//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: I'm Surprised You Came Back for Me // Story: The Students of the Sun // by TheDeflator //------------------------------// Princess Twilight Sparkle did not feel lucky as she took a trip through a magic portal to another dimension. She would rather have fought an army of bug monsters, or an evil empire of darkness than find the barren wasteland of not being caught by one of her best friends in two dimension. The school was still there, of course, as was the concrete (ow!), but despite writing a message to Sunset, there were no one else's arms to fall into. That was fine, Twilight knew the way to Sunset's apartment. Well, she'd thought she had, but a quick conversation with another recent graduate from Canterlot High let her know she was mistaken, and how to get there. Twilight was pleasantly surprised to find that when she knocked on Sunset's door, she wasn't nervous. That didn't change in the minute it took to answer the door, or when Twilight latched onto Sunset in a tight hug. "Um, hey Twilight, I wasn't expecting you today. Did I miss a message in the journal?" Nod. "Oh, um, sorry Twi. Here, let's go sit on the coach." Twilight loosened her grip, but kept an arm around Sunset's waist until they were seated. "Hey, I'm sorry I missed your message, but I promise I'm ok," said Sunset as she unwrapped Twilight's arm from herself. "I'm ok, is there anything you need right now?" she continued, keeping Twilight's hand in hers. Twilight's head shook. "Not exactly. I managed to get in touch with Celestia yesterday." Sunset adjusted her position to turn towards Twilight a little more. "Oh, uh, thanks for letting me know? Do you know when she'll be free, so I can meet you at the portal? I imagine you'll want to talk after hearing the story." "No, Sunset, I got in touch with Celestia yesterday. I know about Star Swirl's spell. I learned about you." Sunset let go of Twilight's hand and turned away from Twilight. "Oh." She turned back, serious expression on both of their faces, "well, if you know about me, do you have any, uh, lingering questions? I mean, Seaward Shores is a couple hours away from Canterlot, right? If you rushed over, there must be something important in that mind of yours. And besides, you kinda have a country to run." "No, Sunset, no questions. Not right now, anyway. I just wanted to tell you as soon as possible: thank you so much for trusting me with your story, and I am so proud to call you my friend." Sunset's face twisted in confusion. She tried to dismiss it with a wave of her hand and said, "What, Twi, It's... I mean, you might have found old stuff of mine in the castle, anyway, it's no big deal. And proud? I mean, you just heard a story of another way I failed, it's nothing to be proud of." Twilight maintained her seriousness. "Sunset, it is a big deal. If it weren't, I'm sure you wouldn't have had Celestia tell me instead of saying it yourself. Don't sell yourself short, it was very brave. And don't sell your spellcasting short, either! You may not have become an alicorn, but you still became more yourself, and that's magical, too. Besides, it's not like we've learned everything about the mirror yet, you haven't necessarily failed to ascend a second time. It's just taking a while, and that's fine." Sunset glanced at her floor before meeting Twilight's eyes again. "Wow, Twi, I guess I never thought of it that way. Do you really think I could be a- a princess one day?" "I think so, and I choose to hope so." Twilight's face finally smiled again, encouraging. It quickly turned into a smirk, as she said "Besides, Sunset Sparkle doesn't seem like a bad fit for you." Her smirk disappeared and was replaced by shock, as she looked at Sunset. "Um, wow Twi, I thought you knew me better than that," Sunset smirked and turned red, "I chose the name Shimmer and I'm sticking with it, but Twilight Shimmer doesn't sound too bad to me." Both girls laughed for a moment, before Twilight lightly punched Sunset's arm "You jerk, I was worried for a second." "I may not be a bully any more, but I still can have fun. I'm serious about the name though, I'm keeping Shimmer." "We'll work on it, I guess." "Twilight!" started Sunset, grabbing Twilight's hand in her own again, "We've got to get to Froggy Bottom Park!" She stood from the couch, and started to lead Twilight to her door. "Wait, what's at Froggy Bottom Park?" asked Twilight, trying to get Sunset to slow down. "Our first date!" "Oh my gosh, Celestia was right! You're a dork!" laughed Twilight as the two ran off.