Sunset Shimmer tried to hold back the pained exhale, she really did, but it was able to escape her lungs anyway. She did, however, stop herself from actually crying out. She clutched at the wound in her side.
The taller girl next to her, whose arm was slung across Sunset's shoulders and under her far armpit, glanced sideways at her.
"You alright, sugarcube? Ah got ya, we're almost there. Don't go dyin' on me now."
Despite the pain that overwhelmed her, Sunset let out a breathy laugh. "W-wouldn't dream of it, Applejack."
"Please put as much pressure on it as ya can. Ya don't have ta put on a brave face in front of me, believe me."
Sunset gave in to Applejack's words and pressed harder against her lower ribs. She immediately felt more blood seep between her fingers and slide down her forearm. Perhaps the injury was a bit worse than she had originally thought. Now that she thought of it, walking was getting to be a bit of a chore, even though she was leaning most of her body weight on her friend.
Thankfully, she could see the headlights of Rarity's car not far ahead, and the silhouettes of the other girls clustered nearby. However, upon taking several more stumbling steps, Sunset's legs gave out from under her and she slipped, prompting Applejack to grip her more tightly, although she couldn't help but be pulled along to her own knees.
A collective gasp could be heard from the girls, and one of them cried out.
"Sunset!"
Twilight….
Sunset lifted her head to see Twilight Sparkle break from the group, running in her direction. Applejack slid her arm around to grip Sunset's shoulder, and helped to lower her to a sitting position on the grass.
"Sunset, are ya okay? Sweet honeycrisp, you're really bleedin'. Lay back."
Without waiting for her to comply, Applejack pushed Sunset onto her back in order to slap her own hands over the gash, firmly pressing down. The blonde felt her friend's labored breathing rushing in and out of her, raising her stomach in odd fluctuating waves.
Then, Twilight skidded to a halt beside them, throwing herself to her knees and skinning them badly in the process. Her hands immediately reached for Sunset's face, cupping her cheeks against her palms.
"Sunset! Why did you do this?! We told you not to come here!"
Sunset brought her own hand up to encircle her bloodied fingers around Twilight's soft wrist. She attempted to flash a trademark smile, though it was weak.
"Sh-she threatened you, all of us. How… how was I s-supposed to know she had brought… had brought more magic here?"
"Stop talking. Applejack, we can't move her again. Hurry, go call an ambulance!"
"O'course, Twilight. Keep pressure on that wound for me."
Applejack quickly jumped to her feet and began her way to their friends, shouting for Pinkie Pie to start a call to 911. Twilight brought her hands away from Sunset's face, much to the redhead's disappointment, to remove her light lavender hoodie, which she balled up and pressed against the bleeding injury. Sunset kept her eyes on the bespectacled girl's face, scanning from her scrunched brow and windswept bangs, to her frowning lips, where the bottom one was tucked between her teeth. She wanted to lift a hand to stop her before she bit the thing off, but didn't have the energy.
Sunset contemplated Twilight's earlier words, frowning. What did the nerd think she was going to do? Sit on her ass while some potentially dangerous - well, actually dangerous, if her injuries were anything to go by - woman threatens her friends? She had gone alone only because she hadn't thought magic would come into the picture, especially not this sort of volatile, dark magic. And also because her friends had begged her not to go, so she knew she hadn't had any choice but to do it alone. Never once had she imagined the night's meeting ending with the stranger throwing a bolt of pure magic into her, ripping through her left side and leaving her skidding across the ground while the woman made an escape. Sunset herself was supposed to be the intimidating one, remember? Extremely luckily for her, Rainbow Dash had more or less read her actions after the conversation, and convinced the others Sunset had something stupid planned.
But now, taking in the expression of terror marring Twilight's pretty face was a lot to bear, and Sunset regretted her hardheadedness. She managed to lift a hand enough to lay it across Twilight's. She could feel said hand shaking softly beneath hers.
"So," Sunset whispered. "Did y-you know I own the world's worst thesaurus? Not only is… is it awful, but it's awful."
Silence ensued for a brief moment, then Twilight immediately crumpled forward and burst into tears. Sunset lost her tiny smirk and attempted to sit up, but could only make it to an elbow.
"Hey, no, I'm sorry. I was just-"
"S-Sunset, what are you doing? I could have completely lost you. You could've died before I even got here, we never would've spoke again, and you crack a joke now? Is this funny in some way?"
"Twilight no, of course not. I-I just… can't stand that look on your face. E-especially since it's m-my fault it's there."
Sunset mustered the energy somehow to lift her free hand to Twilight's face to brush a tear away, but only succeeded in smearing her own blood over her cheek. Twilight reached over to push the redhead back down. She sniffled and didn't meet her friend's eyes for a moment, but when she did, they shimmered brightly with more tears in the car's headlights.
"Yes," Twilight whispered harshly. "It is your fault."
Sunset's turquoise eyes widened; she had definitely been expecting Twilight to deny that. However, her favorite nerd wasn't finished.
"I told you not to come here, pleaded with you. But you're so stubborn, of course you went and did it anyway. I don't care that she threatened us, we've been threatened plenty of times before and you know that. You came here anyway, and alone, you idiot!"
Twilight slammed her fist down onto Sunset's shoulder firmer than she meant to, but the injured girl wasn't much bothered. She was much too surprised that Twilight actually called her an idiot. Kind Twilight, who shied away from teasing her friends, on the off chance that one would get truly upset.
"When Rainbow told us she thought you weren't going to listen, I went after you. But of course you were already gone. Do you have any idea how worried I was? When that woman had threatened us, she mentioned powers we couldn't imagine. Of course we wouldn't know what she was capable of!"
"Twilight…."
The redhead was at a loss for words; she hadn't the slightest clue her shenanigans would effect Twilight this way. She was truly angry with her. But then the fist on her shoulder was suddenly unfurled and once again resting against her cheek, the thumb softly stroking her skin. Twilight breathed out a shaky sob, eyes clenched shut.
"So when I thought I might come here and find you…." Her words trailed off, but she started again, shaking her head. "My heart wanted to stop. Rarity couldn't drive fast enough. The girls couldn't reassure me it was going to be okay. All I could think about was arriving at the worst scenario. …I kept thinking I'd never get to tell you that I'm in love with you."
Sunset gasped sharply at those words.
"That I'm so in love with you. That you're all I think about, that you're all I dream about. That you're so busy floating around inside my head that I can't even study, and nothing can deter me from studying. I wouldn't get to tell you that everything you do, everything you say, makes my heart palpitate. That no one has ever evoked such emotions within me. …But you came here, Sunset. You came here to, what, try to intimidate her? With no thought to how your friends felt? With no thought to how I felt?"
Twilight finished with a sharp exhale. She hadn't met Sunset's eyes, but her hand was still held to her cheek. Sunset was speechless beneath it. Hearing those words, that Twilight- sweet, endearing, nerdy, beautiful Twilight- was in love with her? Her, Sunset Shimmer- loud, bratty, ex-villain Sunset Shimmer? This wasn't real, she had died from her injuries and gone to some kind of heaven, right? Yet Twilight's soft hand on her face felt real enough. So therefore Sunset said the most intelligent thing she had surely ever said.
"Really?"
"Yes, you idiot!"
The bespectacled girl finally looked to her friend with an angry huff. Fresh tears spilled forth, but she didn't pull away to wipe them. All Sunset could do was attempt to manage her breathing while staring wide-eyed into Twilight's face, searching for any sign that she was not truly sincere, and also rifling through her own mind for more words. Before she could attempt to let loose her own feelings, suddenly Applejack was back with them, kneeling down to check the bleeding, which had thankfully slowed, nearly stopped. The blonde placed a hand on Sunset's near shoulder and gave a squeeze.
"They're pullin' up, sugarcube. Ya just hang on, alright? We'll be right behind ya the whole way to the hospital."
And then, paramedics were surrounding her and she lost sight of Twilight. The lavender hoodie was taken from her side, fresh balled gauze put in its place, and she was being poked and prodded by strangers. This wasn't supposed to be happening, she needed to answer Twilight, assure her that she was thinking of her, only of her, when coming here to confront the stranger.
"No, w-wait-"
"It's alright, dear. We've got you." A paramedic shushed her.
The team went to lift her onto a stretcher, the movement causing her side to flare up with pain again, which she gritted her teeth against. Finally, after fighting it while being carried by Applejack, she succumbed to the dark comfort of unconsciousness.
…..
Sunset slowly, tiredly, opened an eye part way. Through her blurry vision, she spied the forms of her friends a small distance from where she lay. So she was at the hospital then, it seemed. Her injury was throbbing along to the beat of her heart, but was a far cry from the pain of her last remembered moments.
Opening her other eye, she spotted Twilight among the group, sitting quietly next to Fluttershy and Rarity in a large, plump armchair in the corner. Sunset swiped her tongue over her dry and cracked lips, before quietly croaking out one word.
"Twilight."
Immediately every head in the room turned to her. A split second later, the six were clustered around her bed, all speaking at once, some reprimanding her, others asking if she was alright. Truthfully, she should have expected that. However, she didn't have time to deal with five of her friends right now. With a wince and a slight grunt, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, which prompted her friends to all surge forward, trying to assist, yet still all speaking over one another. Sunset lifted her hands, palms outward, pushing their hands off of her. Mustering her energy into her voice, she blurted out what she had been thinking since she came to.
"Twilight, I love you!"
The room dropped into a deafening, awkward silence, with the exception of a quiet, high-pitched squeak loosed from a very red Fluttershy. Within a few seconds though, Rarity, with wide eyes and an even wider smile, grabbed the shoulders of the two closest to her.
"Let's get snacks! Sunset must be simply famished! Let's go, now! All of us, except Twilight. Let's go! Let's. Go."
The girls began to shuffle out of the room, most with smiles or knowing smirks on their faces, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who obviously had something smug to say, but who Rarity grabbed by the ear and turned toward the door. Sunset, embarrassed yet relieved, brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and stared down at her lap. Once she heard the click of the door closing, she slowly raised her eyes to meet Twilight's.
Her purple eyes are shining so brightly, Sunset wanted to stare into them forever. But she noticed Twilight open her mouth to speak, so she hurriedly did so instead.
"Twilight, you have no idea how much I was thinking of you on my way to that meeting. You really think I wouldn't have you on my mind? You were the only thing I was thinking of, the only thing that I could think of!"
The redhead attempted to reach forward to take Twilight's hand, but winced hard, and Twilight rushed to her, one hand grasping hers tightly, the other steadying her by the upper arm. Sunset composed herself before continuing.
"I went because I was scared of what she had said. Targeting you specifically? It terrified me. I'm sorry for going, really, I had no idea she would attack me, but I had to let her know she couldn't go around spouting that crap in front of me." She flashed Twilight a determined look. "I would take that hit she threw over again if I had to, if it-"
But then Twilight's lips were on hers, Twilight's hands were cupping her face, Twilight was all that she could see and all that she could breathe. So Sunset kissed her back, and placed a hand at her waist to draw her closer. Twilight's lips were amazingly soft as they fit against hers, this way and then another. As desperately as she wanted this to last, Sunset still wasn't in top shape and reluctantly pulled back, although with an extremely satisfied smile commanding her face. The other girl's hands left her face though, in fact, they slid up through her hair and around to the nape of her neck, while she rested their foreheads together.
"You have no clue how much I'm in love with you right now." Sunset whispered, eyes closed in contentment.
"I think I can give an educated guess, Sunset." Twilight laughed quietly.
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, staring deeply into each other's gaze. Sunset swiped a strand of hair behind Twilight's ear, she trailed her hand down her arm to her crooked elbow, she brushed her lips across hers.
"I'm still angry at you, though. For being so stupid, no matter what your reasons." Twilight said.
Sunset pulled back to rest against her pillow, and nodded. She could understand completely why her favorite nerd would be upset. But suddenly she grinned, recalling something.
"I just can't believe you actually called me an idiot."
"Oh. I guess I did say that-"
"Twice."
"Yes, well… you deserved it."
"I did. Now come here, lay with me."
Sunset lifted her arms slightly and gestured for Twilight to get into the hospital bed. She complied, making sure to settle in next to Sunset's uninjured side, and then immediately snuggled her face into the crook of the redhead's neck and wrapped an arm over her chest. Sunset felt her heart beating nearly as fast as one of Pinkie Pie's drum solos, but wouldn't have it any other way. She was content with Twilight in her arms. However, something dark seeped into her thoughts.
"She'll come back. Seems like she can make good on her threats, too." Sunset felt Twilight bury her face deeper into her neck. "We'll be able to stop her, though. We've overcome plenty of threats before, shenanigans with Princess Twilight included. We should come up with a game plan. …But first, I want to spend a few more minutes with just you."
She felt it as Twilight's lips curved upward against her skin in a smile, and it sent a light shudder through her. Then the bespectacled girl pulled back to look at her for a long moment, until Sunset became too flustered under her intense gaze.
"Wh-what? Did I do something stupid again?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. I'm just glad you said that. Also, I love you."
Sunset looked away, cheeks red, embarrassed. Hearing Twilight say those words would take a bit of getting used to. Having people, or ponies, tell her that they loved her was an event that had been few and far between in Sunset's life, so that only made it extra special to hear.
When she was calm enough to look back, Twilight had a cheeky grin on her lips, to which Sunset raised an eyebrow at.
"By the way, your joke earlier wasn't humorous."
Sunset snorted dismissively. "You wish, Sparkle."