Time, as the saying goes, is an illusion. The human mind perceives entropy worrying at the universe as a continuous progression from cause to effect, and thus that mind tells itself a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. But those concepts are all as fictional as the story itself. There is no time lost in that bathroom because there is no time to lose. There is no Sugarcoat to lose it. There is no bathroom for her to—
Alright, that's quite enough of that.
"Okay, I think she's coming out of it."
Sugarcoat staggered and blinked. Judging by how her eyes burned, she hadn't been doing nearly enough of the latter. "What happened?"
"You had a teensy-weensy little panic attack." Sugarcoat certainly didn't need to see to recognize Sour Sweet. "First one's a real bitch, isn't it?"
"I found you in here when I had to excuse myself from the auditorium," said Sunny Flare. "When you didn't respond to any kind of stimulus, I went to get help."
More of Sugarcoat's senses started reporting in. "Is that why my cheek hurts?"
"I did say any kind of stimulus."
"Come on, Sugar." She only then registered that she'd been leaning on Lemon Zest. "We got Second too; he's waiting outside. And I figured you wouldn't want to have the whole conversation in the bathroom anyway."
"That would be counterproductive." Sugarcoat staggered out. She appreciated Lemon's support, but she wasn't going to say anything.
"You're welcome," Lemon said unprompted.
After all, she didn't need to.
Second Person waited for them outside of the bathroom, more than his usual concern in his eyes. "How are you feeling?"
In a way, Sugarcoat appreciated the question. Leveling a flat stare at someone was comfortable, familiar ground. "I just upset my girlfriend so much I managed to overload the crystal that was magically suppressing her anxiety. Then I apparently went into a fugue state, and I suspect that only the literal grace of Sunset kept me from going mad."
"The Bacon Horse protects," Lemon Zest said with indeterminably sincere reverence.
"Moondancer was using a therapy crystal?" It took Sugarcoat a moment to register Sour Sweet's tone. She'd almost never heard the other girl speak with legitimate concern in her voice before. "And it broke?"
Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow. "Yes."
"Okay, we need to find her. Broken therapy crystals are no joke."
"I mean, looking back, it was kinda funny..." Lemon trailed off as both Sour and Second glared at her. "Yeah, fair enough. We gotta track her down."
"I'm missing something," said Sugarcoat.
Sour Sweet held up the necklace from which her own therapy crystal hung. "I've had some bad experiences with these things breaking myself."
Lemon's lips twitched as she fought back a smirk. "Yeah, you could say that."
"First I've heard about this." Sunny Flare looked up from her phone. "I have Indigo looking for Moondancer, but even she'll take a while to cover the whole campus. So, what happened?"
All three of the people who knew traded awkward looks. To Sugarcoat's surprise, Second Person spoke first. "Well, long and very embarrassing story short, she ended up split in two."
"Simpering wuss and raging bitch," added Sour. "And to drive home the point, the bitch turned into one of those bat-variant pegasus aspects."
Sugarcoat blinked as she tried to process that. "Schizophrenia doesn't work that way."
"Yes!" Lemon cried. "Thank you!"
Second glared at her. "I'm still mad about you shoving me into her room."
"Hey, you were the one holding onto her spare, and calling you was her idea anyway. Didn't know she'd strip to her undies in the meantime."
That got Sugarcoat to raise her eyebrows. "Since Lemon hasn't arranged an incredibly inappropriate celebration, I assume nothing came of that."
Lemon snorted. "He literally prayed to Sunset for deliverance from twins."
"She wasn't in her right mind!"
"And Sweeten Sour isn't getting anywhere near him!" Sour pulled Second in to an embrace so violently, Sugarcoat could've sworn he squeaked like a chew toy. "The point is that one of those things breaking makes for a bad time. All the neurochemical fun of going cold turkey on your meds compressed into a few seconds. Though at least Moondancer didn't literally break in half."
Sugarcoat clenched her fists. "Point made. Enough goofing around. We need to find her."
"We have Indigo working on that, remember?" said Sunny. "Say what you will about Winter Lights—"
Lemon held up a finger. "Note: Do not say things about Winter Lights. Nothing definitive, anyway. She'll view it as a challenge."
"Isn't that a definitive statement?" said Second.
"It is!" Lemon said, beaming. "I am fully prepared to get annoyed by Indigo's elf girlfriend at some point in the coming weeks."
Sunny rolled her eyes. "Say what you will, or don't, about Winter Lights, she's made Indigo into a twisted sort of romantic. She's taking this seriously, and you know what that means."
Sugarcoat nodded. "She'll go at full intensity until she achieves her goal."
"And in the meantime, we've got other issues to worry about," said Sour, "like where Moondancer got this therapy crystal."
That, at least, Sugarcoat knew. "Ms. Yellow Diamond."
Sour gritted her teeth and squeezed Second hard enough that his nondescript complexion started turning definitely blue. "Ah. Well then."
Lemon Zest cleared her throat. "Ease up, girl, you're gonna pop him like a zit."
"He's okay with that."
"Good for him. He still needs to breathe." Lemon turned to address the whole group. "Now, I don't know about you guys, but I think Principal Cadence would really appreciate learning that our dean of students-cum-gym teacher is handing out brain rocks without a prescription. Someone ought to tell her, hint hint."
"Well, you're her aunt," said Sugarcoat, silently noting how that statement never got any less absurd. "You go tell her. I need to know when Indigo finds Moondancer."
"One, first cousin once removed. B, what'll you do in the meantime, wallow in your anxiety? Moondancer's probably already doing that; we don't need both of you stuck in your heads. Come with us; it'll keep you occupied and you can unload on Ms. Diamond if Cadence confronts her."
Sugarcoat considered this for a few moments. She didn't sigh or sag or show her concession in any visible way. She just said, "You are simultaneously an excellent and deeply irritating friend."
Lemon nodded and smiled. "You're welcome."
A familiar laugh made Sugarcoat blink, having come from the wrong direction. Sunny Flare spoke and cleared up the confusion. "Hold that thought. We've found her."
"You made Lemon's laugh your text alert?"
"It gets my attention. You want to poke fun at me or find your girlfriend?"
"Both," said Sugarcoat, "but Moondancer takes priority."
Sunny led them out of the building. Once Sugarcoat spotted the sallow light of Indigo's wingbow overhead, she moved to the front. After a few moments, Moondancer came into view as well, at least once everyone thought to look around the corner of the school where Indigo hovered and spotted her wedged against the spikes lining the roof. Lemon Zest spoke first. "Huh. Girl can really jump when she wants to."
"She's getting very good with teleportation." Sugarcoat looked to Sour. "Do you think you could get me up to the roof?"
Sour rolled her eyes. "You airlift your boyfriend one time..." She waved up to their spotter. "It'll be a lot easier with Indigo's help. Getting Second out of the Games was mostly adrenaline and momentum."
One tandem airlift later, Sugarcoat approached Moondancer as carefully as she could. Part of that was working against the roof's steep incline, but most was for Moon's sake. Sugarcoat had never dealt with wounded animals, but she couldn't help but think along those lines: No sudden moves or she'll bolt or snap. But Moondancer did neither, and Sugarcoat eventually got close enough to sit next to her, wincing when she first heard the quiet sobs. "Hey."
Moondancer hadn't shifted from her almost fetal huddle the whole time, and she didn't do so now. "Go away."
The flat sentence stabbed into Sugarcoat's heart. Her breath hitched, but she didn't budge. "I will if you really want me to."
"Of course I don't want you to," Moondancer half-mumbled. "But you should. I'm not worth the effort."
"I think you are."
"Then you're wrong. I'm the biggest mess at Crystal Prep, and we both know that's saying something." Moondancer heaved a sigh. "I can't even abuse magic effectively."
Sugarcoat sat next to her. It was awkward, sure, but what part of their relationship hadn't been? "I meant what I said. I want you to be happy."
"But I want you to be happy. And I can tell you want to, you know, touch more often."
And before Sugarcoat could think better of it, she grabbed Moondancer with both arms. The other girl stiffened, but she didn't let go. "I do. I want this. I want us to work."
Over the course of a minute or two, Moondancer relaxed into the hug. "I... It's scary. I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Neither do I. We can figure it out together."
Another few moments passed before Moondancer said, "I can't help but note you didn't deny my comment about being the biggest mess at Crystal Prep."
"I made your awkwardmarine explode. You're going to be especially emotional until you readjust, and we've already established that you're saying a lot of things you don't mean right now. Try a prescription next time." An unfamiliar twist in Sugarcoat's gut made her add, "Maybe. Just a suggestion."
"I've tried a few," said Moondancer. "Haven't found one that works well enough to be worth the side effects. Just living with it was better... mostly because I could just ignore most people. But now I have friends, more or less, and a girlfriend and I..." She trailed off and shook her head. "How does Twilight do this? Socialization comes so naturally to her, like it was just waiting for her to pick it up!"
"You're not Twilight."
That got a scoff. "No. I'm not. Forget my issues with being touched, that's the biggest issue in our relationship."
Sugarcoat shrugged. "I'm not Twilight either. We shouldn't compare ourselves to her."
"Why not? I saw her and Sunset together just before school started again. They were..." Moondancer blushed red enough to match her hair. "Kissing. In public. I... I can't even picture myself doing something like that, but—"
"Then we won't," said Sugarcoat, simple as that.
And Moondancer finally looked her in the eyes, her own panicked. "But—"
"We aren't Twilight and Sunset." Sugarcoat couldn't help but smirk. "We're about as far from Sunset as it gets."
"But if you want to and I can't—"
"I never said public displays of affection were a dealbreaker. I..." And it was Sugarcoat's turn to blush and turn away. "I admit, I do like them. I'm awful at saying nice things; every time I try, I feel like I'm reading off of a greeting card. It feels so cliché and contrived that I lock up. I tried to show you how I feel through actions instead." She took a deep breath, turned back, and gave her best attempt at a smile. "But I can adapt to whatever makes you comfortable."
Moondancer lolled her head back and groaned. "Now I just feel bad for making you have to bend over backwards to accommodate me."
"You tolerate me at my most tactless. I'd say we're even. You may even be getting the better deal out of all of this."
Moondancer snorted at that, making Sugarcoat give a much more natural feeling smile in turn, along with something that might—might—be termed a giggle.
Naturally, that made both of them burst into Lemon Zest-grade idiot laughter.
Once they calmed down, Moondancer said, "I am sorry for springing this on you."
Sugarcoat held out her hand. Once her girlfriend accepted, she said, "If you really are more comfortable with a therapy crystal and it really isn't harmful, I'm fine with you wearing one. I was mostly worried about your refusal to tell me anything. That's almost never a good sign, especially with such a drastic shift in character."
"In hindsight, Ms. Diamond may have been a bit too eager to hand it off to me."
Sugarcoat nodded. "We're planning on talking to Principal Cadence about that."
"Yeah." Moondancer made a show of considering the triangular panel supporting them. "Though first we'll need to get off the roof. I'm not entirely sure how I got all the way up here in the first place; my range shouldn't be this good."
"Just give me the word," said Indigo Zap.
Both girls locked on her, hovering directly above them in a blind spot they hadn't even considered. "How long were you there?" said Sugarcoat.
"Oh, we barely moved after we dropped you off," Sour Sweet chirped, poking her out from the other side of the roof trim. "You've just been caught up in your drama. And I can definitely recommend Dr. Even Keel. He actually knows what he's doing with therapy crystals."
"Is that your phone?" Sugarcoat felt her blood turn to ice and carried that chill into her tone. "Were you recording this?"
Sour snorted. "Oh, like you two aren't going to have an issue like this flare up again in a few months. I'm doing you both a fav—" A nimbus of pale magic pulled the phone out of her grip. "Hey!"
Moondancer telekinetically passed it to Sugarcoat just before they both dodged away from a lunging Sour Sweet. "If you would be so kind?"
"It's already erasing the footage." Sour hadn't even had a chance to lock her phone. Telling it to wipe the incriminating video was child's play for Sugarcoat.
She smiled. Moondancer returned it without a trace of malice or shame.
Then Sour ruined the moment by slamming into Sugarcoat and clawing at her phone, but still.