//------------------------------// // VII // Story: Bacon and Egghead // by shortskirtsandexplosions //------------------------------// "Time for din-din!" Pinkie Pie sang, sashaying over the table with a full tray. She placed a steaming hot plate down before Twilight. "Here ya go, Miss Sparkle! Shrimp alfredo! Just like you asked!" "Oh! It smells great!" Twilight was already unrolling her utensils from her napkin in anticipation. "Thank you so much, Pinkie!" "Thank Mr. Cake! He had his hand in the whole thing—well, not literally his hand, cuz that'd be super-duper gross and then our establishment would be sued for sanitary negligence and—" "The fruit salad, Pinkie?" Sunset Shimmer droned. "Whoops!" Pinkie reached up and deposited the last bowl from the tray. "Here ya go!" Blue eyes sparkled. "Mamma Mia—that's a lot of watermelon!" "Just the way I like it." Sunset smiled and nodded. "Thanks a bunch." "NOW do you want some refills?" "That'd be great." "Coming right uppppp!" And Pinkie naruto'd off at full speed. "Woosh!" "Heehee..." Twilight managed between several swift eager bites. "Mrmmff... talk about service with a smile!" Sunset poked gingerly at her bowl of randomly assorted fruit. "Whoah-ho! You hungry, girl?" "Oh! Uh... I-I'm sorry!" Twilight immediately dropped her fork into the alfredo. "Was I pigging out? I was pigging out, wasn't I? I-I can eat slower or—" "Hey... easy..." Sunset waved a hand. "This isn't some sort of long distance marathon." "Right. Sorry." "And stop saying 'sorry,'" Sunset said with a wink. She took a bit of grape and cantaloupe bits, swallowing the sweet morsels down. "My bad. I was just making an observation. I didn't mean anything weird by it." "I'm sorr—er... I mean..." Twilight sighed, then picked the fork back up with a meager grin. "I kinda sorta didn't eat all day." Sunset nearly choked, grasping her own throat. Swallowing the latest bite down, she wheezed: "You starved yourself for this date?!" "What? No!" Twilight shook. "I was just... so b-busy preparing. And then I went to Rarity's. And she put on dress after dress after dress..." Sunset sighed, glaring out the window. "I gotta have a talk with her after this..." "Oh, please don't be mad. She only means well. How could she have known that I missed lunch... and breakfast..." Twilight shuddered with a mouth full of noodles. Slurping it up, she looked aside. "And a full night of sleep?" "What was that?" "Uhhh..." Twilight jolted in place. She skewered a piece of shrimp with her fork and held it up. "This stuff is so delicious to eat!" She leaned the fork across the table. "Here! Have a bite!" "... ... ..." Sunset looked nervously at the morsel of seafood. She brandished an awkward smile, nonetheless squirming. "Hmmm?" Twilight blinked. "Oh... Ohhhhhhh..." By now she was wincing. The girl leaned back in her seat, lowering the shrimp back to her plate. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh—I-I should have ordered something else." "No you shouldn't have—" "It's not too late! I'll... uh... I'll ask Pinkie Pie for a salad instead!" Twilight turned and waved towards kitchen. "Hey! Pinkie!" "Twilight—" "If you could just—!" Sunset reached across the table and lightly grasped Twilight's wrist. "Just. Relax. Please." Twilight locked up. Her eyes landed on Sunset's fingers clasped gently around her arm. Sunset took a breath. "That's right..." She smiled, giving Twilight's wrist a slight squeeze as she lowered it back to the table. "It's okay. Look at me... please..." Twilight's glossy eyes demurely met hers. Sunset struggled to maintain her cool. "It's okay. I am not offended by it. I am not some tiny scrumptious crustacean being caught in a fisherman's net. Neither am I a tiny magical horse who faints at the sight of meat right now." A prolonged smile. "Vegetarian or not, I happen to be a young woman who's very much enjoying herself at this moment." Twilight's lower lip quivered. "You are?" "Absolutely!" Sunset leaned back. "Toasty warm atmosphere! Delicious watermelon fruit salad!" She lifted a pink-and-green clump of fruit with her fork and let it linger besides a coy wink. "The company of a beautiful young lady..." Twilight Sparkle exhaled through pursed lips, producing the tiniest of squeaks. Warmth returned to her cheeks, and her shoulders shimmied slightly as she smiled and said: "I love how womany your voice sounds when you say that." "Heheheheh..." Sunset hid her own blush by taking another liberal bite of her fruit salad. She picked and prodded, waving her fork between stabs. "Mrmmfff... what does that mean?" "What does what mean?" "You use 'womany' a lot when complimenting me." "I do?" "Well, to me it stands out." "Why? Cuz it's silly?" "It just makes me curious." Sunset took a few more bites, chewed, then swallowed. "What makes me more 'womany' than... say..." She pointed nebulously out the window. "...Applejack, Fluttershy, and the others?" "Well..." Twilight picked at her own plate with just as much random gusto. "It's... it's how I see you..." "And how you 'hear' me, apparently." "Heehee. I... uh..." Twilight looked up. "I guess it goes back to when I was a little girl." "Oh?" "My mother was a writer. Although she worked out of the home, she was constantly going back and forth in between meetings with her publishers. But since I was the youngest and dad was mostly away at the office, I had to tag along with Mom on most of her errands. It's how I learned really fast how to be proper and polite while in public. I didn't want to embarrass her by being a brat or nothing." "Yeah, I guess I can see that." "And I remember my mother's chief editor. She was a tall blonde lady... about middle-aged. If Rarity was here, she'd use the word 'voluptuous,' I bet. Deep, authoritarian voice... yet a smile that dazzled with femininity whenever she greeted me and Mom. She always dressed sharp—jet black pantsuits and a slick hairstyle. Even her purse was big and dark—a no-nonsense leather. She looked every bit like a person 'in control,' yet not afraid to be beautiful and... and even a bit vain as well. Not in some hollow, selfish way... but in a way that exhibited confidence." "Heh..." Sunset smirked, leaning her chin against her wrist. "For a little girl who likely had her nose in a book all the time, you certainly stole many a glance at this person." "Ohhhhhh yes. Heeheehee. I was instantly fascinated. 'Ms. Comstock' was her name. Very... 'womany' woman. Even as the years grew by and I grew older, she always stayed ageless in my head. And timeless. What it means to be a woman. What it means to be beautiful." Sunset took a deep breath. "She was your first crush, wasn't she?" Twilight Sparkle blinked, her eyes focusing on a far-off thought, as if it was blooming freshly for the first time in her comprehension. "Yes." A determined nod. "She was." A contemplative breath. "It makes a lot of sense now, I suppose..." Her words trailed off. Sunset smiled just as thoughtfully. "Well... I'm very much flattered, Twilight." Twilight shook slightly. "I-I mean... I-I don't care where she is or what she's doing now!" "Heheh, Twilight, don't—" "Sh-she's probably in her sixties! I'm sure a lot of older men Filthy Rich's age would be interested in her, b-but not m-me—!" "It's okay...!" Sunset waved a hand. "Like I said—I'm flattered." She bit her bottom lip, struggling to contain the smile. "Just... kinda thrilled to think I'm 'womany' for someone." "Why?" Twilight shrugged, taking another bite of the alfredo. "It's the truth!" "I just haven't spent much time being a woman." "So?" Twilight giggled. "You fill it well—!" She grimaced. "Er, you know what I mean." "Hahaha—I'd be flattered by that too!" "Heeheehee!" Twilight giggled some more, positively shaking in her dress as a red warmth spread up through her lavender features. Sunset gazed at her... and gazed and gazed. She took another bite of watermelon, and her lips curved slightly. It wasn't because of the sugary taste...