Studying Abroad

by SerenaTheMoonPony

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Romance
Length: 8303

Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight exchange messages via the books. What will happen when Twilight takes on Sunset Shimmer as her personal student? Will this friendship turn into something more? Will Sunset Shimmer return to Equestria after all?

Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight exchange messages via the magic books featured in Rainbow Rocks. What will happen when Twilight takes on Sunset Shimmer as her personal student? Will this friendship turn into something more? Will Sunset Shimmer return to Equestria after all?
*This fic is oblivious to the comics so Sunset Shimmer hasn't been exiled from Equestria*
**Title subject to change**
***On Hiatus for the time being; I ran out of ideas and need to do some edits, but only Celestia and Luna know when that'll happen…***
****I'm back guys! This story is back on track, and I will try to update when I can :twilightsmile: ****
*****Putting this back on hiatus for a little while; I have no idea when the next update will be, but I'll try to work on it as soon as I can (Read this Blog Post for a little more info*****

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-17 21:01:01 UTC

Dear Princess Twilight...

It has been about a week since Princess Twilight returned to Equestria. Though none of them wanted her to go, they understood that she has responsibilities back home in Equestria. Though it was Sunset Shimmer who seemed to be the one most bothered by the princess's return to her former home. Right now, Sunset was in her French class; if there was one thing she truly missed about being Princess Celestia's student was the courses on magical theory and potion making. Bored out of her mind, she decided to write a letter to Twilight:

Dear Princess Twilight,

Everyone here at Canterlot high miss you a lot. The last time you were here, I forgot to ask: has anything changed in Equestria since the last time I was there? Rarity is still geeking out over the fact that you have your own castle! (You should really send us a picture of it!) The Rainbooms are still together and I must say we are better than ever...or almost. It's not the same without you though...What's going on with you and everypony else in Equestria? Hope to hear from you soon,

Your friend,

Sunset Shimmer

Sunset Shimmer would never admit it to anyone, but deep in her heart she knew she missed Equestria greatly. The only thing stopping her, (Though she would never tell anyone this) was fear. She was afraid of facing Princess Celestia after all that's happened. Before she knew it, her book was glowing and vibrating. She opened it to see Twilight had replied and even managed to send her a picture of her new castle in Ponyville. Sunset's jaw dropped at the sight. She couldn't wait to show this picture to the girls at lunchtime...especially Rarity! The letter read:

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

I miss all of you too, but as you know, being a princess in Equestria means I now have many responsibilities. I pinkie promise that I will try my hardest to find time to come and visit again. My Rarity geeked out over the castle when she first saw it too! I guess some things simply don't change...So far, nothing's changed in Equestria and there isn't really anything new...it's actually kind of peaceful...

I know this is kind of persona, and you don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but I was wondering why you left Equestria in the first place and why you haven't ever returned? Like I said, you don't have to answer that, but it's just something I've been wondering about....

I told Princess Celestia about what happened at the battle of the bands and she wanted me to tell you that she is quite proud of you. She also suggested that I take you as my personal student...I told her that I would talk to you about it and leave that up to you. Once again, you don't have to answer me right away or ever for that matter...Anyway, I'm hoping you are in class right now, so I will leave you to your studies. Write to me when you can and when you feel comfortable.

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

Sunset was a bit taken back by Twilight's questions. She had never considered talking about her past with anyone-or anypony- until now. She truly had to think about it and she had to figure out if she was truly ready to be a student like that again. She suddenly felt her mouth...smiling? Why was she smiling? It seemed that every time she got a message from Twilight she would smile. She didn't quite understand what that meant, but Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all thought it was 'true love' or something of the sorts. Though Sunset just shrugged it off; she didn't understand these feeling, so she buried them deep within her mind. She spent the rest of her French class thinking about Twilight's letter. She did the same thing in chemistry. She even tried thinking about her feelings for Twilight, but when that became a headache, she dropped it for a bit.`

'Maybe it is love? Maybe it's just that she makes me think of home and she is my friend now...gah! I don't know...but what if it love? What if this ruins our friendship...?' she thought to herself. She couldn't wait to see her friends at lunchtime. She really wanted to see Rarity's face when she would see Twilight's castle. She considered becoming Twilight's student, but every time the thought came to her, the fear of history repeating itself did too. Finally it was lunchtime! Sunset sat at the table that she and her friends usually sit at everyday and was soon greeted by them. Just as she assumed, Rarity almost fainted at the sight of Twilight's castle.

"Princess Twilight asked me if I wanted to be her student...it was actually Princess Celestia's idea.." She said, hoping to get some advice from her friends.

"You should totally do it! It would give the author something to work with!" Pinkie said with a grin as she got confused looks from everyone.

"Moving on, you should do it if you want to Sunset. The choice is yours to make after all..." Fluttershy said.

"Yeah! If you want to be her student, you should totally do it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"You know what? I think I will!" Sunset exclaimed as she began writing a reply to Princess Twilight:

Dear Princess Twilight,

If you'd like, I'd be honored to be your student! (If you want me to be your student of course!) And I suppose it won't kill me to tell you a bit about my past....but we will get to that later. You should have seen the look on Rarity's face when she saw the picture of your castle. It's really nice! Write me back as soon as you can!

Your (if you agree to this) faithful student,

Sunset Shimmer

A New Student

When Twilight received that last message from Sunset Shimmer she couldn't help but smile. She was glad that Sunset wanted to be her student as well as confide and trust her. Though Twilight was quite curious to know about Sunset's past. The princess of friendship noticed that whenever Sunset would send her a message or enter her thoughts, her smile could easily out-rank Pinkie Pie's. Twilight wasn't exactly sure how she feels about Sunset Shimmer, Rarity would most likely say that she's in love with her, but Twilight didn't know for sure how she felt about her new student, and wasn't about to let that ruin their friendship. She then decided to write her reply to Sunset:

My Dear Student,

I am quite happy to hear that you trust me enough to confide in me. I obviously won't rush you into telling me about your past. I'm not one to pry...You tell me when you're good and ready to. I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to having you as my student. Also, I wanted to let you know that I found a time sometime next week that I might be able to squeeze in a visit to your world (if I can finish all my paperwork!). It will most likely be a couple weeks from now on Friday. I also wanted to tell you that if you ever need anything, I will always be there for you. Day or night, you can always come to me if you need anything.

Your friend (and teacher),

Twilight Sparkle

P.S: You don't have to address me as 'Princess Twilight', just Twilight is fine.

Meanwhile at Canterlot high, Sunset Shimmer and her friends were talking when the book started to glow and vibrate. As she read the message, Sunset couldn't help but smile. Twilight was going to try to come back in a couple weeks if she can finish up all her paperwork and such.

'Just in time for the musical showcase...' she thought to herself.

"Somebody's love-struck..." Rarity's voice brought Sunset Shimmer back to reality.

"I-I'm not...l-love-struck..." Sunset said while slightly blushing.

"She is!" Rarity gasped.

"No I'm not!" Sunset said obviously in slight denial. She sighed.

"I honestly don't know how I feel about her..." She admitted.

"Well, that's up to you to figure it out sugarcube" Applejack said.

"Excuse me, but may I sit here?" a familiar voiced asked; it was Princess Twilight's voice, but she looked different. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she wore black square glasses. This wasn't the Twilight they knew.

"S-sure..." Sunset invited her to sit with them.

"How is this even possible? Who is this?" Rainbow Dash whispered to Sunset.

"This is technically an alternate world to Equestria...that means this the Twilight Sparkle of his world!" Sunset replied.

"Well, let's see if my theory is right..." Sunset mumbled before facing the Twilight look-a-like.

"You're new here right?" she asked.

"Yeah, my name is Twilight Sparkle...It's funny, you look like a girl I knew at my old school...her name escapes me...it started with an 'S'...Sunny...Sunshine...Sunset! That's it! Her name is Sunset Shimmer!" She replied as the six friends gave each other worried looks.

"Heheh...that's funny because that's my name too!" Sunset replied.

She made a mental note to write to Twilight about this. After all, they're sort of the same person, perhaps she might know why 'human Twilight' is at CHS. Sunset immediately started to write her message:

Dear Princess Twilight,

The weirdest thing just happened! It would seem that there is another you here at CHS...But she looks and acts different from you...Anyway, I figured that you might have an idea on her intentions for being here? Other than that, we are all hoping that you will be able to come and visit us again and it's right at the musical showcase! Perhaps we can all play a song? You know, for old times' sake! Let us know what you think of this 'other Twilight'.

Your faithful student,

Sunset Shimmer

"What are you writing?" The other Twilight asked.

"Huh...Nothing! It's...huh...personal..." Sunset stammered as she struggled to put the book away; just in case Twilight were to reply quickly.

As the six walked towards their next classes, they made up a sort of game-plan:

"We shouldn't let her see our magic...meaning if we play, we have to be careful not to pony-up. I mean, we don't know of her intentions so...it could be risky if we let her see any magic...If I find out anything about her, or her intentions; I will keep you posted." Sunset said.

"And you need to be careful with that...magic book of yours. I mean, if she sees that book glowing, she's probably going to get suspicious..." Rainbow Dash replied.

"She has a point..." Rarity shimmed in.

"Alright! I get it! I'll keep my messages to Twilight at a minimum...at least when this 'other' Twilight is around..." Sunset replied.

Sunset Shimmer's next class was history. Luckily for her, Twilight hadn't replied (then again, the book was in her backpack that was zipped shut) seeing as the 'other' Twilight was sitting right beside her. Sunset's thoughts returned to Twilight; their Twilight. She wondered about her feelings for Twilight. Regardless of what her feelings towards Twilight were, she didn't want it to ruin their newfound friendship. Sunset spent all of history class to try to figure out her feelings for the princess of friendship, but to no avail. After history class there was a fifteen minute break where she saw that Twilight had sent her a reply and read it:

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

(I decided that I prefer to address you like this) So there is another me in your world? Well, if this girl is really me, I would have to assume that she had gotten suspicious of what's been happening at Canterlot High. I suggest that you try to hide anything to do with magic from her. (that includes this book!) Speaking of which, what are we going to do when there are two of us there? Sure we don't look exactly the same, but she will get suspicious if there's another girl at Canterlot High who looks like her and has the same name... As far as the musical showcase goes, I would love to play a song with you girls again! If you find out anything new about this 'Twilight Sparkle', please write to me as soon as you can. That way, I can do my research here in Equestria. (though I highly doubt I will find anything; it's worth a shot, right?) Hope to hear from you soon!

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

The girls had noticed that after reading Twilight's message, Sunset Shimmer seemed sad.

"You alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"...I miss home..." she mumbled.

"If you don't mind me asking darling, but why did you leave in the first place?" Rarity asked.

"It's sort of a long story..." Sunset replied.

"Then how about we have a slumber party at my house so you can tell us this incredibly long story in the next chapter?" Pinkie exclaimed.

"The...next chapter?" Asked Applejack.

"Don't even try to make sense out of that..." Rainbow Dash replied.

"You know what? Why not? At the same time, I can attempt to tell Twilight as well...I told her I would at some point..." Sunset said.

"So it's official; slumber party at my house!" Pinkie shrieked in pure joy.

SLUMBER PARTY!

Once the bell finally rang signalling the end of the day, the six friends made their way to Pinkie Pie's house. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were playing a video-game; it seemed as if Applejack had the upper hand...for now at least...Pinkie Pie and Rarity were taking 'selfies' while Sunset Shimmer helped Fluttershy with her fanfiction. Believe it or not, but Fluttershy really loves Doctor Who...After a while of having fun, Rarity asked Sunset if she was ready to tell them her 'long story'.

"It all started a long time ago...I was just a little filly in Equestria back then. From what I have been able to gather, my parents left me on the doorstep of an orphanage in Canterlot. I was only a couple weeks old at the time...I was adopted by Princess Celestia." Sunset started.

"You were adopted?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah..." Sunset replied.

"Did Principal-err-Princess Celestia tell you that?" Applejack asked.

"Not exactly...you see, I stumbled across her journal one day and she had written about the day she adopted me...she wrote that she was feeling lonely and depressed seeing as her sister was gone and that's when she considered adopting a foal. She also stated that she was happy she did...she...she loved me..." Sunset explained. Though it was rare that she would cry, today was one of those exceptions.

"Why are you crying darling? Isnt that a good thing?" Rarity asked.

"I was...so awful to her that night...and now I realise that she did truly love me. That night, all I could see was the fat that she lied to me and everything I had known about my life was a lie.." she explained.

"All I remember from that night was the arguing...I said something horrible to the only mother I've ever had..." she continued.

"What did you say to her sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"I...I told her...that I...that I hated her! I didn't mean it! I was just upset! I ran in tears and came here...I don't hate her and I realise now that she didn't tell me to protect me. She would have told me when I was more prepared to talk about like a mature adult...I wish I could go and apologize to her, but she probably hates me for what I said...I've never wanted my mother so much in all my life..." Sunset broke down into tears, Fluttershy hugging her in an attempt to comfort her.

"I doubt she hates you Sunset..." she said.

"Could one of you try to write that to Twilight for me? I think I might ruin the book if I try to write it..." she asked as Rarity began writing to Twilight explaining why Sunset wasn't the one writing along with what she had told her to write. At the same time, Pinkie brought the girls some ice cream, giving Sunset the biggest bowl. She was slowly starting to feel better.

Meanwhile in Equestria, Twilight was almost in tears just by reading what Rarity had written. Twilight had discussed Sunset Shimmer quite a few times, and she did know that Celestia missed Sunset greatly, but never knew the actual reason why she seemed so sad at the mention of her name. Twilight then sent a letter to her former mentor asking if she could share with Sunset Shimmer some of the things they had discussed. Luckily for her, Princess Celestia agreed that she could tell Sunset what they had discussed. She even asked Twilight to send out a message to Sunset Shimmer. She then began to write her reply to her student and friends:

Hey girls,

How is Sunset doing? I hope she's all right...anyway, If you wouldn't mind giving her this message for me:

I never realised that Celestia adopted you...now everything makes sense...Sunset, believe me when I say that Celestia doesn't hate you; I'd say she's more worried than anything...she truly does love you Sunset. She knows that we are sending messages to each other and everyday she asks me if you ever mentioned anything about returning to Equestria. She obviously wants to patch things up with you, Sunset. Also, I was wondering if you would be comfortable with me discussing this a bit with the princess? If you'd rather I didn't, I won't. Hopefully you girls can still enjoy your weekend!

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

After writing her message, Twilight re-processed everything Sunset had said. Princess Celestia had adopted her. That was quite obvious seeing as Celestia had once broken down into tears when she and Twilight had discussed Sunset Shimmer. The Princess of friendship only had half of her original stack of paperwork to complete, so she started on the remainder of her paperwork.

'I'll be done before the musical showcase at Canterlot High' she thought to herself.

Back through the mirror at Pinkie Pie's house, Sunset read Twilight's message at least five times. She couldn't believe what she was reading.

"Sh-she doesn't hate me? Princess Celestia...mother...worries about me?" she stammered.

"Of course she does. Adopted or not, she's still technically your mom..." Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Are you going to go back to Equestria?" Applejack asked.

"I..." Sunset started, only to be cut off by Pinkie Pie.

"Of course not! At least not yet! That would make the story totally short!"

"I was going to say; I'm not sure what I'm going to do...I'll have to think about it...Perhaps by the time Twilight comes back in a couple weeks..." Sunset said. `

"Wait. She's coming back in a couple weeks?" Rarity asked.

"Y-yeah, if she can finish her paperwork by then..." she replied.

Finally, Sunset decided to write her reply to Twilight:

Dear Princess Twilight,

I have no problem with you talking to Princess Celestia about this. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I was considering returning to Equestria with you after the musical showcase...(if you come of course!) But, I'm really not sure what I should do...any advice?

Your faithful student,

Sunset Shimmer

P.S: As your student, I assume you'll want me to start sending you letters when I learn something about friendship as you did once with Princess Celestia?

"So...huh...Sunset...have you figured out anything about this world's Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Actually...I have. Turns out, she graduated early from some private school...Starswirl Academy I think it was called? And she is supposed to be attending Canterlot University in a few weeks." Sunset said, popping up files on Pinkie Pie's laptop.

"Then what is she doing at our school?" Applejack asked.

"That's not all, apparently, her 'best friend' also graduated early and is attending Canterlot University..." she continued.

"Well, who's her best friend?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sunset Shimmer! I knew that there was another Sunset Shimmer in this world, but I usually try to avoid her as to not cause any confusion..." she added.

Meanwhile in Equestria, precisely in it's capital of Canterlot, a white alicorn mare was going through what appeared to be an old scrapbook.

"Sister?" a midnight blue alicorn mare entered her head into her sister's room.

"Huh? Oh sorry Luna...just lost in thought..." Celestia replied as her sister entered her room. Luna's gaze stopped at the scrapbook Celestia was looking at.

"Sister, who is that filly in the photo?" she asked.

"Sunset Shimmer" she replied.

"I...hadn't realised you two were so close before..." Luna replied, looking at all the photos.

"Well, I would sure hope we were close back then..." Celestia replied.

"What did happen between you two?" Luna asked.

"Luna, there's something you should know about Sunset Shimmer...I adopted her when she was only two weeks old and raised her ever since. The night she left, she found out she was adopted and we argued. She left in tears..." Celestia said close to tears herself as Luna attempted to comfort her.

Confessions of a princess (or Super-Duper Party Spyers)

"So you mean to tell me that you adopted a filly?" Luna asked.

"Yes Luna, I adopted her. I was lonely and depressed since the...huh...incident, and I had been considering adopting a foal for a while seeing as I can't have my own..." Celestia replied, slightly teary eyed as Luna hugged her sister. They spent the next hour looking through the scrapbook.

Back to where Sunset Shimmer was, it was now around ten o'clock and the girls decided to go to the Cake's sweet shop and make a game plan so they can gather some more information on the Twilight Sparkle of this world.

"How about we spy on her?" Pinkie Pie  suggested.

"Pinkie, how can we spy on her if we don't know where she is?" Rainbow asked/

"But we do know where she is! She's right there!" Pinkie exclaimed as they all looked to the left and there she was, ordering something.

"How..." Rainbow started, but was shushed by Applejack.

The six then saw her leaving and they decided to go with Pinkie's idea and spy on her. They followed her for a good twenty minutes until she finally stopped at a park bench where a girl almost identical to Sunset Shimmer was.

"So did you find out anything about Canterlot High?" she asked.

"Nothing...though I did notice this one girl who is almost identical to you there...she even has the same name as you..." 'Twilight' replied.

What? Another me? Are you serious?" she asked.

"That's not all, a lot of the students at that school were apologizing to me claiming they thought I was someone else...do you think there might be another me as well? Because I have never seen any of them before until now..." she replied.

"I don't know Twi, it's a possibility, but how can you explain that without sounding crazy? It just doesn't make any sense scientifically..." the 'other' Sunset Shimmer exclaimed.

"I know...that's why- I know it's hard to believe- but have you ever considered it to be because of magic...?" 'Twilight' said.

"Really Twilight, magic? There's no such thing..." 'Sunset' replied.

That was all the girls needed to hear to leave the area to discuss what they just heard.

"How did she manage to come to that conclusion...and so quickly?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, she is an alternate to Princess Twilight...who is practically a super-genius..." Sunset replied.

"Whatever it is, she is still onto us...we can't let her figure it out..." Applejack exclaimed.

"What do you think she's planning to do if she finds out?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out..." Sunset replied.

Little did they know, this worlds Twilight and Sunset were listening in on the girls' conversation.

"See? I told you so!" 'Twilight' whispered to 'Sunset' in triumph.

"I...I can't believe it...and no one else will seeing as we have no evidence..." she replied.

"Well then, I'll just have to find some then..." she replied.

Later on that day, the girls decided to go to the mall. It was now going on two o'clock in the afternoon. As they were walking, Sunset Shimmer collided with the other one!

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry..." the other Sunset started, but then stopped when she saw who she had collided with her. Twilight helped her up, as did Fluttershy to their Sunset Shimmer.

"Oh no..." Sunset mumbled under her breath.

"So, is this the 'Sunset Shimmer' girl you were telling me about? Funny, how we both look the same and have the same name..." the Sunset Shimmer from this world said.

Sunset laughed awkwardly. She just hoped Princess Twilight wouldn't send her a message right now...It would appear that faith was not on her side today, because the book started to vibrate. though no one could hear it, Sunset could feel it in her backpack. Her face seemed a bit more panicked now.

"Are you alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Th-the book..." she whispered so only Applejack and the girls could hear.

"Say, Sunset can you come with me? I need some ideas as to what I should get Sweetie Belle for her birthday..." Rarity said, attempting to cover for Sunset.

"S-sure Rarity!" she replied as they fled the area. once they were in a secluded area, Sunset Shimmer took out the book and began to read:

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

I would totally LOVE it if you came back to Equestria with me! Err...that is so you and Princess Celestia can fix things. I know she would most likely say the same thing. The only advice I can give you is to follow your heart and make what you think is the right choice! So, have you found out anything on the Twilight Sparkle of that world?

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

P.S: If you so wish to report your findings on friendship to me, by all mean go ahead. Just don't feel obligated to send me a 'friendship report' alright?

Susnet couldn't help but notice the way Twilight had written the message. It seemed almost as if she attempted to save herself when she said she'd love for her to return to Equestria with her...Sunset decided to just shrug it off.

"So what did she say?" Rarity asked.

"She told me to...follow my heart and make the right choice for me..."Sunset replied.

"Are you going to write back to her?" she asked.

"Later, we have friends to find..." she replied as they set off to find their friends in the food-court.

Meanwhile in Equestria, Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were waiting for Princess Cadance to show up so they could discuss everything. Celestia felt it was time all three of them knew the complete truth about Sunset Shimmer. Finally, Cadance arrived.

"Sorry I'm late everypony! we had a...huh...slight debate at home..." she apologized.

"It's fine Cadance. Now, there is a reason why I called you all here...it's time you all knew the truth about Sunset Shimmer..." Celestia replied.

About sixteen years ago...

Princess Celestia, feeling lonely and depressed after 986 years that she had been forced to banish her sister into the moon, decided that she wanted a foal. In truth, she had always wanted to have foals of her own, but couldn't. Her and her late lover; Captain Solar Eclipse, the captain of her royal guard at the time, had tried many times for a child, but to no avail. Finally, she realised that her only remaining option was to adopt. So later on that day, she went to the orphanage in Canterlot.

"Good afternoon your majesty, what brings you here today?" a mare  with a grey coat, brown mane and tail along with piercing green eyes answered the door.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Glodheart, I was actually hoping to adopt a foal..." Celestia replied.

"Well, why didn't you say so! Come in! Come in! Was there a specific age or gender you wanted?" she asked as she invited the princess inside and lead her to her office.

"Not really..." the princess replied.

"Well, how about we start with the little ones? We found a little filly on our doorstep last night...might be a couple weeks old at most..." she said as she went to get the little filly in question.

A few instants later, Mrs. Goldheart had returned with a little yellow-orange colored filly bundled up in a pink blanket. The filly would have a mane of yellow and red when she grew older. As soon as Celestia saw the filly, she knew that she wanted her. There was something about her...

"I wish to adopt this filly" she said.

"Excellent. What shall be her name? She hasn't one yet..." Mrs. Goldheart asked.

"Hmm...Sunset Shimmer" Celestia said. She thought the name was fitting of the child.

"What a pretty name!" Mrs. Goldheart said as she started on the adoption papers.

After sometime, everything was in order and the princess brought her new daughter home.

"So you adopted Sunset Shimmer?" Asked Cadance.

"Yes" Celestia replied.

"That would explain a lot, actually..." the Princess of Love replied.

As the years went by, Sunset and Celestia became so close that they were almost inseparable. But sadly, all good things come to an end. One evening, Sunset Shimmer, age thirteen, went inside her mother's room to fetch one of her books she had left in there. While searching for her book, she accidentally dropped book on the floor. It was actually Celestia's journal. It was opened to the page that was dated to the day that Celestia had adopted Sunset Shimmer. It read:

After 986 years, something good finally happens to me! As I have most likely already mentioned in this journal, I am sadly unable to have foals of my own. Solar Eclipse and I have tried many times, but we were told that I was barren. But today, I went to the orphanage in town and adopted the cutest little unicorn filly! I am so happy I brought her home with me today. Mrs. Goldheart told me that she was stranded on the doorstep of the orphanage last night...the poor thing! Anyway, when she first showed me this filly, I knew that I wanted to raise her. There was just something about her...I decided to give her the name Sunset Shimmer. It just seemed to fit!

There was also a picture of a filly Sunset Shimmer on the page. Sunset now had mixed emotion, but the one that stood out most was anger. What she thought was her mother had lied to her for all those years! She knew that Princess Celestia would most likely be in her personal library, so that's where she went.

"Wait a second, you're barren?" Luna asked.

"Yes. I cannot ever bear a child...anyway, this is when the argument ensued..." Celestia replied.

"How could you!" was all Sunset Shimmer could say to her supposed mother at the moment.

"Sunset, what's wrong?" Celestia asked.

"How could you not tell me that I was adopted?" Sunset yelled.

"Sweetie, I..." the Princess of the Sun started, but was soon cut off by her daughter.

"I can't believe you would hide something so major from me!" Sunset yelled.

"Sunset..." Celestia attempted to get a word in, but to no avail.

"I just want to know why?" Sunset exclaimed.

"Sunset, listen to me; you don't understand yet, but you will when you're older, please can we talk about this then? I truly wasn't prepared for this..." Celestia said as Sunset groaned in complete and utter frustration.

"Ugh! I hate you!" Sunset's words echoed in Celestia's ears. Sunset had fled the room in tears. Celestia took off after her a couple seconds after only to find that her daughter was gone. Celestia knew where she had gone; through the mirror. Celestia spent a good week in front of that mirror, hoping that her daughter would return to her.

"I actually remember that week...I spent most of it with Cadance, except for at night..." Twilight said.

"Well, now you all know the truth..." Celestia said.

"You miss her, don't you?" asked Cadance.

"More than anything..." Celestia replied, small tears forming in her eyes.

Suddenly, a pink aura engulfed Twilight's saddlebag. She was getting a message from Sunset Shimmer! She grabbed the book with her magic and read it:

Dear Princess Twilight,

I have found out a few things about this world's Twilight:

She graduated from high school early and is going to attend University in a few weeks.

She has a brother 'Shining Armor' (doesn't your brother have the same name?) who is in the army and is married to Mi Amore Cadenza (though I hear she likes to be called 'Cadance'...everyone loves her!)

Her best friend is the Sunset Shimmer from this world

She is going to university to become a scientist of just about every field...(that's going to take a while to finish all that school...)

That's all I got for now, and I will let you know if I find out more. Also, I haven't decided if I will come back to Equestria or not, but I will give myself until you come back to decide...If you wish to tell Princess Celestia, go ahead, just be sure to say that I might come back, it isn't guaranteed yet...

I also decided that when I learn something new about friendship, I will report it to you. which reminds me...

Today we literally bumped into the other Twilight and the other me. It was also at that time that you had sent me your last message. though no one saw the book glow, I could feel it vibrating in my backpack. Thankfully, Rarity managed to help me get out of that situation. I learned today that a true friend will always be there to help you when you need it most!

Your faithful student,

Sunset Shimmer

More (somewhat) confessions...

As the weekend came to a close, Monday came at last. 'Twilight' sat with the girls and they began to talk:

"So...the musical showcase is in a couple weeks; are you girls going to participate?" she asked.

"Most likely...if our other band-mate can come, we'll make it 20% cooler!" Rainbow Dash replied ad Pinkie Pie laughed hysterically.

"Why are you laughing?" Sunset asked.

"Because the author is laughing too!" Pinkie laughed as everyone shot her confused looks.

"Anyway, where is this 'other band-mate'?" 'Twilight' asked.

"She's...huh...out of town..." Sunset replied.

"Oh, is that so? Interesting...I mean, hopefully I can meet her some time..." the other Twilight said, rather suspiciously.

"Ok...so Sunset have you heard anything from her now that we bring it up?" Rarity asked.

"Not yet. I don't think the sun has even risen yet where she is...I think there's like a four hour difference between us..." Sunset replied.

"Are you serious? Four hours? So it's like...4:30 in the morning where she is? How does she manage to contact you this early then?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"I honestly don't know...I know for certain that she doesn't really sleep much...she's typically up all night studying something, so I guess she just notices my messages from time to time and answers them..." Sunset explained.

"But wasn't the last message you sent her on Saturday?" Pinkie asked.

"Who knows why she hasn't answered. Maybe she's off saving the world again or something. Maybe she's having tea with my...mother..." It had been a very long time since Sunset Shimmer even referred to Princess Celestia as her mother; it almost hurt her to remember what had happened oh so long ago.

"Wasn't she like her mentor or something?" Rainbow inquired.

"Yeah. Though I barely remember seeing her, but she was living with us since we were both like eight...I was a bit of an anti-social outcast back then..." Sunset explained.

After discretely jotting down a few things, 'Twilight' excused herself. she was going to re-read everything she wrote and see if there was anything useful.

"She's a little...strange isn't she?" Applejack said once 'Twilight' was out of earshot.

"I think she might be on to us...we cannot let her find out about Equestria...she's obviously one of those 'I don't believe in magic and if I did find out it exists, I'd totally tell everyone' types..." Sunset replied.

"I have to agree with Sunset on this one..." Rarity shimmed in.

With that, the six friends parted ways to go to their classes. Sunset had English first. She had hoped that Princess Twilight would have replied by now.

'Wait. Why am I thinking like this about her? It's not like I love her or something...or do I? Ugh! I don't know anymore...' she thought to herself.

She spent her French class and chemistry class thinking about her feelings for Twilight; she finally admitted to herself that she was in love with her, but was scared to tell her that because she doesn't want to ruin their friendship. The fact that she did love the Princess of Friendship wasn't too shocking to her; she had always preferred mares over stallions back in Equestria. Even when she was dating Flash Sentry, she didn't really feel any love for him...she had never told anypony-or anyone for that matter- about it, not even Princess Celestia knew. Now all Sunset could do was wonder if Princess Twilight felt the same way or not...

Back in Equestria, Princess Twilight along with her friends were all at Twilight's castle talking and enjoying each other's company. Twilight was actually deep within her thoughts: the way she had written her last letter to Sunset...did she love her? It was possible...her thoughts then shifted to yesterday, she was curious to see Sunset Shimmer growing up, so she and Celestia spent most of the day going through pictures of her. Now that she thought about it, Sunset was indeed a gorgeous mare...even if the most recent picture of her in Equestria was taken three years ago...Maybe Twilight did love Sunset Shimmer? Who knows...

"Twilight!" Rainbow half-yelled to get the lavender alicorn's attention.

"Huh? Sorry Rainbow, I was...huh...deep in thought..." she replied.

"You're still thinking about her aren't you?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Who?" Twilight asked even if she knew all too well whom Pinkie was referring to.

"Oh come on Twi! We all know you're thinking about Sunset Shimmer..." Rainbow replied.

"What? No I'm not!" Twilight replied slightly panicked.

"Ah! She is!" Rarity replied, making Twilight blush ever-so slightly.

"Ah think somepony's in love!" Applejack exclaimed.

"No I'm not!" Twilight replied, growing redder and more panicked.

"We were just kiddin' arounf Twilight..." Applejack said.

"Look! You girls just don't get it! You have no idea..." Twilight replied.

"Then why not try explaining it to us, darling?" Rarity suggested. Twilight sighed in defeat.

"Ever since I was a filly, everypony's always told me that mares marry stallions and vice-versa. That was the norm. I assumed that was the case, until I grew older. As I grew up, I got to that small awkward stage where you start to gain an interest in finding a very special somepony. Believe it or not, but I actually did go on a few dates when I lived in Canterlot. Though it never felt right...that's when I realised I wasn't attracted to stallions, but to mares...My parents had confronted me about why I was turning down stallions every time they'd ask me out. I just told them I wanted to focus on my studies. They still don't know the truth to this day. Even Shining Armor doesn't know, but I'm not so worried about talking to him about it. My parents on the other hand, that's another story...They're a little more...huh...old fashioned...Do you know how hard it is to try to hide that from your family...?" Twilight explained.

"Oh Twilight, we had no idea..." Fluttershy replied softly.

"So...you're a...huh...filly-fooler?" Rainbow asked.

"Y-yeah, please keep this between us...nopony else needs to know this..." Twilight replied.

"You know what Twi? You're not alone. I'm a filly-fooler too!" Rainbow Dash replied, getting somewhat surprised looks from her friends.

"Really?" Twilight asked as the cyan Pegasus nodded and hugged her.

"Believe me Twi, I know what it's like...my parents weren't exactly thrilled that their daughter liked mares...of course, that kind of stuff spreads like wildfire in Cloudsdale...everypony knew about it the next day...the other colts and fillies would pick n me, but I didn't let it get to me...for the longest time, I wondered what was wrong with me, but in the end, you just have to embrace that you are what you are and nopony can change that! Hopefully one day you'll be able to tell your folks, Twi" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Thanks Rainbow" she thanked.

"So do tell us Twilight, do you have a crush on Sunset Shimmer?" Rarity asked as Twilight sighed in defeat.

"Yes. But I don't want to tell her, because I'm afraid of it ruining our friendship..." she replied.

"This is so like a romance novel that the author's mom would read..." Pinkie said as everypony looked at her in confusion.

"What?" Applejack asked.

"Nevermind that! The point is, egghead here's in love!" Rainbow teased.

"Haha. Funny." Twilight replied. A hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"You need to tell her how you feel darling" Rarity said.

"I...I don't know girls...maybe I shouldn't..." she replied.

"Oh come on Twilight! It won't be the end of the world..." Applejack daid.

"I might tell her...after the musical showcase in a couple weeks..." Twilight replied.

"Musical showcase?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"yeah, the 'Rainbooms' are playing in Canterlot High's musical showcase; the one that won't turn into a battle of the bands this time...they also wanted me to perform with them again..." she replied.

"I suppose it would be too much chaos if we went with you?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, especially when we will already be dealing with two me's and two Sunset's...I can't imagine how they would react to two of all of you too!" Twilight replied.

"Wait. There;s another you there?" Rainbow inquired as Twilight nodded.

"Yeah, and apparently she's graduated high school and is going to university. I think she's planning to expose magic to the world..." she explained.

Back to where Sunset Shimmer was, she enjoyed lunch with her friends, then she had history and finally math. Luckily for her, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were in her math class.

"So, anything from Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"Nothing yet..." Sunset said, and just as she said that, the book began to glow and vibrate. The message read:

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

Sorry it took so long. I was having a discussion with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadance when you sent me your last message. I also spent most of the day with Princess Celestia yesterday, so I'm writing to you now. I'm glad to hear that you've learnt something about friendship! Any new developments with our 'other selves'?

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

"Well, nothing's new with Twilight...though she did spend all day yesterday with Princess Celestia..." Sunset said.

Soon enough, math class was over as was the school day. The girls had decided to practice a bit for the musical showcase. They decided to play 'Rainbow Rocks':

Youtube Video

As they were playing, the girls 'ponied-up'! Little did they know that the Twilight from this world had seen it all-she had even recorded it on her smartphone!

"Aha! I knew there was something off about this school!" she examined as she emerged from her hiding spot, cellphone in hand.

"Where'd you come from? Nevermind that, what do you plan on doing with that footage?" Sunset asked.

"I knew there was something odd about this school! Now it all makes sense...I can't believe I'm saying this, but magic is real! This is magic!" Twilight replied.

"What are you going to do with that footage?" Rainbow demanded.

"I'll most likely give it to the media to broadcast worldwide!" she replied.

"Sunset, send a message to Princess Twilight. Now!" Rainbow whispered to Sunset as she lunged at the other Twilight.

Sunset went to the corner where her backpack was and began writing to Twilight:

Twilight,

We need you to open the portal! The other Twilight has proof of our magic and we need your help!

Sunset Shimmer

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were still battling over the phone. Though Rainbow had the upper hand, Twilight was holding up rather well against her.

'Twilight, please hurry! We need you!' Sunset silently prayed that Twilight would come back.

Emergency

As soon as Twilight saw Sunset's message, her friends saw the panic in her face.

"What is it sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"The mirror world Twilight has proof of Equestrian magic! We need to stop her from exposing it!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Wait. 'We'? I thought we'd cause too much confusion if we went too..." Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"There's no time! We can't let...well, me expose magic!" Twilight exclaimed as she activated the mirror.

Once the mirror activated, the six ponies entered. The first thing anypony-err-anybody noticed was the fact that they weren't ponies anymore.

"What the heck are we?" Rainbow asked, somewhat freaking out.

"You're what we call human" a voice in which Twilight knew all too well replied; it was Sunset Shimmer!

"I heard you guys from the music room. Rainbow Dash and Twilight are still battling over her phone with the video of us on it..." she explained as she helped the girls get up on their feet.

"Let's go!" Twilight said.

It took her friends a few seconds to figure out how to walk on two legs, but they managed. As they walked into the school, Sunset and Twilight noted the differences between the two versions of the girls:

The Rainbow Dash from Equestria wore a pair of black shorts with her cutie-mark on them as well as a multi-colored sweatshirt and a pair of white hi-tops with rainbow colored laces.

Fluttershy was wearing a simple white dress along with baby pink ballet flats.

Applejack was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a white short-sleeved shirt that was tucked in. She also wore cowboy boots and her signature hat.

Pinkie Pie was wearing a pink dress with matching pink high heels and finally,

Rarity was wearing a navy blue skirt with a lovely white blouse. she was also wearing a pair of black high heels.

Finally, they had made it to the music room. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were on the ground, wrestling for the phone still. Rainbow got a hold of the phone at last and Princess Twilight grabbed it.

"Twilight!" The five human girls exclaimed.

"I'm back...and I brought some friends with me this time..." se said as each girl was then faced with their double.

Twilight was struggling to operate the phone, so Sunset offered to help. Sunset then had a screen up that would allow her to delete the video.

"Alright, now let's talk about this before someone does something irrational..." Sunset started.

"Can't we just blast her with the magic of friendship like we have to everypon-err-everybody else we've faced so far?" the Equestrian Rainbow Dash asked.

"The magic of friendship?" the 'other' Twilight asked. but was ignored.

"We can't do that; she isn't like the others we've faced..." Twilight replied.

"Then what are we going to do?" asked the human Rainbow Dash.

That was one question Princess Twilight didn't have an answer to. After a good ten minutes of silence, she finally speaks:

"Why do you even want to expose us in the first place?"

"Because this could very well be one of the greatest discoveries in the world!" the 'other' Twilight replied.

"But do you realize what would most likely happen to us if you did expose us and our magic?" Princess Twilight started her lecture.

Sunset never noticed how cute Princess Twilight looked when she was lecturing someone...

'Wait. Why am I thinking like that? This isn't the time or place...' she thought to herself.

Little did she know the Princess of friendship was thinking the same sort of thoughts about her. While she was lecturing Twilight, the two Rarity's started talking and came to a conclusion that Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight would make an adorable couple! Soon enough, the ten girls were all talking about Sunset Shimmer and the Princess of friendship. Meanwhile, the two Twilight's ame to some sort of agreement: the human Twilight would have until Friday to try and understand bits of Equestrian magic and why she shouldn't expose them to the world. If she couldn't understand why not to, and she still wants to expose everything, well they'll deal with it then.

"Well, now that all that is sort of sorted out...what do we do now?" Princess Twilight asked.

"I think the real question is, how long are you girls here?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"I guess we could probably stay until Friday...What do you girls think?" Princess Twilight  asked as she got excited looks from her friends.

"So...major sleepover at the clubhouse?" human Pinkie suggested.

"The clubhouse?" Sunset Shimmer and the Princess of friendship asked in unison, making their friends laugh.

"Basically, it's just an old house we fixed up that was abandoned in the forest on the outskirts of town" human Rainbow Dash explained.

"So what do you girls think?" the Princess of friendship asked.

"Let's do it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"I don't see why not..." Rarity said.

"Sure" Applejack and Fluttershy said.

"Yay! Sleep-over party week at the clubhouse!" the two Pinkies squealed in joy.

With that, the human Twilight left and the twelve of them headed towards where the clubhouse was.