//------------------------------// // Intermission // Story: Her Knight in Sunlit Armor // by AliceLiz //------------------------------// “Twilight, breathe,” came Cadance’s soothing voice. “Remember how I showed you.” Twilight brought her hand to her chest as she breathed in. She held it there for a few seconds, and then released her breath, her hand moving in an outward motion. “I don’t think I can do this,” Twilight moaned. It was Friday evening, and Cadance was helping Twilight get ready for her very first date. “Twilight, stay still if you don’t want makeup in your eyes,” Cadance warned, bringing the makeup brush back to Twilight’s right eye. Twilight stopped moving her body, though her mind was not as easily quieted. “What if I do something wrong? Or what if she realizes she doesn’t like me? What if I knock over my drink and spill it all over her?!” Twilight cried. Cadance sighed, shaking her head. “Twilight, you’re overthinking this.” She put a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “Sunset agreed to go on this date with you, and you told me yourself that she said she was looking forward to it.” “But-” “No buts! ”Cadance declared. “You don’t need to do everything perfectly, she isn’t going to suddenly not like you, and if you spill something on her,”Cadance paused to give another sigh. “Knowing you, you’ll apologize profusely, and then try to wipe it off yourself with a napkin and just make the whole thing even more awkward.” Cadance finished, refocusing on applying Twilight’s eyeshadow. “What? But… That’s-” Twilight squirmed under Cadance’s ministrations. “Aren’t you supposed to be reassuring me?” she accused. “Oh, I am, ladybug.” Cadance cooed, lowering the makeup brush. “Look, what I’m trying to say is that even if you do something silly, the worst thing that’ll happen is that you embarrass yourself. And maybe Sunset, too while you’re at it.” She trailed off. “But it’s not like she’ll hate you for that! Now keep still while I finish, I’m almost done.” Twilight obliged. “There we go,” Cadance took a few steps back, giving Twilight an appreciative look. “You look great, Twily. And you really don’t need to worry this much. Sunset likes you, Twilight. And even though this is your first date with her, she’s not going to be expecting you to be any different to who you normally are.” Twilight nodded, taking another deep breath. “Okay, I guess you’re right.” She stood up and turned to look at herself in the mirror. What she saw was a very pretty, and very surprised girl looking back at her. She smiled at her reflection. “I… I think I’m ready.” She said with newfound confidence. Cadance dropped Twilight off at the restaurant Sunset had picked for the date. It was a local Indian cuisine place that Twilight had visited a few times with her family called The Tasty Treat. She had been expecting Sunset to pick a posh restaurant where the menu was in French, or something like that, but seeing a familiar place helped settle her nerves a tiny bit. “Good luck, Twily!” Cadance called through the open car window, before driving off. Twilight looked back to the restaurant, and noticed Sunset standing by the entrance, waving at her with a smile. She was wearing pretty casual clothes. An orange blouse, pink skirt and, of course, her signature leather jacket. Twilight made a mental note to thank Cadance for making sure she didn’t overdress. Twilight herself was wearing her parka to stave off the cold, and underneath, the purple skirt, and dark blue blouse and socks that Sunset had helped her pick during their mall trip. It was quickly becoming her favorite outfit. “Hey, Twi. It’s great to see you again,” Sunset greeted her with a hug. “Hi, Sunset. Have you been waiting long? Are you cold?” “Nah, I’m fine,” Sunset replied. “Com’on, let’s go inside. Sunset led the way inside, and picked a table near the window. “You look great, by the way,” Twilight said, feeling her cheeks warm up. She took off her parka, and placed it on the back of her chair before sitting down. “Thanks,” Sunset smiled. “You look pretty hot yourself.” She wiggled her eyebrows, causing Twilight to blush, and look away bashfully. “Uh, th-thanks,” she said, twirling a lock of hair in her finger. Sunset turned her attention to the menu, prompting Twilight to do the same. Though she didn’t need to, since she always got the same thing when she came here. “So, you’ve been here before, right?” Sunset asked, looking up from the menu. Twilight nodded. “Anything you could recommend?” Twilight bit her lip. “Sorry, I never tried any of their vegetarian dishes.” Sunset shrugged. “That’s alright. I’ll just go with the vegetarian curry. It looks pretty good.” “I always have the chicken tikka masala when I come here.” Twilight said. The waiter came over and they placed their orders. When the waiter left, Twilight tried to come up with something to say. But when nothing came to mind, she started fiddling with her napkin, occasionally shooting timid glances at the gorgeous girl across from her. Sunset just sat there, with her head resting in her hand, smiling at Twilight. The moment was broken by the sound of Sunset’s phone vibrating in her pocket. Sunset frowned. “Sorry, I forgot to set it to silent,” she said, while reluctantly pulling it out. When she saw who the caller was, she groaned before denying the call. “Ponyfeathers, them again?” Twilight perked up. This was the third time Sunset had been bothered by someone trying to contact her. “Who is it?” As soon as Sunset opened her mouth, she added, “and please don’t say ‘nothing worth wasting our time with’.” She gave Sunset a beseeching look. Sunset closed her mouth, looking guilty. “Okay,” she said, quietly. “It’s my old friends. They keep saying they want to see me.” If she could, Twilight would have raised a single eyebrow. “And I take it you don’t want to see them?” Sunset shook her head. “Well,” Twilight said, tentatively. “Maybe they found out who framed you and they want to apologize?” Sunset snorted. “Yeah, that’s probably it. But I don’t really feel like listening to them either way.” “Well, what if you met up with them and shouted at them. Would that make you feel better?” Twilight asked, with the most doting voice, and playful smile she could muster. Sunset chuckled. “Maybe. Can we talk about something else, now?” Twilight nodded. “Sure.” She wracked her brain once more for a topic, and settled on the thing that had dominated their conversations in the past few days. “We could talk more about Equestria?” she suggested. Sunset nodded, her smile returning. “Alright, what do you want to know?” Twilight leaned forward, over the table, her eyes glinting with excitement. “When can I see it?” Sunset hesitated. “Uh, I guess we can go whenever. But we’d probably want a few days off for it. Maybe we can go during spring break?” Twilight pouted. “But that’s, like, two months away. Can’t we go sooner?” she pleaded. Sunset giggled. “Okay, okay. We can take a weekend trip if you want.” Twilight’s face lit up. “Can we go tomorrow?” she chirped. Sunset guffawed, a stark contrast to how she was only a minute ago. “That’s way too short notice, Twi. If you really want to go as soon as possible, we can plan a trip for next weekend.” Twilight sat back up straight. “Okay, I guess I can wait a week. Ooh, I might be able to convince Cadance to give us that Friday off school. That way we can go even sooner and stay even longer!” Sunset crossed her arms. “I didn’t think you’d want to miss school for anything less than an emergency,” she said, playfully. Twilight snorted. “Normally not, but for something like this?! Honestly, if I had my way we’d leave tomorrow and not come back until I was satisfied.” Sunset raised an eyebrow, making Twilight a little jealous. “Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t take me too long to satisfy you,” she said with a salacious smile. Twilight’s eyes widened, and her cheeks burned. Sunset wiggled her eyebrows a few times, before the two of them broke down into laughter. Sunset walked Twilight home after the date. When they reached her front door, Twilight didn’t know what to say. Thankfully, Sunset did. “I had a really great time tonight,” she smiled at her date. Twilight blushed. “I had a great time too, Sunset.” Sunset pulled her in for a hug. It was much the same as the ones they’d shared before, but it felt… warmer, somehow. They drew back only enough to see each others’ faces, but they kept holding each other. They stood there, in the snow, just staring at each other and holding each other. But it wasn’t awkward, at least, Twilight didn’t feel that way. To her, this moment felt a lot like what Cadance would sometimes describe to her. She was transfixed by the beautiful girl smiling at her. Slowly, they drew closer again. Twilight’s eyes focused on Sunset’s full lips. Her eyes lidded, and shut. Her heart beat in her chest as she puckered her lips, preparing for the kiss. Then, the moment was broken, when she felt something soft and warm rubbing against her cheek. Twilight opened her eyes, and saw Sunset rubbing their cheeks together, humming in delight. “Uh… Sunset?” Twilight said. Sunset backed up a step, giving her a questioning look. “Did you just… nuzzle me?” Twilight asked, her face halfway between confused and amused. Sunset blushed. “Uhm, I guess I did. Oh… you were going in for a kiss, weren’t you?” she added, sheepishly. Twilight nodded, fighting off her giggles. “I guess I’ll have to wait until the second date for that,” she said, playfully. “O-Okay. So… I’ll see you tomorrow?” Sunset asked, recovering from her embarrassment. Twilight nodded, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She opened the door, but before going through, she gave Sunset a quick nuzzle back, then rushed inside with a giggle.