It's... not one of my prouder moments. I mean, obviously, right? I had a big argument with the mare of my dreams (even if I didn't think of her like that quite yet), and ran out thinking I was no longer wanted in Ponyville.

It was... really, really stupid. And for a number of reasons, too, not the least of which was that I had no real idea of what to do next. Well... strictly speaking, I guess that isn't true. But my idea was a stupid one, so...

Sunset kept her muzzle low and her eyes on the ground. She had no idea where Twilight's friends had gone after they'd left the Golden Oak, and the last thing she wanted was to see them – or be seen by them – as she was leaving in disgrace. They had won, Sunset had lost, and she could not bear to see the looks on their muzzles when they realized it.

She just wanted to slink shamefully back to Canterlot. Nowhere else felt like home to her right now — or, truly, ever. She just needed to find her way to the train station and take the next one to Canterlot. Simple.

A few thoughts gave her pause, though. The first was the issue of fare: it was by no means expensive, but Sunset honestly wasn't sure if she had even a single bit with her. She hadn't exchanged anything in her saddlebags after her disastrous Pinkie research, after all. But then she recalled lunch, and allowed herself to relax a little – she should still have her coin purse with her, and therefore more than enough money to get back home.

But the relief of that thought was soon overwhelmed by a string of others, as she imagined what would happen when she arrived. Her old apartment would be perfectly welcoming, but it would only be a matter of time before she had to face Princess Celestia again.

She couldn't stand to think of how disappointed she would be to hear that Sunset and Twilight had broken up as friends, not after how much she wanted them to bond in the first place. And would she comfort Sunset, and tell her she was right to act as she had? Or would she side with Twilight, and lecture her about the virtues of friendship again?

Sunset was afraid she already knew the answer.

But even so, even if Princess Celestia didn't understand what she was feeling, Sunset knew her mentor would allow her to move back to Canterlot all the same. Even if she did so sadly, and even if Sunset felt guilty the entire time for not living up to her expectations.

But then there would be the matter of moving everything she had back to where it had obviously always belonged to begin with. Would Sunset have to return to Ponyville to pack everything up herself? She didn't think she could stand doing so. But she didn't want to force Twilight and Spike to pack up everything to be shipped themselves. And she certainly wouldn't trust any other ponies to do the job if she weren't there herself to direct them.

“Maybe I should just leave everything there...,” she muttered to herself as she tromped down some unfamiliar street. “Twilight can have it all, and I can just... try researching something else, or something.”

It was around this time that Sunset walked head-first into the side of a bridge. Fortunately not in a way that damaged her horn, but it still stung quite a bit and, more importantly, startled her out of her daze.

She looked around, and a single thought came to mind: “Where the heck am I?” It wasn't a section of Ponyville she recognized, though the same could be said for about 90% of the town. As best as she could tell in the rapidly-enveloping darkness it was a residential neighborhood, and obviously there was a small-ish creek running through it, but none of that meant anything to her. She didn't even know which road she was on, and that meant she was lost.

She wasn't even certain how far she'd gotten from the Golden Oak, or how or where she'd turned since leaving. Her best hope, she decided, was to locate a landmark she recognized or a street she knew. And with the buildings tall enough – and sky dark enough – that she couldn't see any of Ponyville's most noticeable sights, Sunset resigned herself to more wandering.

It didn't take long for her to regret everything she'd done that day. “Why'd I have to try and study Pinkie's stupid sense, anyway?” she muttered to herself, uncaring of the occasional stare she received from other ponies that were actually enjoying the night. “I should've known it was just going to annoy me, it wasn't worth the risk.” She sighed. “Sweet Celestia, what was I thinking saying all that stuff...”

It wasn't that she didn't mean any of it, but rather that she felt she should have known better than to actually say it aloud. But obviously she didn't have as much self-control as she thought she did, and it had now ruined her life.

In her depression, Sunset lost track of where she was going again. This time, however, she ended up bumping into another mare. An earth mare, to be specific, with a light gray coat and a darker mane. She had, as best as Sunset could tell, been headed in roughly the same direction as Sunset had, so how they'd collided was anypony's guess. It probably involved Sunset veering off-course in an embarrassing manner.

At any rate, the mare was quite startled and let out an indignant sort of gasp. “Do you mind?” she said sharply in a distinctive, if unexpected, Trottingham accent.

“Sorry, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going,” Sunset said, trying to figure out where she'd seen the mare before. Certainly not around town, but there was a certain familiarity in her appearance that rang a number of bells in Sunset's head – particularly the long, swept-aside bangs and the pink bowtie.

“Obviously,” the mare replied, though with less bite – it looked like she was trying to figure out where she knew Sunset, as well.

After a few seconds of mutual silent staring, Sunset was ready to dismiss it as a trick of the light and leave. Then the other mare said, “Pardon, but you wouldn't happen to be Sunset Shimmer, would you?”

Random ponies knowing who she was had never been all that surprising, but Sunset had thought that her personal novelty to the locals had worn off weeks ago. But, then, the mare in front of her wasn't a local, was she? She must have only just moved to Ponyville from the Griffish Isles.

Or had she? On second thought, a new arrival probably wouldn't know that Sunset Shimmer, the Princess's personal student, was living there now. Meaning the mare had been in Ponyville for long enough to catch the gossip, or already knew Sunset by sight alone. Which could only mean she had lived in Canterlot at some point.

Canterlot – that was the keyword that Sunset's mind needed to latch onto. Memories of galas, garden parties, concerts, and numerous other formal events welled up in her head, all of them venues that had been played by some portion of the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra. And among them, a certain award-winning cellist...

“You're... Octavia Melody, right?” Sunset replied, absentmindedly forgetting the question she'd been asked.

The mare blinked. “Well, yes.”

She gave Sunset an expectant look, and it only took a couple more seconds for Sunset to catch on. “Oh! Right, sorry, yeah, I'm Sunset Shimmer,” she said. “Uh, sorry about before. I, uh, have a lot on my mind.” Obviously, she wasn't about to go spilling her whole story to a complete stranger. But it still felt important to present an excuse for her little... mishap, if only to keep herself from developing a bad reputation with the most renowned orchestra in Equestria.

“Think nothing of it,” Octavia said with a dismissive hoof-wave, but she didn't turn and leave like Sunset expected her to. Rather, she seemed to titter on the edge of doing so, and even in the dark Sunset could see it in her eyes that Octavia's curiosity had been piqued.

Sunset really had no reason to oblige her; what use was there in confiding in a stranger? But Sunset couldn't deny being curious herself, about the cellist and her presence, and the socially-minded part of her thought an in with the Canterlot Philharmonic would be handy indeed.

“So...,” she began, trailing off as she finished composing her thoughts. “What brings a Canterlot girl like you all the way out here?”

Octavia laughed, and at some unspoken signal the two resumed walking down the street. “Oh, well, the same thing as you I expect,” she answered with a smile, turning her gaze skyward. “Fresh air, open spaces, a break from the hustle and bustle of city life... I've been living in Ponyville for about a year now, and I've been quite enjoying it. And you?”

Sunset couldn't do much more than let out a short, awkward bit of laughter. “Well,” she admitted, trying to be careful about what she said, “I can't say my reasons for moving here are the same. And I definitely don't think I've gotten the hang of the quiet country life yet.”

That prompted another laugh from Octavia. “Yes, I suppose it is quite a lot to get used to, isn't it? There's a different sort of energy, I think, in this town; a sort of purity to everything, a simple life without all the complications of the capital, while still having a complexity all its own. I hate to be so trite, but it's like the difference between a concerto and a folk song.”

“I... think I can see what you're getting at,” Sunset said, not nearly as confident as she sounded.

“And of course the ponies here are practically a breath of fresh air in and of themselves,” Octavia continued. Sunset tensed a bit, but it seemed to go unnoticed – the other mare seemed to be recalling something herself. “Although admittedly I haven't found myself seeing eye-to-eye with all of them. My roommate in particular...”

Sunset laughed without thinking. “Yeah, I kinda know how you feel...”

“Oh?” Octavia asked, looking at her. “Anypony in particular? Pardon my intrusion, of course, but you did say that you were preoccupied earlier.”

Sunset swore to herself, she'd been caught in the mare's trap. Or nearly so, anyway. “Ahh... well, it's not something I really want to talk about. You understand.”

“Hmm,” Octavia replied, pursing her lips in disappointment. “To be honest, I've always felt it was best to get such things off one's chest. Venting, and all that, you know?”

“Hah,” Sunset laughed, idly wondering why she hadn't just left already. But the answer was obvious: for whatever reason she had entered a sort of mental sparring match with Octavia, and backing down would be the same as losing. “Well in that case, why don't you vent first?”

“Fair enough,” the cellist hummed after a moment. “To be honest, though, there's not much that needs to be said. I don't suppose you've heard of a 'DJ Pon-3', have you?”

“I... think so?” Sunset replied, quirking an eyebrow as she thought, recalling the name from a few flyers and posters for events around town. “She's that DJ who always plays the latest dance music at parties and stuff, right?”

“That's correct,” Octavia nodded. “She also plays at a number of clubs and other venues in Canterlot. And, as you may have guessed, she's my roommate.”

“Ah,” Sunset said, though she only had a vague idea of what the problem between them could be.

“As you can imagine,” Octavia continued, no longer looking at Sunset, “she and I have quite different tastes in most things. Music, home décor, general aesthetics, just about everything, really. It made it quite difficult to get along with her – and honestly still does, on occasion.”

“So then why don't you just move out?” Sunset asked, now genuinely confused. “It can't be good for either of you if you just keep trying to live together.”

Octavia sighed. “Well, it isn't as though I've never looked into it, but there are reasons that I stay. As frustrating as she can be at times, I do consider her a friend. Her somewhat... unique perspective has helped me with a number of musical projects, and she's taught me a fair number of things about the technical side of productions. And, of course, her attitude is somewhat a refreshing change of pace from what you usually see in the orchestra business.”

“...huh,” Sunset said, at a loss for other replies. She'd just never really considered anything like that before; to her, if she didn't see eye to eye with another pony then Sunset did her best to get them out of her life once she had everything she may have wanted from them. Twilight was the sole exception, the only pony she'd given a chance after her initial dislike of them, but that was a special case. Twilight had proven herself, and nopony else had. Certainly not Twilight's friends.

“You sound as though I've struck a chord with you,” Octavia said.

Had she? “I guess,” Sunset hesitantly replied. “But honestly, my situation is totally different. I like my roommate. It's her friends I... I'm not fond of.” Sunset caught herself too late, and while she'd shifted tracks slightly to soften things she'd still essentially revealed the truth to a stranger.

“Is that so?” Octavia said, trying to sound idle when a single sidelong glance showed Sunset the curiosity in her eyes. “Any big fallings-out with them recently, or were you just out wandering aimlessly to get away for a few moments? Pardon my asking, of course. I completely understand if you'd rather keep things private.”

'Keep things private' was exactly what Sunset knew she should do. How much benefit could there possibly be in venting to the mare? How could she possibly understand what Sunset was going through, having been spurned by her first and greatest friend? Who was to say she'd even take Sunset's side, and not just repeat Twilight's empty assurances that everything would turn out fine if she just forced herself to get along? Who was to say that, even if she did agree with Sunset, she'd be able to help in any meaningful way?

And who was to say she wasn't just fishing for gossip about a fairly well-known pony, with every intent to tell half of Canterlot that the great Sunset Shimmer, personal student of Princess Celestia, had been reduced to such a pathetic state?

Evidently her mind had been spinning its wheels for quite some time, as the next thing she knew Octavia was quietly saying, “Private it is, then.”

Sunset found herself looking at the mare, and asking, “Why?” She smiled, despite herself. “Why does it matter to you? We don't even know each other.”

Octavia gave a sort of half-shrug. “I'm not entirely certain, to be quite honest. I'm not usually the type to open up to others, or talk to them when they're feeling down. I suppose I simply thought you might be a kindred spirit, as fellow city-ponies adjusting to life in the countryside.” She let out a short laugh. “And, well, I suppose I shouldn't deny how curious I am about the life of a pony with a status as high as yours. Though if it's discretion you're worried about, I can assure you that I would never tell anypony anything that was told to me in strictest confidence. Engaging in such gossip would only discredit my reputation as a professional musician.”

Sunset let out a laugh of her own; if nothing else, the mare was clearly familiar with the most important tenet of Canterlot culture: reputation was everything. A promise could be empty of all other things, but so long as the promiser's image was at stake then it may as well be magically binding. Sunset had learned that quickly and used it to her advantage many a time in her younger years, and while she hadn't cared as much for her own reputation recently she still respected the significance of using it as a bargaining chip.

Perhaps Octavia hadn't been so far off in calling them kindred spirits...

She sighed, but it wasn't an especially depressed one. “Fine,” she said. “If you really wanna know...,” she hesitated for a moment, “my roommate and I got into a fight earlier about me not liking her friends. And, uh, they overheard it, which made things worse. It's pretty clear that my roommate prefers them over me, which, uh... stings, since her and I were friends first.”

It was pretty heavily edited, and definitely downplayed at parts, but only because she didn't want to focus too much on all the negativity and sadness right then. It was still an accurate picture of what had happened, anyway, so she didn't think it would matter. Especially to a stranger.

“I see...,” Octavia replied. “So then I suppose you showed yourself out to cool your head and think things over, then?”

“...something like that, yeah,” Sunset said, the thought of admitting that she had intended on just going back to Canterlot being a little too embarrassing at the moment.

Octavia nodded. “Well, I can certainly understand that. Why, after my first big row with my roommate, I stormed out as well!”

“Yeah? What did you do?” Sunset asked, trying to keep the dryness out of her voice even as her mind filled in the obvious blanks – Octavia had ended up returning home and made up with her roommate, and blah blah blah now they were friends.

“I ended up staying the night in a inn, is what I did!” Octavia laughed. “I was too stubborn and embarrassed to go back, and of course I wasn't about to just sleep outside.”

“Huh...,” was all Sunset could say at first, before the obvious question occurred to her. “So you never, like, considered going to Canterlot or something?”

“Why, of course not!” Octavia laughed, as though the sheer thought was absurd. “And not just because I had next to nothing on me, either. Paying to go all the way to Canterlot for a more expensive hotel just wasn't feasible for me. I may have some amount of fame, but that doesn't mean I'm made of bits, you know.”

“Mm...” It was certainly an understandable point, even if it didn't really apply to Sunset herself. “But, uh, what if you'd had the money? Or at least a place to stay for free?” she asked, trying to make it sound as if it were just an idle thought and probably failing. “Do you think you would have gone then?”

Fortunately Octavia wasn't looking at her directly, so she didn't seem to catch on and, indeed, seemed to be thinking about it seriously. “You know what? I'm not certain. I feel as though I was just furious enough that I would have gone through with it, which may have caused me to rethink Ponyville entirely.”

Sunset nodded along, feeling vindicated that her own inclination to leave hadn't been some ridiculous overreaction.

“Of course,” Octavia continued, unaware of Sunset's internal celebration, “I don't believe that would have been the correct decision to make.” An internal celebration which had just ground to a halt.

“Y-you don't?” Sunset quickly asked. “Why not? It would have given you another chance, maybe to find a roommate you mesh with better or something.”

“Perhaps,” the cellist acceded, “but it might also have caused me to move somewhere even worse, and then I'd probably end up doing everything all over again.”

It made Sunset's heart sink a little to hear it. What if she went back to Canterlot and just ended up wallowing in her bitterness again, never feeling happy and never making a name for herself? She couldn't deny that it was a very real possibility, the memory of the first month of summer still fresh in her mind. That's why she'd moved out to Ponyville in the first place, hadn't it? To get away from that horrible state of being?

Her train of thought was interrupted once again by Octavia, this time as she sighed. “I suppose there's no real point in considering all those 'what-ifs'. Nothing can change the fact that I didn't leave Ponyville that night, nor can it change the fact that the morning after I went home in a clearer state of mind and made up with Vinyl. And even if I could change it, I wouldn't.” Her voice firm, she turned to look at Sunset. “As frustrating as it is at times, I really don't regret the path my life has taken.”

Her gaze turned forward again as she rounded some nameless street corner, but Sunset didn't make it. She was once again lost in her own thoughts, bouncing like a ball between visions of herself wallowing in Canterlot and remaining in Ponyville.

Neither option was palatable. She didn't want to sink back into bitter loneliness, yes, but could she really stand the embarrassment and humiliation that would come from crawling back to the library with ears flat to try and make up with Twilight? Especially since it would mean pretending to reconcile and get along with her friends, too? She couldn't see herself enjoying their presence in her life any more than she could see herself enjoying being alone again.

But were there any other choices? If there were Sunset couldn't see them, and not for the first time that evening she wondered if she would ever be allowed to get what she wanted again.

“Miss Shimmer?” Octavia's voice rang through the air like a bell, snapping Sunset out of her head again – she realized just how far behind she'd gotten from the other mare, and hustled to catch up. Octavia met her partway, saying, “You really do have a lot on your mind right now, don't you? I do hope I haven't made things worse by sharing my experiences.”

“You haven't,” Sunset replied automatically, unsure of how much of a lie it was. “I just...,” she floundered, “have a lot to think about, like you said. Don't worry about it.”

Octavia seemed to consider this for a moment. “Hmm. Very well then. In that case I suppose I'll hope that things work out for you. But at any rate,” she turned around, and the two resumed walking, “we've just about reached my home. It's right up there.”

She motioned down the street with a flick of her muzzle, and it didn't take long for Sunset to single out the building she was talking about.

In fact, she would have had to be blind to miss it. At the very end of the narrow cobblestone path they were now heading down was what, structurally, seemed to have originally been a house like any other in Ponyville, thatched roof and all. But the two musicians had made their mark on it, with a topiary in the shape of a musical note standing out front and what Sunset could barely make out as keyboard-themed flower boxes under the windows.

But its most noticeable feature was the color scheme, or rather schemes. Thanks to the light coming from the windows Sunset could tell that the building had been divided cleanly in half, aesthetically, with the dividing line running straight through the door. The left half used the shades of brown that Sunset associated with most string instruments and used lighter-colored straw for its roof; she guessed that side was Octavia's, the presence of what looked like organ pipes jutting out the top only strengthening her suspicion. The right half, in contrast, had a darker roof but lighter walls, shades of purple and lavender with large cobblestones and musical notes carved into the wood. That, she surmised, must be 'DJ-Pon3's' half.

Sunset stopped a few yards before the final bend in the path, unsure of what to do next.

“Well, I suppose this is goodnight, then,” Octavia said, looking back at her once she'd reached the front door. “Unless...,” she seemed to hesitate a bit, “you'd like to come in?”

“Oh, no. Thanks, but no thanks,” Sunset said almost automatically. The chat with the mare had been decent in a way, she supposed, but that didn't mean she had any interest in getting to know Octavia any further.

“Right,” Octavia replied, moving once again to open the door but stopping herself quickly. “Erm, pardon my asking,” she said, looking back at Sunset once more, “but you do have a place to stay for the night, don't you?”

“Er...” Sunset quickly tried to decide what to tell her. On one hoof she could repay her for the talk with honesty and just admit she was going to Canterlot, but that might cause the mare to judge her harshly after what she herself had been through; on the other, she could just lie and say she was going to stay the night at a hotel or something, but that could be awkward if she asked for specifics or, even worse, decided to check up on Sunset in the morning or something.

Unfortunately, she took long enough that Octavia reached her own conclusion. “You don't, do you?” she asked with a smile that Sunset couldn't help but find to be a little bit condescending. Then she sighed. “Well, I suppose that's at least partly my fault for chatting with you. If you'd like, I could ask my roommate if she'd be okay with you sleeping on our couch tonight.”

Sunset practically paled at the thought of spending the night with complete strangers. “Oh no, I, I couldn't,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I, uh, I wouldn't want to impose! I'll just, uh, go find an inn somewhere.” She mentally lauded herself for her quick thinking and well-crafted truth: she would go find an inn somewhere, just not in Ponyville.

To her relief, Octavia seemed relieved as well. “Completely understandable. Such a thing would hardly be appropriate considering we've only just met, but I thought I'd offer anyway. Ponyville spirit and all.”

“Right,” Sunset nodded, happy to just go along with it.

“If you'd like, though, I can give you directions to the inn I stayed at,” Octavia continued, walking back down the path a few steps.

“Oh, uh, sure,” Sunset replied, unable to come up with a reason to refuse.

“Right.” Octavia made a move like she was going to pull something from her saddlebag, only to realize she wasn't wearing any. “Err, sorry, I'll just be a minute,” she told Sunset, turning around and heading back towards her home.

Out of curiosity Sunset followed, though she stopped just outside the open door. From what she could see the interior of the house matched the exterior; Octavia's side had an elegant, refined aesthetic while her roommate's was more colorful and wild.

“Good evening, Vinyl,” she saw the mare say to somepony out of sight, vanishing to the left as well. Sunset could only assume that 'Vinyl' was 'DJ-Pon3', the latter probably being a stage name.

“Yes, sorry, I just need to draw a map for somepony,” Octavia added as though in reply, though confusingly Sunset hadn't heard anypony else say anything. “It's, well, it's not really my place to tell. Just a pony who needs directions to an inn.” Regardless of who it was, exactly, that Octavia was speaking with, Sunset was glad she was being discreet about things – and that she herself hadn't stepped far enough inside to be noticed.

“No, I already offered, but she turned me down,” Octavia continued, her voice noticeably muffled – she probably had something in her mouth. Then, after a moment and sounding more flustered, she added, “I said nothing of the sort! Now excuse me for a moment while I go pass this off.”

Hoofsteps followed, and soon enough Octavia was walking back into view – she had a folded piece of paper held primly in her teeth, and smiled a little when she saw Sunset at the door. Sunset promptly took the paper in her magic. “Sorry about that,” Octavia said. “My roommate can be somewhat nosey at times.”

“It's fine,” Sunset replied in a voice she hoped was quiet enough that anypony inside wouldn't be able to hear. “Thanks for the directions. Good night!”

“Good night!” Octavia replied, waving her hoof as Sunset turned and walked back down the front path. “And best of luck!”

“Thanks!” Sunset called back. “You too!” It was a bit awkward as far as replies went, but it worked well enough that she didn't really care.

The map was simple enough for her to read by the light of her horn as Octavia had helpfully labeled her home, the inn, and a few other landmarks that Sunset vaguely recognized by name. It didn't take long to get oriented, though she set off down the path with every intention to ignore the directions she had specifically been given.

After all, she wasn't about to stay in Ponyville any longer. Why would she, when she knew she had a place to stay back in Canterlot? Octavia sharing her story hadn't changed that; it hadn't made Sunset any more inclined to believe that things would just... magically work out if she stuck around, even if that's what had happened with Octavia.

That was just wishful thinking, Sunset knew. And it wasn't even a very good wish. The idea of palling around with Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, and all the others... It gave her mixed feelings, none of them good ones. Dread. Anxiety. Even a little bit of guilt after their reactions earlier, though she tried her best to ignore it. It was clear as day that trying to be friends with them would be a bad idea; she'd probably have to change so much about herself for it to work. And they probably even wouldn't want it anyway.

No, no matter what Octavia had been through, Sunset knew she was better off just going back to Canterlot and trying to make a new life for herself. Forget all about Twilight, and just move on to better things.

That's what she repeated to herself as she walked the streets of Ponyville, a pocket of gloom in an otherwise warm and pleasant night. It wasn't easy, but she managed to muster enough resolve to keep herself focused on following the map she'd been given back towards familiar territory, and then off towards the train station.

She didn't encounter anypony of any significance for several blocks, enough that her spirits began to climb a little at the prospect of being so close to her goal.

Until fate intervened.

“Ohhh, where could she be?!”

“I don't know, we've checked everywhere!”

A pair of very familiar, very worried voices caused Sunset to freeze in her tracks. They came from just around a building, and Sunset quickly ducked behind the first piece of cover she could find – a rain barrel.

“She wasn't at the train station and nopony there has seen her, so we know she's still in Ponyville.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But she's not staying at any of the inns nearby, so where could she be?”

“Maybe she found somepony else to take her in for the night?”

Silence passed. Sunset could feel the stare through it.

“...yeah, probably not, huh?”

“More like definitely not! You heard her, Spike, she doesn't like anypony in town! She wouldn't want to spend the night in somepony else's home! But that doesn't leave anywhere else she could be!”

The sound of heavy breathing that made Sunset cringe with guilt.

“Whoa, calm down Twilight! We probably just... missed her!”

“Missed her?”

“Yeah! You know how she is, always cooped up in her lab! She barely ever goes out and walks around town! I'm sure she just got lost when she ran out earlier.”

“Lost?!”

“Err, not totally lost, just, like, took a couple wrong turns here and there! She probably just got turned around trying to find a hotel or the train station. Or maybe she just went back home to the library!”

Heavy, but slowing, breathing. “Right. That's... right. She probably just got turned around on the way to wherever she was going! Which means we just have to keep checking everywhere until we find her!”

“Err...”

“No time, Spike! She might be checking in to the Comfy Pillow as we speak!”

A yelp, and the sound of a sudden gallop. Sunset ventured just the briefest of peeks out from hiding, just enough to catch a glimpse of Twilight – Spike barely clinging to her back – galloping down the road she had been about to turn onto.

Sunset spent ages frozen there, torn between going after them and making a dash for the train station. The fact that, even after everything that had happened, Twilight was still worried about Sunset quickly ate at her. How could she have just run out on her best friend like that? How could she have let her emotions get the better of her like that, when she should have just brought some bedding down to her lab and made arrangement to move out the next morning? Twilight had obviously gotten over her anger and was now worried sick. Knowing her, she would be out roaming the streets of Ponyville searching for Sunset until she dropped of exhaustion.

So there was a definite part of her urging her to chase after, to call out, to apologize and make amends.

But the rest of her knew better. What could possibly come from it? The chance of them making up enough to be back on reasonably good terms while still allowing Sunset to move out seemed infinitesimally slim. More likely, that part of her thought, they'd either end up resuming their argument – and probably in public this time – or Sunset would cave to Twilight's wishes and stay in Ponyville. Which would involve a lot of awfulness, like apologizing to ponies she didn't care about, and an awkward return to the status quo except it wouldn't really be the status quo because everyone would remember what she'd done, and it would only make things worse for her.

Yeah. Once again, Sunset was faced with a choice that had no good option. So she forced her pragmatism to take over, and choose the least-bad one.

With a heavy breath and one last look down the street Twilight had gone down, Sunset turned and galloped off the other way.

“What do you mean there's no more trains to Canterlot?” Sunset asked the station's attendant, trying her best to keep her voice at an irate hiss and having mixed success.

“I mean exactly that!” the stallion replied. “Last train was a couple minutes ago, next one ain't til mornin'! Schedule's right there if ya want it!” He nodded at the wall of the station, where Sunset could clearly see a glass case with the train schedule posted inside it.

Sunset let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, what am I supposed to do then?”

The attendant shrugged. “Well, if ya just wanna leave town, there'll be a train comin' out of Canterlot in about fifteen minutes that'll take ya down south! But if it's Canterlot ya gotta go too, I'm afraid yer outta luck! I can give ya directions to a nice inn to stay at if ya'd like!”

Another, duller sigh. “No thanks. I can find one myself.” She began to walk away, picking up the pace when the thought occurred to her that Twilight and Spike might be racing towards there at that very moment.

And then stopping at the door and looking back for the same reason. “If anypony comes looking for me,” she told the attendant, pausing to decide exactly what she wanted to say, “tell them... tell them I'll get in touch when I'm ready. And don't say anything about where I went, got that?”

“Will do!” the attendant replied with a cheesy grin and quick salute. Sunset couldn't bring herself to trust him to keep his word, but she wasn't about to waste bits on a bribe either. After one last lingering stare, she turned and left the train station.

“Welcome to the Ponyville Inn! How can I help you tonight?”

The young mare working the front desk was bright-eyed and cheery, annoyingly so, but Sunset put on a pleasantly neutral smile and soldiered onward. She had no idea where the 'Ponyville Inn', creatively-named as it was, ranked on the list of places to stay at in town, but she didn't care. It was the one that Octavia had given her directions tom so it was the one she was going to stay at.

She just had to do so quickly, in case Twilight and Spike showed up.

“Yeah, I just need a room for the night,” she said, levitating her coin purse out of her bags.

“Okay, sign here and that'll be ten bits,” the mare said, sliding a clipboard across the counter. Sunset quickly signed it, and then pulled her coin purse from her bag.

“And, uh, by the way,” she added with no small amount of hesitance, her bits extended but not passed off to the earth mare. “I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anypony that I'm staying here.”

The mare stared at her in confusion for a moment before comprehension dawned on her muzzle. “Oh! You must be the one that other pony and that baby dragon were looking for!”

Sunset said nothing, refusing to verbally confirm it. She did, however, level a harsh glare that quickly made the other mare sweat. “I mean, uh, sure!” she said, her cheer now sounding a little forced. “We can totally do that for you!”

“Good. Thanks.” Her words terse and her mood unforgiving, she managed to get the attendant to grab a spare room key and hoof it over before she could even blink. She jammed it into her bag and turned to leave, pausing again after only a step.

She thought things over, sighed, and then took out a few more bits. “For the trouble,” she said, passing them off to the mare at the front desk.

A short silence followed, but Sunset neither looked behind her nor around the deserted lobby. Then, finally, “Okay! Have a nice night, miss!”

“You too,” Sunset replied without heart, checking the room key and then heading up the stairs.

Her room was numbered 206, and she found it easily enough. It wasn't much to look at – a bed, a desk, a bathroom, a chest of drawers – but it was enough. Sunset uttered a thanks that the door had an actual lock on it, used it, and then promptly flopped down on the bed.

So... yeah. Honestly, writing it down makes it feel so much more, I don't know, dramatic than it did when it was happening. I mean, seriously, all I did was wander around blindly for a little while until I stumbled into Octavia (and what a good first impression that was...)(oh, and for the record, she herself was out that night just because she enjoys the occasional walk. So, yeah. Just in case anypony was wondering.)

Anyway. I was being stupid, and stubborn, and probably a whole lot of other bad things. But at least I got sidetracked for long enough that I missed the train out of Ponyville. I can't even imagine how things would have turned out had I gone through with that stupid plan.

I doubt I'd be very happy right now, at least.

But I didn't, which is good. I spent another night in Ponyville, and that turned out to be...

Hmm.

It was important, I know that. But I don't think I can write about the next part right now. At least, not yet. I need to go talk to somepony about something first...

So, uh, until then, I guess?

- Sunset Shimmer