//------------------------------// // Chapter 2- Two's Company, Three's Love // Story: Terms of Forgiveness // by Fylifa //------------------------------// “It looks like someone ripped off the button for your buzzer for whatever reason. Though the circuit wasn’t working with it, anyway,” Twilight remarked after Sunset opened the door for her. She held out the button in the palm of her hand. “That one belongs to my neighbor actually… why did you bring it up here?” “I thought I could fix it if you had a screwdriver handy,” Twilight said sheepishly. Sunset shook her head, but it was hard keeping the smile off her face. “You know it’s the landlord’s job to fix that sort of stuff.” Twilight fiddled with her glasses. “Like he cares. It’ll take me five minutes, tops. Just let m—oh! Hello?” Her sheepish expression turning into embarrassment when she realized someone else was in the room. Celestia made a small wave with her hand. “Hello, dear.” Sunset sighed and backed away from the door to let Twilight in. “Sorry for not picking up the phone. I was visiting Equestria and well… as you can see, I brought someone back with me.” Twilight looked at the alike haired Sunset and Celestia, blinking owlishly behind her glasses. “Sunny, you never talk about your family! Hello miss…” Celestia glanced over at Sunset, a smile starting on her lips before taking Twilight’s hand. “It’s Sunshimmer.” Sunset glared at her from behind Twilight and mouthed ‘really?’ Though Sunset’s expression only made Celestia’s smile twitch dangerously close to a smirk. Oblivious to the stares, Twilight gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. “Yeah, uhh, so Sunshimmer here. She’s my—oof!” Sunset was interrupted when Twilight swatted her shoulder. “You never told me that you were one too!” Twilight cried. “Umm… one of what?” “A female junior! You’re named after your mom! I thought I was the only one in this town.” “My… Mom…” Sunset managed. Mentally, she’d danced around that particular idea and intended to introduce Celestia as an aunt or big sister, but Twilight was already getting carried away. “Hello, Miss Shimmer! This must sound like such a silly thing to get excited over, but my name is—” Celestia raised a hand and finished Twilight’s sentence for her. “Twilight Sparkle. Sunset often talks about you.” Twilight stiffened beside the still agape Sunset. “She does? What did she say?” “She said you two formed a bond after combating magic and corruption together. That saving you gave her joy that she was finally doing good.” Celestia smiled at Sunset. “She also mentioned that she felt you were the best thing in this world for her. Someone who can see her for who she is and not her past.” Twilight blushed. “Sunny, y-you told your mom all of that?” Sunset’s eye twitched, recognizing the line from her Friendship Report. “I wrote it. I guess I didn’t realize how it would sound out loud.” Twilight smiled. “It’s okay to be a little flowery if you needed to convince her.” She turned towards Celestia. “Sunny is the most helpful and generous person I know. Even if she supposedly has a history as a bully.” “Supposedly?” Sunset asked with an arched brow. “I know it’s anecdotal, but it’s been nearly two years, and I still haven’t seen you being negative to anyone. Data points don’t lie.” “I think you’re biased, professor,” Sunset said with some playfulness. Twilight grinned and turned back to Celestia. “But in any case, I’m thrilled to know your daughter.” “It’s wonderful to see that my little Sunset has made some very special friends,” Celestia said. The princess’ tone had a certain knowing quality that Sunset blushed over. Desperately searching for a change in topic, Sunset spoke up. “Hey, Twilight, how is the motorcycle doing? Did you finish working on it?” Twilight brightened and after a brief digging in her bag brought out a set of keys. “I did! It was why I came over in the first place. I hope you like how it looks.” Sunset put her hand out for the keys. “I’m sure it’s fine. You saved me a ton getting it tuned up at the shop… hmm?” Twilight was still holding onto the keys. “I also did something else to it,” Twilight said, hesitantly. “Oh no,” Sunset groaned. “Don’t tell me you made it do something crazy like fly.” “Actually…” “Twilight! Celestia help me if you’ve—” Twilight blinked. “Huh? The principal?” Behind her, the Celestia straightened. If she still had her pony ears, they probably would have been perked. Sunset rubbed her face. It was going to be a long day. “Nevermind that. What did you do to my bike?” “I gave it a sidecar. To make it easier to drive around together. It’d let me read and bring things on longer trips.” Twilight looked over at Celestia. “And it’d help take one of our friends out when there’s three of us. Like today even! We could all go out together instead of using the bus.” “A sidecar, eh?” Sunset mulled it over. Like many of Twilight’s suggestions, it was practical, even if a small part of Sunset’s rebellious nature cringed at the idea of puttering around slow on her motorcycle. “We can see how it goes. You sound like you have a place in mind?” “Heh,” Twilight said and fiddled with her glasses again at being found out. “There’s a movie at the mall I thought we could go see.” She glanced again at Celestia. “Miss Shimmer, do you enjoy fantasy stuff? Sword and sorcery?” Celestia’s lip quirked. “I’ve used both in my time, yes.” Sunset was reminded of the stain glass window in Celestia’s throne room depicting her in full battle regalia. “Twilight is talking about watching a kind of… well, we have projectors in Equestria, just imagine a huge one of a recorded theater play.” “If it’s something you two do for fun. I wouldn’t mind seeing it. Every step here is an experience.” Twilight looked at them. “Huh! Usually, I have to explain the fantasy part, not the movie part. This might be interesting. You could tell me how accurate compared to, you know, actual magic land.” “Sounds like a plan. Where did you leave the bike?” Sunset asked. “Oh, just around the corner. I’ll bring it around,” Twilight said, smiling with enthusiasm. She made ready to leave but paused, tipping her head back at Sunset. Sunset leaned forward then stopped, keenly aware of Celestia observing them. She squeezed Twilight’s hand instead. To her credit, Twilight glanced at Celestia and then gave Sunset a nod of understanding. “Right, I’ll go get it. Be back in a few.” When Twilight left, Sunset sighed and lingered at the door. One minefield cleared. “Were you two going to kiss? She seemed like she was expecting one,” Celestia mused. “You…!” Sunset sputtered, cheeks burning as she turned on Celestia. “You’re one to talk! Sunshimmer? Honestly, you couldn’t have come up with literally anything else?” Celestia spread her hands. “She put me on the spot. I needed to improvise.” “Improvise? You? I doubt there’s anything you do that isn’t planned ten steps ahead.” “Have I upset you?” Sunset clenched and unclenched her fists before resolutely crossing her arms for lack of anything to do with them. “You can judge me all you want, but leave Twilight out of it! I have a good thing here. Just because you suddenly want to play at being a mom doesn’t mean I’m going to let you meddle.” Celestia blinked, and a frown came to her. “Why would you ever think that? As for playing your mother, she was the first to make that assumption.” “You weren’t in any hurry to correct her,” Sunset said, snorting through her human nose. She turned away and muttered, “Besides, you have your own Twilight for that.” Sunset stewed in the silence that followed. All these years away and in less than a day she’d gotten a reminder of just what made her so mad in the first place. An irony that she used to think of it as mystical alicorn immortal attitude. But after meeting both Princess Twilight and Princess Luna, nope it was always a Celestia thing to manipulate and tug on strings. Her hand drifted to her neck then, and Sunset fingered her harmony stone pendant. An impulse wormed its way into her. She could solve all the fake emotional nonsense right here and now. She could grab Celestia and use her mind-reading magic. Maybe for once she’d get a straight answer. “Sunset.” That made Sunset look up. Celestia was studying her with the same kind of intensity she had in the mirror room. “Twilight was never meant to replace you. I did not make her an alicorn, she became one herself. I hope you know that.” Celestia’s tone was soft, yet direct. “I’m not jealous… it’s not like that...” Sunset flinched at her own weak protest and sighed. “Okay, maybe it kinda is. It’s complicated.” “It doesn’t have to be,” Celestia said. “I don’t measure you by her.” Sunset found herself reaching for her pendant again, but she quelled the motion. Instead, she asked, “Really?” Celestia’s smile was wane as she replied, “When Twilight used the elements on Nightmare Moon. I thought she would banish her or petrify her. I never thought that redemption was even a possibility. Neither did I dream I’d have a chance with you again. If I am to judge anypony by her standard, I ought to be the first. You aren’t the only one to have learned from her.” Outside Sunset’s window, a pair of horn honks sounded as well as the thrum of an engine. “There goes a Twilight at least,” Sunset explained with a small chuckle. “Should we tell her? I don’t want things to be uncomfortable for you or put some kind of expectation behind all of this. I simply want to spend time with you today.” Celestia did drop everything she was doing just to come over, huh. Sunset realized. She had been so tied up with all the rest to notice that fact before. Sunset bit her lower lip. “Well… we’ve already gone through the trouble. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to keep pretending. I’ll explain it to her later. ” “Well? What do you think?” Twilight asked, touching her forefingers together in a nervous twiddle. Sunset made a slow circle around her motorcycle, taking in the changed details. Contrary to her expectations of an ugly, bolted on thing, the sidecar looked like a sleek, and natural addition. The bike itself also glittered from a fresh paint job. Something Sunset was amused to note was fiery reds and golds for the bike that changed to purple shades on the sidecar. A stylized icon of Sunset’s cutie was on the gas tank while Twilight’s star was on the sidecar’s side. Sunset initially had given her motorcycle over to Twilight for a simple tune-up, but it was plain to see that Twilight had planned this as a kind of surprise gift. “Mmm,” Sunset said, noncommittally. Twilight fidgeted. “Do you like it?” “MMM,” Sunset repeated and placed a finger on chin. She furrowed her brow for effect. “Sunny!” Sunset burst out laughing and pulled the fretting Twilight into a hug. “I love it. It’s very… Us.” Celestia walked out from the apartment building then, still fussing with the spare helmet Sunset had dug up for her. She paused when she saw the motorcycle. “Well, that doesn’t look like an iron horse at all! I do like the colors.” Twilight beamed at them both. “Here, let me help you with that,” Sunset said and went over to straighten and fix Celestia’s straps. “Thank you, daughter,” Celestia murmured as she held her head still for Sunset. Sunset fumbled with the loop in the strap at hearing that. She raised her eyes to meet Celestia’s gaze through the lifted visor. Before she could think of a response, Twilight spoke up. “Oh! That looks cute. Let’s get a family picture!” Twilight suggested, already taking out her phone and tip-tapping on it. The selfie drone rose from its perch on the motorcycle and hovered into place. Sunset looked at the drone with dumb shock before she felt a squeeze on her shoulder. She peeked over at Celestia who pointed at her own mouth and smiled. Hesitantly, Sunset smiled too. Sunset had previous experience with sidecars before. She’d found them ungainly and threw the handling off terribly. Twilight’s gift, however, had a pleasant smoothness to it and Sunset wondered if there was some kind of techno-gadgetry to it. She wouldn’t put it past the lovable nerd to have engineered some kind of carefully weighted mechanism. The tune-up had also done wonders for the bike in general. When they hit the highway, and she opened the throttle, the motorcycle positively purred as it zipped down the lane. Sitting behind her, Twilight squeezed all the harder and leaned against Sunset’s back as they sped. Twilight had more experience riding double with Sunset and let Celestia have the more comfortable sidecar. She spared Celestia a glance when the road was clear. “It’s like flying on the ground!” Celestia exclaimed and felt at the air with her hands while the wind whipped what hair left the helmet behind her. Figures it takes a mom from Equestria to not be a nag about speeding. Sunset thought. A part of her felt guilty at taking so easy to the idea. They were just doing an act out of convenience, after all. It was almost disappointing when the mall came into view and ended their joyride. On the walk up to the building Twilight peeked over to Celestia and asked, “Do you have malls where you come from, Miss Shimmer?” Celestia regarded the tall concrete building with its pane windows and lighted neon signs. “Not at the capital. It was built more traditionally. Though Manehattan is filled with skyscrapers and the like.” “Oh, you have skyscrapers over there in… in…” Twilight halted then, one foot raised. “Wait, where did you say it was?” “Manehattan. Though Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus are also famous for tall and unique buildings too,” Celestia added. With every city mentioned, Twilight eyes widened and soon her mouth dropped. “What’s the matter? Did you think we were all backward over there?” Sunset prodded with a grin. She had this same experience in reverse when she first saw an Earth map. “Those names! They are p-pu—” “Pony?” Sunset suggested, still grinning. “What did you expect from magic ponyland?” Celestia watched them both, confused. “Is there something unusual about the cities?” Twilight shot Sunset a sour look before forcing a smile for Celestia. “No, Miss Shimmer. I just didn’t expect names from another world to be so… pronounceable.” It wasn’t until they were inside the mall proper before Sunset wondered what they might do if they ran into any of their friends. The small town Sunset and the girls lived in didn’t have many places to go, and the mall was the biggest spot for jobs, hangouts and get-togethers, especially on a weekend afternoon. “Oh, I do like that fountain,” Celestia noted, catching the centerpiece of the mall plaza. “Let’s get another picture!” Twilight said, enthusiastically looking for any excuse to use her selfie drone. The gadget followed behind them and at the sound of her voice, swooped in close. Sunset meanwhile watched the unmistakable sight of rainbow-colored hair in the crowd. Please don’t look over here. Please don’t look over here. Please don’t—oh buck! Rainbow’s head had turned and done an obvious double take in her direction. “You two go ahead, I need to umm... tie my boot,” Sunset said out loud. She barely had time to kneel before a pair of multi-colored sneakers appeared in front of her. Rainbow liked to use her superspeed for everything. “Heya, Sunshim! Glad I caught you.” Rainbow Dash put out a hand out to help Sunset up. “Hi, Rainbow. Nice to see you too,” Sunset said and glanced over Rainbow’s shoulder. Twilight and Celestia were caught up in their picture taking. Celestia even had a hand behind her head and one on her hip in a movie star pose. “Been hoping I’d see you over here today, but they tell me you keep taking time off.” Rainbow went on. “Yeah, I had to take care of... something.” Sunset took another glance over Rainbow’s shoulder. Some shoppers lingered by the fountain as the drone drew attention with its camera flash and aerial buzzing. “You didn’t answer your phone either! I wanted to get this back to you.” Rainbow dug in her pocket and handed Sunset a guitar pick. “Oh, thanks.” Sunset took back the borrowed guitar pick and tried to go on tiptoes to peer over Rainbow’s head. “No probs. It was yours anyway. We still on for next month?” “What?” Sunset replied distractedly. Celestia and Twilight had stopped taking pictures. One of the mall security guards held the selfie drone and was shaking a finger at a guilty-looking Twilight. Rainbow let out a growl of irritation. “I got something on my shoulder or what? What the fu—” she paused mid-turn. “Hey, is that Twilight?” Sunset gritted her teeth. “Yes.” “And who’s that lady next to her, she kinda looks lik—” Rainbow’s eyes widened, and she looked back to Sunset. Then back to Celestia. Then back to Sunset again. Sunset sighed and waited. “Soooooo… you took today off. And now you’re here. With Twilight.” “Yes.” “And not just Twilight, but with your mom too…?” “Her name is Sunshimmer. Listen, there’s a whole lot going on that I can’t get into right now.” Rainbow’s smirk was wicked. “Doesn’t seem too hard to understand. Heh, didn’t figure you two needed a chaperone yet. Twilight moves quick, huh?” Sunset groaned. “You’re so far off the mark, you don’t even know.” Rainbow snickered before giving Sunset a companionable tap on the shoulder. “Chillax! I’m only teasing. My Mom and Dad don’t leave me alone, either. Hold up, I know exactly what to do. HEY MISS S! mhmhfmhf—” “What are you doing?!” Sunset hissed as she clapped a hand over Rainbow’s mouth. “Mf mmffmfm mfm mffm.” Finding herself with an opportunity, Sunset continued. “Right. Okay. Rainbow, she’s from Equestria. I’m trying to keep things easy for her. Can I just show her around and then take her home without overwhelming her? Please?” “Mfmm mfmfmm mf mfmmfm mff mfm!” Rainbow mumbled with a pointed waggle of her brows. Her eyes kept darting over Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset looked over at the fountain again. Both Celestia and Twilight had vanished. She searched the crowd for them. “Where the buck—” “Sunset Shimmer! Language!” Celestia admonished from right beside her. Years of hearing that stern tone had Sunset yanking her hand back as if burned. “Oh! There you are! Ah! Hah… hah... uhhh.” She gestured weakly at Rainbow. “So umm, this is Rainbow Dash. She’s a friend.” Rainbow crossed her arms. “More than just a friend.” “Oh?” Celestia asked with curiosity. “What?!” Sunset exclaimed with incredulity. Rainbow grinned when she saw she had their full attention. She pointed her thumbs at herself. “I’m her band leader! Nice to meet you, Miss S.” Sunset wanted to strangle her. Celestia laughed. “Nice to meet you too, Rainbow. The band is called the Rainbooms, yes? Or so Sunset tells me.” “That’s right!” Rainbow said before she snapped her fingers. “Hey, you’re visiting from over there, right? Do you think you’ll be around next month? We’ve got a gig lined up.” Sunset blinked. She had spent so much time thinking of getting through the day that she hadn’t even considered what might come afterwards. “It’s… it’s not anything super big or fancy. Just some small job we got for the Spring Break… So, if you’re busy it’s fine if you don’t...” She trailed off, unsure. “I would like to visit again. If you’ll have me,” Celestia offered. Sunset looked at her for a long moment. Eventually, she smiled. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” Rainbow chortled. “Hah! And you were worried. See, your mom’s totally a pro at being over here. Right, Miss S?” Celestia smiled. “Actually, I think that’s a new one for me. Being called ‘Pro’.” Sunset rolled her eyes and caught sight of Twilight entering the mall again. She waved her over. “Where you’ve been?” Twilight puffed out of breath from her jog from the parking lot. “That security guard said I couldn’t have my selfie drone in here. He said it was dangerous to fly in crowds. Oh! Hi, Rainbow.” Rainbow looked between them and grinned. “Soooo… I’ll let you three get back to your day together. Catch ya later! See you, Miss S!” “Huh, why did she say it like that?” Twilight wondered when Rainbow left them. “Beats me.” Sunset feigned a shrug. “Umm, don’t we have a movie to get to? Let’s head straight there before we miss it.” Thankfully Juniper Montage wasn’t a CHS student, and she didn’t know Sunset enough to think it unusual that she suddenly had a new family member hanging around. With a few polite hellos, she printed up their movie tickets and served the popcorn. Directing them with a wave to the theater. A couple hours later, the lights illuminated the theater, the majority of the crowd shuffling towards the exits while the trio kept to their seats. “The visuals were quite nice.” Celestia took off the 3D glasses and looked at them with interest. “All done with projections and plastic lenses. How clever.” “Story wasn’t half bad either,” Sunset added as she nibbled at some leftover popcorn. “Eh, it was okay.” Twilight sniffed. “The book was better.” Sunset snorted. “Twilight have you ever thought any movie lived up to the book?” “Well, no.” Twilight pushed up her glasses with a finger. “So… what did you two think of the magic in the movie?” Sunset and Celestia shared a look. “If earth magic could be done with dancing it’d certainly make the gala more interesting,” Celestia said, unable to keep a smile off her face. “Not to mention shouting the words to spells. I think the last time I had to recite them out loud was in your classes as a filly,” Sunset snickered. Twilight visibly wilted at their commentary. “It wasn’t any good? Every review said it was one of the most detailed magic systems in fiction.” Sunset patted Twilight’s arm. “Think of it being like when you watch fluff sci-fi. This stuff is like that for us where we come from. They play it up more for the drama than how it actually works.” Twilight sighed. “I’ve been trying to find anything that comes close to the kind of stuff we can do.” She glanced around to make sure they were alone before she pointed a finger at Sunset’s popcorn tub. One of the kernels floated up in a bubble of purple magic. “You have no idea how much time I spend experimenting.” Sunset wasn’t surprised by Twilight doing her levitation trick, but she nearly dropped the bucket when another kernel rose, surrounded in gold. Celestia spun the kernel before catching it between thumb and forefinger. “Doing spellcraft without a horn can be very difficult. I suppose the singing and dancing are substitutes, as are the harmony stones. You would still be missing the instinctual understanding, however.” Sunset boggled at Celestia and was about to ask when Twilight preempted her with questions of her own. “I need a horn? Are they like magic wands? Where can I get one?” Sunset groaned. “Twilight, you don’t get a horn like at the horn shop. You have them. They grow out of your head.” “Huh?” Twilight reached to touch her own forehead on reflex, then frowned at Sunset. “You’re teasing me.” “What? No! Magic users in Equestria have horns.” Twilight blinked. “But you don’t have a horn when you pony up, and when I pony up, I get wings.” She doesn’t remember? Sunset had a brief mental image of Twilight’s corrupted form and its crooked horn. Then again, Twilight hadn’t exactly been in her right state of mind. Looking for a better explanation, Sunset waggled a hand. “Ponying up is different, that’s… not how we actually look like in Equestria. You get wings because Princess Twilight’s umm… a princess.” Sunset scratched her cheek. “I guess I never did really explain in detail. Over there I’m a four-legged pony with a horn, a—” “A unicorn?! Sunny, you’re a unicorn?!” Twilight gasped, leaning so far forward that her glasses slipped halfway down her nose. She was staring at Sunset’s forehead. Sunset leaned back and raised her popcorn tub in defense. She hadn’t seen Twilight this excited since the last time they went to a book signing together. Feeling an onslaught of questions coming, Sunset mentally sighed before responding, “Yes. But it’s not that big of a deal. There are plenty of unicorns in Equestria.” Twilight looked at Celestia. “Are you a unicorn too, Miss Shimmer?” “More or less,” Celestia replied smoothly as she magically lifted another kernel of popcorn from the tub. Sunset squinted at her. Celestia smiled back as she chewed. “Hmm, okay. Do you have silver blood? Does it heal others?” Sunset stared at Twilight. “Uhh, It’s red, and my blood is just fine in my body where it belongs. Unless you’re talking about a transfusion?” Twilight nodded, finger on her chin. “Just something I read in a book. It also said unicorns are born gold and then as they grow older they turn white except for their hooves.” Her eyes focused on Sunset and she gasped again. “I am gold because I am gold! I don’t change colors.” “Miss Shimmer, what color are you as a pony?” Celestia levitated a third popcorn kernel. “White, of course.” Twilight swatted Sunset’s shoulder. “Ah ha!” Sunset glared at Celestia. “You aren’t helping.” “I can only be honest. That’s a unicorn virtue too, by the by,” Celestia said with a perfectly straight face. Sunset scooped a handful of popcorn and threw it at her. “Okay, even though your blood doesn’t heal. Your touch definitely does,” Twilight said. She was scrolling through more ‘unicorn facts’ on her phone as they left the theater. Sunset blinked. “What? When did this happen?” “With me! Once at the Friendship Games and again at Camp Everfree.” “That was just us holding hands…” “Magical hand holding,” Twilight insisted. “I can’t believe how much sense this is all making now.” Sunset reached for Twilight’s hand and grabbed it. “See, normal!” Twilight wiggled her fingers in-between Sunset’s and continued to use her phone one-handed. A hint of a smile on her lips. “Unicorns are fae creatures, right? How do you feel about iron?” “I’m wearing a studded jacket, Twi.” “Do you know any fairy creatures? Pixies, Nymphs, Banshees, Pookas, Changelings—” “We’ve had changelings appear in Canterlot not too long ago,” Celestia commented. Twilight looked up from her phone. “Do they have butterfly wings?” “More like a dragonfly’s,” Celestia replied, shrugging. “Though they changed to look like colorful beetles now.” Twilight mulled this over, then read something else on her phone. She blushed. “Umm... ever put your head in the lap of a virgin maiden?” “Just what kind of sketchy site are you reading from?!” Sunset cried. “It’s Wikipedia!” Twilight argued. “I prefer maidens with experience, all things considered,” Celestia answered. Sunset’s eye started to twitch again. Thankfully, a sign came into view. “Hey look! The food court. How about we all get something to eat?” *