//------------------------------// // 2 - Level Playing Field // Story: Graph Theory // by stillinbeta //------------------------------// Being a Princess, regrettably, did not lend itself well to a healthy work-life balance. There was only so much delegation she could do, only so many petitioners she could ask to come back tomorrow, only so many pieces of paperwork she could shift into her ever-growing inbox. Nor did being an Element of Harmony, for that matter. National emergencies had a frustrating tendency not to confine themselves to regular working hours. Inevitably she’d be woken up in the middle of the night, Celestia or Luna standing over her, and have to dash off to wake her friends and save the day. Of course, Twilight wouldn’t trade it for the world. She loved her friends, she loved Equestria, and it was her literal Celestia-given duty to defend them both. Sometimes that meant facing both power-crazed shadow pony or a mountain of paperwork related to tax code reform. She did not, however, love that it had been two weeks since she asked Sunset Shimmer to dinner and she was just now getting around to it. “Better late than never,” she said to her reflection in the large vanity. She looked at her dress in the mirror one last time before grabbing a pair of beautiful new saddlebags and placing them carefully on her back. Rarity had of course made them, though only after prying the reason Twilight needed a new ensemble out of her. Twilight had sworn her to secrecy, going so far as to ask the disappointed gossip to invoke a Pinkie Promise, but Twilight knew it was only a matter of time before word got out. Sunset and Twilight had agreed that their date should be in Equestria. Twilight was certainly on the back hoof in any dating situation, let alone when dating a reformed villain who lived in another universe, and, oh yes, already had a marefriend or two. Letting Twilight stay in pony form and choose the restaurant didn’t come close to evening the odds, but at least it was a start. Twilight took a deep breath and headed for the door. “You look great, Twilight,” Spike called as she walked down the hallway. He knew why she was dressed up, of course. Twilight didn’t think she was capable of keeping anything from him. He’d been initially confused by “the whole poly thing,” as he called it, but he trusted Twilight and she appreciated that. “Thank you, Spike, but it’s Rarity’s dress. I’m just wearing it.” “Don’t sell yourself short, Twilight. You’re gonna knock her off her hooves. Feet. Whatever.” Twilight flushed at the compliment. “Hooves tonight, Spike. I’ll be home later tonight. Don’t wait up!” Spike muttered something about bedtime under his breath, but Twilight ignored him. It was time to face the Sunset. Twilight stood looking at the complex apparatus that was the Equestrian side of the portal. She’d cleaned it up a bit since hastily throwing it together all those years ago, but it was still a pretty haphazard affair. Straightening it up was on her ever-growing to-do list, but it seemed to work fine. Sunset demonstrated this by stepping through at that moment. She landed square on four hooves with a lot more grace than Twilight ever could manage. “Welcome back!” Twilight hoped her voice didn’t betray how anxious she was. True, she’d been looking forward to this evening for two weeks.  But that was two weeks to dream up exciting ways that everything could go totally wrong and ruin not only her date but her friendships with Sunset, Sunset’s friends, and the entire other world. No pressure, she just need to play it cool. “Hey, Princess,” Sunset walked over and nuzzled her. Twilight swallowed. This was how she and Sunset always greeted each other — at least on this side of the portal. They’d started off countless evenings like this. Sunset or Twilight making their way through the portal, Twilight or Sunset waiting on the other side to greet the other pleasantries were exchanged, lives were caught up on. In this case though, appearances were deceiving, and the similarities ended there. “Shall we?” Sunset smiled at Twilight “Yeah, let’s go.” Twilight stood in the doorway. Sunset raised her eyebrows expectantly. Twilight realised she was in the way and blushed before stepping to the side. “Oh, right! Sorry, Sorry!” “Uh... Twilight? You’re the one who knows where we’re going.” Sunset looked concerned now. So much for playing it cool, then. “Right! Of course! Follow me!” “Twilight... are you okay?” “Definitely, Sunset! Why wouldn’t I be? Never better! Come on now, I’m starving!” Twilight turned and walked down the hall toward the entrance of the castle. The sound of hooves from behind let her know that Sunset was following. She avoided turning to look until her stupid face stopped feeling so hot. They reached the castle door and stepped out into the crisp late autumn air. “Lovely weather here, huh, Sunset?” Twilight said, maybe just a little too loudly. Sunset answered from behind her. “Yeah it’s, uh... really nice. Twilight, what’s wrong?” “Wrong! Why would anything be wrong? I’m just going on a... date —” she squeaked the word out “— with my best friend. Everything’s fine!” Twilight grinned with what she hoped was a genuine smile. It probably didn’t work. Sunset started to say something but Twilight cut her off. “Oh look! We’re here!” Twilight trotted to a stop outside Il Ristorante Cavallo and approached the portico. Vines cascaded down an elaborate series of trellises, and soft piano music drifted out of the open balcony. The building, while gorgeous, actually looked extremely impractical. Ponyville did not share a climate with Sifilly, and it must cost a fortune to heat the place in the winter. “Wow, Twilight, am I underdressed for this place?” “Nonono, you look fine, Sunset! I mean, not fine. You look more than fine! You’re really pretty!” For a moment Twilight considered the logistics of literally putting her hoof down her throat. It would be kinder that way. Instead, she approached the restaurant. A disinterested stallion looked down his muzzle at them from a podium as they approached. Twilight caught him rolling his eyes as she floundered helplessly in front of her date. He performed the now-familiar glance at her wings and her horn, and his eyes momentarily widened, but he quickly recovered his detached composure. “Do you have a reservation, Your Highness?” he asked, looking pointedly past her at the ground. “Um, yes. Should be under Twilight Sparkle?” The stallion didn’t even pretend to look at the guestbook. “Right this way, Your Highness.” Sunset shot Twilight a skeptical look as the two followed him into the restaurant. The piano music got louder as they passed the front doors, as did the twin scents of wine and olive oil. They made their way through the crowded restaurant, past ponies dressed much better than they were, to a secluded alcove in the back. “Your server will be with you shortly,” the stallion said, and walked back towards the front of the restaurant. Sunset made a face at his retreating flank. “Wow, who knew there were places fancy enough to be rude to royalty, huh, Princess?” Sunset grinned and poked Twilight with a free hoof. She picked up a breadstick from the basket on their table and chewed it thoughtfully. “Do you think they put us back here to give us privacy, or to keep us away from the rest of the guests?” Sunset whispered. Twilight responded by sighing. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because Sunset’s grin dropped and she looked concerned again. “Twilight, what’s wrong? I’ve seen you face down literal demons — myself included — and you’ve never looked this nervous.” Twilight moaned and buried her head in her hooves. “The nobility and I are... not on the best of terms. I don’t dress fancy enough for them, I don’t play their little political games correctly, I don’t —” she affected her best Canterlot accent “— conduct myself in a regal manner. Usually I stay out of their world, and they do their best to keep out of mine.” “Then why did you bring me here tonight?” Twilight was miserable. She had tried so hard to arrange the perfect date. They were at the nicest restaurant, the perfect weather, and she’d even got a hooficure with Rarity that morning. But nothing was going right. Peeking through her hooves, she could see Sunset giving her a worried look. “It’s a date! This is what I’m supposed to do!” Twilight whimpered. “You’ve probably been on a hundred dates, and I think this is my first one?! I... I wanted to impress you. I wanted to stand out from the crowd. But I didn’t, did I? I ruined your evening, one you could’ve spent with Fluttershy or Rainbow or anyone else. I’m sorry I wasted your time.” Twilight definitely wasn’t yelling. Or crying. A Princess of Equestria with tears running down her cheeks in a fancy restaurant opposite the most beautiful mare she’d ever met was too embarrassing to contemplate. So it definitely wasn’t happening right now. “Twilight... look at me.” Sunset’s gentle voice pierced the swirling vortex of anxiety in Twilight’s mind. Twilight cautiously picked up her head and looked at Sunset. Her eyes weren’t filled with disappointment, as she’d feared they might be, but worry. “Sunset, I...” “Twilight, do you want to hear what Fluttershy and I did on our last date night?” Twilight blinked, then nodded, wiping what were certainly not tears from her eyes with a free hoof. “We ordered a pizza, then laid on the couch watching TV for four hours.” Twilight started to say something, but Sunset cut her off. “Do you remember why we decided to have our first date here, instead of in my world?” “You said you wanted to ‘keep a level playing field’ for me,” Twilight recited. “That’s just another way of saying I wanted you to feel comfortable, Princess. And call it a hunch, but I think you’re pretty uncomfortable right now.” Twilight glumly nodded again. “You don’t need to impress me, Twilight. You already did that on that night outside Canterlot High. That’s why I want to go out with you, not because you can put on airs. Let’s be realistic. If that’s what I wanted I would have asked Rarity out.” “I could probably go get her,” Twilight mumbled. Unfortunately Sunset still heard. “Stop that,” Sunset ordered. “Stop what?” “Stop selling yourself short, Twilight. You’re an amazing mare, and I count myself extremely lucky to be your friend. I’ve been looking forward to this evening for weeks, just because I was going to get to spend time with you.” “But that’s what we always do!” Twilight insisted. “This is a date. It’s supposed to be different! More intense, stronger, something like that.” “Says who?” “Says, um, I don’t know, everyone! Romance is a big deal!” “A lot of ponies also say you should only be dating one pony at a time, too. We’re already off script, Twilight. Here, we’re the only ones who get to say what a date should or shouldn’t be. And I say it should just be us, hanging out like we usually do.” Twilight considered that for a minute. Sunset was right. This fancy restaurant wasn’t her, not really. Maybe she had been reading too many romance novels, or just spending too much time around Rarity. She looked around the restaurant, suddenly very aware of the other ponies surrounding her. Their alcove was secluded but it was far from private, and she could see furtive glances and whispers directed at their table. Twilight managed to crack a smile. “What do you say we get out of here?” “I thought you’d never ask.” The pair stood up and walked straight out of the restaurant, passing a very confused waiter who was coming to take their drink order. “So this is your first date, huh?” Sunset asked, in between bites of hayburger. The two mares sat in a brightly coloured booth, burgers in hooves and a truly colossal basket of horseshoe fries positioned between them. “Well, kind of.” Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “Kind of?” “Well... a couple of years back, Pinkie showed up at my house out of the blue and asked if I wanted to have dinner with her.” “Oooh.” “It was only a couple months after I’d moved to Ponyville, and I wasn’t exactly the most... socially aware. So I figured it was just a thing friends did. But with the benefit of hindsight...” Sunset eyes lit up, and she leaned closer over the table. “You think she was into you?” “I don’t know! I mean, she showed up for dinner in a suit and brought me flowers.” “Pinkie in a suit?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Definitely into you. I bet she looked really dapper, too.” “Well, we had a lovely picnic outside of town, then she walked me home. I thought it was weird that she wanted to walk me home, considering we lived on opposite sides of town...” Sunset giggled. “Oh, honey.” “She never mentioned it again after that night. I haven’t thought about it in a while, actually. Maybe I should go apologise to her.” “That poor mare... she had no idea what she was getting into.” “Hey! I was a shut-in, it wasn’t my fault!” “Well, you're not anymore! Do you think she's still interested? I bet you two would be really cute together.” Twilight felt her face heating up again. Twilight pointed her burger at Sunset. “Wait a minute. You're teasing me again, aren't you?” Sunset looked at the flopping burger and they both burst out laughing. “I can't help it! You're so cute when you're blushing.” Twilight stuck her tongue out. Mentally she made a note of “she called me cute!” while trying not to give Sunset the satisfaction of another blush. “It’s... really weird talking about my past romantic misadventures on a date. I think that's usually pretty taboo.” “Welcome to poly, Princess. Throw out your rulebook.” Sunset punctuated her statement with another bite of her burger. “But I spent so much time memorising it!” Twilight whined. The two of them cracked up again. “Are you gonna help me with these fries?” Sunset grabbed several little horseshoes with her magic and levitated them into her mouth. “The question is more if you’re going to get any.” Twilight answered, sliding the basket closer to herself. “I’m starving. I haven’t eaten all day.” “What? Twilight, don’t you have, like, a staff?” “Oh, Celestia no.” Twilight shuddered. “Spike does most of the cooking, even if it’s in a giant castle-sized kitchen. I don’t even really like living in that castle. It makes me feel so... distant from everyone.” “No excuse for not eating,” Sunset chided. “I know, I know. Wow, you’re almost as bad as Spike.” “Twilight, aren’t you supposed to be his mom, not the other way around?” “It’s, uh, more of a sibling type thing. Sometimes. And hey, I’m a great sister-slash-parent-slash-boss.” Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “What? I get him to bed, most of the time! Sometimes I help him do the dishes!” “Wait a minute. Couldn’t you do all of the dishes in the castle with just a single spell?” “I’ve learned it’s best not to let him get too bored. This one time after he ran out of comic books...” By the time Twilight started to run out of Spike stories, the fries were half gone and the sun was starting to set. The restaurant had mostly cleared out. Twilight grabbed a horseshoe fry in her magic and studied it. “To tell you the truth, Sunset, I was nervous about tonight. You’re really important to me, and I was worried.” “Ugh, it’s my fault too, Twilight. I kinda threw you off the deep end. But here’s the important thing: I never want you to feel nervous around me. No matter what happens between, well, ‘us,’ I’m going to be here for you.” Twilight looked right into the other mare’s eyes and smiled sheepishly. Sunset returned the grin, a light blush playing across her face. Twilight felt her own grow warm. Suddenly aware of the extended eye contact, she quickly looked elsewhere. “What do you say we get the rest of these fries to go?” Twilight asked. “That sounds lovely, Princess.” After polishing off the rest of their burgers, they boxed the fries up and headed outside. They didn’t stay boxed, though. Twilight immediately opened them again, levitating them between Sunset and herself and picking up two at a time with her magic. She felt a slight tingle in her magic as Sunset grabbed a hoofful from her. They walked along in a companionable silence, slowly making their way through the hayfries. By unspoken agreement, they walked away from Twilight’s towering castle and toward the fields on the outskirts of Ponyville. The moon was bright in the sky, illuminating the two mares in its soft glow as they settled down on top of a gentle hill. Sunset broke the silence. “You know, you can’t really see the stars on the other side of the portal. The city’s lights are too bright; they blow out the sky.” Twilight lifted her gaze to the night sky. “I wondered about that. I guess I just figured there weren’t as many without a goddess to put them there.” “I went way out into the country with Applejack once. Nobody around for miles and miles. It was... almost as beautiful as the sky here.” Twilight brought her gaze back down to the mare sitting next to her. Had they always been sitting this close? She could almost feel the warmth across the narrow space between them. She had a quick internal debate about how to respond and decided the time for subtlety had past. She shifted in the grass until she was right up against Sunset. A moment later she brought a wing across Sunset’s back. Next to her, Sunset caught her breath. Twilight fidgeted. “Is... is this okay?” Sunset was blushing, but she was smiling too. “It’s more than okay, Princess.” “You know, earlier, I was wondering. If we’re just hanging out, what makes this date different from every other time we’ve hung out? But I think I’m starting to see what makes this so special.” Sunset’s response was to snuggle up even closer under Twilight’s wing, nuzzling her affectionately. Twilight looked at her, then quickly looked away, her face burning. “Sunset, uhm... is...” Twilight felt a familiar pit in her stomach. This time, though, it didn’t feel like such a bad thing. A deep breath, then another. She looked back at Sunset. “Is this when I kiss you?” Sunset grinned. “No rules, remember Princess? You can kiss me whenever you want to.” “I... think I want to. Now, that is.” “I was hoping you’d say that.” Twilight closed her eyes and leaned forward into Sunset. She was worried she’d missed entirely, but then suddenly there were her lips and they were on hers and... Oh Celestia this was actually happening. When she thought back to this moment afterwards, it was impossible to pick out what the kiss actually felt like, how long it lasted, how Sunset tasted, or anything. All she remembered were fireworks going off in her head and a unshakeable sense of “right-ness.” She was kissing Sunset and it was everything she had ever wanted. Eventually they must’ve broken, gasping for breath, and looked at one another. Probably Twilight giggled awkwardly. Maybe they cuddled up even closer against the brisk autumn night. At some point Twilight must’ve walked Sunset back to the portal. She definitely gave her another kiss before the two parted ways for the evening. All that was conjecture, though. The only thing Twilight knew for certain was that she had kissed Sunset, and she couldn’t wait to do it again.