Learning To Be Happy, Together

by Smjames

Learning To Be Happy, Together

“Clothes bag?”
“Check.”
“Spare glasses?”
“Double check.”
“Toothbrush?”
“Ah, do I really need that? We’re only gonna be there for one night. Surely I can just-”
“Toothbrush?”
Juniper sighed, but it was a happy sound rather than exasperated. Mostly.
“Okay, I’ve got it.” Juniper pulled out the offending item, then stuffed it back in her bag. “I was just trying to see if I could tease it past you.”
Sunset play-glared at her for a moment before laughing. “Yeah, sure, like I was gonna let you forget that easily.”
Juniper smiled back at her easily. It was always easy to smile when Sunset was around. “I was hoping you would forget, but it seems that I forgot who I was dealing with.”
The two shared a look then broke down laughing, using the stone of the Canterlot High Statue to stay on their feet. It was early in the morning on Saturday, so the school grounds were predictably empty save for them. The day was pretty enough, but Juniper had paid nearly zero attention to that, since all her focus was on the journey she was about to take to another world with her girlfriend.
Man, did it feel good to think that sentence.
The past few weeks of dating Sunset had been a glorious haze of movie nights, coffee dates, and wandering around the mall just talking about anything and everything (while consciously avoiding that one part of the mall Juniper had trashed that one time, cause that would be awkward and nobody wanted that), but today was different. Today was special. Today was her chance to see the place that Sunset had come from.
Equestria. The land of magical ponies.
‘Oooooh, this is gonna be so much fun I can’t wait!’ she squeed in her head.
She’d begged and pleaded with Sunset for days to convince her, and though Sunset had been reluctant at first, Juni’s continued prodding had eventually broken through to her. Now, here they were, all set to go spend the whole day and even night in another world. It was an opportunity that Juni would have never imagined getting to have, but now it was here, and she was just so excited she could barely keep from hopping in place!
“Woah, easy there Juni!” Sunset said as she pressed down on Juniper’s shoulders to ease her up on her in-place shimmying. “We’re going now, calm down!”
“How can I be calm?” Juni all but shouted. “I’m going to magical horse land!”
“Ponies,” Sunset automatically corrected. “And yeah, I get why you’re excited.”
“So just let me be excited then!” Juni cried, hugging Sunset tightly. “This is, like, the biggest day of my life right now! Getting to see a whole other world, the place that you come from, it’s such a big opportunity.”
Sunset sighed goodnaturedly, returning the hug. “Okay, okay, well, just try to stay steady at least. Going through is quite the… transition, so be ready to be off balance. Literally.”
Juniper nodded. “I’m ready for anything. Especially with you around to guide me.”
Sunset smiled back at her. “That’s the plan.” She took Juni’s hand and they both turned to face the portal set in the statue’s pedestal.
“Ready?”
“Yup.”
“Okay… here we go.”
The two girls stepped forward, and for an insane moment Juniper feared running into the solid looking stone even though she’d seen the portal in use already. Then, they touched the stone… and the world turned right-side-out and inside-up.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaah-oof!”
Juniper felt her eyes rolling around in her head as she landed on a hard, smooth surface and went skidding for a fair distance. Behind her she heard Sunset let out a gasp and come running her way. Only instead of the squeak of sneakers, there was the clopping of hooves.
“Juni! Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t think you’d come through with so much momentum.”
“I’m alright,” Juniper said, trying to stand up. “Just need to get u-”
As she lifted up onto her legs, she tettered around, flapping her arms around before landing on her… hooves? Ooooooooh.
Juniper looked down at her arms, finding that they were instead another pair of legs with fur the same cream color as her skin. Looking back over her shoulder, she could see Sunset looking at her with a cautious smile, her girlfriend looking absolutely adorable as a soft furred, beautiful pony.
“Wow… you look amazing.”
Sunset blushed, causing her orangy-yellow fur to somehow light up red. “Thanks… you look pretty good too. So… what do you think?”
Juniper looked around at the room they were in, marveling at the gorgeous crystal decor of the room, then realized the whole room was made from crystal. “Um… well this place in particular is very… shiny.”
Sunset mulled that one over, saying, “Yeah, it is very ostentatious, but I actually meant you being a pony now. You want try walking around a bit?”
“Uuuuuum…” Juniper looked down at her four legs with more than a little hesitance. Standing in one place wasn’t too hard, she just had to pretend to be on her hands and knees and it just kinda worked, but moving?
She looked back at Sunset with a weak smile. “Catch me if I fall?”
Sunset returned the smile, her horn - she had a horn! - lighting up with a bluish aura. “Always. Just try taking a few steps. It’s like riding a bike. It becomes natural once you get used to it.”
“Okay.” Juniper faced forward and slowly, carefully, delicately lifted one of her new forelegs. She moved it forward a bit then set it back down.
‘So far so good. Now for the next… wait, which leg next?’
She looked back at her hind legs, trying to figure out which one to move first. Eventually she defaulted to the leg diagonal to the one she moved already. That seemed to be somewhat stable, so she moved her other foreleg next, then the other hind leg, and tada, she was a foot further forward without falling over!
“How’s that?” she asked Sunset.
“Great so far,” Sunset praised. “Keep at it.”
Juniper let out a breath, took another back in, and tried to speed up the process. At first, it wasn’t so bad, crawling forward at a snail’s pace while focusing on keeping all her limbs moving at the right times. Then she got confident and tried to walk faster, only to trip herself up by moving two legs on the same side.
“Wooah!”
A blue aura appeared around her just she started to slip, bringing her back onto her feet.
“Not bad,” Sunset told her as she trotted up alongside her. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it with practice.”
“And a bit of help,” Juniper said as she nuzzled her cheek against Sunset’s, causing her girlfriend to erupt into blushing again.
‘Ha! And my mom said I’d never learn anything from owning a cat! Shows her.’
The pair of them were startled from their private moment as a loud bang came from outside the door, followed by what Juniper could only assume was the sound of hooves screeching on crystal. The door was forced open by a turquoise aura, and there in the entrance stood a very familiar looking pony.
“Oh darn it, you guys have already arrived!” Starlight moaned as she walked towards them, her hair - mane? - somewhat askew. “Sorry about not being here to greet you. Things got a bit hectic in the kitchen today. Twilight and Spike are down there still trying to take care of the mess.”
“Is everything okay?” Sunset asked with a hint of concern.
Starlight waved her hoof in a way Juniper suspected was supposed to be disarming. “Oh yeah, it’s all good. Just um… for future notice, enchanting all the kitchen utensils to do the cooking for you on a cycle maaaay not be the best of ideas if you aren’t watching what they’d doing closely. They can get a bit… overzealous if left unchecked.”
Juniper smiled, comforted that even in this strange new world, something things were familiar. “Sounds like a real Mage’s Student situation there.”
Starlight quirked an eyebrow at her. “What’s that?”
Juniper smirked while Sunset elbowed - did that term still work? - her with a grin of her own. “Just a reference to a human thing. Anyway, it’s good to see you again Starlight.”
“You too, Sunset,” Starlight returned. “You as well, Juniper. You doing okay?”
Juniper nodded. “Better than ever now that I have Sunset. Still… thanks for helping me out that day.”
Starlight walked over and slung her hoof over Juniper’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s what friends do, you know? I may be learning, but that doesn’t mean I can teach others what I already know.”
“True enough,” Sunset said. “So, should we go see Twilight before we head out on the town?”
In the distance there was a colossal crashing noise, followed by screams of incoherent shouting.
The three mares looked out into the hall, then at each other.
“I think we should let her focus on her, um… task,” Starlight offered. “Come on, I’ll show you both around Ponyville.”
Juniper, trying to put away the lingering worry about the very chaotic sounding situation downstairs, focused on the movement of her legs, which was slowly getting easier, all while a current of excitement sparked through her. She was gonna see a town full of ponies!

The first few steps down from the door of the crystal castle - crystal castle, so cooool! - were a bit harrowing on her unsteady hooves, but once they had reached the ground Juniper had the chance to look around, and golly what a sight!
All around her there were ponies, walking and running and flying all over the place. The air was fresh and clean, the buildings bright and colorful, and the sky a flawless blue. It was simply perfect.
“Welcome to Ponyville!” Starlight announced proudly. “It's a pretty alright place for the most part.
“It's incredible,” Juniper said breathlessly.
“I thought the same thing when I first saw the big city in the human world,” Sunset said. “Seeing a whole new world for the first time is pretty magical.”
“No argument there,” Starlight replied. “Now then, time for me to lead you ar-
“STARLIGHT!”
The purple pony gulped as she looked back inside to see Princess Twilight Sparkle rushing towards her.
“Hide me,” she begged of her companions, but both of them were already backing up to a safe distance.
Before she could call them out on their betrayal Twilight had teleported two inches in front of her face.
“And just where do you think you're going?’ the alicorn said dangerously.
“Showing them around town?” she responded weakly.
Twilight paused and looked over her shoulder to see Sunset and Juniper waving meekly at her.
“Oh, hello Sunset, Juniper,” Twilight said in a much calmer tone. “Sorry about not meeting you when you arrived. There's a-"
“Problem in the kitchen,” Sunset finished for her. “Starlight told us.”
“Right… well, yeah, that's the situation. And right now it's all hooves on deck to fix it.” She rounded back on Starlight. “Which includes you, Miss ‘Magic Can Do Everything For Me’.”
Starlight chuckled in that ‘I am so screwed’ kinda way that Juniper recalled using more than once before mustering up a defense. “Well, uh, who else is going to show them around Ponyville?”
“We can go on our own,” Juniper offered.
Both Ponyville natives looked her way in surprise, and even Sunset gave her a questioning glance.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “We could see more things in less time if we had a guide.”
Juniper nodded. “Yeah, sure. It'll be more of an adventure that way.”
Twilight and Starlight shared a look, then the Princess grinned warmly at her.
“Alright then, you two go and explore Ponyville. We’ll make sure the castle, and dinner, is ready for you when you get back.”
From within the castle they all heard a shower of shattering dishes and wood splintering.
Twilight swept Starlight against her with her wing then waved to her two visitors with the other. “If you’ll excuse us.” With that, she ported them both out of sight, leaving Sunset and Juniper looking up at the castle.
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Juniper asked.
Sunset nodded with a smile. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. Twilight has gone through far worse problems than some out of control kitchenware. So, where do we want to go first?”
Juniper looked around at the town spreading out before them, left struggling to try and pick a direction. “Um… how about… that way!” She pointed randomly towards the right, where she could just barely see the top of something that looked like a carousel. “That big ride looking thing seems like it’ll be fun.”
Sunset squinted at the same building. “Huh… for some reason that looks familiar.”
“Only one way to know why!” Juniper said excitedly as she started trotting off, Sunset’s magic flowing around her, ready to catch her if she tripped. She was excited, confident, and ready for adventure.
Today was going to be a great day!

Sunset sighed as she followed Juniper through the lazy streets of Ponyville, waving nervously at the occasional greeter and keeping an eye on her girlfriend to make sure she kept up on her hooves. So far, everything about their visit to Equestria seemed to be going alright… but deep down Sunset had a feeling that their small string of bad luck thus far was only an appetizer. Sunset had noticed that when she had a bad day, it was all bad, relentlessly, and would not stop until she either gave up doing anything effective for the day or took it on the chin and just faced down her bad luck.
Normally, she’d be fine with having another bad day. She’d had plenty in the past, some of which were far worse than others - life changing for a few of them - and she was well used to such suffering at this point. But this day, here in Equestria? With her girlfriend in tow? That was something she was praying wouldn’t start happening.
“Hey, Juni,” she started as she noticed Juniper frolicking around, waving at everypony around her cheerfully, “You doing alright? What do you think so far?”
“This place is just so peaceful!” Juniper nearly shouted before taking a calming breath. “It’s like something out of a fairy tale!”
Sunset giggled. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that human fantasy shares a lot of similarities with Equestria. Enough that I wonder sometimes if you were influenced by us somehow.”
“That would be soooo cool to find out about,” Juniper said, her voice rising again. “We’ll have to do some research on it some time. But for today… um… where were we going again?”
Sunset smiled patiently, then nodded down the street to the where the carousel building was now more clearly visible. “That place, I’m pretty sure.”
Juniper looked up at the building, then lightly conked herself in the head for her forgetfulness. “Oh. Right. Well, let’s go see what is it, huh?”
She pranced off, while Sunset followed behind, struck by the strangest feeling of nostalgia at seeing the building. It just felt so familiar for some reason.
“Why do I feel like I know this building?” she asked under her breath as they approached the entrance. The door swung open ahead of them, revealing a fancy looking mare in a gorgeous dress who was smiling impossibly widely.
The mare turned back to the door and said, “Oh thank you again for your services, Rarity.”
“Rarity!” both Sunset and Juniper shouted. They shared a look, smiles appearing on both their faces.
“Dress time?” Juniper asked.
“Dress time,” Sunset confirmed.
They rushed inside just as the door swung closed, in time to see Rarity wipe some sweat from her brow and sigh tiredly. She noticed their arrival and immediately sought to save face, standing proudly and at attention before favoring them with a smile.
“Oh hello there, darlings. My deepest apologizes, but I’m afraid I can’t take any more commissions at the moment. I’m terribly swamped right now with my new product line and I’m simply unable to spare the time for new dresses…”
Sunset’s face fell slightly as she heard that, but she noticed that Juniper was still smiling.
“That’s fine, Rarity,” her girlfriend said, “we’ll just browse among the selection already available. I’m sure we can find something for ourselves within your amazing body of work.”
Rarity brightened visibly at the praise. “Oh, well thank you greatly, miss. It’s always flattering to hear ponies love my work.” She paused, pursing her lips. “Only… how are you familiar with me exactly?”
Sunset was about to step in to speak when Juniper continued on, an all too eager smile on her lips.
“I’m your friend from another world,” Juni said with far too much sincerity.
Rarity looked at Juni as if… well, as if she’d said something nonsensical. “...Excuse me?”
“More specifically I’m friends with another version of you from another world,” Juniper unhelpfully clarified. “Which by the transitive property of friendship means you are also my friend since you are the same person. Just a horse instead of a human.”
Rarity appeared confused for a good number of seconds, but then Sunset saw something click in her head and she screamed in delight. “You mean you’re from that other world that Twilight visits?!”
Juniper nodded. “Yep. That's us.”
In the moment that Sunset blinked she heard a rush of movement and the next thing she knew Rarity was right in their faces, a manic gleam in her eyes.
“Tell me everything, darlings.”
Sunset, knowing exactly what they were in for, desperately sought an escape route. “Um, weren't you just saying you were really busy?”
Rarity blinked daintily at them for a moment before realizing. “Oh, yes… Sadly I am.” She sighed in her uniquely melodramatic way. “Tis a curse of my own muse. Something will utterly INSPIRE me to take far too many commissions at once so I can strike while the iron is hot, only to burn out like a shooting star.”
“I know the feeling,” Juniper said, prompting Sunset to glance at her in surprise.
“Do you really?” Rarity inquired.
Juno nodded. “Sometimes I'll get an idea for a movie script or an image of a scene in my head, then I'll spend hours obsessing over it. Writing it out either in my head or on paper, talking it over with my uncle, and then once I have it down I'll just… slowly forget about it. Like, I'll think of it every now and again, but at that point…,” She smiled sadly and shrugged her shoulders. “The magic is gone.”
Sunset started at Juni, not at all sure what to say. She’d never heard about this side of Juniper before, yet it sounded so much like her it was hard to see how she'd never recognize it before now.
Rarity however, seemed all too familiar with the concept. “It's never a good feeling, not having the chance to express your inner self. I hope you have the chance someday.”
Juni’s smile grew a bit happier. “Working on it. I'll get there someday.”
Sunset, face set in stern stone, moved to clutch Juniper close to her. “And I'll be there to make sure of it.”
“I have no doubt in my mind, darlings.” She clapped her hooves and put on a salesmare’s grin. “Now, I may not be able to pry your minds as I would wish, or even make you custom dresses like you deserve, but what I can do is help you find the most ideal dress possible from the inventory I have on hoof.”
“That's very generous of you Rarity,” Sunset said. “But before you try and insist we take them for free, we will happily pa-"
Sunset’s voice fell away as she looked over at Juniper and saw the a certain bag was missing from her shoulders.
“... Juni, where's your bag?”
“My ba-" Juniper paused, looking back at herself and then at Sunset slowly. “I… must have left it at the castle?”
Sunset’s internal bad luck sensor was starting to ring.
“Well well well…,” a certain daintily smug voice said. “Looks like you’ll just have to take my generous offer then.”
Unwilling to give up that easy, Sunset said, “That's alright, Rarity, I can just go back to the castle really quick and-"
She was silenced by a pale yellow hoof pushing against her lips.
“Relax, Suni,” she heard her girlfriend say. “Let's just let her treat us. We can always pay her back next time.”
Sunset’s warred for a few seconds longer before she looked into Juni’s eyes and its resistance crumbled. “Okay, alright. Thanks Rarity.”
“You are most welcome, darling. Now, follow me so I can show you the dresses up for selection.”
The two travelers followed Rarity around to the back wall of the room, where a row of dresses hung on a rail. Sunset noticed that the selection was rather thin.
“Looks like you've been pretty cleaned out,” she remarked.
“Yes, yes I have,” Rarity agreed. “The pros and cons of the season. Busy to the point of madness, but with enough bits flowing to make it almost worth it.” She waved her hoof at the dresses all the same. “Still, there should be something for the both of you in there. I hope.”
Sunset padded up to the nearer side of the racks and began to parse through the garments, looking for anything that particularly stood out to her. Some of the dresses were simple yet elegant, others more grand and embroidered, and all carried the same flair that she recognized from her human friend’s work. It was almost nostalgic, looking at these familiar designs made to fit the pony form, so much so that she was finding it hard to focus on figuring out which one she really liked.
“Found one!”
Sunset turned around at the shout, seeing Juniper waving a green dress in her hoof so fast that the details were impossible to spot. Rarity however seemed to recognize it, and had an unsure look.
“Darling, are you certain you want that one? It’s rather simplistic…”
“Simple and clean is what I’m feeling today,” Juniper said back happily, “Easier to take care of anyway. Plus…”
She held up the dress, showing the shimmering green fabric flowing like water in the light.
“Green really is my color.”
Sunset barely heard Rarity’s comments after that, as all that she could think about was the fact that the dress Juniper was holding was eerily similar to the one she had worn during her rampage under the mirror’s power…
“What do you think, Sunset?” Juniper asked.
Sunset shook herself out of her thoughts, trying to come up with a safe answer. “Oh, it’s um… it’s definitely your color, and it looks really… comfy?”
Rarity’s expression was certainly confused, but Juniper seemed to see past that, as she just smiling lightly before turning to Rarity to ask about bagging. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief at having the attention removed from her, deciding to try and focus on finding her own dress. A few seconds of searching later and what caught her eye wasn’t a dress, but a coat, one that was reddish orange in color and studded with silver nubs along the edges.
“What’s this?” she asked as she pulled the coat down and held it out in front of her.
Rarity took one look at the item and laughed. “Oh goodness, I had no idea I had any of that stock left!” At the questioning looks she got she smiled wryly. “That’s from a few months ago, darlings. One from the era of my ‘punk phase.’”
Sunset’s mind whirled, unable to reconcile ‘Rarity’ and ‘punk’ being in the same sentence.
“You had a punk phase?” Juniper said with maximum incredulousness.
Rarity’s smile turned secretive. “Let’s just say it involved a bottle of not-shampoo and a reexamining of my inner confidence. My question is, what does that style say to you, darling?”
Sunset blinked, then took another look at the coat. It wasn’t black, and the studs weren’t metal, but it still brought to mind her old outfit, the one she’d worn to show how dangerous she was, that no one should mess with her if they wanted to to have a good day. But she had to admit, even if that wasn’t at all the vision she wanted to present these days, she still liked the style. It was aggressive, sure, but aggression wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She was aggressive about fulfilling her goals, being a good friend, and plenty of other good things. Maybe…
“It says… that maybe my past isn’t as bad as I thought, at least… not all of it.” She noticed that Juniper was smiling at her and gave her a nod. “And that maybe enjoying some of the things I used to enjoy is alright, so long as I remember where I’ve been. And where I’m going to go.”
Sunset was feeling very proud of herself, and she could tell that Juniper was sharing the feeling, but she noticed that Rarity was completely confused.
“Personal revelation moment,” Juniper explained. “We get those from time to time.”
Rarity blinked. “Oh. Well, alright then. Glad I could be of service to you both then. So… bags, darlings?”
Juniper nodded, but Sunset looked down at the coat and smiled. “I think I’ll be alright wearing mine out actually.” Rarity smiled and nodded as she used her magic to pull out a bag for Juniper’s dress, while Sunset turned over the coat in her hoof and started to put it on. It fit snugly around her shoulders and she grinned as a familiar sense of toughness settled over her.
Maybe today wasn’t going to turning out so bad after all.

Juniper could see the exact moment that Sunset’s face fell as they both caught sight of the huge thunderstorm rolling in towards the tiny town as they left Rarity’s shop. Pegasi were flitting about along the edge of the cloud-wall, doing something Juniper couldn’t begin to guess at, but it didn’t seem to be slowing down the storm’s progress at all. If anything, the storm was getting darker and darker as they tended to it further. The dark mass was huge, intimidating, and kind of awe inspiring.
“Well, um… it’s a very pretty storm?” Juniper offered.
Sunset just sighed. “Pretty massive, yeah. Let’s try and get back to the castle to find cover, or at least make sure your dress doesn’t get ruined.”
Juniper looked back at the bag draped over her back and considered. “Hmm… if we’re gonna go back to the castle, how about we do it the fast way?”
“Fast way?” Sunset asked.
Juniper smiled. “Weeeell, you know how you’ve said you could do all kinds of magic as a pony?”
“Yeeeees,” Sunset said. “But I’m a bit out of practice with pretty much all of it due to not being a pony for a number of years.”
“Hey,” Juniper said as she shrugged, “it’s kinda like riding a bike, right? You never really forget.”
Sunset seemed to want to disagree with her, but Juniper knew that she was right as Sunset relented. “What would I even use to get us back faster?”
“Pffft, teleporting of course!” Juniper said with a twirl. She could feel Sunset’s magic around her ready to keep her upright, but Juniper was getting pretty good at this four-legged walking thing, so she didn’t even tilt.
“Are you sure I should? I mean, it has been a long time since I’ve teleported,” Sunset said. “If I screw up, it could go… badly.”
Juniper slid up next to her girlfriend and nuzzled against her warmly. “What have I told you about believing in yourself?”
“Um… Something about believing in someone else?” Sunset suggested.
Juniper snickered, muttering, “Note to self, start binging anime collection next weekend.” She continued more loudly with, “What I meant, Suni, is that even if you don’t feel confident in you, I do, and that means you’ll do just fine.”
A swell of emotion appeared on Sunset’s face, and Juni almost wished she’d brought a camera just for that one expression, but settled for just committing it to memory.
“You cheat so hard, using movies to know what to say all the time,” Sunset said with a weary grin.
“If cheating works, is it still cheating?” Juni asked wisely. Then she flung her arm over Sunset’s shoulders and cried aloud, “Now come, my dear, the castle awaits us!”
“Okay, okay,” Sunset said as she gathered her magic tightly around her horn. “Just hold on, alright. I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to land us on the ground.”
“Wait wh-”
There was a loud pop, and for a split second Juniper saw an impossible void of endless light, warm and brilliant, so beautiful that Juniper just wanted to stay and stare at it foreve-
“-at, oh hey we’re here.”
Juni’s brain took several seconds to catch up with what had just happened, then the dizziness caught up and she fell to the ground to look up at the rapidly darkening sky with a goofy grin.
It only took a few seconds for Sunset’s face to loom over her, a concerned look on her face. “You okay, Juni?”
“‘M fine,” Juni said. “Just… just trying to adjust to a quick hop and a sudden stop.”
“Yeah, teleporting takes some getting used to.” Sunset pulled Juni to her feet, allowing them both to look up at the castle. “You think things have settled down in there yet?”
“I give it 50-50,” Juni answered. They walked up to the door and Juni very slowly pushed it open, keeping an ear out to listen for any shouts or crashes. “Seems quiet enough, but I’m suspicious…”
Then, at the edge of their hearing, both girls could hear the barest sound of… marching? They shared a look with each other before they caught sight of Twilight, Starlight, and Spike marching into the room, all clad in armor and carrying weapons made of crystal. Meeting them across the hall were an army of spoons, forks, knives, cutting boards, and whisks, lead by an oven walking free of its mounts, a chef’s hat atop it like a general’s cap. Juni set her dress down next to the entrance then eased the door closed before the sounds of battle started and looked back at Sunset.
“Storm better?”
“Storm better.”
A peal of thunder above them seemed to confirm that idea, and both could see the deluge of rain coming down on the town in the near distance. Juni was so impressed by the sight that she failed to notice Sunset looking for cover until her girlfriend grabbed her hoof and pulled her down off the steps in the direction of a nearby gazebo. They raced ahead of the storm and just barely managed to make it to cover when the rain finally came down on them. The storm hit with incredible ferocity, the rain flooding the ground quickly and pounding on the wooden roof above them like a drum set. Juniper couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen rain this heavy, and she decided to just settle back and enjoy the sight, sound, and smell of it all.
“Well… this kinda sucks.”
“Hmm?” Juni turned to look at Sunset, seeing her girlfriend glowering out at the rain. “What do you mean?”
“Today. It’s kinda stunk,” Sunset huffed. “First you nearly get hurt coming out of the portal, then our guides end up being too busy to lead us anywhere, and even when we manage to have some good luck with Rarity, it’s immediately undercut by THIS!”
A bolt of lightning flew across the sky as if to punctuate her point.
“Of all the days for me to get a string of bad luck, why did it have to be today? When I was doing something special with you, something entirely unique to anything we’ve ever done!?” Sunset growled in frustration and smacked her hoof on the wood floor. “It’s always like this! I try to do a good thing just because I want to, then something goes and messes it up! Why? Why does that keep happening?”
Sunset was about to continue ranting when she felt Juniper pull her into a tight hug, losing her breath in the process.
“Sunset, please, just relax. I still had a good time.”
“You did?”
“Yes, definitely!” Juni relaxed her grip enough to face Sunset directly. “Sunset, being here might just be normal for you, but for me? It’s amazing. Seeing this new world is incredible all on its own, even if things have been kinda crazy for us since we got here. And I LIKE crazy! Crazy is fun, exciting, interesting. That thing we just saw at the castle? That’s like getting to see a movie going on right in front of me! What’s not to love about that?”
Sunset tried to find something, anything to counter that, but came up blank. “I guess… I guess you’re right. As long as you’re happy, it doesn’t really matter what we do, does it?”
Juniper looked at her for a moment before smiling. “No. I guess it doesn’t. Another lesson for the books, huh?”
Sunset chuckled. “I’ll make a note of it when we get back. Speaking of lessons by the way… I noticed that you picked a very particular dress back at Rarity’s place.”
Juni shrugged, looking back out at the rain with a thoughtful expression. “I mean, the way I think about it, what the mirror did to me was just take my worst aspects and ramp them up to the point that I couldn’t ignore them anymore. But still, those are parts of me, and they’re not all bad all the time right? I like dressing up, and I like the color green, so why should I reject something that fits what I like just because it’s tied to that time I was being horrible? Because I was wearing green at the time? No, I want to wear green, so I’m gonna wear green, and that’s that.”
“Good thinking,” Sunset praised. “And, well, you heard what I said about this thing,” she tugged on her new coat with a smile. “I’m actually kinda happy I got the chance to grab this, if nothing else. It’ll be kinda nice to wear something a bit… what’s the word I’m looking for...”
“Edgy?” Juniper asked with a grin.
Sunset raised an eyebrow at her. “Would you like edgy?”
“I certainly wouldn’t mind it,” Juniper answered. “If anyone can pull it off, it’s you.”
Sunset laughed. “Gee, thanks for that.”
Juniper returned the laugh and prodded Sunset with her hoof. “You’re welcome, Edge Queen.”
“And you as well, Reference Queen.”
Even the sound of thunder couldn’t drown out the couple’s laughter, the pair of them leaning on each other until their giggles finally died down. They sat together in silence for a while, listening to the rain and just enjoying the feeling of each other’s heat in the cool air. It was the happiest, calmest moment Juni could remember feeling since their first night together. It was wonderful. So much so that…
“Hey Suni.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I be honest with you about something?”
Sunset looked at Juni from the corner of her eye. “Yeah of course. Always.”
Juni nodded. “I know, I just… needed to be sure. I… Is it bad if I don’t really want to leave?”
Confused, Sunset looked at Juni more closely. “You mean… not leave Equestria?”
“Yeah.” Juni looked around at the town, and even covered as it was by rain and wind, it was still so intriguing to see. “What I mean is… if I were to stay here in Equestria, I could keep seeing all these new and exciting things. Learn about ponies, magic, the history of this world, your culture. There’s so much to see and experience here, I could live my entire life here and never get bored.”
Sunset considered this for a second. “I guess that’s true, technically speaking. But… there’s so much you’d miss out on back home if you stayed here.”
“I know, and that’s why I kinda feel bad for considering it.” Juni’s eyes were cast downward as she continued. “But it would be easy to live here, ya know? Easier than staying home, working at the coffee shop, going to film school, and working for even more years as an intern before I even have the chance to pursue my real dream. If I stay here, I know I could easily be happy every day, especially if you were here with me.”
“Again, that’s true but…”
“But I know that’s not what I should do,” Juni said for her. “Because what’s easy isn’t necessarily right. Sometimes… you gotta work hard for what you really want right?”
Sunset nodded. “Absolutely. I didn’t become a better person just because the opportunity was handed to me. I had to work at it, actively learn to be nicer, listen to what others were saying and pay attention to their feelings. It was because of that work to improve that I was able to save the day a few times.”
“And reach out to a lonely girl drowning in her own problems,” Juni said with a grin.
Sunset nuzzled her. “That too. And if I can be honest myself, Juni? Even if you do decide to stay here, I would stay with you, even if I don’t agree with it. I meant what I said to Rarity earlier. No matter what happens, I’ll always be right by your side, making sure you’re happy in whatever way you want to be.”
Juni stared wide eyed at Sunset, even as tears formed and her smile grew shaky. “I… thank you Suni. I don’t d-... I don’t feel like I deserve you.”
Sunset smiled back at her, pressing their lips together to silence her love. “We’ll keep working on that.” She deepened the kiss after that, allowing the world around them to fall away as she reminded herself of the true reason why she was here, why she was sitting out in the open in the middle of a rainstorm with only a gazebo for cover.
Because she loved this movie nerd more than she had ever dreamed she could feel, and making her happy was now her goal in life. And if that goal made her happy along the way, then she was glad to stay the course.
Eventually they pulled apart, and when they did they noticed that the rain had faded, and sunlight was starting to filter through the clouds again. Walking out onto the sodden ground, they looked up at the sky in time to see rainbows being set up by pegasi in the opening gaps in the clouds.
“Oh yeah, ponies control nature here,” Juni muttered as she watched the display being set up. “That’s still kinda weird.”
Sunset chuckled. “Imagine how weird it was for me learning that weather happens on its own in your world.”
“Point taken. So…,” She looked up at the castle, then glanced at Sunset. “You think it’s safe to go inside yet?”
“Given what we saw in there… I have zero expectations left.”
Juni looked shrewdly up at the castle for a moment, then grinned. “Wanna find out?”
If this had been anyone else asking, Sunset almost certainly would have said no. But from Juni, with that excited look in her eyes and a thirst of adventure in her heart… how could see say anything but yes?
“Lead the way, Lady Montage,” she said, igniting her horn with magic.
Juni spared her one more smile, then rushed off towards the castle, where within the sounds of wood, metal, plastic and crystal smashing into each other echoed from the windows. They rushed forward, one shouting a cry of battle, the other readying her magic for whatever insanity they faced on the other side. Whatever it was they would see within, they would face it head on.
Together.