Dear Diary...
Closing the door behind her, Sunset Shimmer leaned back against the welcome solidity and exhaled loudly. “Hello, home! I’ve had a cruddy day, how’ve you been?”
The young woman was tall, taller than most of the girls her age at Canterlot High. This tended to make her stand out in a crowd, along with the scarlet and golden tresses that adorned her head. Its normal glory was dimmed at the moment, her bangs plastered against her sweaty brow and hanging limply about her shoulders, effects of the blazingly hot afternoon and the long walk to her home from school.
Home. For what it was worth, it was hers, anyway. Sunset glanced aimlessly around the living room, content for the moment to lean against the door and let the air conditioner’s magic wash over her. She’d managed to aquire the dwelling using the small amount of gemstones she’d brought with her from Equestria years ago, a not insignificant effort using a lot of back-alley pawnbrokers and not a few shady deals with souls even less concerned with the legalities of accepting precious gems from a teenage girl. The memories of a few of those encounters made her shudder, her flesh pricking up with a chill that had nothing to do with the central air that washed over her. Between her own abilities and a goodly amount of luck, she’d scraped by that hard time and acquired the property, and it was all her own now, the monthly utilities paid for by more conventional means, said means being a sales job at the local department store.
Sunset’s eyes widened in alarm for a moment, before she relaxed again. She was off today; it was Friday, and she didn’t have to go in until ten on Sunday morning. Sunday, she mused idly. It was weird how much her old world and this new one meshed in odd places. Even some of the months and days had the same names, and even though the holidays were called by different titles, they fell at roughly the same time and celebrated some of the same things. I should have Sunday off. It’s named after me, after all, she thought, one corner of her mouth twitching upward in a smirk. Named after me and—
No.
She hauled herself upright, shrugging her backpack off and tossing it across the room onto the couch. It landed with a solid whoomph, and she shook her head. Chemistry homework, trigonometry and U.S. History. No wonder she felt beat, having to haul that lot home with her. Final exams were next week, however, and she’d struggled enough playing catch-up after all the time wasted scheming and plotting over the last three years. She might not graduate at the top of her class…there was precious little chance of that happening, but she’d at least graduate. She’d worked hard to make up for lost time over the past year, and she was determined not to let the slim chance she’d been given be wasted now. The work itself wasn’t hard at all, not for someone who’d grown up in the School for Gifted Unicorns. Chemistry was simply a variant of basic alchemy, which she’d mastered long ago. Trigonometry was more interesting, but again simply a tool for calculations she was used to making in her head. U.S. History was a slogfest, however, and she’d spend more time on that than the others, trying to cram a whole new nation’s history and people into her brain. She’d found the concept of democracy simple enough to comprehend, but the idea that a whole nation would voluntarily replace its ruler every four years or so, not to mention its parliamentary body even more often, bordering on the bewildering. How did these people advance so far so fast?
Shaking her head, Sunset toed off one boot, sending it skidding across the room, shortly followed by the other. Wiggling her stockinged toes in relief, she padded across the room and through the doorway leading into the kitchen area, running her fingers through her sweaty hair, which was rapidly becoming clammy. Ugh. The shower was calling to her with an insistent voice, but first she was going to sit down, have a snack, and see if there was anything entertaining on the brain-draining device in the living room called a television. She’d long ago managed to hack into the system and obtain free cable channels, and any guilt at this was assuaged by the dearth of legitimate entertainment programming available. She could occasionally find a decent documentary or science program, however, and that was enough of a lure to make the venture worthwhile.
The stove sat smugly at the center of the kitchen, mocking her, and she declined its challenge, opening one of the cabinets above it and grabbing a box of microwave popcorn. She’d never spent much time learning cooking basics, and she was in no mood to try the thing’s patience right now. Hooking the microwave oven’s door open with an elbow, she popped the flattened bag into the machine and closed it up again, punching the POPCORN button with practiced ease. One thing about this world, they sure new how to serve up satisfaction, and fast, which suited Sunset just fine.
Which probably explains a lot of why I’m here, she mused, leaning back against the counter and watching idly as the bag spun slowly around, surrounded by a pool of light. I’ve never been one to wait around for what I wanted, which is pretty much what she—
No.
Gritting her teeth, Sunset unconsciously imitated the typical being of the form she now resided in, staring at the bag of popcorn and willing it to cook faster as it slowly puffed up, the staccato sound of popping rising in frequency. She closed her eyes and sniffed, inhaling the delicious scent of popping corn and synthetic butter, something part of her mind found horrific, but the rest of which found incredibly seductive. The microwave beeped and she opened it up, snatching the bag out and tearing it open, grinning like a fiend at the burst of steam that arose past her face. 10W-30 weight butter flavoring or not, this was going to taste divine.
She ambled back into the living room, popping a few kernels of the delicious treat into her mouth and savoring the hot burst of flavor across her tongue. Sweet Luna’s pancakes, Equestria had nothing like Orville Redenbacher. She crashed down onto the couch, curling her legs up under her and cradling the warm bag to her bosom as she glanced around, searching for the remote control for the television. For crying out loud, where the—
Her bookbag shuddered beside her suddenly, a low buzzing sound emanating from within its recesses. Sunset froze, caught in mid-chew as she stared at it, a sudden feeling of delight running through her. She set the bag of popcorn down on the coffee table before her and yanked at the bag’s zipper, rummaging through it for a second before yanking out a worn book of moderate thickness, one that had not been issued to her by the Canterlot County Board of Education. The book bore a mark on its cover of a two-toned sun, flame licking the edges of its corona, a mark that she had borne on herself until her journey to this world. It had been given to her as a gift, long ago, to transmit her thoughts to another via magic, and although the current recipient was different now, it still served the same purpose, to communicate from a student to a teacher and back again.
Flipping the book open, she riffled rapidly through the pages until she reached a blank spot. Flipping back once more, she was shocked to see a golden flare as lettering slowly appeared on the page before her. Usually the book alerted her when a message had been received, but she’d apparently been quick enough to catch the entry as it was being written. Her eyes fixed upon the letters as they shone alight, then rapidly faded into coherent words which she followed closely.
Dear Sunset Shimmer:
I was lucky enough to be able to read your latest entry you wrote last night. I apologize for taking so long to respond, but my current duties tend to prevent me from being able to write back immediately, and this is somewhat of a special circumstance.
“Jeez, Twilight.” Sunset reached down absently and availed herself of more of the warm popcorn from the bag before her, chewing slowly as she read. “Getting all formal on me, are you? I guess princesshood isn't all it's cracked up to be."
It was unfortunate that Rainbow and Applejack had an argument like that, but life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, as we both well know. I’m so very happy to hear how you helped them both calm down and realize that what they were arguing about was just a difference of opinion, and that everypony feels like that now and again.
Everypony. Sunset shuddered slightly, feeling slightly disturbed at how alien the term sounded now, even though a few years ago it would have rolled off her tongue without a hitch. A cold pang struck deep within her at the gulf that had arisen between her old world and the one she now lived in, and she wondered if there was any way the gap could ever be bridged again. Shaking her head, she bent closer, eyeing the words as they slowly scrawled their way across the page. The script seemed slightly…off, as if Twilight Sparkle was distracted. I suppose she’s got her princess hat on, Sunset thought. Its too bad she can’t come here more often just to get away and be herself. She absently wiped her right hand on her jeans and turned the page as the words flowed onward.
I wish I could tell you how proud I am that you were the one to bring their disagreement to an end and make them see that there was a way to work things out with each other. You have progressed so much since the ’Fall Formal Incident,’ and this is just another sign of how much you have achieved, and how much you may yet accomplish.
“Okay, layin’ it on a little thick, Twi,” Sunset mumbled, grinning to herself in spite of the words. She felt a warm glow in her chest at the praise, nevertheless, and rubbed a thumb along the edge of the pages before her. “Yeah, I guess I’m doing okay. I have you to thank for that, though.”
My time grows short, alas, and I must cut this message short. Please keep in mind that you are doing well, you are growing far beyond anything I could have ever hoped for, and I am immensely proud of you. I sincerely hope that you will change your mind some day, and at least come visit Equestria again…I would enjoy this beyond anything you might believe.
I miss you very, very much.
Sunset felt her cheek twitch, and a burning sensation assaulted her eyes abruptly. She felt a real connection to Twilight Sparkle, and was sincerely thankful for everything the alicorn princess had done for her. This bald statement of affection though was beyond anything Twilight had made before, and the raw emotion behind it was something Sunset was not prepared to deal with. Emotions were something that caused problems, in her experience, and she’d fought hard to keep hers in check and do the right thing. A pang of worry struck her, and she hoped that Twilight Sparkle was doing okay. She’d technically been a princess for a while now, but she had a real position and even her own castle, and Sunset wondered if the pressure was getting to—
She froze, her breath caught in her throat as the closing signature flared alight on the page before her.
All my love.
Your friend,
Princess Celestia.
Sunset Shimmer sat motionless, her hands gripping the book before her tighter and tighter, fingers crimping down upon the pages until creases began to appear in the thick stock. The last bits of magical lighting died out like sparks from a campfire, and she simply stared, her mouth half-open, at the last few words.
I miss you very much.
All my love.
Celestia.
Sunset thrust the book away from her with a jerk, sending it flying over the coffee table. The edge of the tome struck her bag of popcorn and sent it spinning, fluffy white kernels flying through the air and scattering across the carpet. The book landed on the floor spine up, several pages crimped under it, and Sunset stared at it as if it were a snake about to strike her if she so much as moved.
“Princess??” No way, oh no way, this has to be a joke, some bad joke, maybe by her side’s Rainbow Dash or something, this can’t be—
No.
Sunset knew fully well that Twilight Sparkle would never allow something that cruel to be done, even as a prank. Those words had been written by her former instructor while she watched, the ink in the other world still drying on the page even at this moment.
So what are you going to do? Twilight’s voice was eerily clear in her own head. I can lead you to water, Sunset, but I can’t make you drink. You can study that homework now, or you—
Sunset glanced about frantically, knocking over a small statuette of a ceramic unicorn on the endtable as she scrabbled frantically about. She looked wildly over to her bookbag and grabbed it, yanking the zipper open on the lower end of the satchel and fumbling about before seizing a pen out of the pocket. She jumped up, banging one of her shins on the coffee table as she ran over and seize the book off of the floor, flipping through it frantically to the next open sheet of paper. Quickly, without thinking, she wrote raggedly on the clean sheet.
WAIT! Hello, are you there?
The words flared alight and then solidified, becoming normal and static. Dead. Plain black ink from a pen purchased in the department store where she worked, some cheap pathetic thing like herself with no magic left in it, only good for—
The book shuddered in her grasp, light coruscating across the surface of the page below her words.
Sunset??
A cold chill swept over the girl as she stood in her stockinged feet in the living room of a house so far away from where she had begun her life there was no way to measure it. Trembling, she put the pen to the paper again.
It’s me. Is that you, Celestia?
Time spun out endlessly for a moment before light flared in her eyes again.
Yes, my former student. Are you…well?
Sunset’s knees unhinged, and she sat roughly down, popcorn crunching underneath her in the deep shag carpet. Yes, she wrote. I’m doing…okay. She paused, her hand trembling so hard she could barely write the next words down. Do…do you have time to talk, for a minute or so?
The book sat quiescent in her lap, and a cold wave passed over her. There would be no answer to that. How could she expect an answer from one she had betrayed, left behind, shut away all those years ago? This was stupid. She should just put the damned book away and get to work on her essay on the Reconstruction period—
Sunset, I have all the minutes you need, and more. I have just asked my sister to attend to the sunset here, as this one is more important to me. Please, talk to me.
The book blurred before her eyes, doubling, then trebling as tears burned at Sunset’s vision. Scrubbing at her face angrily, she glanced up, looking out the front window of her living room at the scarlet rays in the western sky. Funny enough, the sun’s going down here, too. I’ve had one heck of a day.
Please, tell me about it.
The young woman laughed out loud, sniffing hard and wiping her face again before bending down again, writing intently.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- RadiantBeam · 2k words · 730 7 · 15k views
- Da Joestanator · 14k words · 343 7 · 8.2k views
- yupyup · 1.6k words · 209 0 · 6.7k views
- Tinybit92 · 3k words · 804 7 · 20k views
- Shaud · 5.2k words · 621 8 · 20k views
- Between Lines · 1.2k words · 365 7 · 6.3k views
- Tinybit92 · 1.5k words · 393 3 · 9.8k views
- RadiantBeam · 4k words · 386 5 · 8.8k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.187 seconds
Total duration
972 users online
2,215,895 hits today, 2,707,512 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Adorable. you have Aku's seal of approval.i.imgur.com/UtQiG8f.jpg
5872098
And the Pirate's as well,
s6.postimg.org/dd47s96ap/Pirate_Approved.jpg
Very enjoyable short story. It's nice to get a closer look at Sunset Shimmer's thoughts.
Was expecting this to be about sunset shimmer encountering the gloamglozer, still happy with how it turned out. Well done quite the enjoyable little read.
very sweet. I honestly hope we do get to see Sunset reunite with Celestia in the show, they've built her into a wonderful character. Thanks for sharing! :-)
just what I was needing to lighten up my day.
5874389
Hearing that brightened up mine. I'm glad you liked it!
Bookmarked this while at work and managed to get a look at it before heading to bed. Totally not tearing up right now or anything. Nope.
Aww, who am I kidding? You have my tears, and my props.
This was lovely, and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.
5876677
Thanks, yo. I'm glad it worked for you. And thanks for reading my stuff!
5878099 Thank you!
OK. This was pretty awesome!
Short, and yet very effective. Nicely done.
This was great. I feel like I never read enough about these two.
Great short. You know my feelings on anything relating to Equestria Girls, but your deft touch with character shows through here and makes the medium irrelevant. As usual, a measured setup, but one that pays off with the sudden change in tempo at the end. Great finish, I love the open-endedness of it.
In short, another great story I really enjoyed. Thanks, dude!
5896745
Character is what matters, the setting is irrelevant.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I'm glad you liked it, man. :)
Absolutely lovely. You really nailed the emotional aspect here.
5900059
Thanks, dude. I'm glad you liked it!
5899418
5902785
kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/k-zone/saoyo7/picture924911/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/The%20Dude.JPG
But seriously, this was a good story. The beginning was wordy, and had me fearful that the end would seem rushed as a result, but it was well written and not overly drawn-out.
I was pleasantly surprised by the end, and even came close to tearing up. Sorry it took me so long to get to this, but I'll be adding this to my bookshelf and sharing, as well. Thanks for writing!
5915936
Agreed. There was a lot of dialogue at the beginning, but I was hoping it would matter eventually.
I'm glad it worked for you. :)
The feelz, man, the feelz.
It's got to be either in EqG3 or in an episode of the series - Sunset at least comes for a visit and runs into Celestia. This was a nice lead in to just such a moment.
img14.deviantart.net/c665/i/2015/127/4/d/this_sunset_is_more_important_by_exsnaggerwes-d8sk672.jpg
I drew something for you inspired by this story!
Nice, sweet little story.
I really like how you worked the foreshadowing. Nothing too obvious, but enough that it sticks in your mind and hits you somewhere in the middle of the letter. Good job, man.
6007883
Thank you! I'll be honest...I didn't plan on foreshadowing, but if it happened and WORKED, I'm happy. I honestly just write stuff as it comes to me. If I try to be all clever and stuff, it feels contrived, so I don't try any more; I learned that at least.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it!
6021345 Huh. Well, in that case I'll say that writing by instinct has done well by you.
I still meant what I said. That is some high quality foreshadowing. It doesn't stick out enough to be noticed consciously but sticks well enough in your mind that you get that moment of epiphany where all the pieces fall into place and you go, "Aha! It's Celestia!"
The repeated reminders and dismissals of Celestia, the differences in speaking style, it just works well.
It's a very satisfying feeling when it doesn't feel like you were spoonfed the clues but the realization still comes easily and at the right moment.
I'll have you know I read this at work, and it was really, really hard to keep a poker face on! It's just an incredibly sweet and powerful story.
I really want to see this happen!
6083041 I'm really glad you liked it, dude. Thank you. :)
This is good, it's what I like. Sunset Shimmer stories about her NOT returning to Equestria, nor having the desire to do so. While I'm not too fond of her still having feelings for Celestia, if it's just them talking through the book, it's fine.
6130048 Thank you!
Honestly, I didn't/don't feel like she's ready to go back, or even wants to at this point. And her comments to Celestia aren't completely all huggy huggy, but she has displayed regrets, and at this point I don't think she'd turn down a chance to mend a burned bridge to some degree.
The book, I think, avoids the whole overdone "We meet again" scene. There's a separation there that neither of them can actually touch through...they can't hear each other, or see each other. And sometimes, you have to use clumsy, inadequate words to get the job done.
Glad it worked for you, and thanks for the comments!
This story has made me smile this morning.
6152256 Hearing that makes ME smile. Thank you for taking the time to comment on this. :)
Excellent story with a heartwarming ending well done.
I enjoyed the way you write Sunset's stream-of-consciousness in the early part of the chapter, such as her views on the strange society she has been thrust into, and how she cuts her line of thinking off every time she begins to think about something that reminds her of the Princess. All the same, I would expect her to be better at studying and understanding things since she already had a fillyhood of developing learning habits and was presumably made a young child upon coming into the EG world, so basically she would have been starting in a lower grade anyways with little to catch up on!
The ending seems a bit too easy in how it all smoothly wraps up with no real conflict besides Sunset's personal feelings given her behaviour before leaving and up to the Fall Formal, but still heartwarming.
6251055 I totally get where you're coming from. If this had been a more involved (multi-chapter) story, I would have taken a lot of this into account, but it was really meant to just be a small one-shot thing, something I thought of off the top of my head.
Thanks for the feedback! :)
megalomaniacal ideas: 'the day is named after ME'
hahaha 'I would feel bad about stealing cable if there was anything good on'
this was super cute! I like that it's a one-shot, it just keeps it open ended and stressfree. when I saw the princess' signature, I immediately reread the entry because while I had suspicions I still wanted to reread it... and it was glorious.
Genuinely teared up at the end there, fantastic work. I absolutely love short fics like this that take a little premise and execute it beautifully.
Also, I didn't know "gloaming" was a word until I read this.
And yes, this is Four from Twitter, in case you didn't know. :P
Edit: Apparently this was posted the day after my birthday but I didn't know it existed at the time. Interesting.
6338310 Thank you for taking the time to read it, and I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it!
That one small moment where we realize what we really feel.
GOOD LORD THAT IS A GOOD LINE!
Goddamn you! I'm in a train and I almost cried reading this!
Keep up the goddamn work, you goddamn good writer!
This was frankly beautiful. Excellent work.
Well that hit me right in the feels.
Thank you. <3
Oh geez
6613184 Ain't I a stinker? :)
6552009 Thank you!
6629202 I have a weak heart, I think it just stopped----------------------M--M--M--M-- Ah there it goes again!
Beautiful piece of work. You managed to get quite a bit said in a relatively short amount of work, and you got the emotion of finally speaking with her former mentor down perfectly-something I've seen clumsily done in other fics.
All in all, great job.
5873209
And my axe!
this was an amazing story well done