//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Infatuating Acceptance // by PixiePony //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle had never been to a party before. The students at her previous school, Crystal Prep, weren't as friendly as the students at Canterlot High. Not to mention she had actual friends here. It was a new adventure and Twilight was nervous. Luckily the closest friend she had made, Sunset Shimmer, was always willing to help. They had never really stated how close they were, but compared to the other girls she had begun to know, she could tell Sunset was the closest. Especially since the Friendship Games. Twilight thought no one would have forgiven her after hurting everyone like she did, but Sunset turned out to be right. Most of the school had already put it past them and accepted her easily. Though, none of them had been as kind and forgiving as her small group of friends. Since she was new to this having friends thing, Twilight had stayed by Sunset’s side during the party most of the night, only straying for food or the bathroom. There were so many people she didn't know all confined in Pinkie Pie’s small house. That alone kept her nerves heightened, added to that, the girls had insisted she wear an “ugly sweater” to go with the Christmas theme. Though as nervous as she was, she had agreed to come to support her friends, and to try breaking out of her introverted exterior. Twilight still felt ridiculous and self-conscious. She pulled on the sleeves uncomfortably. “Twilight, stop fidgeting. You look fine.” Twilight looked to Sunset with a blush. “I-I'm not fidgeting, I'm f-fine, I…” Pausing she sighed. “Is it that obvious?” Sunset only chuckled. Twilight pushed her glasses up her face and tugged on the sleeves again. “Oh, it's so obvious that I don't belong in this kind of setting.” Sunset put a hand on her arm and smiled. “Twilight, you need to stop worrying about what others are thinking. Everyone here loves you and you know you have your friends for support.” That was just the thing though. As nice as everyone had been, and as forgiving, she had a suspicion that the main reason was, people saw her as this other Twilight and had associations with her that she didn't share. They saw more in her than she knew they would find. Sunset continued. “And if they don't like you, who cares about them.” It was this that made Twilight pause. She looked at Sunset and saw her staring into the crowd, most likely looking at nobody in particular. Sunset smirked. “I've learned that you can't please everyone. But the ones you do will matter the most.” Twilight smiled. Perhaps she was right. Her closer friends didn’t seem to care much that she had been so careless during the Friendship Games. Even if it seemed they still looked at her thinking of this other Princess Twilight. They still cared. Suddenly she heard a loud shout and looked over to see Pinkie Pie pointing at them, giggling. All eyes began to turn towards them and Twilight could feel her face heat up. What could they possibly be looking at them, for. There were smiles and some giggles around. Perhaps her sweater really was too much and it was now being made clear how ridiculous she really looked. Perhaps Sunset had been wrong. The ones that seemed to care the most, truly didn’t. Pinkie then shouted again in a sing-song voice. “Look who's under the mistletoe!!” All eyes turned upward including the pair of girls under said leaf. A small ornament hung on the wall above their heads. By chance, they had been leaning near the only wall with the ornament present. Twilight could feel her cheeks heat up. So maybe they did care, but cared too much. Why would Pinkie put them on the spot like that? She wasn’t used to having a friend that was void of boundaries. There were so many people staring, Twilight became overcome by the pressure. Sunset looked at Twilight, who was still blushing and seemed to be in a daze, then to Pinkie. “What’s special about mistletoe?” Several people in the crowd chuckled. Rarity beamed. “It’s special because when two unsuspecting people are found underneath it, they are inclined to share a kiss!” Sunset became beet red. “Inclined shim-clined.” Rainbow spoke up. “It’s a rule. You HAVE to kiss.” Twilight shook her head clearing her mind slightly, looked to Rainbow, and finally spoke up. “As far as I know, neither of us even like girls.” Sunset frowned slightly and shook her head to interject. “Plus, we're best friends.” Twilight looked at Sunset and smiled at her comment. It was true they had been getting closer since her time at CHS but it was never stated out loud how close they really had become. She would have thought more on it if not for their situation. Applejack smiled knowingly looking to Sunset’s flustered face. “Doesn’t matter, sugar cube. Rules are rules.” She gave a small chuckle as the girls looked awkwardly at each other. “What??” Sunset said skeptically, crossing her arms. Twilight looked to her nervously. She wasn’t nervous about kissing a girl necessarily, it was the fact it was her best friend and it was in front of half the school populous. She didn’t even have time to think about how Sunset would feel about the whole ordeal. There were murmurs around the room of agreement to the rules. Fluttershy blushed but even she silently nodded her head. Sighing, Sunset rolled her eyes and the girls turned silently towards each other, both uncomfortable with the audience they had. Twilight tried not to look into Sunset’s eyes, darting her gaze across anything but Sunset. She couldn’t see, but Sunset was doing the same thing. They stepped slowly towards each other and leaned forward. It was an awkward stance, but they already felt too awkward to get any closer. Sunset’s eyes darted to the lips in front of her, to the side, and back. In a small brief moment their lips touched, closed mouth, and puckered. They quickly pulled back. Twilight mused that the kiss was just as she had expected a kiss to be like. Quick and gentle. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout. “Oh, come on!” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “That was weak!” She threw her hands in the air, spilling some of her drink on the floor. Rarity, being a foot from her moved two more away, indignantly looking from the spill to Rainbow. There was a slight murmur of laughter from their audience, Pinkie’s being most audible. Twilight blushed more and Sunset groaned at her friends. “That was a kiss. Both of our lips touching. That’s all you asked for.” Rainbow stepped closer, snickering. “Sure, but not a real one. Not a GOOD one.” She crossed her arms while keeping a hold of her drink. “I COULD let slip a certain fact that we both know… a certain secret…” Sunset’s eyes flared. “You wouldn’t.” Rainbow smirked. “Try me.” There was an awkward moment the two stood in silence, every breath held, waiting for one of them to crack. It was strange that Sunset would state how close they were not even a minute ago, yet have a secret she kept from her. Sunset HAD been friends with the other girls longer, she tried reasoning as she felt the tension grow between Sunset and Rainbow. Twilight could also feel Sunset’s flustered anger growing. Rainbow decided they had waited long enough. “Sunset actually WANTS to-” “ALRIGHT! Alright,” Sunset cut her off flusteredly before anything more was said. Twilight briefly wondered again what secret Rainbow knew about Sunset that she didn’t. “Fine, you want an actual kiss??” Sunset suddenly grabbed Twilight’s shoulders and slammed her lips into hers. Twilight was caught off guard and let in a breath, clutching onto Sunset’s arms for balance, her glasses tipping sideways. Feeling the way Sunset was moving her lips against her own, added with the proximity of their bodies, was heating Twilight up in a way she was unfamiliar. She felt a warm wetness on her lips, almost trying to push them open. Sunset moved her hands to Twilight’s head and laced her fingers in her hair. After the initial shock Twilight slowly began to kiss back, with the small knowledge and inferior experience she possessed, but Sunset was slowing down, pulling back a couple of times, leaving lingering kisses. Sunset kissed her one last time, long and slow, and pulled back, slightly tugging on Twilight’s bottom lip with her teeth. Twilight clutched her arms tighter and held back a moan she hadn’t known was coming. Sunset finally let go of Twilight and looked at Rainbow determinedly, with annoyance, and hiding a bit of something else unplaceable. “Did that satisfy you?” Twilight let out a ragged breath and tried to compose herself, straightening her glasses, as Rainbow Dash let out a fit of laughter. “YES! Oh yes, that was perfect!” They got a small applause for their effort but Twilight’s mind had been too muddled to hear it. Pinkie Pie ran over to them as the crowd began to mingle and continue with their party. Rainbow following behind. She gave them both a hug, knocking Twilight out of her thoughts, and began apologizing. “I’m so sorry!” She said through giggles. Rainbow smiled. “I’m not.” She put her arm around Sunset. “I just couldn’t miss the opportunity!” Winking at Sunset she let go and walked away snickering to herself. Sunset called behind her shoulder as Rainbow walked away. “Just don’t put us on the spot like that.” Shaking her head, she turned back around. Twilight laughed slightly, her nerves beginning to calm and mind clearing. “I had first thought everyone was staring at my terrible sweater!” The girls giggled and she could see a smile on Sunset’s face. “Silly filly, I told you, it looks fine on you.” Twilight paused for a moment at Sunset’s pony idiosyncrasy but was brought out of thought by Pinkie. “Oh Twilight! You look so festive in this!” she gestured to the top. “Rarity would never have put you in something horrible, even if it’s called an ‘ugly sweater’!” Pinkie gave Twilight one last hug before skipping away. A small awkward silence settled between the two. Sunset was the first to speak, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, that was an experience.” Twilight nervously laughed and nodded. “I’ve never kissed a girl before.” She smiled and mused “Actually, I don’t think I’ve kissed anyone before.” Sunset also chuckled nervously. “Guess that’s not too bad then, your first kiss being your best friend.” She pushed a strand of hair out of her face as they both smiled at each other. Twilight began to blush at the realization of just what had happened. She had never imagined a kiss could feel like that, and the fact it had come from her best friend made it even more confusing. She nervously swallowed and looked from side to side. Sunset gave a small cough. “Well I think I’d like to get some punch.” She turned away from Twilight, “Care to join me?” Twilight nodded but realized she was facing Sunset’s back, so she piped up a small yes. The rest of the night neither of them could look at each other the same. Every time their eyes met, they both began to blush. All because of a silly ornament. It seemed now, Twilight barely even thought about the mass of people and mingling she had previously felt required to do. All thoughts were on Sunset, and how the warm tenderness of their encounter had brought out emotions Twilight wasn’t fully prepared to explore. Twilight sighed frustrated. “You know, I think I’m gonna go home. This whole party has kind of drained me.” Sunset nodded “Yeah, I can get that.” She gave her a small understanding smile. “You’ve never seemed like the partying type anyway.” Twilight smiled back then frowned. “Guess I’ll see you at school.” Without thinking, they automatically gave one another a hug and it instantly became regrettable. The proximity of their heated bodies gave Twilight a contradicting shiver and she had a dull ached to somehow obtain more. With heated faces, they pulled back from each other. Sunset gave her an almost apologetic look and Twilight gave a small wave, heading for the door. What would have been normally a pleasant exchange became socially awkward, a dread that, though this one much more powerful, Twilight became familiar with while at her new school. It was understandable, what does one do after an encounter like that. Her mind was filled with the scent of her friend, the texture of her wet lips against her own and she shivered again, from the memory, chancing a look back. Sunset had already moved from the doorway they had been near and had disappeared somewhere in the crowd. As Twilight made it outside she sighed, with relief and frustration. At least the party was over. Over the next week, Sunset and Twilight tried to move past their awkward encounter, to the relief and disappointment of Sunset. She was glad it hadn’t ruined their close friendship that had begun to grow over the past few months, though it did make the first half of the week almost unbearable. Sunset felt like killing Rainbow Dash for the stunt she pulled, especially if it had ruined her friendship with Twilight. The first day after the party, the group of girls met at their regular lunch table. When conversation of the party was brought up, Sunset and Twilight both began blushing. Every day after, there was always a look that would pass between them and again their faces would heat up. Sunset knew, for herself, it was because she couldn’t stop thinking about what it felt like. She had always had this crazy attraction towards their new friend, and it mostly consisted of their mental connection. It didn’t help that her type of girl seemed to be exactly what Twilight was. However, now that she had some physical feeling, she couldn’t keep her mind off of it. The way Twilight held her arms when she had grabbed her, and how soft her lips really were. It took almost all of her strength to pull away. She shivered with pleasure. This strong attraction towards a human was very new to her but she enjoyed the new feelings. Sunset had instinctively let her tongue press against Twilight's lips, wanting so much to gain access but she was glad Twilight was too stunned to let her passion get the best of her. Sunset wasn't sure she'd be able to stop if she started French kissing her. The whole thing may have been seen as some joke between all her friends but it had made things increasingly difficult between her and the glasses wearing nerd. One day, Pinkie had blatantly mentioned the kiss and both girls began to feel mortified. Sunset and Twilight gave looks to the girls and it seemed they all had a silent agreement to drop the subject. After talking it over with Twilight, her and Sunset had agreed to never bring up that moment again. As relieved as she was that they had seemed to move past the awkwardness after a week, she felt a bit discontentment towards the outcome. Some small optimistic part of her had hoped maybe Twilight had actually felt something. There was no denying to herself that she had most certainly enjoyed the kiss. After the last bell rang, signaling the weekend, Sunset headed towards her locker to pack her things. While on her way out she met up with a bouncing Pinkie Pie. “Hey Pinkie, what’s got you so bubbly?” Pinkie smiled at her and giggled. Sunset smirked, “Well, bubblier than usual?” Pinkie continued to bounce on her feet. “Oh, I’m just so nervicited for the Christmas Formal Dance next weekend!!” Sunset nodded, how could she forget. Each year they had a formal dance to celebrate Christmas. It was a bit like Hearth’s Warming Eve, the same feel and time of year, but it was about a completely different celebration that Sunset honestly found too unfamiliar to get excited about. She did, however, appreciate the friendly love that spread during this time of year. By the time they had made it outside both Rarity and Fluttershy had joined them. The other girls were currently waiting near the Colt Statue, which had been fully rebuilt. Yet again Sunset made eye contact with Twilight, but this time all they did was smile at one another. Sunset couldn’t see a blush on Twilight but she did have to look away, just in case her own would reappear. Pinkie Pie had already planned out most of the dance and the conversation seemed to be concentrating on if they would all go as a group. Applejack elbowed Twilight and chuckled. “I bet you’ll be going with Flash Sentry, won’t cha’?” Twilight became increasingly uncomfortable. Rarity beamed and clapped her hands together. “Oh, that’s right, darling! I heard he asked you to the dance!” Sunset could feel her heart tighten. Months ago, she would have questioned why, but she currently began smoldering in her own melancholy. Twilight started to stutter “Well… I, Yes. He did ask me…” Blushing at the fact anyone would want to ask her, “But I told him no.” Sunset turned to Twilight and knew if she was still a pony her ears would be perking up. “He's a nice guy,” she put her hands up defensively. “Really, he is, but he just” she shrugged. “Isn't really my type.” Sunset could feel her heart beat quickly. Twilight had a type. And Flash didn't qualify. It wasn't much of a turn but Sunset was happy Twilight wasn't taken with him like Princess Twilight had seemed to be. Before she could think more in it, she saw Twilight look down at her feet. “I, uh… I hadn’t really planned on… going at all.” The other girls just about lost it. “Oh Twilight, it just wouldn’t be the same without you!” “I know you’ll have lots of fun, if you go!” “I understand your nervousness but even I love going to dances with my friends.” “How come ya don’t want to go?” Twilight stepped backward at their outburst, clearly surprised. “Well, I’ve never really gone to a dance before. I didn’t have friends at Crystal Prep so what would be the point in going.” Sunset put a hand on her shoulder. “Well you have friends here now, you know.” Rainbow Dash beamed. “Of course you do, and you can’t miss hanging with your friends!” The others nodded in agreement. To their surprise tears began to form under the girl’s glasses. “Thank you. Thank you, girls.” Sunset squeezed her shoulder more. “It never even crossed my mind that I would go. I’ve never had a reason to.” Sunset could feel tears in her own eyes. She knew exactly how she felt. No one ever wanted to hang around Sunset until after she had reformed. Even still, at first it was mainly the 5 girls in front of her. There had never been reason to make any friends and Sunset knew Twilight’s loneliness. “Well you do now.” She encased her friend in a warm hug and soon felt the rest of the girls join in on their heart felt moment. A small time passed and the girls gradually let go of one another. “Now that that’s been settled,” The girls gave a giggle as Rarity continued. “I would like to ask you all if you’ll allow me to create festive Christmas dresses for each of you!” Fluttershy beamed. “Oh Rarity, that would be wonderful!” Rainbow Dash chided. “As long as mine is cool enough, I guess I can accept.” Applejack laughed. “Then it’s settled. We meet at Rarity’s house to get all dolled up, then go to the dance as a group.” The other girls nodded and smiled. Pinkie Pie began bouncing again. “Oh, this is gonna be just like the fall formal!! But funner!!” Twilight took her glasses off and wiped them on her sleeves, then spoke up. “Hold on girls, I’m not sure how I’m going to get there. My brother and Cadence will be out of town and my parents are on some business trip.” Sunset spoke up before she could stop herself. “I can pick you up and we can go together.” Immediately after she offered she regretted it. Her face began heating up and she saw Twilight’s do the same. Neither of their faces went unnoticed by the other girls. Sunset looked away and stuttered. “I-I mean, I live near your direction anyway.” The way it had come out could have been taken awkwardly the wrong way and she flusteredly continued. “It wouldn’t be out of the way for me, I can just ride by, then we can head over to Rarity’s-” She was cut off by Twilight’s soft answer. “Sure. That sounds delightful.” She looked over to see Twilight still blushing but smiling. “Alright then.” She smiled back, almost beaming. Twilight had said yes. It wasn’t a date but they would be alone for the duration of the ride and that was enough for Sunset. “Be warned, I ride a motorcycle, so it won’t be the smoothest of rides.” The girls laugh as Twilight’s face began to sober with just exactly what she had gotten herself into.