“LONDON! WOOHOOOOOOO!”
Passerbys stared at the pink girl swinging from lampposts in a top hat decorated like the British flag as she proclaimed the greatness of everything she passed by.
“Well, somebody sure is enjoyin’ herself,” Applejack said as she watched with amusement as a family quickly took shelter whilst Pinkie Pie ducked into a nearby sweet shop, coming out moments later with a gingerbread house in her hand.
“I don’t blame her,” Rarity said as she pointed her camera towards Big Ben in the distance, pressing the shutter switch. “The sights here are simply magnificent.”
“I dunno. I prefer Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash gagged as she placed another chocolate into her mouth. “Better food, cooler people, and they know how to speak the language properly over there. It took me ten minutes to find the pants in that store because, over here, they’re called ‘trousers’.”
“It’s also less crowded back home,” Fluttershy said. “And all my animal friends are there. It’s a shame that I couldn’t bring them along. Angel Bunny would have loved to see the London Eye.”
“Well ah think they’re both fine cities,” Applejack said as she walked towards a nearby stall selling London-styled trinkets. “Hey, what d’yall think would be a good gift for Sunset Shimmer?”
Rarity frowned as she lowered her camera. “Oh, right… It’s a shame that she couldn’t be here.”
“Well she doesn’t have a passport,” Rainbow Dash reminded her. “There wasn’t anything we could have done, short of smuggling her into the plane.”
“Pinkie Pie couldn’t even get her party gun past security, let alone a person,” Fluttershy pointed out.
“Ah’m sure she’s havin’ plenty o’ fun back home,” Applejack assured everyone.
Pinkie Pie appeared behind Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and wrapped her arms around the two of them. “That’s right! And for now, we have a replacement anyway: Sunset Shimmer 2.0!”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has her own identity, thank you very much!” Trixie shouted as she turned her attention away from the nearby magic stand to glare at the pink girl. “And I am nothing like that arrogant, self-important tyrant of a Student Council President!”
“Trixiiiiie!” Snips cried from behind Trixie, standing next to Snails as the two each held a pile of bags. “Can we please take a break?!”
“Or maybe you girls could help lighten the load?” Snails suggested.
“Stop whining or you will not receive special guest roles in Trixie’s next big performance!” Trixie shouted, bringing the two to a quick silence as she resumed her browsing.
“See?” Pinkie Pie asked with a smile. “It’s just like the whole gang’s here, only she’s not telling us to ‘get lost and stop saying that we’re friends’!”
“I do wonder what she is up to right now, though,” Rarity said as she put a finger to her chin.
“Ah’m sure the principal’s keepin’ her entertained while the rest o’ school’s gone,” Applejack replied.
“Now, can anybody tell me how a volcanic eruption occurs?” Celestia asked as she turned away from her blackboard and faced her class, a small book open in her hand. “Anyone?”
Sunset Shimmer sat at her desk leaning on her elbow, tapping her desk impatiently with a finger as she stared at her teacher. Two seats to her right, Twist was practically jumping out of her seat with her hand raised, just about begging to be picked.
“Come on now, Sunset. You can’t have Twist answer all of the questions I ask today.”
“It’th okay, Miss Celethtia!” Twist said as she bounced up-and-down in her seat. “I don’t mind!”
“Why are we learning about Geography when there are only two of us here?” Sunset asked, curling her left hand into a fist as she sat up straight. “For that matter, why is school even open when you’re the only teacher, and there are only five students who didn’t go on the trip? Did you honestly expect everybody else to still show up?”
“Twist did,” Celestia pointed out.
“Twist would show up even if a hurricane hit,” Sunset said.
“That’th not true!” Twist argued. “My mum wouldn’t let me leave the house if that happened.”
“And I wouldn’t exactly say that I’m the only teacher here,” Celestia continued. “Doctor Zecora is filling in for our Science faculty whilst they’re away.”
“And if I have to listen to her rhyming one more time, I swear I’ll ‘accidentally’ start a fire just to get out of here.”
Celestia and her student simply exchanged stares in silence for a few moments, before the teacher smiled and closed her book. “Perhaps you’re right,” she said. “Since there are only the two of you here, perhaps we could do something fun instead of these boring old lectures…”
“Do you even know the meaning of ‘fun’?” Sunset asked in a sarcastic tone.
“I thought we were having fun,” Twist said.
“I’ll have you know that back in the day, I was the life of the school ground. Students everywhere sought me out for a good time and I was something of a class clown.”
“Why do I have trouble believing that?” Sunset sighed and leaned backwards in her chair. “Well, I’ll play along. What did you have in mind?”
“First, stop leaning in your chair like that,” Celestia said. “Fun’s fun, but nobody will be laughing when you crack your head open.” Sunset gave Celestia a flat look as she leaned forward and sat her chair down properly. “Good. Now, how about a Math quiz?”
Twist gasped in excitement whilst Sunset simply groaned and held her head in her hand. “Oh yeah. That sounds fun.”
“It was just a suggestion,” Celestia muttered with a frown. “Then how about a movie? And I don’t mean an educational one,” Celestia added quickly as she saw Sunset about to retort.
“Does this school have any non-educational movies?”
“I’m sure I could find something lying around in the teachers’ lounge. Or would you rather get back to learning about earthquakes and volcanoes?”
Sunset Shimmer waved her hand dismissively. “Go on then. See what you can find.”
“I dunno. I just don’t get what all the hype was about. Home’s way better than England.” Rainbow Dash caught the ball she was keeping up and shivered. “And warmer, to boot.”
“Mr. Turner said the food here’s pretty good,” Applejack said as she removed her jacket and draped it around the trembling Rarity beside her. “Ah told ya ta dress warm.”
“B-But we’re in a foreign land, ambassadors of the US! We have to make a fine impression. Show them the glamorous fashion styles of our country!”
“An’ ya couldn’t pick somethin’ with sleeves? Or more than one layer of clothin’?”
“Hey Fluttershy, what’s up?” Pinkie Pie asked, noticing her friend’s saddened expression as she looked across the street. “You still missing that puppy from the pet store?”
Fluttershy nodded. “It’s just not fair… We had so much fun together, and we connected right away! He was my perfect pup…”
“You say that ‘bout all the dogs you play with,” Applejack said. “An’ it can’t be helped. We only have enough money for food an’ small souvenirs.”
“I know,” Fluttershy sighed.
Pinkie Pie hummed in thought, before reaching into her blouse and pulling out a packet of playing cards. “Hey Trixie! Turn this into a bunch of paper birds!”
Trixie frowned. “And since when did Trixie become an on-demand magic gag to you peasants?”
“C’moooooon!” Pinkie Pie pleaded. “… Unless you’re sayin’ ya can’t do it.”
Trixie’s eye twitched. “… Fine, but this is the last time.” Trixie grabbed her cape and flourished it over the pack of cards. When her cape cleared out of the way, the packet was gone, and from Pinkie’s hand flew a flock of paper doves. Fluttershy smiled at the sight.
“Feeling better?” Pinkie Pie asked.
Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you, Pinkie.”
“It was my trick,” Trixie pointed out.
“Sorry I’m late, girls!” Time Turned shouted as he ran towards the six girls waiting outside of the restaurant. “I got lost reminiscing about all these sights.”
“About time you got here. I’m starving!” Rainbow Dash complained. “The food here better be as good as you said it is.”
“Trust me, you won’t be disappointed,” Time Turner said confidently. “Now then, shall we?” As he walked forward, the group followed after him, Trixie and Pinkie Pie bringing up the rear.
Pinkie Pie stopped and blushed as she felt something wrong with her back. Something that should have been hooked shut was now open. She caught Trixie grinning. “Hey!”
“Maybe next time you’ll have a little respect for the dark arts,” Trixie said as she followed after the group, leaving Pinkie Pie to re-secure her assets.
“Table for Dr. Turner please,” Time Turner said as he approached the counter inside.
“One moment,” the waitress said as she wrote something down into her notebook. When she was finished she looked back up with a smile. “Sorry for the wait. Table for Dr. who?”
“Turner. T-U-R-N-E-R.”
“I didn’t know you were a doctor,” Rarity said. “Why didn’t you tell us? We’ve been calling you ‘Mister’ this entire time.”
“Well I’m not one to boast, really,” Time Turner said. “Besides, it’s not much to write home about. Only a PhD in Physics… and Chemistry… Biology, Geology, Odontology, Anthropolo- You know, pretty much every ‘ology’ out there.”
“That’s a lie,” Trixie said simply. “You’re way too young to have all those degrees.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Time Turner laughed. “Okay, fine. You got me. I only have a degree in Physics.”
“Still mighty impressive,” Applejack said. She caught Pinkie Pie joining the group. “You took yer time.”
“Okay Dr. Turner, your table is ready for you.” The waitress stepped from behind her counter to lead the group to their table. Once everybody was sat down the waitress left them to read their menus and decide their meals.
“So, how are you all finding your time in England?” Time Turner asked.
“Boring,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Oh?” Timer Turner frowned.
“Dash here’s jus’ a lil’ homesick,” Applejack said with a smirk.
“Well one can hardly blame her. The entire day people have been giving me strange looks when they should have been regarding me with looks of awe and wonder!”
“That’s ‘cause ye’re wearin’ a summer dress when it’s… How cold is it out there?”
Time Turner checked his watch. “Minus one.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “WHAT?! What’s wrong this country?! Should we even still be living at that temperature?!”
“Ah, no. I meant Celsius.”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “So they can’t even get temperatures right. Why does this country have to be so upside-down?!” Rainbow slammed her face into her arms on the table.
Time Turner reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Well, maybe this will help. I know how much you enjoy soccer, so I bought some tickets to the match later tonight.”
Rainbow suddenly lifted her head. “Tickets to a soccer game?! Now you’re talkin’ my good old American language!”
“Well, I suppose I could join you… after changing into something a little more suited to this horrendous British weather,” Rarity said with a sniff.
“Um, I already made plans to visit the pet shop after dinner tonight,” Fluttershy announced.
“Pet shop?” Time Turner asked.
“She found some dog in a pet shop just ‘round the corner an’ she’s grown kinda attached to ‘im,” Applejack explained.
“Oh! You mean Average-sized Pet Shop? I didn’t know it was still in business! Well, that’s alright. And what about the rest of you?”
“Ah’d like ta go, but ah already made plans ta walk with mah sister an’ her friends later tonight.”
“HEY!” The group turned to one of the nearby tables to find Diamond Tiara, her hair dripping wet, standing opposite Apple Bloom who was holding an empty glass in her hand. “You did that on purpose!”
“N-No ah didn’t! It was an accident, ah swear!”
“Oh yeah? Well so was this!” Diamond Tiara grabbed the tomato on her plate and threw it at Apple Bloom, who quickly dodged. The fruit hit Snips sitting at another table.
“… FOOD FIGHT!”
The group watched as a panicking Cheerilee and a couple of the restaurant’s staff desperately fought to break apart the full-scale war that had broken out between the freshmen.
“… On second thought, ah think she’s at that age where she doesn’t need her big sister hoverin’ over her all the time.”
“Well, wasn’t that fun?” Celestia asked in smug confidence as she ejected the DVD from the disk tray and returned it to its box.
“That. Wath. AWESOME!” Twist cheered.
“That. Was. Lame,” Sunset deadpanned. “Not only was it boring, the whole thing was downright stupid. I feel like I lost a few brain cells just watching it.” ‘I suppose it’s fitting that such a film would share the same name as her.’
“I’m sure there was some part that you enjoyed,” Celestia said assuringly.
“Watching you fumble about with the DVD player was fun,” Sunset admitted.
“I really liked it!” Twist said. “After this, I’m gonna go out and buy the bookth!”
“How anyone could like that film is beyond me, but at least we can leave now.”
“Not quite,” Celestia said. “We still have a few hours before the final bell rings.”
Sunset’s jaw dropped. She could have sworn that that film dragged on for at least half a day.
“Well, if you didn’t enjoy the film, I suppose we could always try something else to pass the time… How about a board game?”
“YEAH!” Twist cheered.
‘If my allowance wasn’t on the line, I’d be so out of here,’ Sunset thought to herself as she sighed.
“Checkmate,” Sunset declared as she moved her Rook in place to trap Twist’s King. “That makes ten games now.”
“Wow… you’re tho good at this. How do you do it?” Twist asked.
“I’ve always had a knack for winning,” Sunset said. “Though I’m starting to get bored now. Is this really the only game we have?”
“Well there’s a Monopoly set too,” Celestia said, “But half of the pieces seem to be missing.”
“Maybe we could uthe the Home Ec. rooms and make a cake?” Twist suggested.
“That’s a wonderful idea, Twist!”
“Interesting how the kid can think up better ideas than the adult,” Sunset said.
“Well maybe that just means your mind is on the same levels as a freshman’s,” Celestia retorted, making Sunset scowl.
“You’ll make a powerful enemy of me,” Sunset muttered as she rose from her seat and helped Twist to pack away the Chess set.
“Thith is fun,” Twist said. “I’m not used to having fun with others.”
“Well the children at this school are completely crazy.”
Twist shook her head. “No, I just- Uh, never mind. Let’th go make that cake!”
“Okay, I take back what I said. This got boring very fast,” Sunset said as she mixed the third set of batter in the bowl she was holding whilst Twist did the same to her fifth set. “Why did you have to suggest we make cakes for the entire school for when they return?”
“I just thought it was something fun we could do together that would also be nice for everyone else,” Twist said.
“Why did you even come into school this morning? If it was just me I might have been able to convince Principal Celestia to just cancel.”
“But I love school,” Twist said. “I don’t really have any talent besides being smart, and my parent are alwayth working tho I’d just be bored if I stayed at home.”
“Why not go out somewhere then? The mall, the arcade, the cinema…”
“I don’t go out much. I don’t really have any friends to go out with…”
Sunset stopped her mixing and glanced at Twist before resuming. “That doesn’t stop you from having fun. I have plenty of fun all on my own.”
Twist simply shrugged. “I don’t know… I’m not thmart or interesting like you, and I just get tho upset when I see everyone else talking to friends and having fun while I’m… not…”
Sunset poured the mixed batter into a tin. “Well maybe you should do something about it instead of moping about.”
“But it’th hard talking to people I don’t know!”
“Nobody ever said that life was hard!” Sunset responded. She picked up the tin and threw it into the oven beneath her. “You don’t always get what you want and things can be taken from you at a moment’s notice! That’s why instead of complaining about how ‘hard’ something is, or how ‘unfair’ a situation might be, you should do something about it!”
“Like what?” Twist asked, her hands stopping as she stared up at Sunset Shimmer.
“You want friends? Then find someone you think you’ll like and talk to them,” Sunset said. “Don’t expect life to hand things to you for free. Trust me, it doesn’t work that way. The only sure-fire way to get something is to get it yourself.”
“But what would I say?”
“That’s up to you. You’re the one who wants to befriend this person.”
Twist put her bowl down and simply stared into the batter for a few seconds. “What if I tell them about all my badges in Girl Thcouts?”
“I’d find that absolutely boring and meaningless information,” Sunset said.
Twist frowned. “Yeah, tho would everyone.”
“How do you know? If you give up that easily, you’ll never know for sure.”
“But it ith boring.”
“To me, but I’m different from everybody else at this school. For some reason, somebody here might actually enjoy hearing about how you can embroider a handkerchief.”
“I can altho make wax candles, start campfires, set up tents-”
“Again, I’m not interested,” Sunset repeated, “But somebody else will be. All you have to do is try it out.”
“And what if they’re not interested, either?”
“Then try again, until you find someone who is.”
Twist frowned as she twirled her fingers around each other. “But it’th scary talking to someone I don’t know. What if they laugh at me?”
“Then ignore them. They’re likely an idiot if they laugh at some child talking about their hobbies.”
“What if they pick on me?”
“Then report them. That’s where my job as Student Council president comes into play.”
Twist smiled and looked up at Sunset Shimmer. “You know, you’re a lot nicer than I always hear.”
“I’m just telling it like it is,” Sunset said as she grabbed the bowl that Twist had abandoned and continued mixing the batter inside. “It’s not like there’s much else to do around here, and besides…”
“What?”
‘I was alone once, and it almost cost me everything.’ “You just look so pathetic, weak and helpless as you are, that I can’t help but take pity on you.”
Twist giggled. “You’re the first perthon to care about me like that,” she said, before lunging forward and latching onto Sunset’s waist. “Thanks!”
“H-Hey!” Sunset cried, startled by the sudden contact that sent her stumbling backwards. She screamed as she tripped over and fall onto her back, the bowl in her hands flying into the air and the batter falling victim to gravity’s scheme, covering the two girls on the floor.
It was at that moment that Celestia decided to walk in with a box in her hands. “Sorry I took so long. I got the-” She saw the two girls covered in batter on the messy floor and blinked. “Oh my. Are the two of you okay?”
“Never better,” Sunset growled as she sat up, pushing Twist off of her.
The freshman girl simply smiled and laughed sheepishly as she nervously backed away.
The following morning resumed normal, everyday life for Sunset Shimmer. She boarded the bus as normal and saw many familiar faces joining her after they had returned from Britain late last night. Among them, at one stop, were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who of course had to approach Sunset Shimmer and greet her immediately.
“Yo!” Rainbow Dash greeted, Fluttershy silently waving behind her. “How was school durin’ our absence?”
“Uneventful. So no big change,” Sunset replied. “How was your trip?”
“It was awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Man, who knew the British could be so cool?! We got to see this awesome soccer match, went to this really cool restaurant where the food was great, and we got a ton of cool souvenirs!”
“And we got something for you, too,” Fluttershy said. “Something we hope you’ll like.”
“Oh? What?” Sunset asked.
“We’ll give it to you together,” Rainbow told her. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”
‘Maybe if it’s the Element of Magic… What could they possibly have gotten me that they’re confident I’ll like?’
“A-An early edition of the new Prancy Drew novel?!” Sunset Shimmer could hardly believe her eyes. “A-And it’s signed, too!”
“Yeah! We happened ta pass by a Prancy Drew signin’ thing in a bookstore an’ she was givin’ away one hundred copies of her new book in a lottery thing,” Applejack said. “We know how much ya like it, so-”
“This is great! You guys actually did something good for once!” Sunset exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement as she flipped the book open and took in the smell of an new, unread book.
“Gee, thanks,” Rarity said. “And you’re welcome, too.”
“I’m glad you like it!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “I thought we should have got you a Union Jack dress, but Rarity said it was a fashion disaster and Rainbow Dash said it would just look stupid. Applejack had no opinions one way or the other and Fluttershy was busy brooding over her puppy friend, and then Trixie wandered off somewhere because we were boring her. Or I was overwhelming. I forget which.”
“You’d better get to class, girls,” Celestia cautioned as she walked past the six girls. “The bell will be ringing soon.”
“She’s right. We should probably get going before we’re late,” Rarity said.
Sunset closed her book and placed it away in her bag. ‘I’ll have to read this later. From the looks of it, it’s probably similar to Equestria’s ‘Search for the Azure Sword’, but it should still be interesting comparing the differences.’
As Sunset walked behind her friends, she noticed a group of freshmen running past her. The Canterlot Mercenary Club, plus one more behind them. Twist.
Twist was smiling and laughing as she ran just behind the three girls.
Sunset realised that she was smiling herself and quickly deduced that it was simply from the book in her bag. Taking a moment to wipe the smile from her face, she followed after the other girls towards the school.