“Dear Twilight,





Hey, sorry that my response is late! It’s like...almost midnight. Whoops. Gonna feel that in the morning.





I guess I was just pretty tired out today. I mean, can you believe that today was the start of my third semester here at Uni? I wish I could say “time sure has passed!”, but it was a pretty dang slow year. OH, I handled it just fine, though! I mean, compared to my magical studies with Celestia, it’s not like the workload here is the most challenging. Research papers, equations, a couple of lab experiments. Nothing too crazy.





Anyway, I’m going to miss summer break. It was nice not having such a hard time planning get togethers with the girls. You know, ones where we can ALL make it? Pinkie Pie threw the biggest party yesterday to celebrate all of us entering our new year, and she went all out! So many sweets (too many sweets...). And she somehow just kept tossing out more. Ha, speaking of, even after all this time I’m apparently still not used to our powers being gone. I practically juggled my cupcake around after Pinkie threw it at me. I was WAY too ready for some sprinkle explosions.”

Sunset Shimmer chuckled, tapping her pen against her magic journal. She fondly remembered the powers that once inhabited her necklace geode and that of her friends. To think that a year and a half ago, they would run into the villain that would allow their gifted abilities to serve their ultimate purpose.





‘Who knew that villain would be our last?’





Sunset mindlessly fiddled with the pendant hanging from her neck, now a decorative friendship momento. No one that day could have ever expected that their final battle would absorb almost all of the magic - corrupted or not - that had trickled over from Equestria. Aside from minor remnants of magic (thank goodness that the magic journals and portals still worked), it was almost like things had returned to how they were before she had put on Twilight’s crown that fateful day.





Sunset paused in her actions, quietly staring at the journal before her. A tight feeling that had become familiar to her now settled back into her chest.





‘It’s almost like how things were before.

...Yet it feels so, so...unbearably different.’





Sunset took a moment to recollect her thoughts. She sure was glad that it was too late for Twilight to be awake to read her messages...maybe now, without that pressure, she could finally be honest with herself.

“Hey Twi? Is it weird that I can’t remember how I was able to deal with a magic-less world? You know, before you came over and all.

Actually no, maybe I do. I had stupid goals and my dumb obsession drove me. I don’t have that anymore, thank Celestia…”

….

“But readjusting to a non-magical universe after dealing with magic for years...it’s been really,”

…..

“Well...difficult.

And I feel horrible for saying that, because I should be glad that things are normal. Right? Everyone can just live normal, happy lives without some corrupted magic cursing objects and people. That should be a wonderful thing. So then why-”

.......

“Why do I feel so out of place?”







Sunset could feel anxiety creep in and fought the spontaneous urge to shove the journal away or rip out the page in hopes of erasing any inkling of what she had just written. But she had to keep going. She had kept her thoughts to herself for far too long, and if she didn’t do this now, she’d never find the right moment again. As she wrote, she pressed the tip of her pen firmly against the page. “It’s so strange, Twilight. I was fine at first. The others missed their powers, but it didn’t take them long to move on. And it was the same for me. I thought maybe I could just focus on earning some fancy science degree and then move on with my life. But suddenly the days just kept dragging on. I complete my assignments, I study, I keep my grades up. But for a subject I usually enjoy, everything about it feels empty. Like something is missing. Like...this isn’t really what I was meant to do.





All throughout high school I was so determined to study the workings of the magic in this world. What started out as something utterly frustrating became...well, a full-on adventure. It was a rough ride, but I would never trade away those days for anything.





And it’s not just because I loved being with everyone back then. We’re still best friends and that will never change. I think magic is just a bigger part of me than I originally thought. I was born with it. It’s even how I gained my cutie mark. And now that I’m trying to pursue a path without it-”









Sunset let out a deep sigh and roughly ran her fingers through her hair to calm her nerves. Suddenly it was becoming harder to form her thoughts into sentences....where exactly was she going with this? ….”Sorry. I’m just trying to make sense of my feelings. You’re the first one I’ve told any of this to. I know, I know. I’m supposed to trust my friends. But how awful would it be for a friend to tell you that they practically preferred how messed up your home universe used to be?





I just feel like there’s so much more for me, Twilight. I can’t keep spending my days wandering blindly while wanting things to be different from how they are now. But I don’t even know where to start. Do I switch majors? Or dig deeper until I find some undiscovered passion?





It’s okay if you don’t know either. This is a pretty big messy ball of I-don’t-even-know-what that I kinda just threw at you. I don’t expect you to have all the answers. I really hope you know that. But if you do have some insight, I’d appreciate any of it. Above anything, I’m grateful that I could just vent to you.





Anyway, I should probably head to bed before I wake up a complete and utter zombie. Thanks so much Twilight, and again, sorry for my senseless ranting.





Sunset Shimmer”



A deep breath of relief and the clatter of a pen on a desk broke the silence in the room. Sunset leaned back in her chair and dragged a hand down her face. Well, she did it. As much as her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest, and as much as her mind wanted to make her as paranoid as possible over her friend’s possible reaction, she had gotten it down and out of her head. Though a part of her felt like a small weight had lifted, now sheer anticipation took root in its place.





After closing her journal and turning off her lamp, Sunset buried herself deep within the warm cocoon that were her blankets. Minutes passed. She wasn’t sure how many, but despite the comfort of her bed, her thoughts buzzed loudly enough to keep her awake. She found herself glancing at the clock over and over until an hour had passed by.





‘UGH. It’s fine. It’s going to be fine...you’re going to sleep, check for a message in the morning, and not break from panic. It’ll be like any other day.



It’s fine, Sunset, it’s fine. Everything’s fine-'





At the sound of an overly familiar buzzing, Sunset yelped and nearly startled herself into rolling off the bed. With wide, disbelieving eyes, she watched as the journal on her table glowed and shook. Which could only mean...





‘No way.



No no no, you’re kidding - of all days, she decided to stay up late NOW?'





For a few more moments Sunset sat stiffly and stared at the glowing journal. She hadn’t prepared herself for an immediate response. Maybe she could let Twilight finish writing and then stick with reading it in the morning?





‘...who am I kidding. I’ll never get to sleep at this rate.’





At some unknown point, the magic journal finally sat still, although it glowed faintly as it waited for Sunset to open its pages. Though hesitant, her curiosity and dire need to get over her fears pushed her to walk back over to her desk and turn her lamp on.









With a deep inhale, Sunset opened back up to the page where she had last left off. Just as she had expected, a new message followed her own; “Dear Sunset Shimmer,





Please don’t worry about replying late! Getting to hear from you any time is always a delight. Also, I hope my replying doesn’t wake you! I tried waiting a bit, so I could collect my thoughts while you hopefully fell asleep.”







‘So far so good…’ she thought, struggling to keep reading without skimming or skipping ahead. “I’m really glad you opened up to me about this. It sure does sound like a perplexing situation on your end, and I’m sorry to hear that things have been so confusing for you. At least know that I’d never judge you over your struggles. Your feelings are real, Sunset, and they’re valid . I’m sure the others would feel the same way, but of course you should talk to them when you feel you’re ready.”









“As for a possible solution to your situation! Okay, bear with me-” Almost instantaneously, the heavy ball of emotions that had been weighing her down practically melted away. Of course Twilight would be...well, the best friend she had always been. How could she ever doubt her?





‘Oh boy…’









“Okay, here we go...” she murmured, bracing herself before continuing with her read; “As you said, Sunset, magic clearly is and always has been an essential part of you. Things seemed to be working out just fine while you were figuring out your universe’s unpredictable magic. Now that it’s gone, it almost sounds like the “norm” of your world can’t compete with everything else you’ve ever been through. You’re lacking not only a challenge, but an essential component to those challenges; magic.





So far it looks like magic won’t be returning to your side, at least any time soon if it ever does. I’m sorry to say that...but that leads me to my suggestion. Or well, it’s a question more than anything, but I really feel like it’s the best solution to this:”



Sunset’s gaze roamed over to the next line, and suddenly she found her head jerking back, a soft gasp escaping her. Her eyes darted over the line again. And then one more time. Just like that, any relief and peace she had previously found dissipated, and anxiety and doubt and every little bit of guilt she had ever felt returned to her.





If she thought about it, it would’ve been such a clear-cut answer. Yet it was the last thing that Sunset had ever wanted to consider doing, let alone think about.



After finding some semblance of composure, she was able to bring herself to read the line one more time;





“How would you feel about returning to Equestria?”