Sunset Shimmer sat in her bed on a quiet, relaxing spring afternoon, reading one of the most enjoyable books she'd had the pleasure of discovering in quite some time.
The book was about swashbuckling lady pirates—specifically, one by the name of Captain Celaeno, and her all-girl crew. Celeano was the most dashing woman to sail the six seas, with a sense of style that gave Daring Do a run for her money, by even A.K. Yearling's own admission.
Needless to say, upon hearing that sort of endorsement, Sunset had borrowed the book from Pinkie—who had, in turn, borrowed it from a girl she and Rarity still sometimes babysat. Given that Sunset was reading a hard-bound novel right now, she couldn't help but note that Lily Pad was very well-read for her young age.
That said, Sunset wasn't wasn't sure her own reading would last much longer. She was still only in the middle of the book, yet things had already taken a turn for the unexpectedly dire.
Celaeno couldn't believe it. The passenger she had taken on—out of the kindness of her heart, no less!—had just betrayed the entire crew, allowing the Evil Emperor's navy to locate and board their ship. Celaeno and her crew fought valiantly, but in the end, the Emperor's ranking stooge, General Ravioli, had managed to overwhelm them.
"Well, now," Ravioli said, straightening the lapels of his white suit as he stared at Celaeno, who was tied to one of her ship's masts. "Any last words before the great General Ravioli does what no one else in the world could?"
Celaeno's brown jacket and green hair flapped in the breeze, as she stared at Ravioli through amused, challenging eyes. "Can I have a last meal, instead? Seriously, every time you remind me who you are, it just makes me hungry."
"Hah! We'll see how much lip you have when you're made to walk your own plank!" Ravioli drew his sword, inching it menacingly close to Celaeno's neck...
Sunset scooted backwards, against the headboard of her bed, biting her nails as the words on the page blurred together. How could Celaeno possibly get out of this? Nothing had been able to touch her so far!
Sunset took a deep breath, preparing to dive back into Celaeno's world, when a harsh buzzing sounded to her side. Sunset looked left, to see another hard-bound book on her nightstand. The cover bore one half of her own cutie mark, with the second half belonging to someone quite special and welcome to her.
Usually welcome, anyway. Right now...
Sunset sighed and rolled her eyes. She loved Princess Twilight, really, she did, but she was becoming increasingly certain that Twilight was, in truth, bearer of the Element of Terrible Timing. She considered not opening the journal until later. But if it was an emergency...
Chastising herself for having a conscience, Sunset closed one book, and opened another. Fourteen solitary words greeted her.
"Hey, it's Starlight. Meet me at your portal in an hour. I'm coming over."