Book four of "Who We Become".
After discovering the magic of friendship, Sunset Shimmer's senior year was one of the happiest times of her life. But it's been almost two years since graduation; all her friends have moved on to studying abroad, to pr...
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Aside from the balance between magic and technology, the biggest difference between the two worlds seemed to come from Luna and Celestia; having two benevolent and eternal rulers allowed for a sort of political consistency that was simply not possible in a world where no one lived forever. Not to mention they had a bigger focus on long-term solutions since they knew they'd be around to see the results of any decision they made.
But even under the diarchy, some problems were inevitable. And while few ponies actually lived on the streets, especially in Canterlot, there were still those who couldn't afford to feed themselves or their families.
During her time spent as a human, Sunset had learned firsthand what that was like. Being as stubborn as she was, she had always refused to ask for help. Fortunately, Applejack noticed and was equally stubborn in offering it. She'd spent so many nights eating dinner with the Apple family, and they never asked for anything in return. Applejack had always said Sunset would do the same thing in different circumstances, and Sunset was glad to finally have a chance to prove her right, spending most of the time she spent in Canterlot working in the free cafeteria that Luna had told her about during her first night back in the city.
While she spent her days volunteering, Sunset still made sure to leave her evenings open. Celestia was always so busy during the day that dinner was generally the only time that Sunset could see her. So every evening was spent rebuilding her connection with Celestia while getting to know Luna better. Amber would often join them – more often, in fact, than was statistically probable, unless she was going out of her way to end her days in Canterlot, something she denied doing.
And so it didn't come as a surprise when Sunset ran into Amber on her way to the to the dining room. "Oh hey, Sunset, I was just looking for you."
"Hi, Amber. What's up?" Sunset asked as the pegasus wrapped her in a quick hug.
"Dinner plans have changed. Princess Celestia's stuck with some representatives from Yakyakistan, and they can be a pretty temperamental bunch. She said to just go ahead without her."
"So it'll just be the three of us?" Sunset asked.
Amber nodded. "Uh huh. But we figured it'd be a good chance to go out and do dinner on the town. What do you say?"
If she was being completely honest, Sunset didn't want to go out to eat. After the day she'd had, she barely wanted to eat at all, and she could practically hear her bed calling out to her. But it always proved impossible to turn down that smile, so Sunset fixed her face with a smile of its own. "Sure, where do you have in mind?"
"Only the best restaurant in Canterlot! You'll see when we get there." Amber steered her around and led her to the front of the castle where Luna was already waiting.
Luna nodded as they approached. "Greetings Sunset. I hope this evening finds you well?"
Sunset shrugged. "Well enough. I suppose you aren't going to tell me where we're going either?"
