Sunset laid back, reclined in a beach chair, black sunglasses sheltering her eyes from the high noon sun overhead on what was a gorgeous clear day. She felt Ray skitter across her barrel before gliding down into the sand and began to cover himself to stay cool.
"A little too hot for ya?" Sunset asked, glancing down at him as she reached into her saddlebags to check her phone for any updates from Izzy. She swiped a hoof across the screen, and saw that the latest message from the unicorn had been from last night just before bed.
Izzy
I'll ask around and get back to you as soon as I have a count! <3
Sunset was taking the morning to relax, because she had the sneaking suspicion that the 'summer vacation' that Sunny suggested she go on, was about to come to an end. No matter how many unicorns in Bridlewood were willing to learn, coming up with a curriculum and going through their collected spell tomes to decide which ones were safe was going to take a bit of time.
The first thing she was concerned about was class size; even if she could manage to get herself into a teaching mindset, she was only one pony, and there were only so many hours in the day. No matter how small she started out, if things went well, that was bound to only attract more unicorns who wanted to learn more about magic.
Her stomach began to grumble in hunger, and as she sat up, her phone buzzed again with a text alert.
Izzy
So, do you need, like, an exact count? I'm still asking ponies all around town, and not a single one has said no yet, and word is starting to spread. It might end up being the entire town.
Sunset gulped as she leaned up, and began to put in a reply.
Sunset
Alright, let me know when you've talked to everyone, and I'll see what I can put together.
Sunset hadn't even put her phone away before it vibrated again.
Sunny
Hey there Sunset, couple things. Pretty big package arrived for you, they put it in the den. Second, Phyllis just got a hold of me, they said the vault is ready. You can come get the wagon whenever you're ready. If it's soon we can do lunch.
Sunset got to her hooves, put on her saddlebags, dusted off the beach chair of sand, and let Ray skitter up onto her back, before heading back up to the coastal road towards the lighthouse. She went up the dirt path at a healthy trot, and knocked on the door. Sunny answered a moment later, and let the unicorn inside.
"It's right over there," the earth mare commented, pointing Sunset to the den, where a cardboard and bubble-wrapped package sat next to the coffee table, coming up to barrel level of both mares. Sunset lit up her horn, and removed the bubble wrap that surrounded the cardboard, then carefully removed the cardboard that had been taped into place around the item, and a stunned smile materialized on her face.
"Sweet Celestia..." she said just above a whisper, as she gazed at her dorm room trunk that had been hidden down in the Restricted Section, waiting to be discovered for an untold amount of time. The ancient treated wood had been treated again, then polished and sealed. The brass fittings and bands had also been cleaned, polished, and restored.
"What is it?" Sunny asked, stepping in for a closer look.
"The trunk from my old study hall. Pipp and I found it in that cave that served as the old restricted section of the Canterlot Library. The curator offered to restore it for me. Didn't think they'd do it this fast. Can't think of a better way to pack some of my things for Bridlewood. I'm... Still having trouble mentally figuring out how I'm going to go about that."
"Sounds like something we can talk about on the way. My stomach is already starting to grumble, and we haven't even gotten the Class V books to CanterLogic's vaults yet," Sunny replied.
Sunset nodded.
"Let me make sure this little guy is set with food and water, and we can be off."
The unicorn went down to the guest bedroom, set Ray in his terrarium, and refilled his water dish.
"See you in a bit, Ray," Sunset told her pet goodbye before going back out to the front door where Sunny was waiting. Magically grabbing the stack of Class V books, Sunset took them outside to the wagon that had sat overnight, and the two mares were off back into town towards CanterLogic.
"So did Izzy get back to you?" Sunny asked.
"Sort of," Sunset began. "She's still asking around town, and that's my first problem, she hasn't encountered anypony who has said no so far."
"Well, that's great! Um, isn't it?" Sunny asked as they came to downtown Maretime Bay proper, turning towards the factory.
"It's great that they want to learn magic, Sunny, but I am only one mare. All of the experience in this world or another won't do me much good against a crazy student-to-teacher ratio."
"I'm sure you'll figure something out. It's no good thinking on an empty stomach, so let's get these books vaulted and go eat."
Sunset's stomach started to growl too as they came up the main road to CanterLogic. A quick swipe of Sunny's badge got them through the front entrance, Sunset magically picked up the stacks of books with her magic, and they were immediately directed to the high security area in the basement.
Phyllis Cloverleaf was there to meet them when they stepped off of the tube lift.
"Hello again, Sunny. Miss Shimmer," CanterLogic's CEO greeted.
"Greetings, Mrs. Cloverleaf. I think I should apologize for the breaking and entering the other day," Sunset answered.
"That's alright. Nopony was hurt, and we've got everything settled. I've arranged an empty vault for your books. Right this way please."
Sunny and Sunset followed Phyllis down a couple of hallways, and entered a room with tall vaults, not entirely unlike lockers you'd see in a school, except a little bigger.
"Right here. Unit 61613," Phyllis said, swiping a card through the digital lock, and the red indicator light switched to green, and she turned the handle on the door, revealing it to be several inches thick as it rotated on the protected hinges. Sunset carefully stacked the books in the corner, making sure everything was in there, double-checking the class indicators on the bindings one last time before stepping back and letting Phyllis close the door with a clang, the light turning red again.
"Here you are, Miss Shimmer," Phyllis said, handing her the access card and a badge. "This badge will give you access to the front entrance and this area, and this keycard is only one of two that opens that unit; the other one is solely in my possession."
"Understood, and thank you," Sunset told her, pocketing the badge and keycard.
"And do let me know what sort of space you'll be working with in Bridlewood. We'll happily make you a vault for Bridlewood if you want to keep these close by."
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you," Sunset told her.
With some of the most dangerous books in Equestria now safely locked away for the time being, Sunny and Sunset left CanterLogic, and found themselves craving quite the meal once they were back downtown at a popular fast food hayburger chain.
"So let's take your theoretical worst case scenario; the whole population of Bridlewood wants to learn magic. How do you go about that?"
Sunset thought the question over as she continued with her current bite of fries.
"Well, both in this world and on the other side of the mirror, my preferred style of learning wasn't a classroom setting; it was always going out and getting my hands— err, hooves dirty. I think that'll probably be one of the only routes I will be able to take, until I find some of the serious talent in Bridlewood, and see if they want to help me along."
"An assistant of sorts?" Sunny asked.
"Something like that, yeah," Sunset answered as she finished her hayburger. As if on cue, her phone vibrated on the tabletop again, and Sunset swiped to see an incoming text from Izzy.
"And it's looking like that is the direction I am indeed heading. Izzy hasn't found anypony who has turned basic lessons away. I'll have to go through all the magical tomes you've gathered at CanterLogic, find out which ones to republish first, come up with a basic curriculum... Whew, this is going to be a hectic few weeks."
Sunny smiled at the unicorn.
"Just let me know whatever you need re-produced, and I'll push it to the front of the line."