Tripped Out

by Majin Syeekoh


Good Idea

Twilight turned into an avatar of destruction, and Sunset watched.

I have a really bad idea.

She grasped the amulet around her neck, sending a warmth through her body that coalesced around her brain and hands, then grabbed both her’s and Twilight’s heads.

Everything went white.

Sunset’s mind felt fuzzy as she made impact knees-first with what felt like a hardwood floor. Her vision was initially blurry, then she slowly regained her eyesight to see she had landed in what looked like her apartment, loft and everything. Sunset slowly stood up as a groan traveled out of her throat and she gained her bearings.

She had the distinct feeling that she was being watched, though.

Okay, I’m just going to assume I’m in Canterlot City and play this from there.

With that, she stepped outside. She was indeed in Canterlot City. A rather abandoned Canterlot City. The buildings were all in place. Judging by the eerie silence, though, nothing else was.

Sunset clasped her hands together.

What would Twilight do…

She hummed.

What would Twilight think I’d do?

With that thought in mind, she trudged towards Canterlot High School.

The feeling of being watched remained.

She sighed in relief when she saw the pedestal where the equine statue once stood, and picked up her pace when she saw Twilight standing in front it huddled into herself. Twilight looked up and smiled when Sunset tapped her on the shoulder.

Then she screamed.

Sunset snapped around and saw shadow rush past her vision, then snapped back to see where Twilight once was, her body now engulfed in sinewy, pulsating darkness. The inky black eventually amalgamated into the jagged-horned, horse-tailed, hawk-winged Midnight Sparkle, who smiled a smile that sent shivers through Sunset’s veins.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Midnight said as she adjusted one of her gloves and walked towards Sunset’s body, “you look resplendent before me.”

She ran her fingers through Sunset’s hair, which caused the frightened woman to recoil as she circled around her.

“Your hair of interwoven red and gold marks you as the autumn that heralds my winter.” Midnight’s heeled boots clacked off of the pavement, the sound ricocheting through the town. “When all of spacetime will be in hibernation as I deconstruct it into its constituent parts in order to better understand it―molecule by molecule.”

Clack.

“Atom by atom.”

Clack.

Midnight stood in front of Sunset and grabbed the latter’s jaw.

“Quark. By. Quark.”

She pushed Sunset away, who stumbled in the lot.

“And reconstruct it piece by piece. Into something pure, something perfect, something awe-inspiring, something… ”

Something without someone like me. Sunset pressed her eyes shut.

Midnight Sparkle growled a hum, then turned around to face Sunset, whose eyes shot open.

“Ah, yes,” she said as she brought a curled hand to her lips. “You live with many regrets. A common mortal concern.”

Sunset clenched her jaw. Oh, yeah. We’re technically in the same mind right now.

Midnight chuckled. “We are. Now, tell me,” she said. She approached Sunset until she got close enough that their breaths entangled in the air. “Which part of your life do you regret the most? I may do you the favor of excising it first. As a reward, for enabling my transcension.”

Sunset remained silent.

Midnight touched Sunset’s cheek. “Was it that Adagio Dazzle spoiled the Twilight Sparkle before you could claim her fruits yourself?” She giggled. “Or was it that Timber Spruce stole her heart first?”

Sunset blushed, grew dizzy, and shook her head. Midnight grabbed her jaw again; Sunset felt her icy fingers pressing against the bone.

“Perhaps it was your failure to scour me clean from your Twilight, and allow me to hide in the corners of her mind?”

“No,” Sunset said through Midnight’s clench, at which Midnight threw her onto the pavement. She sat up and rubbed her jaw.

“Hh.” Midnight walked behind Sunset and yanked her hair upwards, Sunset squealing from the sudden pain. “Perhaps… acting as a beacon to summon those sirens? After you yourself attempted to murder those you call friends?”

Sunset could feel the cruel smile from behind her. She certainly did regret all of those things, but she wasn’t going to tell her.

Just a little closer…

She hoped that the demon would respond to her mental suggestion, and grew excited when she felt Midnight’s breath on her ear. “Or maybe even your own birth? When you were provided occasion to disappoint your mentor―”

“Right, nice talking with you. But, if you don’t mind? I have to meet someone,” Sunset said.

And then she grasped her amulet, and pressed her head and Midnight’s together.

Everything went white.

Then, total darkness―and in front of her, a shivering Twilight. .

Sunset’s heart softened at the sight.

“Twilight?”

Twilight turned to look at Sunset, turned away, then turned back. “Sunset?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile on her face. “You really outdid yourself this time.”

Twilight shook her head as she approached Sunset and hugged her tightly―tighter than she deserved. “Oh, I’m sorry!” She looked Sunset in the eyes. “I’m… I…” She sighed. “I guess this was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, you can say that again.” Sunset returned the hug, and looked around.

Twilight noticed. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“Looking for a way out of here.”

“You mean.” Twilight exhaled. “You mean you just dove in Midnight Sparkle’s head—inside of my head—without a way out?”

Our heads.” Sunset sucked her teeth. “Not the most well thought-out plan, when you say it like that, no.”

Twilight pulled away from Sunset. “Okay,” she said, resting her chin against her fist. “Run me through the most likely scenario.”

“Alright.” Sunset took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Right now, you’re frozen mid-transformation.”

“That’s not good.”

“Nnnope,” Sunset said as she grabbed her face. “So, best case is that the transformation dissipates by itself, your parents come home, and pull us apart.”

Twilight took in a breath. “Best case. Not most likely case.” She faced Sunset. “What’s the most likely case?”

Sunset rubbed her hair where Midnight Sparkle was still pulling on it one level up. The pain was dulled with some distance, but it still made it a tad bit difficult to concentrate. “Mmh. Most likely case is that your parents pull us apart when you’re still mid-transformation. Then you complete the transformation.”

“…And?”

“And reality goes bye-bye.”

Twilight scratched her head. “Hm. I don’t like it. Too many variables outside of our control.” She licked her teeth. “What do you suggest we do?”

Sunset felt a little dizzy. Whether it was from the continuous hair-pulling or something else she couldn’t identify, she didn’t have time to suss it out. She clasped her hands and cracked them in front of her. “In my experience, what I’ve traditionally done is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

Twilight nodded, smiled, and sat down. “Then let’s do that,” she said as she patted the space next to her.

Sitting down seemed as good an idea as any to Sunset, so she took the seat that Twilight delineated next to her. She looked over at Twilight, who had a smile on her face that didn’t suggest that everything was about to die. Looking at it, Sunset felt like everything was going to turn out alright despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

“So, uh.” Twilight clapped her hands together. “Good, end of the world topic.” She kept her hands clasped together and looked down. “What’s… your… greatest regret?”

Sunset groaned and rubbed her head. “Please, I just went through this.”

“I heard.” Twilight licked her lips. “And you didn’t say yes to any of them.” She looked at Sunset. “So, what’s your greatest regret?”

Sunset suddenly felt very exposed as she bit her lip. “Um.” She giggled nervously. “Why don’t we start with you?”

“Hm.” Twilight pressed her lips tight. “You’re being cagey. I suppose I could start.” She put a finger to her lips. “Uh… not having had the chance to cure a major debilitative disease.”

“Hmm. Medicine.” Sunset nodded. “A noble venture.”

Twilight gazed eagerly at Sunset. “Okay, now you!”

Sunset suddenly felt very exposed again. She looked at Twilight―curious, intelligent, beautiful Twilight―and wanted to say everything to her all in one word, but no words would come out. She cupped her hands around her mouth and groaned, afraid that she’d have to live with what she said on the off-chance they made it out of this alive.

“Come on!” Twilight said as she shoved Sunset and giggled. “I said mine!”

Sunset put her hands on her knees and sighed. “Well… I mean if we’re going to die anyway, I guess.” She looked around at the nothing that might eventually be everything, then sighed again. “My greatest regret is.” She shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

This feels like a bad idea.

“My greatest regret is never asking you out on a date. I guess. Mostly because I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

She opened her eyes expecting everything to be on fire, but all she saw was Twilight, wide-eyed and jaw dropped.

“Hh.”

I suppose that’s a good start.

Sunset looked away and rubbed her hands. “Nothing like you and Adagio have done, of course.” She felt her breath catch in her throat, but pushed on. “Just, you know, a simple affair. Where we hold hands, and walk down the path in the park by the lake, and we throw bread at the ducks but then the park ranger comes over and says ‘don’t throw bread at the ducks their digestive systems can’t handle it we have feed you can buy’ and then we head over to the duck feed machine and it costs a quarter but the machine won’t take the card and we have no quarters so―”

A sudden lunging tightly-hugging Twilight bowled Sunset over. She looked up to see Twilight’s face―happy, yet forlorn and wistful. “Of course I would have said yes!” She surprised Sunset yet again with a peck on the lips. “I trusted you when I was at my most vulnerable! What made you hold off until armageddon to say that?”

Sunset inhaled.

Oh yeah, this is why I didn’t want to admit that now.

Sunset exhaled and smiled weakly. “Because it’s kind of hard, I guess, to see yourself in that light when you’ve done what I’ve done. And when your friends remind you of the time you tried to kill them every third day.” She looked to the side and patted Twilight on the back. “It really wears on you, you know?”

Twilight grabbed Sunset’s head and turned it so that they were facing each other. “Look. Sunset. I didn’t know you back then. All I know is who you are now.” She pressed her forehead against Sunset’s. “And if you had to go over a few speed bumps to become this wonderful human being, whom I literally trusted with my life, that’s perfectly fine with me.” Twilight chuckled. “Remember what I said earlier before I went crazy?”

Sunset broke Twilight’s grip on her head and looked away. “Yeah.” She grunted. “Rotten roots grow the sweetest fruits.”

Twilight sat up on Sunset’s lap and snorted. “Yeah! You know, like how you have a dark and troubled past,” she said while waggling her fingers in the air, “but it makes your friendship more genuine.”

Sunset sat up and cocked an eyebrow. “Really? How?”

Twilight flexed a hand. “Because you understand how fragile it  is!” She hugged Sunset tightly. “And having worked for it grants it more value.”

Sunset looked into Twilight’s eyes, an oozing warming wafting through her as she felt something coming on. Something good.

“Twilight,” Sunset said as she put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “I feel like I’m about to cry. So I’m going to kiss your face to try and fend it off.” She licked her lips. “Is that okay with―”

She was cut off by Twilight kissing her face instead.

Okay. Well. I can’t really complain about this.

Sunset returned the kiss. She then recoiled as a keening wail pierced her eardrums, and everything went white.

And then Twilight had her suspended by her hair in front of Canterlot High School.

“Um, Sunset?”

Sunset growled. “Yes?”

“What just happened?”

“Let go of my hair and I’ll tell you.”

“Uh, okay, I’m just super confused right now―”

Will you please let go of my hair it really―

Maybe Sunset should have specified for Twilight to ease her down, because she just fell on her butt and it hurt.

“Eep!” Sunset glared behind her to see a cute blush on Twilight and her hands covering her mouth. “Sorry!”

She also caught sight of the wings and pony ears now protruding from Twilight, causing her to grasp at her own head to confirm the presence of her own set of equine ears, at which she smirked.

“Well,” she said as she eased herself up, “judging by our new body parts, I guess we know what happened to Midnight Sparkle.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said as she looked around, her eyes narrowed. “I think she’s still somewhere around here, though.”

Sunset exhaled and rubbed her face. “I don’t doubt it.” She grunted. “She seems a little allergic to friendship, though―”

She was cut off by a hug to her chest. Sunset removed her hands from her face to see a smiling Twilight in her vision.

“I think that was a little bit more than friendship,” Twilight said as she blushed.

Sunset felt her own cheeks warm up.

“Vulnerable,” Twilight said as she snuggled her head into Sunset’s chest. “We’re kind of sharing the same headspace right now, so if I focus I can feel what you’re thinking.”

“Right, yeah.” Well now I really feel exposed.

Twilight ended the hug, still smiling at Sunset. “Well, of course. You’re finally being honest with yourself.”

Sunset crossed her arms and looked away. “So, uh, I guess that worked out.” She hummed. “Mostly because I don’t really think before I do things. I’ll, uh, try to diagram what went on there when your parents shove us awake, and…”

She pursed her lips. She knew what Twilight was thinking.

“… I’ll try to be nicer to myself in the future.” She grabbed Twilight’s hand and intertwined their fingers, which made her smile.

“Good,” Twilight said curtly. “Because even though you may not think very highly of yourself, I think the world of you.” Her blush grew redder as she grinned even wider. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without your mistakes.”

Sunset pressed her lips and her eyes shut, then opened her eyes.

Distraction.

“Um,” Sunset said as she scratched the back of her neck, “so, you want to go on that walk, I guess? I can’t promise ducks, but we do have the entire park to ourselves.”

Twilight’s wings fluttered as she kissed Sunset on the cheek. “Please, thank you.”

A smile grew on Sunset’s face as she and Twilight headed off in the direction of the park.

She, however, still had one more thing on her mind.

“Hey, Twilight?”

Twilight hummed. “Yeah?”

“Do you think,” Sunset said as a smirk formed on her face, “that sometime after we wake up, you could show me some of the things Dagi showed you?”

Twilight looked at Sunset, eyes wide, before she looked forward and pursed her lips into to a smile. Her face was the reddest Sunset had ever seen it. “Yeah, I’d really like that, actually.”

“Hh.” Sunset maneuvered her face to kiss Twilight, who reciprocated. “I’d like that, too.”

“I guess you two came to an understanding?”

Sunset nodded. “More or less.”

Twilight’s blush calmed down. “It’s nice that we can all get along.”

Sunset looked skyward with a wide grin.

Now that was a good idea.