The snow had melted over the past three months. Sunset couldn't help but grin as the sun rose over the suburbs that surrounded Canterlot. She was more of an autumn person, but even she couldn't help but grin at the bushes filled with flowers that surrounded the sidewalk of her street.
Stretching, she gazed around her apartment.
"Okay," she thought, getting out of her loft bed and walking down the stairs to the floor, "I got up a lot earlier than usual today, so I should have plenty of time to get ready for school...
"And to do the laundry...," she added to her list, glancing at the heavy laundry bag hanging from her bathroom door.
After getting ready for the day, she slipped into a relatively new outfit, a light blue button-up with cut-off sleeves and a dark pair of jeans. Collecting her pajamas, she threw them into the washing machine along with the rest of her laundry.
"Okay, so that's done... and I still have an hour... whats next?" she questioned herself.
She looked around the apartment again, her eyes landing on her computer.
Smirking, she thought, "I have been meaning to defeat Eris on The Traveller's Maze..."
Sunset's warlock, Priori, dodged Eris's longlegs again. As they hissed at her, waiting for her to complete her turn, she cast Magna Nimis. The longlegs fell to the ground, covering their ears. It was Priori's turn again. She cast Consummationem and watched as the longlegs were burned to ash.
Suddenly, the screen whited out and the checkpoint window appeared. Sunset looked through the list of possible powerups for her next round.
"Hmmm... I could use a range booster...," she thought, picking Maior Semoto and watching fifty pies be subtracted from her stash
"And an extra shield would be nice...," she added, paying thirty more for Scutum Pristinam.
"Will I need anything else? Maybe... Sanitatem Celer?" she decided, moving her mouse to pay forty-five pies.
Sunset looked at her well-stocked armory of potions, wands, and staffs. She smiled, stretching her fingers.
"Okay, Eris, you're goin-" she said to herself right as her phone buzzed.
She reached for it, frowning, and opened Messages. It was unlike the others to start texting this early.
The Rainbooms!!!
Monday, February 3rd, 7:27 AM
DashOfAwesomeness: Guys! Get to school rn! It's an emergency!
Rarest_Gem: Darling are you alright?
Appletastic: almost there
BunnyLover_10112: Oh my god, what happened? Are you okay?
Cake-a-Holic: imma comin Dashie!
Sunset dropped her phone immediately, saving her game and shutting her computer down. She pulled on her jacket and grabbed her bag and guitar case. She tried texting as she raced for the door.
SunnyD: I m comiimh toiej fbufn, Rainvei
SunnyD: asdfghjkl
SunnyD: Im cing.
SunnyD: Ugh
Sunset gave up on texting, rushing past and locking her door. She leaped down the stairs of her apartment building, and out the front door, taking the shortcuts she knew very well from all the times she had almost been late.
She slipped into the alley behind her building and jumped the fence into a neatly kept backyard. The resident guard dog, a poodle, barked loudly as she ran to the other side and jumped the fence again, into another alley. She darted down the alley, coming up to the same main road as her school. She turned right, speeding up at the sight of the iconic Wondercolt statue in front of Canterlot High.
Before long, she had come up to where Rainbow Dash and Applejack were sitting on the steps. Applejack was scowling at Rainbow, her arms crossed. Rainbow, on her part, was grinning sheepishly as she held her guitar.
"Dammit. This isn't a real emergency, is it?" Sunset thought.
Still, she decided to give Rainbow the benefit of doubt.
"Dash? What's going on? What's the emergency?" she asked, stopping in front of her friends.
"Did something happen with the portal?" Rarity's voice floated over.
Sunset glanced back to see Rarity getting down from Fluttershy's car, followed by Fluttershy herself
"Or some other magical bad guy?" Fluttershy added.
"Ooooh, like a giant cake monster!" Pinkie said, popping, as usual, out of nowhere.
"Oh, oh, or a... huuuuuuuuuuuuge loop- mhmn mmmmmm!" Pinkie was interrupted by Applejack shoving an apple into her mouth.
"Well, Ah tried tellin' Dash that a broken guitar string isn't an emergency, but as usual, she didn't listen," Applejack said pointedly.
"It totally is!" Dash sniped back, turning to face AJ, "How am I supposed to pony up if I can't play my guitar?"
"You know, Dash, I was just about to deal with Eris in Traveller's Maze before you called us here," Sunset said, reaching into the front pocket of her case to grab an extra A string.
"Yeah, and I was just about to have pancakes!" Pinkie said as Sunset handed the string to Dash, "You interrupted pancakes! PAAAANNNCAAAAKES!"
Sunset looked around at her friends, all of whom wore slightly disgruntled looks on their faces, before looking back at Dash.
"Sorry, guys...," Dash said, "But hey! We can get an early practice in, can't we?"
Sunset rolled her eyes but smiled.
"Fine, but you guys go ahead without me. I promised Twilight I'd write her today, and I should probably get it done sooner than later," she said.
"No problem, Sunny," AJ said, "Do you want us to take your guitar to the practice room?"
"If you don't mind?" Sunset answered, rummaging in her bag for a pen after pulling out her book.
"'Course not! I'll see you in a bit," Applejack called out, grabbing the case and walking away with the others.
Sunset found a pen and looked back to wave to her friends, before turning back to the page in front of her.
Dear Princess Twilight,
I know we agreed to talk tomorrow, but I kind of need to say something. It's been eating at me for a while now, but I wasn't really able to articulate it and now I think I understand a little better.
Ever since the Anon-a-Mess, I've been... worried. I think that might be an understatement, but it's the best word I can think of to describe it. I've been worried that my friends don't trust me. That they won't ever trust me. These thoughts have been making me feel uncomfortable around them, to say the least.
And I know, intellectually, that they trust me. They've proven it, time and again, since the incident.
But I've been burned by them. And I'm so scared of being burned again.
Because of that, I can't help but wonder, is this really the place for me? A world where my head is constantly on a swivel for any signs of distrust? Equestria was never like that.
Don't get me wrong, I love it here. It's... home, in a way that Equestria wasn't. But I still miss knowing that I can just about trust any pony I meet, even though I refused to when I still lived there.
It's not just the trust issues I have that are making me so existential today. It's also the magic here. It's so different from the magic back home. There were rules that magic followed there. There were tools to study it. You could actually use logic on it.
Here, it doesn't follow any of the rules. There aren't any actual tools you could study it with. And don't even get me started on the logic behind it.
I've been able to, at the very least, put something together to identify magical bursts. However, I can't track it or it's source. I can't even figure out whether it's active or passive magic! I just know that there are, occasionally, magic bursts. It's so frustrating!
It's simpler in Equestria. I can't help but wonder if there's more for me back there.
I'm so sorry for dumping all of this on you, but I didn't know who else to turn to.
Yours,
Sunset Shimmer
Sunset sighed, rereading the letter. She looked up, at the portal.
"Maybe..."
She shook her head at the thought.
"No. You've bothered Twilight enough. You are not going to bother her more by popping out of the portal for no reason," Sunset told herself harshly, shoving her book and pen into her bag.
Still, she couldn't help but look at the portal again. To her shock, a figure in a light blue hoodie and black gloves was standing right by the portal with a device that seemed to be right out of Ghostbusters.
"Hey! What are you doing?" she called out, struggling lightly with her backpack as it seemed to have swallowed her hand.
The figure turned around, obviously startled by Sunset, before taking off running.
Sunset finally shook her bag off her hand, but by the time she reached the statue, the figure was crossing the road and going to the bus stand down the street. They looked at the buses waiting for passengers and leaped onto one.
Thinking quickly, Sunset took a picture of the bus number on her phone as the bus passed Canterlot High. She looked at the number, 27. Looks like she had some research to do.
She ran back to the steps of the school, where numerous students now sat with their friends. Waving to a couple of her acquaintances, she reached her bag.
Her lightly glowing, vibrating bag.
Excitedly, she opened it and pulled out her message book, flipping to the latest page.
Dear Sunset,
It's absolutely no problem! In fact, I'm glad you wrote because it seems like you've got a lot on your mind.
It's completely understandable that you're so cautious around the girls. Their assumption got you bullied and hurt within the walls of a place where you should have felt safe. That wasn't a very friendly thing that they did, and I'm proud of you for trying your best to make amends with them.
I also understand your frustration with the magic over in the human world. If magic worked like that here, I wouldn't know what to do.
Actually, I feel like this might be easier to talk about in pony person. How about I come over today?
Yours,
Twilight Sparkle
Sunset smiled, "It would be nice to see her again..."
Dear Twilight,
That sounds like a great idea! There's also something else I need to discuss with you, though. Just minutes ago, I saw a figure messing about around the portal. I startled them and they ran away, but if this happens again, we might have to close the portal temporarily.
The first bell rang from inside the school. Sunset looked up from her writing, startled that forty-five minutes had passed so quickly.
I have to go now, Twilight. The first bell just rang, and I don't want to be tardy. How does lunch at Sugarcube Corner sound?
Yours,
Sunset Shimmer
Sunset nodded at the message, gathering her things just as the book glowed.
TARDY? Go, go, go! Don't be tardy!
Ps. Lunch at Sugarcube Corner sounds great! Can't wait!
Sunset grinned at the minor freakout from the other side of the mirror.
Then, she looked at her phone, which was bursting with "Where the hell are you?" types of texts.
"Oh, shit," she said, grabbing her phone and opening up the group chat.
SunnyD: Girls, I'm sorry I missed practice, but we need to talk.
SunnyD: Library before lunch?