And A Glowing Purpose
Sunset was doomed. She was utterly screwed.
Those thoughts resurfaced at every roadblock in her studying. History can screw itself with all these dumb people making dumb mistakes. Sunset was not cut out for memorizing every single insignificant event that snowballs into mayhem in the human world. Especially not at nearly one in the morning on a Wednesday no less. Just as her luck would have it, Sunset spilled her warm, invigorating, much-needed coffee right as she walked out the door and she totally forgot she ran out of energy drinks. She was running on near nothing.
The contempt she held was in no way directed at her former teacher, however. Sunset was well aware of the history test before she was invited to Equestria, but she went anyways. That weekend was definitely more than well-spent; catching up with Celestia, hanging out with Starlight and Princess Twilight in Ponyville, even being lucky enough to participate in the weekly monster attack. Yes, the time was much better spent doing all that than stick her nose through foreign facts and figures... even though she failed that coming Monday.
The former unicorn shook herself out of her reminiscing. Right, make-up test. She totally had this. She needed to do well. She couldn’t be the only one in the group that had to take remedials this summer. That would be a disgrace to everything she stood for, not to mention all the plans they made together. Even her girlfriend Twilight, school-loving and adorably nerdy Twilight, was looking forward to having so much time together. The beaming smile she had talking about potential projects they could work on, adjusting her glasses when they went askew from her excitement; Sunset didn’t want to let that down. After all, she wasn’t certain if this summer would be their last together.
The vision in her left eye blurred, and Sunset groggily wiped the sleep away. She had been hitting the books since school ended today, but somehow all the info she took in earlier started to escape her. Human history was strange. Or maybe she was strange. It made her wonder how she was the ace in class in Magic School. Everything came so naturally, and history was just another course she could trump even the one-trick ponies in without so much as a second thought. Now, she wasn’t even sure what wars her books and notes were talking about. She found herself making less than distasteful doodles and comments on her pages during lessons.
The red-head found the amount of historical figures to be memorized absurd. How can so many people influence a world like this so much? The population was massive, way more than Equestria to be sure, even counting non-ponies. How were there so many influential people who lived and made their mark for millions of generations to learn about for years to come?
She stared at the thick layers of information on her left and then to the scrawlings of her pen on her notebook. She barely used it. Sunset suddenly felt very small as she yawned loudly.
What had she accomplished? Well, she was a conduit between two whole worlds if she was being generous. Still, her involvement in bringing magic to a world without it has proven to make life all the more harder for the people around her. What more can she do here though? Be a highschooler for the rest of her days? Spend the rest of her life watching her friends and girlfriend leave to fulfill their purpose?
Suddenly it felt appropriate to just hide out in Equestria to escape doing the redo test. For how long, she didn’t know, but Sunset honestly thought it was a plausible solution. She and Twilight can still talk and stuff. Her Twilight would have her book and she would use Princess Twilight’s book instead.
She hit her head slightly, partially to keep her desires for sleep at bay. “Stay focused Sunset, come on…” She may not be here long, but damn her if she disappointed her friends in her limited time. She had to do well.
As the lines of text became harder to make out and her head began to bob from a sudden weight, she reached out absent-mindedly for some substance. Sunset managed to grab an empty can of her energy drink. She leaned back and tipped the can at a 90 degree angle from the floor. A small drop landed on her tongue and she tossed it behind her. Something was better than nothing after all.
It helped very little though, as her head suddenly had a baby elephant balancing on top and she submitted to the swerving, for the laws of gravity could not be fought. That was her excuse at least. Her blinking became frequent and slow and the text was somehow more unintelligible than before.
Just as the exhausted girl thought she would succumb to the sandman’s magic, a purple glow flickered in her upper peripheral vision. Sunset brushed it off as a trick from her lights combined with her drowsiness. Her theory was proven wrong as the flicker became a steady hue of color. She snapped her head up and saw an independent purple light simply floating above her desk.
“...Have I finally gone crazy?” Her words echoed in slight distortion throughout her loft. She reached out towards it unconsciously, jumping slightly as it flew away behind her. There, various other lights seemed to move in complement to each other. Sunset looked to her window and found it was wide open, appearing as if there were no glass there at all. Where did those lights come from?
Her eyes switched between her desk and the strange lights. Each light had a different color, and now it seemed like they each had something of a personality as well. An orange and a light blue circled around her place, as if trying to out-speed the other. Neither out-sped the pink one, to which it zipped around at breakneck velocities erratically. A white light moved in what she was tempted to consider graceful. The yellow was much slower in its movements, but paired with the white’s well despite so. The purple one, the brightest of them all, seemed to watch them fondly, or longingly.
She looked over her notes again. Now even her handwriting was nonsense. The arrows and summarized info she had made blended into strange blue squiggles. As she flipped to earlier notes, it was no different. All of it was a monotone mess. She looked back at the light show behind her. Sunset felt this was a nice distraction from her studies and observed fondly.
After some time of watching, she got up from her chair and leaned on the railing of her upper area. At that moment all five lights decided to join the purple by Sunset. A silent question was being asked to the former unicorn.
“D-Do you want me to do something?” Maybe it was a trick of her eyes or because of her tiredness that suddenly vanished, but they all flashed in what seemed to be in agreement. Sunset chuckled to herself. She really was going crazy. She was talking to lights for crying out loud. She would be lying though if she said she wasn’t slightly amused. “Alright, but I need to study so I can’t do anything crazy,” Sunset said sternly.
Delighted, the purple began to circle around Sunset affectionately. The warmth it radiated set off a burning desire in her to reach out and grab it. Every time she tried to catch the light, it narrowly evaded her. Was it toying with her? “...I don’t have time for this.” As Sunset was about to take a seat again, her feet froze up. She really didn’t want to study. She turned back to where the five other lights were, finding none there. Sunset leaned over the railing finding them all zipping around her place.
“Guess you want me to catch everyone?” A flash indicated yes from all. Sunset sighed. She would have to settle this quickly then. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but she knew she was running out.
She hopped over the railing to get downstairs, surprised but ignored how it didn’t hurt one bit. As each light flew by her, Sunset flailed her arms wildly in every direction in the effort to catch them. The sense of warmth as they neared incited her reaction but she couldn’t catch a single one. She didn’t bother trying to grab the purple circling around her; it wasn’t going to be caught any time soon. To say she was getting frustrated was an understatement. But she couldn’t lash out. It made no sense to. Sunset took a calming breath, as Twilight often suggested when she was having a fit.
It was irrational to try to grab each one without any thought. She looked at the movements of all lights. The yellow seemed fixed in its position, but Sunset knew that one was a lot quicker than she gave it credit for. She couldn’t approach the blue or pink; those were moving constantly. Her best bet was to tackle grabbing the orange.
Sunset decided to simply take off after it. It was fast for sure, but nowhere on the level of the blue or pink. It had her jumping much of her furniture and maneuvering around the obstacles that was her own place. The constant motion didn’t exactly tire her out surprisingly enough, and she was having some fun trying to track down the orange hue. After some time, her efforts were rewarded when she cornered it by her computer set-up. As if applauding her determination, the orange light hovered close to her. Sunset let it fall into the palms of her hands and relished in the sense of comfort it offered. The light faded into her body and her body felt much lighter than before.
She looked at her surroundings once more, finding the yellow light sitting next to her practically. Sunset dove in immediately, only to be met with the floor. She dusted herself off and saw it sit across from where it once was. Sunset, noting how fast it was, decided to take a slower approach this time. She crept up on it slowly, glad that all those stealth games proved themselves in this instance. Sunset hopped out of the box she was hiding in once she got close enough, but again just missed it. Still frustrated but relishing in the difficulty, Sunset piece together than aggressiveness would lead to nowhere. From there, she instead approached the yellow light cautiously, but not to deceive. “It’s okay,” she whispered to it. “I’m not gonna hurt you again.” She wasn’t sure where those words came from, but the yellow light floated shyly towards her open hand. A similar sensation ran through her, and the warmth in her body doubled.
The white light seemed to dance on her stairs. Each movement was grace-incarnate and Sunset found herself just appreciating the beauty of it. When it did move close to her, Sunset grappled after it still, but to no avail. Sunset continued to watch until she felt compelled to move with the light as well. Sure she wasn’t nearly as dignified in her movements, but the passion was prominent; how could she not get swept up in it alongside the white light. The light seemed to appreciate the interest and soared as high as it could. Somehow influenced by gravity, the light falling down towards Sunset’s hands increased in speed the longer it fell.
There were two lights zipping around her room. One of pure calculated speed and the other of unpredictable motion. Her best bet was with the blue. As she took off after it, the blue light only seemed to speed up, almost like it was posing a challenge to her. Lucky for Sunset, she always loved a good challenge. It was futile to try to catch up to the light, so Sunset needed to use another tactic. She wasn’t an athlete but she was an academic; she had to predict where it would go next. Sunset gave chase with intense effort and as the blue light would change direction, Sunset propelled her body to where it would end up. As the light met her body, a rush of euphoria filled her mind. The need to sleep dissipated long ago and she revealed in her accomplishments. It was silly, but she worked hard for it.
The pink light zipped around her loft, and Sunset knew she could not apply the same idea to this one as earlier. Chasing it was pointless and there’s no probability equation that can hope to understand how it worked. All she could do was wait. She waited and watched the pink light bounce around. There was a kind of innocent joy in seeing it move around. It was simplistic, but Sunset wasn’t complaining. It was a rare kind of contentedness, where nothing else really mattered and all she knew was that she felt happy. Before she could rationalize that line of thought, a chuckle broke out from her lips. The pink light suddenly stopped in its tracks right in front of her. Sunset welcomed it with a grin.
Now there was only one left. Sunset looked around on the ground floor, but there was no purple hue in sight. She went up the stairs. Sure enough, the purple light was there, hovering over the chair, as if it was sitting. The chair was facing the desk now, and the surface was far more organized than earlier. Sunset walked up assuredly. “Hey,” she called out. The light continued to bob up and down steadily. “Aren’t you lonely?” Sunset reached out her hand. A wash of nostalgia came over her. “I’ve been where you are. I can help you.” Sunset bit her lip shyly. “We can help each other…” Slowly but surely, the purple light landed in Sunset’s outstretched hand. Her whole body felt alive, like everything was going to be okay.
The purple light did not fade into her body. Instead it started to take on a shape of some kind. The glow grew more defined edges and points. Sunset could recognize that star shape anywhere. Her body began to glow, and all the lights she caught escaped her body, circling around the purple light. They too began to take form. A balloon, an apple, a diamond, a rain cloud and a butterfly. They orbited the purple star and abruptly shot to the outside. Sunset, not wanting to be left behind, went out the door after them.
The night chill was non-existent as the six lights started to circle her form. The warmth was that of a hug, and it nearly brought her to tears. Her body began glowing again, but now a red light appeared above her. After some time, the red light took on the shape of a sun. All six of the lights began to orbit around the red sun. The rainbow glow it exuded amazed Sunset beyond words. As they all flew into the night sky, a flurry of bright colors exploded in the dark backdrop. If she just had a light show in her loft, Sunset now had a private fireworks viewing.
Every single color burned brightly, and each complimented the others well. Red was most prominent though. It really felt like a celebration. Of what though, she wasn’t sure. But she had a vague idea. A massive weight fell off her shoulders and Sunset fell back. The concrete of the sidewalk was gone and now a grassy hill took its place. Sure it was hard work getting to this point, but the reward was well worth it. She could take the time to enjoy this.
She closed her eyes in appreciation.
When she opened her eyes, she was face down on her notebook. She let out a yawn and glance at the time on her phone. Sunset had been asleep for two hours. She also noticed a few messages she missed from Twilight well before she fell asleep. Granted, she had been on ‘Do not disturb’ the entire day. Sunset pulled up the app and read through what she missed.
Sparky: I know you’re studying rn but remember not to overdo it! Don’t make me discuss the importance of REM sleep again to you >:(
Sunset couldn’t help but laugh at that. She loved it when Twilight would nerd out. Even if she was scolding her, Twilight took much delight in explaining... anything really.
Sparky: And don’t beat yourself up if you don’t do well! There’s always time to hang out!
Sunset was surprised that Twilight of all people was saying this to her. That probably spoke to how much she was unnecessarily stressing out. Leave it to Twilight to get her out of her own head.
Sparky: And I’m gonna cut myself off now before I start rambling again and distract you!
Sparky: I probably am since you aren’t responding...
Sparky: Oh boy I definitely am love u bye
Sunset felt her heart flip a bit. They said it often enough but it never failed in touching her feelings. Twilight loved her. Sometimes, Sunset forgets how much Twilight cared for her; needed her. She should do something to apologize.
She glanced over her notebook again. This time, she took it slow. She read the information carefully, now amused by the little comments she made about the subjects. Sunset absorbed the concepts rather well this time. She wasn’t sure why she was fussing so much earlier. She looked back at her phone, still open on the messages. “There’s always time, huh…”
Feeling much more prepared, she closed her books and set it aside. Phone in hand, Sunset began to type.
Sh1mmerC0de: Thanks babe dont worry about me doh
Sh1mmerC0de: Actuallyyyy maybe I wont sleep just yet
Sh1mmerC0de: Then I can hear ur sweet teachery voice tmrow ;)
Sh1mmerC0de: Jkjk
Sh1mmerC0de: Im actually heading to sleep rn
Sh1mmerC0de: I love you Twi <3
Sunset paused for a moment. She thought about Equestria. What she had there was beautiful, but she took it for granted. The time she has right now is just as beautiful, but she was in a constant state of fear about it all ending. The role she played was vague at best, but she felt it wrong to run from her friends if she didn't have one. She may not end up in history books or maybe she will. What she did know for certain was that her place in her friends’ lives will stay with them forever.
Sh1mmerC0de: Ill do my best on tmrows redo test ok?
Sunset got up from her desk and headed towards her bed. She was about to turn of the lamp beside her, but not before admiring the faint glow from the old bulb. She resolved to send just a few more messages before going to sleep. This time to the group chat.
Sh1mmerC0de: Hey any of u girls up for a quick shopping trip after school?
Sh1mmerC0de: I wanna get a pack of glow in the dark stars
Sh1mmerC0de: The multicolor ones