Twilight Sparkle stepped out of her front door, taking a deep breath of fresh air and smiling as she enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her skin. At least for a moment, until she noticed the sight of her brother waiting in a car in the driveway, a slightly impatient look on his face. Broken from her reverie, she hustled towards the passenger seat, and the pair quickly pulled out and set off down the street.
Neither noticed the motorcycle that pulled out from around a corner a few houses down and began following at a distance. Sunset grinned underneath her helmet. I have you now Sparky!
After spending most of Friday investigating, Saturday had found Sunset completely stuck. All her leads were exhausted, and Rarity suddenly seemed distracted by something, to the point that she was useless as a source of further clues. As a result, Sunset had spent her day off mostly trying not to storm over to Twilight's house and demand answers. Luckily, Sunday had presented her with the perfect opportunity to break the case wide open.
Pinkie had pulled all seven of them into a group call that morning to try and organize some kind of hangout, as she did most Sundays, and most Sundays, they all agreed. Today however, Twilight had immediately, and very nervously declined, saying she had a lot of studying to do. Most of the group took this at face value, figuring it wasn't unusual behavior for Twilight, but Sunset, who shared most of her classes with Twilight, was getting a sneaking suspicion Twilight might be up to something.
That or Sunset was forgetting about a test on Monday...
Ignoring her little spat of paranoia, Sunset had also declined at the last minute, claiming her magic book had just gone off and Princess Twilight needed her for something. After hanging up the phone, she had grabbed her jacket and helmet, and scrambled out to her motorcycle, making a beeline for Twilight's neighborhood.
Which is how she had ended up here, trailing cautiously behind Shining Armor's unmarked police car, trying to keep enough distance, and going easy enough on the throttle to not be noticed. So far it seemed to be working, though the car behind her was getting a little impatient.
After 10 minutes or so, she saw Shining's car slow and begin to pull towards a street side parking space, so she did the same, still a few car lengths behind. Where are we, why does everything feel so familiar? Sunset wondered to herself, taking a moment to glance away from her target to survey the area. Her heart immediately dropped as her gaze landed on the large building Shining had stopped in front of.
It was the Canterlot Public Library.
Sunset resisted the urge to slam her palm right into the face of her helmet. It seemed Twilight really was studying, rather than going out on some kind of secret date, as Sunset had hoped. "I think this whole thing is starting to drive me insane...maybe I should just lay off." Sunset admitted to herself with a sigh as she watched Twilight get out of the car and head to the front door, while Shining Armor pulled back into traffic.
Sunset sat for a moment on her idling motorcycle, before shrugging to herself and switching off the ignition. Might as well go ask her what I forgot to prepare for on Monday, and see if she wants a study buddy... she thought as she pulled off her helmet and made her way to the front door.
Moving at a light jog, she managed to make it into the familar lobby just in time to see Twilight disappear up the main staircase to the second floor. Following at a more leisurely pace now that she was indoors, Sunset figured it wouldn't be too hard to find her friend, deciding she must be headed towards one of the second floor study rooms.
Reaching the second floor herself, Sunset headed towards the row of small study rooms, but began scratching her head in confusion as she saw they all had their doors open and lights turned off, a sure sign that they were all unoccupied. It was at that moment that Sunset heard giggling, familiar giggling.
Just beyond the study rooms was a larger recreation room, set aside for quiet board games and similar group activities, and it seemed to be the source of the noise. Unsure why she suddenly felt so apprehensive, Sunset slowly crept up to the open doorway leading into the rec room, leaning over just enough to peak inside, and immediately she had to resist the urge to scream.
There in the middle of the room sat Twilight, in front of a chess board, and across the table from her was a girl Sunset had never seen before.
The girl had an almost spikey looking pixie cut hanging in front of her eyes, which were adorned with heavy eyeliner, and accented by the silver glint of multiple facial piercings. She was wearing a ratty denim vest covered in gruesome looking patches, a studded belt that hung off her hip at an angle, and pitch black skinny jeans. It was quite the look, a small part of Sunset's brain that wasn't paralyzed by shock admitted to itself.
Of course, just because Sunset had never seen the girl before didn't mean she didn't know who she was. Sunset in fact knew her quite well...probably. There were only so many people out there with that exact shade of yellow-orange skin, and fiery red hair with gold highlights.
Swinging herself back out of sight, Sunset held a hand to her rapidly beating heart as she attempted to sort through what she had just seen. Twilight is secretly dating ME! Wait I mean, Twilight is secretly dating Sunset Shimmer! Nope that doesn't make it any less weird! Hold on, hold on, maybe this is all one big coincidence, and they are just playing a game of chess! Yeah, that's it!
Resolving to be sure, Sunset peaked around the doorframe again, just in time to catch the pair leaning over the chessboard and pressing their lips together. "Aw ponyfeathers!" Sunset snarled, before her eyes widened and she slammed a hand over her mouth and ducked back behind the corner. Sweet Celestia, why did I say that out loud!?
"W-what was that?" She heard Twilight say a moment later. "What was what?" came the eerie sound of her own voice. "Um, just a minute, I need to check on something..." she heard Twilight again, and gulped at the sound of a chair being slid back.
Mystery solved, time to leave! she thought as she tried to slink away from the doorframe, resisting the urge to sprint and alert both Twilight and several Librarians.
Unfortunately, no speed would have carried her away in time. "Sunset Shimmer." she heard Twilight say through gritted teeth, right behind her. Naively she prayed that maybe Twilight was talking to the other Sunset and she could keep sneaking away. "...pony Sunset Shimmer."
Nope.
Letting her shoulders sag in defeat, Sunset stood up and turned, finding a rather cross looking Twilight standing there. "Uh...hey Twi! Fancy seeing you here?" Sunset babbled nervously.
"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked curtly.
"Heh, would you believe I thought you might want a study buddy." Sunset asked with a wavering smile.
"No, I don't think I would believe that." Twilight growled. "What are you doing here Sunset?"
Sunset grimaced, dancing in place while she scrambled for a believable excuse, but finally the truth came out all on it's own. "I followed you here because I thought you might be meeting your secret lover! I--I've been trying to figure out who it was ever since you accidentally sent me those texts. It...uh...sorta makes a lot more sense now how you sent them to me by mistake."
Twilight nodded, still looking rather angry. "Did it never occur to you that maybe I was being secretive about it for a reason? That maybe I wasn't ready to tell my friends, especially you, that I was seeing someone, much less the human Sunset? Much less ready to tell my new girlfriend that I'm best friends with her alternate horse dimension counterpart?" she ground out accusingly.
Sunset flinched as it began to dawn on her just how far she had crossed the line with her entire investigation. "I-I'm sorry Twi, I-I didn't think it through, I just had to know..."
"Why?" Twilight asked, cutting her off with a voice like steel. "Why did you just have to know so badly that you'd go around behind my back like this?"
Sunset gulped again, feeling her face redden. "I...I don't know...I just had to..."
"Why, Sunset?" Twilight demanded, her glare growing even harsher.
"Because it should have been me!" Sunset suddenly shouted, before hearing her own words and blinking a few times in confusion. "Wow...uh...not really sure where that came from..." she whispered, genuinely dumbfounded.
She wasn't sure what reaction she expected from Twilight, but it hadn't been raw fury. "You...you...if you weren't my best friend I'd slap you right now!" Twilight roared. "I've been flirting with you for MONTHS, and you never showed even the slightest bit of interest!"
"I'm sorry what now?" Sunset asked, growing more confused by the second.
Twilight looked ready to tear her hair out. "All the times I've touched your arm or knee, played with my hair while talking to you, I bought cloths from Rarity to try and impress you and you didn't even notice! We went to the movies once and you let me hold your hand!"
"Ok in my defense, I thought it was normal for friends to hold hands." Sunset interjected weakly.
"Not for 2 hours!" Twilight threw back, before throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "You are ridiculous! I love you to death, but I mean come on! The only reason I met Sunny was because she found me crying in a back alley over how thoroughly you ignored my latest attempt to get your attention."
"S-Sunny?" Sunset asked dumbly.
"Yeah," Twilight nodded. "it's kind of a pet name...but it also helps mentally differentiate my girlfriend from my best friend." she explained with a small blush.
Sunset nodded along, only half paying attention as she tried to sort through the weird mixture of confusion, jealousy, and guilt she was feeling. "Wait you met her in a back alley?" she asked, seizing onto the strange sentence as it pierced the fog in her mind.
"Uh...yeah..." Twilight nodded again, while blushing and looking a little guilty herself. "I uh...thought she was going to mug me at first...I mean you saw what she looks like I assume, and I may have jumped to conclusions based on how you've told me you used to be."
"Wh-what happened?" Sunset asked, getting a bit concerned herself.
"She just saw me crying and wanted to help, it was really sweet." Twilight explained, her cheeks growing even redder as she took on a dreamy expression. "We started talking, and it turns out we have a lot in common, go figure right? She goes to school in the city, she's president of the science club there."
"She uh, she sounds great." Sunset said with a grimace, rubbing the back of her neck. "Listen, Twi, i'm so sorry, clearly I've been being really really stupid. I guess I have to learn to pay better attention to this kind of thing, both from others and from myself. If I had, maybe this would have turned out differently."
Twilight let out a heavy sigh before placing a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "I forgive you, mostly because, and I hope this doesn't sound harsh but, I'm really glad it didn't turn out differently.”
Sunset resisted the urge to flinch away at that.
"Look, I really like Sunny, maybe even love her, and I'm pretty sure she feels the same way, and while I don't mean to rush your startlingly late bout of self-realization, I'm pretty sure it's not me that you want to be with anyways." Twilight chided, resisting the urge to giggle.
"Huh?" Sunset mumbled, not at all sure what she meant.
"...You'll figure it out." Twilight deadpanned, doing her best to not smack her friend upside the head.
"Sparky? You ok out here? I heard shouting, and I was really hoping I wouldn't have to beat anyone up today." Came a sarcastic voice from around the corner that made both of them immediately freeze up.
"Do we run?" Sunset whispered.
"I think it's too late for that." groaned Twilight.
The so called Sunny popped her head out of the doorway, and immediately froze in place, eyes wide. "Uhhh, hi there...me...rad jacket..." she croaked, looking like she was ready to pass out.
Sunset gave her doppelganger a small wave, her face covered in a nervous, plasticy smile while Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.
"Babe, we need to talk..." Twilight grumbled, grabbing both Sunset's arms and dragging them back into the recreation room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It took her awhile to believe it wasn't all some huge, elaborate prank, but after that we just kind of sat around and talked. She's pretty cool honestly...yes I know that sounds narcissistic coming from me...I don't know Rarity, what else am I supposed to say?" Sunset said into her cellphone with a small laugh, rolling her eyes as she plopped down into her desk chair. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Twilight's forgiven me now that everything is in the open, and she wants to introduce Sunny to you and the rest of the girls tomorrow after school, now that the cat's out of the bag...me?...yeah I'm fine, don't worry...ok, I'll see you tomorrow, night!"
Sunset hung up the phone and tossed it aside, taking a deep breath and leaning back. She felt more content than she had in days, now that the mystery was laid to rest, and it always felt good to make a new friend, but there was still the nagging feeling of her missed romantic opportunity. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world to realize she had been developing feelings for Twilight just in time to find out she was in a committed relationship. The fact that it was with herself made her somehow feel both better and worse about it at the same time.
"Where did those feelings even come from?" She wondered to herself, closing her eyes to think. Immediately Twilight's words floated into the forefront of her mind.
I'm pretty sure it's not me that you want to be with anyways.
Sunset's eyes flew open, and she immediately stared at the magical journal on her desk like it was the most profound thing in the world. "...I'm dumb..." she muttered after a few more seconds of staring.
Shaking herself from her stupor, she sat up and pulled herself closer to the desk, snatching up the book and a pen, preparing to flip to the most recent page, but she stopped herself at the last second as an idea struck her. She stood up and walked over to her closet, shuffling around a bit as she went about her task before returning to the book.
Hey Twilight...what are you wearing?
Uh...hey Sunset, strange question, but as usual, I'm not wearing anything.
Me neither ;)
Oh...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh