//------------------------------// // It’s pretty different. // Story: A Different Dimension // by Uz Naimat //------------------------------// Dear Sunset, Some things are better learnt in action and you girls are great teachers. Starlight should stay for a few more days. Enjoy the premiere! Yours, Twilight The premiere was excellent. An satisfactory and celebratory end to a hectic day. The Rainbooms, and their new friend Starlight Glimmer, were currently on their way out from the mall. Starlight herself had thoroughly enjoyed her first movie experience. “Twilight said I could stay for a few days. So where will I stay?” Starlight asked, bringing an end to the girls’ chatter. “My place,” Sunset Shimmer said automatically. Pinkie Pie cheered and threw her arms up in the air. “Yay! Slumber party at SunShim’s house!” Sunset shook her head. “Uh, no.” She pointed to Starlight. “Just her.” “Welcome to my humble abode!” Sunset Shimmer said as she unlocked her front door and stepped inside her house. The ‘abode’ was a two-story apartment with a red-and-yellow color scheme, located in what appeared to a more run-down area of Canterlot City. At least, that was the first thought that crossed Starlight’s mind when they were walking down the street. Starlight Glimmer walked inside and stopped in her tracks. This is unlike any house I’ve ever seen. For starters, there was only one room, aside from a small door to her left. The ceiling was high and the place was actually pretty messy. A small couch was stationed in front of a large black rectangle on the wall. To Starlight’s left lay a large grey wardrobe and flight of stairs leading a loft. The loft was actually Sunset’s room, with a bed, bookshelves, and... Is that a terrarium? Underneath the loft was what appeared to be small working area: desks, office chairs, a notice board and more black rectangles. The place looked cozy. Comfortable for one person. It also looked alien, unlike anything Starlight has ever seen. She walked slowly, her eyes scanning everything at once, her hands touching every object within reach. “I had the same look when I first bought the place,” Sunset said, breaking the silence. “It looks like a great place to live.” Starlight turned to face her host. “How long have you been living here?” “Not long actually. I’ve had this place for a little over a year.” Sunset then went towards the wardrobe and rummaged through it. Two minutes later, she pulled out a bundle of black fabric. “Here you go,” she said as she placed the clothes on the couch. Starlight looked at the clothes and then looked at Sunset. “And those would be?” “Pajamas. We’re having a sleepover, so you need clothes that are comfy,” Sunset replied. She went up the stairs, passing by three guitars nailed on the wall. Starlight looked down at her new human body. She was still getting used to it; hands and feet are difficult to adjust with. She suddenly realized that she hadn’t paid much attention to the clothes the portal had given her. “What’s wrong with the ones I’m wearing?” Sunset pulled out another bundle of clothes from her drawers and turned to look at her guest. “Nothing. They’re just not made for sleep.” “You have different clothes for bed?” “Yeah. We humans have clothes for every purpose. Dunno if you’ve noticed but everybody is clothed here. It’s mandatory.” Starlight nodded. This world was fascinating. She took her PJs in the hands, feeling the soft cotton. Sunset pointed to the small door underneath the loft. “You can use the bathroom.” Starlight Glimmer looked at herself in the mirror. She had gotten changed into the PJs. Sunset was right. This is much more comfortable. It was a simple set of cotton PJs, consisting of a black shirt with teal hemlines and a matching pair of pants. The shirt was sliding off her left shoulder, leaving it bare. She decided to let it be. Scooping her discarded clothes and slipping her feet in a pair of fuzzy teal slippers, Starlight left the bathroom. She found Sunset sitting on the couch, legs propped up on the coffee table. The former turned to Starlight was she saw her. “That was fast. I remember struggling to figure out clothes when I first got here.” “I’m a fast learner,” Starlight said. Sunset got up and made her way to the kitchenette. And that’s when Starlight noticed a small yellow lizard perched atop her shoulder. Her eyes widened. Sunset noticed. “Oh! Let me make some introductions.” She took the lizard in the palm of her hand. “Starlight, meet Ray, my leopard gecko.” She brought Ray closer to Starlight’s face. “Ray, buddy, meet my new friend, Starlight Glimmer.” Ray craned his small head upwards and affectionately touched Starlight’s face. Starlight smiled and took him in her own palm. “He’s adorable.” Sunset laughed. “And he likes you.” Starlight placed Ray on her shoulder and took a spot on the couch. “What’s for dinner?” she asked. “Well, I don’t really have much in terms of a kitchen, so I was thinking of eating out,” Sunset replied. Two seconds of silence passed before she snapped her fingers. “I know exactly the place!” Five minutes later, the girls were on the couch, eating what Sunset had called ‘sushi’. Rice, carrots, vinegar, fish and a few human-exclusive items such as nori and wasabi. It was supposed to be eaten with chopsticks, but Starlight had given trying to use those. Figuring out hands was hard enough, she really didn’t need to complicate her task further. She decided to eat with said hands instead. “So this Sushi Emporium. You work there, right? For how long?” Starlight asked. Sunset paused eating. “About five years. It was actually of the few places that didn’t question my false documentation.” “And your sushi salary is enough to afford all this?” Starlight gestured to the entire apartment. “Uh, yeah,” Sunset said, before picking up her chopsticks and diving right back into dinner. Starlight frowned. As soon as the Juniper Montage situation was over, she’s been awkward around the girls. The entire walk to Sunset’s apartment had been quiet. It was mostly because she had been talking in her surroundings. Even as she entered the apartment, the two girls hadn’t had much fun. So much for a sleepover. Truth be told, Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer had a lot in common, but talking about similarities would mean... It would mean having a conversation Starlight didn't want to have. But I suppose I can’t delay it anymore. Starlight took a deep breath. “So,” she said loudly. “Ever had any plans of conquering Equestria?” Sunset dropped her chopsticks and slowly turned her head towards Starlight. “Yes. Have you?” “Back up. You fought Twilight to an standstill?” Sunset asked, eyes wide open. “Yes,” Starlight replied. “Allow me to rephrase that. You dueled with Princess Twilight Sparkle, an Alicorn and Element of Magic herself, and you two were evenly matched?” Starlight nodded. “Wow. That is... very impressive, actually.” In the end, the two girls had decided to play a game of 21 Questions. Starlight went first as she brought up the topic. The girls answered questions about their villain backgrounds, their past crimes and their shared interest in magic. About an hour into the game, they had already asked and answered 19 questions. ”Okay. My turn.” Starlight pondered for a moment. “Got it!” Sunset straightened up and looked Starlight in the eye. “What’s your biggest screw-up, after your reformation?” Starlight asked. Sunset paused, giving it some thought. “At the Battle of the Bands. The Rainbooms had entered the semi-finals and needed to beat Trixie and the Illusions if they wanted to confront the Dazzlings. And Rainbow Dash, being the egocentric band leader she was a the time, decided it was a good idea to play a solo song. In a band.” Starlight leaned in. This was juicy. “As they were playing, Dash starting hogging all the stoplight. Quite literally. Signs if her magic were appearing. Pony ears, wings, tails, you name it. And in a fit of desperation, I lunged at her.” Starlight gasped. “Lunge? Like attack her?” Sunset shook her head. “More like jumped on her. So I jumped on her and this caused a domino effect that ruined the entire song. It ended with AJ’s bass stabbing Pinkie’s drum head-first.” Starlight snorted. “It’s funny now. Wasn’t so funny back then.” Sunset resumed her story. “My pathetic attempt at keeping our magic secret ended with our enemies discovering us, the student body booing at us, and getting chewed out hard for my stupidity.” “But if your semi-final performance was ruined, how did you make it to the finals?” “That’s where the screw-up gets big. The Dazzlings spun it to their advantage. They hiptonized the principals into bumping us to the finals. This caused Trixie to be jealous enough to sabotage us and the rest of the students hating our guts. ’Specially mine.” Starlight winced. “Yikes.” Sunset sighed. “It was pretty bad. Oh, did I mention that when Trixie came by to rub salt on the wound, I snapped at her?” Sunset cleared her throat and stoop up. “I yelled, ‘It wasn’t a fit of jealous rage!’” Starlight giggled. Over the course of the evening, it became evidently clear that, good or evil, Sunset had a bit of a temper on her. Sunset sat back down. “Same question,” she said. Starlight titled her head in confusion. “Huh?” “My turn. I wanna ask you the same question. Post-reformation, the biggest time you messed up.” The answer came to Starlight’s mind in a an instant. The event still weighed guiltily on her mind, though, and she was not looking forward to talking about it. Sunset noticed the change in expression on Starlight’s face and gently held her hand. “Starlight? It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I’ll ask another question.” Starlight sighed. It would do some good if I opened up to someone who wasn’t involved at all. She sat up straight. “No. It’ll help ease the guilt on my shoulders.” Sunset let go of her guest’s hand, nodded and poured both of them a glass of water. “It happened last just a few weeks ago. Twilight and Spike had left for a visit to Canterlot and gave me a list of friendship lessons to complete with her friends. It was actually the first time I had to hang out with them and do the things that friends usually do. So I was anxious. And for some gosh darn reason, I decided it would be a good idea to use mind-control on them.” Sunset nearly choked on her drink. “Wha-? Mind-control?! But why?” Starlight threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know, okay?” She sighed and took a calming sip of water. “I suppose I got scared. Like I said, I had never really spent time with them before and I’m still new to this whole friendship thing.” She cupped her face in her hands. ”So much for being reformed.” Sunset gave her friend a comforting pat on the shoulder. “No one said turning over a new leaf would be easy. Hiccups will always happen. I’ve messed up a lot, too,” she said. Starlight gave a sad smile. “Thanks. It’s just hard, you know? I’m really bad at being good.” “I wouldn’t say that. I mean, didn’t you single-handedly save all seven of us from doom today by talking to Juniper?” “Yeah, I guess I did.” And with that, Starlight’s spirits rose. “Alright. My turn.” “Last question. Ask wisely.” What could Starlight possible ask her now? They had through a dozen questions about their pasts, their mistakes and their regrets. Starlight had opened up about her experiences with cutie marks, time-travel and making amends with Sunburst. Making amends. And Starlight knew exactly what she had to ask. “You mentioned you were a personal student of Princess Celestia’s. You also said that the last time you saw was when you were expelled from her school.” Sunset Shimmer visibly winced. “Have you reconnected with her since?” Another long sigh from Sunset. “No. No, I haven’t. I’m not ready yet.” “Why not? From what you’ve told me, you’re not the same pony you were when you last saw her. I’m sure she’ll be proud of how far you’ve come,” Starlight said. And then paused. I sound exactly like Twilight. “You’re one to talk. You didn’t reunite with Sunburst until Twilight made you. And even then you were still unsure,” Sunset said as she raised an eyebrow. “Fair enough.” “Here comes my last question. Where’s the Princess?” Sunset asked. “You didn’t say where she went and why she couldn’t deliver the journal herself.” Starlight set the drink down on the table. That’s not a pretty hard question, but okay. “She and Rainbow Dash were called to solve a friendship problem at the Wonderbolts Academy. Dash was really annoyed she had just come from there and needed to fly back.” “Right. Pegasus Dash is a Wonderbolt now.” Sunset laughed. “And Twilight couldn’t stay for an extra five minutes?” she asked. “When the map calls you somewhere, you just go. No questions asked.” And thus ended their game of 21 Questions. Starlight was really glad that the tension had lifted as soon as they opened up to each other. She wasn’t sure how much time has passed, but did know that it had been a few hours at least. She looked outside and noticed that it was complete dark. She walked up to the large window adjacent to the loft and stared at the night sky. It was very different from Princess Luna’s in Equestria. Where her night was a deep indigo dotted with diamond stars, this night was pitch black with only a few stars of various sizes. Starlight didn’t like it. “Where are the stars?” she asked. Sunset walked up behind Starlight. “Still here. You just can’t see them. Night happens on its own here, with no manual input at all.” “I see.” Starlight glanced at the clock nearby. 10:46. Best to call it a night. “I think I’m gonna turn in.” She headed towards the couch. “Great idea,” Sunset said as she walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a pillow and tons of blankets. “There’s a sleeping bag in here. Toiletries are in the bathroom. Oh, and I’ve locked the door for the night. Key’s in my drawer.” Sunset made her way up the loft, Ray perched on her shoulder. “Wake me up if there’s anything.” Starlight set the pillow and blankets on the couch, making herself comfortable. “Will do. Night, Sunset.” “Good night, Starlight.”