Sunset sat in her room, absently pondering and staring at the trees outside until Applejack knocked and poked her head in. “Hey, Sunset. Pinkie wanted to go check out the town. You wanna come with?”
She snapped out of her doldrums and nodded, tossing the pillow aside. “Yeah, sounds like fun.” Rarity had a point, Sunset needed to spend as much time with Twilight as possible, and she couldn’t do that moping in her room.
Bundled up in warm jackets and scarves, everyone filed out of the house and off the resort. The town of Hollow Shades reminded Sunset of old settler towns she had seen in pictures, rustic and modest. Cars were scarce among the streets, as were any children or teens judging by the abundance of elderly faces.
Snow covered the sidewalk in a fine layer while a light flurry fell on everyone’s heads. They left behind two columns of footprints as they walked along to the town square. Standard tourist shops greeted them, ranging from jewelry, to cheap local trinkets and wood carvings, to an old fashioned post office.
“So, Pinks, where do you wanna go first?” Rainbow asked.
Pinkie’s eyes honed in on the candy store, and she zipped toward it without a word.
Applejack sighed. “Let’s go make sure she doesn’t spend all her money on the first day.”
A sugary display awaited them inside, candy in every shape and color stacked in jars on shelves. Sunset saw Pinkie salivating as she ran down an aisle of gummy worms and gumdrops. She’s found the promised land. Sunset indulged herself and bought a small bag of sour balls and taffy. Rarity offered to buy candy for Pinkie as long as she promised to keep it under fifteen dollars.
It turned out, fifteen dollars could buy a lot of candy.
Pinkie walked out with two huge bags full, most of it being rock candy. “For Maud!” she said with a skip. “She loves rock candy!”
Rarity and Moondancer gravitated toward the jewelry shop next, bringing Twilight and Sunset with them. Sunset gagged at the collection of gaudy, overly-priced earrings and necklaces, and stood near the entrance while her friends shopped.
Twilight approached her wearing a sapphire pendant. “What do you think, Sunset?”
First response: it looks dumb. Second response? Sunset smiled. “I think anything looks good on you, babe.” She saw Rarity give a small nod of approval.
“I agree absolutely,” Moondancer said, coming up behind and unfastening Twilight’s necklace. “But I think these suit you much better. They’re more you.” She handed Twilight a pair of amethyst earrings shaped like stars.
Sunset ground her teeth behind her thin smile. I’m not losing this game today. She followed Twilight to a mirror, watching her try on the earrings. “You know, I think I saw a museum on our way here. You wanna go check it out?”
Twilight vigorously nodded her head, frowning when one of the earrings came out. “Of course. I’d love to learn about the local history.”
Taking her by the arm, Sunset led her out the shop, giving Moondancer a smug grin over her shoulder. Moondancer smiled back, but Sunset could see the muscles in her cheeks straining. She followed after anyway, keeping a fair distance back.
“Are we going to the slopes now?” Rainbow asked as they walked outside.
“Nope, we’re going to the museum!” Twilight said chipperly.
Rainbow turned her head skyward and groaned, letting out a warm cloud of air. “Screw that, I’m going back to the house. Come get me when we’re going to do something fun.” She stomped off, making sure her boots left deeper imprints in the snow.
Twilight frowned. “People like her are the reason museums might go extinct someday.”
“Don’t worry. People like us can help them stay in business.” Sunset winked.
Twilight lips twitched upwards for but a second. “Sunset, I’m sorry about the other day. I didn’t mean to freak out or upset you. The age thing is…” She made a flailing motion with her hand. “Pretty weird. But, I’ll get over it. You’re right; we’re both mature enough to handle this.”
“It’s fine. I know this magic stuff is… tough to handle sometimes.”
“That’s why I’m trying to understand it. I just… wasn’t expecting another curveball.” Twilight looked away, no longer meeting Sunset’s eye.
Sunset ignored the deep fluttering in her core. “Well the good news is, I’m pretty sure that’s the last of them. You know all of my dark secrets,” she said jokingly before the revelation sank in. Twilight knew everything bad about her but was still here…
Twilight snuggled up closer to Sunset. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
Sunset’s playful smirk returned. “But I feel like I don’t know all of yours.”
She rolled her eyes, but a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. “That’s because I don’t have any dark secrets to tell.”
“But you do have secrets.”
“Hey look, we’re here!” Twilight pointed to the museum entrance, flanked by two life-size bear statues. “I wonder what we’ll learn inside! We won’t know standing around out here in the cold!” She took the lead, practically dragging Sunset up the steps and into the warm building.
They walked across the dark wood floor to the reception counter, Sunset casually glancing at the tapestries and portraits on display in the front room. “Tickets for two—”
“Three!” Moondancer said, hurrying up from behind.
“Oh, Moony…” Twilight shuffled her feet. “I didn’t know you were still behind us.”
Moondancer pouted. “Oh no, am I interrupting some personal time?”
“Yes,” Sunset said.
“No! I mean, not officially… I mean… well…” Twilight trailed off, looking between Sunset and Moondancer.
“Don’t worry, I promise I’ll give you two your needed space. I just want to learn about the culture as well.” Moondancer stepped around them and paid for all three tickets before skipping along.
Sunset gently pulled her arm out of Twilight’s hold and looked down at her, trying her hardest not to narrow her eyes. “Out of curiosity… have you had a talk with Moondancer yet?”
Twilight drummed her fingers together. “That may be something I’ve neglected to do.”
“Twilight.”
“I’m sorry! I just… don’t know how to bring it up.”
“It’s easy.” Sunset slapped on a fake smile. “‘Hey, Moondancer, just in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m dating Sunset Shimmer, who’s totally smart and hot. Which means I’m no longer available for your totally obvious affections.’ Then you do that cute thing where you push your glasses up.”
Twilight pushed her glasses up. “I would never use ‘totally’ in a sentence like that.”
Sunset steered her into the next room. “So I ad-libbed a bit. Point is, please talk to Moondancer before we go home.”
“I will, I promise.” She turned around and looked up at Sunset. “But are you sure you two are getting along?”
Sunset spun her around again and kept guiding her forward. “We’re getting along just fine.” Her stomach churned at the lie. “She’s almost part of the group.” She tightened her throat to keep the bile down.
The two of them took a self-guided tour through the museum, Moondancer popping in on them at random intervals. They read documents and saw paintings from the town’s founding almost two-hundred years ago, looked at muskets and cannons used in wartime, and examined tapestries and other artifacts from the indigenous people who had lived on the mountain before Hollow Shades was built.
Being only the size of a large house, the museum only had a total of six rooms with things worth exploring. The last room Twilight and Sunset entered was filled with more statues and carvings, each with their own plaque. They browsed the collections of animals and artistic carvings before Sunset stopped before another model of the white wolf she had seen in the lobby of the resort. It’s blue eyes were just like the other one, and stared into her soul.
She looked the plaque. “Harbinger. An omen that haunts the mountains. Appears before the strike of tragedy.” Sunset frowned. “Boy, that’s heartwarming.”
“I find it quite interesting.”
Sunset jumped and spun to glare at Moondancer. “We really need to put a bell on you.”
Moondancer put on a thoughtful look. “Musical accompaniment could improve my entrances.”
“Nevermind.” Sunset turned for the exit. “Come on, I’m sure Rainbow is bored out of her skull by now.”
The white silhouette of the sun could be seen through the clouds, and the snowfall had decreased to tiny flakes. The lights around town began to flicker on, guiding the girls back to the resort.
As they walked around the main lobby and into the circle of houses, a wad of fresh snow collided with Sunset’s face, knocking her off balance and onto her bottom.
“Rainbow did it!”
“Shut up, Pinkie!”
Sunset scooped up a handful of snow as she bounced back to her feet and flung it at Rainbow, hitting her in the gut. Sunset ducked under another snowball, which carried on to hit Twilight. She corrected her askew glasses and grabbed a handful to fling at Applejack.
Moondancer took a step back out of the escalating snow war. “Well, I can see you girls are in the middle of something, so I’ll just—” Six snowballs pelted her, with Sunset’s scoring a direct hit to the face. “Very well then.” She bent down to get some snow, getting struck again by Sunset when she came up.
It’s just like they say, Sunset thought as she rolled another snowball, revenge is a dish best served cold. Boy, that sounded lame even up here. She attacked Moondancer again, but the performer had gotten her bearings and gracefully ducked out of the way. She returned fire, catching Sunset on the shoulder. Sunset made sure not every snowball ended up in Moondancer’s direction, occasionally aiming for Rainbow or Twilight, but for the next twenty minutes, she and Moondancer waged a cold war.
There were few places to hide out in the icy circle, leaving the girls exposed to every attack that came their way. Sunset dodged and weaved as best as she could, being careful to keep her traction on the slippery ground. Her jacket acted as a good buffer against the cold slush pelting her.
Between the battle cries and shouts of surprise, Sunset thought she heard a wolf howl in the gathering shadows. She paid it little mind as she ran across the battlefield to get some distance from Rarity and Applejack’s conjoined attacks. The heel of her boot jerked to the side, throwing her balance into disarray and leaving her at the mercy of gravity. She fell face forward into the gravel, her forehead taking most of the blow.
The laughter immediately deceased, and she felt someone quickly raise her into a sitting position. “Ouch, you okay, Sunset?” Rainbow asked.
Aside from the sudden dizziness, Sunset felt fine. “I think so?”
Before she could raise a hand to inspect the damage, Twilight ran over and pulled a tissue from her pocket, applying it to Sunset’s forehead. “You’re bleeding!” She pulled the tissue away to show a deep crimson stain.
It was only after Sunset saw the blood that she felt the sting of the cut. “Oh, wow.” She let Twilight lead her inside while the tissue was reapplied.
Shining and Cadence were snuggling close together in front of the central fire pit when the eight girls tromped in. Shining bolted up and hurried to Sunset’s side. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Sunset said with a wave of her hand. “I slipped on the ice. It’s just a little cut.”
“A little cut?” Twilight said, her voice rising. “You might need stitches! Look how much you’re bleeding!”
“Here. let me see.” Shining guided Sunset to the couch and peeled the stained rag off. He dabbed the cut every time it overflowed with blood. “It’s deep, but not deep enough to need stitches. You will need some disinfectant and a good band aid though.”
Moondancer drifted to the front door. “Allow me! I’ll go see if the front desk has quality medical supplies.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, then winced, realizing she had injured the skeptical side of her face.
Twilight sat next to her. “You’re okay? You’re not light headed, are you?”
“Sparky, I’m fine. I told you, it was just a little cut.”
Cadence came over with a fresh wad of tissues. “I think it’s just a touch more than a ‘little’ cut. Are you sure she’ll be okay?”
“Yeah, it’s better than it looks. She might be lightheaded for a bit though,” Shining said.
“Well then, now would be a perfect time to start dinner!” Cadence clapped her hands together and hurried off to the kitchen.
“Here, Miss Cadence, let me help with that!” Applejack followed after.
Twilight took the paper towels and dabbed at Sunset’s cut, and when Moondancer returned after a lengthy ten minute trip, Twilight applied the disinfectant and put the band-aid on. Sunset relished the flash of contempt in Moondancer’s eyes.
Dinner for ten took a while, but Applejack and Cadence made a wonderful meal of venison stew (and a lentil for Sunset and Fluttershy), salad, bread, and an apple pie for dessert. The dining table couldn’t seat all of them, so they gathered around on the couch, turning on the central fire pit.
With warm food, warm fire, and warm Twilight pressed against her, Sunset forgot about her new injury. The girls and Shining talked about things they had seen so far in town. Fluttershy had been to a herbalist shop selling natural remedies to colds and pains. Shining and Cadence had explored the forest, seeing several deer, and if Cadence was to be believed, the shadow of a bear.
“It was just the shadow of a bush,” Shining said, taking her empty plate away.
“I know what I saw!”
Moondancer dabbed her mouth with her napkin and set her plate aside. “Speaking of animals, I learned of an interesting folk legend about a wolf that haunts these mountains.”
“Oooh, oooh, scary story!” Pinkie bounced in her seat, then settled down and got cozy between Applejack and Rainbow.
“You mean that Harbinger wolf?” Sunset asked, raising her other eyebrow.
“The very same.” Moondancer stood up and moved in front of the fire, throwing a dramatic shadow over her. She lifted her hands and spread her fingers. “The white wolf, known only as Harbinger,” she said in a mystifying voice.
“Said to be a manifestation of negative energy. It appears as a bad omen, bringing with it tragedy or ruin.” She raised her arms up, then slowly lowered them, twiddling her fingers. “Last it appeared, a blizzard befell the town, blocking all roads coming in and out.”
She hunched her shoulders and curled her fingers. “It feeds off the strife that comes with the tragedy it brings, and is drawn to the darkness within people’s hearts.” Her eyes fell on Sunset. “So beware. If you see it, you can only blame yourself for the tragedy that follows.”
She made a small curtsy at the polite applause given and fell back into her seat on Twilight’s other side. Sunset rolled her eyes at Moondancer’s theatrics, but thought of the two wolf statues she had seen. Their eyes had seemed so alive. Odd that they’d keep a statue of the bringer of doom in a hotel though. Even if it is for tourists.
Slices of apple pie were passed around before Applejack gave Pinkie command of their night activities. With no board game big enough for all of them, Pinkie had them all play card games, ranging from Go Fish to Blackjack. Shining watched her with a raised eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. It went a long way in helping his win streak.
Afterward, the girls broke up for individual night activities. Sunset helped Rarity braid Fluttershy’s hair while the others engaged in small talk and board games.
“You don’t think Moondancer’s story was true, do you? Fluttershy asked softly, playing with the folds of her shirt.
“Please,” Sunset scoffed, “she’s just trying to be dramatic. The ‘darkness within people’s hearts’? Sounds like something out of Rainbow’s cheesy video games.”
Rarity picked up a pin and neatly pushed it through Fluttershy’s pink mane. “I’m sorry, but don’t you come from a land where friendship can be weaponized with magical necklaces?”
“I still stand by my point.” Sunset didn’t doubt the possibility of a magic wolf existing or having existed in the past, but she was positive Moondancer had embellished some part of her tale.
Pinkie made them all mugs of hot chocolate, then Shining ordered them to bed so they would have an early day at the slopes. Twilight gave Sunset a kiss goodnight, then gave an extra soft one on her band-aid. They went their separate ways, Sunset following Rarity and her self-satisfied smirk.
“Looks like you two are back to normal,” Rarity said, digging out her pajamas. “I’m guessing you talked it out?”
Sunset pulled out her toothbrush and shrugged. “Sort of. She said she was sorry for freaking out, I told her it was okay and that I had no more dark secrets. So, you know…”
Rarity’s jaw twitched. “Maybe it’s because I wasn’t there for the full context, but it sounds like you did less of smoothing things out and just sort of… rolled it up and pushed it to the side.”
“Why talk about what we already know? This whole thing is weird, she acknowledged it, I acknowledged it. I think we’re on the same page.”
This time, the entire left side of Rarity’s face twitched. She stood up, pajamas in hand. “Fine, have it your way. You make it quite easy to believe you’re not really older than the rest of us.” She turned her nose up and made for the bathroom.
Sunset looked after her, head tilted in confusion. Realizing it wasn’t worth the effort this late at night, she changed into her pajamas and prepared for bed.
As she laid down, arms behind her head, thoughts of the day continued to move about. Here she was, miles away from the only city she had ever known in this world. There was certainly a thrill to it, but it wasn’t as life-changing as Sunset thought it would be. Maybe it was because all her friends were with her.
Home is where the heart is and all that.
She thought of Twilight, and Rarity’s disgruntled words creeped up on her. What more did she want out of Sunset? Twilight was trying to look past the magical weirdness… well, she was trying to study it for her understanding, but that was almost the same thing.
Is she trying to understand it so she doesn’t feel… different from me? Sunset turned over and stared at the wall. She couldn’t do anything to change who she was, as much as she wanted to. Despite what Rarity thought, talking it out wasn’t going to do anything other than establish what Sunset and Twilight already knew.
Sunset’s eyes slid shut, Rarity’s light, rhythmic snoring putting her to sleep. Me and Twilight are talking again. That’s good enough for me.
She opened her eyes, staring into a matching pair. Sunset slid her hand across a polished floor, watching her reflection mirror her actions. She stood up and looked around, finding herself on the walls and ceilings, dozens of her moving their heads left and right.
“You seem lost, little sun,” a cold voice said.
A pair of hands grabbed Sunset’s ankles, and she looked down to see a sharp toothed version of herself through the floor. Sunset kicked and struggled, but only managed to lose her balance and hit the ground.
“We’ve had this conversation before: you can’t run from yourself!” The mirror Sunset’s eyes turned black as she dragged the real one down. Sunset tried to pull herself up, but the grip was too powerful, and she fell, watching the other Sunset smirk and laugh.
The world turned dark around her, and while the other Sunset had stopped yanking on her legs, she felt crushed by the shadows surrounding her. “Twilight’s right, you know.” Two balls of fire exploded into life on either side of Sunset. They glided forward before moving in opposite directions, leaving trails behind them. “You’re just too different from her—from all of them.” The twin fires came back together at the tip of her wild hair, and Sunset beheld a fiery outline of her demon.
Sunset tried to argue, but when she opened her mouth, darkness poured in, coating her tongue in acrid bitterness.
“They’re all still goody two-shoes. They haven’t sinned the way you have! They haven’t tampered with black magic and tried to take over the world!”
“My… magic’s… good now!” Sunset sputtered out.
Her demon sneered at her, the fire burning a darker shade of red. “Ha! Cover it up with as much glitter and sparkles you want! You and I both know what we’re really capable of! What I’m capable of! And since you won’t go back to it on your own…” The face rushed forward, banishing the darkness but leaving Sunset smothered in the searing flames. “I’ll have to make you use it by force!”
The inferno swirled around Sunset, slowly sucking away her oxygen. She grabbed her throat and fell to her knees, taking desperate, shallow breaths. The fire dissipated, allowing her to suck down a lungful of ash. She coughed and heaved, the foul air stinging her eyes. When the tears subsided and she could see, a fresh wave nearly overtook her.
Canterlot High and the surrounding neighborhood were nothing more than charred skeletons with some buildings still burning. Smoke rose into the blood red sky, blocking out the sun. The grass had all burned away, replaced with pools of magma.
“I can’t wait to burn down everything you care about.”
Sunset’s trembling legs dragged her through the demolished courtyard of the school. Lying amongst the rubble were all of her friends, broken, bleeding, or staring absently into the sky. Her shaking grew worse with each one she passed. Applejack and Fluttershy. Rainbow and Pinkie. Rarity and Flash. All of the Lulamoons.
Twilight sat slumped against the broken entryway, her head bowed. Sunset ran up to her, breaking into hysterical sobs as she drew near. “Twilight! Twilight, please don’t be gone too! Please!”
Twilight dragged her head up, her eyes robbed of all hope and joy. “Why, Sunset? Why did you do this?”
Sunset rocketed up from her bed, letting out a short yell before stuffing her fist into her mouth. She looked over at Rarity, still sleeping with her beauty mask on.
The vivid sights and smells of her dream rushed back, and Sunset kept her hand over her mouth as she jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. She managed to force everything back down, but her skin remained sweaty and clammy, and her hands shook violently. Her reflection in the mirror shared her wide, bloodshot eyes. Sunset remembered what her last reflection had done, and quickly backed out of the bathroom.
She retreated to the kitchen to get a glass of water for her barren throat. Her hands still shook, splashing the water in the cup, but she made sure not to drop it. Transitioning to the living room, she huddled on the couch, keeping her knees tucked against her chest.
I don’t understand. I should be over it now. I screwed up, I know I did. But I served my punishment, right? I understand friendship. I understand harmony! My magic at the concert… Sunset pressed a hand to her face. Had she been right the entire time? Had she defeated the Sirens, only to leave the world vulnerable to something more dangerous?
Sunset could hear the laughter in the back of her head, feel the heat of the flames against her skin. “No, I’m good now. I have to be.”
“Sunset?”
She jumped, splashing herself with what little water remained in her cup. “Twilight!” Sunset looked over the couch, finding her girlfriend standing at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in a nightshirt and pants. “What are you doing up?”
Twilight shuffled over. “I’m not sure actually. I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. I just felt like I needed to get up and come downstairs.” She sat down next to Sunset, but left a little space between them. “Why are you up?”
Sunset cracked an uneven smile and shook her empty glass. “Just needed some water.”
Even in the dark, Sunset could see Twilight’s skeptical look. She reached over and put a hand over Sunset’s. “You’re shaking. And you’re burning up.”
Sunset slid her hand out of Twilight’s hold and curled in on herself again. “I feel cold,” she said. She had no energy to play her usual game.
Twilight moved to the fireplace and turned it on, keeping the flames low. She returned to the couch, settling closer to Sunset. “What’s wrong?”
A simple question with a simple answer. But Sunset’s tongue stuck to her mouth like glue. Instead, she leaned onto Twilight’s shoulders and closed her eyes, unable to look at the fire.
“It’s funny how things repeat themselves,” Sunset said carefully, her tongue allowing her to talk as long as she danced around the subject.
“What do you mean?”
“I remember at the sleepover… at Halloween. My first sleepover. You found me in the kitchen. You found me at probably my lowest point.”
Twilight lovingly ran her fingers through Sunset’s hair. “I didn’t really know what to do. I just wanted you to feel better.”
Sunset hummed at the touch of Twilight’s fingers. “This reminds me of that night.” Her voice grew softer. “That’s the first time I revealed my secrets to you.” It started to quiver. “Maybe it’s the first time I realized I might have liked you. I just didn’t want to admit it.”
Then, she was crying into Twilight’s shoulders while Twilight fully embraced her. “I thought it was over, Twilight! I thought I was done having nightmares! But they just keep coming—she keeps coming! Over and over again to haunt me! I see everything on fire! I lose all control of myself! I see all of you girls, gone, dead!”
“Sshhh.” Twilight rocked her back and forth. “It’s just a bad dream, Sunset. It can’t hurt you.”
“Yes it can! I know it can! It’s too real! It’s not just a dream, it’s a prediction!” Sunset clawed at the front of Twilight’s shirt. “I knew it—I knew using magic was a bad idea! It’s like she’s sitting right there! Right on the edge of my heart. One mistake… one mistake and I’ll… I’m scared, okay? Scared of what’ll happen next.”
Twilight lifted Sunset’s head up, tears filling her own eyes. “But, Sunset, your magic is good. You proved that.”
Sunset shook her head. “It’s still magic. It’s still power. That’s all she wants: power. And I gave her an opening.”
“Sunset… you’re talking like she’s a separate person.”
As far as Sunset was concerned, she was. Her demon represented everything she tried to push away. She was nothing but a shadow of a past life. A shadow that had her claws deep in Sunset’s heart. “She’s my darkness, Twilight. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t get her to go away.”
Twilight brought her in for another hug, and moved her mouth to Sunset’s ear. “She might be darkness. But you, Sunset Shimmer, you’re in control. And you’re light. I know you are, and that will never change. You’re the brightest light I know, and I… love the way you shine on all of us.”
“Twilight…”
“And we’re here to help you, too. We care about you too much to let anything bad happen to you.” Twilight brought them face-to-face again. “We’re here for you. We’re your lights when you can’t see your own. We won’t let the darkness get you.”
Sunset saw several things in Twilight’s eyes. Her shocked and scared reflection, honesty, hope, compassion… and love. It was just like Halloween. Except for one difference.
Their own gravity brought them closer together, and they closed their eyes as their lips made contact. Sunset tasted the salt of both hers and Twilight’s tears, as well as the sweet mint from her toothpaste. She started slow, kneading and caressing Twilight’s lips before pressing on into her mouth. They fell over with Sunset on top, her legs straddling Twilight’s waist.
Sunset ran her hands up and down Twilight’s cheeks while Twilight played with Sunset’s shirt, slowly moving up her stomach to her chest. Both of them made soft moans at the other’s touch and the increasing intensity of their kisses. The hot, primal longing welled up in Sunset again, and here in front of the fireplace, with snow swirling outside, she thought both of them might be ready to give into it.
Go ahead. Deflower her precious Twilight.
The burning desire turned cold, and Sunset ripped herself off of Twilight, sitting up and panting while keeping a hand over her heart.
Twilight lifted her head up. “What’s wrong?” Sunset heard the hint of disappointment in her voice.
As her heart rate fell back to normal, the mocking snickers of Sunset’s demon grew fainter. Sunset slumped against the couch and closed her eyes. She couldn’t do it. Sunset wanted to believe going all the way with Twilight would be on her own terms, but with her demon floating around, all it felt like was a victory for her dark lust, and a slight against Moondancer.
That’s not fair. To either of us. She opened her eyes, Twilight still watching her with concern. “It’s nothing,” Sunset watched the flickering flames in the fireplace. “I just… don’t want to get caught by your brother. I’d hate to ruin the trip for everyone else because we got in trouble.”
“O-oh… yeah, I guess that would be bad.”
Sunset placed a hand against Twilight’s cheek again. “Thanks for being here though. I really appreciate it.”
Twilight smiled, her face glowing in the fire light.
Go ahead, say it.
Sunset opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her conversation with Rarity returned to her. Saying those words were a giant step forward. Sunset wanted there to be weight behind them, not just a spur of the moment passion like she almost had just seconds before. Thinking on it, Sunset was glad nothing had happened between her and Twilight.
Yes, Sunset wanted weight to her words. At the same time, while she knew this wasn’t some passing teenage romance, she couldn’t anchor Twilight down with those three words. She had to be ready to let her go in a few months. She had to be ready to make the cut as clean as possible.
She still found herself lying down next to Twilight on the couch, settling into the crook of her neck. They wrapped their arms around each other and closed their eyes. Sunset was just happy to hold onto Twilight a little while longer.