The late evening sun cast a vibrant orange glow across the sky as it slowly dipped below the horizon. The grounds of Canterlot High were completely barren at this time of day, with both students and faculty having departed for the weekend, including those who often stayed behind well into the night.
Well, almost completely barren, as a lone figure still remained.
Grass crunched under her boots as Sunset paced back and forth in front of the base of the Wondercolt statue, the iconic statue having yet to be replaced. Biting her nails as her growing worry gnawed away at her dwindling confidence bit by bit, Sunset cast occasional glances towards the mirrored base, every time expecting to find someone standing there.
“This was a bad idea…” she muttered, wrapping her arms around herself despite the warmth in the air. “I should just call the whole thing off and tell her something came up and I had to cancel. She’ll understand, right?”
Slinging her backpack off her shoulders, she rested it on the ground as she rummaged around inside. “Where is it, I know I—” Sunset froze as her thoughts drifted back to the events of yesterday…
***
“Ah! Pinkie Pie!” Twilight Sparkle held up her notebook defensively as she was assailed by a shower of fresh frosting from a plate of freshly made cupcakes, courtesy of the cotton candy haired Pinkie Pie herself.
“Sorry, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie apologized, reaching up and wiping a stray patch of frosting off Twilight’s face with her finger.
Lowering her notebook from her face, the human Twilight sighed as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Pinkie, can you please stop calling me that?”
“Aww… but I need something to call you to tell you apart from the other Twilight...“ Tapping her chin in thought, her face lit up as she exclaimed, “I know! I’ll call you Sci-Twi!”
“Please don’t…”
Sunset giggled from across the room. She could tell that this world’s Twilight Sparkle was still getting used to her new group of friends since her transfer to Canterlot High, all of whom had gladly welcomed her into their band of friends with open arms. Sunset still couldn’t help but laugh at how similar the two Twilights were despite their different circumstances. I guess no matter the world, Twilight will always be Twilight.
School had let out for the day just hours before and the group had convened at Pinkie’s for the afternoon. Sunset had been largely silent since her arrival, making light small talk here and there as she leaned against the wall and watched the others. For some reason, she was nervous about saying what she had wanted to say when she had arrived.
Come on, Sunset! Just tell them!
“So…” Sunset finally said, loud enough to garner everyone’s attention. “Anyone got any plans for this weekend?”
“Yeah! Shy and me are going paintballing this weekend,” Rainbow Dash was quick to say, looping an arm around Fluttershy and pulling her close, prompting the shy girl to let out an “Eep!”
“Sounds like fun...” Sunset took a breath, steadying her nerves. Here goes… “You’ll have to tell me all about it when I get back.”
She was met with six blank stares from her friends as an awkward silence hovered overhead. After a moment, it was Rarity who finally asked what they were all thinking. “Back from where, if I may ask?”
“Well, do you all remember the last time Twi— Princess Twilight was here?” Sunset asked, quickly correcting herself as she looked to the human Twilight. Yeah, I’m sure that’s not going to get confusing anytime soon…
“You mean when she dropped by after the Friendship Games in time to meet herself?” Rainbow Dash replied, also pointing at the bespectacled girl in the room.
Oh, how awkward that encounter had been, Sunset mused before shaking her head. “Actually, I meant the time before that.”
A look of realization crossed Rainbow’s face. “Oooh, you mean when she was stuck here as a cat-sized horse—”
“Pony!”
“Whatever!” Rainbow huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Still, what does that have to do with where you’re going?”
“Well… while she was here, Princess Twilight extended an offer for me to go back to Equestria briefly for a visit and… well...” Rubbing the back of her neck, Sunset glanced at the wall as she said, “With how hectic the last week or so has been since the Friendship Games, I figured now was a good a time as any to take her up on the offer.”
“Equestria…” Twilight clutched her notebook tightly to her chest as her shoulders sagged dejectedly. “That was that world I saw when I… when I became that monster…”
Frowning, Sunset walked over to Twilight and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Twilight, what happened then wasn’t your fault. Take it from me, I’ve been down this road before and I know that wallowing in self-pity like this isn’t going to do you any favors.”
“Right…” Twilight muttered, perking up slightly as she raised her head to look at Sunset. “You won’t be gone long, will you?”
“Just for the weekend. I’ll be back in time for classes on Monday, I promise. Still, there’s something I need to do before I go.” Walking across the room, Sunset rummaged around in her backpack for a moment before pulling out her journal. “I need you to look after my journal for me until I get back.”
“O...kay?” Twilight replied, taking the journal from Sunset and turning it over in her hands to carefully examine it. “But why? What’s so special about it that you can’t take it with you?”
“This journal is linked to its twin back in Equestria,” Sunset explained, tapping a finger against the cover. “It’s how I communicate with the princess, but it’s even more than that. It also serves as a fixed point between here and Equestria, allowing the portal between the worlds to be freely opened and closed.” Sunset took on a solemn look as she added, “Without this, I won’t be able to return until the portals connect again naturally, which could take months, if not years to happen again.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, staring down at the journal in her hands like it was suddenly the single most important artifact in the world. “And… and you’re just giving this to me?”
“Just until I get back. I trust any one of you to look after it for me while I’m gone, but I figured if there was anyone who would make sure a book like this would still be here come Monday, it would be you, Twilight.” Smiling, she ruffled Twilight’s hair slightly as she added, “Just… try not to use it in any of your experiments, promise?”
Nodding her head, Twilight smiled as she clutched the journal tightly to her chest. “I won’t, I promise.”
***
“Oh…” Sunset sighed as her shoulders sagged in defeat. She’d only been half telling the truth when she’d left the book with the others. While it did need to stay in this world in order to bridge the gap between here and Equestria, Sunset had made sure to leave it with her friends as a contingency plan in case she considered backing out at the last minute. In that moment, Sunset was both thanking and cursing herself for her forethought. Stupid past me!
“Nervous?”
Sunset yelped, jumping to her feet and whipping around to discover that she wasn’t alone anymore. “Tw-Twilight! How… how long have you been standing there?” she asked, trying and failing to put on a convincing smile for her fellow Equestrian.
“Long enough.” Shortening the distance between them, Twilight put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Sunset, if you don’t feel up to this, we can call this off and—”
“No.” Sunset quickly replied before she could have any more second thoughts. “If I put this off now, then I know I’ll just keep finding some kind of excuse to push it further back. It’s just…” Biting her thumb, Sunset looked away as she hung her head. “What… what if your friends don’t like me? I mean, making friends with them over here wasn’t easy after all the things I did to them, and last any of them saw me I was trying to steal your crown.” Sunset winced at the memory of her last brief return to Equestria. “I’m pretty sure that qualifies as treason in certain circles...”
Twilight smiled warmly. “Sunset, I already forgave you for that, plus I’ve also explained everything to everypony, and Pinkie’s already looking forward to throwing you a ‘Welcome Back To Equestria’ party once we get there.”
“Of course she is…” Sunset muttered, through a small smile managed to work its way onto her lips.
“Rainbow might take a little bit more convincing, but everypony’s looking forward to getting to meet you properly this time. I’m also looking forward to getting to introduce you to my new student.” Holding out her hand, Twilight met Sunset’s eye. “Well, shall we?”
Hesitation gnawed at Sunset as more and more worst case scenarios developed in her mind, only to send them scattering as she gave a shake of her head and grabbed the princess’ hand. “Let’s.”
Smiling, Twilight gently led Sunset towards the base of the statue and together they stepped through the mirrored surface, causing ripples to cascade across it as they vanished from sight. The base glimmered for a brief moment longer before becoming idle once more and the grounds of Canterlot High were once again silent.
The End