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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Ponyville was just around the corner. When she left, Twilight was already anticipating her return, eager to come home with newfound revelations that would prevent her marriage from unravelling before it even began. But now that she was so close, she couldn't be more terrified. Cadance had been a huge help, and Twilight finally felt like she understood what was going on, but explaining that to Fluttershy was another matter entirely.
"Hey, it'll be alright."
Twilight realized she'd been staring vacantly out the window for some time. She turned and smiled. "I hope so. Thanks again for keeping me company."
Amber smiled back. "No problem. Seriously, after everything in the Crystal Empire, I should be the one thanking you."
True to her word, Twilight had kept Amber with her the whole time they were in the Empire together. Twilight had thought they were just going to have to go back to Canterlot at first, but Amber insisted on staying. She calmed down a lot over the course of the day, and eventually she seemed to enjoy herself. She even commented that she might plan another trip there sometime, which Cadance was delighted about. Amber left in the evening, catching another overnight train to Canterlot, where she had to be for work in the morning. Once she left, Cadance confessed to Twilight that she was hoping for a chance to help her and Luna overcome and resolve their problems.
"Are you sure it's okay to spend so much time talking to me?" Twilight asked. Since she finally decided to try and be a better friend to Amber, things had gone much better between them. Twilight even specifically chose a train Amber would be working on so she could tell her how the rest of the trip had gone, including her big talk with Cadance.
Amber chuckled. "You know, everypony says that."
"It's a reasonable question," Twilight said, finishing off the tea Amber had brought her.
Amber shrugged. "Yeah, it's fine. I'm pretty sure they keep me around just to talk to ponies anyway. Besides" – she leaned over and nudged Twilight – "I'm pretty sure nopony ever gets in trouble for taking tea with a princess."
"Well, I did once." Twilight grinned sheepishly while Amber gave her a skeptical look. "Although Princess Celestia accepted me as her personal student, at first she just oversaw my education at her school while I was still learning the basics of magic. I'd study with the other foals and then once a week she'd invite me to the castle for tea so we could talk about what I was learning. Well, the first time the teacher told me I was invited to the castle, I was so excited that I kind of forgot to tell my parents where I was going."
Amber smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh boy. They must have been so worried."
"I tried to explain that I just didn't want the princess to have to wait, but they didn't quite think that was a good enough reason." Twilight smiled at the memory, now that it was far enough in the past to be amusing. "And neither did Princess Celestia. I don't know what my mom said to her, but for years every time I saw her she asked if my parents knew where I was."
