audible, her eyes quickly darting from side to side to ensure no one heard her. “I’m kind of, um, exempt. Forever.”
“What?” asked Rarity, clearly confused. “How is that even possible?”
Sunset sighed as she turned back to her notebooks. “Please. I… don’t want to talk about it right now, okay?”
“But if you’re not studying for finals, then what are you doing?”
“Research,” Sunset replied simply, not looking up. “Recollecting, note-taking, drafting clauses. At least as best I can manage with what I’ve got here, which isn’t a lot.” She sighed as she poked her cranium a few times. “Guess it’s up to my old broken brain to try and remember lessons from eleven-plus years ago.”
“Is there any way I can help you, dear?” Rarity asked.
“No,” said Sunset. “Not unless you’re fluent in a language and writing system from another dimension that’s been dead for over a millennium.”
Rarity’s expression drooped along with her shoulders. “Can’t say that I am. I suppose, then, that I should leave you to your work.”
Sunset turned to Rarity and attempted a wan smile. “Look, I’m sorry for acting short with you. That’s not me being a very good friend, is it? It’s just that… this thing I’m working on is very important, I want to finish it as soon as I can, and I want it to be perfect. It has to be perfect. I’ve been trying to decipher my old notes for a couple days and nights now. Maybe it’s best I take a short break, huh?”
She stood up and turned her chair away from the table to face Rarity, who took a nearby chair, turning it to face Sunset.
“So. Do you need any help studying for your finals?” Sunset asked. “If you do, let me know; I’m always glad to assist. You know I used to be a tutor back in the day.”
Rarity thought about this for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I… think I’ll be fine, but I appreciate the offer. If I need you, I’ll call. …Wait. That’s an extremely unreliable way to contact you. Fine. I shall visit your apartment.”
“Fair enough,” Sunset said, still quiet to avoid angering the multitude of studying students below. “But, there is one question that’s been bugging me. At least whenever I’m not consumed with this thing.” She vaguely motioned to her nebulous work.
“Oh? What’s that?” asked Rarity, her tone indicating she was utterly clueless but eager.
Sunset gave a wry smile. “Have you asked out that individual you have a crush on yet? I’d still like to meet him… or her.”
Rarity’s face contorted into surprised shock as a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. Then she looked down at her knees. “You, um, already know the person.”
“Really? Well, I guess that’s no shock. I know just about everybody at this school, for better and worse.” Sunset’s tone dropped at the end as she again reminded herself of her self-inflicted failures.
“It’s… someone you know very well,” Rarity said, touching her index fingers out of nervousness.
“Do you at least plan to ask this person out before summer break? Best to get this sort of thing done before everyone goes their own separate ways during the vacation,” Sunset warned.
“I don’t think that will be an issue. My crush is… not much of a traveller.”
Sunset smiled dryly. “Heh. Sort of like me.”
“You could say that,” Rarity replied, a twinge of melancholy in her voice.
“Except,” Sunset said, oblivious, “I did literally come here from a different universe. That may be a farther trip than anyone here will ever take. But then that sort of depends on whether you can calculate transdimensional travel in terms of standard distance. I’m not sure that’s possible. I suppose that’s another theory that I ought to test out at some point. Sigh. Mark it down on the list.” She hastily pulled out another pencil and scribbled a sentence on a piece of notebook paper.
“Sunset, darling, I have a very important question to ask you,” said Rarity with utmost sincerity and seriousness.
“Oh? What is it?” Sunset asked, genuinely curious.
“Do you ever… plan on leaving? Going back to your own world?”
Sunset held her chin in a classic thinking pose, then rested her hands on her knees, involuntarily tapping her fingers. She had to think for a good long while before responding.
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice hesitant, tinged with sadness.
“Really?” asked Rarity.
Sunset shrugged. “I mean, probably eventually yes, but… who knows when. That’s partly why I’m working on drafting this letter. There’s some ponies I need to talk to.”
“Twilight, you mean?”
“No,” said Sunset bluntly. “If I wanted to write to her, I would have done it already. I’m not really wary of her anymore… except when she starts lecturing.”
“Oh.”
Sunset sighed. “Rarity, when you found me at my lowest, I told you that I committed unforgivable sins back in Equestria. I meant it. You helped me to face my demons here and integrate me back into this society. But, I still have unfinished business on the other side, and I think I might finally be able to start to face it. This work, this research, my letter…” she trailed off.
Rarity moved closer, placing her hands on Sunset’s. “You seem concerned.”
“To be honest, I’m terrified,” Sunset said, her voice breaking slightly. “But, I have to do it.” She stood up and turned her chair back toward the table in preparation to restart her work, then sat down. Rarity moved her own chair even closer to Sunset’s, placing her arms around Sunset’s shoulders in a loose hug, her own long purple locks nearly intertwining with Sunset’s two-tone hair.
“I can’t begin to understand what you’re going through right now,” said Rarity softly, “but I want you to know I will always be here for you. No matter what, no matter when. Outside of my family, you are the most important person in my life.”
“Even more than your mysterious crush?” Sunset asked, slightly shocked.
Rarity closed her eyes and pursed her lips as she took a deep breath in through her nose, letting it out slowly. “Darling, what was it you told me once? The smarter one is, the less one knows?”
“Close,” Sunset replied. “It’s that the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know and still need to learn, and the less confident you become.”
“I suppose that applies to everyone?”
“Of course,” Sunset said. “Especially me.”
“Especially you,” repeated Rarity with a sigh.
Sunset turned her head to face her best friend. “I suppose you’ll be working full-time or close to it at the boutique during the summer. Still, I hope we’ll get to spend time together. After all, I only live a few blocks away.”
Rarity smiled, or at least tried to. “I would love nothing more, darling,” she said as she stood up. “I should go. You need to work, evidently. And so do I.”
Sunset nodded as she turned back to her notebooks. “You know, we should meet up together after all this craziness is over and done with. What do you say?”
“Absol— uh, I mean… perhaps,” said Rarity. “Goodbye for now.”
“Later,” Sunset said pleasantly with a wave, not looking as Rarity turned and walked out the mezzanine’s double-door.