//------------------------------//
// 00- Different Ends 
// Story: Different Ends 
// by CrownofDissonance 
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    "Thanks for the shake, Sunset."

    "No problem, Twi."

    At the cafe on the intersection of Rosemary and Third Street, two strawberry milkshakes were placed upon a table by a waitress. Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, just a week fresh of graduating high school, sat across from each other in booth seats next to a window that caught a view of a beautiful purple sky. The sun had just set, a long day spent between them and the rest of their friends was coming to a close, and now it was just the two of them. 

    The two wore long, matching leather coats, both given to them by their mentor to be worn as they trained in the art of demon hunting. Sunset's was a golden yellow color with a symbol of a red and yellow six spoked sun along the tail, while Twilight's was purple with a pink and white star. They'd both grown fond of the garments, wearing them regularly and keeping them well maintained. They were stylish, and stylish was an important thing for a demon hunter to be.

    But their training was finished, as was their time in high school. Four years had come and gone. They had their strange adventures with their friends, learned and grew as people, but now they were ready to move on into their adult lives.

    It was for this reason that a lingering heaviness weighed on the day. This was the last day they'd get to spend together before Twilight left to rejoin her family in Crystal City, working for their Order while attending college. It was quite a ways away, surrounded by mountains in a colder, northern region. Sunset would not be seeing her friend again for quite some time.

    That time hadn't come yet, though. There was still an hour or two before she had to leave.

    With reservation, Twilight put her straw to lips and gently sipped her milkshake. Sunset more readily drank hers down, strawberry was her favorite. Her eyes still met Twilight's as she talked, though, watching those violet eyes behind the wide, squared glasses as indication of careful listening.

    "It's weird being here but not studying." Twilight commented offhandedly. "I'm so used to coming here with notebooks and pencils."

    "Yeah, I'm gonna have to get used to just coming here to hang out again." Sunset nodded. As she took another drink of her shake, she noticed Twilight's eyes looking past hers, lowering as she seemed to become lost in thought. Sunset followed her eyes, and they led her to the red-gemmed, sun shaped amulet hanging around her neck. The strange artifact was offered by their mentor, said to contain a vast power that needed protection. But in order to ensure the stronger of them got it, she had them duel for it the day after their graduation proper. 

    And though the two of them had become considerably stronger as their skills and magical power evolved, it was a duel Sunset won. 

    Twilight had taken the loss with grace. They'd gone out for pizza with their friends afterwards, but Sunset still felt a bit of uncertainty over the whole thing. She'd enjoyed the duel, duels with Twilight were always fun, but she hoped Twilight wouldn't get hung up over the loss.

    "Hey," Sunset said, raising her head from her shake glass and trying to recapture Twilight's eyes. She tucked her amulet into her shirt a little so it wouldn't take up so much of Twilight's focus. "No hard feelings, right? About the duel?"

    "Of course not." Twilight said, suddenly snapping back to attention. When Sunset raised her eyebrows, Twilight looked slightly guilty. "I was staring again, wasn't I?"

    "Again?"

    Twilight sighed. "Maybe I am a little disappointed. I was always studying and training, I felt like I was a least a little bit ahead of you. But the only thing I got ahead of was myself."

    "Hey now, nothing wrong with a little healthy competition." Though concerned, Sunset tried to give her a supportive look. "I think that's a good attitude to have, feeling like you're ahead. You're incredibly skilled, Twilight. More skilled than me, I think."

    "How can you say that?" Twilight asked. "You beat me."

    "You know as well as I do that winning a battle—especially a one on one—comes down to a lot more than just skill," Sunset explained. "The main thing you need to have is confidence in yourself, you need to believe you can win. You're a crazy good swordsman, but when you start second-guessing yourself you fall apart every time."

    "And that's why you think I lost?"

    Sunset shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that I gave it my all, and I hope you did too."

    Twilight nodded. "I did, I really did."

    "And just because you lost doesn't mean you're any less than you were, either."

    After a moment of thinking on that, Twilight withheld a soft chuckle. "You sound like Celestia."

    Guilty as charged. Sunset's expression loosened up into a wider smile as she held her face down and let her head lean back. "I guess you could say I learned a thing or two from her."

    "Oh?" Twilight's own lips loosened up as well. "Just a thing or two?"

    "Not as much as you did, of course. Most I learned from her was how to talk to pretty girls."

    "Ha," Twilight indulged her foolishness for the moment. "Did you now?"

    "I'd say." She replied, still smiling. "Just look at all the pretty girls we know now, and how good friends I am with them all..."

    When the two met each other's eyes again they just shared a brief moment of laughter. It was stuff like this that made them appreciate their friendship. Win or lose, they still had each other's backs. They still wanted the best for each other.

    "So..." Twilight said, looking down at her shake with a smile, then back to Sunset. "Yeah, no hard feelings."

    "Good," Sunset replied. "Does it look like there's going to be any work for you in Crystal City right away?"

    "Well, not right away..." Twilight said. The order her family was a part of kept the city and its surrounding regions safe from the supernatural. "But if it's anything like Canterlot, I'm sure there will always be something."

    "I hear you there." Going for another sip of her milkshake, Sunset realised that she'd already finished it off, while Twilight still had half of hers left. "Just be careful, yeah? You won't have me watching your back anymore."

    "Oh, no need to worry there," Twilight replied. "You know how I am."

    "And you know how I am. I'll still worry about you, Twi." Sunset said, her expression falling as her eyes drifted away. "I'm gonna miss you, you know."

    "I'll miss you too, Sunset." Twilight reached across the table and put her hand over Sunset's in a gesture of comfort. "We can still keep in touch, though. I've got your number, both of them."

    Twilight was referring to both Sunset's cell phone and the phone of Sunset's newly established shop, which, with some financial help from their mentor, she planned to start her career as a demon slayer-for-hire, with mechanic services on the side for when the evil was quiet. Being able to still call her would make Sunset feel a little bit better, but still not being able to have evenings like this one anymore was going to be rough.

     She supposed that this was inevitable, though, the two were simply headed to different ends.

    "Speaking of your other number," Twilight began, giving her milkshake a sip as she shifted to a lighter note. "Have you thought of a name for your shop yet?"

    Sunset's expression lightened, but still showed concern. "Eh, no, not yet. And I'm already getting calls. I'm not due to open till next week though. Apparently you have to have a permit to do this kind of work for money, mine hasn't come in yet."

    "It's work that needs to be done, though." Twilight said. "Wherever it may take us. The sun never sets for people like us, does it?"

    "Fortunately, not," Sunset smiled. "I'd be out of business pretty quick if it did."

    A silence followed as Sunset just thought about the day's events and the events of days to come. A strand of her red hair fell down over her face, and she blew it up out the way as she watched Twilight finish her shake off. She really was going to miss the face that'd been a constant in her life nearly every day for the past few years, a smile that comforted her when she was down, and cheered for her in her moments of triumph. A smile she could comfort, a smile she could cheer for. 

    It was going to be different for both of them, for all of their friends.

    Setting her shake glass down, Twilight let out a breath. "Well then, I suppose I should be getting along to the bus station. My ride out of here leaves in an hour, and I've got a long overnight trip."

    Trying not to sound too disappointed about it, Sunset nodded. "Alright. You got any bags or anything?"

    "I already gave them my bags earlier today," Twilight said, standing and stretching her legs. "On account of my armaments. They like to precheck that kind of stuff."

    "Right." Sunset replied, reaching into her coat and slipping some cash beneath her shake cup alongside the bill before standing with Twilight. "Well, think I could still give you a ride down there?"

    Twilight had her own method of travel, but the offer for one more ride on Sunset's motorcycle was one she couldn't help but smile to.

    "I'd like that."