Chapter Text
Chapter 1.
Monday.
---
She had not responded in a week.
Sunset Shimmer sighed as she looked at the pen once more. Rubbing her eyes, she decided to write one last time for the day out of pure desperation.
Dear Twilight,
I really don't mean to keep bugging you, but is everything okay? You haven't responded in a week now, which is very unlike you. It's got me a little worried, admittedly. Please respond soon.
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer.
She closed the book and stared at it intently for a good minute or too before giving up. Shoving the book into her bag, she sat back in her chair and looked around her room in a daze. Her room wasn't entirely a mess, but it was clearly substandard to what she's used to. Her bed wasn't fixed, there was a shirt or two on the floor, closet needed reorganizing. She was unfortunately too tired to care at this point, and decided to give her mind some kind of break. Getting up, she walked out of her room and into the bathroom, where she got a view of herself.
"Sheesh, I look like a mess.. better fix this up before heading out." She muttered to herself as she saw the catastrophe that was her hair. Sunset wrestled with it for a few minutes before being satisfied with her signature style, and heading back into her room to change. She glanced at the bag on her desk and frowned a little before changing into her clothes, putting on her signature black leather jacket and deciding to head out.
The sun was pretty bright, and it took a second for her eyes to adjust to the light outside. It was genuinely a really beautiful day outside, and she could see some dandelions beginning to grow and the grass flow in the wind. Winter was finally over, and spring was coming in at full swing. Sunset knew for a fact that her friends are probably celebrating somewhere and decided to check her phone for any texts that she might've missed. Wouldn't you know it, she did.
Rainbow Dash-
Hey, Sunset! Where are you at, you promised me and Fluttershy to a hangout at the park, remember!? It’s getting lateee
She smirked as she read it, and replied with a quick "on my way!" and an excited emoji. She hasn't mentioned the fact that Twi hasn't responded to anyone either, so talking to them about it could potentially be beneficial.
---
If anything, the walk to the park was very peaceful and helped calm Sunset's nerves down quite a few. She had almost forgotten that she promised a small get together with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, so this would surely keep her mind off of things.
"Hey girls! Sorry I was late, somehow missed your text.. its wonderful out isn't it?" Sunset Shimmer began as she sat down next to Fluttershy.
“Sure is! Although you wouldn’t be-LIEVE what I had to go through to even get Fluttershy to join us..” Rainbow Dash scoffed as she waved a hand over at Fluttershy, who happened to be busy taking care of some poor animal it seemed. “She found that.. thing on the way to the park and has been taking care of it since. Admittedly it does look pretty bad, but like we’ve been planning this for AGES.”
The creature stirred in Fluttershy’s arms, making a weird chirping sound as she tried to soothe it. It was a sound unlike anything Sunset had heard really, and it was admittedly pretty offputting. Her hand twitched a little to her hip, only to remember that she had left the journal at home for a reason. Rainbow Dash seemed to notice, only to be cut off by Fluttershy’s sudden comforting of the animal.
“There there little one, Fluttershy’s gonna make sure you’re allll better.” She had it wrapped in a towel so it was pretty difficult for Sunset to tell what it was, but it must’ve been in a bad condition for Fluttershy to be caring about it. At least, caring about it more than what she’s known for doing. She was holding it as if it were a baby, close to her chest and gripping it pretty tightly
“So yeah, she’s been a bit more worried about that uh, whatever it is then the actual hangout we had planned.” Rainbow rubbed her eyes as she said this before looking back over at Sunset.
“Yeah.. although it’s not unlike her.” Sunset whispered to Rainbow. “I’m just confused on what it is, you’d think it’d be some kind of raccoon or a squirrel but.. I can’t put my finger on it.”
Either way, they both just shrugged and decided to ignore it, Fluttershy caring for an animal was nothing new anyway. Still, it definitely piqued Sunset’s interest for some reason. The hangout went on, albeit a bit rough since Fluttershy was a bit occupied, but the 3 enjoyed it.
----
“Thanks for everything guys, had WAY more fun than I was expecting!” Sunset Shimmer waved at her friends as the sun began to set (sky shimmering too.)
“Anytime Sunset! I’ll take Fluttershy home since her house is on the way, as you know.” Rainbow Dash hugged Sunset before taking a step back and glancing at their animal-loving friend. “I just hope she remembers to take care of herself too, the animal’s gotten SO much louder than it was earlier. It isn’t just me that the chirps freak out, right?”
Sunset just shrugged and placed a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder.
“I say we’re just worrying over nothing. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She smirked before waving goodbye to both her and Fluttershy. Fluttershy waved back with a shy smile, but her left hand didn’t shift at all. The creature remained a mystery, but Sunset decided not to do anything about it, instead realizing that she hadn’t mentioned at all about the Twilight situation. She extended her arm outwards, as if she could grab Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in the distance, but hesitated. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and just unlocked her front door.
She walked back into her house and took a deep sigh as she closed it, left alone with her thoughts. She threw her purse onto the couch before walking into her room and seeing the mess, and reluctantly began to clean up. Just as she was finishing making the bed, however, she accidentally banged her elbow onto the side of her desk, causing the journal to fall onto the floor.
“Great..” Was all she managed to muster before noticing something. Her expression grew serious as she quickly picked up the journal and noticed a message from Twilight.
Sunset Shimmer, I’m so sorry for not responding! Something terrible has happened, and I must warn you before-
That was it. Sunset Shimmer bit her lip as she rushed to grab her pen and wrote back:
Twilight, what did you have to warn me about? What’s going on?
She couldn’t sleep that night, as Twilight’s silence was even heavier than before.
-
April 23, 2026.
1178 words