//------------------------------// // Diamonds, Discussions, Dinner and Dancing. // Story: Sunset's Rarity. // by JediWyrm //------------------------------// Walking down the hallway at Canterlot High School with a purpose to her step, Rarity sought out her friend. Seeing Sunset Shimmer up ahead she hastened her step enough to catch up to her. "Hey, Sunset. How's your day been?" Rarity asked. "Morning Rarity. Been good so far, how about you?" Her friend replied. "It's been fine. I wanted to ask you something." The white skinned teen stated. "You want help mastering your new magic? A couple of the others already asked me and I figured all of you would get around to it eventually." Remarked the red and gold haired girl. "Well, you are the most experienced with magic darling. So will you?" Rarity asked, flipping her hand lightly in the air. "Of course. Do you have some time this weekend? I can think up a couple of tests and some exercises for you." Sunset said as she pulled out a schedule and a pen. "Just text me with a time and place." Rarity started as the class bell rang. "See you at lunch Sunset." Sunset made a quick note in her schedule before heading off to her own class. As Rarity walked away she threw a quick glance over her shoulder to see her amber-skinned friend and taking in the view of her back as she walked. Rarity pulled up to the football field at the school. Sunset had told her to meet there mid-morning on Saturday. Once she had parked she walked over towards the field. She had noticed that Applejack's truck was also there. Arriving at the field itself she saw Applejack and Sunset sitting on one of the bleachers discussing something. When she got close enough to hear that they were talking about the farm girl's super strength. The two waved to her before greeting her. "Applejack is here to help test the durability of your shield. A couple normal hits, then using her power to land stronger hits." Sunset stated as the three set up. "Tomorrow Ah'm going to join Sunset at her gym to try and get a number for what I can lift." Applejack remarked as she stretched. "So that's how you are practicing, have you had ideas for the others?" Rarity asked Sunset. "Yeah. I gave Twilight a few exercises to help her learn to control her telekinesis and increase it's power. Rainbow Dash didn't need much, she just needs to practice on controlling her speed and the distance she runs. Also braking. Fluttershy doesn't need help since she can talk to the animals at the shelter. Since she wanted to be a veterinarian Rainbow made a joke about that movie with the guy who talks to animals." Sunset stated before taking a breath. "Pinkie Pie. Hardest thing was convince her not to blow things up inside. It does seem to only work on party and cake/cupcake decorating stuff. She's working on not charging stuff she's holding, also on delaying the triggering of the explosion itself." She finished. "What about your mind-reading?" Applejack asked. "Fluttershy helped me practice with that. I have a handle on it not triggering when I touch someone. Does help I only have that power when wearing the pendants. Now Rarity, I want you to put up a shield." Sunset said, before moving over and putting a hand on Rarity's arm. "Since we're testing when they break, you might not want to stand behind the shield." Rarity gave a short laugh, blushing lightly. She took a few steps to one side. As Applejack finished her stretching, and was rotating her arms, Sunset looked over the shield. "Intriguing. Your shields hold the same crystalline structure as a diamond. No surprise that it's magically enhanced considering how it's made. Probably explains why it can hold up to a crushing force." The red-haired teen said. "Ah thought diamonds were already tough." Applejack stated. "Mohs hardness, darling. A diamond can't really be scratched and can cut most everything else. If you were to hit one with a hammer it'd crumble to dust." Rarity explained. "Ah." The farm girl said with some disinterest. "You can hit it now AJ. A couple light taps, I want to see if Rarity can detect you hitting it." Sunset remarked. Applejack nodded before putting a few quick punches on the shield. Every few punches she stepped up her power and was soon hitting the shield with her full normal strength. "I can sorta feel her punches." The fashionista said to her friend. The other two nodded and Applejack retrieved her pendant to utilize her super strength. Though before she could start punching again, Sunset pulled her aside and gave her a few pointers on her form. As the girl began her renewed assault there was a more noticeable difference in the effect on the shield. Applejack hit the diamond several times and was getting to around half-power when Sunset called a halt and had Rarity replace the shield. When the power of her punches was at full power they stated to place small cracks in the diamond. Once the cracks had spread to cover most of the shield another break was called. Sunset walked over to the girl as Rarity replaced the shield again. "Applejack lets try a kick. Something Princess Twilight told me about your counterpart clicked in my head." The teen who has been running the tests said. A quick lesson on kicks later Applejack used her full strength to land a powerful blow on the diamond. All three were surprised as the shield broke apart. Having helped with her part, she bid farewell to her two friends. She did leave behind a few apples for them to have as a snack. Sunset picked up one of the apples and held it in her palm out and away from her body. "There's something I want to test real quick. Can you put one of your shield through the apple?" Sunset asked Rarity. The teen concentrated on the apple and took a few tries to get a shield horizontally bisecting the fruit. Once it was there Sunset lowered her hand. The apple stayed where it was in mid-air. Keeping her hand under it she nodded at Rarity to cancel the spell. Looking over the fruit she stated, "Okay, so it didn't cut the apple. That's good to know that the shield going through something won't damage it." It took a moment before both girls shuddered at the thought of what could've happened, and what it might've happened to. "Now for your exercises. First is precision." Sunset started, tossing the apple in that air a couple times. Lifting her other hand up she moved her hand over and caught the apple at the apex of one of the tosses. "I want you do that this, but instead of your other hand, make a shield to catch it. Without the shield going through the apple. Only make the shield when the apple is at the highest point. The closer you can do it to the apple the better, and try to make the diamond just big enough to hold the apple." Sunset finished tossing the fruit once more, this time towards Rarity. Sunset watched her friend try out the exercise a few times before grabbing one of the other apples to eat. It only took a minute before Rarity started to get the hand of the trick. While the apple would fall briefly before being caught, the size of the shield was getting smaller each time. "I'm going to go hit up the vending machine, want anything to drink?" Sunset asked the purple haired teen. "Some juice would be lovely darling." Rarity replied, focusing on her practice. A few minutes later Sunset returned with two bottles of juice in her hands. Handing one to Rarity, she grabbed the apple as it traveled upwards. "Of course a ball, or other easily tossed object could be used. Now lets try out a couple other ideas I had about your shield. We know you can link them to make a wall or a sphere, but I want to see if you can stack them. Layering them should create a stronger version which would last longer when under attack." The red haired girl stated. The two teens sat on the bleachers as Rarity tried varying things with her magic. Mostly trying to make different structures out of it. She also practiced making tiny shields and building small things with it. "Oh. Just remembered something. I finished that one book and brought it along so you could borrow it." She stated before digging in her purse for the book and handing it over to Sunset. "Thanks. I had been wanting to get into it. Only reading the first couple chapters was bugging me a little bit." Sunset replied. "Actually I was wondering. Are the books we have here much different than the ones you had in Equestria?" Rarity asked. "Not really. I mean the exact content is probably different, but the genres and even many of the tropes are the same. If you want I could ask Princess Twilight to send some over. She could even get your counterpart to send you some of her favourites. Might be interesting to find out if your tastes differ. Though from what I've been told, she'll probably include a few fashion magazines." Sunset said with a sly grin. Rarity perked up at that. "If it's not too much of a bother. Thanks in advance darling." "Hmmm. There were a few series I really enjoyed that probably have a few new books released since I left. I'll have to have her send me those over as well. My favourite was this series about pirates. They started as crew for this dread pirate, who was actually just a title. Every few years they would hand the mantle off and retire on their riches. Anyways, Rogue Wave was the main character. She was this awesome pegasus who gathered up a mishmash of a crew and stole her own boat." Sunset began, soon losing herself to the telling of the plot line of the books. Rarity listened to her friend, caught up in her excitement of the story. The two chatted about each of the books they've read over the years for over an hour before heading off to tend to other business. Before they left they made plans to meet up again next week to check on Rarity's progress and practice some more. With them meeting up every week Rarity had grown very confident in her new powers. She had also learned more about Sunset during the time they spent together. However they had to change their plans this day. The 7 girls were all hanging around the ruined statue in front of their school. Sunset had called them there and they were waiting for another girl to arrive. While they were waiting Rarity and Twilight were practicing their powers by bouncing a ball between the two of them. As the ball traveled in the air it collided with the head of a teen as she came out of the statue with a wagon with several bags being pulled behind her. "GAH!" She shouted as she landed face-first on the ground with the ball rebounding and passing through the portal. A couple of the girls rushed to help her up. "Hey Princess." Sunset said as she helped bring her to her feet. "Sorry. I didn't know you were coming through right then." Twilight started to apologize to her counterpart. "Don't worry about it. So how have things been for all you?" The visitor from the other world asked. "Pretty good. Had a fundraiser, went to a camp in the woods, got new magic, fought off a person corrupted by magic, built the same dock like 6 times. Just the usual kind of stuff, how about you? Anything exciting?" Sunset quickly summarized. "I fixed the cutie map, my niece was born, she destroyed several parts of a castle with magic blasts before destroying an ancient artifact holding back endless winter, a few friendship problems around the world me and my friends fixed, made a changeling friend, my student Starlight Glimmer mind-controlled my friends to cheat on her lessons, Chrysalis and her changelings practically successfully conquered Equestria but were stopped by Starlight, her friend Trixie, Thorax the changeling, and of all beings Discord. That caused most of the changelings to transform into a new species, or at least sub-species." Twilight responded. "Wait, niece? I... you.. we.. Shiny had a daughter? With whom? What's her name? Got any pictures?" The other Twilight asked. "Yes, I have a niece. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance named her Flurry Heart. I don't have a picture on me, but I can see about bringing one over sometime. Wonder how the portal would affect it? Actually I wonder how it affected the books I brought with me this time." Stated the Princess. "Shining and Cadance? That brings up other questions. I mean if our worlds mirror each other does that mean my brother and Dean Cadance are dating?" Twilight questioned quietly to herself. "You know darling, Dean Cadance seemed quite happy you had friends when you transferred her. She'd probably be willing to meet up with you for lunch to see how you've been doing." Rarity started as she stepped over to Twilight, pulling her away from the group slightly, "In fact, you could probably get your brother to drive you there, and of course it'd only be polite to have him join you." She continued before lowering her voice as she helped her friend scheme. Rolling her eyes at the pair, Sunset turned back to the princess. "You said Trixie, she that one showmare who tried to one-up you a couple years ago?" She asked. "Yeah. The Great and Powerful Trixie." Princess Twilight said somewhat mockingly. "I know I shouldn't be making fun of her since she's Starlight's friend, but she just gets on my nerves. When they first became friends I thought that Miss Lulamoon was trying to get back at me again." "Lulamoon?" Sunset asked quietly enough that no one heard her. She thought back to what Twilight had told her about the magician and the trouble she had caused in the past. Shaking her head lightly she heartened her thoughts by the recent heroics the mare had accomplished. "That's odd. My cart turned into a wagon." Twilight remarked as she looked at what she had brought along through the portal. By this time Rarity and the other Twilight had returned to the group. The fashionista moved over next to Sunset as the red haired girl picked up a book out of the bag. Sunset opened it to checked the contents. "Quite a stylized font, but at least it's in our language. I was worried it'd be in some weird foreign text." Stated the porcelain skinned teen. As the two girls from the other world looked over the words in the book, they were somewhat surprised at how little the text had changed. One of them picked up a book that had cover art on it and was intrigued by how the picture hadn't changed. While the princess caught up with her other friends, Rarity and Sunset moved the bags over to the former's car. Now that the two were separated from the rest of the group, Rarity put her hand on her friend's arm. "I caught the name Twilight mentioned. Lulamoon. Do you think that she is the same one as your friend from childhood?" She asked. Sunset lowered her head slightly. "It's likely. Trixie is more stage-worthy than Beatrice." Rarity slid her arm around her friend and pulled her into a light hug. Sunset leaned into it briefly before they separated and walked back to their friends. They arrived as the group were showing off some of their powers. Rainbow was dashing around the front of the school. "So Applejack has strength, Rainbow speed, and Fluttershy can talk to animals. What about the rest of you, do your powers match the ones held by your counterparts?" The Princess asked. "Well, Rarity can make shields. Twilight has telekinesis and I can read minds." Sunset stated, causing one of the Princess's eyebrows to raise at her power. "Mind-reading huh. Bit of a dangerous power." She stated, causing all the non-Eqestrian's to be confused. Looking at her friends, Sunset explained. "Mind magic is a dark grey area. Those who are licensed to use it are given such authority by Princess Celestia herself, and there are only a dozen or so ponies who have it. Because if you can read a mind, you should be able to affect it, and even control it." Her friends all nodded as they understood what she meant. "Oooo. You haven't heard my power yet. It's awemazing!" Pinkie Pie stated, pulling out some confetti and tossing it high into the air. Her friends all ducked as Princess Twilight looked up in confusion as the pieces of paper started to glow. She was stunned when they exploded in various coloured flashes. Twilight stood there slack jawed. Glancing between the portal and Pinkie, her face shifting from confusion to worry. "Now you are thinking if you should mention this to your Pinkie Pie. I would suggest not doing so if any of the stories about her you've told me are true." Sunset remarked. "Why, is hers that different from ours?" Rainbow asked. "If our Pinkie is a 10 on the weirdness scale, her counterpart is a 15. On a tame day." Sunset replied. It took a moment for what that meant to sink into her friends minds. How long it took them to understand was indicated by when they shuddered. "Lets go get some milkshakes and cupcakes!" Pinkie Pie suggested. They all headed over to the couple of vehicles they came in and moved over to Sugarcube Corner to enjoy a snack while they talked about all that had occurred since Princess Twilight's last visit. After seeing Twilight back to her own world, Rarity and Sunset headed back to the latter's apartment. The purple haired teen in her car followed her friend on her motorcycle. Once they arrived they moved a the bags containing Sunset's books upstairs. They set the bags next to a bookshelf to be sorted later. After arranging their next training session they parted ways. The next Friday after school the two meet up so Rarity could practice her new powers. Sunset had her friend make shields for them to stand on and then move them around. They had fun racing about on them with the occasional prompt from Sunset causing Rarity to vary the path above and around the bleachers and goals on the field. A couple hours later the pair sat on the bleachers drinking a soda as they chatted about some of their schoolwork. During a lull in the conversation, Sunset seized upon an opportunity. "So Rarity, do you have anything planned for tonight?" She asked. "Nothing in particular. Why?" Rarity replied. "Vinyl mentioned something about having a gig at a club tonight, figured it'd be something fun to hit up." Sunset answered. "I would love to go out dancing. Did you want to meet up after dinner?" The fashionista questioned. "Actually I thought we could swing by your place to get cleaned up and some outfits, then hit up a restaurant before going to the club." Stated the red haired teen. "You're almost making this sound like a date." Remarked Rarity as a blush started to form on her cheeks. "Only almost?" Sunset said teasingly cause her friends blush to grow. The two shared a giggle before heading over to their vehicles. Sunset put on her helmet after mentioning to her friend to follow her so she could drop her motorcycle at her apartment first. Several minutes later the pair arrived at Rarity's house. They headed inside and alternated who was showering with Rarity going first so she could arrange their outfits. She had decided on a purple tank top with frills for herself tied with a tight skirt as well as several tastefully pieces of jewelry. For her makeup she chose some light greys for her eye shadow and lipstick. Sunset had a silvery top and and shorts combo with some darker red eye shadow and pink lipstick. Rarity picked out a pair of tasteful high heels for herself and for her friend she chose a pair of knee-high boots with a 3 inch heel. Once they had gotten changed and applied their makeup they headed out to get dinner. Since they were planning on hitting up a club they weren't dressed specifically for high class dining. A quick discussion they pulled up to a Prench restaurant. Walking into the building they were seated quickly. They decided on their dinner shortly after being handed the menus and sat back to wait. Rarity lead the conversation in the direction of the what type of music the club would be playing. Since they had both asked for a vegetarian dish it wasn't long before their entrees were brought out to them. They ate quickly and after Sunset made a small showing of handling the bill, left to head to the club. Arriving at the venue they briefly waited in line before entering. They sidled over to the bar and picked up some non-alcoholic drinks. As the first song seemed to lack any real beat to the two they waited until their schoolmate's set was up. The volume of the music was counterproductive to any conversation so they just enjoyed watching others out on the floor. When the current DJ stepped off the stage and was replaced the music switched to a more interesting techno beat. Feeling that they could dance to it, the pair walked out to the floor and began moving to the beat. Losing themselves to the music as they danced with each other they barely noticed the changes in the songs until the set was finished. They cheered along with the others to show their appreciation of the DJ and cheered louder to welcome Vinyl onto the stage. As she got her dubstep going they began to dance with the flow of the music even if they couldn't detect the beat. Their friend managed to notice the two enjoying themselves out on the floor so she improvised some light romantic music into her beats. Sunset and Rarity didn't really notice the addition but did end up dancing closer to one another. Soon enough they were practically arm in arm as they moved with each other on the dance floor. All their dancing drew them more into the music and neither could say if it was that or their closeness which made their hearts beat faster. After Vinyl had finished Sunset noticed the time and motioned to Rarity to leave the club. They made their way back to Sunset's apartment where they went up to the roof. Having timed it the pair watched the sunset together. Sunset had an arm around Rarity pulling her close. As the sun sank below the horizon Sunset used a hand to turn her date's face towards her. She then leaned down and proceeded to kiss Rarity. Their arms found themselves wrapping around the other, with Sunset's hand placing itself on the other teen's lower back and pulled her deeper into the kiss. Several minutes later they separated breathing heavily. "Oh my." Rarity said between breathes. "I take it you enjoyed our night." Sunset stated. "It was a wonderful date." Remarked the porcelain girl. "I'm hoping you'd be open to changing a few more friendly moments into romantic dates." Sunset said in a tone that implied a question. Rarity smiled, before leaning in and planting a small kiss on Sunset's lips as her answer. As she kissed back the red haired teen slid her hand down and gave her girlfriend's butt a quick grope causing her to gasp lightly. They spent some time on the roof making out before heading back inside for warmth. After a quick discussion on their relationship where they decided to see how long it would take their friends to figure it out, Rarity left for her home. Her lips were now a mix of their lipsticks.