//------------------------------//
// From Past to Future 
// Story: The Sunlight In Her Eyes 
// by DigitalPhoenix 
//------------------------------//

"Sunset, wait!"

The slight breeze carried her cry throughout the orchard. Sunset stopped momentarily at the sound, but then resumed towards her vehicle. Twilight ran to catch up with her, placing her hand on Sunset's shoulder when she reached her. Sunset turned to remove the hand, only to stop when her eyes met Twilight's.

Twilight didn't know when she had started letting the tears slip,but by now she didn't care about the rivers streaming down her face. If anything else, Twilight needed to let Sunset know how she felt, and she had to do it without... "Please, take off the pendant for a moment."

Sunset's lack of response only served to weaken Twilight's resolve further, her arms slowly slinking back to her sides while the rest of her body retreated into itself. She was about to turn away and leave, but a weak chuckle caught her attention.

"...I stopped wearing the pendant when my powers got out of control." Sunset pulled the neck of her shirt to show the lack of the geode around her neck. "It helped, for a little bit. Then everything just came back, full swing."

Words could not express both Twilight's confusion and her disappointment, if she could've even gotten any out at the time. Now what do I do? Her only chance to convince Sunset of how she truly felt was if Sunset had no means to confuse each other's emotions. "C-can... can y-you control it y-yet?"

"No, I can't, thanks for asking," Sunset replied in a rather cold tone.

Think, Twilight, think! Twilight pondered, not put off by Sunset's distant attitude. There had to be someway to help Sunset differentiate between each others emotions. How did it work that afternoon in my room?

An idea formed inside her head; one perhaps a bit too scientific in its approach, but it was all she had. "How do you feel right now?"

"Oh, where do I start? Angry, afraid, hurt, betrayed, confused, shall I keep going?"

"What do you feel the most?"

Sunset turned slightly to look at Twilight. "Is this for more of your research? Cause if it is I don't want-"

"FORGET ABOUT MY RESEARCH!" Twilight shouted at her, her own guilt and sorrow bringing a fresh stream of tears to  her eyes. "This isn't about research, it never was about research! I wanted to help you! I wanted to help, so desperately, because I knew you were still aching inside; that despite the show you put on for everybody, you're afraid. Afraid of everything you've done, everyone you've hurt, and that someday, despite everything you've accomplished to make up for it, everyone will turn their back on you for it."

Sunset attempted to speak, only to be cut off by Twilight.

"You think I couldn't possibly understand the pain you're going through, but you're wrong, because you force me to understand whether you want to or not. I've felt everything, every doubt and every sorrow, since you came to my house.
I didn't know it at the time, but you were broadcasting your emotions to me, all of them. Sometimes it was just a small nib at the back of my mind, sometimes I couldn't ignore, and others..." she paused, thinking back to when she confessed her love for Sunset. "Others, I believe, and I hope, coincided with my own and caused them to skyrocket."

Twilight's legs gave out under her as she resigned herself to just ball up on the ground, her knees held to her face as she poured more tears into the fabric of her leggings. "All I wanted was to help. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think about anything else. It broke my heart to know that my best friend - that my girlfriend - was in so much pain. That, on top of all the problems we could see, there were even more that we couldn't. I can't bear to lose you to your own sorrow."

Twilight fell silent, her eyes swollen and red, yet still letting tears flow. It didn't even occur to her to try and sense what Sunset had been feeling that whole time; she doubted she could even if she tried. All she knew was that, after a few brief moments, another set of sobs joined her own.

Twilight looked up to see Sunset's head hanging down, small droplets falling from her face to the ground. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. Seeing this, Twilight brought herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around Sunset, one wrapping around the back of her waist, the other cradling Sunset's head to rest on her shoulder. She gasped lightly when she felt a pair of arms tightly circle her own back, but slowly settled into Sunset's embrace, a warmth blossoming into her own heart.

The two girls held each other in place, slightly rocking back and forth to help console the other. Twilight then slowly pulled her head away to look Sunset in the eyes.

"So I'll ask again... how do you feel?" Twilight could feel Sunset tense at the question. She knew it wouldn't be easy. Sunset had such a storm of emotions within her, that to try and simplify it to one feeling was nigh impossible.

This was where Twilight's theory came into play. She closed her eyes and thought back to all her favorite moments with Sunset, and how her love for her companion grew through every ordeal they faced. She thought of everything she loved about Sunset; her confidence, her compassion, her intellect, everything about her set Twilight's heart ablaze, a fire that she hoped was fueling Sunset's own.

She opened her eyes to find Sunset staring right at her, aware of what she had been trying to do.

"You... you really think of me like that?"

Twilight brought her hand to Sunset's cheek, gently caressing the soft skin. "That and so much more," she replied as she leaned and captured Sunset's lips.

Twilight couldn't even begin to describe the sensation she felt when they were locked in that embrace. Their first shared kiss had been gentle and comforting; this one was much more passionate. Twilight slightly tilted her head, prompting Sunset to deepen the kiss. Twilight held onto that union for several moments, running her hands along Sunset's back in small, elicit circles. When they parted, Twilight laid her head upon Sunset's shoulder, never wanting to let go for even a second.

"I love you, so, so much. I don't think I could ever imagine myself without you, and I never, ever want to break your heart again." Twilight choked on a few remaining sobs. "I'm so sorry, Sunset. I just wanted to be everything you need."

Sunset slowly ran her hand through Twilight's hair, consoling the young girl beneath her. "I love you too, Twily, and you're already everything I could ever need."

Twilight didn't know if it was Sunset's confession, reassurance, or the fact that she used that pet name again, but whichever it was sent her into another bout of tears. They stood there together for what felt like ages, until another voice broke them from their isolated stupor.

"Ahem, uh, are we interruptin' somethin'?"

Both Twilight and Sunset turned to find Applejack and the rest of their friends standing a good few feet away, with Pinkie bouncing this way and that to get a better look at what was going on.

Sunset was the first of the two to break the awkward silence. "Uh, how long have you guys been standing there?"

"Oh, long enough, dear, to know that you have something important to tell us," Rarity replied.

"Long enough, Rarity? We've been here since Twilight shouted something about research," Rainbow remarked, earning blushes from the two girls in question.

Well, more than just a blush from Twilight. "You've been there the whole time and you didn't say anything??"

"It looked like you guys were having a moment," Rainbow replied.

"What I think Rainbow is trying to say is that it looked like you two were dealing with something rather personal, and that it would've been rude to interrupt," Rarity corrected, to which Rainbow stuck her tongue out at her. "Ugh! Honestly, Rainbow, can you be any more childish?"

While Rainbow and Rarity continued on their own little argument, Fluttershy approached Twilight and Sunset. "I'm really happy for you two. Although if you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened?"

Twilight decided to speak up for the both of them. "It's something that we'd like to just keep between us for now. We've had a rough enough night as it is, and I don't think we'd want to pour our hearts out on anything else right now."

Pinkie suddenly sprung up between the three girls. "Enough chitter-chatter, you're late for your own transfer celebration, and I intend to make up as much of that time as possible! Onward, to the barn!" She effortlessly bounded her way back to the site of the party, the other girls following behind. Sunset pulled Twilight close, holding her at her side.

"Thanks for keeping things between us. I still don't think I'm ready to tell them about Equestria just yet." She felt Twilight snuggle into her side. "You know, you're too cute sometimes."

"I try," Twilight replied, earning a soft round of giggles from the two of them. Twilight suddenly felt a small tug on her sleeve, and turned to find Fluttershy had hung back with them.

"Can I ask you something, Twilight?"

"Sure, what's up?"

Fluttershy slowly started fidgeting with her sleeves. "How did you do it? I mean, how did you... you know... admit..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk forming across her face. "Got somebody on your mind, Fluttershy?"

"Yeah," she replied, a small rainbow streak flashing across her mind's eye.





The party wasn't quite what Twilight had been expecting. It was a rather small affair, only including themselves and Vinyl as a DJ. The hay bales that littered the barn were stacked up against the walls, both to make room for a dance floor and to make sure the flashing lights within didn't wake the rest of the Apple family. A few small tables were set closer to the barn's entrance, each with a designer tablecloth that mirrored each of the guests. Several strands of lights hung overhead, each colored somewhere between blue, purple and pink. The centerpiece of the affair was a large banner hung across the rafters with "Welcome to Canterlot High" written in what Twilight could only assume was a rather large purple crayon.

Applejack and Rainbow were currently having a dance-off, with Pinkie and Vinyl as judges. Fluttershy was sitting with Rarity at one of the tables, discussing the former's possible admission into the fashion club when school started at the end of the month. Twilight was content to stand close to the entrance, the cool summer air wafting through her hair. Sunset joined her, two cups of punch in her hands.

"Here you go, Twily." She handed one of the cups to her girlfriend. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing." Twilight eyed the cup suspiciously. "Should I be worried?"

"It's not that kind of party, Twi." Both of them shared a giggle at the joke before returning their attention to the burgeoning night sky. The sun had just passed below the horizon, the stars slowly twinkling to life.

Pinkie noticed them at the entrance, and whispered something to Vinyl, to which the mute girl nodded. She went to her station and swapped out the records as the last song finished playing, trading out the head-banging party music for something slower and more melodious, much to Rainbow's chagrin. Rarity, on the other hand, squealed in delight at the more formal repertoire, immediately pulling Applejack in to dance with her.

Sunset also noted the change in music, as well as Pinkie's smirk towards her. She nodded to the party girl, then turned to Twilight. "You wanna dance?"

Twilight looked up at her. "Oh, I don't really know how to dance."

"Then I'll teach you," Sunset declared as she took Twilight's hand and brought her to the dance floor.

Twilight couldn't even remember where she was for most of it. Whether Sunset held her close or twirled her all around, all that could stay in Twilight's perception was Sunset. Beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, confident, great artist, great musician, and now great dancer.

Add another one to the list at home.