Late-Night Phone Call

Lunch time was an old ritual for the students at CHS. The process was simple: get in line, get your slop, and go over to your particular circle’s table in the section of the cafeteria that your particular clique had claimed. For the most part this remained a timeless tradition, though Twilight Sparkle had done some damage to it that could still be seen months later. There was a vague sense of segregation that had endured the princess, but there could be no denying that the amount of overlap between the different cliques was higher than it had ever been.

Sunset’s circle for lunch time had been a specific group of rockers once, though mostly because she was riding off the coattails of Flash Sentry and his friend circle. The table they used to sit at was currently occupied by a mingling of two different groups of rockers and hippies, though the rocker group was not at all the one that used to sit at that table.

Sunset found the whole thing annoying. Yes yes, school unity and all that, team spirit, friendship, blah blah blah- sure, whatever, but why did Twilight have to go mixing up the unofficial lunchtime seating chart? Sunset could never tell who was supposed to be where anymore. You used to be able to find anyone out there so easily by just scanning the sea of faces, but now it felt like a complete crapshoot. Could she not have done something that brought the whole school together in a way that didn’t make lunchtime feel like order had collapsed and chaos reigned?

It was especially inconvenient because Sunset was no longer able to identify at a glance where she needed to avoid. She had a small list of people she felt she needed to steer well clear of, and with no means to find them in a way that didn’t risk meeting their gaze or just standing there making herself particularly conspicuous trying to identify them, Sunset had resigned to just not eating lunch in the cafeteria anymore. She ate in the band room most of the time, or else a hallway with little to no foot traffic that she had to concern herself with. It was lonely, but whatever. Not like anyone wanted to sit with her anyway.

Or at least, so it used to go. These days there were some people who would probably enjoy sitting with her, and while she still didn’t feel bold enough to insert herself into someone else’s territory, every once in a while Sunset found herself tempted by the prospect of finding the table the Rainbooms were at and taking a seat next to Rarity or Fluttershy, just for the company. More trouble than it was worth, probably, but…

Sunset’s fingers tapped rhythmically against the underside of her plastic tray. She’d been standing here too long already. She cast one last look out into the disorganized mob of students eating their lunch, failed to spot either of her friends, sighed, and turned away to slip out the side entrance to the cafeteria with her lunch in hand.

Every once in a while Sunset became convinced that some group of students were going to follow her out and do something nasty to her while she was so kindly isolating herself for them, but it had been months and nothing like that had ever happened. The worst thing that had happened was that a group of students had been about to enter as she exited out the same door, had to stop, and stared at her coldly in silence as she slipped out and away. While there was an optimistic argument to be had about the kids around here being too good to reduce themselves to beating up a bully, the cynic in Sunset was sure that no, they would. They absolutely would. They were just too scared, both of her and of the consequences of violence against other students.

Sunset lowered a shoulder and rammed it into the band room door as she opened it, trying to focus on the stab of pain it caused rather than the negativity spiral she could feel herself inching towards. It worked a little better than she intended, and she grunted and rolled her shoulder as she made her way over to the end-most seat of the semicircle of chairs around the podium.

The lights were off, but the sunlight filtering in through the windows was enough to turn the darkness into gloom. While it wasn’t the most optimal light source available and not something you could exactly read by, it was serviceable enough to do something like eating lunch, if after a few moments of one’s eyes adjusting.

Sunset had spent many lunch periods just like this: squinting in the shade and putting up with the suboptimal conditions. She could have just as easily done this again, but after spending a few moments sitting there, Sunset regarded the dark and found a mote of dissatisfaction where she would have once been complacent. She set her tray down on the chair next to the one she picked and made her way over towards the door to the band room, where a few light switches were waiting for her. With a simple flip of a pair of switches, the darkness was banished, and Sunset went back to her chair to eat in the now fully-lit room.

It wasn’t the best thing she’d ever eaten, but it was food. She got about halfway through the slightly freezer burnt chicken before she decided she was sick of this and wanted some real food to wash it down. She reached for her backpack to open up the lunch Fluttershy packed for her, only to realize she came here without her bag. This discovery was met with a “Buck” under her breath.

Sunset was in the process of mentally backtracking through her steps to figure out where she would have left her bag when there was a creak of the band room door opening. Looking up in surprise, Sunset saw the hat first and identified Applejack before she saw her face, who glanced around until she saw Sunset sitting there. Applejack gave a little smile in greeting and pulled something out of the hall to hold up: Sunset’s backpack. “Ya left this in social studies, sugarcube.”

Sunset was surprised and cautious to see Applejack, but at the sight of her backpack and knowing where she’d left it, a relieved sigh escaped her. An additional potential run-in with Ms. Harshwhinney had been avoided. “Thank you,” she breathed sincerely, standing up to accept the bag as Applejack entered the room to meet her halfway. “I was just wondering where I left it.”

“Well that’s some mighty-fine timin’, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Sunset considered digging into her bag right then and there, but decided to not reveal her lunch pail just on the off chance that Applejack would recognize it from Fluttershy. “Thanks again.”

“Ain’t no thang, sugarcube.” Rather than leave, however, Applejack glanced around the room, finding Sunset’s meal tray and the rest of the completely empty room. “Bit of a weird place fer lunch, innit though? It’s as quiet as a beehive on a smoke break in here.”

Sunset couldn’t completely restrain the little snort in response to yet another of Applejack’s colorful analogies, though she cleared her throat as she returned to her seat and tried to enforce neutrality in her demeanor. “I uh…I just would prefer to sit by myself at lunch, I guess.”

“You could sit by yerself without scuttlin’ off to the other side of the school, y’know.”

At this, Sunset merely shrugged. She ignored her shoulder’s lingering ache as she picked up her lunch tray and pretended to pick from it. She wasn’t about to ask Applejack to leave, but she was very much waiting for her to.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a little while. Applejack inspected the toe of her boot for a few moments, hands on her hips, before sighing and turning to face Sunset fully with a more sober expression. “…listen, sugarcube, I heard about the whole uh…the Pinkie thing-” she gestured vaguely to indicate in the direction of the lunch room, “-a little while ago, and I just wanted to apologize fer that.”

Sunset looked up to Applejack in surprise. It didn’t take long for her to know what she meant, but she was not expecting to hear of it, much less get an apology for it. “Oh?”

Applejack nodded. “Yeah, there was a whole, uh, to-do about it, and…” Applejack chuckled a little and shook her head. “Ol’ Ponk, smart in brain, ‘n…maybe not so quick in th’ noggin' sometimes. Brilliant girl, she really is, scary smart, but then she goes forgettin’ things like, y’know…peeeeople like their privacy sometimes and maybe don’t wanna go givin’ out where they live fer just anything? Or to just anyone?”

Sunset monitored Applejack’s expression as she said this, less because she was looking for something and more because she was still sort of reeling from hearing this now. After a few moments more, Sunset looked down at the tray in her lap and continued to pick at it. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” Applejack insisted adamantly, “and I thought you deserved to hear it. It ain’t fine that ya had to deal with that.” She tilted her head back to peer in the vague direction of what Sunset assumed to be where Pinkie Pie was currently at. “She’s busy bein’ all down in the dumps about it, so it’ll probly be a hot minute till that one works itself out, but…” She trailed off, then shrugged her shoulders. “I figured you should get an apology from someone.”

“Well…” Sunset struggled for words for a few moments, and even when she found them, she felt very on the back foot. “I- it’s not like I handled it super well either, so I’m not gonna pin it to her or anything. And besides, like- like, I don’t wanna have someone beating themselves up about something that happened between us like that. Y’know? Enough shit’s happened, I don’t wanna…I don’t wanna have that.”

Applejack nodded along lightly, though at the mention of enough having happened lately, her nodding became a little deeper and more emphatic. “Yeah, I feel ya. So…” She glanced to the side, uncertain for a moment, then looked back at Sunset as she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder. “You want me to uh- want me to tell ‘er you forgive ‘er, or did you wanna be the one to do that?”

Sunset started answering, though she hesitated before the words could pass through her lips. She thought on it for a few extra moments, then shook her head, eyes once more gravitating towards her lunch tray and its thoroughly fork-stirred contents by now. “I don’t feel comfortable talking to the others yet.”

“Why not, sugarcube?”

Sunset shrugged and continued to mangle her tray’s half-eaten contents with a fork. “I just don’t.”

Applejack regarded this for a time with a troubled expression. There was some clear sign of her wanting to protest this, but she held herself back. “Well,” she eventually conceded, “I ain’t gonna stand here and say who ya should and shouldn’t talk to. I know a lotta stuff must be on yer mind these days, but there ain’t much to worry about with the others, honest. They’re good people, an’ I know you’re seein’ some of that yerself.” Applejack grinned a little. “Rares and Flutters ‘re pretty great, huh?”

Sunset couldn’t completely repress the smile that invaded her face. Unable to keep it down, she turned her head to one side, though when she replied it was sincere: “They are.”

Applejack’s grin widened as she nodded. “Yeah. So…” She looked down briefly, then returned her gaze to Sunset. “…all this to say, it’s yer business who ya decide ya wanna talk to and when, but if you ever decide you wanna give those girls a chance...there's always a spot at our table open for ya, sugarcube. I promise you won't be disappointed.”

Sunset nodded. She didn’t look up, but her gaze shifted to one side as she silently started to digest this. This and other things, too.

Applejack let the silence hang for a while. After some time had passed, she took a single step backwards towards the door. “Guess I should skedaddle. I’ll let Pinkie know there ain’t no hard feelin’s or nothin, if that’s fine by you.”

Sunset nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Aight, cool. Cool…enjoy yer lunch, sugarcube.” Applejack turned to leave, making her way for the door. Halfway there, she stopped and turned around to face Sunset one more time, voice full of sincerity: “An' Sunset? Thanks fer hearin’ me out. You didn’t have to, an’ I appreciate that ya did.”

Sunset glanced up at Applejack as she said this, though rather than have her gaze deflect off of hers like it otherwise would, she managed to bring herself to smile. “Yeah, no problem.”

Applejack returned the smile with a bright and earnest one of her own. She tipped the rim of her hat in farewell, then turned around and pushed open the door to the band room and stepped out into the hall. After a short delay, the door swung closed behind her with a metallic clack.

Sunset remained like that for a while, looking at the door where it had closed. After a while more, her head lowered and her gaze found her meal tray again. Her expression relaxed after Applejack had left, but the ghost of a smile never truly faded from her lips.

Something about that conversation had been uplifting. Sunset couldn’t put her finger on why, exactly, but she felt…lighter. Better, somehow. It was nice.

Sunset spent the remainder of the lunch period reflecting on this feeling as she idly ate from her tray. Once the bell rang, however, she quickly shoved as much remaining food as she could into her mouth without being at risk of choking and hastily vacated the band room. She dropped her tray off in the cafeteria once the largest of the surge of students had passed, then slipped back into the halls and carried on with her day.

Sixth period came, then went. Detention hour started more or less immediately after, and as all the other students began to assemble their things and prepare to catch the bus to go home, the small assortment of detentionees quietly slipped through the crowds to be served their punishment, usually without raising too much attention to themselves.

As Luna had promised, some changes had been made to Sunset’s detention situation. The room she’d be in had been moved, for starters; she would be sitting in what had once been the school’s chemistry lab, back when the school was allowed to use it. Now that it was not, the room had been gutted of virtually everything and stood mostly empty, save for the teacher’s desk, the countertops that couldn’t be moved, and the single table and corresponding chair left out for Sunset.

It was unfortunate in its necessity, because Sunset really liked the art room. It was wide and the number of windows in it kept the room bright throughout the day. Rather than the amount of space in the room making it feel empty, it instead felt open, like you could breathe in there. Something about it inspired thought in Sunset. She would have liked to stay there rather than hang out in the comparatively smaller and barren-feeling ex-chemistry lab, but given the art room had Harshwhinney in it and this one didn’t, it was a worthwhile sacrifice, if still a sacrifice.

Beyond the room change, Sunset also had a change in supervision for her detention period. Luna sat at the head of the room at the teacher’s desk. Her attention was divided between the open laptop at her side and the piles of papers and documents that she had spread out in organized groups all across the desk, which she periodically shifted her focus to as she went about whatever tasks she was busy with.

Sunset wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the situation, at first. Luna was on her side, and this arrangement was meant to be a preferable alternative to the other detention period that she assumed was going on simultaneously. Detention had also always carried with it an aura of severity whenever she’d partaken in it in the human world, however, and Luna wasn’t historically known for being lax about rules and regulations, even as this whole arrangement flew in the face of both. When combined with her isolated position as the focal point of the room, what with being essentially the only thing in it where she sat, Sunset was as inclined to be at ease as she was to be rigid and on guard.

Sunset finished unpacking her school binder of material she could theoretically work on, though rather than do that, she looked at Luna and stared at her, waiting to catch her gaze. That never happened due to Luna failing to look up from her work - that itself could be taken as a sign for how this whole thing was meant to go. It still left a sense of uncertainty, however, so after a while of failing to gain the vice principal’s attention even in passing, Sunset finally spoke up. “…so how are we doing this?”

Luna at last looked up at Sunset. “Pardon?”

“How are we doing this?” Sunset repeated. “Are we like…is this just a front, or am I actually like, under chains here, or…what’s- what’re we doing here? What’s the plan?”

Luna regarded Sunset for a few moments. “The plan,” she began, slowly shifting her attention back to the papers she scratched out something in the awaiting fields, “is that I have a backlog of paperwork I need to have completed before the week is up and need to focus on that. You have an hour to spend as you see fit, though I encourage you to remember that this is meant to be detention.”

“So this is just a cover.”

“Essentially, yes.” It was stated neutrally, though there was a faint arch of bother in Luna’s tone for a brief moment. “Do as you like, but again, recall that this is meant to be detention. We are not the only ones in the building, and it will reflect more on me than you should this masquerade not hold up to scrutiny.”

Sunset nodded, though she didn’t remove her gaze from Luna as she went back to her work. After a few seconds of scrutinizing, Sunset asked, “Does this whole situation, like, annoy you?”

“What do you mean.” The words were as one would ask a question, though the way it was intoned made it seem more like a statement.

Sunset hesitated. She decided to tread lightly here. “Idunno, it just…you seem kinda annoyed, and seeing as we’re here right now, both kinda like…sneaking around, I figured…y’know…maybe you’d rather not be doing this.”

Luna breathed in through her nose, and as her typing slowed, she released the breath as a quiet, weary sigh. “Admittedly,” she began in a lower tone, “while I do believe that extenuating circumstances often demand less conventional means to navigate them, there is a…frustration that I feel, yes. Not at you specifically, but the circumstances that we find ourselves in, both of us. All of us, really. This conspiracy.” Luna shook her head to herself, and the ghost of some of her displeasure manifested ethereally on her features. “It bothers me that things were allowed to progress to this point. I feel like a great deal of pain and danger could have been circumvented with more agreeable circumstances for all involved by the end of it, had it been handled differently. But it wasn’t, and because it wasn’t, here I am, breaking every standard I promised I’d uphold for the sake of doing what I think is right when I might have been able to do my duty and do the right thing at the same time. I know the better option when made to choose between the two, but the fact that I must choose...” She shook her head again, a little more spiritedly this time, and her frown grew to the extent that it could indeed be considered a proper frown. “It’s frustrating. This conspiracy frustrates me. It didn’t have to be like this.”

Sunset didn’t know what to say. She felt like there wasn’t much she could say here, given that this conspiracy was, at the end of the day, her fault. After a long silence, she found it in herself to say the only thing she felt like she was able to in her position: “I’m sorry.”

Luna closed her eyes briefly, visibly reigning in her emotions as the vexation drained from her face. “You needed guidance,” she said after a few moments. “That is ultimately what it comes down to: you needed guidance, and you were offered none.”

Sunset shrugged her shoulders a little, her eyes much preferring the sight of the table and her gutted binder to Luna herself. “I don’t think it would have mattered. I had a plan and I wasn’t hearing any alternatives.”

“There were four years between when this all began and what it culminated into. Worlds of change can happen in four years’ time. Worlds of change can happen in just one.”

Sunset shook her head, unconvinced. “It wouldn’t have mattered.”

“Maybe it would have, maybe it wouldn’t have.” The sound of keys clicking returned as Luna resumed typing on her laptop. “It doesn’t matter now. We could have tried. We didn’t, and now we’ll never know what difference could have been made, just that there maybe could have been one. That is what frustrates me.”

Sunset didn’t say anything. Her entire body felt heavier as she stared down at the homework in front of her, the text on the paper momentarily illegible to her eyes as she stared past it into the table while her thoughts began to churn. There was a pencil in her hand, point to the paper, but it was placed against empty space on the page rather than at the head of an open field.

Luna said nothing for a time, though she did speak up again after a little while. “There are days,” she muttered into her work. “I love my sister, and I trust her judgment, but there are days where I really have to wonder what goes through her head when she does what she does.”

Sunset didn’t register the tiny snap immediately. Her eyes came into focus on her pencil a few moments after it happened. The end had broken at the tip from pressure applied to it, the severed fragment of lead attached only by a few twisted slivers of wood. Her hand holding the pencil was shaking slightly, and the other one had closed into a tight fist where it had been left resting on the table. She hadn’t noticed this immediately, either.

Who did seem to notice immediately was Luna. Her eyes flicked up at the sound of a pencil snapping. The sounds of a keyboard halted a moment later.

For a time, all was silent. Sunset stared hard at her broken pencil, then lowered it again, letting it clatter near-silently to the table as she set it aside. Her eyes closed as she went through the motions of unclenching her jaw, then her fists, then other parts of her that the tension had caused to lock up to the tune of steady, even breaths. It didn’t diffuse the anger, but it kept her grounded enough to not act on it.

“Would you like some water, Sunset?”

Sunset didn’t open her eyes, though after a few moments she replied in a very measured voice, ”Yes, please.”

“Alright.” Luna’s voice was soft, supportive. There was a small squawk of a wooden chair being pushed back against a tiled floor, then footsteps drawing closer as Luna made her way across the room and placed a steadying hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Breathe, just like you are. That’s good.”

Sunset nodded tersely, but otherwise didn’t react. The hand eventually left her shoulder with a promise of return she didn’t entirely hear, and Sunset was left alone for a time.

The whole time Luna was gone, Sunset focused on her breath entering and leaving her body. Among other things she did, she drew on meditation techniques that she had picked up over the years that doubled not just as an effective way to center one’s self for purposes of magic, but also in controlling emotions her own magic was intimately linked to. While its effects at calming her were somewhat limited, it gave her something to direct all of her energy into until her anger was less like an arc furnace blasting heat in all directions and more like a tight jet being focused in on a singular point for a purpose.

Purpose. Meaning. That always brought her into alignment: when it meant something. When it was for something. There was clarity in purpose, and right then, her purpose was in controlled breathing. She didn’t mean to obey Luna’s instructions, but there being instructions gave her that little extra nudge to bring herself in line that much quicker. From there, she breathed.

Luna returned eventually, though Sunset wouldn’t have been able to guess at how much time had passed, only that it hadn’t been long. A pair of water bottles had been brought back, one for each other them, and as Sunset broke the seal on the bottle so she could sip some of the icy contents, Luna began to transfer the papers and the laptop she was working on from the teacher’s desk to the table Sunset was sitting at, joining her at it like a peer rather than remaining at the front as a figurehead of authority.

It was a small gesture, but one that didn’t pass by Sunset unnoticed. With a background in noble customs, she of all people recognized the significance of forfeiting one’s place at the head of the table. The fact that its purpose was to bridge the gap between members of said table, which consisted of her and her alone…it brought a smile to Sunset’s face. She tried to cover it up by drinking more water.

The anger melted away much more quickly after that. Sunset extracted as much value from it as she could while it lasted, channeling the laser-tight focus it brought into some of the schoolwork she had yet to catch up on. It didn’t really matter what her grades were, in her mind, but it was something to do, and that was more important than anything right then.

This eventually passed, and as Sunset’s thoughts began to wander, she found herself glancing at the vice principal, who continued to plug away at her own work, still seated adjacent to Sunset rather than across the room from her. “Luna?”

Luna glanced up from her work to meet Sunset’s gaze, replying gently, “Yes?”

There was hesitation. Sunset considered swerving while she had a chance, though only briefly. The words fought her a little as they worked their way up her throat, but they were said all the same: “Is it too late to take you up on your offer?”

Recognition took only a moment to register, though when it did, a pleasant smile graced Luna’s lips. ”Not at all, Sunset.” Her gaze went back to her laptop, though her smile was unfaltering. “I made all preparations in advance in case you decided to follow up on the offer when I made it. I am ready whenever you are.”

“And um…I am, I guess. Ready, I mean, um…” In spite of her claims of readiness, Sunset’s tone was far from certain, and she reminded Luna, “You don’t- like I’m grateful, but you don’t need to do this.”

“We never need to do anything, Sunset.” Luna’s tone remained gentle, but there was a quality to it that resonated with a quiet yet unshakable resoluteness. The stone warrior’s sword had been planted for some time on this. “In all things in life, there is choice. This one is mine, and I stand by it.”

Sunset instinctively went to counter this, but she found herself only mouthing the words. After a few moments she closed her mouth and simply nodded.

It was quiet for the remainder of the detention period. In spite of it mostly being a front, little occurred that could truly be said to have differed from what a regular detention period would have consisted of, save only for Sunset breaking into her backpack to eat the meal Fluttershy had packed for her that she never had a chance to eat during lunch time. She still wasn’t sure about how to navigate this whole thing just yet, but what Sunset knew for sure was that by the end of that hour, she felt a lot closer to Luna, and it only had so much to do with their physical proximity.

Sunset Shimmer never met Princess Luna. She’d seen signs of her return in the brief time that Sunset had been skulking around in anticipation of her theft of the element of magic, but there had been little time to look into this, much less meet her personally. All the same, Sunset assumed that, because there was a close link between the school and Equestria’s leadership, Vice Principal Luna - second in command in what the mirror equated to the highest form of authority in the realm in odd little way - would be exceptionally well-off, as befitting of royalty. She had heard of some of Luna’s story personally, and that didn’t sound much like it would leave a person with a great deal to their name, but the fact that she was a princess in a neighboring world took logical precedence in her mind.

As it turned out, this was the wrong conclusion to come to. The first indicator of this was that her navy blue truck easily had a hundred thousand miles on the mileage counter, and while Sunset didn’t know a great deal about cars or other human vehicles, she did know that this number was occasionally used as a reference of being quite high, and the condition of it reflected this. Rust spots were growing like cancer blotches beneath the wheel wells, the tires were stripped and in need of replacing, and there was a split in the windshield that was out of the way for now, but was likely slowly growing as time passed. When Luna had let her into the vehicle, she had unlocked the thing with the push of a button, then had had to enter the truck herself and reach all the way across to the passenger door to unlock it manually, because the wireless locking mechanism didn’t release the lock anymore and hadn’t for a long time.

Sunset had been willing to overlook this and didn’t look into it too much. It was just a truck, after all. Some were great, and sometimes they're crap. No big deal.

Then they arrived at their destination. Sunset had zoned out along the way and hadn’t been tracking where they were going. In her mind they couldn’t be anywhere near it yet, so imagine her surprise when they stopped off somewhere in the middle of town not all that far from where Sunset had been squatting full time just a few weeks ago. Now imagine that surprised doubled when Sunset realized that it was not some estate or manor that Luna resided in, but an apartment complex. Not even as the landlord, either, but as just another tenant.

Sunset was having second thoughts about this arrangement as they walked up the stairs, but for very different reasons than she would have cited before having seen this place first-hand. She wasn’t feeling bold enough to express them straight on, though she did think to ask, “Are you allowed to have guests in apartments? I don’t know how this works.”

Luna's response was casual: “The landlady and I have an understanding.”

Sunset was willing to believe that. That was that concern put to rest, though it didn’t help the anxiety gnawing at her stomach as they reached the appropriate floor near the top of the building. After a few moments of juggling with the keys, Luna unlocked the door for them both to enter, and they did so.

Luna’s room was a nearly perfectly square studio apartment that couldn’t have been any larger than twenty feet on a side. Everything that there was in the apartment was all crammed into the same room together in the rough facsimile of what a proper house’s arrangement would look like: the kitchen appliances were against the western wall, and across an imaginary line where the ‘rooms’ transitioned, there was a couch with a coffee table in front of a television for the ‘living room.’ There was a small wooden desk tucked to the side alongside a filing cabinet, both of which bristled with charger cords and other cables to various chargeable devices for what maybe passed as a ‘study,’ and though it wasn’t obvious at first, there was a second room in here that became visible once you entered a few steps: a bathroom, somehow being uncomfortably snug yet managing to sidestep the feeling of claustrophobia at the last second.

It almost didn’t look like there was a bed in this room whatsoever until Sunset realized that what had clearly once been a closet had been stripped of its interior and now had a single-person mattress shoved into the space, which there was barely enough room for but in such a way that it almost looked perfectly tailored for the space. The sliding door could still be shut despite how narrow the clearance appeared, and it was such a snug space that it could be freely opened and closed even while beneath the covers.

Sunset was at once saddened and impressed. This was leagues beneath what she would have expected Luna’s means to amount to in terms of living space, but for a studio apartment, it wasn’t bad. She had no real point of reference for what made a good apartment or not, just that it couldn’t compare to a proper house, but she liked it anyway. “That I like,” Sunset pointed at the little personal tomb of a bedroom with a chuckle. “That’s kinda slick.”

“I’m rather pleased with it myself.” Luna’s response sounded as measured and level as ever, but there was delight in her expression when she spoke, like the praise was directed at her personally and she wasn’t expecting it. “There isn’t much I can do with this space, but that little customization just made this whole apartment feel so much more…” She gestured around the apartment, the words not immediately coming to her, though she eventually settled with, “It makes it feel more like a home, to me.”

“Yeah.” Sunset had nodded at the time, looking around the room with a newfound appreciation that slowly built the more she thought about it. “I get you.”

And she did. Maybe Sunset didn’t know much about modifications to her living space, but she at least understood the importance of imprinting yourself on what was yours. Her thoughts went to cutie marks and how much more personal it got when even something as simple as a coffee mug had not just any symbol on it, but you. Your symbol. That was your cup. It was, in a small way, a part of you, and the value of that far and away transcended whatever petty material worth the object represented. It was quite literally a closet of a bedroom, but that didn’t matter: it was Luna’s. That was her bedroom. She did that. She was proud of it, and as far as Sunset was concerned, she had every right to be. Good for her.

That understanding put most of the anxieties Sunset had to rest about the whole deal. It still wasn’t ideal in her mind, and she still felt a little guilty for taking up space in an apartment that already had so little of that to spare, but it didn’t feel like it was an intrusion that wasn’t being seen for what it was anymore, because Luna knew the value of this place. She had to know, because it was hers. She'd made it hers, and now she was opening it up to Sunset, and that was okay. More than okay, even. It was an honor.

With that in mind, Sunset aspired to leave as small of a footprint here as she possibly could. She kept all of her things tucked to one side where it was out of the way (relatively easy, given it all fit into a school backpack), vowed to stay tidy, and told Luna that she would try not to rely on her hospitality any more than she had to, as grateful as she was for it - she had a for-sure place for the weekends right now and while the weeks were spotty, she would try to find something else when she could. She didn’t even think twice about how the only place Luna had to offer for sleeping space was the couch, because frankly that was better than most of the places she had slept for the last four months. A slightly stiff couch in a warm, dry apartment building with lights, power, and running water? Yes please, all that and then some, thank you very much.

The night wasn’t far from arriving when they entered the apartment, and by the time it did, Sunset Shimmer was brimming over with gratitude so much so that her eyes had misted over several times at the thought of it all. She had no right to ask for this, yet it had been offered all the same without second thought. What a privilege she’d been given here.

Luna had since changed into a bathrobe, beneath which a pair of fuzzy pajama pants could be seen that looked incredibly soft. Halfway stepping into her private little closet bedroom, she turned back to look at where Sunset had laid out across the couch, which was only just long enough to fit the girl stretched out at her full length. “I’ll be up for a bit longer, but I need to sleep. I’ve business in the morning.”

It was so otherworldly to see the normally formal and crisply well-dressed Vice Principal Luna in such an aggressively casual night outfit, but something about that made it feel so real, too. Sunset nodded from where she laid in an attempt to not seem like she was staring, giving a little wave with her hands currently resting on her stomach. “Alright. I’ll be here, minding my P’s and Q’s.”

“You’ve a firm B in English, so I’ll have a moderate degree of confidence in this.” Sunset chuckled at this, and it only took a moment for the stony composure of Luna to buckle and for her to join in on this, stepping the rest of the way into her bedroom space. She more or less had to climb onto her bed in order to clear the doorway. “Goodnight, Sunset.”

“Goodnight.” Sunset sat up a little bit before the door closed so she could say, “And thank you, again, really. This means so much to me.”

The response wasn’t verbal, merely a particularly wide and warm smile, coupled with a little bow of the head. With that, she slid the sliding door closed, sealing herself away in her little tomb of a bedroom.

Sunset laid there for a while more before reaching over to the coffee table and clicking off the light on the table, plunging the room into darkness. She could faintly hear the sounds of the last of the evening traffic as the night wound down, but most of it never reached seven stories up, and what did would pass as ambient white noise and did little to disturb Sunset’s thoughts.

She didn’t go to sleep immediately, of course. She pulled the blanket off the back of the couch to cover herself in, rolled onto her side as she worked the pillow under her cheek in the hopes of extracting a bit more comfort out of it, and pulled out her phone to see what she’d missed from earlier in the day. Rarity was the obvious first stop, though she could see there were notifications from Fluttershy too.

Rarity
Did you still want to go shopping with me over the weekend?
Today at 5:13 PM

Normally Sunset would have been a little more hesitant to affirm this offer from earlier in the week. The events of today left her in a far more grateful mood than usual, however, and it very much colored her unhesitating response:

You
Absolutely
I’ve got 20 bucks I’ve been trying to figure out how to spend for like two weeks now
Might be at Fluttershy’s tomorrow but hit me up whenever you’re good. Tag me in
Today at 9:26 PM

Sunset didn’t linger around for a response. It would be nice if she got one, but it was late and Rarity hadn’t been able to stay up into the late night for a few weeks now. She’d see her tomorrow anyway, so they’d make up for it. It and other things.

Buck it’ll be nice to have a full day to ourselves.

The next set of texts she visited was from Fluttershy. There were a few of them, and they’d been gathering one by one throughout the day.

Fluttershy
Hey! ^u^ Just checking to see if you were going to come by tonight to stay over
Today at 4:13 PM

Fluttershy
It’s starting to get dark, did you need somewhere to stay tonight?
Today at 6:21 PM

Fluttershy
Are you okay?
Today at 7:57 PM

Fluttershy
???
Today at 8:32 PM

Sunset winced. She wasted no time in breaking the silence on her end.

You
Hey, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to my texts. I’m okay, I was just working out some of the finishing touches on some stuff. I think I’ve got another option for a place to stay at night
Tonight at 9:28 PM

She hit send, and she was in the middle of continuing that line of thought when an ellipses manifested at the bottom of the screen and began back and forth, which prompted Sunset to pause and wait for Fluttershy’s response.

Fluttershy
Oh thank goodness I was getting really worried ><’’’’’’
I was starting to think something had happened
Tonight at 9:29 PM

You
I’m okay, just had some things going on and I lost track of time
I’m really sorry for scaring you
Tonight at 9:29 PM

Fluttershy
Nono I”m just glad you’re okay
I didn’t know what to do
Tonight at 9:29 PM

It was phrased like assurance, though all it accomplished was making Sunset feel a tiny bit worse.

Fluttershy
Where are you?
Tonight at 9:29 PM

Sunset considered whether or not she should be candid about this arrangement of hers. It could be considered a little weird that she was bunking with the vice principal of the high school, but if there was anyone who’d be understanding - especially knowing what she knew - it’d be Fluttershy.

You
The VP’s helping me out
I’m in her apartment rn
Tonight at 9:30 PM

Fluttershy
VP?
Vice principal?
Tonight at 9:30 PM

You
Luna, yep
Tonight at 9:30 PM

Fluttershy
You’re staying with Luna???
Tonight at 9:30 PM

Sunset raised her eyebrows for the briefest with a declaration of 'welp' painted all over her face. Fair enough response, she supposed.

You
Yeah
She’s actually been really cool to me
Also whatever you’re thinking, it’s not weird
Tonight at 9:30 PM

Fluttershy
Ialkwasnt going to say it wasweird
Tonight at 9:31 PM

Sunset rolled her eyes, though it was alongside a small smile.

You
Sure you weren’t
Tonight at 9:31 PM

Fluttershy
I wasn’t!!! >.<’’’’’
I believe you!!
Tonight at 9:31 PM

You
Ik, I’m bullying you
Tonight at 9:31 PM

Fluttershy
Mean to me!
Tonight at 9:31 PM

You
Correct
And don’t act like you don’t like it
Tonight at 9:32 PM

Fluttershy
I don’t!! Don’t bully me!! >.<’’’’’
Tonight at 9:32 PM

There were far too many exclamation points and symbols dedicated to emojis for Sunset to believe that for a second. She chuckled quietly to herself in the dark.

You
I’ll consider it, but know my vile and traitorous nature runs deep in my veins
You’re a temptation of mine
Tonight at 9:32 PM

Fluttershy
;n;
I guess there’s worse things to be than a temptation…
Tonight at 9:32 PM

You
Very much so
Tonight at 9:32 PM

Fluttershy
How tempting am I to you?
Tonight at 9:33 PM

Sunset did not so much hesitate as she came to a full screeching stop to process this. When that didn’t immediately spell it out, she stepped back and analyzed it further.

That was one hell of a question. There were several ways to take it, and it was Fluttershy, so there was a lot of room for leniency to be had, but damn did that ever feel like a loaded question. It was the sort of question she’d be scared to be caught smoking around in case a stray spark caught and caused it to explode in someone’s face- which is sort of what it felt like the circumstance was!

What the hell did she even say to that? Joke? Jokingly? Her impulse went to joking it off, but she was very concerned about the possibility that this wasn’t a joking kind of question. Then what did she do? What if it was a joke that had been worded oddly and she took it too seriously and weirded Fluttershy out?

Fortunately for Sunset, Harmony itself appeared to be listening and, in that moment, chose to take mercy on her.

Fluttershy
Sorry that was really weird
I didn't mean to sound weird
Tonight at 9:36 PM

Sunset released the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in relief. Thank the sun and stars.

You
It’s okay
Kinda scared me for a minute though, ngl, lol
I wasn’t sure what was going on
Tonight at 9:36 PM

Fluttershy
Sorry
Tonight at 9:36 PM

You
It’s cool, I’m chuckling about it rn
I guess that’s what I get for bullying you all this time, huh?
Fair's fair
Tonight at 9:37 PM

Fluttershy
I guess so ^^;
Tonight at 9:37 PM

That weird little misstep didn't totally leave her mind, but things normalized quickly after that and Sunset was relieved and happy to move past it. The two chattered on for a little while longer before Fluttershy had to go to bed, leaving Sunset alone to her thoughts in the dark of the night. For once, though, that wasn’t a bad thing.

Everything felt like it was getting better all of a sudden. She had options, and they were slowly expanding the more she branched out. Her quality of life was on the rise. There was still a fair bit left to be desired, namely in how it was looking increasingly like some of her independence was indeed going to have to be one of the compromises necessary to continue ensuring she had places to stay that wouldn’t take chunks out of her health as the year progressed towards winter, but after having tasted the worst that homelessness had to offer, that felt like a small price to pay. It was all looking up.

…well…maybe not all.

The sheer force of optimism that had been fed to her today would hold Sunset’s thoughts above water as the notorious midnight spiral tried to pull her down. She was fading faster than the dark place could take hold, so at least for tonight, Sunset Shimmer was spared the worst of her own anxiety.

However, Sunset was not completely spared from darkness. As her consciousness gently let go, one last thought crossed her mind.

Of all the people out there who were willing to stop what they were doing to be patient, kind, understanding, and supportive to Sunset in her darkest hour, even if it meant bending the rules to get her the support she needed, why was it the human version of Princess Luna who was there by her side instead of the great alicorn that had let her student fall from the heights she'd raised her to in the first place?

Sleep came just moments later. Sunset slept well that night.