• Published 1st Nov 2013
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The Misadventures of Sunset Shimmers - Yukito



A look into the daily life of a certain high school student named Sunset Shimmer and her friends

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XII - Best Friends

Canterlot Park – Seven years ago:

“Ninety-eight! Ninety-nine! One hundred!” Sunset Shimmer uncovered her eyes and turned around excitedly. “Ready or not here I-” Sunset stopped as she realised that her prey, Twilight Sparkle, was still sitting beside her in the sandbox, still staring into her book. Her eye twitched and she neared the other girl, giving her a sideways glare for some time until it became apparent that Twilight was taking no notice. Finally, she reached out and poked the reading girl’s face. “Hey. You’re supposed to hide while I’m counting.”

Twilight Sparkle looked up from her book, rubbing where her face had just been poked by Sunset’s finger and giving an apologetic smile. “Eheheh… Sorry about that. I was just so engrossed by this book…”

“Well stop being engrossed and go find somewhere to hide! I’ll count to fifty this time,” Sunset Shimmer said with a toothy grin. “That’s what you get for not listening first time!”

“But I’m at a good part right now,” Twilight said simply as she returned her gaze to her book. “We can play later, okay?”

Sunset’s cheeks puffed and her eyes narrowed as she watched her friend ignoring her in favour of that thick book. With a huff, and making sure to kick a little sand, Sunset Shimmer rose to her feet and stomped angrily. “Fine! I’ll go hide, and you come looking for me!”

Without waiting for any form of confirmation or even acknowledgement from her friend, Sunset ran out of the sandbox and through the park, looking around and eventually finding the perfect place to hide: a large, concrete half-pipe that was abandoned by a construction crew some years ago, and claimed by the children that visited the park frequently. Sunset Shimmer sat down and folded her arms. Now she just played the waiting game.


Sunset Shimmer poked her head outside again. Still no sign of Twilight anywhere. “I bet she’s not even looking,” Sunset said, pulling her head back in with a pout. “Fine by me. I can wait forever if I have to.”

A cold wind blew through the pipe, making Sunset shiver and creating an echo that made the girl look down the pipe cautiously. “T-There’s no such of thing as ghosts, Shimmer. Especially not in the day…” Looking outside again, Sunset gasped as she saw just how dark it had become. She had no idea how long she had been in that pipe, but to think that the sun was already beginning to set…

A drop of rain hit Sunset’s arm and she jumped. Sticking her hand outside, Sunset could feel more droplets falling from the sky, rapidly increasing until soon it was a full-on downpour. Sunset Shimmer moved further into the pipe, bringing her knees to her chin and holding herself tighter to fight the cold. “I-I can wait here forever. Maybe if I get a cold she’ll feel bad for ignoring me.”

A noise passed by outside and Sunset wasn’t sure whether it was the wind whistling, or a wolf howling. Either way, it only served to increase her building heart rate and slow, heavy breathing. “Stupid Twilight. Why won’t you find me already?”

A splash outside made Sunset’s breathing stop instantly. She wanted to turn her head to look outside, but her body was frozen. She couldn’t work up the nerve to look around her shoulder for fear of whatever might be out there. A wild animal, a bad person, a monster…

Tears rolled down the frightened girl’s face as she heard more splashes. They were definitely being made by something moving outside, there was no doubt about it. And they were getting closer. Sunset Shimmer closed her eyes and prayed for whatever was out there not to find her. To just turn around and walk away. She prayed for her safety. She prayed to be back inside her house with her parents.

“Sunset?” Sunset Shimmer gasped and opened her eyes with a jolt. She knew that voice. “Sunny!”

“Twilight?” Sunset rose to her feet and opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by her friend suddenly attacking her with a hug.

“Thank goodness! I was looking all over for you!” Twilight cried through tears and hiccups, wrapping her arms tightly around her friend, almost as if she feared losing her should she let go. “What were you doing here? Why didn’t you come back earlier?”

Sunset wasn’t sure what to say. On one hand, she was supposed to still be angry with Twilight for ignoring her earlier, but on the other, she was thankful that somebody had come to her rescue. “I-I was hiding from you, and you never came looking for me…”

“I told you, I wanted to finish that part of my book!” Twilight yelled.

“And I told you I wanted to play!” Sunset yelled back. “It’s no fun just sitting there watching you read!” Twilight hiccupped and sniffed over Sunset’s shoulder. A pang of guilt passed through Sunset and she slowly brought a hand up to her friend’s back. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you or anything, I just…”

“Well you did,” Twilight said. “I was so worried when you didn’t come back. I thought something had happened to you.”

Sunset gulped as she felt Twilight shivering in her arms. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, this time through more tears.

Twilight pulled back and shook her head. “It’s fine, just… Let’s just go back now, okay?” Twilight sniffed one final time and wiped her tears away, braving a smile as she held out her hand for her friend to take.

Sunset Shimmer reached out for the hand, hesitating when she saw the state that it was in. Filthy, cut, splintered, and bruised. With her head low, Sunset took a hold of Twilight’s hand.

“On three,” Twilight said as the two reached the end of the pipe. Sunset simply nodded in silence. “One, two…”


“Do you two have any idea how worried we all were?!”

Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer both winced as Twilight Velvet’s scolding voice greeted them upon their return. Soaked and out of breath, the two were overjoyed when they finally reached Twilight’s house. All that joy left them when they opened the door and a very, very angry-looking mother greeted them.

“Shining Armor is out there looking for you both as we speak!”

“I gave him a call,” Night Light said as he peered his head in from the living room. “He’s on his way back now. I’ll call Sunset’s parents next.”

“I thought I could trust you two to come back at a reasonable time,” Twilight Velvet continued, prompting more sobs from her daughter. “What were you trying to accomplish by scaring me half-to-death?!”

“I-I’m sorry,” Twilight sobbed, bringing a hand up to her eyes.

Sunset shook her head quickly. “No, it’s not her fault! She was just looking for me!”

“Save it,” Twilight Velvet said. The two girls closed their eyes as the furious mother approached them… and then opened them again in shock as they felt something warm wrap around them. “I’m just glad that you’re both safe.”

Twilight and Sunset both calmed down somewhat in Velvet’s hold, but only until she pulled back and her glare returned in full fury. “I called Sunset’s parents,” Night Light said as he walked into the room with the house’s phone, one hand covering the bottom. “Looks like this downpour’s only going to get worse. They said if it’s alright with us then Sunset can sleep over for the night.”

“That would probably be for the best,” Twilight Velvet said with a nod. “Now, you two go change out of those clothes and jump into the bath before you catch a cold! I’ll heat up some soup for you afterwards.”

The two girls nodded solemnly, Twilight escorting her friend up the stairs as her sobbing slowly died down. Sunset Shimmer kept her gaze fixed on the floor beneath her and bit the inside of her mouth every time the sound of one of Twilight’s sobs or hiccups entered her ears.


Twilight Sparkle’s house – Present day:

The door to Twilight Sparkle’s bedroom opened ever-so-slightly, creating not so much as a single creak as a single foot entered into the room and gently touched down onto the carpet, followed by the other. The owner of those feet moved carefully, sneaking across the room to the purple girl studying at her desk with two mountains of books to either side.

The creeping figure reached into her trenchcoat with her gloved hand and pulled out a small knife, arming herself as she approached her target. She raised the knife and her free hand, ready to send the studious bookworm off to a peaceful, unending slumber.

“I’m studying. Come back later.”

Sunset Shimmer halted and frowned at the back of Twilight’s head. “How did you-”

“I always know when you’re there,” Twilight said matter-of-factly with a smug grin. “You should know that by now.”

Sunset walked over to Twilight’s bed and made herself at home laying down on top of it, toying with the rubber knife as she stared up towards the ceiling. “Maybe you’re secretly psychic or something.” Sunset cast a sideward gaze to her friend. “You’d tell me if you had superpowers, right? Your best friend in the whole world?”

“Relax, it’s nothing that exciting,” Twilight deadpanned as she turned a page in her book, never taking her eyes off of her literature.

“Good book?” Sunset asked.

“It’s alright, but the author clearly never had anyone proofread it. This ‘Yukito’ seriously needs to get his act together.”

“Yet it’s still more interesting than me, it seems,” Sunset Shimmer sighed, throwing the knife into the air and catching it repeatedly. “I’m surprised you haven’t already read every book in the world by this point.”

“That’d be kind of hard considering I can only speak three different languages,” Twilight laughed. “And it’s not ‘more interesting’ than you. I just-”

“-Just can’t take your eyes off a good book,” Sunset said with a grin. “Yeah, I get it. You’re just like you were when we were children.”

“… Are you saying I haven’t grown up?” Twilight asked in an accusatory tone.

“Maybe. Obviously you’ve gotten smarter, but you’re still the same know-it-all bookworm as before, with the power to ‘sense’ when I’m around.”

“Well, I could say the same of you,” Twilight countered, a smirk on her face. “You still get angry when I’m too busy to play with you.”

“I’m totally not angry,” Sunset Shimmer scoffed.

“You’ve gotten better at controlling it, I’ll give you that.”

“What, so you can sense my feelings now, too?”

Twilight chuckled as she closed her book and turned to her friend. “No. You’re just an open book is all.”

“… I guess we stay the same no matter how old we get, huh? You’ll always be more caring than you let on.”

“And you’ll always be insistent and invasive,” Twilight returned.

“Hey, I was paying you a compliment!” Sunset shouted. Twilight simply laughed in response. “Oh, but speaking of which, I’ll be sleeping over tonight.”

Twilight’s laughter stopped. “Wha? But-”

“Your mum already said it’s okay. She’ll be bringing some snacks up soon.”

Twilight Sparkle sighed and slumped in her chair. “Yeah, sure. Would have been nice if you’d asked me, but whatever…”


Twilight Sparkle’s house – Seven years ago:

“She was pretty angry, huh?” Twilight asked as she climbed into the bathtub, sinking into the warm water and leaning back to allow her friend plenty of room to join her.

Sunset Shimmer also climbed in. “I think she was more worried than angry,” she said, hoping to convince herself more than Twilight. “… Uh, Twilight? I’m… I’m sorry about what happened…”

Twilight shook her head. “I shouldn’t have gone looking for you on my own. I should’ve told an adult.”

“Not that,” Sunset said. “I mean I’m sorry for scaring you like that.”

“Oh… Well, yeah. I was pretty scared. I thought something had happened to you.”

“I was just upset because, you know, you seemed more interested in that book than… than me…”

Twilight quickly shook her head. “No! Of course I wasn’t!” she shouted, startling her friend. “I told you, I was just at a really good part! I-I’m sorry if… if I made you feel bad…” Twilight sniffed and hiccupped as her head lowered. She felt something touching her chin and looked up to find Sunset Shimmer reaching out towards her.

“Stop crying,” she said. “Please, just… just stop. It’s my fault. I got jealous over a book of all things, and the I made you worried about me and you… you searched for me for a long time, didn’t you?”

“Wha- How’d you-”

“Your hand,” Sunset said, grabbing Twilight’s wrist and pulling her hand out of the bathwater. “It’s filthy, and you hurt yourself. And it’s all because of me. I’m sorry, Twi.”

Twilight sniffled one last time before slowly shaking her head. “I just… couldn’t leave without knowing you were okay…”

“But what made you think I was in the park, anyway?” Sunset asked. “For all you know I could’ve gone home.”

“I… I don’t know,” Twilight said. “Somehow, I just knew you were there. Like, I could just feel it… or something?” Sunset stared at Twilight silently for a moment, before her lips started curving on her face. “W-What?” Twilight asked, blushing as Sunset’s smile grew. “Stop that! I’m being serious!”

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!” Sunset’s laughter echoed throughout the bathroom and Twilight’s glare seemed to bounce harmlessly off of the other girl until she had settled down. “Great! So I had no chance of winning anyway!”

“Stop laughing!” Twilight whined, sinking slightly into the water.

“Sorry, sorry,” Sunset said, wiping the tears out of her eyes. “Well, hey, at least now I know you’ll find me if I go missing again!”

“Are you planning on going missing again?” Twilight deadpanned with a f lat stare.

“I dunno. How long are you planning on being a bookworm?” Sunset asked, receiving a splash in the face as a response. Sunset’s eye twitched as Twilight stuck her tongue out. “Revenge!” she shouted as she splashed back, causing Twilight to shriek as a torrent of water hit her face.

“Take this!” Twilight laughed as she splashed again.

“Your precious books can’t save you now!”

The door slammed open suddenly, startling the two girls and sending chills down their spines as the demonic mother stepped inside, figurative horns rising from her head and flames enveloping her body.

“Stop wasting the water and clean yourselves properly!” she scolded with such force that the room trembled.

“SORRYYYYYYY!” the two girls cried in unison, ducking back down into the water as Sunset reached for the shampoo beside her. Two piles of pyjamas were left at the door as Twilight Velvet slammed it shut. The two girls stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments before both simultaneously breaking into smirks, followed by laughter that filled the bathroom for a long time before dying down.


Canterlot – Present day:

Twilight Sparkle put a hand into the bathtub and measured the water’s temperature for a few seconds before deciding that it was just right. Satisfied, removed the towel wrapped around her body and placed it neatly to side, ensuring that it was folded perfectly into a triangle before returning to the side of the tub.

Sunset Shimmer picked that moment to open the door and walk inside. “Hey. Bath ready yet?” she asked as she removed her jacket and tossed it carelessly to the side.

Twilight jumped at the sound behind her and slowly turned her head to find Sunset Shimmer standing behind with a tilted head. “G-G-G-G-G-G-”

“I was just thinking we could take our baths together. Y’know, like the old days.” Sunset reached down to remove her top, but was stopped by an ear-piercing scream and a pair of hand pushing her back towards the door.

“Get out get out get out get out GET OUT!”

The door slammed on Sunset Shimmer’s face and the sound of the locking mechanism clicked through the air. After a brief moment to let what had just happened catch up to her, Sunset sighed and reached a hand up behind her head. “I guess not all things stay the same…”

Author's Note:

This chapter took FOREVER to finish due to real life priorities :( And the longer it took, the more guilty I felt that it wasn't some big or spectacular thing to make up for how long this story was on hiatus.

Hell, I can't even gaurantee that future chapters will be coming out any quicker (though I'm sure as hell gonna try!)

Sorry it took so long~ ><;;