//------------------------------// // 2. The New Status Quo // Story: Her Knight in Sunlit Armor // by AliceLiz //------------------------------// When Twilight got off the bus, she could hardly believe how the day had gone. Sunset wants to spend time with me outside school? She thought, she actually wants to spend time with me after school! Her smile kept returning every time she thought about the mall trip tomorrow. The walk from the bus stop to her home was only a few minutes long, and by the time she reached her house, her giddy excitement had barely faded. She made a beeline for the kitchen, throwing out a casual “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,” when she passed them in the living room, and getting a pair of greetings in response. She found a plate of lasagna in the fridge and popped it in the microwave. She gave Spike a few belly rubs while she waited. Then she brought her heated dinner out to the living room, intending to take it upstairs to her bedroom. “How was school?” Her mother asked. “Cadance told us that you were tutoring a new student.” Twilight stopped to answer her. “It was great!” Twilight said happily. “Sunset’s really fun to talk to. We’re even going hang out at the mall tomorrow.” Her parents faces lit up. “You made a friend!?” Twilight Velvet squeed. She stood up from the sofa and pulled her daughter into a hug. “That’s wonderful.” Twilight moved her plate to the side, making sure it didn’t get spilled all over them in the hug. Velvet backed off. “And what are you tutoring her in?” “Biology, mostly. But she’ll need a bit of help catching up in most of her classes.” Twilight replied. “Oh, biology is such a bore” Velvet droned, “I could never remember the names of all the different hormones and muscle types and cell parts.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, lucky for me, Sunset actually finds the subject fascinating.” Twilight said. “That’s good to hear, sweetie,” Night added. “Thanks. So, can I go eat my food before it gets cold again?” Twilight asked sarcastically. Velvet gave her a stern look. “Not if you think you’re going to eat it in your room, young lady.” Twilight rolled her eyes and returned to the kitchen. After her late dinner, Twilight went to her bedroom and collapsed into her desk chair. Her bedroom was an appropriate one for a bookworm like her. She had a bed at the far wall with a wardrobe next to it, a desk under a poster of the periodic table of elements to the right. And to the left, a telescope pointing out the window flanked by two bookcases. Twilight turned on her computer and opened up MyStable. She had given Sunset’s profile a glance at the bus stop, but she was curious how much she could find out about her new friend. Not in a creepy way or anything, though. She was just curious about the few other friends Sunset had on there. Twilight looked at the short list and felt knot of nervous excitement at seeing herself in there. She then looked at the other two names on that list. Celestia and Luna. They felt familiar to Twilight. She was sure she had seen those names together somewhere, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She shrugged and decided she’d simply ask Sunset about it sometime. Putting that question on the back-burner, Twilight decided to have a look at what stores were in the mall. She hadn’t been there in ages and wanted to, at the very least, plan out which stores she wanted to visit. The bookstore captured her interest, naturally. The arcade might be fun, if Sunset was interested too. Or the cinema, Twilight was a little interested in a Sci-fi movie they where showing this week. There were an awful lot of clothes stores there, Sunset would probably want to check some of those out. A half hour of idle research later, and Twilight remembered something rather important. She still had to write up Indigo’s essay for her geology class, and she only had a couple of hours left before she had to send it to Indigo! Looking over the project description that Indigo had sent her, Twilight knew it would take more time than she had to get an A worthy essay. Hopefully Indigo won’t be too mad about a B. Why do so many students leave their work till the very last day? Twilight lamented, as she cracked her knuckles and got to work. Twilight didn’t feel great when she woke up. Having to hastily write an essay the way she did made her feel awful, even if it wasn’t for her own class. She had done the necessary research in only half an hour, and had less than two hours to actually write the essay before she had to send it over to Indigo so she could turn it in before the deadline. The essay was clearly not meant to be written in one day, and had it actually been assigned to Twilight, she would certainly not have left it so long before starting it. She did her best to put the pestering thoughts out of her mind as she pulled herself out of bed and into the bathroom for her morning routine. After a quick shower, she went downstairs for breakfast, barely mumbling a ‘good morning’ to her dad — Clearly her mood still hadn’t fully recovered — before sitting down and pouring herself some cereal. “Sleep well?” Night asked tentatively. “Not really,” Twilight grumbled, “had some persistent thoughts keeping me up.” “Worrying about the trip to the mall today?” Her dad asked as he sipped his coffee. Twilight was about to correct his assumption before her sleep-addled mind remembered that she didn’t want to talk about Indigo pawning off homework to her. She already knew it was pointless, Indigo had Principal Cinch on her side, and with Cinch’s connections and authority, that made Indigo practically untouchable. “Yeah, something like that,” Twilight took advantage of the easy lie. “Mom sleeping in today?” Night laughed, “Making your own schedule has it’s perks,” he responded. “Shining’s still at Cadance’s. I swear if this keeps up, he’ll have practically moved there by Monday.” Twilight just nodded at that. She finished her breakfast quickly and went back to her room to get ready for school. She put on her school uniform and put her hair into her usual bun. She stared at her reflection for a while, noticing some imperfections in her skin. She took out her seldom used makeup kit that her aunt had bought for her birthday. She didn’t know much about using makeup, but she could at least put on some concealer and eyeshadow. She then took a brush to her hair, loosing her bun and putting it in a ponytail instead. That looks a bit more casual, she thought. She wanted to look her best today, it wasn’t often she had someone to look good for. Family didn’t count, of course. When she was satisfied she had done the best that her — admittedly limited — abilities allowed, Twilight went downstairs. The bus ride to school was rather monotonous, so she listened to some Bach to pass the time. Her first class today was Biology. She was the first student in the classroom when the bell rang, and she took her usual seat in the front. As she watched the other students enter and take their seats, she was surprised to see a familiar red and blond haired girl enter the classroom. “Sunset!” Twilight waved her friend over, and Sunset took the desk next to hers. “Hey, Twilight. I’m glad to have a familiar face in at least one of my classes” Sunset said. The teacher entered the classroom and Twilight and Sunset got out their textbooks and notebooks. The class ended up being mostly a lecture, with the students really only taking down notes. Twilight looked over at Sunset from time to time, and found that she seemed rather bored. Thought she was still taking notes on everything. Twilight leaned over to Sunset while the teacher was facing the whiteboard. “Are you getting any of this?” She whispered to the distracted girl. “Just bits and pieces. I’ll have to look over my notes again when I’m caught up” Sunset whispered back. Class continued in that same way until the bell rang. “So,” Twilight began as she and Sunset started down the hallway, “did you have any plans for the mall today?” “Well, there are a few stores I want to check out, but mostly I figured we’d just roam around and see if anything interested us.” Sunset shrugged. “It’s not that big, so we don’t really need to plan it out meticulously.” She paused and gave Twilight a curious glance, “unless you want to plan every detail?” Twilight started twirling a lock of her hair in her finger. “I do have a habit of planning these kinds of things down to the last detail. But I wouldn’t mind just ‘winging it’ if that’s what you prefer.” Sunset smiled at her, “okay, if you’re sure.” She looked at one of the classroom doors. “This is my next class,” She said, pointing over her shoulder at the door. “Okay, I’ll see you later,” Twilight waved goodbye. “See you at lunch?” Sunset asked. “Sure,” Twilight’s eyes lit up with the suggestion. She had an extra spring in her step as she made her way to her next class. Twilight’s next two classes where uneventful, and she quickly found herself in the cafeteria, sitting down at an empty table in one corner. After a few moments, she was joined by Sunset. “Hey, Twilight,” Sunset said. She did not have a tray of food with her, and instead pulled a lunch box out of her backpack. “Hi, Sunset. You get a packed lunch?” Twilight asked as she started eating her bland tasting chicken nuggets. “Yup. I’m vegetarian, so I can’t eat most of the food they serve here.” Sunset explained “Plus I’ve heard that it tastes pretty bad.” she added in a stage whisper. Twilight looked hungrily at the salad and fruits in Sunset’s lunch box, then turned her gaze to her own bland looking lunch, her face falling. Sunset had clearly seen this, since Twilight heard her laugh. She looked up and saw Sunset push her lunch box a little closer to Twilight. “Here,” she said, smiling, “you can have some of mine if you want. Mom always gives me more than I need anyway.” Twilight returned Sunset’s smile with one of her own. “Thanks,” she said. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Twilight mostly ate her own lunch, but would have a piece of fruit or salad now and then. It really put into perspective how much better it was than the cafeteria food. “So, how do you like Crystal prep so far?” Twilight asked in between bites. “I like it,” Sunset responded, “it’s more demanding than my old school, which is good, because my old school was a bit too slow for me. The extra schoolwork also gives me something to spend my free time on now that I don’t have a whole group of friends to spend it with.” Sunset’s face fell for a moment. She sighed before her smile returned. “Most of the students here aren’t great, but I seem to have found the best one.” She winked and nudged Twilight’s shoulder playfully. Twilight blushed. “I’m not… I don’t…” she stuttered. “Uhm. Thanks,” she eventually said. Twilight went back to her food, and before long, she noticed that Sunset was finished. Her head was resting in one hand, the arm propped on the table, and she was looking at her. “Everything okay?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, I just noticed you have your hair in a ponytail today.” Sunset reached out and fiddled with Twilight’s hair, causing her fading blushing to return. “I like it. It suits you.” Sunset added. Twilight made a mental note to wear her hair in a ponytail more often. “Th-thanks,” Twilight had no idea what else to say, so she just went back to her food. When she was finished, they still had a few minutes before their next class. “What’s your schedule like?” Twilight asked,” I’m curious to see if we share any more classes.” They both pulled up their schedules on their phones to compare. “Oh, we have P.E. together too!” Twilight said cheerfully.” I hate that class, maybe now it’ll be a bit more bearable.” Sunset chuckled. “What are friends for, if not to make boring classes fun,” she said sarcastically. They spent the rest of the lunch period chatting about what books they liked, and soon the conversation was centered around the Daring Do series. “My favorite is Daring Do and the Griffin’s Goblet.” Twilight said, her eyes shining with joy at being able to talk about one of her favorite book series to someone who had actually read them. “I like that one too,” Sunset said, tentatively, “but my favorite has got to be Daring Do and the Legend of the Lost Art.” Sunset took a sip from her water bottle. Twilight gave her a confused look. “But, that one doesn’t come out until next summer.” She stated. Sunset’s eyes widened, and started choking on the water. After a few moments, and a few slaps on the back, courtesy of Twilight, Sunset recovered and gave a nervous laugh. “Sorry, I’m just so exited for that one, I sometimes say it’s name by mistake. I meant to say that my favorite is Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny.” “You must be excited for the movie then too, right?” Twilight asked. Sunset nodded. “Definitely. Which book do you think they'll choose for the story?” “I personally hope they pick the Griffin's Goblet, but being realistic, I assume they’ll pick the Quest for the Sapphire Stone.” Twilight replied. Just at that moment, the bell rang, and they left the cafeteria for their class. Twilight looked back at her schedule. “Hey, we have P.E. now, I can show you how to get to the gym,” Twilight offered. They stopped over at their lockers to grab their P.E. outfits. Twilight led her friend over to the gymnasium, outside and off to one side of the main building. “So, I heard this place is pretty big on sports, not to mention all the trophy displays in the hallways.” Sunset said. “Yes, but thankfully that's just if you're on the sports teams. P.E. class isn’t too bad. Usually just some running and a game, like soccer or dodgeball. I usually just stand in the corner for the last two.” Twilight added quietly. Sunset giggled. “Yeah, you do seem like that type.“ They got to the locker room and changed into their P.E. uniforms, Twilight keeping her eyes locked on the inside of her locker the whole time. The school had its own P.E. uniform in addition to the normal one, thus all the students had the same dark red shorts and dark blue t-shirt. Today, they were just running laps. Sunset stayed next to Twilight the whole time, even though it was clear that she could have been going much faster. They shared the occasional conversation, but they were mostly pretty short, largely because Twilight had a hard time talking in between her panting. She was thankful for the company anyway. With twenty minutes left of class, the teacher had them all play dodgeball. Twilight and Sunset were put on the same team and Twilight, true to her word, spent the whole time in the corner, hoping she wouldn’t be targeted. Most of the other students had learned that she wasn’t a threat and had stopped aiming for her. Sunset, meanwhile became very competitive. She wasn’t the best shot on the team, but she was good at paying attention to everything that was happening — an impressive feat given that they were playing with four separate balls — and actually shouted out orders and warnings every now and then to her teammates. She even got Twilight to throw a ball a couple of times when one landed near her. She missed every time, of course, but it still felt kinda nice to not be invisible for once. Back in the locker room came the part that Twilight always dreaded, no matter how many times she did it. Twilight kept her face close to her locker as all the girls undressed and went to the showers, chatting happily about some gossip or other. She fought to keep her blush at bay as she herself stripped, keeping her eyes focused on the inside of her locker. “Hurry up, Twilight, I want to get all this sweat cleaned off ASAP.” Twilight turned to look at Sunset and instantly lost the battle with her blush. Sunset was completely naked, unless you counted the towel she had tossed over her shoulder. Twilight quickly turned her eyes back to her locker, but the image stuck in her head. “Sunset! Uhm, that was, uh, quick. J-just gimme a sec.” Her anxiety only increased at the thought of Sunset watching her as she finished undressing. “Oh, right.” Sunset said in an apologetic voice.” People often tell me I’m a bit too comfortable with nudity. My bad.” Twilight heard the rustling of a towel, and when she had undressed herself, she turned and saw that Sunset had wrapped her towel around herself, just as Twilight had. They went into the showers and Twilight did her best to think about anything other than the room full of naked girls she was in. It was made slightly easier with her glasses off. Sunset continued their conversation about Daring Do, completely unfazed by her surroundings. Well, she did say she was comfortable with nudity, Twilight reasoned. She kept up the conversation with Sunset, glad for the distraction. Though she was putting in a lot more effort to maintain eye contact than usual. Once they had finished, and gotten dressed, Sunset and Twilight headed for Twilight’s lab. On the way there, Twilight tried to get the image of Sunset’s naked body out of her mind, but it kept popping up again and again. I have a feeling it’s going to pop up tonight when I go to sleep, too. Twilight already felt ashamed at the thought. It wouldn’t be the first time she did that while thinking about the P.E. locker room, but… thinking that way about a friend made her feel… dirty. They made their way to Twilight’s lab, since P.E. was their last class of the day. Twilight kept her eyes fixed straight forward until they got there, barely engaging with Sunset who was now talking about something she was having trouble with in her chemistry class. Twilight managed to get that image out of her head after a few minutes of tutoring Sunset. Instead of continuing with their biology recap, Twilight and Sunset decided to spend this study session on helping Sunset with the small gaps in her knowledge in her other classes. They made sure not to get too distracted and spend the whole afternoon here, like yesterday. “How are we getting to the mall, by the way?” Sunset asked, “I kinda forgot to think about that.” “I might be able to get Cadance to drive us, or we could take the bus.” Twilight replied. Looking at the clock on the wall, she noticed it was only a few minutes to until the bus arrived. “If we leave now we can catch the bus and be at the mall in about twenty minutes.” Sunset nodded. “Okay, that works.” She put her textbooks into her backpack. Twilight stood up, stretching her arms, then put on her coat and scarf. “What do you want to do first when we get there?” she asked. “I kinda want to go to the arcade,” Sunset said. “That sounds fun.” They left the lab and made their way to their lockers, dropping off their school supplies, before heading outside. It was snowing now. Sunset pulled her jacket tighter around herself, while Twilight put on a pair of dark blue mittens she’d had in her pockets. “Ugh, I hate winter.” She complained. Twilight giggled. “Winter’s actually my favorite season.” Sunset gave her an incredulous look. “How can you actually like winter?” “Because I love how everything looks in the snow. I like being able to wear my parka, and because there aren’t any bugs in the winter,” Twilight counted off her fingers. The effect was diminished by the mittens. “Well, I miss the sun,” Sunset said. “And the warmth, and the soft grass.” After a brief pause, she chuckled. “Figures you’d be the type to be scared of bugs,” she teased. Twilight pouted at her. “I’m not scared of bugs,” she defended herself. “They just make me feel really uncomfortable when they’re around.” They got to the relative safety of the bus stop shelter, which protected them from most of the falling snow. Sunset shivered and pulled up the collar of her jacket. Noticing this, Twilight took off her scarf. “Here. You look like you’re freezing.” Sunset eyed the scarf for a second, then smiled and accepted it. “Thanks.” The scarf didn’t exactly match Sunset’s colors, but it at least kept her warm. Looking at her phone, Twilight saw it was still a couple of minutes before the bus would arrive. “So,” Sunset broke the short silence, “What projects are you working on in that lab of yours? Must be something pretty important, right?” Twilight nodded fervently. “I have a couple of projects going on right now. There’s one I’ve been working on for four months that I’m completely stuck on.” Sunset crossed her arms. “Four months, huh? That’s a pretty long time.” “I know! It’s infuriating sometimes,” Twilight huffed. “So, it started out as a simple research paper where I wanted to measure electromagnetic activity in the city. And a few days in, I picked up some readings that couldn’t be explained by anything that would be considered normal in a city. It was some kind of incredibly strong electromagnetic field, localized to a very small area.” Twilight took a deep breath, having spent all her air during her rant. “Uhm. Did you say this happened four months ago?” Sunset rubbed the back of her head, nervously. Twilight nodded. “And it wouldn’t have been happening around Canterlot High, would it?” Twilight’s eyes widened in excitement. “That’s exactly where I picked up the readings! Do you know something about it? Were you there?!” Sunset shook her head and hands. “No! I just used to go to CHS before I transfered here, but… uhm. I wasn’t at school that day, I just heard from the other student’s that something really strange had happened.” She laughed nervously. Twilight wasn’t fully convinced, but it was clear that whether or not Sunset knew something, she didn’t want to talk about it. At least, not now. “Okay,” Twilight conceded. “I guess the only lead I have left is to go there and ask people if they saw anything.” “Uhm. I don’t think that would get you anywhere,” Sunset said. “From what I could tell, the students didn’t have anything concrete on what happened. Just sort of vague descriptions and stuff.” More nervous laughter. Twilight remained unconvinced. Did it have something to do with her personally? Did she do something that she doesn’t want me to know about? Or maybe she just doesn’t want me to talk to her old classmates, she did say she didn’t want to talk about her past and that she wanted a fresh start. While she pondered Sunset’s odd behavior, the bus showed up. Twilight got in and Sunset followed her. After taking their seats, Sunset immediately changed the subject. “I still don’t understand how you could actually like winter,” she huffed, brushing stray snowflakes off her jacket. Twilight rolled her eyes. She humored Sunset’s change in subject, but made a mental note about her odd behavior.