Sunset goes next to Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle found herself covering the afternoon shift at the Canterlot library, that meant two things, the first, she would be out late that day and the second, she wouldn't have to deal with many ponies, that last thing made the first thing not bother her so much, she was a reserved pony, she didn't really enjoy any kind of interaction with anyone.
In fact, when she applied so many years ago to work in the library she did her best to be assigned to the basement offices, however her incredible memorization skills and unparalleled organization inevitably led to her being assigned to the main desk, where she had played an exceptional role, at least in the technical duties, in dealing with the readers who came in every day seeking advice or simply to borrow books, In all her time working, she had not had a single conversation that did not go beyond the technicalities of the job, she only received the readers, told them what they needed and dispatched them quickly, in her eyes, it was the best way to prevent anyone from recognizing her, but that was a useless struggle, almost everyone knew who she was.

Twilight Sparkle, the only unicorn, in the history of Canterlot, who had failed the entrance exam for Princess Celestia's school for talented unicorns, this after having demonstrated an exceptional affinity and magical power, a power that little by little was in decline over the years due to lack of studies and practice, Twilight now the only thing she could do was levitate not very heavy objects and create lights, apart from that, her magical handling did not exceed that of a seven year old foal.
There she was, sitting quietly as she read for the eighteenth time “The Chronicles of Star Swirl the Bearded. Vol.17 “lit dimly by a small table light on her desk, she wore a heavy dark green houndstooth knit sweater and a long black skirt that reached almost to the end of her hooves, she wore a pair of small circular glasses, so many years of reading with inappropriate lighting had taken its toll on her eyes, now she needed those glasses to read well, her hair was tied in a tight bun behind her head as well as her tail, next to her was a half eaten margarita sandwich and a thermos with some chamomile tea inside.

The unicorn enjoyed the silence that the evening offered her, looking up from time to time from her book to make sure how little by little the library was getting emptier and emptier, Twilight couldn't help but sigh in relief at that, thankful that this had been a quiet Tuesday afternoon and that no mishap forced her to stay later than her departure time.

It seemed that Celestia herself was listening to her thoughts, waiting for the exact moment when she would let her guard down to send her the greatest of calamities, because just at that moment the main entrance to the library crashed open.
The shrill noise startled more than one, Twilight finally released her book in shock, worried that it was some kind of emergency, to her surprise the only thing she could see was a mare, with yellow fur and bright red mane, noisily enter the enclosure and then run down one of the aisles of the library, Twilight had barely been able to process that when a huge rumble resounded in the direction in which the unicorn had gone.

For a second she thought about ignoring this fact but then she remembered that she had already received a report for allowing inappropriate activities inside the library, if she received another one her position would be at risk, so, letting out a sigh of annoyance and getting up from her chair, she walked heavily in the direction the mare went, under the watchful eyes of the few remaining readers, clearly waiting for the supervisor on duty to do her job and kick the troublemaker out.

As soon as she entered the aisle she realized almost immediately what had caused the noise, one of the carts that were used to transport large quantities of books through the library, and that apparently had exceeded its load limit had overturned, causing an avalanche of books that covered a good part of the aisle, this was undoubtedly the work of the pony, it was not enough for her to run in and make a fuss, now she was also attacking the integrity of the books.
Twilight let out another sigh of annoyance, not only because she now had more work than before, having to organize all those books apart from finding and reprimanding the runaway pony, but also because, having discovered this cart surely abandoned by her morning shift colleagues, it meant that her perfect afternoon shift was ruined.

Flashing her horn she began to lift some of the books, at the very least she had to make sure the aisle was passable, it was at that moment that, as she lifted one of the larger ones a face appeared buried under the avalanche.

“No! Wait, don't remove them..!” whispered the yellow mare.

The surprise caused Twilight to let out a gasp and the books she was holding, dropping them back onto the pile and eliciting a slight “Ouch” from the buried pony.

“But what the... hey you! You did this! You must fix it!” said an annoyed Twilight.

“Shhh! Yes, yes I will fix it, just give me a minute to hide...”

“Hide from what?”

At that moment the library door opened again with a clatter, peeking around the corner of the hallway Twilight noticed that it was none other than two royal guards, dressed in their shining golden armor, both looked tired and sweaty, quickly approaching one of the ponies sitting down reading.

“Hey, do you know where the shift manager is?”

The pony turned to look somewhat intimidated by the bluntness of the question, becoming flustered and stuttering.

“Uh no...I haven't seen her, she's usually at her desk always...”

The guards looked at each other and quickly moved on to another pony asking the same question, just as Twilight was about to leave the hallway to see what they wanted the mare's voice behind her shouted softly.

“Don't tell them I'm here!”

Twilight turned around in disbelief at hearing this.

“What, they're looking for you?”

“Yes, they want to take me back to the castle...”

“Are you a criminal or something...” asked Twilight squinting her eyes.

“No! I'm just a student, I convinced them to let me out for lunch and then I lost them...” said the mare desperately ”Please! I'll help you rearrange all this, just, don't tell them...”

Twilight looked at her quizzically for a second, hesitating about what to do, finally and without giving any answer she turned and walked towards the guards, she approached silently as they questioned a mare.

“Are you sure you didn't see anyone suspicious enter the library?”

“I already told them no, the only suspects here are you..”

At this both guards exchanged worried glances talking to each other.

“What are we going to do?” asked one in anguish.

“I don't know, we can't go back to the palace without her again, we'll get fired...”

At that moment Twilight cleared her throat behind them, startling them.

“Ahem, good afternoon, I'm in charge of the afternoon shift at the library how can I help you?”

It took the guards a moment to recover, finally bowing slightly and responding quietly.

“Please excuse the inconvenience, but estatism looking for a mare we were supposed to escort, we think she may have come in here...”

“A mare? I think you're going to have to be a little more specific” Twilight replied arching an eyebrow.

“She's yellow, with a brighter yellow mane and red highlights...” the other guard replied hastily.

“And it's very important that we find her so we can escort her back to the palace...”

“And why would they need to escort her?” the unicorn asked curiously.

“She is Princess Celestia's protégé, she must return in time to take her afternoon lessons...”

Twilight, upon hearing Celestia's name, felt bad, at that moment she guessed that this mare was a student at the school for gifted unicorns, for a second she was tempted to tell on her, it couldn't be that she would make all this fuss for not wanting to attend a class, but on the other hand, she had promised her to help her organize the avalanche of books, which in turn would allow her to go home much earlier, finally and after much debate she opted for the option that suited her best.

“No, I haven't seen her, and believe me when I tell you that I keep an eye out for every pony that enters my library” A vile lie.

Both guards exchanged glances again before sighing defeatedly and beginning to retreat.

“Please excuse us miss...”

“Librarian.”

“Miss librarian...” continued the guard ignoring the dismissive response ”We didn't mean to barge in like that, we were just trying to do our job...”

“Don't worry, I hope you find her, thank you for your great service...”

And without further ado the guards left, Twilight now let out a sigh of relief, sitting on the ground for a second, despite it not being a big deal, lying to real guards made her a bit nervous, some of her mane had come loose from the bun and covered part of her forehead, she quickly flashed her horn to return the to its place, before heading back to the disaster aisle.
When she arrived everything was exactly the same as she had left it, not a single book had moved, she approached cautiously, levitated the same large book and there it was, the unicorn's face, her huge green eyes sparkled contrasting with the pile of dull colored books.

“Are they gone?”

“Yes, they're gone...” replied Twilight dryly.

At that moment the pony stood up abruptly, stirring the pile of books even more and letting out a giggle, a stupid grin crept across her face as she shook Twilight's hoof and shook it, finally the librarian got a good look at the disruptor of her tranquility, her fur was shiny and she was fluffy to the touch, she was dressed in a ratty old denim jacket adorned with endless patches and a design of a phoenix on the back, her mane and tail were were were tousled, and both were quite short.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! For a second there I thought you were going to give me away...”

Twilight quickly pulled away from the grip, feeling uncomfortable at the display of unexpected emotion.

“Aha yes whatever, don't forget what you promised, you're not leaving here until we've sorted all these books...”

“Oh creme, just now, I'd like nothing better!” exclaimed the unicorn with relief.

“Well, I recommend you stay here until the last reader leaves...” said Twilight as she walked away back to the main wing.

“What, why?” the mare asked quizzically.

“Because, out there there are still ponies that may or may not have recognized you when you came in, if one of them notices that you share characteristics with the mare that the guards were looking for we'll both get in trouble...” said Twilight with a slight tone of annoyance.

“Oh...well, that makes sense..but what am I supposed to do while I wait?”

“You can start by sorting the books by title, subject and alphabetical order.”

“What! But I thought you said we were going to do it together?”

“And that's right, when you're done you'll have to check to see if you did it right, and then reorganize because you're probably not going to do it right, then there will be putting each book in its place, I'm just trying to get ahead so we both don't stay here until the middle of the damn night.”

The mare didn't know what else to say, it was obvious the librarian was upset about the mess, she decided not to try her luck and just agree.

“Ok, I'll start can you get me something to eat, with the whole escape plan in the end I didn't eat lunch...”

Twilight didn't answer.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A couple of hours later, it was finally closing time, the last ponies finally returned the books they were reading and headed for the exit, Twilight stamped the last book to be borrowed that day as the last library employees noted their check out time and left.

“Good night Twilight!” Exclaimed the elder Dusty Pages cheerfully “Don't forget to lock up tight when you leave!”

Twilight would have ignored the gesture coming from any other pony, but Dusty Pages was the only library employee who still treated her well and talked to her about things that had nothing to do with work, so she responded with a simple.

“Aha...”

And in a moment the library was silent, Twilight now found herself doubtful about her plan Did she really want to spend the next two hours arranging books with a stranger? She definitely didn't like the idea, as she got up from her desk and walked in the direction of the hallway she thought it would be best to get rid of the mare and finish the work on her own, after all it wouldn't be the first time she stayed late, or maybe even the unicorn would have left by now, taking advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at her to escape, but no.
There she was, in the same spot where he had left her, sitting on the floor with towers of books neatly stacked around her, her horn glowing with sparkling red magic as the remaining books floated effortlessly back and forth as she looked them over, Twilight couldn't help but stand with her mouth slightly open at the spectacle.

At that moment the pony became aware of her presence, turning towards her without letting go of her magic.

“Hi! I'm almost done, just let me put these last ones up and we can start putting them in place.”

It took Twilight a second to react, but when she finally did she shook her head greedily before clearing her throat.

“Uh yeah, yeah...first of all I should check that you've ordered them right.”

“Yeah sure, go ahead.”

Twilight reaches over to the first pile and with her magic pulled out some of the books at random, checking their titles, then moved on to the next, and the next, there didn't seem to be anything out of place.

“Well, to my surprise it looks like you didn't throw it away....” Twilight said somewhat warily ”But that doesn't mean we're done, help me get the first group onto the cart and we'll get started with the organization...”

Before she could finish the sentence, the unicorn shone her horn and incredibly moved all the towers of books at the same time, placing them all perfectly on the cart, Twilight was speechless, for her it would have been torture to have to use her magic to move a single tower of those books and this mare had moved them all as if nothing had happened.
The unicorn then noticed Twilight's incredulous expression, noticing a certain aura of discomfort in the air as the librarian mare kept her gaze fixed on the newly created new tower, at this she cleared her throat slightly, blowing out one of the loose strands of her mane and taking a couple of steps forward.

“Hey...I just realized we haven't introduced ourselves, I'm Sunset Shimmer, nice to meet you!” she exclaimed with a smile on her face.

In response Twilight just turned around, starting to push the cart with all her might, and letting out a low “Aha...”.

Sunset felt somewhat ignored at this, but she supposed it made sense that the librarian was annoyed with her, after all she had caused her to have a lot of extra work, so she simply followed her silently at a slow pace.

The walk was circuitous, aisle by aisle and section by section, Twilight would tell her where to place the books and Sunset would use her magic to put them in place, by the time there were half the books left the yellow unicorn was exhausted, she didn't know how much time had passed but she was sure it was more than late at night, Almost all the lights in the library had been turned off and now they were guided through the aisles with a small lantern in front of the cart, giving the task a gloomy and lonely aura, at this Sunset tried to relax by striking up a conversation with the librarian, whose name she still didn't know.

“Y.... have you been working here long?” she asked nervously.

In response she only received an irritated sigh, Twilight dropped her head in annoyance on the cart, still pushing it, before answering.

“Couldn't you keep quiet for the rest of the time we have left here? Because let me tell you something, believe it or not, spending all night organizing books, isn't exactly how I wanted to spend my Tuesday night...”

“I get it...” Sunset lowered her head in embarrassment “Sorry I...I didn't mean to cause inconvenience...”

“Well, sorry doesn't make it right...” At that moment Twilight came to a sudden stop, startling Sunset a bit by the sound of the cart wheels scraping against the floor “Here we are, this should be the second to last section..and the one with the most books, start by arranging these copies of ‘Ancient Spells in Force’ and then those of ‘Practical Applications of Reptiles in Magic’...”

Sunset sighed and flashed her horn, beginning to levitate the books to their respective places, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she could notice how the librarian, who was holding a book she had been staring longingly at, suddenly reached over to sniff the cover, quickly and closing her eyes for just a second.

“Oh...you like the smell of books too?” suddenly asked Sunset.

Noticing Sunset's look Twilight blushed profusely, pushing the book away back into the pile and stammering a reply.

“Ah! I, no no, it's...It helps me relax okey!” Twilight grabbed a couple more books with her magic, turning around and looking for where to put them ”It's special when there are stray mares that break into my library and make me have to work until the damn wee hours of the morning...”

“Me...I like to smell the books too...” said Sunset after a brief pause ”I don't know why really, but whenever I do it's like going back to a place that never existed, like a made up memory about a very happy time...”

Twilight listened intently, still with her back to the mare, putting the books back in place she thought for a second.

“Or how to go home after an eternity of loneliness...”

Twilight's answer was in a low voice, almost a whisper, but due to the total silence of the library Sunset could hear it perfectly.

“Yes...yes something like that too...” she quickly resumed her task, lifting book after book, knowing more or less where its right place was.

Suddenly, and to Sunset's surprise a strange object levitated right in front of her nose, it took her a moment to realize what it was, a half-eaten margarita sandwich, awkwardly wrapped in a napkin.
The orange unicorn turned to see the librarian with her head down, shining her horn to levitate the sandwich in front of her.

“You...you said you didn't eat lunch...”

It took Sunset a moment to respond.

“Oh emm...thanks” she finally said taking the sandwich with her magic and taking a bite, it was dry on par with tasteless, still Sunset gave Twilight a smile before going on with her work.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally the last book was placed and with it the work was finished, both mares were walking back to the main room of the library with the cart already empty, the walk was silent again, but this time, calmer, so much so that Sunset couldn't help but try to strike up a conversation again.

“So...you didn't answer my question Have you been working here long?”

Twilight hesitated again about answering, but this time she reflected, this unicorn had been resilient and respectful throughout the evening, without pretentiousness or arrogance, she simply helped her without complaining or asking for reasons, so, Twilight thought, the least she could do was to give her the pleasure of answering one of her questions, although perhaps, not in the clearest way.

“Long time...”

“Oh... really? Like how long?” replied Sunset somewhat surprised and with a recovered enthusiasm.

“Nine years...” She said somewhat warily.

“Really!!! Wow seriously that's a long time...”

“Aha...”

Twilight couldn't tell if she was irritated or weirded out by the unicorn's over-the-top enthusiasm, she was used to dealing with less eloquent ponies, though, if she thought about it, the reason all their interactions tended to be so dry and distant was more due to her attitude than anyone else's.
All the recurring library users already knew her and knew that she didn't enjoy any show of sympathy or kindness at all, so it was obvious that, in the long run they would all opt to keep contact with her as minimal as possible, but this mare, she was a total stranger, it wasn't the dynamic Twilight was used to.

“Being a librarian must be your dream job, to have been working here for so long...” continued Sunset, seemingly oblivious to the tide of conflicting thoughts flooding the librarian.

“Not really...” replied Twilight crisply ”I only do it for the books...”

“Well, I really like books too, so I guess it makes sense, I'd be a librarian too if it meant I could read all day...although I think I'm too loud to aspire to the position...”

“Really?” began Twilight now with a twinge of curiosity in the back of her mind ”Well that's funny, come to think of it I don't remember ever seeing you around...” The unicorn's tone was slightly accusatory.

“Well...” Sunset let out a chuckle “It's just that since I started my advanced studies I've had access to the castle library, so I've had no need to come and borrow books here..”

Again, the mention referring to something related to the sun princess caused an uneasy feeling in Twilight's stomach, she remembered what the guards had said about the mare “Celestia's protégé” and didn't want to continue the conversation, remaining in such a remarked silence that Sunset turned around quizzically, noticing the librarian's frown.

“You...you're not jealous because I have access to Princess Celestia's private collection are you?” she asked somewhat nervously.

“No...” replied Twilight through gritted teeth.

“Oh, well, you wouldn't have to be anyway...”

This made Twilight turn around intrigued, touching again with the mare's bright green eyes.

“I mean...” continued Sunset as she got the purple unicorn's attention ”I just noticed that you already have most of the books from that private collection here...”

“Really?” asked Twilight incredulously.

“Yes, and all thanks to this unexpectedly torturous task...” Sunset let out a laugh “In fact the only books you don't have are the ones so old that they turn to dust when you touch them too much.”

Twilight at that moment felt the urge to laugh at the mare's eloquent comment, but restrained herself, more to herself than to her companion, she didn't want to accept that she was, indeed, enjoying the unicorn's company.

“So...why did you run away?” asked Twilight finally, something that surprised Sunset even more, taking an even longer moment to answer.

“Well hehe.... Are you going to say it's absurd but, I wanted some fresh air...”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight this time without hiding her curiosity.

“Well, it's just that I'm nearing the end of my studies and, well...at this point I'm already spending every day cooped up studying...”

“I thought you said you liked books, why would studying bother you?”

“It's just...that's different...” Sunset paused “I used to study only what interested me, but now, my teacher has set me on a path of boredom and tedium...”

“Are you talking about...the princess?” asked Twilight with a lump in her throat.

“Yes, she has been preparing me for years to fulfill an important task in the future...a task that is more and more ready to happen every day...”

“What kind of work?”

Sunset turning around again saw that the librarian's eyes were fixed on her, finally noticing the gleam of curiosity in her purple eyes, feeling a slight tingle of satisfaction at finally breaking the ice Sunset willed herself not to lose that attention.

“Well, you're not going to believe this but...even I'm not sure what purpose he has me contemplating.”

“You're kidding right...?” twilight's disbelief was palpable.

“Nope, I can assure you, Princess Celestia is more mysterious and enigmatic than you can ever imagine, she has always told me that I was born to achieve great things and that what awaits me will be the greatest thing I could ever imagine, but that's all she has ever told me about it...”

Now it was Sunset's countenance that became downcast, lowering her gaze and becoming silent, noticing this Twilight suddenly felt ashamed, perhaps she was too reckless and intruded where she shouldn't have, forcing this mare to reveal personal ailments to her to keep her interested.

“I'm sorry...” said Twilight softly as she lowered her own head.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, please don't apologize...” suddenly said Sunset, surprising the librarian again ”It's not your fault, forgive me you, I got to talking about my problems when surely all you want to do is go home and rest...”

At that moment both finally arrived at the main room, Twilight didn't take a second to put the cart aside, crumpled it on the side of one of the corridors while she walks with a firm step to her desk, determined to end both her and the unicorn's torment, without saying anything she took her saddlebag and her set of keys, together with the book she was reading before and heading to the main entrance where Sunset was already waiting for her.

By the time Twilight finally closed the library entrance behind them both mares stood, facing each other, enveloped in one last awkward silence, one that Twilight eventually broke.

“Well...” began Twilight as she cleared her throat and pulled a large opaque red scarf, also hand-knitted, from her saddlebag, placing it around her neck ”I really appreciate your help you gave me with the books...”

“And I thank you for, well, you know, not ratting me out to the authorities...and for the sandwich” Sunset for her part zipped up her jacket in an attempt to cover herself from the night's chill.

They were silent once again, neither knew how to say goodbye, this time it was Sunset who spoke first.

“Well...I guess, I'll see you around” the unicorn held out a hoof to the librarian.

“I don't think so, you already have a private library...”

To the surprise, not only of Sunset, but also of Twilight, the latter reciprocated the gesture, shaking the hoof, Sunset could feel a tingle as she noticed how, the librarian's fur, in comparison to her own, was warm, surely due to the thick sweater she was wearing and protected her better from the cold.

“You...” began Sunset just as the librarian's touch trailed off ”You didn't tell me your name...”

Twilight pulled her hoof away quickly as she again noticed the softness of the orange mare's fur, which even when cold to the touch still retained that fluffiness that had surprised her the first time, suddenly Twilights embarrassment returned, thinking of how parched and poorly cared for her own fur was, at how surely her touch was rappy and unpleasant, before she could let herself get carried away with those thoughts Sunset's comment snapped her back to reality, taking a little while to realize what she had said and a little longer to think about whether or not she should respond to her.
It was one thing to continue the conversation out of politeness and quite another to give her his name, a name that resonated and was known by the vast majority of the inhabitants of Canterlot, a name that made her feel miserable every time she remembered, a name that once proclaimed greatness and that now was only cause for embarrassment, even so, and without knowing very well why, Twilight did not feel judged or self-conscious by the unicorn, her enthusiastic and carefree tone had been replaced by softness and tact.

“Tw...Twilight...” she finally replied, as a whisper that almost carried on the wind, but managed to reach Sunset's ears ”Just...just Twilight...”

Sunset gave her a wide smile which seemed to glow in the moonlight, before finally replying.

“Well Twilight, see ya...”

Sunset turned and walked away, leaving Twilight alone in front of the library, the violet unicorn stood still, watching her fade into the distance until she disappeared around a corner, then she herself turned and began the slow walk home.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight entered her small apartment quietly, trying not to wake her roommate, moving through the small living room that also served as her bedroom and kitchen, dodging the few pieces of furniture in the direction of the room where there was a bunk bed on the left side and two desks squeezed together on the right side.

The mare cautiously climbed up to the top of the bunk, removing both her scarf and skirt in the process, laying down and finally covering herself with the sheets, just as Twilight let out a sigh of relief a rough, half-asleep voice spoke from the bottom of the bunk.

“Mñeee...Twilight? Are you here yet?”

“Yes...I'm here...”

“You were really late this time...Did something happen?”

“...No Moon Dancer, everything's fine, I just...stayed up late reading...”

“Ah, well...”

Twilight listened as her roommate fell asleep again in an instant, the unicorn could only stare at the ceiling thinking about how bizarre the day had been, how weird and annoying, but also how curious and strangely pleasant, to her mind came the memory of Sunset's face, dedicating some last words “See ya.” he reflected on it, on the possibility of seeing her again, on how it wasn't something he longed for with all his might, but he wouldn't mind if it happened again either, he wanted to feel that comfort again, that calm, that feeling that there was nothing on his shoulders, at least nothing but the smell of the books.