Sunset Shimmer sat on the plush seat of the train, staring wide eyed out the window. Twilight had decided she was too fragile to be teleported all the way back to Canterlot. Upon this decision, a royal train compartment was prepared. Sunset had to admit, being friends with a princess had its perks. Speaking of Twilight, Sunset heard her giggle lightly from beside her.
Sunset turned and saw her whispering quietly to the guard from before. The guards eyes shot to Sunset's and her demeanor quickly shifted. She stood stiffly, face blank. Twilight tilted her head before turning back to Sunset and rolling her eyes. She leaned in and whispered something to the guard, who flashed a small smile before trotting away.
Twilight shifted back closer to Sunset and smiled.
"I get the feeling she doesn't like me..." Sunset trailed awkwardly. Twilight laughed lightly.
"She doesn't really like most ponies. Don't let her get to you." She chuckled again and glanced out the window past Sunset. The white landscape rolled past, only broken up by the occasional splatter of dead trees. "I haven't taken the train in so long. I can fly most places, and since my ascension I've become powerful enough to teleport whenever I need to."
She took note of Sunset's apologetic expression and smiled. "I've missed it, though. There's not much that tops sitting on a peaceful train going through the ever picturesque tundra with a warm cup of cocoa and a good book." She smiled fondly at the memory before sighing, wings sagging at her sides. "Now I'm flanked by guards near everywhere I go, and I can't even talk to most of the ponies I run into." She leaned back in her seat, disgruntled.
Sunset gently placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and gave her a small smile. Twilight smiled back before standing and shaking out her wings. "Well, it's going to be at least another half-day before we get to Canterlot. I'm going to go and do some boring princess work in the study. Feel free to explore the cart, and don't hesitate to get me if you need anything."
"Thank you, princess" Sunset said with a smirk. Twilight squinted at her and stuck out her tongue before exiting the small compartment and turning right out the door. Sunset sighed and rubbed at her now heavy eyes. She stood up shakily and slowly stretched, slowly becoming familiar with how her new (old?) body needed to be stretched. After spending a solid five minutes just relishing the feeling of stretching her tense muscles. She glanced out the window one last time before turning to the sliding door.
She froze, not exactly sure of how to open it. She glanced upwards at her horn. She remembered being able to fulfill such great magical feats, but now she couldn't remember exactly how. She squinted her eyes and focused on the door opening. The pressure at the base of her horn was growing, but nothing was happening. Sunset took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to feel for her store of magic. She could feel a spark deep inside, but was unable to will it forward.
Huffing indignantly, she instead lifted her hoof to the handle and carefully pulled it open. Sighing, she walked through and allowed it to slide shut behind her. Turning right, she trotted down the short corridor. It opened to the rest of the train car. Everything was some variant of purple, blue, or pink. Sunset cast her gaze around the room.
It was a large, L-shaped room. There was a small bar area tucked in the corner with all of the necessities for a kitchen. On the other side of the bar was a small table with a few soft looking pillows scattered around it. Across the cart was a leisure area. Shelves were laden with books and small love seats and plush cushions were scattered about. A gas fireplace was across from the shelves, but it wasn't turned on. The wall between them was taken up by a large window, curtains pushed aside.
A large set of doors was the only thing that broke up the room she was in and the rest of the cart. They were a midnight blue with small gems inlaid into the wood. Twilight's own cutiemark was painted over it. Sunset was tempted to go inside, but decided against it. This must have been the study Twilight had mentioned, and for some reason Sunset decided going uninvited into a room with potentially highly important political documents wasn't the best idea.
She turned back to the room before her and crossed to the fireplace. After examining it for a moment, she found a small switch on top and pressed it with a hoof. She heard the quiet hiss of gas and turned back to the pillows. She took the corner of the closest one in her mouth and slowly tugged it a bit closer to the fire. A moment later, beautiful blue flames sprung to life and she smiled, curling up on the pillow.
The warmth radiating around her and the sky outside slowly growing darker, Sunset slipped into a peaceful sleep.
Sunset awoke later to the sounds of voices. She slowly lifted her head and gazed towards the sound. Twilight was walking out of the room from before, seemingly arguing with the same guard as before. The mare sighed and nodded before trotting away and through the doors to the other carts. Twilight stared after her for a moment before shaking her head. She crossed the room to the bar in the corner and grabbed a few things from the mini fridge tucked under the counter.
Sunset stood and stretched contently, yawning. Twilight's head whipped towards the sound and she smiled at the yellow mare.
"Sleep well?" she asked innocently enough, but Sunset could hear the laughter in her voice. Her hair must've looked an absolute wreck. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to care. Instead, she rubbed her eyes lightly and nodded, trotting over to stand at the opposite side of the bar from Twilight.
"Hungry?" She asked, magic pulling an extra plate from the cabinet. Sunset nodded again.
"Do you have any fruit?" She asked lightly. Twilight nodded again before ducking to look in the fridge.
"Oranges okay?" She asked. Sunset nodded before verbally responding when she remembered Twilight couldn't see her. Twilight re-emerged with a large orange held in her magic. It floated beside her and began to perfectly peel itself as she grabbed a few bottles and glasses from around her.
Sunset felt jealousy spark in her at Twilight's effortless magic. Not that any of the tasks were particularly, hard, but there were simply a lot of them happening at once. Sunset nearly got a headache just watching it.
The now pristine orange wedges laid themselves on the plate before it was nudged before Sunset, who smiled thankfully. She angled her hooves to be able to carefully balance an orange slice before her and guide it into her mouth. She chewed happily at the sweet cold juice. Twilight took a sip of her drink and watched Sunset skeptically.
"Wha?" Sunset asked through her mouth of pulp. Twilight squinted at her for a second, head tilted slightly.
"Why are you eating like that? Why aren't you using your magic?" She asked, genuine confusion on her face. Sunset shrugged self consciously.
"I haven't been able to use my magic yet. It doesn't seem to want to cooperate." She weakly laughed, but the sound died in her throat. Twilight blinked at her again before closing her eyes and nodding.
"Well, it may just be taking a while due to how long you were in the portal for. However, it should return soon."
Sunset nodded, comforted by her words. She was about to speak before a guard walked in. It was the same one she'd seen at the castle. The blue Pegasus who hadn't glared daggers at her. Twilight looked at her expectantly, and she dipped into a quick bow.
"We're arriving at Canterlot, your Highness." she said, turning and leaving again at Twilight's nod.
Twilight looked at Sunset and smiled. "You ready?" she asked, wings twitching. Sunset only smiled back.
"You know, I didn't know you were serious about the crowds." Sunset coughed up a piece of confetti.
"It's normally not that bad in Canterlot." Twilight smiled as they trotted through the halls of the castle. Sunset rolled her eyes.
Anxiety pooled in the pit of Sunset's stomach. The castle was practically the same as she remembered, save for the new stained windows. Despite how long it had been since she last walked these halls, she remembered clearly where they lead. She shouldn't have been surprised. Sunset took a deep breath as they rounded the last corner. At Twilight's appearance, the guards all dropped into low bows.
"At ease" She said in a surprisingly confident tone. The guards stood again and Twilight walked forward. She stopped for a moment and looked back at Sunset, a question in her eyes. Sunset gulped and nodded.
Twilight's horn lit up and she slowly pushed open the Throne room doors.