Princess Twilight Meets New Friends

by Lonely Fanboy48

The Princess’s Interest

Back in Equestria in the Castle of Friendship, Princess Twilight was busily writing down more entries for her school of friendship with Spike. Behind them, Starlight was practicing her spells.

The day had been long for them all. And with the after school work they had to do, it was going to be even longer. Of them all, Twilight was the only one that even seemed remotely alert. Starlight was only flickering her horn, and Spike was barely able to sit upright.

“Now, if we’re going to accommodate any cows who want to attend, we might have to give them a study space more akin to their homes. Maybe a desk that’s set up like a stable? Or a window for them to look in, while they stand outside?” Twilight said.

At that very moment two things happened at once: Spike’s head hit the table, and a portal opened somewhere.

“What was that noise?” Twilight wondered.

“No-Nothing! I was just closing a drawer!” Spike quickly said.

Things quickly fell into place in Twilight’s mind. She recognized that sound, and quickly ran to its source.

“Twilight, where are you going?” Starlight asked.

She got no answer, as Twilight had already left the room.

In another room, Sunset Shimmer stepped through a magic mirror from one world into another. No sooner did she arrive did she hear the sounds of approaching hooves.

“Sunset?” A familiar voice greeted her.

Sunset looked to its direction, and smiled at the sight of her old friend.

“Twilight!” The two mares greeted one another with a hug, then started talking.

“It’s so good to see you, Sunset. But, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be on tour with your band?” Twilight asked.

“Actually, the tour starts tomorrow. I just wanted to ask you something before I left,” Sunset answered.

“Alright. What is it?”

In that moment, Sunset realized just exactly what she was about to ask. Such a thing would probably seem daunting, even if it was the Princess of Friendship who was involved. Still, she had promised her friends that she would at least ask.

“Well, you know how many friends I’ve been making back in the other world, don’t you? You see: they all kind of want to meet you.”

Twilight paused a moment, before asking, “All of them?”

“That’s right,” Sunset said, magically summoning the list of friends that Twilight had been keeping. She unrolled the list, which reached almost to the floor.

“Well, uh…” Twilight said. Meeting that many people would certainly take time and energy, which she wasn’t sure she had much of that to spare, since she was now running a school. Still, she decided to hear out the rest of Sunset’s request. “So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

“It’s nothing, really. Just, they wanted to spend a day at the beach with you. That’s all,” Sunset said, as she magically conjured a picture of all of her friends, and Princess Twilight at the beach.

That was all? Just a day at the beach was certainly something that she could do. But, it was something that would have to wait.

“Of course I’d like to meet your friends, but I think it’s going to have to wait. The school week is still going on, and I have all this work to do after class,” Twilight said.

“But, Twilight, my friends were really excited to meet you. Don’t you know anypony else who can look after things while you’re gone?”

Twilight looked long and hard at her friend’s face, which was slowly morphing to a disappointed frown. Her resolve to stick to her responsibilities was fading, and she found it more difficult to decline Sunset’s offer.

“I...guess I could see if Spike and Starlight are up to the task,” Twilight said through clenched teeth.

She started feeling a knot tying itself in her stomach. Without her, all kinds of things could go wrong in her newly accredited establishment. It would be disastrous should she not be around to handle any of the tasks and responsibilities around the school. How would it reflect on Princess Celestia if anything happened at the school she endorsed? All these worries and more started eating away at the mind of the young alicorn. So occupied was she that she jumped when she felt Sunset hold her hoof.

“Everything’s going to be fine, Twilight. I promise,” Sunset assured her friend.

If she thought about it, Sunset did have a rather acute sensibility. She was often correct about matters of intuition, and Twilight did find herself worrying an awful lot lately. Maybe this day at the beach was what she needed to relax.

“Alright. I’ll do it. But first, I need to make the arrangements with the others. I’ll need to pack first. Then I’ll have to leave a list of jobs for the others to take care of. And then I’ll need something to wear at the beach. But, I think I can leave that to Rarity. The other Rarity. And then--“

“Twilight,” Sunset interjected, “If you keep planning, the day’s going to end before you know it. You should get started explaining things to Spike and Starlight, then go on your way.”

“Right. Thanks. I’ll go get started. I’ll see you at the school courtyard,” Twilight said, before she hurried off.

***The Next Day***

Everything was taken care of by the next morning. Twilight explained the situation to her friends, who agreed to take over the responsibilities of the school. She packed what little supplies she needed for a simple trip to the beach, and left through the mirror.

On the other side, Sunset waited patiently by the statue in Canterlot High School’s courtyard, until it started to dimly glow. In less than a second, Twilight came stepping out of the magic portal.

“You’re here,” Sunset said.

“I said I would be,” Twilight said, slightly uncomfortably. In spite of the reassurance that things would go well, her mind was still wandering back to what would happen without her at the school.

“Twilight,” Sunset said, “You need to stop worrying so much about the school.”

“I wasn’t even thinking about it,” Twilight said.

“Sure. And I’m a supermodel who moonlights as an assassin. Now, did you bring any cab fare?”

“Cab fare?”

“You know, to get to the beach.”

This was a bit of a problem for Twilight, as all she had were Equestrian bits on her person.

“Do you think the taxi drivers around here would accept these if we said they were gold doubloons?” Twilight asked.

“Don’t worry about it. I was just joking,” Sunset said. “My car’s over there. Hop in, and I’ll give you a ride.”

Sunset and Twilight both filed into Sunset’s nearby car, and drove away to begin Twilight’s day of fun at the beach.