Camp Everfree proved to be quite the experience for Sunset Shimmer and her friends, offering quite the perspicacity. Magical geodes, transformations, Pinkie Pie’s exploding sprinkles; it was certainly an experience none of them would forget, especially Twilight who spent most of their time there being incredibly shaken up by the endeavor. Even after it was over, Sunset had spent much time reassuring her that they were behind her one hundred percent. Sadly being the worrywart that she is, Twilight was in need of constant reassurance.

A good three days had passed since the group returned from their trip to Everfree, and an assortment of them were sitting in their favorite ice cream parlor sipping on delectable shakes. Sunset with a delicious vanilla chocolate swirl to appease her inability to choose one of the two flavors which both made her have cravings that if she always answered to, she would be a good fifty pounds heavier. Pinkie Pie, however, sported the oddest assortment of everything but the kitchen sink in both flavors and toppings. Her goblet was overflowing with random sweets and oddities stacked so high that Sunset questioned how she balanced the mishmash of treats without making a considerably bigger mess than she was.

Sunset snickered as she watched Pinkie attempt to figure out a way to attack the mighty beast of a dessert. The girl looked like she was practically trying to unhinge her jaw to shovel the entire concoction in.

Returning from the counter to where her two friends were seated, Rarity sat down elegantly, crossing her bare legs as she did and took a small bite from a spoon. Sunset always noted how Rarity never passed on a chance to show off her smooth and practically flawless legs. Today she sported a skirt short enough to attract the attention of virtually every young male in a mile radius.

Looking over at Pinkie she rolled her eyes at her ridiculous friend. “Having trouble, there darling?”

Pinkie looked like she was trying to understand a really complex math problem as her face contorted while trying to look at the milkshake from every possible angle. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to get every flavor in at once.”

“Maybe you should just settle for a few at a time?” Rarity suggested with another roll of her deep blue eyes.

Pinkie’s face scrunched into an annoyed scowl at the suggestion. “This is a dessert thing, you wouldn’t understand. There is an art to enjoying super amazing yummy desserts.”

She normally would argue, but Rarity felt exhausted just thinking about some of the previous debates she had held with Pinkie over equally pointless subjects and decided to let it slide.

“I suppose I’ll just have to enjoy being a peasant in the world of dessert connoisseurs.”

Pinkie merely nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes you will.”

Sunset had to suppress the urge to laugh as she would risk milkshake exiting her nostrils if she did. While not an instance that hadn’t happened before, she would rather avoid the embarrassment again. She recalled the last time she was teased by Rainbow Dash for a week who affectionately referred to her as Sunset Snorter. This was only reinforced by the fact that now and then she found herself letting out a snort or two when she got laughing a bit too hard.

“So, can you believe it? Summer is finally here. Six more weeks of no school!” Sunset exclaimed with a smile as she tried to change the subject.

“We should totally try to have a few parties this Summer!” Pinkie nearly shouted, much to the dismay of the other patrons of the parlor, some of which sitting close enough to the group that had to cover their ears.

Rarity nodded and finished the bite in her mouth before adding her sentiments, “I agree, I mean after Camp Everfree, it’ll be nice to wind down and not do anything out of the ordinary for a change.” Rarity’s eyes peered over to Pinkie who was experimenting with trying to suck milkshake up her nose with a straw. “Well… Relatively not out of the ordinary…” She added.

When it hit Sunset, she was overtaken by tremendous guilt that she didn’t seem to be able to go anywhere with her friends without some kind of strange magical exploits happening. They seemed to always be forced to go on some kind of adventure involving dangerous magic, villains and inter-dimensional threats trying to take over the world. Saving the world had its perks and even its benefits, but it got tiresome after a while. Even Sunset was getting fatigued from always having to be a part of saving the day on such a regular basis.

“I’m just glad Twilight is okay. She was kind of a wreck for most of that trip.” Sunset reminded.

“Indeed, though it’s good that she came around in the end.” Rarity smiled.

A grimace appeared on Sunset's face as she replied, “Eh, she’s not still without her doubts. I forgot my phone at home, but I am almost certain when I get there, I’m going to have like half a dozen texts from her.” Sunset predicted.

“What’s wrong, Sunset? Still having a hard time letting people depend on you?” Rarity asked sincerely before taking another bite from her spoon. The young woman made a face of glee as she savored the taste of her dessert.

Rarity struck a chord with her. It was true; she was still having a difficult time being in a mentor role. Teaching Twilight about friendship was proving a challenge, and she felt extra pressured simply by the fact that the other Twilight was the Princess of Friendship. The pressure to not let her down was intense, and that didn’t couple well with the fact that Sunset had never really had anyone depend on her before. This was all new to her, but she could already tell it was going to be a battle she’d have to endure.

“I guess so…” She admitted sheepishly, frowning at the admittance. “I just don’t want to let Princess Twilight down, that’s all…”
Pinkie took a breather from her milkshake and wiped the various splotches of the beverage off of her face. “That’s just silly. Princess Twilight knows you’re doing your best!”

Sunset grimaced again; that fact didn’t bring her any comfort. “Yeah, but what if my best isn’t enough?”

“Sunset, you can’t spend your life worried about what will happen if you fail,” Rarity stated.

She has a point. Sunset felt a smile creep up on her face and break her downer attitude, pushing it aside for another day. “Thanks, Rarity. You’re right… Old habits die hard, I guess?”

“You certainly are a creature of habit.” Rarity winked teasingly.

“You should talk.” Sunset smirked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Rarity giggled, knowing full well that she couldn’t even put up a façade for long on that front.

Pinkie seemed to have all but given up on her attempts to devour her milkshake in peculiar ways and had settled on just shoveling as much in her mouth as she could with a spoon, barely stopping to even breathe. Sunset questioned how Pinkie didn’t weigh a metric ton. Truthfully, Sunset had a sweet tooth herself, but she was always fighting it back to keep it from taking over her. She liked to stay as in shape as she could, and while she was no Rarity, she had a respectable figure.

“Summer is going to be a blast though, no doubt,” Sunset said, trying to pull back the conversation to the previous point made.

Rarity nodded and lifted her glass gleefully. “Agreed.”

“Me fwee-“ Pinkie attempted to speak with her mouth full.

The trio laughed heartily.

Parking her car in front of her apartment complex, Sunset fanned herself with her hand as she turned the car off. She sincerely regretted not checking if the air conditioner worked before buying the car. Though she couldn’t complain, she got a considerable deal on it, and all things considered, it proved reliable for a ten-year-old pile of scrap metal, albeit potentially dangerous and likely held together with paper clips and string.

Stepping out of the car, she made her way up the staircase, trying to avoid the steps that were in states of disrepair. Finally reaching the third floor, she approached her door labeled C4. Turning her key ring from her car key to her door key, she pressed it into the lock to let herself inside.

Locking the door behind her, Sunset noticed her phone glowing on the counter and walked over to retrieve it. As predicted there were at least ten text messages from Twilight. She looked at the latest one after catching the gist of the others.

Hey, sorry for being such a pain. I just wanted to say thanks for everything at camp. You’ve been a great friend, Sunset and I’m lucky to have you. Please don’t ever change.

Sunset smirked and rolled her eyes at the sappiness. Walking through the hall, Sunset brought her phone with her to her bedroom and plopped down on her bed and plugged the device into the wall outlet. The bed and that phone charger were essentially the only things in that room, shy of a few photos she had pinned to the wall of herself and her gaggle of friends.

Thinking for a second as she kicked her boots off to the floor, she picked her phone up, still mounted on the charger and replied to Twilight.

Don’t forget that it’s because I’ve changed that you think I’m such a great friend.

Sunset thought about her life prior to meeting this group of friends. Prior to the events of the Fall Formal last year. She had spent the first four years here in this world behaving more or less like a she-demon. It was only fitting that she was transformed into one at one point. It was difficult to get past that shame, but the more time that passed, the easier it became to forgive herself. She wasn’t quite at a level of full forgiveness yet, but she knew that helping Twilight was a step in the right direction. Perhaps if she could get Twilight to forgive herself fully, she too could know release from the inner torment.

Her phone vibrated in her hand as she received a reply.

Maybe so, but whoever you were before we met isn’t relevant to me. We’re friends now, that’s all that matters. After all, we can’t live in the past forever, right? That’s what you tell me anyways.

It appeared as though Twilight was taking Sunset’s lessons to heart already. The teenager smiled and typed up a fast reply.

True. Can you believe we’re going to be seniors soon? Hard to believe I’ve been here that long…

It was true too, she felt like it was just yesterday she arrived here. Equestria almost felt like she had just been there, however she didn’t really have many particularly fond memories of her time back home. Most of her time in Equestria was spent being insufferable and lusting for power to rule. It was difficult to grasp how truly surreal it felt to reflect on that pony and think that that was her at one point. Self-reflection sucked sometimes.

She wondered what Princess Twilight was doing for a brief moment before her phone went off again.

Yeah! I am super excited for the standardized tests in the middle of the year! I am hoping I can get into Canterlot Tech! It’s almost kind of nerve-wracking it’s so exciting!

Sunset rolled her eyes. Canterlot Tech was all Twilight had been talking about since the end of the school year. It was the most prestigious technology college in the city, a place for only the best and the brightest. Twilight definitely fit that bill; she might even have been overqualified. No, it was obvious that she was overqualified.

You’ll be fine. You’re the smartest girl in school. When you fill out your application with the scores you’ll get they will call you up and ask you to be the dean.

Her mind fell on the idea of Twilight trying to be the dean of a school. What would she wear? Knowing Twilight she’d probably wear some kind of businesswoman skirt suit and be way overly formal with everyone. Social interactions and being in charge of things wasn’t exactly her strong suits. She was more cut out for a position that required her to be in solitude and organize things.

Sunset snickered at her mental image of Twilight and sighed as she rested her head on her pillow. Setting her phone down, she decided it might be best to try and get some sleep after such a long day, truthfully she wasn’t getting enough sleep regularly, and she needed to get into the habit of correcting that problem.

Not even a few seconds after she had laid down her phone buzzed again, forcing her to pick it back up.

I hope so. Speaking of which, what are your plans?

She sighed and quickly typed up a response.

Sleeping hopefully.

The text back was almost instant.

Not what I meant, smartass.

With a smirk on her face, Sunset was feeling a bit playful with her response.

Rather be a smartass than a dumbass.

Sunset was certain she had zinged Twilight until she got a response.

I think you accomplish both equally well.

Ouch. She had to admit, Twilight occasionally got a lucky moment where her humor didn’t fall flat. Being that it was a rare occurrence it always seemed to catch Sunset off guard.

Why are we friends again?

Twilight instantly appeared to detect her sarcasm.

You love me and you know it.

With her mind in the gutter, Sunset smirked yet again.

Whoa, does Timber know it’s not exclusive then? I mean this is so sudden, Twilight. We’re only eighteen after all! I’m not sure we’re both ready for a polyamorous relationship with you, me and Timber.

Sunset could practically hear Twilight gagging at the suggestion.

Gross. Why did you have to take it there? That image is going to be stuck in my head all night now.

Satisfied with her dirty work, Sunset placed her phone down and closed her eyes.

Applejack and Sunset had arranged their agreed-upon get together for the Summertime. Applejack had convinced Sunset to give fishing a try and thus she agreed to try and meet up with Applejack every other Sunday to try and get a fishing trip in. Applejack’s brother had a boat that they lodged not far from their farmhouse on the edge of town which the two could take for these trips.

Showing up in a spaghetti strap top and capris, Sunset shielded her eyes from the high noon sun while she approached the dock. There, in a life jacket, hair pony-tailed, and her signature stetson was Applejack. In this light, her bronzed skin seemed to shine, only contrasted by the numerous freckles on her face. Applejack was a very burly girl, and you could see some muscle tone under her tight t-shirt she was wearing.

With her hand wrapped tightly around some rods, she smiled brightly as she noticed Sunset had arrived. Sunset instantly felt self-conscious as it was clear she may have not dressed correctly for the occasion.

“Sorry, I’m late, slept in,” Sunset admitted sheepishly as she rubbed her neck, wiping away the sweat that was already forming in the hot sun.

“Heh, no problem. Though next time y’all might want t' bring a hat,” Applejack said, handing Sunset a rod.

Sunset took the rod awkwardly, not entirely sure how it worked, given she never used one before. She could only see a brand name written on the handle that she didn’t recognize, “Ugly Stick”. Odd brand name, but considering Applejack was an avid fisher she assumed the rods were actually premium, just named ironically. Human customs were still a mystery to her at times; she made a mental note to google the brand when she got home.

“So where’s this boat that I keep hearing about?” Sunset questioned.

Applejack’s face lit up with a proud smile as she stepped aside and pointed to the water. There sitting tied up to the dock was a small two-person dingy with a tiny engine. Applejack seemed quite proud of it, but truthfully Sunset was expecting more. The way her friend played up her brother’s boat she was expecting something with some speed and power behind it. This thing hardly looked seaworthy with all the rust it had acquired over the years.

“That’s err… Really something…” Sunset commented, unsure how she should be reacting.

“Brother and me fixed ‘er up ourselves. She’s a real beauty.” Applejack puffed her chest out proudly.

With a nod, Sunset approached it and gestured for Applejack to go first, figuring she would figure out how to step into the boat by watching her. Sure enough, Applejack crawled in and sat in the back, setting her rod to the side. She gave a hand motion to signal Sunset to sit across from her. Nodding, Sunset entered the wobbly thing that Applejack passed for a boat and managed to keep her balance. She was almost impressed with herself.

A few pulls and the engine revved up and Applejack took to steering. “Listen t' her purr! She’s really amazin' ain’t she?” Applejack yelled over the engine.

Sunset smiled at her friend’s pride. Something about seeing Applejack really happy seemed to always put a smile on her face, maybe it was how giddy she got when she was truly excited about something, even if Sunset didn’t always understand what she was going on about; which was almost all of the time.

“It’s pretty cool that you guys fixed this thing up!” Sunset replied loudly.

Applejack nodded as the two reached the center of the lake. Turning off the engine, she reached down and lifted a heavy anchor and dropped it into the water below. Making sure it was tied tightly, she responded, “Big Mac was pretty excited about it too, should have seen him, he wouldn’t shut up.”

It was difficult to imagine Big Mac saying more than a few words, but Sunset got some sort of amusement about trying to imagine a very talkative Big Mac.

“So how do I do this exactly?” Sunset asked, picking up her rod, unsure of how to handle it.

Demonstrating, Applejack showed her to press a button under the reel and hold it before casting out and releasing the button when it was out there. “That’s all there is to it.” She added.

Sunset attempted it herself, and despite her lack of practice, the line cast out with ease and landed close to Applejack’s bobber, floating in the water.

Smiling, Applejack nodded again. “That’s it.”

“Now what?” Sunset tilted her head.

“Now, we wait.” Applejack snickered at Sunset’s lack of knowledge.

“Oh… Right…” Sunset blushed embarrassed.

The two sat in silence for a good three or four minutes just watching the calm water. There wasn’t even a tiny bit of breeze today, just hot scorching sun. Fortunately, Sunset had remembered to wear sunscreen. She had a bad habit of burning like a crisp, and this usually resulted in teasing from Rainbow Dash saying she looked just like her namesake.

With a content sigh, she leaned back in her seat and found herself actually relaxing.

“So, camp was fun, huh?” Applejack broke the silence, keeping her eyes on her line.

Sunset stretched and yawned. “Yeah, it was nuts. It’s like wherever we go there is some kind of insane magic outbreak or something…”

She saw Applejack chuckle. “Let’s just hope nothin' like that happens in this lake.”

“Oh gosh, imagine a magical sea monster jumping out of the water right now!” Sunset thought out loud.

With a visible shudder, Applejack shook her head in disapproval. “Don’t even joke about somethin' like that… Knowin' our luck that might actually happen.”

“You’re right, sorry…” Sunset frowned, not realizing her words may potentially freak Applejack out.

“So what do y’all make of Twilight’s guy friend?” Applejack changed the subject.

Oh did she had a plethora of opinions on that. She spent a lot of time teasing Twilight about her new male suitor, and Twilight had not heard the end of it since their time at camp. It was all in good fun though.

Sunset smirked. “He seems like a nice guy. Not sure how it’s going between the two of them because Twilight doesn’t kiss and tell I guess.”

“Figures, she didn’t seem the type,” Applejack replied, her eyes narrowing as she saw her bobber twitch for a brief second.

“Seems more like Rainbow’s thing.” Sunset snickered.

Applejack rolled her eyes at the thought. “Rainbow would give ya' all the details, right down the nausea levels. She never passes up a chance to brag about somethin'.”

“She means well though,” Sunset reminded.

“Mhm…” Applejack nodded.

The two fell silent, unsure of what else to talk about, and Sunset not wanting to make awkward conversation avoided breaking the silence. Her bright eyes looked to the water as her bobber sat there unmoving.

“Something botherin' ya', Sunset?” Applejack asked, her brow raised, finally looking in Sunset’s direction.

She silently cursed herself for how obvious she was sometimes. “Actually… Yeah sort of…” she admitted.

“What’s got ya' fussin’?” Applejack questioned as she reeled her line in and recast, hoping to get the attention of a fish.

“I guess it’s just this thing with trying to be there for Twilight… I still haven’t really mastered friendship myself and now I’m in a position where I have to mentor someone else… It’s actually kind of stressful, I keep worrying I’ll screw something up, in case you haven’t noticed I have a long history of doing that.” Sunset frowned as memories of her past started to resurface.

“We all keep tellin' y’all to stop beatin' yerself up over that stuff.” Applejack frowned and placed a hand on Sunset’s thigh to offer her some comfort.

“I know but-“ Sunset didn’t get a chance to finish.

“But nothin'. The past can’t be changed. Accept it, and move on. We all have. You’re not who ya' were, and we know that,” Applejack spoke.

Sunset wanted to believe her, but she wasn’t entirely sure sometimes. “Who is to say I won’t hurt someone else? It’s probably the one thing I’m better at than anything else sadly…”

Applejack took her friend’s hand and squeezed it, a fierce look in her eyes. “Don’t say that. Y'all are better than ya' think ya' are. Ah’ve seen it firsthand.”

Sunset’s eyes were drawn to her hand and then back up to meet Applejack’s green eyes. She nodded and sighed. “Thanks, I guess self-doubt is another talent of mine,” Sunset remarked.

“Ah' think we all have some skills with that one.” Applejack rolled her eyes as she released Sunset’s hand and returned to attending to her rod.

“Have you ever screwed up as bad as I have?” Sunset questioned as she too took her rod back into her hands.

“Dunno. Accidentally mixed up the ciders once and got half the town drunk at a party. Was pretty bad, vomit everywhere, so much vomit, Ah' mean ya' literally would not believe how much vomit there was…” Applejack replied with a smile.

Sunset gagged at the thought. “I think I get the idea…” She was fighting back giggles regardless of how disgusting that sounded.

“Seriously, Ah' thought all the cows spilled their lunch…” Applejack’s face held an empty expression as she became lost in the memory.

“Okay, I get it,” Sunset protested, begging her to stop.

Snapping back to reality, Applejack smiled at her friend from the corner of her mouth. “Anyways, the point is we all screw up sometimes, Sunset. Ah' actually think that’s what will make ya' a great teacher.”

“That I’m a huge screw-up?” Her brow raised.

“Nah, that ya' have experience with screwin' up. If ya' wanted to quit drinkin' would you ask someone who’s never drank a day in their life or someone who’s been there and overcame?” Applejack explained quite simply.

Sunset often forgot how wise her friend Applejack was sometimes. You wouldn’t guess it from her country accent and blunt manner of speaking, but Applejack could often be quite insightful in situations like this. Her simplistic way of speaking often misled one to believe she was far less intelligent than she truly was.

“Why do you have to be so smart about it? I was trying to mope.” Sunset punched her friend’s shoulder playfully and gave her a smirk to let her know that she was jesting.

“Y'all mope enough as it is. Nobody wants to hear ya' whine all the time.” Applejack teased as she returned the punch. “Rainbow Dash fills that role already; I can’t be letting you take her job from her.”

Sunset snickered and nodded. “You two should just kiss and get it over with.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “And what are y'all implyin'?”

She didn’t get a chance to answer though as her rod started to get a tug. Reeling as quickly as she could, Sunset attempted to gain control of the catch. Fighting and struggling, Applejack grabbed her shoulders and helped pull her back. “Whoa! Control the reel, bring it in! Steer yer' rod to control it,” Applejack instructed.

The catch was strong, and Sunset struggled to pull her rod in one direction, but finally, after much struggling, she managed to pull the fish out of the water. She blinked as she gazed at the very unimpressive size of the small fish. It had to be smaller than her thumb. Looking to Applejack with a blush on her face, she shrugged.

Applejack chuckled and poked the catch. “Ah' suppose now would be a good time to tell ya' part of the tradition of fish stories is t' exaggerate the size of the catch.”

Making her way home after such a long day of fishing with Applejack, Sunset was just surprised that she wasn’t sunburned. She was certain she would be burned before the day was out, but she was thankful that she wasn’t. Back home in Equestria she never knew what a sunburn felt like, and part of her wished to go back to those days. Human anatomy was strange, and despite how many books she had read up on it at this point, she still struggled at times. She remembered back to when she met Princess Twilight for the first time and what she said to her, and how ironic it felt now.

You don’t know the first thing about fitting in.

She frowned remembering how horrible she was but quickly washed it away by reminding herself that Twilight had a level of respect for her now. She said that, but she knew that deep down she didn’t know too much about fitting in herself either. How could she? She never aspired to make friends in Equestria, and the moment she arrived in this world, all she did was push people away.

Still, Sunset knew she was in a better place, but it was so difficult to shake self-doubt. Her incident at the fall formal opened up a side of her that she never knew was there, and while it was a side filled with kindness, compassion, and willingness to learn, it also came with a lot of self-hatred that took a long time to get past.

Looking at her phone as she walked into her small apartment, she could see a text from Applejack

Had a blast! Like I said, we’ll tell everyone it was at least a five-footer.

Sunset let out a snicker and rolled her eyes at her friend. She responded with a simple “Sounds like a plan”, and pocketed her phone.

It was strange actually spending a day with a friend of hers by herself. For a long time she felt like an accessory to the group, sort of a tag-along, but being asked specifically to hang out reassured her that she belonged with this group of friends. Regardless of what she had done, it made her feel good inside to know that something as simple as fishing could put a smile on her face, even if she wasn’t very great at it. The fact that Applejack trusted her to share her hobbies with her was more than enough.

When she thought about that, well the self-doubt quickly faded and she wondered why she ever worried.

Walking into her bedroom she pulled a familiar tome from her nightstand before flicking on the light switch so she had a chance at seeing what she was going to write in it. Grabbing a pen nearby she began to etch into the book that created a line of communication between her and her princess friend back in Equestria.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I know I haven’t written to you in a while and I’m sorry. A lot of stuff happened at Camp Everfree that I was telling you about and that sort of ate up a ton of my time. It’s under control now, but it was a chaotic week and I took some time off to sort of cool down.

How are things in Equestria? I hope you aren’t too busy if you are I’ll try and keep this brief for you.

I wanted to say thank you. Not just for showing me how great friendship truly is, but encouraging me to be a mentor to this universe’s Twilight and show her the same. I have to admit, I doubted that I would make a good teacher, and at times I still do, but you believed in me and that sort of made me realize that maybe I’m better at it than I give myself credit for. I’ve still got a long way to go before I’m anywhere near where you are, but I think I’m on the right path.

A year ago I would have never imagined myself with friends, people who care about me or even the shoulder of a princess to lean on when I was in trouble. You made all of that possible and I wanted to thank you for that. I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying to find a way to thank you.

Part of me though still has a hard time though. Like I haven’t proven myself enough to everyone, I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking it. Anyways, thanks for reading this.

Your friend,

Sunset Shimmer

Sunset set the book down and moved into the small bathroom. Turning on the light, she gazed in the mirror and removed her clothing, leaving nothing but her under attire. She reached into a hamper and gave a sniff to some pajamas she had in there. Deciding they were clean enough smelling and that it didn’t matter since no one would smell her in them, she threw them on and began to brush her hair.

That bathroom more or less only contained that hairbrush, the hamper of a small selection of clothing, and shampoo and soap in her shower which had an issue with the hot water not getting very hot. Truly annoying really, she had to learn to take quick showers.

Sunset groaned as she got her brush stuck in a knot in her hair. With a quick tug, she managed to undo it and set the brush aside, content for the night.

The young woman retreated back to her bedroom and threw herself onto her bed, debating if she wanted to keep her socks on or not. Ultimately she decided not, and pulled them off using only her feet and tossed them to the side of the room. It was hot outside, but fortunately, unlike her car, the apartment had fully working air conditioning. She was thankful for that, though beggars couldn’t be choosers anyways.

Picking the book back up she was surprised that she had gotten a lengthy reply already, then again Twilight loved to read so it was only natural that she loved to write as well. Sunset’s eyes looked over the message carefully.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

It sounds like you’ve had quite the week! I’d be very interested in hearing more about it sometime when you have the time. Magic in your world is always strange, but understanding it better is key to keeping balance; however, I understand if you’re burned out from magic for a while, given the circumstances. We can discuss it at another time.

As for your gratitude, I appreciate it, but I should remind you that becoming the princess of friendship was no easy accomplishment. It took me years of studying, understanding and even failures. In fact, it took a lot more failures than you think. On top of that, I have come to discover with my student Starlight Glimmer that I’m not always the best teacher either. Each student has a different learning style and sometimes that’s hard to adapt to.

Self-doubt is a very natural part of friendship, and of course, life. Try and remember though that it was not just me who helped you, you helped yourself more than you know. You made the choice to change, I may have shown you the way, but you chose to walk that path. It would have been impossible for us both to be where we are without you making that choice.

I still learn things about friendship every day, and I’m always willing to learn more. I am sure even you as a mentor will teach me a thing or two down the road and when that happens I will be elated. You teaching me about friendship means that I was successful in helping you and that’s probably my greatest joy of being a princess.

You’ve proven to be a good friend, Sunset. I can see that, your friends can see that, and I am sure the other Twilight sees it as well. She looks up to you, and that shouldn’t be something you fear, it should be something you celebrate. You don’t need a princess of friendship to confirm to you that you’ve been a good friend; you should have known that all along.

Whatever happens, don’t ever consider yourself a failure. When you don’t succeed you just need to try again, trust me I’ve learned the hard way myself.

Until we see each other in person again, remember that I am rooting for you, and to take care of yourself; I know you weren’t always the best about that, but I mean it sincerely. I look forward to learning your findings on friendship, I’m sure they will be truly remarkable.

With warm regards,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Sunset almost choked on tears as she read the letter. Twilight knew how to get all sappy and get her worked up, but damned if she wasn’t good at it! She hugged the book and felt a bright smile light up her face. Such praise from the princess of friendship was regard higher than she felt she warranted, but right now she was glad to have it nonetheless.

Setting it down, Sunset laid down on her single pillow and laid on top of the comforter, deciding it was too hot even with the air conditioner to consider sleeping under it. Instead, she laid there and decided to give the other Twilight a quick message. Grabbing her phone, she quickly pushed out a text to the scientist.

Hey, wanna get together tomorrow? We all have all the free time in the world now, so might as well use it right?

She was half expecting Twilight to be asleep, but her mind quickly reminded her that Twilight was used to staying up late working on projects.

Sure enough, she got an almost instant reply.

Totally! We could hit the science museum!

Sunset quickly rolled her eyes at how much of a one-track mind Twilight had. It was always science, science, science, with the occasional throw-in of Timber Spruce when she was daydreaming about him. It was always amusing to see Twilight distracted by a boy, considering it was a new side to her.

Maybe something that everyone would enjoy?

Shaking her head, Sunset giggled.

Oh fine, way to be a party pooper about it. How about we just go bowling or something?

She wasn’t particularly good at bowling, but the idea made for a good get together, she couldn’t deny. Even if she would have to listen to Applejack and Rainbow get competitive and banter back and forth all day, part of her liked the idea.

Does 1PM sound okay?

A quick response.

It’s a date.

Snickering, Sunset gave her usual snarky banter with her scientist friend in her reply.

Date? Why Twilight, when were you going to tell me that you were into me!? I guess I better buy flowers and chocolates. Do you prefer dark chocolate or milk chocolate? I’m more of a milk chocolate girl myself.

Quickly picking up on her teasing, Twilight at least came off as slightly amused.

Ha ha. You’re so funny. And if you must know, I prefer white chocolate. Besides, you couldn’t afford to buy me flowers anyways, so why even suggest such a thing?

Sunset laughed out loud before typing out her response.

Ouch. Cutting deep there. Anyways, I’m heading to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow alright?

Waiting for a quick “Okay” confirmation response, Sunset was satisfied and placed her phone down making sure to set an alarm to get her out of bed before it was too late in the day. She laid back down and looked up at the ceiling before closing her eyes and smiling. She reflected upon where she was in life, and while she lacked much she wasn’t felt left wanting. There was at least for this moment no holes missing. Everything she could ever want was in her life, and she felt genuine happiness.

She was living a dream practically. The past almost seemed to fade away as she felt herself slip into a pleasant wonderful slumber, the rest of the world seemed to just fade away.

Special thanks to Nuke87654 for being sort of a guinea pig for this story. He did a lot of pre-reading in its rough draft state. Kudos to him.