A few weeks have passed since Sunset’s duel. Unfortunately for her, she hasn’t been able to step back into the arena. She just seems to have too much on her plate at the moment like school, Celestia’ lessons, and watching Twilight.
Oh, and don’t forget O&O.
“Good morning everypony,” Crystal Clear greeted her students cheerfully as they walked through her door. “Today we’ll be changing seats!”
Her students groaned, obviously against the idea.
“Why do we have to change seats? We’ve had these seats since the beginning of first semester,” a mint coated unicorn groaned.
“Yeah, like, I won’t be able to sit next to my friend!” a light blue unicorn hugged the mint coated one.
“Calm down you two,” Crystal Clear rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you’re going to die if you two are seperated.”
A few more grumbles filled the class before it was silent.
“Okay now that everypony is situated, let’s begin drawing lots!” Crystal Clear smiled. “Oh yeah, and we’re going to have deskmates so I’ll be calling your names in pairs. Whoever you’re with, just find a seat and move your desks together.”
“I hope we’re next to each other,” Sunset whispered to Twilight.
Twilight nodded. “Me too.”
“It seems that there’s an odd amount of students so there’ll be a group of three,” Crystal Clear chuckled. “My mistake!”
Reaching her hoof into a basket, she pulled out name after name, pairing the students together. Soon enough, there were only three ponies left. The group of three.
“Okay seems like you three will be together,” Crystal Clear smiled, looking at the three students.
Twilight and Sunset grinned at each other before turning to the last pony, who was awkwardly smiling at them.
“Hey?” He squeaked, pushing up his glasses.
“Sunburst?!” Sunset and Twilight both shouted.
“Y-Yes?” He quickly replied, stuttering.
“No, nothing,” Sunset rolled her eyes. “We were just surprised that it was you.”
“What a surprise,” Twilight giggled. “Not a bad one though!”
“Well, guess we should get our desks together then huh?” Sunset said, pushing her against Twilights. Sunburst, on the other hand, seemed a little hesitant, still sitting on his lonely island. “C’mon Sunburst, we don’t bite. Well, at least I don’t.”
“Hey!” Twilight pouted. “I don’t bite… most of the time.”
Sunburst gulped, pushing his desk against Twilight’s. He sat down slowly and cautiously.
“What’s wrong, Sunburst?” Sunset interrogated him. “Are you scared of me?”
“N-No!” Sunburst semi-shouted, causing the other students to look at him. “I mean, I’m not scared of you,” He said, toning down his volume.
“Then why are you acting so skittish?” Twilight tilted her head.
“Because you two are so awesome!” Sunburst admitted. “Being the students of Celestia is one of the most amazing things a unicorn can do. I wish I was a student of Celestia, then maybe I could write back to my foalhood friend from home.”
“Why don’t you just write to them now?” Twilight asked.
“Because I got a cutie mark in magic and came here, but I don’t have anything to attest that I’m becoming a great wizard!” Sunburst frowned. “What would she think of me if I was just mediocre after all that?”
“I don’t think she would really care if she was your foalhood friend,” Sunset bluntly said. “I mean, I’m sure she misses talking to you?”
“Yeah, your reasoning is kind of flawed don’t you think?” Twilight giggled. “Like, what if your friend thinks that you stopped talking to her because you came here then never makes anymore friends because of the trauma of losing her best friend to a cutie mark, and then becomes some evil cult leader and almost destroys all of Equestria.”
Sunburst and Sunset blankly stared at Twilight, who was just grinning at them.
“You have quite the imagination,” Sunset said.
“I get it, I get it,” Sunburst grumbled, sinking into his seat. “I’ll be sure to write to her tonight.”
“Good!” Sunset nodded contently. “So now you don’t have to be so nervous around us.”
“I-I guess so,” Sunburst shrugged, pushing his glasses up. “By the way Sunset, what did you do to finish me off during the duel? I still don’t really understand how I lost.”
“Simply put, I cast a delayed beam after I blinked above you, and it went off right when I teleported next to you,” Sunset explained. “It wasn’t anything special, but it certainly felt cool to do.”
“Huh, I never would’ve thought of doing something like that,” Sunburst tapped his chin. “But couldn’t you have accidentally hit yourself if you didn’t delay it enough?”
“Eh, it’s possible but very unlikely,” Sunset said. “You can do a timer delay or a trigger type.”
“A timer delay is where I feel like you’d accidently hit yourself because there’s a possibility of miscounting the seconds or however long you wanted it to be delayed for, or some unforeseen event happening. A trigger type, however, is only going to shoot once you trigger it so there’s almost no way for it to hit you unless you’re just being reckless.”
“I’ve never done anything like that,” Sunburst said. “I think it’d be a good trick to have.”
“Well then I’ll be taking your little deflect trick you did then,” Sunset smirked. “That was quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”
“Yeah! That was so cool,” Twilight nodded quickly. “It was like redirection in magic shows, except using real magic!”
“It wasn’t anything special,” Sunburst slightly blushed.
“I beg to differ,” Twilight said. “You’d have to do some fast calculations to get the trajectory right, which is already hard enough. Mix that in with a battle? Even harder.”
“You're strong, Sunburst,” Sunset assured him. “I’m sure you can be a top ranked fighter if you trained more specifically rather than just being decent at everything.”
“How about you join us when we train!” Twilight offered, grinning. “It’s lots of fun. Plus, we’re even allowed to spar with one another.”
“I don’t know…” Sunburst mumbled hesitantly.
“You can use the royal library,” Sunset smirked.
“I’m in!” Sunburst quickly said.
“Training is a lot more fun with more ponies,” Sunset chuckled. “Twilight and I are getting kind of bored of just sparing each other.”
“Well, I’ll be in your care then,” Sunburst said.
“You should have warned me that your training was this rough,” Sunburst said through ragged breaths, flat on his back in the grass. “I almost died at least three times!”
“Eh, you’ll get used to it,” Sunset shrugged.
Looking over to Twilight, he sighed. “How did a filly like you ever get used to this demon?”
“Because she’s basically a little demon herself,” Sunset grinned, answering in her steed.
Sunburst’s face deadpanned. “Do I even want to ask?”
“I think it’s better if you don't.”
Sunburst let out a long sigh before sitting up. Directly in front of him was Twilight, who was casually flipping through a spell book, humming a tune happily. She was so distracted by the book that she didn’t even hear the conversation. Right beside her was Sunset, who seemed to be reading along with the filly. Sunset looked like an older sister watching their younger sibling.
“I just can’t see it,” Sunburst shook his head. “Twilight seems like way less of a pain to handle then you.”
“You just haven’t spent enough time with her. I promise she’s quite the trouble maker,” Sunset chuckled. “Maybe even worse than me.”
“What are you two talking about?” Twilight looked up from the book, tilting her head. “Is it my turn to spar yet?”
“Yup! Sunburst was just raving about how much he wanted to spar with you. Isn’t that right, Sunburst?” Sunset winked towards the poor stallion.
“I didn’t s-”
Plugging his mouth with her hoof, Sunset smiled. “Now, how about you two get in position? I’ll be the referee, of course.”
Sunburst mumbled something through her hoof before making his way to his side of the field. Twilight happily skipped towards her side, a wide grin on her face. Facing each other, they stood their ground.
“You two know the rules so I’m not going to say it,” Sunset said, the two nodding. Clearing her throat, Sunset smirked.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
“GO!”
Sunburst was the first to make a move, his horn igniting quickly. A ball of magic grew above his horn to the size of a basketball. He threw it towards Twilight. It slowly approached Twilight, allowing her to simply side-step it.
“What was th-” Twilight was cut off when the ball bursted beside her, a blinding light covering the field. Twilight unfortunately was unable to shield her eyes in time, leaving her stunned and blinded.
Sunburst made use of this, blinking next to her. Binding her with magical chains and launching a color-changing beam at her side. Twilight blinked out of the way, the magical chains withering away. Suddenly she vanished, leaving just Sunset and Sunburst on the field.
“That was a neat trick, Sunburst!” Sunset praised. “I would’ve never thought of using a light spell and combining it with an explosion to blind your opponent.”
“Thanks!” Sunburst replied while scanning the field.
Sunburst stood still, watching the grass for any movement. The field was completely still and silent.
Suddenly, Twilight appeared behind Sunburst, firing two beams, one into the sky and one right towards Sunburst. Hearing the magic, Sunburst quickly turned around and put up a shield, easily deflecting the first shot. Quickly casting again, a shield appeared above the second beam, angled right towards Sunburst’s head.
Recognizing the noise of the deflection, Sunburst walked back back a few inches, the beam landing right in front of him, splotching the ground yellow. However, when he tried to walk backwards a bit more , he realized he couldn’t move!
“What the…” Sunburst looked down to see he was trapped by magical binds. Suddenly, a circle started glowing brighter and brighter under him.
“Oh shi-” Sunburst mumbled before a pillar of magic engulfed him.
“Did you just kill him?” Sunset asked.
“No… I’m fine,” Sunburst said, the pillar slowly dissipating.
Sunburst was standing in the same spot where Twilight trapped him. Everything seemed fine, minus the fact that his orange coat was now a bright pink. Even his mane and tail were colored. Twilight and Sunset slowly approached the stallion, giggling.
“Just a little pink,” Sunburst laughed along with them. “Good fight, Twilight.”
“You too!” Twilight chirped, hoof-bumping him.
“I’m assuming you used the two beams to bait me into a preplaced trap,” Sunburst asked, sitting down in the grass.
“Spot on!” Twilight grinned, sitting next next to him
Sunset chuckled. “Quite the risk, don’t you think?”
“It was all calculated,” Twilight said. “Knowing Sunburst makes very small adjustments when dodging things he knows is coming, I decided to put it just mere inches behind him!”
“The power of knowing your opponent,” Sunburst sighed.
“That first trick you did though was cool!” Twilight said. “I knew you were testing something but I thought it was just a slow attack.”
Sunburst smiled. “It was just something I wanted to test out. Blinding your opponent so early opens up a lot of plays.”
“And you opted for a bind start?” Sunset asked.
Sunburst shrugged. “Just wanted to see how Twilight would react.”
“It caught me by surprise, that’s for sure,” Twilight admitted. “I lost my composure for a second but the binds snapped me back to reality to be honest.”
“So binding you actually worked against me,” Sunburst shook his head, sighing. “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
“It’s a really good opener though,” Sunset said. “I feel like you’ll catch a lot of ponies off guard with that attack.”
“As long as they don’t hear about it before,” Sunburst chuckled.
“So how was it fighting against Sunburst, Twilight?” Sunset asked.
Twilight tapped her chin, grinning. “It was fun! Although it was shorter than I imagined and we didn’t really get to use many spells, it was still a good learning experience.”
“And how about you, Sunburst?” Sunset flipped it onto him.
“It definitely was a well fought duel, and I share the same sentiment with Twilight,” Sunburst nodded at Twilight. “I do wish we could’ve used a bit more spells but I lost fair and square.”
“Don’t worry you two, I’m sure we still have some energy for a couple more,” Sunset said. “And Sunburst, I know pink suits you and all, maybe you should change your coat back.” She finished with a wink.
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Sunburst chuckled, casting a spell on himself, turning his coat back to normal.
“Did I miss anything?” Another stallion called out from behind them. Turning their heads towards the voice, Shining Armor emerged from some trees. “Why is there a perfect pink circle right there?”
“Twilight and Sunburst sparred,” Sunset simply replied.
“And the winner?” Shining Armor cocked an eyebrow.
“Twilight this time,” Sunset answered.
“Good job Twily,” Shining trotted towards her, giving her a noogie. “You really are a strong filly.”
“Aww,” Sunburst smiled at the siblings.
“Stop that Shiny!” Twilight pouted. “You’re embarrassing me in front of Sunburst.”
“Don’t mind me,” Sunburst chuckled, levitating a spell book towards himself.
“Do you guys need help with anything?” Shining Armor asked as he let Twilight free. “I mainly focus on defense so I could help with that if you need it.”
“That would be great!” Sunburst and Sunset said in unison while Twilight nodded in agreement.
“Alrighty, gather around everypony,” Shining Armor said, the three students gathering around him. “So, basically…”
“So, same time tomorrow?” Shining Armor asked the three students.
Twilight, Sunset, and Sunburst were sprawled out in the grass, looking up towards the reddish-orange sky. Sunburst was panting while Sunset was mumbling to herself. Twilight, however, was silent. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing steady.
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” Shining Armor chuckled.
“Why are defense spells… so… HARD!?” Sunset shouted, sitting up quickly.
“You know, I asked the same thing when I first started learning some,” Shining Armor nodded, his eyes closed. “When Sharp Arrow first taught me a spell, I was on the floor within minutes of casting it.”
“Does it take more magic or something?” Sunburst asked. “It’s really draining keeping a barrier like yours up.”
“It does actually consume more magic,” Shining Armor confirmed. “The reason being that it’s usually a large-scale barrier that covers a large area. However, if you condense it can block some of the more powerful spells.”
“So not only can you control how strong the barrier is, but also the size of it?” Sunburst sat up, turning towards Shining Armor.
“That is correct,” Shining Armor said. “The biggest barrier I’ve been able to conjure was covering all of Celestia’s throne room and a couple rooms adjacent to it. The barrier’s strength was also quite high.”
“Seriously? I could barely keep one of those around myself for a few seconds,” Sunset grumbled.
“What can I say,” Shining Armor smirked. “I’m talented when it comes to defense.”
“I can’t believe it’s that exhausting…” Sunburst sighed.
“I’m pretty sure one of the requirements to become Captain of the Royal Guard was to be able to summon a barrier similar in strength to that. It also has to surround all of Canterlot apparently,” Shining Armor said.
“Seriously?” Sunburst sat there dumbfounded, mouth agape.
“Oh, and you have to be able to hold it throughout the day too,” Shining Armor added.
“Have you ever seen Sharp Arrow do that?” Sunset thought back to the current captain.
“There hasn’t been a need, thankfully, so no. Though, I’ve heard rumors that he’s able to extend it a little further than even the edge of Ponyville,” Shining Armor said.
“That just sounds unrealistic,” Sunset frowned. “You know how far Ponyville is?”
“That’s why it’s a rumor,” Shining Armor said. “Nopony I know has seen him do it, so we all don’t know. Maybe you can ask Celestia next time you see her.”
“Yeah, I’ll definitely ask her tomorrow,” Sunset nodded, curious about Sharp Arrow’s strength.
“Well, I should probably take Twily here back to her room,” Shining Armor chuckled, levitating his sleeping sister onto his back. “I hope she didn’t have any homework.”
“Don’t worry, we didn’t,” Sunburst said.
“Even if we did, I’d give it to her,” Sunset smirked.
“I keep forgetting you three are all in the same class,” Shining Armor smiled. “Thanks for looking after Twily.”
“Hey, no problem,” Sunset shrugged. “It’s fun with her around.”
“I just met her today, but I’ll be sure to look after her as well!” Sunburst said.
“Thank you,” Shining Armor said. “Well, we will be taking our leave now. See you two tomorrow!”
Shining Armor walked towards the path, Twilight sleeping peacefully on his back.
“You stay here in the castle, right?” Sunburst asked.
Sunset nodded. “My room isn’t too far from here. “Wanna see it?”
“W-What?” Sunburst stuttered, his cheeks reddening slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Sunset tilted her head. Catching a quick glance at his face, she smirked. “Somepony has a dirty mind.”
“I wasn’t thinking anything like that!” Sunburst blurted out.
Sunset chuckled. “I was joking, I was joking.”
Sunburst’s cheeks grew redder. “Let’s just start heading to your room,” Sunburst sighed.
“Roger that,” Sunset said, snickering to herself.
The two made their way through the halls without a hitch. They passed by a couple guards as usual, but just as Sunset said, her room was not very far at all.
“And here it is, the door to my room!”
“You live in a tower secluded from the main castle?” Sunburst asked, staring up at the tower. “Are you a witch or something?”
“I wish,” Sunset said, opening the door. “If I was a witch, I’d be even more powerful!”
“Uh huh…” Sunburst mindlessly replied as he entered the room, looking around.“You know, it’s oddly normal.”
“What did you expect?” Sunset cocked an eyebrow.
“Nothing much. Maybe a few decorations, but there isn’t anything but the basics,” Sunburst said.
Sunset shrugged. “Eh, anything else is just unnecessary to be honest. It’s not like I’m here most of the day anyways.”
“I guess that’s true,” Sunburst nodded, making his way towards the bookshelf. “You sure got a lot of books here.”
“I read a lot,” Sunset said. “Not as much as Twilight, though. She reads like a book or two a day.”
“A day?!”
Sunset chuckled. “Yup, that was pretty much my reaction.”
“Jeez, what a scary pony she’ll grow up to be,” Sunburst sighed, looking at the book’s titles. One in particular caught his attention “Sunset, why do you have Archaic Casting: Dark Magic Edition in here?”
“Twilight let me borrow it when she finished reading it a few months back,” Sunset nonchalantly answered.
“I do remember her getting it confiscated in class one day…” Sunburst mumbled to himself. “But why would you need it?”
“Knowledge is knowledge, Sunburst,” Sunset grinned. “Even if it’s illegal knowledge!”
Sunburst’s face paled. “Please tell me you don’t plan to raise the dead or something like that.”
“Honestly from what I’ve read, it seems like too much effort,” Sunset chuckled, plopping herself on her bed.
“Thank Celestia…” Sunburst sighed.
“Anyways, there’s another reason why I asked you to check out my room,” Sunset said.
“And what would that be?” Sunburst asked, turning to look back at her.
“You wanted to write to your friend, right?” Sunset asked.
Sunburst nodded. “Y-Yeah…”
“Well, I can send it immediately to her if you’d like,” Sunset offered. “Also, I know for a fact you’re going to mess up the letter.”
“How could I mess up a letter?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Since you were already so hesitant before, you’re probably going to be super distant in writing, which isn’t good after not writing for so long.”
“I bet she’ll be happy just to hear from me,” Sunburst mumbled.
“What was that?” Sunset glared at him.
Sunburst sighed. “Nothing…”
Sunset clapped her forehooves together, smiling. “Great! Now let’s get to writing that letter.”
Sunset levitated a scroll, quill, and ink onto her desk. Jumping out of bed, she trotted over to the desk, pulling out the chair.
“It’s all yours, friend.”
Getting comfortable in the seat, Sunburst looked down at the open, empty scroll. Hesitatingly, he levitated the quill, dipping it into the ink.
Sunburst frowned, looking at Sunset. “What would I even say to her? It’s been so long.”
“How about a casual greeting?” Sunset suggested.
Sunburst nodded, turning his attention back to the scroll.
"Dear Starlight,”
“Sounds a little stiff, don’t you think?”
“It’s a pretty common way to open up a letter,” Sunburst muttered.
“I said a casual greeting. This sounds way too formal,” Sunset said.
“Fine!” Sunburst begrudgingly crumbled up the scroll, levitating another one onto the desk.
“Hey there Starlight, it’s your pal Sunburst!”
Sunset shook her head, sighing. “Okay, now you’re just too casual.”
“Oh COME ON!” Sunburst shouted, slamming his head onto the desk.
“Onto the next draft,” Sunset simply said, levitating another scroll onto the desk.
“This is going to be a long night…”
“Finally… done…” An exhausted Sunburst muttered, his head resting on the desk. Surrounding him was a mountain of crumpled up scrolls.
“Nice job,” Sunset called out to him from her bed. “It only took a couple tries.”
“Buck you…” Sunburst glared at her.
“Such language,” Sunset feigned shock, smirking. “Now let me read it!”
“You pretty much wrote the whole thing!”
“I want to see the finished product,” Sunset said.
“Fine, here you go,” Sunburst sighed, levitating the scroll over to Sunset. Opening up, Sunset started reading it aloud.
Hi Starlight, it’s been a while.
How are you doing? How have things been back in Sire’s Hollow? Does your dad still treat you like a little filly? Have you been studying magic? Do you have your cutie mark yet?
Sorry, too many questions. Anyways, I would like to apologize for not writing sooner. I just thought that you’d be disappointed in me if I didn’t write back telling you I'm some great wizard who aces all his tests and can fend off any unicorn in a magic duel. I mean, I even got my cutie mark in magic! But it seems that I’m just so-so right now.
But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up!
I’m writing this letter now because I made some friends that talked some sense into me. If they hadn’t talked to me about it, I probably wouldn’t have sent this. I’m really, really sorry that I didn’t write earlier!
I hope to hear back from you soon.
Your pal, Sunburst.
“Good enough,” Sunset shrugged, the scroll erupting into flames.
“W-WHAT?!” Sunburst yelled. “Sunset, how could you destroy my hard work like that?”
“I didn’t destroy it, I just sent it to Starlight,” Sunset said. “No need to get so worked up.”
“How did you even do that?” Sunburst tilted his head. “I mean, you know her name and the village’s name, but you don’t know her exact address. Also, what kind of spell is that?”
“To be honest I don’t really know how the spell works myself. Celestia showed it to me one day so I could send letters to her if I needed. As for how I sent it to her specifically, it bases it off of their name. So it should just appear above their head and bonk them.”
“That spell could be used for some scary things,” Sunburst frowned. “Imagine just getting a letter from a random person professing their love or something like that.”
“I mean you could reverse engineer it to try and find the sender,” Sunset said. “That is, if you’re a unicorn.”
“Or you could hire a unicorn to do it.”
Sunset nodded. “That too.”
“So when should we be expecting a reply?” Sunburst asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe a couple days, or even weeks. Or even-”
Sunset was cut off by a loud poof above her, a scroll smacking her on the head. Picking it up, Sunset smiled.
“Or right now!”
Sunburst wore a perplexed expression. “Wait, how did she reply so quickly?”
“Maybe she’s a fast writer?” Sunset snickered. “What I’m more surprised about is her being able to use the spell. It’s kind of complicated, even for me. Your friend Starlight must be quite the magic user.”
“I don’t really know. I left Sires Hollow before she really developed her magic.”
“Well, I’m already impressed by her.”
“I wonder what she wrote about,” Sunburst mumbled to himself, levitating the scroll onto the desk.
“Hey! Let me see,” Sunset got out of bed, standing next to Sunburst. “Open it up already!”
“Ok, ok,” Sunburst said, rolling open the scroll. “Ahem…”
I’m so happy to hear from you Sunburst! I’m also very mad at you.
You should know that I don’t care if you are some great wizard or not. You’re my fillyhood friend, so why would I care about anything like that? I’ve missed you. Ever since you left, Sires Hollow hasn’t been the same. It’s super lonely and boring here. I miss you a lot. Did I already say that? Well, I’ll say it again. I miss you.
As for all your questions: I’m doing perfectly fine, and you already know about Sires Hollow since I just told you. My dad still treats me like a filly and there’s nothing I can do about it. I got my cutie mark, and it seems that I’m also gifted in magic! I might even enroll at Celestia’s school, so watch out!
I’m happy you met some new friends. Quick question, are they mares? No reason for that question, no reason at all.
Anyways, I hope you continue writing to me.
Talk to you soon, Starlight.
“Huh, seems she really didn’t care,” Sunburst said, sighing in relief.
Sunset smugly smirked. “What did we tell you?”
“I’ll admit it,” Sunburst chuckled. “It was a little silly of me.”
“Yeah, just a little,” Sunset rolled her eyes, smiling. “Well, now that you’re back in contact with her, you better stay in contact.”
“I know, I know.”
Sunset hummed. “I’m curious about her now though. Her cutie mark is magic related and she was able to learn the scroll-sending spell. I really hope she gets in so we can meet.”
“I’m sure she’ll get in,” Sunburst said.
“I can’t wait to meet her then,” Sunset smiled.
“And I can’t wait to see her again,” Sunburst chuckled. “It’s been quite some time.”
“Hah, you got that right,” Sunset playfully nudged him.
Sunburst pushed up his glasses. “Now that we’re done with that, I think I should get going.”
“Huh, I guess it is already pretty late,” Sunset said, looking out her window.
“I’ll just excuse myself then,” Sunburst walked towards the door. Turning his head back, he smiled at Sunset. “See you and Twilight at school tomorrow?”
“Maybe,” Sunset shrugged. “I’m sure the twerp will be there, but I might sleep in. We’ll see each other during practice though.”
“Alright, see you whenever then.”
Sunburst exited the room, the door slowly closing as he left. Sunset shook her head, walking over to the door and locking it.
“That was probably one of the better school days,” Sunset said to herself, chuckling. “Now, what to do, what to do…”
Sunset smiled, diving into her bed. Wrapping herself into the soft, warm sheets, she sighed contently.
“I think sleeping is what I should do…” Sunset mumbled into her bed.
Snuggling deeper into her bed, she shut her eyes, ready to drift into the dreamworld. Sunset could feel herself slowly falling to sleep. Her body relaxed, her breathing steady, and her mind blank. Soon enough, she was fast asleep.
“Sunset, are you going to school today?” a muffled voice asked through her door.
Mumbling something incoherent, Sunset pulled the covers over her head.
“Sunset~” The voice sang loudly, the sound of the door opening alerting Sunset.
Sitting up, Sunset rubbed her eyes with a yawn. Looking towards the door, she frowned at the intruder. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want,” Celestia woer a smug expression as she stood in the doorway. “We’ve done this many times, Sunset. I thought you’d learn by now.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “How about you stop doing this and let me sleep in?”
“What do you mean? I let you sleep in often,” Celestia smiled innocently.
“Last time I checked, once a month is not often.”
“I could make it none at all, if that’s what you want.”
Groaning, Sunset got out of bed slowly. “Okay I’m up, I’m up.”
“Very good,” Celestia held her smile. “I’m today will be eventful.”
Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “And why do you say that?”
“A little birdie told me that there’s a new student, and said student is going to be in your class.”
Sunset frowned. “Why would a little birdie have to tell you that when you run the school?”
“My Sunset, you really aren’t a morning pony, are you?”
“You think?”
“Alrighty Ms. Grumpy Pants, go get ready for school,” Celestia chuckled, walking back towards the castle.
Sunset rubbed her chin. “A new transfer student huh…”
Sunset’s head rested on her desk, staring at the purple filly and orange stallion next to her. The classroom was filled with mumbles and whispers.
“Did you hear the news Sunset?” Sunburst asked, returning the stare.
“That there’s going to be a new student?” Sunset lifted her head up and stretched. “Yeah, I heard.”
“Isn’t it odd to get a new student this late into the year?” Sunburst said. “I wonder what they’re like.”
“Whoever they are, they must be good at magic!” Twilight chirped. “Or they wouldn’t be in this class.”
“I guess you’re right,” Sunset shrugged.
Soon enough, Crystal Clear entered the room, a smile on her face. “Okay everypony, settle down now.”
With that, the classroom was silent.
“I’m sure everypony already heard the big news,” Crystal Clear said.
“So we are getting a new classmate?” one of them asked.
“Yes we are!” Crystal Clear nodded. Turning towards the door, she called out. “You can come in now!”
A lilac mare around Sunburst’s age walked into the classroom. Her mane and tail was purple with a long teal stripe running through it. Her cutie mark was a purple star with two teal streams. Everypony looked at the newcomer who awkwardly smiled at them.
“Introduce yourself,” Crystal Clear whispered to her.
“H-Hi everypony, I’m-”
“Starlight?!” Sunburst interrupted, staring at her
Starlight stared back "Sunburst?!"
Sunset looked at Sunburst, then at Starlight, then back at Sunburst. Chuckling, she shook her head.
"Would you look at that."