The Book of Sunlight

by elPossenreisser


Chapter Eight

It was pretty late already when Twilight exited the portal in the human world a few days later. Sunset was standing some steps away from the statue and didn’t waste a second to launch herself at Twilight the second she materialized and welcome her with a kiss.

“I missed you too,” Twilight giggled as they let go of each other.

“It’s been two horrible days,” Sunset pouted and took Twilight’s hand—it was definitely cold enough for gloves now, but holding hands was way more important than a little freezing. It always reminded Sunset of the first times they had met, when she had warmed Twilight’s hands.

“I think you’re exaggerating,” Twilight said, but she blushed.

“Well, maybe not late at night when we were texting,” Sunset conceded. “But still. Good to have you over again.”

“Yeah.”

“So… what should we do for dinner?” Sunset asked. “I could make mac and cheese again, if you like.”

“I guess.” Twilight sounded less than excited. “Or we could go somewhere. It’s… you know… we could go on a date.”

“Right now?”

“Sure!” Twilight exclaimed. “We can go on as many dates as we like now, can’t we? We can have dinner tonight, and we can still go on our big date on Saturday!” She grinned, satisfied with her flawless logic.

Sunset giggled. “Did you plan this? You did, right?”

“Mayyyyybe… a little…”

“And did you have anything in mind, my dear scheming princess?”

“I was thinking something nostalgic, actually,” Twilight said. Was it just Sunset or were her eyes positively sparkling? “How do you feel… about…”

Sunset knew she was only teasing her, but she still couldn’t help herself. “Twiliiiiight!” She stopped and tugged on Twilight’s hand, turning her towards herself.

“How about… some hot cocoa… and some waffles… and then we could… take a slow walk through the cold, and get cold hands, and…” Twilight’s voice trailed off, and she gave Twilight a small lopsided smile.

Sunset felt her grin grow on her lips. The way Twilight was referring to her first visit over, the night they had had hot cocoa and waffles at Donut Joe’s… the night it had begun. The night they had begun. “I’d like that,” she whispered.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Twilight said. She turned and started running, pulling Sunset along with her. “I’m starving!”

They ran through the quiet streets of Canterlot, giggling like crazy and turning more than a few heads. Sunset didn’t care. Twilight was with her, and that was all that mattered in the world. It took only a few minutes until they reached Donut Joe’s. Just like that fateful first night the diner was mostly empty, it being a weekday, and rather late for dinner as well. They were both out of breath from the running, and Twilight’s cheeks were flushed from the cold. She looked positively adorable.

The same table as last time was free, and they only needed to exchange one short look before they sat down there. Sunset picked up the menu, then remembered that she didn’t really need to think about what she wanted. She dropped the menu and saw Twilight doing the same. They both giggled. “Ready to order,” Twilight said.

Sunset reached her hand across the table and found Twilight’s, and their fingers intertwined. “Yeah,” she said, looking into Twilight’s eyes. Twilight raised her other arm to signal the waiter, and when he came they quickly ordered, hardly breaking their eye contact long enough to order, and completely oblivious to the annoyed sigh the waiter gave when they were done.

“Sunset? Twilight? Is that you?” a familiar voice called out from the front door.

“Flash Sentry!”

“Are you ever not here?” Sunset asked, grinning.

“Haha, I guess I could ask you the same,” Flash replied. “How is it going, Twilight? You back in town?”

“Pretty good, thanks,” Twilight said. “What are you up to?”

“Just grabbing a coffee to go; I’m on my way home. Football training. One sec.” He turned to the counter and quickly ordered.

“Does he know?” Twilight whispered.

Sunset bit back a giggle and shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“So, yeah, good seeing you two, but I should really get going,” Flash said, a cup of coffee in hand. “Hey, um, Twilight, if you’re around over the weekend, we’re having a big football match on Sunday, and, I mean, if you’re interested…”

Sunset and Twilight exchanged a quick look. The date, Sunset thought.

“Yes, I’ll be around on Sunday,” Twilight said. “What do you say, Sunset? Can we go?”

“Sure,” Sunset said. “Should be fun.”

“Cool,” Flash said. “See you around!” He waved and turned to leave the diner.

When the door had closed behind him Sunset lifted her hand which was still holding Twilight’s. “He didn’t even notice,” she said, grinning. “Might be better, though. His ex-girlfriend holding hands with his last crush… that might not sit too well with him.”

“Do you think he’ll be alright?”

“Yeah,” Sunset said. “And for the record, I love it that you’re worried. That’s just so you.” She leaned across the table and gave Twilight a kiss on the nose. She suddenly couldn’t wait to be alone with Twilight, after the cocoa.

Someone cleared his throat next to them, and they hastily sat back, making room for the plate and the cups the waiter had brought.

***

Keeping her hands off of Twilight on the way home was incredibly difficult, but she restrained herself to longing looks which Twilight returned. At home, she thought, and walked maybe a little bit faster than she really needed to.

“So,” Sunset said when they had arrived and taken off their coats, “wanna watch a movie?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You want me to believe that this movie you’re speaking of isn’t just pretense?”

Sunset, who was already reaching for her laptop, turned back to Twilight and gave her a sheepish grin. “I mean, we could watch a movie, I guess?”

“And miss two thirds of it. So why bother?” Twilight purred with half-closed eyes.

“I knew I couldn’t fool you,” Sunset said. She looked deep into Twilight’s eyes.

“You know,” Twilight said in a dreamy voice, almost a whisper, “I could get used to this.”

Sunset gave her an exaggerated pout. “Not my fault! You’re leaving again tomorrow!”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “There’s an obvious solution to this, though. You should just come visit me in Ponyville.”

Sunset froze. She knew this topic had to come up at some point, but why now, of all times?

Twilight didn’t seem to notice and simply continued talking. “The girls—I mean the ones from Ponyville—are dying to meet you. And I’m sure you’d like them. I mean, they’re not too different from the girls over here and—“

“Twilight,” Sunset whispered.

“—and Spike would like to see you again too—“

“Twilight.”

“—and we’d have my entire library to pick books from—“

“Twilight!”

“—and you could easily stay overnight, I mean, you’d need less than five minutes to get to Canterlot High through the portal, and—“

“Twilight, stop it!”

Twilight’s mouth fell shut, and she stared at Sunset with her eyes wide open. Sunset wondered just how loudly she had yelled at her and felt guilty. She took Twilight’s hand in a silent plea for forgiveness and added, much softer, “I can’t go back to Equestria.”

“Of course you can,” Twilight said. “The portal—“

“It has nothing to do with the portal, Twi! I’m just not ready to go back.”

“I don’t understand,” Twilight said and withdrew her hand. “What do you need to be ready for?”

Sunset sighed. For a moment she wondered how this night had gone from very promising to this kind of horrible so fast. How it could have happened that Twilight was now looking at her like this, no longer shocked by Sunset’s reaction, but with growing impatience.

“I can’t deal with it,” Sunset said. “I just can’t, okay?”

“But why? What’s this about?”

“It’s… I…” She closed her eyes. She really didn’t want to talk about this. The night on the kitchen floor had been bad enough.

“Tell me, Sunny!” Twilight urged her.

“I still feel like crap for what I was trying to do, for when I stole your crown and tried to enslave all of Equestria,” Sunset explained in a strained voice. “Some people here still aren’t really excited about me, and they saw me fight against some evil sirens. In Equestria, not so much.”

“Sunset, nopony is going to—“

“It’s not even about somepony looking at me the wrong way,” Sunset interrupted her. She spoke faster and more heatedly now. “I can probably deal with that. But it’s not the only thing I’ve done. I… Princess Celestia…”

She took a deep breath. How could she even begin to explain to Twilight how she felt about the way she had parted ways with Princess Celestia? How she was still angry at the condescending way her teacher had treated her? How humiliated she had felt—and still did—because of how Celestia had turned her back on her? How she used to blame Celestia for her lot, stranded in a strange world and returned to living like an adolescent? How guilty she felt about her betrayal when she had snuck through the portal—and how much more guilty she felt now because of her plan to enslave both worlds, and to destroy Twilight?

Going back to Equestria would mean having to face all of this. It would mean having to face other ponies, Princess Celestia—her entire inglorious past. She wasn’t ready for this.

“What about Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked as she didn’t continue talking.

The short version would have to do. “I betrayed her. And I failed her. Back then, when I left. And again, when… you know.” She still didn’t look up. She was shivering, she noticed.

“Sunset, I’m sure Princess Celestia… I can talk to her first, and you’ll see that—“

“Twi, stop it, please,” Sunset urged her. “I don’t want you to talk to Celestia! I don’t even want to think about going back to Equestria.”

“We’ll find a way to figure this out,” Twilight said, offering her a confident smile.

“Twi, please drop it!” Sunset said as the shivers got stronger. “I just can’t deal with her, okay? Can you please just accept that? I can’t deal with it!”

“But Sunset, I’m sure Princess Celestia would—“

“Never mind Celestia!” Sunset snapped. “I don’t wanna hear about how gentle and nice and forgiving she is! I know all that! It’s not about how forgiving or magnanimous or whatever she is!”

“Then what is the problem here, Sunset?” Twilight asked, getting more agitated as well.

“It’s…” Sunset exhaled slowly, trying to think of a way to explain this to Twilight. It wasn’t about Celestia being angry at her—if anything, Sunset knew she deserved it. She could deal with that, probably. She even shared Twilight’s confidence that Celestia would forgive her in the long run if she truly asked for it.

But she really didn’t want to explain how she still felt about Celestia and the way she had tossed her aside. Not that she had any right to still be upset, after all…

“Don’t tell me that ‘it’s complicated’! I want to understand what the issue is here!”

“Just leave me alone!” Sunset cried out. “I don’t want to deal with any of that, and I don’t want to talk about any of that, and can you just please for the love of—“ She started, not willing to refer to Celestia’s anything right now, let alone her love. Deflated, she added, “Just please drop it, okay?”

Twilight shied away from her, her eyes wide. She had scared her, Sunset realized. She had scared the one person that meant the most to her—the only person she could even begin to open up to about all that—all that stuff.

“Twi!” she begged. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to yell at you! It’s just—“

“No, it’s okay,” Twilight interrupted her, sounding a little shaky. She was also shivering, Sunset noticed as their eyes met. “Let’s just… calm down a bit, okay?”

“Yeah,” Sunset hurried to agree. She took a deep breath, never breaking eye contact with Twilight. Twilight extended her right arm, and for a moment Sunset thought she was reaching out to her, but then she realized Twilight was doing her calming breathing technique. “Twi, I—“

“May I?” Twilight didn’t even wait for Sunset’s consent before she continued, “Clearly this is upsetting you, and I don’t think there’s a point having this discussion when it’s just turning into a screaming match. What do you say?”

“Yeah, guess not. Let’s just drop it.”

“But only for now,” Twilight said firmly. “We’re postponing this topic until a time when we can talk about this calmly, okay?”

Sunset froze. Had Twilight not understood that she wasn’t ready to deal with anything related to Equestria? “Twi, really, I can’t—“

“If we continue dating, we’ll have to think about this at some point,” Twilight said. “I really want to continue dating you,” she added, and now her voice was raw with emotion. She reached out and took Sunset’s hand.

Sunset tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. “Of course I want to continue dating you too!” she hurried to say and squeezed Twilight’s hand. It was reassuring to hear Twilight say that. The idea of having to face the issue of her eventual return to Equestria again was less than pleasant, but she couldn’t help but see Twilight’s point. They’d have to discuss it at some point.

The longer she thought about it, holding Twilight’s hand and staring into her beautiful eyes, she crappier she felt about her reaction. She hadn’t even thought about Twilight, just her own stupid fears. Twilight deserved better than Sunset just shutting her down.

Well aren’t I a delightful little—

“You’re right,” she finally said with a hoarse voice. “We’ll talk about it. Just… not right away, okay?” She tugged on Twilight’s hand to get her to come closer. “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Twilight said. “I shouldn’t have pushed you like I did when I clearly saw that you were distressed.” She gave Sunset a weak smile. “I’m sorry, too.”

“I overreacted.”

“I don’t think so. This must really scare you,” Twilight mused, then quickly raised her free hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to pry again. I’ll take your word that we’ll talk about it some other time.” She put her hand back on Sunset’s cheek. “You know, it usually helps to talk about stuff that’s so scary, and I’m always here for you if you need somepony to listen, okay?”

Sunset swallowed hard. “Okay,” she whispered and rubbed her cheek against Twilight’s hand.

Twilight pulled her into a hug, and for a while they just knelt on the bed and leaned against each other. Sunset felt the tension slowly leave her, and as she slowly caressed Twilight’s back it was replaced by something else.

“You know,” she whispered, “I think we just had our first argument, and you know what they say about making up, right?”

Sunset couldn’t tell if Twilight was just playing coy or she was being honest when she replied, “No, what is it they say?”

Instead of an explanation Sunset slowly pressed her down until Twilight lay on her back and Sunset was kneeling over her. She held herself with one hand and wiped a strand of hair away from Twilight’s eyes before she moved in for the kiss.

***

Twilight let her hands wander up and down Sunset’s back, but most of her mind was occupied with returning the kiss. Sunset’s tongue circled around her lips, and Twilight’s met her halfway. As Sunset opened her mouth, a soft sigh escaped her. She stood up one of her legs to lift her hip against Sunset.

Sunset broke the kiss and moved down Twilight’s neck and past her collarbone, covering it in little kisses. She raised her rump from where she had been resting on Twilight to gain a better angle, but as she made her way lower and lower her lower backside brushed against Twilight’s thigh, effectively straddling her leg.

She lowered her hands on Sunset’s back, only stopping briefly for a playful tug on the hemline of Sunset’s pants. Sunset stopped kissing her for a moment and looked up at her with an almost comical begging expression in her cyan eyes. She gave her a brief nod and kissed the underside of Twilight’s chin, and Twilight moved her hands even lower, cupping Sunset’s buttocks through the thin fabric of her pajama pants.

Sunset moved up again and covered her mouth in another passionate kiss. Twilight noticed that she was panting, breathing through their interlocked lips. She returned the kiss with vigor, their tongues circling each other.

Sunset broke the kiss to give Twilight a playful gaze, and after a moment’s deliberation shoved her hand under Twilight’s top. Twilight inhaled sharply, but quickly remembered the lesson of how to not be ticklish. Instead she focused on the wonderful sensation of Sunset’s loving touch on her sensitive human skin.

But she wanted another kiss, and so she cupped Sunset’s face in both hands and nudged her back up. Sunset happily complied, and Twilight was almost overwhelmed by so much close contact with Sunset—kissing, her hands on her bare stomach, her thigh between Sunset’s legs…

Suddenly Sunset’s breathing became heavier. She broke the kiss and rested her head on Twilight’s shoulder, squirming against Twilight’s leg. After a soft moan she lifted her head again and looked into Twilight’s eyes. “Wow,” she whispered, smiling.

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed.

“That was definitely a first for me,” Sunset said.

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed again. Then a suspicion hit her. “Wait, what?”

“I, well… you know, with your leg, I…” Sunset blushed.

“You… you mean you…” Twilight found herself unable to complete the question. Sunset understood her anyway and nodded dreamily.

“I, um…” Twilight stammered, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. Had she really…? Just because of her leg…?

Sunset planted a kiss on Twilight’s chin and interrupted her train of thought. Her hand wandered to the hemline of Twilight’s pajama bottoms and playfully tugged on it. “I’d really like to return the favor,” Sunset whispered, her voice hoarse.

“It’s… the first time for me too,” Twilight said. Part of her wanted to gain some time to think through what was happening right now and what Sunset wanted to do. There were most likely implications that needed to be considered…

She looked into Sunset’s eyes, the blissful smile on her face, and she knew she didn’t care about implications. She took Sunset’s hand and slowly pushed it underneath the hemline of her pants before giving Sunset an, as she hoped, determined nod. Sunset happily obliged.

They maintained eye contact, even though Twilight felt a sudden surge of embarrassment. But the love she saw in Sunset’s eyes resting on her calmed her down and made her welcome Sunset’s touch even more. It wasn’t embarrassing at all, she realized. She was sharing this immense closeness with the girl she loved. If anything, it was absolutely amazing.

“Wow indeed,” Twilight said, breathing heavily, afterwards. She raised her head and kissed Sunset, who then sunk down next to her, resting her head on her shoulder.

“Yeah."

Twilight played with a lock of Sunset’s hair. Whether it was the lingering bliss or some other newfound source of confidence, she said, “Y’know… since the first time was kinda on accident, I fear I… may not really have learned anything from it.” She slowly moved her hand down Sunset’s body until it was resting on her hip. “So, for the sake of scientific rigor, would you… do it again?”

Sunset propped herself up and looked down on Twilight. “If we head down this path we may not get sleep at all tonight.”

Instead of a reply Twilight just rolled Sunset over and leaned over her. “Scientific rigor is very important,” she mumbled, moving her hand down Sunset’s stomach. “Here…”

***

I really want to know what’s going on up there, thought Twilight Sparkle. She stood above her bike outside the apartment building where the red and yellow-haired girl, that Sunset Shimmer, lived, and where, as she was reasonably certain, that same Sunset Shimmer and her visitor were now hiding in.

She shivered in the cold of the late autumn night, well aware that she couldn’t stick around for much longer. It was a school night after all.

Her receiving equipment was by now refined enough to give her exact readings from a distance, but she still needed a close-up full-spectrum analysis of the actual transgression, when one of the visitors, for instance the person always hiding under that blasted hoodie, actually emerged from what she was now fairly certain to be a gate to a parallel dimension. She needed a video, she needed all the scientific proof she could acquire to quiet every last bit of doubt—of which there would be lots and lots, considering the outlandish nature of her discovery.

So when earlier this week she had picked up a regular flurry of the low-level readings that, as she knew now, preceded a transgression, she had unfailingly grabbed her bike and had hurried to Canterlot High School to be there on time when it happened—at least as long as it was quite a bit after school hours, so she wouldn’t risk encountering the local student body. But there had been nothing.

And then, tonight, the bigger emission that signaled someone coming through that portal. Of course it had happened just during dinner, and by the time she had managed to get to Canterlot High School it was long over, and the square with the stature had been deserted.

So instead she had biked to the apartment which she had found thanks to her drone operations, and had found it lit. Shadows were moving in the windows, and by comparing those motions with some sample videos she found on the internet, Twilight determined that there were likely two people in the apartment.

Then the motions had stopped, although the apartment had remained lit. So they were probably not sleeping yet, but there was also no way Twilight could see what they were up to. Or what they looked like!

Mental note: bring the drone next time. She could just launch it from the street and have a short peek inside.

She thought of the option to just ring and see who opened up the door. Maybe they would even explain to her what was going on.

Yeah, or maybe they are insectoid monsters who will eat my face for uncovering their secret!

Besides, what good would that do her? She needed to be present, live and in color and some other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, when the transgression actually happened. And the way things were going, she would need an extraordinary amount of luck to be there in time. As had been shown the low-level readings didn’t give her an exact enough time frame. And she couldn’t keep the drones watching the portal at all times.

Not that that would help me at all if I saw them coming through with the drone. I need to be there! She stomped her foot on the cold sidewalk concrete. It was frustrating! Infuriating!

Twilight looked up at the still lit window on the second floor. Then an idea struck her. Of course! It was the very reason she had found this apartment in the first place! Because she had followed that Sunset Shimmer and the visitor there from the portal. After, which was at least a reasonable assumption, that Sunset Shimmer had come to welcome the visitor at the portal.

It was a long shot, but at least Twilight could get a clue when another transgression might take place. And, even more important, she would have enough time to get to the portal, especially if she could take her dad’s car. There would be false alarms, for sure—but at least it was a plan. Of sorts.

Still better than relying on dumb luck.

She would need a webcam, and a small battery pack, and some other bits and pieces she had probably lying around somewhere. Fixing it up would be so simple that she’d be able to do it in her sleep.

She turned around her bike, scanning the street for suitable spots for her cameras. Between the scrawny trees, the street signs, and the garbage bins there would be plenty of options to choose from. Maybe she could even find a way to get a second webcam installed higher up, with a good view through the second floor window. The fire escape looked promising.

All the possibilities!

School night or not, Twilight thought as she rode back home, now was the time for some tinkering.

***

Not enough sleep. Between fixing up her webcam with a battery unit and making sure her concoction’s web server was configured correctly and accessible through a secure shell, Twilight didn’t get more than two and a half hours of sleep before her alarm clock woke her up.

With her modified camera in her backpack, she had left her parents a note, claiming she’d left for school early to get some work done on her project—not entirely untrue, she thought as she cycled through the streets which were still pretty empty at this time of the day, two hours before school started. Maybe she’d find the time for another power nap before classes started, if she hurried enough.

Her greatest fear was that her targets would be up already, but when she arrived at the apartment again there were no lights on inside.

She pulled a fire iron from her backpack and used it to pull down the fire escape ladder. It clattered terribly as it fell down, and Twilight held her breath, expecting some window to light up and someone yelling at her, but nothing happened. Grinning she climbed up the ladder, grateful that her target was only on the second floor.

Up on the fire escape she checked the window. Her curiosity took over, and she pressed her face against the glass for a better look. It was dark inside and she didn’t get a very good look inside, but could clearly discern a bedroom. In the bed there were two people; although they were huddled against one another so close that she could hardly tell their bodies apart, she could see a red-and-yellow-haired head and one very bare yellow shoulder with a purple arm wrapped around it. Maybe those visitors didn’t wear clothes when they slept?

Fighting back an unexpected blush, Twilight set to work. She put down her backpack and arranged her equipment on the fire escape: the modified webcam, a C clamp, a screwdriver, a headlamp, and a roll of duct tape.

She put on the headlamp and got to work in its light. With the C clamp it was trivial to fix the webcam to the handrail of the fire escape. Twilight connected her phone to the webcam to check the image transfer and was pleased to see that she had a clear albeit somewhat granular image of the two sleepers. She waved her hand in front of the camera and was pleased to get an almost instantaneous alert on her phone—the motion detection program appeared to be functional. She still wrapped a layer of duct tape around the clamp for good measure, just in case.

Chancing another glance at that naked shoulder Twilight took a deep breath. This was it, she was sure. The next time the visitor came over, she’d be ready. No more missed opportunities. Not anymore.