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.
