Fate sure loved irony when it came to her life, Sunset mused as she stepped out of her car and onto the pavement.
Princess Twilight had saved her in her darkest moment, and she, in turn, had saved Twilight's human counterpart. The magic she'd sought to replace friendship with had only been granted to her once she'd embraced the concept she'd once rejected.
And now, fifteen years after her disastrous attempts to stop Twilight from sealing magic off from this world, she was returning to the site of her downfall to stop Adagio from bringing it back.
"I see they finally got that South Wing they wanted," Twilight commented as she stared at the school building. Canterlot High had changed quite a lot over the years. There was the new wing, of course, and most of the exterior had been renovated extensively a few years ago, giving it a fresh new look with a new coat of paint and more modern-looking adornments of metal and glass on the roof instead of the old tower-like structure.
Most of the changes had been funded by donations from Sunset, but she didn't see the need to mention that fact. Instead, she simply nodded in agreement. "Yup. There was a whole opening ceremony for it where all the alumni were invited."
"That's nice." Twilight continued to stand there, awkwardly shuffling her feet. It was actually pretty adorable, and Sunset resisted the urge to lean over and steal a quick kiss from her girlfriend, instead opting to place a comforting arm on her shoulder.
"We should get going before anyone sees us and starts asking awkward questions." Sunset started moving forwards, trying to pull Twilight along with her.
"Right." Twilight shook her head a couple times and then began walking alongside Sunset. "It's just, this is the first time I've been here since, well, you know."
"Yeah. My first time back wasn't great either," Sunset said with sympathy. "I'll be with you every step of the way, though."
Twilight smiled. "Thanks. Don't worry too much; it's been long enough for me to put some emotional distance from the physical location where the event happened. I just need a couple seconds to collect myself." Sunset waited while Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slightly. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."
The two of them walked around the back of the school, Twilight wearing a determined look on her face. As they rounded the corner, they saw the small garden that had replaced the statue that had once stood proudly in front of the school entrance.
After everything that had happened, the administration had decided to do away with anything that could be turned into a portal to another world, and now a small collection of generic orange and purple flowers greeted students as they began their day.
Sunset and Twilight walked up to the center of the garden, stepping onto the loamy soil and carefully navigating around the plants. Sunset reached into her purse and pulled out a thin metal disc with a mesmerizing pattern of lines and shapes etched onto its surface.
"So, all we have to do is bury this here and it'll stop Adagio, right?" Twilight asked as Sunset squatted down and pulled out a pair of gloves from her purse as well.
"Yeah." Sunset began clawing at the dirt, feeling the soft, rich soil crumble apart until there was a small hole in the ground. "You saw the spellform we came up with yesterday with Aria and Sonata. Adagio has to cast the spell here because of the weakened dimensional membrane from when the portal used to be here, and when she does, the resonance with this spell circle will create a cascading effect that should cancel the spell and knock her out from the magical overload too."
There was also the minor modification she'd made to the spellform, but Twilight didn't need to know about that yet. There'd be time enough for that later. For now, Sunset just kept digging as she continued her explanation.
"All we'll have to do is sit back and wait for the satellites to pick up a surge of arcane power, then we can come pick her up." Once she saw that the hole was deep enough, Sunset carefully set the disk inside before covering it back up and smoothing out the dirt until there was no sign of any tampering.
"It's just a little hard to accept that this is it," Twilight said as Sunset took off her gloves and placed them back in her purse. "After everything we've been through, it seems almost too easy."
Sunset snorted. "I think we have very different ideas about what something being 'too easy' means. There's a reason it took me half a day to fabricate and enchant the damn thing. Making a cancellation spell that's completely magically inert to avoid detection is the type of thing that'd get you published instantly back in Equestria."
"Still, it's basically over now, isn't it?" Twilight frowned as a complicated expression crossed her face. "We've set the trap, and if all goes well, then in a couple days we'll have the journal back."
"Well, I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but pretty much, yeah. At least, we don't have to do anything about this for the next two days." They were walking back to the car now, and Sunset felt a hundred pounds lighter as she spoke those words, some of her worries floating away at the declaration.
"I guess so," Twilight said, still sounding lost in thought. "So, what do you want to do now?"
"I was hoping we could have another date and grab dinner together, but the disk fab took a lot longer than I expected." Sunset looked up at the evening sky, the final rays of the sun disappearing behind the horizon.
"I enjoyed our time together anyways." There was something off about her tone when she said those words, a distance that Sunset had noticed more than once. Since they'd returned from the Sirens' house, Twilight had been acting a little more reserved than usual, a troubled look on her face appearing from time to time before vanishing without a trace whenever Twilight caught Sunset staring at her.
Sunset suspected that the scientist was feeling a little unhelpful because of her lack of expertise in advanced magical theory and resolved to cheer her up. As the first stars peeked out from the suffocating sunlight, inspiration struck her like a bolt of lightning. "Well, the night is still young. And I have the perfect idea for a second date."
"Oh? What is it?"
"You'll see," Sunset said cryptically as they finally reached the car. "If you're up for it, that is."
"I was hoping we could go on a date tonight, so I made sure to clear up my schedule," Twilight replied. "Let's go."
The fifteen-minute drive through the evening traffic was done in silence, as Twilight was no doubt trying to puzzle out Sunset's plan, while Sunset herself was trying to make sure all the logistics would work out.
Finally, as they approached their destination, Twilight cracked. "Can you at least give me a clue to work with?" She asked, impatience clear in her tone.
"We're going stargazing," Sunset said simply. "I remember that you used to like doing that."
"I did," Twilight replied. "And I still do it from time to time when I have the chance to go out of town, but how are we supposed to do it here in Canterlot? The light pollution is awful, though I suppose you probably have access to the best light-filtering attachments in the world."
"I'm not sure if we've looked into that, actually," Sunset said. "Some of Ray Lay's work on illusion spells might be relevant there. But no, I've got something else in mind."
They pulled up in front of a large office building. At the entrance, she rolled down the window to talk to the security guard. "Hey, Night Stick, how's it going?"
"Miss Shimmer!" Night Stick smiled as his eyes lit up in recognition. "It's been good. Quiet, just like we want it. Are you back from your vacation already?"
"Not yet, I'm still taking at least a few days off next week. But I wanted to show my friend Twilight here around."
"I'll just need to check your badge then." Sunset handed over her ID badge for the guard to scan, and a moment later the barrier preventing entrance to the parking lot opened up. "Have a great evening, Miss Shimmer." They passed through the gate and Sunset drove up to the front of the building, parking in her designated spot underneath the sign that proclaimed the site to be that of Equinox Labs.
"You're taking me to your office?" Twilight looked adorably befuddled as her head tilted slightly in confusion.
"Not quite." Sunset swiped her key card through the reader and the glass doors at the entrance slid open. "I mean, I can show you my office if you want, but it's really nothing special, just a normal office."
Once inside, Sunset took a moment to say hello to the guard at the desk and grab a Visitor ID badge for Twilight. She led her down the halls of the steel-and-glass building until they reached the elevator, stopping a few times along the way to catch up with whoever was walking by and thank them for staying late.
"They really like you, don't they?" Twilight asked once they were in the privacy of the elevator cart.
"What was that?" Sunset turned to face her girlfriend, noting a strange glimmer in her eyes.
"Your employees." There was a sense of wonder and pride in Twilight's voice as she spoke. "They all respect and like you. You stop to talk to all of them and they seem to care about how you're doing, just like you sound like you care about each and every one of them."
"I do care," Sunset said firmly, "and I make sure they know it. I've already tried the whole 'ruling by fear' thing and I never want to go back to it. I want people to follow me because they want to, not because they feel they have to."
"It shows," Twilight remarked. "I can see how comfortable they are with you. And I can see why your destiny is to be a leader."
"Thanks, Twilight." Sunset felt a hitch in her throat as emotion welled up within her, and to cover up her feelings she leaned in and kissed Twilight, wrapping her arms around the scientist as their lips locked together.
Twilight stiffened in surprise at first, but quickly melted into the kiss, giving as good as she got. Her own arms pulled Sunset towards her and Sunset felt a thrill of excitement as Twilight ran her hands up and down her back. She pressed herself closer to Twilight, until she could feel their bodies melding softly against one another.
A dinging from the elevator's bell forced them to break apart, both parties quickly smoothing out their clothes. "That was unexpected," Twilight said, taking a moment to look at one of the mirrors on the sides of the cart to check her appearance, "but definitely not unpleasant."
"I just wanted to remind you how I felt about you." Sunset gave Twilight an easy smile. "After all, that's the point of a date, isn't it?"
"One of the points, yes," Twilight said. The doors slid open to reveal a brightly lit white corridor. "And on that note, I assume we're getting close?"
"We're almost there." Sunset took a quick look at the directory on the wall, looking up the exact location of their destination. She found the relevant bronzed plaque and read off the room number before heading down the corridor with Twilight in tow. "Seven one three... seven one four... ah! Seven one five!" Sunset scanned her card once again and waited for the beep before turning the handle of the door in front of her and stepping inside. "This should be it."
Inside, they found a large room filled with an assortment of metallic parts and electronic equipment. Large steel structures shaped like pipes and plates sat in piles next to bunches to wires and circuitry. On one side of the room, a man around the same age as Sunset with light blue hair and beige skin sat in front of a small computer, typing away furiously and completely oblivious to the world at large.
"Hey, Bright," Sunset called out after a few seconds of silence.
Bright Idea jumped a bit at the intrusion and whirled around suddenly, eyes wide. "M-Miss Shimmer!" he stammered. "I didn't see you there! Sorry!"
"Relax," Sunset said with a gentle roll of her eyes, "I know how you can get. I just wanted to know if the demo for the Skysphere was ready yet."
"It's in the final testing stages," Bright Idea said, "we've got the functionality done and the true live feed being processed. Right now it's just a matter of finding edge-case bugs or race conditions that haven't appeared yet."
"Good." Sunset gestured towards her girlfriend. "I wanted to show the demo to my friend Twilight. Can you fire it up for us, please?"
"No need. We're already running overnight tests on it."
"Perfect. Why don't you take the rest of the night off, then? You've all been working really hard on this." Sunset kept her smile and warm tone, but also infused enough authority in her voice to let Bright know that her words weren't a suggestion.
"Uhh, sure, Miss Shimmer. Thanks." Bright Idea turned away from Sunset's gaze and hastily grabbed his things in that nervous fashion that he always did. "Have a good evening, Miss Shimmer," he said as he bumped his shoulder against the wall before managing to make it out the door.
"Take care, Bright." Sunset waited until the door was closed completely before walking over towards the steel panel that served as a door leading from the lab to Bright's project.
"Close your eyes," Sunset instructed as she pushed open the door to reveal a dark corridor with a faint light at the end. The smell of metal and sawdust lingered next to that of solder and plastic, only adding to the industrial atmosphere of the place. "I want this to be a surprise."
"How very dramatic of you," Twilight replied dryly. She closed her eyes while wearing an indulgent smile, and Sunset stepped behind her and placed an arm around her shoulders to guide her down into the darkness.
When they emerged at their destination, Sunset gave Twilight a gentle pat. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."
Twilight let out an awestruck gasp as she beheld the location of their date, much to Sunset's delight.
They were standing in a medium-sized dome, which was pitch black except for the thousands of points of lights of various sizes that rested within the inner surface, twinkling about irregularly. The floor they were standing on was made of transparent glass, and when she looked down Sunset saw Twilight jaw drop as she was rendered completely speechless.
Beneath them sat another vast expanse of lights on a black canvas, wrapping around the sides until they met up with the walls to form a perfect sphere. Not that you'd know that, since the only thing you could see were the lights, arranged in complex patterns of clusters, lines, and shapes that defied all attempts to determine the distances between themselves and the sides of the sphere.
Sunset knew what Twilight was seeing: an endless field of stars stretching out in every direction.
"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction when I saw this for the first time," Sunset said smugly as she watched her girlfriend's beautiful face light up in an expression of pure wonder in the dim illumination of the room.
"W-What is this?" Twilight asked softly as she finally seemed to regain her speech. Her voice trembled with awe and appreciation.
"A little project we've been working on at Equinox Labs, one of the ones that has nothing to do with Equestria or magic. It was mostly Bright Idea who came up with this design." Sunset raised her arms outwards, gesturing towards the starry walls of the dome.
"We've sent dozens of telescopes into space to observe the cosmos over the last few decades. The Skysphere collects all of the data being transmitted by these telescopes in real time, cross-references it with itself as well as known astronomical data, and then stitches it together with the help of some inference algorithms and estimations about frequency-shifted observations to make a live aggregate visual feed projected onto the surface of the sphere."
Sunset leaned in closer and spoke the next words softly into Twilight's left ear. "In other words, you're looking at what the sky would look like from every angle if our planet didn't exist and the Sun wasn't drowning out the light."
"That's incredible," Twilight breathed. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life."
"Yeah, we're planning on installing it at the Planetarium. To be honest, it's not very useful from a research perspective, since a lot of these images are inferred from very sparse and delayed data." Sunset took a moment to admire the tapestry of lights around her before adding, "but it makes for one hay of an exhibit, and we're hoping to use it get more people into astronomy.
"Also, it's definitely not the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life." Sunset leaned in even closer, until her lips were practically pressed against Twilight's cheek. "That would be you."
She felt more than saw the blushing smile that comment elicited from her girlfriend. Twilight turned her head to face Sunset, and a moment later their lips were pressed together in a passionate kiss, the faint light of the stars around them bathing them in an ethereal glow. When they pulled apart for air, Sunset noted that Twilight looked absolutely radiant, her purple skin giving off a faint luminescence that only amplified her attractiveness.
"I suppose I could be convinced to feel the same about you," Twilight said, panting lightly, "though this really is a beautiful exhibit you've created."
"Technically, I just coughed up the money for it, or at least I agreed to have Equinox fund the R and D. It was Bright and his team that built this. But yeah, it's great, and I'm really happy I could share it with you."
"I'm happy about that too." Twilight's gaze focused on something behind Sunset. "Is that Orion?"
Sunset turned around and saw a trio of bright stars at waist level. "Looks like it," she said, unconsciously reaching out towards the light. "Yup, there's Taurus right next to it."
"Amazing." Twilight looked downwards. "Wait, if this is a completely spherical scan of the night sky, that means... yep, there it is. The Southern Cross. I've never seen it before except in pictures." Twilight pointed at a grouping of four stars beneath her feet. She squinted a bit as she squatted down to stare at the pattern. "You can even make out the binary star system on Acrux. Oh, and look! I think that's Hydrus!"
The next few minutes passed by in an excited frenzy as Twilight did her best Pinkie Pie imitation, pointing out various stars and constellations in a random sequence of gasps and wild gesticulations that were downright adorable.
Eventually, she calmed down a little after exhausting the stars she knew from memory. "That one looks really familiar." Twilight pointed towards yet another cluster of stars, less animatedly this time. "I can't seem to place it though."
"That's Aries," Sunset said, looking up at the small arc of lights on her right. She gave a small shudder as several unpleasant memories washed over her. "I don't think I'll ever forget what that one looks like."
"Oh?" Twilight looked at her curiously. "It sounds like there's an interesting story behind that statement."
"Not that interesting," Sunset grumbled. "Just me being an idiot. It was during that time when I was convinced that Princess Celestia was waiting for me to prove myself to her before she would let me advance in my studies and ascend to my 'rightful' place as an Alicorn Princess by her side. I wasn't completely wrong about that. Celestia knew that I wasn't ready and she was holding me back, but it was because of my personality, not my skills.
"Of course, I didn't know that, so I figured if I did something really impressive then Celestia would finally see that I was meant to rule. The princess had me researching some old legends, and I decided I was going to retrieve the Golden Fleece. I think you humans have stories about it too."
"Yes, it's supposed to be a symbol of authority and the right to rule in our myths."
"Well, by some quirk of the multiverse we had the same stories, and it seemed like an appropriate quest to go on to earn my ascension. Since the Fleece was supposed to have a mystical connection to Aries, I cast Comet's Constellation Query on it to determine where the secret treasure was."
Sunset smiled wryly. "I probably should have read the spell description better. Turns out that certain constellations spawn star beasts when you try to Query them. Lucky for me, it was a small one, but I still wasn't expecting to fight a twenty-hoof tall Astral Aries that day. I won, of course, but I wrecked my tower and Celestia was not happy about that."
"Did you at least find out where the Fleece was?"
"Yup," Sunset said with dry cheer. "It was sitting in the palace vaults, a dozen floors under where I was casting the spell. Turns out Princess Celestia had already found it a few centuries ago and forgot to tell everyone."
"Heh." Twilight gave a small, appreciative chuckle. "Do you realize how utterly insane that sounds? Fighting constellations in order to track down the mythical Golden Fleece only to discover that your immortal teacher already has it sitting in her basement? And you just talk about it like it's as mundane as having your basement flooded or a tree fall over and cut off the power to your house. It's beyond human comprehension."
"Good thing I'm not human then, huh?" Sunset responded cheekily.
"You aren't, are you?" Twilight's expression shifted suddenly, a troubled look in her eyes. "It's so easy to forget since you've learned our customs and you have a human body, but this isn't your true form. You're actually a unicorn." She turned away sharply from Sunset, a slightly hysterical bark of laughter escaping from her curvy frame. "My girlfriend is a unicorn."
"Are you okay, Twilight?" Sunset asked as a few of the stars went dark for a few seconds before returning to twinkle in their spheres. Twilight was looking at her like she'd never seen her before, and Sunset felt a cold dread flow down her spine in response.
"I'm just wrestling with the realization that I'm dating a horse from a parallel universe," Twilight said faintly. "I think standing at the center of a visual representation of the vastness of space is giving me an unfortunate sense of perspective."
"We could get out of here if you want," Sunset offered, worried about Twilight's mental state.
"No, it's fine." Twilight held out her palm to keep Sunset away as she took a deep breath. "I just need a few seconds to process this." As Sunset waited for Twilight to collect herself, she found herself considering Twilight's words.
The fact that they were technically two different species hadn't occurred to Sunset before, mostly because of her current form, but even in Equestria interspecies romances had their challenges, mostly due to large differences in culture in addition to biological differences that could be quite taxing on a relationship. Sunset had assimilated well enough into this realm's culture, barring a few socially-accepted quirks like her refusal to eat meat, and the Mirror had preemptively dealt with the biological problems.
And yet, there was still a vast gulf between them, the same gulf that kept Twilight from understanding how much magic meant to her, truly understanding the way it was a part of her very soul. Any Equestrian wouldn't even have questioned the connection, but her beautiful, brilliant scientist hadn't grown up in Equestria. Would she even be able to understand Sunset? And could Sunset do the same for her?
Eventually, Twilight spoke again, breaking the tense silence between them. "Sorry about that," she said, her voice sounding oddly calm and collected, instilled with a certain peace that Sunset could only describe as acceptance. She gave Sunset a serene yet wry smile before speaking again. "I guess I always knew my life wasn't going to be normal, although it would have been a lot easier if you were just a normal incredibly attractive billionaire CEO tech genius."
"Honestly, between the Mirror doing some weird stuff with my brain during the transformation and the fifteen years I've spent here, I feel more like a human than a pony most of the time," Sunset admitted, clenching her fists unconsciously in an attempt to recall what it felt like to have hooves. "But no matter what, a big part of me is always going to be a unicorn pony."
"I... it's going to be a struggle for me to come to terms with that. It was hard enough yesterday at the Sirens' house to keep it together when I was in the room with a bunch of mages from another world, and there's always going to be this difference in understanding between us, and it's going to get us into a lot of fights. Part of me just wants to run away, to cut my losses with you before the next big fight happens and breaks both our hearts."
Sunset's own heart stopped at those words, but she allowed Twilight to keep talking, finding herself unable to speak, spellbound by her girlfriend's words. "Another part of me wants to slap that part of me, because the thought of leaving you is painful, like having my heart torn out, as cliché as that might sound. I've already had to learn to accept being alone twice – I don't think I could do it a third time.
"But more than that, more than the fear of losing you, is the fact that I really, really like you." Even in the dim light of the Skysphere, Sunset could see a cute blush brighten Twilight's cheeks. "I think you're funny, brilliant, and despite our ideological differences, I do think that you truly want to help others. You're also breathtakingly beautiful, to the point where I could stare at you for hours on end, although I don't know how much that compliment means to you given that this isn't really what you look like."
"I've had this body for long enough for my vanity to transfer over," Sunset noted, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she went through a rollercoaster of emotion from Twilight's speech.
"I'd be vain about it too if I had a body like that," Twilight commented dryly before returning to her prior seriousness. "Anyways, you're amazing, and I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you that.
"But more than that, I love being with you. I love how well we work together in the lab, and how much more I enjoy research with you by my side. I love the intellectual connection we have, the way we can bounce ideas off one another to come up with stuff we never would have individually. I love spending time with you in general, whether we're working together, having dinner, or just talking. You're my best friend, and so much more."
Twilight's gaze became uncertain, her words starting to trip over themselves. "I... I know we haven't been dating very long. But we were friends for over a year, and even when I was crushing on you as a teenager, it was a crush that came from knowing you, and knowing who you really were, and not just from observing you at a distance. I've seen you at your best and at your worst, and I've seen who you are now. We're already gone through some pretty big fights and gotten through it, eventually.
"Also, there was the whole thing where we used our feelings for one another to break Adagio's memory spell.
"Therefore, I think it's reasonable for me to tell you that I love you."
Sunset's breathing stopped at those last words. Twilight was the perfect picture of contrast right now, a fierce determination burning in her eyes and a conviction in her tone that was at odds with the uncertainty and vulnerability of her facial expression and body language. There was no doubt as to the sincerity of the words, and out of respect for the scientist, Sunset took a moment to evaluate her own feelings critically.
Did she love Twilight? She cared for her, certainly, and many of the things Twilight said about her held true in the other direction. Despite their differences, she felt within Twilight a kindred spirit, one whom she could easily imagine spending the rest of her days with.
The image came easily to her mind. The two of them inside their lab during the day, creating wonders the likes of which no one, human or pony, had ever seen. Twilight by her side in the evening as they danced at the ball and proclaimed their union for all to see. And at night, they could explore their mutual passion to their heart's content.
Of course, life wasn't always going to be easy. They would fight, and hurt each other and be hurt in kind; that was the way these things went. Would it be worth it in the end? Would they be able to make it through the trials and tribulations of love?
There was only one answer to that question, and with a certainty that brought calm to her trembling body, Sunset gave her response. "Only you would come up with an entire reasoned justification for proclaiming your love for me, Twilight," she said in her trademark, laid-back, almost teasing voice before turning as serious as her girlfriend had. "But I agree with all your points, and I can see myself spending the rest of my life with you, no matter how things go.
"And saying we're in love isn't the end of the story, it's a promise. A promise that we'll fight for our love, that we'll work through our problems together and be there when the other needs it."
Sunset closed the distance between them, what had once seemed like a vast chasm disappearing like the scant few feet it actually was. She reached out to cup Twilight's cheek with her hand, caressing it softly as she savored the smooth, silky feel of skin-against-skin. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you too, and that I want to see where we can go with this relationship."
The kiss that came after the declaration was the most natural thing in the world. Sunset didn't feel like it was a conscious decision to lean over and press their lips together; her body simply wouldn't allow for any other action. For a few precious moments, they basked in the light of their love, a light that, though metaphorical this time and not magical, still managed to outshine the stars of the night sky.
When they pulled apart, Sunset found herself gazing into eyes brimming with emotion, and in that moment, she understood why writers had a habit of comparing those orbs to pools of water. In those calm seas she saw the depths of what Twilight felt for her.
"I love you." Sunset heard the tone of wonder in Twilight's voice, and her heart warmed at the words. "I can say that any time now, as often as I want. It feels like some mental block has just been broken."
"Well, if you use it too many times semantic satiation might become a problem," Sunset joked, a warm and fuzzy cheer infecting her own voice. "But I get what you mean. I love you too." The words tasted so sweet on her tongue, and Sunset couldn't help but say them again. "I love you."
"I love you," Twilight said dreamily before giggling. "Okay, maybe we should stop this before our conversation loses all semblance of intelligence."
"Fine." Sunset wrapped her arms around Twilight. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Why don't you tell me about your home?" Twilight suggested. "I know we used to spend a lot of time talking about magic and monsters and stories back when we were teenagers, but you never really told me much about you. I never got to find out what Sunset Shimmer the unicorn pony was like."
"I was dealing with some guilt and self-loathing issues back then," Sunset said, finding great comfort in stroking Twilight's silky hair. "I didn't really want to talk about my past back then. But after fifteen years, I think I've matured enough to be able to remember those times without feeling bad about it."
"So, any good stories you can tell me now?" Twilight asked as she pulled away from Sunset and took up a more comfortable long-term position of standing beside her instead of embracing. They still held each others' hands though, neither wanting to sever the physical connection between them.
"Hmm, did I ever tell you about your sister-in-law's counterpart?" Sunset asked.
"Cadance?" Twilight responded in surprise. "You knew your world's Cadance?"
"Everypony knew Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Sunset watched Twilight carefully, waiting for her to process what she had just said. The surprised expression on her face was priceless, and Sunset would cherish the memory of it forever.
"Princess?" Twilight choked out. "Cadance is a Princess in Equestria?"
"Yup. And I hated her for it. After all, I'd worked so hard for the title and one day she just waltzes into the palace with her horn and wings." Sunset recalled the shocked rage she had felt when she had first beheld the Princess of Love, and even now she couldn't help but feel a little envious of her position, even if she had eventually come to understand that Cadance had earned the title.
"That pony plushie in the lab," Twilight's eyes lit up in realization. "You said it looked like your nemesis. Your worst enemy was my sister-in-law?"
"Yeah, although I'm pretty sure she didn't even know it. She was the nicest, most cheerful pony I knew, and even though she was a princess she was still really humble about it, never using her position as a Princess for herself, which I didn't get at all. Princess Celestia actually made us work together on a research project on mind magic. I think she was hoping I'd learn something from her.
"Boy, was she wrong. Funny thing is, even after I set her mane on fire I think she still thought I liked her. Or maybe she was just that positive."
"You did what?" Curiosity warred with disapproval in Twilight's eyes, as she gazed imperiously at Sunset, silently demanding that she finish the tale.
"Technically, it was an accident. See, we were testing out Ether's External Ego on ourselves..." Sunset told her story to Twilight, and when she finished, Twilight asked for another. As the pair of lovers stood in the center of the night sky, Sunset spoke endlessly of another world, one so different from this one that creatures of myth and legend walked the land as citizens, and yet so similar that they shared the same constellations that slowly spun around them.
Twilight listened intently, asking question after question, that inquisitive mind Sunset so adored working overtime to comprehend everything she spoke of.
It was a moment of pure perfection for the pair, and for the rest of the night, nothing existed except for two women madly in love with one another, and the stars that bore witness to their promise of an eternity together.