//------------------------------// // Side Effects // Story: The Narrative Cascade // by Amber Spark //------------------------------// Starlight leaned against Trixie on the couch as Twilight finished recounting their story. Sunset had fallen asleep under Twilight’s wing. It had been a long day. After a long pause, Starlight announced, “Everything you do is weird.” “Considering what I’ve caught you doing…” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You really want me to respond to that?” Instantly, Starlight blushed. “Um… no. Sorry.” Twilight rolled her eyes. Another scroll appeared above their heads. Twilight caught it in her magic and unrolled it. “Huh. Brown and Clear’s wedding invite.” Twilight sighed and put it in the corner with the four dozen other wedding invitations. “What’s the situation now?” Starlight asked. “Well, the flower industry is booming,” Twilight said. “Candy sales are through the roof. And weddings are up by a factor of twenty.” “Wait. So this… Narrative Cascade… it’s permanent?” Twilight glared at the annoyingly adorable unicorn under her wing. “Only brown narrativium can force a pony to do things out of character. Pink narrativium just removes romantic inhibitions. The feelings were all real. Just suppressed.” “Oddly specific,” Starlight commented. “No kidding,” Twilight muttered. “For somepony with that many shipfics,” Sunset mumbled. “You’re pretty judgmental.” “Hey! You’re supposed to be asleep!” “I like her.” Trixie giggled. Starlight joined in. So did Sunset, who cracked an eye open to give Twilight an annoyingly adorable smirk. Twilight sighed. “What about Minuette and Moondancer?” Starlight asked. “Dunno,” Sunset said as she stretched, then pulled Twilight’s wing over her like a blanket. Twilight would have been mad if Sunset weren’t doing it specifically because she knew Twilight found it annoyingly adorable. “Nopony’s heard from them since the end of the Cascade,” Twilight said. “That’s not strictly true,” Sunset said. “After all, we did go by Moondancer’s house and we heard some rather loud—” “Nopony’s heard anything confirmed to be from them since the end of the Cascade!” Twilight shouted. Starlight and Trixie snickered. “Ugh, you three will be the death of me.” “At least you’ll enjoy it!” Sunset said, her smirk never fading. “Well, we should let you get some rest,” Starlight said as she pulled Trixie up and pushed her toward the door. “You’ve had quite the week. I promised Trixie a moonlit walk along the lake tonight after our picnic date.” Sunset’s eyes popped open. “Wait a minute… since when have you two been dating?” Starlight and Trixie both stopped. “What are you talking about?” “You weren’t dating when we left for Canterlot,” Twilight said. “And the Cascade never made it outside the city.” Starlight shared a confused look with Trixie. “Trixie has been gracing Starlight with the pleasure of her romantic company for almost eight months!” Trixie proclaimed. “For the Princess of Friendship, you should pay closer attention to your friends.” Starlight nodded and the two left, closing the door behind them. A long silence stretched through the room. “You think it’s still…” “No.” “Okay, just asking.” Sunset snuggled against her like some giant amber tabby. “So, the real question… assuming the Cascade hadn’t happened… would you have said yes?” “I guess we’ll never know.” Sunset glared at her. “No, really. I want to know.” “But… that’s what you’re supposed to say.” “Only for terrible shipfics.” Sunset smirked. “Like the ones in your attic.” “I’m going to burn my attic.” “Awww…” Sunset pouted. “But I really wanted to try some of the stuff from issue eighty-four and seventy-six!” Twilight hesitated. “What about… issue twenty-nine?” “Only if you promise not to burn them!” Sunset demanded. “And answer my question.” “Eh. Fine. Worth it. I was going to say yes. There, happy?” “Very!” “Good!” Silence. “Can we try twenty-nine now?” “Oh Celestia, yes.”