//------------------------------// // Muffins 2 // Story: Sunset's Setups // by n3k1dsk1llz //------------------------------// “Already? I wasn't expectin’ that. Good for you, Sunset.” “Aw. I had someone awesome-tastic-mazing picked out for you, Sunset. Oh well. I'm just happy that you're happy.” “It's just a second date, guys. It's not that big of a deal.” “It's a very big deal, Sunset. In practically no time at all you've gone from having no interest in anyone to gushing about a second date. I've never been more proud to have you as my friend.” “Come on, Rarity. I wasn't gushing.” “Rosy cheeks, tense body stance, eyes as wide as they go, slightly higher volume than normal…..what were we talking about?” “A~nyways, Rarity’s right, Sunset. You were TOTALLY gushing. And I'm happy for you too. I mean, you wanted something and went for it. And it looks like you got it. And you didn't even have to….you know.” All the girls stopped talking and stared at Rainbow Dash. “What? Isn't that a GOOD thing?” ----------------------- Sunset walked up the porch and knocked on the door. She was actually nervous. There wasn’t a logical reason why. They’d already had one date that went really well. She had said yes to this one. So what was the deal? The door opened and there she was. A simple green dress was draped over one shoulder. Her hair, up in an equally simple bun. Her hazel eyes were enhanced to perfection with just a touch of green eye shadow. Her lips, glossed, were plump and supple. Definitely kissable. “Did I over dress?” The girl's question snapped Sunset out of her thoughts. Once back to reality, she realized the implication. Her date, while not fancy, was indeed dressed up. Sunset, in the other hand, was wearing pretty much what she wore on their last date: skirt, a nice magenta blouse, and her leather jacket. She didn't do anything special to her hair or even bother with makeup. “I did say dinner, didn't I?” Sunset rubbed the back of her neck and gave the girl a sheepish grin. “I don't know why I didn't bother dressing up.” Suddenly the girl's eyes lit up. “Oooh! Let me do your makeup and hair really quick! It'll be fun!” How could Sunset say no to that amazing smile? About 15 minutes later they finally left the girl's house. The girl couldn't actually do much with Sunset's hair so it stayed as it was. But Sunset now had some nice makeup. A little bit of eyeliner to give her a bit of cat eye. A strange red-brown eye shadow that worked amazingly with her skin and matched her shirt. And finally, a touch of lip gloss, just like her date. Since the evening wasn't chilly, Sunset also decided to leave her jacket at the girl's house. Just taking it off made her outfit look so much better, she realized. As they were walking down the road, they found each other's hands once more. Sunset could really get used to this. The girl's soft skin against her own. Her warmth radiating into Sunset. They were going to get dinner at the place Bulk Biceps had taken her to. For this being a big city, everything seemed to be really close together. Sunset really wanted that veggie dish again. She looked over at the girl holding her hand. She was smiling and just enjoying the scenery, seemingly content with walking in silence. Sunset didn't mind walking in silence either. It was a really nice evening. Cool and crisp. But not cold. The lights of the city were beginning to turn on. Sunset saw the sun tucking itself down beyond the horizon. It was something she still couldn't completely wrap her head around. She could accept it, but she couldn't understand it. Back in Equestria, the sun could only be raised by Princess Celestia. Sunset had studied how the sun moved when she first got here. She thought it might be a key to power. She learned so much information about space and the universe and astrophysics, she could probably get her doctorate. But she never found a source. Every time she found an answer for one thing, two more questions popped up in its place. A squeeze of her hand brought Sunset back to reality. “Is this the place?” Sunset looked at the sign. She realized that she didn't remember the name of the restaurant. She looked around. She knew where she was. She could get herself home really easily. Sunset looked in the window of the restaurant. It looked like the same place. “Yeah I'm pretty sure this is the place. I've only been here once, though, so there's a chance I'm wrong.” The girl smiled. “Well I'm hungry so let's go in. It's kind of busy so I'm sure it's good at least.” Sunset couldn't argue with that logic. The place looked full, but it wasn't slammed, so they should be able to get a seat pretty quick. The two girls went in and waited for a table. As expected, it wasn't a long wait for them to get their seats. The waiter came to get their drink orders: just a couple sodas. “This is the restaurant that serves the Veggies in Bulk, right? It's an off menu item.” “Let me check on that. I'll be right back.” The waiter left and was as in out of sight. “What's ‘Veggies in Bulk’?” “Oh I'm a vegetarian. Usually I just get salads when I go out to eat, but a date brought me here once and introduced me to Veggies in Bulk. It was so amazing. The best food I've had since I moved here.” “A date?” Confusion filled the girl’s hazel eyes. Sunset was about to explain when her eyes lit up again. “OH! Yeah! Okay. Of course you’ve been on other dates. You’re amazing. I’m sure you have lots of people that want to go on dates with you.” Her smile was even bigger. Somehow. The waiter came back an assured her that they did, indeed, serve Veggies in Bulk. The girl ordered steak with the baked potato and broccoli. As the waiter left, Sunset waited for a reaction. People always had a reaction when they ordered meat after finding out she was a vegetarian. The girl just sat there and smiled at Sunset. “You know, I really like this place. It’s shiny~.” Sunset blinked. She started looking around. It was shiny. She hadn’t noticed it before. There was a lot of polished chrome. Napkin dispensers, lamp shades, bars along the backs of booths...all polished and catching the light. She noticed a busser cleaning up a table. As he finished, he buffed the bars on the backs of the benches. They must have actual chrome bars. If they were plated, buffing it like that all the time would just remove the chrome. That couldn’t have been cheap. Why would a simple diner restaurant like this put that much money into something that didn’t matter much? Sunset just shrugged to herself. She wasn’t going to let it bother her. “Is there something wrong, Sunset?” “What? No. I'm just thinking...random thoughts.” “Psh. I do that all the time. What are your thoughts?” “Well, you mentioned how shiny this place is and I'm thinking it might be too shiny for its own good.” “Why's that?” “Well, it looks like everything is made of chrome. And if that's the case, then it would've been pretty expensive to decorate the way they did. Too expensive for just a diner like this to have done. I dunno, though. Bulk Biceps said that he's been coming here since he was just a little kid. Maybe they're in a better spot than I know.” “Well I like it. I'll definitely be coming back.” The girl smiled that same smile of joy that Sunset was coming to love. It seemed to contain the same levels of happy that Pinkie Pie had, yet at the same time, it had all the restraint and poise of Rarity. Their food was served and everything looked amazing. Sunset was even tempted to try her date’s steak. There wasn't much conversation while they ate. None, really. There were a few soft moans and grunts of pleasure. Occasionally an utterance of “this is so good”. It was as if neither girl had eaten in days. Truth be told, Sunset hadn't eaten anything all day. The last thing she had eaten was a granola bar the day before. Sunset was the first to speak when they were both done eating. “That was so good. I almost want to order another one.” “Me too. It was yummy.” Sunset looked at the girl across the table for a moment. “Let’s get outta here. I feel like walking.” “Okay!” The girl started scooting out of the booth but stopped right before she stood up. “Wait. We need to pay.” Sunset chuckled, “Yes. Yes we do.” _______________________________________________________ The night was beautiful. The moon was full and bright. The two girls walked hand in hand down the street. It was such an automatic gesture at this point. They walked and talked for a few minutes and ended up at the park. It was empty, but Sunset had been there many nights before and led the girl in. “Okay. We just need to watch out for cops. Sometimes they come by and kick people out.” “We’re not supposed to be here?” “Technically, no. But we’re just walking and talking. No biggie.” Sunset gave a reassuring smile. “You’ve done this before?” “Yeah. I used to come here all the time. Literally. All times of day and night. It was the closest thing that reminded me of home. I used to live in a city that was surrounded by nature. Forrests and rivers. Mountains and valleys.” “Sounds nice.” “It was. I would always take a walk through the woods whenever I could. It was just nice to get away for a bit and be by myself. It would allow my mind to think through what I had learned, what I had been through. It always helped me deal with things. And, in hindsight, when I stopped going for my walks was when I got myself in trouble.” “What kind of trouble did you get in?” Sunset froze. She wasn’t ready to get into this. Her logic told her that her date had probably seen enough weirdness here for her to accept the truth of Sunset’s origins. Her pony origins. “Was that a bad question?” “Huh? No! No. It wasn’t a bad question. It was a really good question, actually. I’m just...not ready to talk about it.” Sunset looked at the girl. She was expecting something in her face. Something indicating that she felt betrayed. Or hurt. Or...anything than what she actually saw. The girl was just smiling at her. “Okay!” The girl leaned in and gave Sunset a tight hug. When she released, she looked Sunset in the eye and said, “You’ll be ready when you’re ready.” Sunset didn’t know how to process it. She just stared at the girl. Her cheek started to get cold. The girl reached out and wiped her cheek. Sunset had started crying. But...she was happy. Happier than she could really remember being. She reached out to the girl and pulled her close. Her lips were softer than she was expecting. Sunset felt the girl wrap her arms around her neck and pull herself into the kiss. It wasn’t electric. It was warm. And a little sloppy. Just a little. It wasn’t what Sunset was expecting, but it could possibly be labeled as better. _______________________________________________________ When they were back in front of the girl’s house, they lingered together a bit. Neither wanted the night to end. But it was late and the girl did need to get back in, with her family. Sunset didn’t want her parents to think that she was a bad influence for their daughter. “Tonight was great” the girl said. “I can’t wait to go out with you again.” “Yeah. Me neither. Let’s go out tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have to come back by to pick up my jacket anyway.” The girl gasped. “I forgot about it. I could get it for you really quick.” “Nah. I’m fine. It’s not cold, plus the walk to my place really isn’t that far. Go on. I’ll see you tomorrow.” The girl leaned in and gave Sunset one more kiss. “Good night, Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset couldn’t keep the smirk off her face as she watched the girl walk into her house.