//------------------------------// // Let's Make a Bet // Story: Three Dazzling Daughters // by BG9 //------------------------------// Twilight and the rest of the princesses lay on the floor, utterly exhausted and covered in sweat "You did it." Twilight panted "You actually did it." Anon puts his arm around Aria "We did it." Anon said "Let's go home. Your sisters have be absolutely worried sick." Aria and her father cross through the portal and were surprised by what they found. It was already night in the human world. The girls were fast asleep, Only Sunset keeping watch. The moment they crossed through the gate Sunny's eyes widen. "Aria!" Sunset yelled Anon had never seen Adagio shoot up so fast. The moment her's and Aria's eyes met, Adagio began to cry. She walked over to her sister and embraced her tightly. "A-Adagio!" Aria squirmed "You're crushing me!" "I missed you" Adagio blubbered "I missed you too just-" she wheezed "Stop squeezing so tight." Adagio loosened her grip on her younger sister and Sonata slowly began to wake up from the commotion. Her face began to blast into a smile from ear to ear, before running full speed and hugging Aria. It was lucky she was so small, otherwise she would've knocked Aria to the ground. Anon smiled just a big. He really pulled it off. It wasn't easy but he did it. Finally his family was back together once again. "Come on girls. Let's get back home." he said "We'll have plenty of time to celebrate tomorrow morning." It didn't take long to put the girls to bed. They had been through the ringer and it had completely exhausted them. After making sure each of them were safely in their beds, Anon's legs became jelly and the strong facade he had been putting up finally crumbled. He sat on the kitchen floor and cried. She was safe. She was really safe. He really thought he'd never see her again. But he did it. And he'd never let it happen again. After crying for a while and getting all the shock out of his system, Anon noticed his pocket was more noisy than usual. He reached into his pocket and found a small note. It read you wanna grab a bite to celebrate? Just you & me? If you do, meet me at the park at 12 sharp.- Sunset Shimmer. He felt some butterflies in his stomach. First time a girl had every been so forward. For a brief moment, he imagined himself in a suit alongside Sunset in a wedding dress before quickly pushing the idea out of his head. Nonsense. She just wanted to celebrate. He shouldn't make this any more than what it was. Anon walked up the stairs heading to his room. Along the way he peaked into the doors of each of the girls. Each of them looked as if they were sleeping a years worth of stress. The type of sleep that comes after your mind is relieved of great hardship. Their mouths hung open, drool pooling on the side of their pillows. He couldn't help but smile. He walked into his bedroom, setting his alarm to make sure he had enough time to get to the little date with Sunny. And get a babysitter too. He just couldn't leave them alone again so soon, even if it were for an hour. If he was being honest with himself, he wanted to sit and watch the three of them while they slept, just to make sure nothing took them in the middle of the night. Losing Aria like that, and that deep sense of helplessness had a profound effect on him. It was hard not to give into the urge to go full helicopter parent. But he knew he had to resist. For their sake as well as his own. Anon woke up close to ten and noticed it was quite silent, all except for Alto, hungrily padding on the door. He walked down stairs and fed him, as well as giving some nice back rubs. Poor thing. He had been so worried about the Aria situation he barely had anytime for ole Alto. "Good boy" he said softly Now that Alto was taken care of, it was time to find a babysitter. And he knew just the girl to do it. Anon opened his phone and dialed up AJ. Hopefully she wasn't to busy with farm matters. "Howdy, Anon. What can I do fer ya?" "I was hoping you could watch the girls for me. I have someone I need to meet for a little bit." Applejack lets out a little giggle "What's so funny?" "Wha?" she said nervously "Oh, uh, nuthin. Of course I'll watch the girls fer ya. How soon do ya need me?" "The sooner the better." "Sure thing. I'll be over there faster than a turkey on thanksgivin'." "Great. Thanks AJ. I owe you big time for this." "Ah shucks, don't mention it. Oh and tell 'er ah said hi." "What do-" But she had already hung up. Did she know about the little get together him and Sunny were having? Was this actually more than just a celebratory lunch between friends? Anon turned around to see Adagio standing in the hallway, eyes half open and a comb wedged in her poof. "Morning sunshine." Dagi mumbles something unintelligible. Clearly she was just barely awake. "I'm going out for a little while. In the meantime AJ will be here to babysit you. Treat her nice ok?" She gave only the slightest nod before making her way to the coffee machine and revving it up. Girl had only one thing on her mind at the moment. Anon went up to take a shower and shave before heading out. He still couldn't get AJ's strange behavior out of his mind. Was Sunset crushing on him? As he approached the destination where he was supposed to meet her, he could see Sunset in her bad girl leather jacket with ripped jeans. He exited the car and went to greet her. The most beautiful smile lights up Shimmer's face. "You came." "Of course I did." he smiled "No way I'd miss this." "So where would you like to go?" "We're not staying here?" "Of course not. I wanted to go somewhere to eat, but I want you to decide." "That's awfully thoughtful of you." She just winks "Any place in mind?" "There's a really good burger place down the road from here. It's in walking distance too." "Sounds good. Let's go." They both begin to walk to the restaurant. It was such a beautiful day out. The sun was shinning, not a cloud in the sky. Even the wind seemed to take a pause, bringing the temperature to a perfect level. The conversation between them, however, was not nearly as polished. Anon had absolutely no idea how to talk to girls and each attempt Sunny made to converse was met with awkwardness. It wasn't until they were sat down in the burger joint that they finally found something to talk about. "So how does it feel to have your family back?" Sunset asked "Beyond amazing. It feels like the weight of the entire world has been lifted from my shoulders. It's amazing really. Before them I didn't really care about much. But it's absolutely true what they say. Becoming a parent really does change you. I would throw myself in front of a speeding care if it meant their happiness. It's a very... strange feeling. Hard to explain. It's a love so deep that it's nearly indescribable." "It must be really nice. I wouldn't mind someone like that in my life honestly." You both look at each other a bit wide eyed before Sunset blushes and fidgets with her fork. She was laying it on so thick that even Anon could see it. After a long, painful silence, he breaks the ice. "So why did you want to bring me here Sunset? Because if it were just to celebrate I'd imagine you'd bring the rest of the gang too." "Well... you see..." Sunset took a deep breath "I was just hoping that maybe we could get to know each other a little better." The thought made him uneasy. After all, his fiance' situation didn't pan out so well. "I don't know Sunset... I've thought about it a lot but I've never been very successful when it comes to dating." "Is that so?" "Yeah. I used to be engaged. And it ended in a rather messy way." "I'm sorry to hear that." Another long pause took hold "Would you ever be interested in trying again?" Sunset asked, hopefully "Maybe one day. But the wound just hasn't healed enough yet." Sunny looked a bit deflated. Anon reached into his wallet and got enough money to cover whatever Sunny would order. "If you'll excuse me." He quickly walked out of the diner and back into the car and slummed down. In truth, he wanted to go out with Sunset. She was a great gal. But he just couldn't for some reason. He just couldn't muster up the courage to be so vulnerable again. It had been so long yet the wound still felt fresh in his mind. He lifted up his head to Sunset walking to his car. She tapped on the window. "I told you Sunset. Now's not the time." "You big liar. Now let me in the passengers seat." she said "We're having lunch together whether you like it or not. I'll take you kicking and screaming if I have too. Also wipe the tears from your eyes. You've got nothing to be sad about." He did so reluctantly. She sure was persistent. He didn't even realize he was crying a bit. "Well Anon, you may not want to now. But you can heal." "Easy for you to say." "Is that so? How about we make a little bet then?" "A bet?" "It's like this: if I can help you move on and heal, you have to be my boyfriend." "And if I win?" "If I can't I'll kiss Rainbow Dash in front of everyone." Anon laughs. Suppose it wouldn't hurt. Nothing hotter than two girls kissing right? "What if I say no?" "Then I call you a chicken. A big ole chicken who's a afraid he'll lose to a girl." "Fine. You're on. It's going to be quite sexy when you kiss Rainbow though. I hope you like being called a lesbian." Sunset giggles "The only kissing that's going to happen is between you and me. One day." They shake on it. The bet was on.