Equestria Girls - The Tale of Two Sunsets

While Sunset was awaiting a response from Pinkie, she began surfing the web on her phone, before realizing that very soon, she would have to get used to not having a mobile electronic, after going back through the portal. This wasn't necessarily a huge setback, since she knew that being a unicorn back in Equestria, the lack of cell phones were compensated by magic, even though she had become rusty with most spells. In some ways, Sunset almost felt as if the constant adapting would always be her number one obstacle, notably when switching back and forth between worlds. It was almost the equivalent of taking cold food from her refrigerator, heating it up in the microwave, and immediately putting it back in the fridge.

When it came down to what kind of life Sunset wanted for herself after graduation, she felt like she was also in the same boat as her fellow classmates at CHS, notably the ones who planned on going to college. Pursuing an education at a university, as opposed to getting a job right out of high school, this almost seemed comparable to her upcoming decision, split between staying in Equestria, or continuing her life in the Human World. Though in Sunset's case, she practically viewed the latter option as how her friends viewed college, aside from Twilight. Staying behind in the Human World would most likely entail a boring office job, outrageous costs on college tuition, and an overall lack of motivation.

Sunset had definitely heard it all, especially since she wasn't one of those students being pressured to follow the unrealistic expectations of society. She went out of her way to conduct heavy research, learning that aside from those numerous horror stories of college graduates not even using their expensive degree in the job market, the Human World was nothing like Equestria. The Rainbooms had been quite vocal about how depressing and unfair society had become, caring all about arbitrary bachelor's degrees, and the everlasting conundrum that many graduates are met with. They had always been sold the lie that college would be the wisest investment in their entire lives, only to be met with a rude and picky employer who expected working experience upfront. In other words, something that was impossible to have, if nobody even bothered to give them a chance.

Equestria wasn't run like this at all, Sunset knew it for a fact, before she suddenly reflected on what she herself had been trying to pursue, before the incident that landed her in the Human World. On top of being Princess Celestia's most gifted pupil, this particular path had never really amounted to anything significant in her new life, since she lacked her horn as a human. The closest aspect relating to magic that she even had in the Human World, was her geode's ability to read the minds of others, which was admittedly underwhelming, especially compared to casting spells. Sunset knew for certain that despite being out of practice with magic, one of her biggest goals upon returning to Equestria, was to officially graduate from the School For Gifted Unicorns. It was more a matter of wanting to give herself closure on this particular chapter of her life, especially since her feud with Princess Celestia had ended up destroying this precious opportunity.

"In some ways, it's pretty funny how fate ended up putting me in this situation." Sunset giggled to herself. "I'm about to graduate from high school here, yet I've never even completed my magical education, back in Equestria. It's like the universe decided to throw me a curveball, and I went along with it, just because. I'd be pretty astonished if someone else has ever been in my kind of position, just makes me feel that much more special about myself, despite my many regrets."

As Sunset sat in deep thought, her solitude was suddenly pierced by the sound of a sudden knock at her door. She looked up, a bit surprised, and wondered who could be visiting her at this hour. It certainly couldn't be the mailman delivering a package, especially this late into the night, prompting Sunset to instinctively believe it was someone showing up, unannounced. She took a deep breath and slowly built up the courage to get up and answer it, hoping it wasn't someone with bad news, or a problem that needed her immediate attention.

Then it suddenly hit her, was it that violent thug she had fought in the alleyways earlier, who specifically swore vengeance upon interfering with her gang's business? Had that mysterious girl somehow discovered where Sunset lived, and was now attempting to break in, and potentially ransack her home? Sunset began freaking out as she heard the knocking again, and was unsure if she should immediately lock herself in the bathroom and call the cops. However, after a while, her uncertainty and hesitance to meet her unexpected guest had suddenly vanished, once she heard a distinct and rather high-pitched voice.

"Hey, Sunset!" Pinkie Pie knocked on the door a third time. "Aren't you home? I know it's pretty late to come over, but I got your text! Care to chat with me, I've got plenty of time right now!"

"Pinkie, you scared the life out of me!" Sunset opened the door, a smile replacing her look of fear. "Then again, I guess that's to be expected from someone who specializes in making the biggest surprise parties. Wait a minute, that's what you came here for? Pinkie, I didn't mean you had to come all the way over to my house to chat, we could've just done it over the phone."

"Oh, don't worry, Sunset, I just preferred coming over, since it sounded like you were so lost in thought." Pinkie grinned. "It's not every day you get to catch a glimpse of your closest friends becoming philosophical, especially around the time of graduation! Either way, I just wanted to check in on you, you're looking pretty pensive, even for someone with as many layers as a seven-tiered cake. So what's been on your mind?"

"Well, before we get into that, I'm admittedly curious about something else." Sunset began. "For starters, where have you been, Pinkie? The rest of our friends had been wondering the same thing, and it's just not like you to be absent from our group's gatherings, especially with graduation coming up."

"Oh, I've just been super busy." Pinkie shrugged. "You know me, I kinda just hop all over the place, and plus, I had to do something extra-special for... let's just say a friend, who's just like me. It's totally top secret, but I'll tell you that it involves balloons, confetti, and a piñata filled with their favorite candy!"

"You always knew how to throw the most amazing parties." Sunset rolled her eyes, playfully. "Another thing, how come you haven't been responding to our texts, all week? The other girls even mentioned that they hadn't seen nor heard from you in a while, and it's like you've been completely ignoring us for some reason."

"What do you mean I haven't been responding to texts?" Pinkie raised an eyebrow, before checking her own phone. "That's odd, my phone's been acting up lately, it's been glitching and losing signal in the weirdest places. But I'm here now!"

"Then I guess it was something out of your control." Sunset sighed in relief. "It's just that we've had a lot of things going on lately, and we were starting to get a bit worried. Like, while you were gone, we already came up with a mutual agreement to all work on a big song for our performance during graduation, ever since our band was selected. You weren't really around to help us come up with ideas, and we really needed your... bounciness and creativity."

"Aww, you girls are just too sweet for worrying about me." Pinkie said with gratitude. "I'm sorry if I made you all stressed, but I promise you, the surprise I've got in store will totally be worth it, though I can definitely save it for later. In that case, let's talk about your graduation song, what kind of a vibe are we going for?"

"Well, we've been tossing around ideas, but nothing's really stuck yet." Sunset reflected. "It needs to be something that represents all of us, something that shows our friendship and journey together throughout our time at CHS. We've already had a few sessions to brainstorm ideas, but it's been tough without your input, Pinkie. You got anything else that might give us a direction to take, or any further suggestions?"

"Hmm, a song about friendship and growth!" Pinkie's eyes lit up, as her mind raced with ideas. "We could totally do something with a mix of upbeat rhythms and heartfelt lyrics! Maybe throw in a little bit of humor here and there, because well, you know me! But wait, what if we also made it a surprise for the audience, instead of them expecting us to perform? Then we could also sing a complete mash-up of all the songs we've performed together, with a hint of something new!"

"That's... actually pretty brilliant." Sunset took a nearby notepad and pen to take some notes. "It's always great to throw the audience a curveball, to keep things fresh and exciting. That being said, we need to make sure we're all on the same page, especially if we're going to pull this off. I like the idea of creating a mash-up, it could be a real trip down memory lane for us, and even the audience. Come to think of it, perhaps we could combine elements from 'My Past is Not Today', and 'Shake Your Tail', as the main verses?"

"Oooh, that's a super funky idea!" Pinkie nodded with a grin. "Should we also take some inspiration from other musical artists, as a way of paying them some form of tribute? What kind of music are you into?"

"If you want my opinion on a more general field of music, I would say alternative rock." Sunset replied. "I'm sure that even your sister, Maud, would approve of my tastes. I'm admittedly a bit surprised that you're asking me what kind of music I like, considering we've had a whole adventure together, back at the Starswirled Music Festival."

"Huh...?" Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Err, you remember?" Sunset began recalling the events. "You and I went to see Postcrush at that festival, where we discovered how our beloved performing duo had been using some artifact to make us, well, at the very least me, relive the same day over and over, just because they were way too fixated on having the perfect performance?"

"Sunset, I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean by that." Pinkie shrugged. "Was this something we did recently, or was this maybe some bad dream you had, that you never told me about?"

Hearing this, Sunset sat back, rather confused as to how Pinkie seemingly lacked any memory of what went down during that never-ending time loop. Although it made sense how Adagio Dazzle acted as if she had never encountered Sunset at that festival, it was a completely different story for Pinkie. In fact, Pinkie's help was the main reason they had both been able to overpower Postcrush, and prevent them from repeating the same day for all eternity. Judging primarily from Pinkie's responses, Sunset mostly chalked it up to Pinkie having her memory erased, once they destroyed the Time Twirler, or she had truly forgotten all about everything, because of something else.

"Maybe it's just one of those things that only stuck with me, ancient Equestrian artifacts can sometimes just have that kind of oddity about them." Sunset deduced. "Alright, so moving on, aside from this graduation song we've all been working on, we also took some time to discuss our next steps, once we receive our CHS diplomas. To make a long story short, the rest of our friends are all planning to ditch college completely, and I admittedly might be inclined to join them on that decision. The only one who's still planning on going is Twilight, but knowing her, that's to be expected."

"College, huh?" Pinkie began giving this some deep thought. "I've heard so many different stories about it, it's like a box of assorted chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get! Very expensive chocolates, I may add, and that's hardly an understatement, when by comparison, even gourmet chocolate truffles are actually affordable! Hmm, but if almost all of the girls are passing on college completely, what does that mean for the Rainbooms, will we still be together after graduation?"

"If you're asking whether or not any of us are moving away, everyone in our group already mentioned that they'll be remaining here in Canterlot City, even after we all graduate." Sunset began breaking the hard news to Pinkie. "All of us... except for one, and that would be me."

"Wait, you're leaving us, Sunset?" Pinkie's said with surprise. "How come, I always thought you considered us family. This... doesn't have anything to do with the time I accidentally spilled fondue dip into your air conditioning vents, does it?"

"That was you!?" Sunset's eyes widened with shock.

"Errr, no, never mind I said anything!" Pinkie fluttered her eyes around the apartment, innocently. "But really, how come you're thinking of moving away?"

"It's got nothing to do with you and the other girls, nor any fondue incidents for that matter." Sunset couldn't help but roll her eyes at Pinkie's antics. "Basically, I've got a lot on my plate, including some loose ends that I've yet to resolve. Since I felt like I've been putting it off for way too long, I'm taking a trip back to Equestria for a whole week. Now that I've learned everything I needed to know about friendship from you girls over the years, I've been meaning to return to my home world for a while now. There's admittedly quite a bit that I've left behind in Equestria, and I just don't know if I can abandon it all to pursue another life here. I also technically never got the chance to graduate properly from the School for Gifted Unicorns, mostly thanks to what happened between me and Princess Celestia."

"Oh, Sunset, I totally get you!" Pinkie exclaimed. "If Equestria's calling you back home, then who are we to keep you from that? But if you're really considering going back to your home world, then what if we throw a goodbye party? Like, the biggest, most amazing party that CHS would ever have, even better than what we've got planned for graduation! We could invite everyone and even throw in some Equestrian flair, it'll be like a mix of the best parts of both CHS and Equestria!"

Hearing this, Sunset felt that if Pinkie were to partake in organizing this special event just for her, there'd be no reason to deny her such a privilege. Sunset also knew that in some ways, her very own presence at CHS was the main reason the school had now become widely-known, especially in the events of near disasters. Midnight Sparkle opening various portals into Equestria was one of the first things that crossed Sunset's mind, and these types of incidents had made every student's experience, that much more memorable. However, despite this notion of her seemingly moving away forever, Sunset knew that she hadn't necessarily finalized this decision yet, and that it depended on how enjoyable her time back in Equestria would turn out.

"That's pretty sweet of you, Pinkie, I'm looking forward to whatever you've got planned." Sunset's eyes gleamed with excitement. "To tell you the truth though, I haven't said that I'm definitely leaving this world for good, it's just something that I'm strongly considering, especially with some unfinished business back in Equestria. I know that deep down, I can't just abandon you girls on a whim like that, without at least giving a proper goodbye. Who knows, depending on how things go in Equestria, perhaps I'll miss this place so much and decide to stay, or I could even bring back some Equestrian souvenirs to spice things up around here!"

"Sounds like you could even bring back one of those magic-burping dragons that Applejack mentions from time to time!" Pinkie suggested. "Those would be so much more cooler than these cell phones, that's for sure! So hey, is this mostly what you wanted to talk with me about? If so, then I should get started in preparing the biggest farewell party in CHS's history."

"Well actually, before we go full party-planning mode, there's one more thing I need to discuss with you." Sunset began explaining. "Obviously, since I'll be going back to Equestria for a while, I'll need somebody to take care of my apartment. It'll primarily consist of watering my plants, checking the mail, and of course, feeding my leopard gecko, Ray. By any chance, are you up to the task? I know this is pretty last-minute of me, and that you've got a rather busy schedule, so I'd understand if you're unable to do this for me."

"Pfft, that's no big deal!" Pinkie waved her hand. "I'd be more than happy to watch over your place, Sunset! After all, it's not like I don't know how to handle a few simple chores, or be responsible. Besides, it'll be like having a mini vacation at Sunset's casa of mysteries and magic!"

"I would've entrusted my apartment to any of the girls, but I've got a good feeling about you, especially after what happened back then with Postcrush." Sunset smiled. "I almost felt like I was going to go insane, reliving the same day over and over for nearly three weeks. Having to also smell churros every single day, now that was certainly a nightmare. Seriously though, you... don't remember the wild adventure we had at that music festival? Not even the vaguest memory?"

"Sorry, Sunset, It's all just... fuzzy." Pinkie shrugged. "It's like trying to remember what I had for breakfast two weeks ago, and all I can recall is waking up to a whole rainbow of sugary cereals. Either way, if you say we had such a thrilling adventure, then I'm sure it was the most amazing one ever! I can totally believe you when you mentioned that churros were involved, because churros are life!"

"Well, if you say so, Pinkie." Sunset replied, still completely unsure of how her friend was unable to recall such a memorable experience. "Perhaps only I can remember such an event, considering I seemed to be the only one who was even aware of the time loop. Alright, so going back to what I mentioned earlier, you're sure you can handle the task at hand? Remember, this will only be for about a week."

"Positive!" Pinkie nodded, excitedly. "Your place will be in tip-top shape when you get back. I'll keep it so clean that it'll be like you never left, and maybe I'll even throw in a surprise or two. Like, I don't know, a disco party for the plants, or I could even invite over some guests!"

"That reminds me, I also have some expectations for you." Sunset brainstormed. "Let's see, I'll be cool with you inviting the rest of the girls over, and helping yourself to whatever's in the fridge. However, I think it's fair to say that you shouldn't invite anyone else into the apartment, especially without letting me know beforehand. It should go without saying that I won't be happy to come back in a week, only to find the place completely trashed or ransacked by some... unexpected guests."

"Oh, you can totally trust me, I'll keep it cleaner than my own place, promise!" Pinkie assured, before bringing out her pinkie finger. "In fact, how about we make this even more serious, rather than just me saying the word? Why don't we make this a traditional Pinkie Promise, to assure you that I won't hold back on my word, and that I'll take good care of your apartment, until you return?"

"Alright, if you say you've got this, then I'll hold you to that promise." Sunset nodded. "Just remember, I'm not looking for a surprise party when I get back, and I've also left a list of instructions for Ray's care, over by his glass tank. He's a bit picky, but I'm sure you two will hit it off."

"A Pinkie Promise it is!" Pinkie chirped. "But before we make it official, I was kinda hoping you could make a promise of your own? If it's not too much trouble, of course."

"Well, I suppose that depends." Sunset said, curiously. "What kind of promise are we talking about here, exactly?"

"Oh, it's nothing too crazy!" Pinkie began giving her own proposition. "Just that you'll keep an open mind about your experiences within Equestria, and that you'll come back and tell us all about it! I mean, who knows, you might discover something amazing, which could even make us curious enough to visit that world, ourselves!"

"Hmm, you've got a point there, I should definitely keep an open mind while I'm away." Sunset agreed. "After all, I've learned so much from you girls over the years, which I was never able to do in Equestria. It's only fair that I give my return trip a chance to surprise me once again, especially given the hard decision I'll have to eventually make. Deal, let's make this promise official."

Sunset held out her own pinkie finger, and Pinkie eagerly wrapped her own around it, sealing the deal with a firm squeeze.

"Great, now it's a Pinkie Promise, indeed!" Pinkie cheered. "In that case, I suppose I'll meet you tomorrow in the morning, while you go on your little trip?"

"Well, judging from the clock, it's a little early for bed." Sunset saw that it was only around 8:30 PM. "Since I didn't get a chance to spend much time with you today, how about we play some video games, before we hit the hay?"

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Pinkie's eyes lit up with excitement. "But we can't just play any old game, oh no, we should play something epic, something that will go down in the history books!"

"I think I've got just the thing to fit that kind of description, something that's both old and epic, simultaneously." Sunset grinned, as she walked over to her video game library. "I should know, considering the year this game came out, and the amount of times my ShimmerCode followers have begged me to livestream it. For the sake of following your footsteps, how about I surprise you with the game I'm talking about, and then we can see who's the more devoted gamer girl? I've already invited Fluttershy over for this kind of challenge once, so now it's your turn to shine! What do you say?"

"Oh, you're on!" Pinkie accepted the challenge. "But remember, I've got the power of randomness on my side, and if we're really going old school, then you better be ready for a taste of my own brand of nostalgia! My sister Maud always told me that I'm the most retro, out of a whole family used to the old-fashioned times! Let's see who'll be the champion of this mysterious game, I look forward to crushing your high score!"