Sunset Shimmer pulled the magic book out of her school bag. It had only been a day since Princess Twilight had returned to Equestria, but she had probably looked at the book for at least half a dozen times since then, wondering if she should write her. And what.
“Sunset, are you coming or what?” Rainbow Dash called. She and the other girls were tuning their instruments on the big Battle of the Bands stage, where they had met during lunch break to make use of it while it was still in place.
“Just a minute!” Sunset called back. She took out her pen. Alright, let’s go.
Dear Princess Twilight…
***
“… and then we said our goodbyes, and I came back here,” Twilight finished her story and took another sip of cocoa. “Well, and of course I slept for almost a day right after that,” she added with a sheepish giggle.
“I say, darling, it sounds like you had quite the adventure over in this other world. You definitely deserved a day of resting after all the excitement.”
“I just wouldn’t have minded to be up a little earlier,” Twilight said. “I still need to write a report to Princess Celestia, but I didn’t want to miss out on our cocoa date.”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Pinkie agreed. “It’s hot cocoa! And marshmallows!”
“A band, huh,” Rainbow mused. “That’s a pretty awesome idea. I should have a band too!”
“Do ya even know how to play an instrument?” Applejack asked.
“I can totally learn to play one!”
“Trombone’d suit you fine, I’d say. You got plenty of hot air to spare for one of those,” Applejack chuckled.
“Har-dee-har,” Rainbow said. “’sides, my band would be a rad rock band. With heavy guitars and stuff!”
“I didn’t even know you cared for music, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said.
“Sure do. But it’s gotta be awesome like me. Fast. Cool! Heavy! No mushy ballads or boring classical music for this pegasus!”
“Heavy, huh,” Applejack said, still grinning. “I was thinkin’ you had a little more meat on your bones as of late.”
“No, the music has to be heavy! Like, you know… with guitars and stuff,” Rainbow started to explain, only stopping when she saw Applejack’s smirk. “Gee, AJ, aren’t you funny today.” The others laughed at their banter.
“Aw, c’mon, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “It’s all in good fun!” She turned to Twilight and asked, “So that Sunset Shimmer girl is all reformed and good now?”
“Yes, she has really come a long way since the last time I saw her,” Twilight said, smiling.
“And you trust her that she’s changed ‘n all?”
“Of course I do!” Twilight said with a little more emphasis than was needed. “She’s a good friend!”
“Whoa there,” Applejack said, “didn’t mean to get you all upset. Just askin’, is all.”
Twilight took a deep breath. “I know. I’m sorry, I think I just overreacted. It’s just… I saw how some of the other students treated her when I was there. Some of them just wouldn’t accept that she had changed, and were mean to her all the time. It… I get angry just thinking about all the things those people threw at her. Everypony deserves a second chance. Especially Sunset Shimmer."
“Why her especially?”
“Because she’s really changed. She was friendly and helpful and modest and nothing like her awful arrogant self from earlier. She deserves better than to be treated with such distrust and meanness.”
“But your human friends took good care of her, didn’t you say so?” Rarity asked.
“They did,” Twilight replied. “But that’s just it, even they… even we were constantly slipping up and referring to that incident.” She felt the heat rise in her cheeks when she remembered the barely hidden pain in Sunset Shimmer’s eyes after Twilight had called her a horrifyingly awful winged monster, and tried to hide her face by taking another deep sip from her cocoa mug. “Nopony meant to hurt her. It’s just… we didn’t pay attention and let things slip, and it still did hurt her.”
“Oh dear.”
“I just felt really bad for her because I knew she wasn’t mean anymore, and still she had to take all this… all of this.” The others murmured their agreement. Even from me, she added in her thoughts. I should have known better.
“I know how you feel,” Fluttershy suddenly said. “It’s very similar to the way some ponies still treat Discord. I know he can be a hoofful sometimes, but deep down inside he’s really a dear.”
“Only that he tried to sell us all to Tirek,” Applejack pointed out.
“Everypony makes mistakes,” Fluttershy said a little louder. “And they deserve a second chance, like Twilight said. I’m sure Discord has learnt his lesson now.”
“More like third chance,” Rainbow chimed in. “But whatevs, I’m all for second and third and whatnot chances. Just gotta keep your eye open, just in case.”
“Yeah, that’s what I think, too,” Applejack agreed.
Fluttershy looked over to Twilight, hoping for assistance. The princess made an effort to pull herself away from her self-chastising over being mean to Sunset Shimmer and chimed in. “See, girls, that’s just it. That’s exactly the kind of distrust I mean. That’s not forgiving somepony or accepting that they have changed, it’s putting them on parole.”
“I guess it is,” Applejack shrugged. “But I don’t see why that’s wrong.”
Twilight thought about it for a few moments. She couldn’t entirely dismiss Applejack’s and Rainbow’s opinion, but she knew all too well how terrible she still felt about some of the things that had been said to Sunset Shimmer.
“Because it’s mean,” Fluttershy whispered, interrupting her thoughts.
“Yes, that,” Twilight said. “It’s hurtful to be treated this way. And it hurts to see a friend being treated like that.” She leaned back, staring into her mug. “And it’s even worse if you’re the one hurting them.”
“Dunno,” Applejack said, shrugging. “Makes sense, I guess. Maybe I’m just not that close to Discord.”
“Um, you could come over for tea sometime,” Fluttershy suggested. “You could get to know him a bit better?”
“Phew nelly, I don’t think that’s what I was gettin’ at,” Applejack said, but she immediately softened at Fluttershy’s pleading expression. “Aw shucks, can’t hurt to give it a try, I guess.” Upon hearing this, Fluttershy gave her a big smile and clapped her hooves.
“Twilight, darling, you absolutely have to tell me everything about the fashion trends in that other world!” Rarity chirped in an attempt to change the subject. “I must say, the prospect of clothes suited for walking upright is intriguing!”
“Of course, I—“ Twilight started, but she was interrupted by a loud buzzing noise that came from her bag.
“What’s up with your bag?” Rainbow asked.
“Um, that’s the book,” Twilight said. “The book that’s connected to the book Sunset Shimmer has. It does that when she writes me.”
“Oh, the one she used to advise you of the situation at hoof?” Rarity said. “Now that’s a useful item. I mean, the mailmare is a dear, really, but sometimes it takes up to a week to receive letters from Manehattan. I can’t deny that I have sometimes envied you for Spike’s dragon breath.”
“Yes, um,” Twilight said. “I brought it with in case Sunset needed some emergency friendship advice, or some other magical monster breaks lose in the human world.” She grinned at her friends, suddenly feeling silly about dragging the book along, and even more so for her wordy—and unnecessary—explanation. Her friends just gave her approving nods.
“Aren’t you going to read it?” Rarity asked.
“What? Oh. Of course!” Mentally chastising herself for being silly, Twilight levitated the book out of her bag and opened it. She quickly skimmed through the pages filled with the familiar regal script of Princess Celestia as well as the hornwriting of Sunset Shimmer. She quickly glanced over the message Sunset had written to alert her of the Dazzlings and couldn’t help but smile thinking back to her friends at Canterlot High. Then she read the new message from Sunset Shimmer.
Dear Princess Twilight,
Missing you already, and hope you’ll be back soon. Things are definitely looking up for me here at Canterlot High, but I know I still have a lot to learn about friendship. Hope you don’t mind if I write to you for advice when I need it.
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer
“And, what’s she writing?” Rainbow asked as Twilight closed the book and hovered it back into her bag. “Do they need you over there again?”
“No, no,” Twilight said, “just that things are alright and… stuff.”
“Aren’t you going to write back?” Rarity asked.
“I’ll write later,” Twilight said. “It’s not that urgent, I think.”
“I wonder what the proper etiquette is for a letter that gets delivered immediately,” Rarity mused. “Maybe it is better to wait for a day or two, to not appear overly eager or even desperate for a reply.”
Twilight only listened with one ear, still thinking about the few lines Sunset Shimmer had written her. Despite what she had told the others, she did feel a certain need to write back as soon as possible. After all, Sunset Shimmer had written that she missed her, and perhaps a timely reply would make her feel better. But at the same time, she didn’t want to write such a letter with her friends around. It seemed like the right thing to keep her conversation with Sunset Shimmer private. After all, she didn’t even know her pony friends. At least Sunset Shimmer was alright and she didn’t need to worry. Still smiling she resolved to get to writing a reply as soon as she came home.
***
Dear Sunset Shimmer.
Twilight stared at her scroll. The start was easy. But what to write next? She sighed, putting her quill back in her inkwell. It had been a very good idea to write her reply to Sunset Shimmer on an ordinary scroll first, she thought with a sigh.
Why was this so hard? She had never had any problems writing, well, just about anything, from letters to essays to research papers, from diary entries to checklists to project plans. It was, she thought, probably because she didn’t know Sunset Shimmer as well as her Ponyville friends or Princess Celestia, and so she couldn’t be entirely sure how she would react to what Twilight would write.
I’m sorry that you are missing me. I’m missing you too.
She scratched it out. It sounded like she was apologizing for the fact that Sunset Shimmer was missing her, which didn’t make any sense since it wasn’t technically Twilight’s fault. Even though she did feel sorry for any discomfort that was causing Sunset Shimmer—she shook her head. This was going nowhere.
I’m glad to hear that things are looking up for you.
She stared at the line angrily, as if she could turn it into something better by sheer force of will, something that was not merely parroting what Sunset had written.
I am fine too. The weather is also very nice.
She couldn’t help but laugh at this line that could have been taken from a little filly’s card sent from summer camp, before she crossed it out as well as the line before.
Spike and I have arrived safely back in Equestria. It’s good to be home again, and I slept for almost an entire day after I got back. I miss you too, and I’d be happy if you wrote me for friendship advice. The sooner the better!
Twilight frowned. Was she hoping for Sunset Shimmer to get into some sort of friendship trouble so she would write again? What a silly notion! She crossed it out vigorously, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks as she thought of what Rarity had said about appearing too eager.
I miss you too, and of course you can write me whenever you need friendship advice, or in fact whenever you want to. I’ll be glad to hear from you anytime!
Give my regards to our friends.
“Way too formal,” Twilight muttered.
Give our friends a hug from me.
Your faithful student,
Twilight burst out laughing as she read the last line she had written. She smacked her forehead with a hoof and scratched out the last line. “Force of habit,” she chuckled to herself.
Your friend
Twilight Sparkle
She read over it two more times. It expressed the things she wanted to write Sunset Shimmer, and she couldn’t spot any obvious flaws in it, and she decided that it was good enough since she didn’t want to keep Sunset Shimmer waiting any longer. Again she remembered Rarity’s words, but this time she just pushed these worries aside. Sunset Shimmer had written that she missed her. If a quick answer could make her feel happy, then that was way more important than appearing overly eager.
With a determined nod, she opened the magic book and started copying her letter. When she was done, a realization struck her, and she quickly added a postscript.
P.S.: Since we are friends now, could you please just call me Twilight, without the ‘Princess’? Twi.
The page of the book lit up in a warm yellow glow of magic for a few seconds as the letter was transmitted through the dimensions to the book’s counterpart. Twilight sat back in her chair and slowly closed the book. She felt unreasonably excited about the letter, even though it was just a few lines between friends. She hoped Sunset Shimmer would reply soon.
***
Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt!
“Wow, Sunset Shimmer, your phone has the loudest silent mode I’ve ever heard!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, curiously staring at Sunset’s bag that was buzzing so hard it was performing little hops on the floor. Some yellow light was leaking out of the bag’s lid. Some kids were turning their heads, and, even worse, Miss Cheerilee was turning around, zeroing in on her with a gaze that was more disappointed than angry.
“Please keep it down, Pinkie Pie. Sunset Shimmer, you know that cell phones have to be turned off during class.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Cheerilee,” Sunset murmured. She bent down and reached for the book inside her bag, quickly opening it and closing it for a split second. It was enough to make it stop buzzing.
Miss Cheerilee continued looking at her, then she shook her head. “Well, make sure it is switched off now. I don’t want to have to remind you again.”
“Yes, Miss Cheerilee.”
The teacher turned around and continued writing things on the blackboard. Sunset fought back the urge to hide underneath her table out of embarrassment. At the same time she realized that nobody was laughing at her or whispering snide remarks. Ever since the Battle of the Bands and the defeat of the Dazzlings, the students of Canterlot High had begun to treat Sunset Shimmer much friendlier, which was a huge relief. Then again, she had tried her best to not give anybody any reason to turn on her.
At the table in front of her, Pinkie Pie turned around and gave her a half apologetic, half supportive grin while Miss Cheerilee wasn’t looking. Sunset made an effort to smile back; she knew that Pinkie hadn’t exposed her in malicious intent, even though she wished Pinkie hadn’t. But not bearing grudges, she had learned, was part of being friends.
As she had written in her short letter to Twilight, she still had a lot to learn. And, to her surprise, the Princess had answered already!
“Is something funny about this function, Sunset Shimmer?” Miss Cheerilee asked with a raised eyebrow. Sunset realized that she was grinning for no apparent reason, and hastily covered her mouth with her hand.
“I just… calculus makes me happy?” she lamely replied. Some students giggled.
“Is that so,” Miss Cheerilee said, barely able to contain a grin herself. “Well, if it makes you happy, I’m sure you have no problem telling me the derivative of this function.”
Sunset Shimmer took a quick look at the equation and gave the correct answer. While calculus didn’t exactly make her happy, she still liked mathematics and science, and was usually doing well in class. After all, she had been Princess Celestia’s personal protégé for a reason.
“Very good, Sunset Shimmer,” Miss Cheerilee said. “Now, who can tell me the zeroes of the function?”
Sunset only listened with one ear as the discussion of the function went on. Again and again she looked down at her bag which contained the book, the book which, in turn, contained a new letter from Princess Twilight. She had only written her first letter during lunch break, two periods back, and she’d already gotten an answer. The grin crept onto her face again, and she lowered her head, lest Miss Cheerilee called her out again.
Despite their somewhat rocky start it had been great to see Princess Twilight again, and she missed her now that she was back in Equestria. At least they could stay in touch through the book until Princess Twilight could come over for another visit.
If only class would end so she could finally read the letter!
When the bell did finally ring Sunset was the first to rush out of the classroom. She hurried to get to the statue in front of the main entrance which was still her friends’ favorite place, secretly hoping that she would be the first to arrive there. Not that she didn’t want to see her friends, but she would have liked to read the letter in private. It was, after all, a letter for her.
Pinkie caught up to her on the stairs outside. “Really, what was up with your phone?”
“It wasn’t my phone, Pinkie. It was the book!”
“Oooooh! The book!” Pinkie whispered. “A message from our special friend from out of town?”
“Exactly!”
Their friends were already hanging out at the statue when they arrived. Fluttershy was feeding her white pet bunny a carrot while Rarity and Applejack were reading a history book together and Rainbow Dash was scribbling some song notes on a sheet of paper.
“Hey you two. How was math?” she asked without looking up.
“As always,” Sunset replied.
“Nu-uh!” Pinkie corrected her. “Sunset got a message from—“ she beckoned them all to get closer, “—from our special friend from out of town!”
“What did Princess Twilight write?”
“I was just about to read it,” Sunset said, “Miss Cheerilee would have eaten me alive if I had read it in class.”
After a quick glance around that nobody was paying her attention Sunset pulled the book out of her bag and flipped through the pages until she found the new message from Princess Twilight.
“And? What did she write?” Pinkie asked. “Is she safe at home and drinking hot cocoa with her pony friends? Did she write you a joke? Cuz you’re smiling!”
“No jokes, no. She just writes that she got home safely and slept for almost an entire day.”
“Oh, that’s good. Even though sleeping is kinda boring sometimes. No other news?”
Sunset looked up and found herself surrounded by the faces of her five friends, eagerly leaning in. “Twilight says hi,” she said, feeling a bit of heat rise in her cheeks. She thought that give them a hug was probably not to be taken literally. She was still not quite sure about all those cuddly signs of affection between her new friends, and before she did something silly she preferred to play it safe.
As the others returned to their respective activities she opened the book once more, re-reading the letter. Just to be safe.
***
A few days later Sunset was lying in bed with the book in her lap. She just wanted to read Twi’s message one more time. Not that she still needed to, as by now she knew the words by heart. But seeing them in writing, in Twi’s meticulous hornwriting nonetheless, was still better somehow.
I miss you, too.
Her eyes remained fixated on that one sentence. It made her feel warm and fuzzy to know that Twilight was missing her, too. It meant that she wasn’t silly for being sad that Twilight had left. That she wasn’t alone feeling that way.
I miss you too, and of course you can write me whenever you need friendship advice, or in fact whenever you want to. I’ll be glad to hear from you anytime!
Sunset wondered if Twi was only being polite, or if she had really meant it that she could write her anytime. Knowing Twi and her sometimes very straight-forward manners Sunset believed she was probably being serious.
That’s probably a thing that friends just do, huh, she thought. Still, it made her happy to know that Twilight was still there, albeit only in the form of letters for the time being. It made the thought of not knowing when she would see her again a little bit easier to bear.
Sunset softly closed the book and put it on her nightstand. It was really time to get some sleep, or else she would be completely wasted the next day in school. She switched off her light and turned around onto her stomach, hugging one of her pillows as she did.
She couldn’t believe the Battle of the Bands had only been four days ago. The day before that they had all had the big sleepover at Pinkie’s. That had been a really nice night, she thought. Still holding her pillow tight she turned over and stared at her ceiling.
Ever since she had left Equestria she had lived all by herself. At first she hadn’t known anyone, and then, when her plan to steal Twilight’s crown had taken shape, she wanted to avoid potential roommates who would ask unwelcome questions about why a high school student was living all by herself. That night at Pinkie’s had probably been the first one in a few years that she had spent sleeping in a room with others. And while she hadn’t really slept that well, the faint noises of the other girls around her whenever she woke up had been really nice and comforting.
And of course there had been her brief encounter with Prin—with Twilight in the kitchen. The memory brought a smile to her face. Earlier, right after Twilight had arrived, Sunset had felt rather insecure around her, since Twilight herself had been quite distanced at first too. But that had changed that night in the kitchen. Or, more specifically, Sunset thought, the moment they had realized they were both afraid of letting down their friends, and that lopsided smile Twilight had given her afterwards. Well, that, and being completely bewildered by Pinkie’s sister. When Sunset had gone back to sleep, she had been sure that she had made a new friend.
Sunset sighed and turned on her side, looking out of the window. The trees outside cast some slow-moving shadows at her ceiling. And why could she still not sleep?
She sighed again and got up. Maybe a glass of water would help. Maybe it would at least distract her from whatever thoughts were keeping her awake. As she filled a glass with water she suddenly thought how nice it would be to run into Twilight again. Like, right now. She shook her head and drank her water before returning to bed where she switched on the light again. She picked up the book to read Twilight’s letter again.
I’ll be glad to hear from you anytime.
It would be really nice to at least talk to Twilight, if she wasn’t going to run into her in the kitchen again. But what if she was busy? Or, even more likely, sleeping? And what was she even going to write?
I miss you too.
She touched the paper with the tip of her finger. Suddenly Twilight being gone was almost physically painful.
She shook her head. That was just being silly. There was no reason for such morose thoughts. She had a group of the best friends a girl could hope for, and as she had written in her letter, things were indeed looking up for her. She was probably just sleep deprived, and felt a little lonely in her apartment, at a time when all the sane people were sleeping no less.
Miss you too.
With an exasperated groan she reached for the pen on her nightstand. She held it over the paper for a moment, biting her lip. Then she quickly wrote.
Dear Twilight,
Are you awake? I can’t seem to sleep tonight.
Yours
Sunset
Before she could have second thoughts Sunset Shimmer closed the book. It emitted a soft pink glow as the letter was transmitted. She sank back, hugged her pillow again and buried her face in it. Twilight was asleep anyway. She was busy doing some late-night princess work and didn’t even have the book with her. She wasn’t going to answer because it was late at night and she wouldn’t want to reply to a meaningless little message like this one.
Sunset Shimmer turned onto her stomach again, putting the pillow over her head. What had she thought she was doing when she sent out that dumb message? Just because she felt a little lonely late at night, a time that was always lonely, which was exactly why the sane people were sleeping!
Then, through the pillow covering her head, she heard the book buzz.
***
Twilight was, in fact, not awake.
She was slumped across her bedroom desk, her head resting peacefully on a volume about multiversal theory written by Owler, the famed mathematician and thaumaturg. After she had constructed her device that allowed her to travel to Canterlot High without the help of the moon, her interest in transdimensional physics had been sparked, and she was on an extensive reading regimen. So much so, in fact, that she had neglected her sleeping needs in the past few days. On top of that there was the lingering exhaustion from her last visit to the human world, and so she had just fallen asleep over a really interesting passage about the flow of time in weakly linked parallel dimensions.
The buzzing made her snap awake with an un-princesslike grunt. Somepony, most likely Spike, had draped a blanked over her, and the only light in her bedroom came from the moonlight shining through her windows. Spike was snoring away in his basket, and there was an uncomfortable pang in her neck that made it very clear that not even daily calisthenics made slouching on a desk an agreeable sleeping position.
“Umgrng,” Spike murmured in his sleep. Twilight quickly grabbed the buzzing book—which was lying on her nightstand, just in case—with her magic and opened it, shutting down the noise. Spike gave a content sigh and turned around in his basket.
With the immediate danger of waking up her assistant taken care of, Twilight hurried to float the book over to her desk. She told herself that she was just worried that Sunset Shimmer might need her immediate assistance. Then she read the short message, and was left rather confused by it, even a bit disappointed—while she was excited to hear from Sunset Shimmer again, the message was hardly a friendship crisis that would have required some intense research or magical intervention on Twilight’s part. Not that she wanted Sunset Shimmer to be in some sort of huge crisis, she thought with a furrowed brow. It was just… so short.
Twilight groaned and took a moment to methodically stretch her sore back, mentally preparing for her reply to Sunset Shimmer. She levitated her quill out and, after a short pause, started writing.
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I’m awake, still reading a bit. Are you alright? Insomnia can be a symptom of some serious disorders! In any case, have you tried a glass of warm milk? That often helps me—when I’m not falling asleep with my face in my book anyway.
Hope I could help!
Yours
Twi
***
“Oh, Twilight,” Sunset Shimmer chuckled, leaning back into her pillow. Even though this answer was absolutely not what she had hoped for, and even though she was now a little bit embarrassed for having bothered Twilight that late at night, it still made her grin. It was just so—so Twilight. She picked up her pen and wrote.
I think what I was trying to say but somehow failed to was, “Are you awake, too, and would you like to chat?” But I don’t want to keep you from your reading, so I’ll instead have that warm milk. I’ll let you know how it worked.
Good night!
SS
She closed the book and put it back on the nightstand, trying to hold back a sigh. It was great that Twilight had replied immediately, and her message had been really sweet, but it also meant no late-night exchange of letters. Finally letting out that sigh, she folded back her duvet and stood up again. If there weren’t going to be any more letters tonight, she could as well have that glass of warm milk. In the worst case it wouldn’t help, but it would still be tasty.
She scuffled to the kitchen, put a pot on the stove and poured some milk into it. Maybe Twilight was right now doing the same. But more likely she sat at a desk, basked in the warm and flickering light of a firefly lantern, reading one of those old tomes from Princess Celestia’s library. Something about the image made her smile. Even though it was now going to be a boring sleepless night for her, without Twilight to write her.
Then the book buzzed again.
***
“Oh no, no no no no no, I completely misunderstood her!” Twilight muttered to herself, immediately shutting herself up as Spike started to stir again. She bit her lip. At least Sunset Shimmer wasn’t seriously ill! But still, she had utterly failed to recognize a plea for support from her friend, and she needed to fix it, as soon as possible!
I’m so sorry; I completely misunderstood you, Sunset Shimmer! Of course I’d like to chat!
She lowered her quill, frowning at the book page. While she was determined now to keep Sunset Shimmer company—albeit only through letters—she again found it hard to figure out what else to write. But before she even had time to panic, the book emitted the familiar glow, and the message was sent.
“Noo!” she whined. “I wasn’t done!”
“Cake’s not done?” Spike murmured. Twilight turned around, worried that she might have woken him up, but he just stirred some more in his sleep and quickly started snoring again. Twilight sighed in relief. She turned back to the book in order to append some more lines, something with actual substance, when the book buzzed again. In front of her eyes the page started to glow again, and words formed.
Haha, well, that’s great! Here I was fearing a boring night of tossing and turning. Thanks for rescuing me!
So, what were you reading?
Twilight couldn’t hold back a smile. Communicating like this was sure unusual, and it was definitely very prone to all kinds of misunderstandings, but it also allowed for rather efficient communication, leaving out all the set phrases usually required in written correspondence. This time, she didn’t take much time to plan what she was going to write, and just started.
I was reading some books about transdimensional physics, most recently ‘Eigenmatrices in Multiversal Theory’ by Owler. After my last visit I wanted to know more about other dimensions and the science behind all that. It probably means I’m a big egghead, but I find this topic really fascinating.
She hesitated for a second, well aware that she only had a few seconds before the book decided to send the message. Then she added another line.
What have you been up to since I left?
***
Oh, nothing much, just school, and the occasional band session with the—
“Shoot shoot shoot!” Sunset Shimmer cursed as she dropped the book and jumped out of her bed. She sprinted into the kitchen, only barely skidding to halt before she tumbled over the table. On the stove the milk was cheerfully foaming over the rim of the pot, running down onto the cooktop, and scorching in stinky clouds of brown vapor.
Sunset reached for the pot, but reconsidered before she touched it and picked up a kitchen towel first. Then she picked up the pot and dropped it into the sink before switching off the stove. She cast a dejected gaze at the blackened mass on the cooktop that was still faintly smoking and tore the window wide open to let the smoke out. Luckily it wasn’t too cold outside. Back in her bedroom the book was buzzing impatiently again.
With a groan she decided to clean up this mess tomorrow; as long as she wasn’t going to set her apartment on fire it could wait, especially at this time of the night. She returned to her bedroom, resolving to close the window later, and read Twilight’s latest message.
Sunset? Are you still there? Your last message just ended mid-sentence! Is everything alright?
Sunset smiled, settling down on her bed. Then she quickly wrote.
Yes, everything is alright. I just forgot to take the milk off the stove, and it scorched, so I had to rush to the kitchen. Silly me!
She glanced over Twilight’s last messages. What had they been talking about before the milk incident?
Why would you think that reading makes you an egghead? That does sound fascinating! Maybe you can figure out how these books and the portal actually work! That is so cool!
As she watched the by now familiar glow of the message being sent, she couldn’t help but think that that warm milk would have been really nice now. But still not nice enough to get up again and clean that pot.
***
Twilight couldn’t hold back an excited squeal as she read Sunset’s message. “That’s exactly what it is,” she murmured.
“Twilight, I really don’t care what’s exactly what now. Do you mind letting me sleep?”
She spun around, facing an annoyed baby dragon who was glaring at her from his basket. She felt her cheeks flush when she realized that she had completely forgotten that he was there while she was waiting for Sunset Shimmer’s next message.
“Spike, I’m sorry. I got caught up in… something. I’ll take it somewhere else so you can sleep.” She picked up the book, the blanket, and also the Owler volume—just in case Sunset wanted to talk about it some more—and quietly walked to the door. “Night, Spike.”
“What are you and Sunset Shimmer discussing anyway? That buzzing noise of that book really can get into the nicest dreams of seven-layered gem cake, y’know.”
“I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight said again. “We were just talking about all kinds of stuff. Owler, and hot milk, and… well, not technically talking, since it’s more writing…” She stopped herself when she noticed his eyes drooping. “We can talk tomorrow. You go back to sleep. Good night, Spike!”
“Night, Twi,” Spike murmured.
She hurried to get to her study where she had a spare set of quill and ink, not wanting to let Sunset Shimmer wait unnecessarily long. Once there, she settled down at her desk, not bothering to light up the firefly lamp and instead using the light of her horn. She put the blanket over her shoulders, pulling it tightly together in her magical grip, and put down her books. Then she wrote.
Oh dear, I just woke up Spike, and had to move over to the study so he can sleep. But he just refuses to have a room for himself.
I guess I’m just used to my Ponyville friends not being that interested in more theoretical topics. But you’re right, that’s exactly what I was hoping to accomplish, understanding how exactly these books work. When I built my machine to travel to your world, I didn’t do much more than scratch the surface. There is still so much to learn!
***
Fighting back a yawn, Sunset replied.
I remember Owler; I read some of his books on mathematic thaumaturgy back when I was still studying magic. I found his approach very interesting.
She narrowed her eyes looking at the last paragraph. It still made her feel slightly uneasy talking about the failures of her past. It was silly; Twilight probably knew all about those years and her misguided ambition, and she had shown no sign of bearing a grudge over these things. Still, it wasn’t exactly something she wanted to be discussing with her nocturnal pen pal right now, not even keeping things as vague as she had. Hoping to spin the conversation away from this touchy subject, she added:
I’m not keeping you from sleeping I hope! Or Spike, for that matter. He’s a dragon in Equestria, right? How does he still fit into your room anyway?
Sunset yawned. Maybe she would get some sleep this night after all. Even though, right now, she wasn’t particularly eager to. Luckily she didn’t have to wait long for Twilight’s reply.
Oh right, I forgot that you probably know more about magic than most ponies who still live in Equestria. I’d love to pick your brain sometime!
Spike is a baby dragon; he’s even younger than I am, and dragons age much slower than ponies (as I’m sure you know). He sleeps in his basket and simply refuses to have his own room.
You’re not keeping me from sleeping, no worries! I’m kind of a night owl anyway. I like star-gazing, and sometimes I just get lost in a good book. But don’t you have to be up early for school tomorrow?
Sunset tried to suppress another yawn, to no avail. School seemed like such an unreal, unimportant concept right now. It would probably be brutal, she thought as she glanced at her alarm clock. It was twenty past three. Yes, definitely brutal.
I never progressed as far with my studies as you did. But it would be nice to talk about magic sometimes. In this world there isn’t a lot of magic, and people don’t know a lot about it.
Well, getting up tomorrow is going to suck. I’ll pull through, though. After our adventures a tired day at school doesn’t seem too daunting anymore.
She smiled as she leaned her head back against her bed’s headboard. This was really nice. It was almost as good as talking to Twilight in person, like that night in Pinkie’s kitchen, only with longer pauses and without being able to see each other.
***
Twilight jolted awake, again slouched across her desk. The book she was resting on was vibrating. “Oh dear,” she murmured. “But I promised to keep her company.”
We should do this then. Talk about magic, that is. I don’t get to do this as often as I’d like, with my friends not exactly being the ones for scientific discourse, and Princess Celestia always so busy, so I’d love that!
Sorry if I take a little longer to reply, I’m starting to doze off. I won’t leave you hanging, though!
“I must stay awake,” she muttered. She stood up and did a few quick steps on the spot. It seemed to help, but she soon missed her blanket and returned to her chair, wrapping herself up nice and snugly.
***
“Oh, Twilight,” Sunset whispered with a smile.
I won’t leave you hanging, though!
Something about this sentence made her smile. It was just so sweet of Twilight to write this, even as she was probably struggling to stay awake. She really shouldn’t be keeping her up that long, Sunset chastised herself.
Don’t force yourself, Twilight. You need your sleep, too!
So what do you say we call it a night? I might still get a few hours of sleep before I have to get up.
Good night!
She bit her lip and, after a moment of hesitation, she added another line.
This was really nice, chatting with you. If you like maybe we can do this again sometime?
After five minutes, when still no reply had arrived, she closed the book and put it back on her nightstand, smiling. Twilight had probably fallen asleep, and that was what Sunset was intending to do too. She switched off her light and pulled up her duvet.
When she was already drifting away, still smiling about this or that thing Twilight had written, the buzzing startled her awake once more. Not bothering with the light she just read Twilight’s last message for the night in the moonlight.
Absolutely I’d love to
Chuckling at the sloppy script—and the missing period—she put the book away and closed her eyes, still smiling when she finally fell asleep.