//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: Together // Story: Her Shimmering Sunset // by Soufriere //------------------------------// Sunset, I wish to see you on a matter of vital importance. Is Thursday after work okay? If so, please let me know. I look forward to your reply. —R “She didn’t need to send a formal letter,” Sunset Shimmer said to her smiley-face pillow Happy as she reread the note for the eightieth time in six days. “What am I going to do?” As midday shifted to the long summer afternoon, Sunset paced a small circle in her tiny sparse living room, muttering incomprehensible gibberish to herself, hoping a downstairs neighbour wouldn’t complain about the noise, when her hamster wheel of thought was interrupted by a knock on her door. After steadying herself on her stolen cable spool coffee table for a moment, she stepped tentatively to undo the latches and deadbolts. Opposite the threshold stood Rarity, bedecked in a blue sun-dress and woven rubber-sole sandals, her hair tied in a wavy ponytail, face protected by a wide-brimmed hat and almost absurdly large sunglasses. She clasped something behind her back. At Sunset’s entreaty, Rarity entered, removing her hat to hang it on the coat-rack to her right. Her sunglasses were on a string, so she slipped them off and draped them around hat. Sunset could not help but notice Rarity’s dress was fairly low cut, showing a nonzero amount of cleavage and much leg. She was somewhat less observant of the fact that her friend’s alabaster skin was tinged pink on her face. Blushing. “Sorry,” Sunset said. “I decided to take your advice and start actually locking my door.” Rarity nodded slowly. “Th-that’s okay. I’m… glad you do. After all, I’d hate for anything to happen to you.” “I can take care of myself… I think… but I appreciate the concern, really,” replied Sunset with a shrug and a smile. “Care to, uh, take a seat on Ol’ Charlie? Kick up your feet?” she asked, gesturing to the navy blue sofa. Rarity lowered her head. “In a moment. There’s… something else first.” “Does it have to do with whatever it is you’re hiding behind your back?” asked Sunset. “You could say that,” replied Rarity quietly with a nod. Sunset shrugged one shoulder. “Well, let’s have it.” Rarity sighed quietly and produced what appeared to be a box of chocolates. It was about a foot long, six inches wide, and just over an inch thick, made out of extremely dense material and covered in a textured red paper. It was also wrapped with a gold-coloured ribbon. “It looks kind of like my hair, in a way,” Sunset observed. “…in a way…” Rarity agreed quietly. Then, without any warning whatsoever, she lifted the box up with both hands as high as she could and brought it down swiftly to bear upon Sunset’s cranium with an audible ‘bonk!’. “Ow!” Sunset vocalized involuntarily. “I LOVE YOU!!” Rarity near-screamed as she raised the box again. Sunset had no time to react as Rarity repeated the motion, each time punctuated with the same phrase. “I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!! I LOVE YOU!!” After that, Rarity allowed her arms to go noodle-limp, dropping the now-dented box onto the carpet. Sunset, meanwhile, had fallen to a sitting position on the floor and needed a few minutes for her world to stop spinning and her brain to re-calibrate. Once it had, she carefully got back on her feet to approach her unexpectedly violent but sobbing friend, placing her hands on Rarity’s shoulders, partly to stay upright. “That was… interesting,” said Sunset, her voice still a tad loopy. Rarity sniffled. “Shall we sit down now? Seems like there’s a lot we need to talk about,” Sunset said with a smile as she staggered toward her usual sitting spot. Rarity bowed her head and sat on ‘her’ side of the sofa, closest to the door, keeping her feet on the floor and hands in her lap. Sunset soon plopped down beside her, putting her feet up on the stolen cable spool ‘table’. “Gauche, isn’t it?” Sunset asked with a smirk. Rarity tilted her head. “I… what?” “Using a table as a hassock.” Sunset noted Rarity’s look of confusion (and continued blushing). “That’s, uh, another word for ‘ottoman’. Stalliongrad, being as removed from civilization as it is, occasionally used different terms for some things.” “I… see.” Sunset leaned back as best she could, trying to relax. As she lifted her arms, she noticed through her peripheral vision that Rarity’s eyes appeared to be focused on her breasts, bulging like twin pluton domes underneath her teal tank-top. She sighed, not out of irritation or frustration, but amusement. “So,” Sunset declared, “I was going to ask what could possibly have been so important that you’d send me a formal letter, but… I think I have a pretty good idea now.” The hue on Rarity’s face quickly came to resemble a turnip. Sunset gave a disarming smile as she rubbed the knot on her head. “Who gave you the idea? Flash?” Rarity nodded with a squeak. Shaking her head, stifling a chuckle, Sunset said, “Well, I can’t think of any better way to get a point across. I guess that pea-brain can be useful when he wants to be.” Rarity squeaked again, trying to shrink into herself on the sofa. Sunset changed her tone to one of seriousness as she turned to Rarity. “You know I think of you as my closest friend, right?” Rarity nodded. “Mm-hmm,” she vocalized quietly. “And, well, I’m willing to guess you take that as seriously as I do, right?” “…yes…” Rarity replied, her voice starting to crack. Sunset took in a breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m sure you know that what you just did was a tremendous risk. How might I react?” Rarity began to tremble. Sunset could tell her friend was doing everything in her power to not cry. “But it’s okay,” Sunset assured her. “I know I’m not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, and sometimes it takes direct action to get me to see my errors, be it a magic rainbow to the face or a box of chocolates (I assume) to the head.” She rubbed Rarity’s shoulders, feeling their tenseness ease slightly from the kind touch. “Communication is the foundation of a g—” Her words were interrupted as Rarity thrust herself across the sofa, wrapped her arms around Sunset, and locked lips with her, eyes shut, refusing to let go. Sunset, after the initial shock, allowed herself to simply feel the warmth of her best friend’s kiss, basking in her tight embrace. At once, their entire several months relationship flashed before her eyes – the encounter at the boutique, their meeting in Connemara Square, the talk out of the figurative dark pit of despair, the time they watched the sun set on the roof, help in coaxing her back to the land of the living, the dinner date at the burrito barn, and of course their mutual conversation with that blue-haired guy Sunset had once claimed for herself but now could not possibly care less. All melted away as Sunset felt a sort of nascent electricity coursing through her system, temporarily overwhelming the logic functions of her brain. The softness of Rarity’s lips, the subtle scent of lavender on her hair, the smoothness of her alabaster skin, perhaps a taste of grape from lip gloss, all served to overwhelm the higher functions of Sunset’s brain. Operating on instinct, she shifted herself forward, no longer passive, and kissed back, wrapping her arms around her best friend’s slender figure, causing Rarity to move in further, pushing Sunset nearly onto her back on the couch. Sunset, being more experienced in such things, made a mental note that, regardless of the subtle movements of mouth muscles and Rarity’s soft sensuous moaning, Rarity was clearly a near-novice at the art of the kiss and was operating chiefly on instinct. Their breaths intertwined within the joined space. When Rarity tried to insert her tongue, Sunset subtly pulled back, which was enough to give Rarity the hint to not try, but a tighter hug from Sunset signalled to her to keep going on everything else. After what felt like an eternity, yet not nearly long enough, they broke the embrace. A soft ‘smack’ sounded as their lips disentangled. Both found themselves breathing heavily for several seconds as their lungs tried to refill all that lost oxygen. Sunset’s blinked a few times. “Wow,” was all she could whisper. Meanwhile, Rarity’s eyelids were heavy, emphasizing the blue eyeshadow she habitually wore. It took her nearly a minute to speak, but eventually she said softly what she had already yelled at Sunset seventeen times. However, the single time at lower volume had infinitely more impact. “I love you.” Sunset smiled and nodded slowly. “I know.” “I…” “I’m only sorry I was too dense to notice earlier,” Sunset said. “When you’ve been through everything I have, it’s only natural to question everything and everyone.” Rarity leaned into Sunset, her head resting on Sunset’s ample bosom. “Sunset, my darling. You need not question me. I’ve been in love with you for months.” “And it’s my fault for not seeing it,” replied Sunset. “There’s just… one problem,” Rarity said, her lips shifting into pout-mode. “And that is?” Rarity drew in a tentative breath. “Do you feel the same way about me?” Sunset sighed as she dipped her head. She could hear Rarity’s breathing become more frantic and panicked. “…Yes,” she finally said, causing Rarity to exhale in relief. “But…” “But…what?” asked Rarity, her voice betraying a measure of worry. Sunset steeled her guts to speak. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. Things I’ve been hiding from everyone. I… really do care for you, more than anyone else in the multiverse, and I can’t imagine my life without you. To be honest, I’m terrified or your reaction once I tell you about the real Sunset Shimmer, that you’ll… reject me, never want to see me again. And I wouldn’t blame you one bit.” Rarity cocked her head in confusion. “You mean the things Flash has been alluding to?” Sunset nodded. She reached out to stroke Rarity’s hair but held herself back. “He already knows just about everything, and I’m pretty sure he’s dropped as many hints as he could without getting in trouble.” “He spoke in circles and riddles,” Rarity said as she rubbed her chin. Sunset sighed. “Are you sure you want to know the truth?” she asked. “My darling, I don’t… think I could go on without knowing. Best friends or lovers shouldn’t hide things from each other. Right?” “Okay,” Sunset replied with resignation. “Don’t say no one warned you. If, after I’ve explained myself, you never want to see me again, I’ll understand.” “Please. Explain, my dear.” Sunset cleared her throat. “Fine. I’m not a high school student; I graduated years ago. I turn twenty-six next week. I carry on the charade of being a student at CHS so that I can stay near that horse statue portal without arousing suspicion. Faculty know this; we have a quid pro quo relationship wherein I take the standardized tests to raise the school’s average score and net them more funding. I also tutored their idiots for a discounted price, though my experience with Trixie made me back off on that part of the deal. In exchange, they turn a blind eye to and cover for almost everything I do, including keeping the police and government off my back.” Rarity stared with a blank expression, silent as Sunset continued. “Nearly five years ago, they turned me down for a teaching position, which forced me into this situation. Unfortunately, I used my experience and powers of observation for… less than honourable means. I relished my new role as alpha-girl too much and, well, ruined lives for no good reason. Especially yours. Because I was jealous. Remember, I told you months ago that, as I was then, I wouldn’t have cared if you’d died,” Sunset concluded with clear venom in her voice. Rarity blinked slowly, her face still registering no emotion. “And now you know,” Sunset spat. “So, can you still possibly say you love me?” Rarity sniffed as her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears. “Yes. Because… I’ve come to know the real you. Strip away that veneer of anger and jealousy, and you’re so kind and considerate, always worried about others before yourself. Only a true friend would call in favours to keep me from being in trouble with our school’s administration or the Truant Officers. You may not think much of those gestures, but it’s because of that that I love you so much.” Sunset’s eyebrows screwed up in confusion. “Did you not hear the ‘I’m eight years older than you’ part?” “I did,” Rarity said. “And I don’t care. Age is only a number, after all.” Sunset involuntarily shrank back. “Uh… I think the cops might believe otherwise. You know they kinda hate me.” Rarity crawled onto Sunset and began running her index finger across Sunset’s left breast, causing her nipple to involuntarily harden. “I’m legal now, you know. As of last week.” “Yes, we were all at that party,” Sunset agreed. “But… your parents…” “…can, as you might say, spin on it,” Rarity finished the sentence. “I don’t care about anything in this world, as long as I can have you.” She moved to embrace Sunset again, this time allowing her hands to wander towards Sunset’s glutes, well-toned from years of daily mile-long constitutionals. Sunset felt the warmth growing in her loins. Everything in the higher functioning parts of her brain screamed at her to hold back, but that pesky amygdala insisted she go for it. So she did, shifting her weight so that she was on top of her best friend. They locked lips again. Eventually, Rarity’s hands slipped under Sunset’s tank-top and began to massage her sizable breasts. Sunset, for her part, stroked Rarity’s long purple hair, occasionally allowing a brief touch of her butt, but the sensation of having someone other than herself stimulate one of her erogenous zones nearly caused her to give over to lust. When, as their lips were still locked, Rarity made a move for Sunset’s crotch, Sunset stopped her, snapping both of them out of their lust stupor. “What’s wrong, my darling?” Rarity asked. Sunset gave a wan, guilty smile. “This isn’t me. It isn’t you either. I know you’ve been holding back for a long time, but… I don’t want to go so far right out of the gate.” “But…” Rarity pouted, clearly hurt. Sunset shook her head. “I said I love you, and I mean it. But, we just confessed. I’d rather our relationship burn like a Yule Log than a firework. We still have time.” “Do we?” Rarity asked with suspicion. “You said before the school year ended that you wanted to return to your homeworld.” “Well, you’re reason enough for me to hang around for awhile longer,” replied Sunset with a smirk. Rarity’s blush deepened beyond the point any sane individual would expect. “So,” Sunset said as she kicked her feet back up on the table and reached for her television’s remote control, “Let’s see where this new life takes us, shall we?” A beaming smile spread across Rarity’s face. “Yes!” She draped herself across Sunset, laying in her lap as Sunset turned on the television. The signal from the aerial produced footage of some talk show wherein a man in a cheap suit talked to a heavy-set Knocktown woman about her ‘baby-daddy’ or something. “This show is terrible,” Sunset said, utterly content. “I was hoping the snarky lady judge would be on. Not yet.” “Shall we wait?” Rarity asked with a yawn, not moving her head from Sunset’s lap. Sunset looked down at her best friend and/or new lover. “Of course.” As the television blathered on, they did not move, nor had any desire to. Sunset let out a contented sigh as Rarity began to snore softly. Today was a wonderful day. With luck, little by little, she felt her life could only improve. “After all,” Sunset whispered to herself, “Feeling loved and wanted is the greatest feeling in the world. Thank you, you amazing silly girl, for accepting me for me.”