What A Long Strange Trip

by milesprower06

Breaking The News

Sunset sat in the corner booth in the back left section of Sugar Cube Corner, sipping at an iced coffee as she stared at her open journal that she used to communicate with Twilight. A pen waited next to the book on the table, but she hadn't written anything yet. Not quite ready to head home for the night, she hailed a cab downtown, and texted her friends to meet her here if they could once the Spring Fling wrapped up.

This situation had been something she had been dreading, and yet, also a bit liberating, because she now knew what she needed to do. It was just a matter of taking things one step at a time and going about doing it.

The bell above the front door rang, and Sugar Cube Corner got six more late evening visitors.

"There ya are, Sunset. You left sorta early," Applejack commented. "Did you hear? Wallflower won Spring Fling Princess."

"Yeah, I was there for that. I was called away right after," Sunset replied. "Listen girls, something has come up."

"Is this about what Celestia called you to the office for?" Twilight asked.

Sunset nodded, scooting over to make room for the six of them on both sides of her in the corner booth.

"Yeah, you could say that," Sunset said, beginning to slowly rotate the pen she was holding in her fingers. "I'm going home after graduation. Back to Equestria, and it's not because I absolutely want to."

She glanced at the faces of her friends, getting some widening eyes and expressions of surprise.

"What happened?" Applejack asked.

"A few months ago, I requested the birth certificate of Sunset Shimmer. If I was going to stay, I had to be absolutely sure that there wasn't another version of me already here. Well... She showed up tonight after the Department of Records told her that her certificate was requested from one of the school computers. She was nice, and understanding enough about it, and Principal Celestia likely explained things better than I would have been able to. She runs her own business a few counties over. Now that we're aware of each other, I'm afraid staying here isn't an option. I'm told that could result in some... Instability issues," Sunset explained.

"Like what? Holes ripped in the fabric of reality?" Pinkie asked, and Twilight blushed in embarrassment for a moment.

"I don't know. Even with everything I do know, I'm not sure what could and couldn't happen, but I don't think it's something we want to experiment with and see what happens. So..." Sunset paused, taking a breath as she struggled to keep the tears from spilling over. "So I just wanted to let you guys know what was happening..."

"Sugarcube," Applejack began softly, bringing her hand over and placed it on top of Sunset's. "We all know how homesick you've been. Even the best of friends can't take that feeling away completely. It's been absolutely amazing watching you change and grow from the person you used to be. You've done amazing things for this school, and this world. If it's time for you to go do amazing things for Equestria, we promise we don't want to hold you back. We'll miss you, of course, but please don't think that would ever overshadow how proud we'll be of you, and how happy we are for you taking this next step in your life."

Sunset wiped her eyes as her friends smiled and nodded at her, confirming their agreement with Applejack's words, some of their eyes tearing up, and some of them remaining strong.

"Darling, I've been struggling with how to say this," Rarity began. "But Applejack is right. We've all noticed how you've longed for home, and whether or not you believe you'd be tempting fate by remaining here, I don't think any of us would appreciate you denying yourself your home for our sake."

Twilight cleared her throat, and was the next to speak up.

"I'm not going to lie. I'll miss you terribly, Sunset, but I'd rather miss you and know you're happy back in Equestria than have you stay here and wonder what you're missing."

Carrot Cake came over and brought everyone their usual orders, as this was their usual hangout after events to wind down before they all headed home. True to herself, Twilight immediately helped Sunset start on a list of tasks to complete before graduation to make her interdimensional move as seamless as possible.

"Well, since your apartment came furnished when you moved in, that immediately makes things a bit easier. Moving furniture has always been one of the hardest parts. So when it comes to your personal belongings, prioritize what you absolutely want to take with you, and we'll help you with the rest; either by taking them as hand-me-downs, or helping donate it."

"Ray and my guitar are the very first things that come to mind," Sunset told her, as her friend quickly jotted those things down.

"Alright," Sunset began, taking another breath after finishing her beverage. "Thanks, girls. You've all been amazing to me. We've all had a long day, and I don't want to keep you any longer. I know we'll make these last few weeks the absolute best we can make them."

The seven of them got up, and they shared a group hug. All of them but Sunset turned and filed out the front door, while she sat back down at the booth in front of her correspondence book, picking up her pen, and finally touched the tip to the blank page.

Dear Princess Twilight,

Something happened tonight, and it's with a somewhat heavy but excited heart that I can confirm that I'm coming home after graduation in a few weeks.

Its not going to be easy to say goodbye to my friends here, and I can't promise myself that it's not going to be awkward getting to know them all over again in Equestria, but I believe I will take you up on whatever internship or career or court position you can offer me.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer

Comments

[Melody Song]

Glad to see they're not forcing Sunny to stay. Will be very sad though

[shadowjourney15]

What a long strange trip indeed.. I'm weepy, my heart goes out for what Sunset is going through. It's bittersweet imho, she gets to go home, even her friends supporting her decision and understanding why she's going back to Equestria.

This is very well written, and I think portrays the best and worst of the "what if Sunset had to choose" situation. I look forward to more, and hope everyone has a pleasant evening ❤️

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

This situation had been something she had been dreading, and yet, also a bit liberating, because she now knew what she needed to do. It was just a matter of taking things one step at a time and going about doing it.

This sure will be a tough one sunset will be facing on her own.

"Sugarcube," Applejack began softly, bringing her hand over and placed it on top of Sunset's. "We all know how homesick you've been. Even the best of friends can't take that feeling away completely. It's been absolutely amazing watching you change and grow from the person you used to be. You've done amazing things for this school, and this world. If it's time for you to go do amazing things for Equestria, we promise we don't want to hold you back. We'll miss you, of course, but please don't think that would ever overshadow how proud we'll be of you, and how happy we are for you taking this next step in your life."

Glad to know that applejack understands her, but her other friends, I'm guessing they might have different reactions.

Sunset wiped her eyes as her friends smiled and nodded at her, confirming their agreement with Applejack's words, some of their eyes tearing up, and some of them remaining strong.

Question answered and I'm glad, kinda....

"Well, since your apartment came furnished when you moved in, that immediately makes things a bit easier. Moving furniture has always been one of the hardest parts. So when it comes to your personal belongings, prioritize what you absolutely want to take with you, and we'll help you with the rest; either by taking them as hand-me-downs, or helping donate it."

Yep, it's likely something that's gonna happen.

"Ray and my guitar are the very first things that come to mind," Sunset told her, as her friend quickly jotted those things down.

At least she'll have ray with her when she returns to equestria.

The seven of them got up, and they shared a group hug. All of them but Sunset turned and filed out the front door, while she sat back down at the booth in front of her correspondence book, picking up her pen, and finally touched the tip to the blank page.

It's gonna be a hard choice your making sunset but if it's what you want then I can't argue with tha. Plus it's kinda obvious now there might be 1 or 2 more chapters left. Guess we'll have to see what happens soon. 😕