The rain fell softly outside of Sunset Shimmer's window. The warm light from her bedroom stood in stark contrast with the gloomy evening, making her pause in her thoughts. The purples and grays outside reminded her of Twilight Sparkle; someone who had grown to be a close friend of hers despite their differences and past transgressions. It was thanks to Twilight that she had a decent roof over her head during this storm. It was also thanks to her that she now had friends, and was beginning to grasp the true meaning of friendship.

It sounded so cliche when she said it, but she owed the princess everything. It was thanks to her that she hadn't gone off the deep end and attacked Equestria. And then, only a short time later, the princess had showed up again and saved them all from a bunch of sirens. Sunset couldn't help but think of Twilight in high regards. She had surpassed Celestia's teachings, where Sunset herself had failed.

She really is something. Sunset thought to herself, smiling softly. She looked down at the book in her hands, the one with her cutie mark on the front. The mate of the book had since been passed down to Twilight, and had been the main form of communication between the two since the Battle of the Bands fiasco. Sunset ran a hand along its spine, and felt a stab of guilt. She had yet to talk to Celestia, though she knew she had to. Twilight was all about trying to set up a time for the former teacher and student to meet up again, but Sunset just didn't feel ready.

Twilight, fortunately, understood how intimidating the Princess could be. They had spoken for countless hours about the many times they had both messed things up out of fear of disappointing the Princess or making her mad. Turns out Twilight could be quite the trouble maker when she wanted to be, something which Sunset found, at the very least, amusing.

Actually, there were many things about Twilight that Sunset would find hard to believe, if she didn't know the girl. Her insecurities, which were much like Sunset's, for example. One wouldn't think that the Princess of Friendship would be so insecure. Twilight's unwillingness to make friends at first was a harsh reminder of where Sunset went wrong, and it tortured Twilight to know she might have been so close to failure herself. The mother-daughter-like relationship the purple mare had with Celestia was like a hot poker right through Sunset's heart.

They were very similar, and Sunset figured that much of it had to do with Celestia. However, despite the fact that Twilight succeeded where Sunset had failed, there were no harsh feelings between the two. On the contrary, they were very close. They spoke almost every day, and Sunset had learned a lot from the younger girl. One thing was certain; Twilight deserved that princess role. Sunset... Well, she was beginning to believe that she wasn't destined to be a leader, herself.

This night, however, Sunset was going to try something a bit different. Her feelings, no, her entire perception of Twilight had changed steadily in the time they had known each other. She had gone from thinking of Twilight as a friend to... Something more. Something that took her a long time to recognize, the feeling was so strange to her.

She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a pen. She mentally thought out everything she was about to write, to decrease the amount of errors she might make. The thing about writing in a magical book was there was no erasing, and she wanted to make this perfect. She thought about how Twilight might react to what she had to say. The thought of rejection almost made her heart stop cold right then and there. What if Twilight refused the offer?

At the moment, the thing Sunset wanted most was Twilight's approval. They were friends, certainly, but that could change at any time. Or it could stay the same. She just wanted Twilight to be pleased with her.

C'mon, you coward, Sunset tried to bully herself into remaining calm, Just write the letter.

She placed the tip of the pen to the next empty page, and began to write.

Dear Twilight,

Today has been a rather gloomy day. No weather Pegasi to clear the clouds, which means we have to sit through some awful storms. I honestly don't know how humans have managed to live so long.

Rainbow Dash is in a foul mood because of it, of course. Something about an "Awesome three-on-three match going to waste." I swear, I don't understand sports, let alone her obsession with them. To make it up to her we all promised to play basketball with her sometime later this week... Yay...

Fluttershy was acting strange yesterday--I told you about that, right?--Well, I didn't know what that was about until Rarity told me (the gossip she is) that Flutters had a crush on someone! Can you imagine? Rarity thinks it's Big Mac, but I have doubts. He seems to like Cheerilee, and I can't imagine Flutters falling for him knowing that.

Sunset paused as she wondered what to talk about next. Quit stalling. Let's just get this over with! Her heart pounded in her head as she once again began writing.

Actually, to be honest, I think Flutters likes Applejack. She's too scared to say anything, though, because humans are stupid. Did you know that in many regions same-sex couples can't be married? Many humans deem such relationships as 'unnatural'. What a bunch of baloney. So, add that on to it being Fluttershy, and you can probably imagine how this is going to end up.

I want to help, somehow, but I'm not sure my help would be appreciated. I get along best with Fluttershy out of the group, though, so maybe I could at least talk to her about it. I just don't want to hurt or scare her--I've done enough of that for a lifetime. I think that's something new about friendship that I've learned: Be careful with how you get involved with your friends, because sometimes even helping can make things worse. It seems a bit backwards, but it sure is important to remember.

I've learned a great deal about friendship, and I have you to thank for that. You've changed my life, Twilight, and I'm honored to be your friend. If you don't mind me saying it, you're a very special pony. You're everything that I've always wanted to be, and I look up to you. That being said, I have a proposition for you. Could I maybe write to you about the things I learn here? Kind of like friendship reports? I have so much to learn, and I greatly need you help.

Three words. Three, little, words... Sunset closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. This was it. If this really happened, if she went through with this, things would change. Hopefully, for the better.

Your faithful student,

Sunset Shimmer.

No turning back. Next Chapter: Fallen For You Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes