“Rise and Shine!”
Twilight groaned, flailing her limbs in front of her in an attempt to block the sun’s rays from her face.
A similar grunt came from behind her, where Sunset rolled over, away from the window. “No,” she whined. “It’s too early.”
“We need to be up early if we want to catch a timely train to Canterlot,” the princess explained.
The words jogged Twilight’s memory of where she was, and she felt the sleepiness evaporate from her in an instant. “C’mon, Sunset, she’s right. I wanna see the this magical city.”
The amber unicorn growled from beneath her pillow.
Twilight looked over to her counterpart. The princess was standing next to the newly opened window, holding a glass of water in her magic. “I’m guessing this is what a hangover looks like?”
The alicorn giggled. “More or less.”
Twilight glanced up at the princess’ horn. “And, I don’t suppose there's a spell that can cure hangovers?”
“No. At least, not one that’s proven to be safe to use. Generally speaking, spells that mess with a pony’s chemical balance aren’t particularly safe. Of course, the main problem with hangovers is dehydration,” she added, pointing at the glass in her aura. She moved over to the side of the bed, levitating the glass of water next to the pillow Sunset was using to hide from the sunlight.
“Sunset, drink this,” she ordered.
Sunset groaned again, but relented. She extracted herself from the sheets and took the glass of water, gulping it down in seconds.
“Why is it so bright outside? It’s her mocking me, isn’t it?” she complained.
“Of course not, Sunset,” the alicorn ruffled her wings. “She doesn’t even know you’re here, yet.”
Sunset’s only response was to bury her face in the sheets and groan incoherently.
“Fine,” the princess grumbled. “You can have a few more minutes of sleep, if you want. Your marefriend and I will be in the bathroom when you’re properly awake, okay?”
Sunset used her magic to pull the comforter over her body. “Kay,” she said, her voice muffled by the fabrics.
“What are we going to be doing in the bathroom?” Twilight asked as she followed her counterpart out into the hallway.
The princess looked a little sheepish as she answered. “Well, you see,” she began, hesitating just a little. “I’m quite well known in Equestria, and especially in Canterlot. And the existence of the mirror portal is a… state secret of sorts. If ponies see you trotting around Canterlot, looking almost exactly like me, right down to the cutie mark, those ponies will start to ask questions that we’d rather avoid having to answer.”
“Oh, so I’m getting, like, a disguise?” Twilight asked, furrowing her brow.
The princess nodded. “That’s the plan. I hope you don’t mind it too much,” she added sympathetically.
Twilight snorted. “Of course not. I’ve only had this body for less than twenty-four hours, anyway. I don’t mind if I have to look a little different.”
“Great,” her counterpart smiled in relief. “In that case, we’re going to dye your coat, and maybe your mane and tail, and we'll also paint a new cutie mark on. Oh, and we’re probably going to give you a new name to use in public. Just in case.”
“Right. That makes sense,” Twilight nodded.
They entered the bathroom, and Twilight’s eyes widened. It was huge. For a second, she wondered where the bathtub was, until she noticed the swimming pool sized indent at the far end of the room. It was currently empty of water, though she could see numerous faucets lining the edge.
“I brought out a few different colors for you to pick from,” the princess said, trotting over to the large table housing the sink.
Twilight trotted up next to her, looking at the array of dye bottles. “Oh. To be honest, I was expecting you to use magic,” she giggled.
The princess giggled as well. “I could technically do this with magic, but using simple dye is much easier.”
Twilight looked back at the dye bottles. “Okay, let’s see… I guess I’d prefer something bluish. Maybe teal? For the coat, that is. Not sure about my hair. Uh, I mean mane and tail.”
“Okay,” the alicorn pondered, looking at between the bottles and the unicorn. “How about we just get rid of the highlights? Teal and dark blue should be a good combination.”
Twilight nodded. “Okay, that sounds good.”
“Great,” the alicorn said, grabbing the teal and dark blue dye bottles in her aura. “Just step into the tub, and I’ll start rubbing the dye into your coat.”
“Don’t you mean ‘step into the pool’?” Twilight teased.
The princess giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Yeah, I guess. Just so you know, I didn’t actually design this place. The whole castle just sprouted out of the ground.”
Twilight laughed. As soon as she took one step down into the tub, however, she stopped. “Wait, what?”
“Oh, god,” Twilight suddenly saw the alicorn in a new light after a solid fifteen minutes of her explaining various villains she and her friends had thwarted. “Your life is full of seriously dangerous events. How can you face even just one world threatening monster without having a full on panic attack?”
The princess smiled, raising her dye covered hoof as she was about to answer.
“Wait,” Twilight interrupted, frowning. “Don’t tell me. It’s friendship, isn’t it?”
The alicorn giggled into her wing. “Yep, pretty much. That and regular visits to the spa. With my friends, of course.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Of course.”
“So, you and Sunset, huh?” the princess changed the subject with a suggestive smile.
“Yeah,” Twilight answered with an awkward giggle. “I can still barely believe that I actually asked her out, let alone that she said yes!”
“You two seem to be really happy together,” the princess continued rubbing the dye into Twilight’s back. “If you don’t mind me asking, is she your first girlfriend?”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Before I met her, I never would have had the courage to ask anyone out.”
“Mhm,” the alicorn hummed. “And how are things going between you two? Again, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Well,” Twilight smiled as she thought back to her time with Sunset. “Really well, to be honest. I mean, Sunset is amazing, and literally magical. When she first showed me the magic journal, I honestly wasn’t sure if I could believe my eyes or not. Although, it was pretty weird to find out that she’s technically, sorta older than me, but still also technically not.”
The princess giggled. “Yeah, that little quirk of the portal has been quite the puzzle. My current hypothesis is that it has to do with the average lifespan and or age of maturity of a human as compared to a pony, but I haven’t gotten around to properly testing it yet.” She moved over to Twilight’s front and started to gently apply the dye around her face. “Still, dating someone who’s a few years older doesn’t have to be a problem unless you make it one. In fact, I’ll tell you a secret,” she added, glancing left and right, before leaning in to whisper. “I’ve recently started seeing somepony in secret. And she’s technically much older than me.”
Twilight perked up in interest. “Oh? How much older?”
“A couple of millennia, give or take a few centuries,” the smirking alicorn replied casually.
Twilight furrowed her brow. “What? Like, as in an immortal?”
The princess nodded. “But we're not ready to make it public yet, so don’t tell anyone, okay? Not even Sunset.”
Twilight smiled. “Your secret is safe with me. So, what’s she like?”
The princess returned her attention to dying Twilight’s muzzle, a wistful smile on her face. “She a bit like Sunset, actually. Strong and proud, but with a past that haunts her.”
“I see,” Twilight said, wondering how much her counterpart might be willing to share. “Uhm, I don’t mean to pry, but can I ask you a personal question?”
“Of course.” She finished applying the dye to the fur on Twilight’s muzzle, then backed up a couple of steps.
Twilight felt herself starting to blush, and hoping that the dye would cover it up. “Have you and your girlfriend… had sex yet?”
The princess’s eyes widened in surprise and she immediately started blushing. She coughed into her hoof, looking away sheepishly. “We have,” she stated quietly. “So, you and Sunset…?”
“We haven’t,” Twilight said. “And the problem is, Sunset really wants to. And I want to as well, but there’s something holding me back, and I’m not even sure what it is. The night before we came here, I planned out this whole romantic thing where I would serenade her, and we had the house all to ourselves… But then I messed it all up, and then I felt terrible and I couldn’t go through with it.”
The princess’s expression turned worried. “You said that Sunset wants to do it. She isn’t pushing you into anything you’re uncomfortable with, is she?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, she’s being really patient with me. More than I feel like I deserve. Although…”
“Although what?”
“Yesterday, before we came here, we were making out and she kinda… got lost in the moment. She backed off as soon as I told her too, and was really sweet to me afterwards. She says she’s okay to wait until I’m ready, but I don’t want to make her wait.”
The princess nodded. “I think I know what you mean. I had some anxiety about my first time, too. My marefriend helped me through it, though. I talked it through with her, and I realized that with how much more epxerience she had than me, I was worried I’d disappoint her — that I'd fail some invisible test — and that she’d lose interest in me. That wasn’t the only reason why I was hesitant, but it was a pretty insidious thought, and talking to my partner helped me overcome my anxiety.”
Twilight’s mouth opened in shock. “Woah. That, uhm… that actually sounds like it might be what’s holding me back. Or at least part of it.”
“So, you’ll talk to her about it?” the princess asked.
“Yeah,” Twilight nodded. “Tonight. Probably.”
The princess raised an eyebrow at her. Before she could say anything, however, a distant call echoed through the bathroom.
“Twilight?!”
Both the alicorn and unicorn looked up to see Sunset bursting into the bathroom. She was out of breath, and had a bad case of bed head.
She raised a forehoof to shield her eyes form the bright lights, groaning. Her attention then turned to the dye covered unicorn standing in the bathtub with the princess. “Uh, Twi?”
“Yep, it’s me. I'm getting a disguise!” Twilight replied cheerfully, before she saw Sunset sighing heavily. “Are you okay, Sunset?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sunset chuckled, turning her attention to the princess. “I just got a little worried when I realized you said you were taking her to the bathroom. I don’t know how much you remember of Terra, but communal bathing isn’t really a thing there.”
“Communal what?” Twilight’s eyes widened. Though her question went ignored by the other two.
The princess merely giggled. “Don’t worry, I remember. I’m surprised it took you so long to respond to that, though.”
Sunset huffed, grabbing a brush in her magic and starting to smooth out her mane. “I have a hangover, so sue me. By the way, why are you painting my marefriend blue?”
“I'm dying your marefriend teal , because we’re all going to Canterlot together, and I don’t want rumors about my long lost twin making the papers tomorrow. Or conspiracy theories about me cloning myself in an attempt to lighten my workload or something,” the princess waved her hoof in annoyance. “Anyway, on that topic, we need to give her a new name. Just to use around others, I mean.”
"Oh, okay,” Sunset blinked. “Hmm, what do you think, Twi?”
Twilight nervously pawed at the basin of the tub. “I think I’d rather you picked one for me, Sunset,” she said, feeling her cheeks warm into a blush that was no doubt covered by the coat dye.
“Hmm,” Sunset hummed with a malicious glint in her eyes. “In that case… how about ‘Sweet Cheeks’?”
Twilight felt her blush magnify. “I-I’m not su-” she cut herself off. “I mean… I-if you like it, I guess-”
“Great!” Sunset interrupted her. “It’s settled then. So, how long is this going to take, anyway?”
The princess looked at a clock on one wall. “Just need to let the dye sit for a few more minutes. But we still need to give her a new cutie mark, too.”
“Okay, but you leave that to me,” Sunset insisted. “If anyone’s going to paint my marefriend’s flank, it’ll be me.”
Twilight giggled. “Thanks, I think.”
Sunset smirked. “You’re welcome, Sweetie.”
“Hehehe,” Twilight brought her hoof up to muffle her giggling.
“Stop squirming, Twi,” Sunset said from behind her.
“It’s cold! And It tickles!” the now teal coated unicorn complained as she felt the paintbrush return to her flank. Sunset had already painted her a new cutie mark on one side, but had insisted on finishing both sides before letting her see it.
“Twilight, can you hold Sweet Cheeks down for me?” Sunset asked sweetly.
“Sorry, Sunset,” the princess giggled. “I’m having too much fun just watching.”
Twilight looked over to see her lying comfortably on a large cushion. “So, you don’t mind taking the whole day off to come with us to Canterlot? I kinda figured you’d have, like, royal duties or something.”
The alicorn giggled. “I do have royal duties, true. But I also have the occasional day off. Besides, I love an excuse to visit Canterlot and the princesses.”
“Right, of course.” Twilight felt a sudden rush of wind on her flank. She looked back to see Sunset’s horn glowing as it seemingly manipulated the air around her.
“Alright, done!” Sunset smiled. She brushed her hoof against her handiwork, checking to see if it was dry.
“Do I get to see what it is now?” Twilight asked, shooting her girlfriends an annoyed glare.
“Of course you can,” Sunset smiled haughtily. “How else would you be able to bask in my artistic mastery?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. She walked over to the large mirror in front of the sink. She hadn’t yet gotten used to seeing herself as a pony, but now the mare in the mirror was almost completely unfamiliar to her. She turned to her side to see her new cutie mark.
Her flank was now adorned with a book with a chemical vial on the front cover. She had half expected Sunset to give her some kind of joke cutie mark after the name she’d picked, but this looked straightforward enough.
“I figured it’d be better if you had something that didn’t grab ponies attention to much,” Sunset said, coming up behind her.
“It looks great, Sunset.”
“Good job, Sunset,” the princess said. “We should be just about ready to leave for the train station now.”
“What about breakfast?” Sunset asked.
“We’ll eat on the train,” she answered simply. “Spike’s making us something we can take with us. I’m going to go say goodbye to him and grab the food. Why don’t you two head to the train station, and I’ll meet you there?” she glanced at the clock on the wall. “We’re actually running a little late, so it might be best if we teleport.”
“Teleport?” Twilight asked in awe.
“Sure,” Sunset said, uncertainly. “Uh, hang on.” In a flash, she disappeared from Twilight’s side, and reappeared at the other side of the bathroom, next to a window overlooking Ponyville.
After a moment surveying the town, she teleported back to Twilight’s side, smirking. “I see it. We can get there, no problem.”
The princess nodded before disappearing in a flash herself.
Twilight gaped at the amber unicorn. “You guys can teleport?!”
Sunset smiled proudly. “It’s a rare spell. Princess Celestia invented it herself and passed it down only to her personal students.”
“Impressive,” Twilight said, turning on her ‘flirting’ voice, which was just her normal voice but a couple octaves lower. “I had no idea I was dating such a powerful and prestigious sorceress.”
Sunset leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “You don’t know the half of it,” she whispered sultrily. “Now c’mon, we have a train station to get to.” She turned and led the way back to the window.
Twilight followed after her, and looked out over the town.
“See the train tracks over there?” Sunset pointed. “You can see where they meet that building a little further down.”
Twilight nodded. "We're gonna teleport down there?"
“Yep. You might feel a little dizzy, by the way,” Sunset warned.
“Is it dangerous?” Twilight asked, giving the other unicorn a worried look.
“Hah! With a ‘powerful and prestigious sorceress’ like myself?” Sunset smiled proudly. “A fair maiden like you will be perfectly safe,” she winked.
Twilight smiled, then raised her head into the air. “Very well then, mighty sorceress. Take me the to the train station. I am prepared,” she said, barely keeping her giggling in check.
Sunset gave her a gentle kiss on her muzzle. “Close your eyes,” she whispered. “It’ll make it a little less unpleasant.”
Twilight did so, and felt Sunset’s neck press against the side of her own in a tender embrace.
“Three. Two. One.”
Twilight felt a jolt surge through her body. She felt her stomach twist, and collapsed to one knee. She felt Sunset’s hoof comfortingly patting her on the back while she recovered. A couple of shaky breaths later she got back up.
She blinked, looking around at the ponies milling about. She also noticed the building in front of them was the train station building which, mere seconds ago, had been in the distance.
“You okay?” Sunset asked.
Twilight nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay now.” She looked behind herself at the castle, now on the other side of town. “I can’t believe I just teleported,” she said, a smile creeping onto her face. “That was incredible!”
“C’mon, the princess should be here any second now,” Sunset led Twilight into the train station.
While Twilight was in the middle of examining the station’s interior, a flash and a pop drew her attention to the purple alicorn, wearing a pair of saddlebags, that now stood in line for the ticket booth. She looked around and gave a cheerful wave when she spotted the two of them.
“Huh,” Sunset mused, waving back. “It’s kinda neat having someone else who can keep up with me like that. Apart from Princess Celestia, I mean.”
Twilight felt a small pang in her chest. “I don’t suppose I could learn to teleport?” she asked sheepishly.
Sunset smirked. “Oh, I’m certain you could. And I’m not just saying that cause the evidence is standing in front of us,” she said, pointing at the princess who had reached the front of the queue. “You’ll need quite a bit more practice first, though.”
Twilight sighed. “Right, of course.”
They walked over to the alicorn, who handed them each a train ticket. “There we go,” she said. “Three tickets to Canterlot. The train leaves really soon, so we should get aboard. I always get a little nervous when I leave it to the last whistle,” she added with a nervous smile.
Twilight giggled. “I can relate.”
They climbed aboard the train and settled into an empty section of the carriage. The princess placed her saddlebags on the seat next to her and levitated out a few snacks onto the table.
“Dig in!” she said, picking up a bagel in her aura.
“Finally. I’m starving,” Sunset said, taking a large bite out of a sandwich.
Twilight carefully picked up another sandwich in her own flickering aura. She ate slowly, in contrast to the amber unicorn next to her who was already on her third sandwich.
They ate in silence, and before long the train started moving. Twilight shuffled herself closer to the window, hoping to get a good look at Equestria on the way.
As she watched the small town disappear into the distance, and the rolling fields stretch across the landscape, she listened with one ear to Sunset and her counterpart talk excitedly about the details of teleportation. She did her best to follow their conversation, though she struggled to understand a lot of the magical terms.
Twilight didn’t notice the train stopping. She was far too busy gawking at the view. The train station was on the very edge of the mountain side city, giving an incredible view of the surrounding lands. She could see Ponyville in the distance, as well as the crystal castle she’d slept in that night. There were lots more towns and villages visible in every direction, too far away to make out any individual building.
“C’mon, Sweet Cheeks,” Sunset nudged the distracted unicorn. “We need to get going.”
“Right,” Twilight replied absentmindedly, pulling her gaze from the window and following after her counterpart and girlfriend.
They exited the train car and moved onto the crowded streets of Canterlot.
“Huh,” Sunset mused. “I kinda expected ponies to treat you, you know, more like a princess.”
The alicorn snorted. “I may be a princess, but I’m still nowhere near the level of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”
“Hey, Sunset,” Twilight spoke up, remembering one of the things her friend had told her about before.
“Yes, Sweet Cheeks?” Sunset replied with a saccharine voice.
Twilight blushed at her girlfriend's tone. “These princesses you guys are talking about, they’re the ones who control the day and night, right?”
“Yup,” Sunset said proudly.
“So I’m about to meet a literal goddess of the sun?” Twilight asked, feeling silly for uttering such a ridiculous sentence.
“Pretty much," Sunset smirked. "Give her a few more years, and 'Most Faithful Student' over here will probably build a temple in their honor."
“W-what? That's ridiculous!” Came the princess’ voice from Sunset’s other side.
“C'mon, Twilight,” Sunset playfully bumped her flank against the alicorns. “I’ve known you long enough to know that you worship her more than anypony else.”
Princess Twilight blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I simply respect her as a wise mentor, and a valued friend.”
Twilight leaned closer to Sunset, making sure to whisper loudly enough for her counterpart to hear. “Am I that bad of a liar, too?” She and Sunset shared a snigger.
The trio lapsed into a comfortable silence. Twilight looked around at the surrounding buildings. Most of them were painted white and decorated with purple and gold. Up ahead, she could see the castle towering over the rest of the city.
Twilight nudged Sunset, giving her a warm smile. “It almost feels like I’m inside your painting right now.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile on her muzzle. “I’d be happy to let you inside a few of my other places too, if you wanted.”
Twilight snorted, bringing a hoof up to muffle her giggle. “That’s gross, Sunset.”
Sunset burst into laughter. “I’m sorry, Sweetie. I couldn’t resist.” She gave Twilight a kiss on the side of her muzzle, effectively mollifying the annoyed unicorn.
They got to the castle, where a pair of guards let them pass as soon as they spotted Princess Twilight.
“Welcome to my old home, Sweetie,” Sunset whispered as they walked the large marble halls of the castle.
Twilight gazed in awe at the beautiful marble hallway. She idly noticed that she was gaping at the sight, and only stopped when she heard the sound of the two ponies beside her giggling.
They started off down the hallway, with the princess leading the way.
"Hey, Sunset?" Twilight piped up, grabbing the amber mare's attention. "Yesterday, you seemed pretty unhappy about the idea of seeing your mentor again. I believe you said there was baggage involved?" she added in a gentle voice.
Sunset sighed. "Yeah."
At first, it seemed like she wasn't going to say more, but just as Twilight was considering pushing for more, Sunset continued.
"I never knew my parents. They died when I was little, leaving me to be raised at an orphanage. That all changed when I applied for Celestia's school, though. She took notice of me, and offered to take me as her personal student. Even said I could live here in the castle. It was a dream come true." Sunset wore a wistful smile as she reminisced outloud.
She then stopped in her tracks, as something caught her attention.
After a second, the others stopped as well. Twilight looked up to see a large oil painting of a beautiful alicorn, with a white coat and light pink mane and tail. The painting looked ancient.
Sunset stared at the painting. "At first, I hoped that I had also gained a mother. But I quickly realized that wasn't meant to be. She was my mentor and my idol. No matter how much I wanted her to be more."
She moved on from the painting, catching back up to the other mares. "But now, I finally do have a family. And I don't really know how to feel about Princess Celestia anymore. To be honest, I thought I had burned all my bridges when I left," she added, her ears wilting.
Sunset's words were followed by silence, apart from their hoofsteps.
Twilight wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't even sure what to think. Luckily, the princess broke the silence before she had to.
"Celestia let you live in the castle?" the alicorn said, ruffling her wings in annoyance. "She gave me an apartment next to the school."
Twilight tilted her head at the princess's tactlessness. Until she noticed the hint of a smile on her muzzle.
A smile which Sunset copied with a soft chuckle. "She was probably hoping you'd socialize more that way. I barely ever left the castle grounds, no matter how many times she insisted I try to meet new ponies."
The princess giggled into her hoof. “You're probably right. Not that it worked. I didn’t really talk much to others until she sent me to Ponyville.”
The three of them shared a much needed laugh.
“C’mon, we’re almost to the throne room,” the princess said softly after a short silence, continuing down the hall.
"Right," Sunset said, and Twilight couldn’t help but notice she looked a little pale.