“Do you want something to eat?” Cadance asked, breaking the silence in the car.
I shrugged. “Sure."
Cadance nodded, turning into the parking lot of a diner on the side of the road. I kept quiet, following her in mopey silence as we entered the restaurant. We took a booth at the end of the building, right by a window. Outside was a rather unassuming collection of businesses: liquor stores, a laundromat, and tax services. Totally uninteresting aside from it being somewhat near Sunset’s apartment.
“Twily? Are you alright? You’re spacing out.”
“Oh, um, sleepy.” I gave her a tight lipped smile.
Cadance nodded in understanding as a waitress came around.
“Hey there.” The waitress flipped open her little notepad. “Can I get ya started on something to drink?”
“A coffee for me please.” Cadance put on a sweet voice. She glanced over at me. “And an orange juice?”
“Coffee actually,” I said, completely on a whim. The waitress nodded and walked away, leaving me and Cadance alone again.
“Since when did you drink coffee?”
“I don’t,” I said, a bit too matter-of-factly. I slapped my cheek. “I just need to wake up.”
“Right.” Cadance averted her eyes, seemingly remembering why I was with her in the first place. Last night felt like it was another life. Like I was a different person with my Crystal Prep friends.
Maybe I changed somehow. Maybe I came out of it a cool coffee person.
As it turned out, I did not. Coffee was still terrible. Although, I couldn’t really differentiate between bad or good coffee. It all tasted the same. I simply took a sip, felt my face instinctively shrivel up, and pushed it towards the center of the table.
I could feel my future sister-in-law judging me from behind her own cup. “Well, at least you’re awake.”
“Yeah,” I said, turning my gaze out the window. I watched a few cars go down the street. Even if it was the weekend, they were still buzzing around like worker bees getting where they needed.
A man in a motorcycle passed the diner, and I briefly wondered if Sunset would ever teach me how to ride her bike.
I wasn’t sure if it was the coffee’s aftertaste, but everything felt bitter at the thought of Sunset. The sting of last night came back, and I found myself desperately wanting to forget it even happened.
Cadance tapped her fingers against the table. It took a while for me to notice that I was staring at her engagement ring. I knew that it took years of dating for my brother to finally give her that, but I couldn’t help but be jealous of that simple declaration of eternal love. Sure, Sunset and I were still feeling things out, but it would feel really nice to just know.
I considered asking if she ever got into any big arguments with my brother but decided against it. If they stung anything like the one I had last night, it was better off that I didn’t bring up that topic.
Thankfully, my savior came in the form of a stack of fluffy pancakes. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I attacked the pile, tearing through it without syrup. It didn’t take long before my mouth went dry. I reached for my coffee, only to forget that the drink was served stupidly hot.
With my tongue burnt, I choked on the traitorous pancakes that had kept my mind off Sunset. Cadance leapt to my side and hit my back until I had hacked and coughed it out, a sloppy chunk spilling out onto the table. It was then when I noticed that I had caused a scene in the half empty restaurant. Critical eyes and stolen glances were sent in my direction from all sides.
“Twilight,” Dean Cadenza began. “You’re the smartest girl I know, but sometimes I wonder how you’re still alive.”
I didn’t answer her right away. Instead, I mopped up my puddle of coffee and picked up the offending piece of breakfast with a napkin. “Sorry, I was trying to think about literally anything other than—”
“Than?”
Right out the window, I noticed Sunset Shimmer standing right across the street.
I found it funny how life seemed to wrap things together neatly. Just as I was thinking about Sunset, she reappeared in my life. I didn't even bother explaining to Cadance what I was doing, instead giving her a halfhearted mumble with a mouthful of pancakes. Though, I probably should have said something more intelligible before I decided to run into traffic.
I rushed out of the diner and fought the urge to call Sunset's name until I was within earshot. I could barely make out the look of surprise on her face. Though, I knew she was caught off guard as she dropped whatever she was eating. In her surprise, she stepped on it. Unfortunate, but kinda funny.
"Sunset!"
"Twilight?"
I was half out of breath when I stopped in front of her. I adjusted my glasses, and I could feel a goofy grin slide up my face.
She rubbed her hands down on her stained sweatpants, as if she were attempting to clean it off with a few swipes. She coughed as she pulled the bottom of her tank top back down over her stomach. It rode back up, but she kept pinching at it.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, beating me to the punch.
I giggled. "I was just about to ask the same thing. I was out grabbing breakfast with my brother's fiancée."
She pivoted on the ball of her foot and half gestured over to the inside of the laundromat, where about a couple dozen washing machines and dryers sat. "Just taking care of stuff."
"Must be a drag," I said, leading the conversation. “Coming all the way here from your apartment just to do your laundry."
"Helps me think," she said, a bit nonplussed.
“Oh, cool, cool.” This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. “Got anything interesting coming up?”
Sunset shot me a unimpressed look. “I’m going grocery shopping later. It’s going to be a rager.”
I laughed politely. I knew she was being facetious, but it stung a little. I decided to just play along. “Sounds like fun.”
“Want to come with?”
“Uh, sure,” I said, bobbing my head.
“Great,” she hummed. “This time, you can pick me up. Getting groceries is kind of a pain. Gotta haul a cart there and back. It’s a whole day operation.”
“I, uh, don’t drive.”
“You don’t drive?”
“Never needed to,” I said, suddenly feeling sheepish. “Everyone sorta just gives me a ride when I need it. Hey about last night.”
I didn’t really know how else to bring it up. The band-aid method would do. Sunset looked back at the row of washers inside the laundromat.
“It didn’t happen,” she said. “NDA, remember?”
“Right." It stung a little to know all that effort and planning went to nothing, but if that’s what it took. "I’ll forget it if you do.”
“Good," she pinched at her tank top again. "I'll pick you up later so we can go grocery shopping. It’ll make up for doing nothing yesterday.”
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
“I thought you said you were just gonna get one thing for yourself.” Sunset crossed her arms as I dropped a few loaves of bread into a cart.
Something about grocery shopping turned us into an old married couple. Suddenly we bickered about which brand of dish soap was better or whether one or two carton of eggs would do. Perhaps my true calling in life was coupon clipping and grabbing the freshest jug of milk from the back.
“I was,” I said, bouncing on my heels. “Then I remembered how empty your kitchen was. When was the last time you had a chance to go grocery shopping?”
Sunset chuckled stiffly while she looked at the aisle of packaged food. “Guess I’m just too lazy.”
“Well, now you have me to help you out.” I grinned as I led the charge down the aisle, dragging the cart behind me while I scanned the rows and rows of food.
Sunset lagged behind, letting me fill up the cart on my own. While I only knew the basics of a decent nutrition, it wasn’t all that hard to find stuff to fill the cart.
The cereal aisle also came with a short debate. Sunset seemed to be a fan of the plain cereals they kept in a giant bag, while I preferred the ones with cute cartoons on the box.
“They’re the same thing,” Sunset said, dropping the sack of bland, flaky cereal creatively named 'Cereal Flakes' onto the cart. The price clearly didn’t go into the presentation. “You can just add sugar to it, and you get more cereal than the one in the box.”
“There’s a difference,” I insisted, tracing the maze printed on the back. The tiger needed my help to get out of the labyrinth and promised me a prize if I helped him.
“I thought you’d be objective about this.”
“Look, this one comes with a toy.” I shoved the box at her. “Ooh, and temporary tattoos! We can get matching ones.”
“I know a guy who can do it for real,” she said as if it wasn’t a big deal. “He owes me one if you’re down.”
I froze. The thought of getting a real tattoo sounded horrifically, excruciatingly painful. All those needles. What would my mother even say? “No. No, thanks. I’ll stick to the ones you can apply with water.”
We continued to kill time exploring the supermarket. Sunset gravitated towards the wine aisle. I humored her and rode the cart down to meet her, letting it slow down to a stop next to her. She eyed a particular bottle.
“This was the one Rarity’s mom poured us at Hearth’s Warming,” she hummed, recalling a party I didn’t attend nor approve of. She dropped it onto the cart.
“Absolutely not.” I grabbed the bottle and placed it back on the aisle.
She laughed. “Relax, it’s not like I can just walk out with it.” She glanced to the side before lifting up her jacket and tucking the bottle under her arm. “Unless.”
I shot her a glare.
“Kidding,” she said, removing the bottle and placing it back on the shelf. I took the cart and rolled it over to the front of the store.
When the time came to get in line, I noticed Sunset eying the cart packed with food.
“I can’t possibly—” Sunset hesitated. “—eat all of this. Or carry it back..”
I looked over the pile of food. It did seem like a bit much. “I guess you’re right. Help me put some stuff back.”
We spent the better part of an hour placing some of the more unnecessary items back where we found them. Sunset was more aggressive, and I had to assure her that it was okay to splurge a bit on things like ice cream. It took some convincing. Though it wasn’t too hard as I was pretty sure I could get Pinkie Pie to testify that ice cream was part of a major food group.
"One for you," I hummed, dropping a pint of her favorite ice cream into the cart. I dropped a pint of my favorite. "One for me. We can treat ourselves."
"Chocosplosion with fudge and brownie-bits?" Sunset read, she looked to me with a smirk. There’s that dimple again. "I take it you like chocolate."
"Is it obvious?” I asked. I may or may not have gotten a cocoa dependency after The Sunlight Incident. “It could use a little more chocolate, though." I swiped a bottle of chocolate sauce. “There.”
Sunset grabbed my arm and led me down to the next aisle. “Let’s move on before you see the five pound sack of chocolate chips.”
“The what?”
Sunset made sure to keep me on leash as we went through the rest of the aisles. Sure enough, she took hold of the cart and made the final decisions. I didn’t mind, since it was all going to her apartment anyway.
However, her choices of food were kind of alarming. I winced as I watched her throw two twelve-packs of instant ramen into the cart. It joined other boxed products like macaroni and cheese, and a pile of spaghetti bags. Just oodles of noodles.
“Do you know how much salt they put into that?”
Sunset replied with an unimpressed look. “Relax, It’s not like I’m gonna eat it for every meal.”
“Well, of course not." I caught my tone.
Oh, goddess. They were right. I am judgy.
“Never mind,” I said, scratching at the back of my neck. “I shouldn’t boss you around like that.”
Even then, I caught Sunset putting the packs of healthier things back out of the corner of my eye. I decided to just let it go and bite my tongue.
Once we got to the front of the supermarket, I helped Sunset set the groceries on the little conveyor belt and watched it slowly glide across the surface. Little beeps rang out as the woman at the register scanned the items. I found myself staring at the tabloids on the shelves.
According to the magazine on the top shelf, the reason Spitfire has been out of the public eye was because she’s pregnant. That probably would have hurt her chances to keep the Daring Do role had it not been a total lie.
My thoughts were cut off as I heard a much more alarming beep. I turned to see Sunset hovering over the card reader. She swiped her card, and the same noise came out from it.
“Must be something with the bank,” Sunset explained, trying the card again. Same thing. Sunset chuckled. “I probably have cash or another card,” she mumbled, looking in her bag. She seemed to search for a while for her wallet.
“I got it.” I gestured behind me as I dug into my own bag. “There’s a line.”
“Y-you don’t have to,” Sunset stammered. “It’s a lot.”
I glanced at the register. It was only about a hundred bucks worth of groceries. If anything, I don’t think it was enough. She was probably just being modest.
“It’s fine. You can pay me back later.” I reached over her and swiped my own debit card.
We helped the clerk bag up the items and I helped Sunset load her groceries into the same cart she used for groceries. However, I couldn’t help but notice how quiet Sunset was while we packed the food.
“Something up?”
Sunset shook her head. “No.”
The walk back to her apartment was pretty quiet.
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
I played some music on my phone as Sunset and I packed away her grocery haul. There was some dancing involved. I slipped a sack of cereal into the cupboard, my shoulders popping to the beat. Sunset squeezed past me with a little shimmy to drop a jug of milk into the fridge. She blew past me again and bounced on the tips of her feet, mumbling along with the tune. With tubs of ice cream in tow, she bumped her hip against mine to push through and laughed as she threw them into the top freezer.
"I like this," I said with a hum. "I feel like an adult."
"I am an adult." Her voice was flat. "Though, it is nice to do adult things with someone."
"Adult things," I repeated. "You mean errands?"
"Yeah that," Sunset said. "Errands."
"Errands." I scanned the floors of her living room. It could use some vacuuming. “Got any more?”
Sunset gestured towards a pile of envelopes on the counter. “Want to pay my bills?”
“Do you need money?” The room got quiet, and I felt stupid for asking.
“No.” Sunset’s curls shook with her head. “It was a joke.”
“Right.” I forced a laugh. “So how about dry cleaning?”
“Dry cleaning?” She cocked her head and pointed to her later jacket hanging on the back of a chair. “I guess my jacket.”
I snapped my fingers. “Yes! That!” I rushed over to it and lifted it high into the air.
“H-hey wait!” She ran after me.
I caught a weird smell. “Oh, jeez, when was the last time you got it cleaned?”
Sunset laughed awkwardly as she swiped the jacket back and slipped it on. “Uh…”
“Please don’t tell me you haven’t washed it since you bought it.” There I was being judgy again. Stop, Twilight.
“Of course not.” She sniffed the inside of her jacket and winced. “Though, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get it cleaned.”
“Oh!” I hopped in place. “We can make a checklist of things that need to get done around your place!” I scrambled for my bag, pulling out a little notepad just for checklists. I clicked my pen repeatedly.
Sunset plucked the pen from my grip. “I did laundry and went grocery shopping on the same day. I’m all chored out.”
“We can prep for next time,” I said.
“Alright, go for it,” she said, handing back the pen. “Who am I to get between you and your checklists?”
I let out a squee as I scanned her apartment. It was a fixer-upper of course, but now that I was here, we could make it feel more cozy. “One. Deep clean the apartment. Vacuuming, dusting, getting rid of junk.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening today.”
“Two,” I tapped the pen again my chin. I noticed a textbook propping up a chair’s uneven leg. “Throw out that chair.”
“It’s still good.” As if to prove her point, she took a seat on it and smirked. That dimple was her best argument.
I still added it to the list. “Are you going to fight me on everything?”
“I thought you liked debate.” She stuck her tongue out, and I did it back.
From then on, she didn’t really protest when I jotted down on the list. It was simple stuff really, all subsets of deep cleaning—stuff like washing windows, scrubbing down the kitchen. Even her bathroom was remarkably clean. Though, Sunset admitted to a bad habit of leaving her towels on the floor for too long. I continued my way down the cramped apartment, making my way to her bedroom.
It hadn’t changed all that much since I was last here. Sunset was still sleeping on an air mattress. I hadn’t noticed until now, but the dresser was pretty beat up, and the one bookshelf didn’t even match the only other piece of furniture.
“Bedroom makeover,” I noted. “It’s got a lot of potential. Have you ever thought about getting an actual bed and bedframe?”
“Why?”
“It’ll make your room look so much better,” I explained, gesturing towards the room in general. “Even some curtains would go a long way.”
Sunset scoffed. “I don’t need it. I only come in here to sleep.” She kicked at the air mattress. It wobbled in place. “Even then, I like sleeping on my couch better. It’s comfier, and the TVs there.”
“It is comfy once you position yourself around the lumps,” I said with a nod. My nose scrunched. “Can you open the window? Something smells.”
“The neighbors,” Sunset said, nearly cutting me off with her quick response. “They smoke like crazy. And the walls are hella thin.”
“Oh, right. Gross.” I responded, remembering that Sunset didn’t have the nicest of apartments in the nicest of areas. Still, it was very impressive that she was this independent at her age. For some reason, everyone seemed to coddle me. “Totally get it.”
“How about we go to your place?” Sunset suggested, leading me out of her room, practically dragging me out. “It’ll let the apartment air out.”
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
“Oh, hey, my parents left some money,” I jumped towards the kitchen counter, pocketing the envelope they usually filled with cash whenever they left town for work. “Dinner’s on me. Pizza?”
“Sounds great.” Sunset collapsed onto my couch. “Oh, sweet Celestia, your couch is so much comfier than mine. It’s not faaaaaair.”
“Plain cheese sound good?”
“It reclines!” Sunset kicked her feet up. “Oh, and cupholders! This couch is mine now. Expect it to go missing.”
Spike jumped up onto her lap. “Yeah, pizza’s good for me, too.”
“Spike.” I took a seat next to them, tapping away at the order on my phone. “I said no more human food for you. My parents spoiled you enough already. We need to slim you down.”
He whimpered and pawed at the air. “I promise I’ll start tomorrow. I can’t have eaten my last slice of pizza without knowing it was my last.”
“You and me both, buddy.” Sunset rubbed at his fat belly. “You’re outnumbered, Twi.”
“Don’t listen to him. He’s done this before.”
Sunset held Spike up by the forelegs. “Look this little cutie in the eyes and tell him he’s not allowed to eat.”
Spike put on his best set of puppy-dog eyes, and Sunset mimicked his expression.
“Fine. One slice.” I sent in the order. “Savor it, Spike. We’re restarting the vet’s workout plan, tomorrow.”
“You’re so mean.” Sunset laughed, setting him back down. “If I had a puppy, I’d spoil it so much until it’s a big fat blob that I’d have to carry from room to room.”
“You know what?” Spike jumped off her lap and onto mine. “That workout plan’s starting to sound real good right now.”
I scratched at his ear. “Have you thought about getting a pet?”
“For sure.” She nodded. “But getting a pet’s a pretty big commitment.”
“Am I a commitment, Twilight?” Spike asked.
“You’re more than a commitment, Spike.”
“Uh, thanks?” He scrunched his nose. I didn’t blame him. Even I wasn’t too sure what that was supposed to mean.
I put on a movie to pass the time until the pizza arrived. Just as it was getting good, there was a knock at the door. I groaned but forced myself off the couch. I paid, tipped well, and now had dinner for the three of us.
“Hey, Sunset, can you grab some sparkling water from the fridge?”
She slid off the couch. “Sparkling water for Ms. Sparkle coming up.”
She disappeared into the kitchen while I set the pizza on the coffee table. It was a lovely margherita pizza from my favorite place downtown. A little pricey—actually, very pricey—but today seemed like a splurging kind of night. Plus, I had to make yesterday up to Sunset somehow. The best pizza in Canterlot was a good start.
“Dude, you could’ve told me you already had a bunch of food at home,” Sunset said as she made her way back to the living room. “I could have made us some—The heck is that?”
“Pizza!” I backed away from the pie, its heat steaming my glasses. Thankfully the subject changed before I had to admit that I couldn’t cook to save my life.
“That’s not pizza.” She took a sip of sparkling water before waving her bottle around. “Where’s all the cheese, the grease, the excessive portions?! It’s not pizza unless you’re eating it for leftovers for the next few days.”
She had a point.
“Don’t write it off just yet.” I grabbed a slice and held it to her mouth. “Eat before you judge. It's the perfect pizza. ”
Sunset took a bite, and I watched her eyes light up to the taste. “Okay you win,” she said, mouth still full. A bit of sauce dribbled from her lip.
I grinned. “See?”
“Now I’m a bit jealous that one of those beautiful, beautiful slices is going to a dog.”
“I’ll have you know I’m more than a dog.” Spike gnawed at his own slice, stretching out a long string of cheese. “I’m a commitment.”
We spent the rest of the night watching musicals, the highest form of art.
And once again, we pushed our bodies in how long we could stay awake. I hadn’t bothered to check the time. I didn’t have anything going on tomorrow—or was it today?—Sunday. I had nothing going on Sunday except maybe spending the entire day with her.
“My daydream,” Sunset hummed, sounding as if she was fighting sleep herself.
“Hmm?”
She nestled into my shoulder, still sounding sleepy. “You called me that in your project. ‘My angel. My daydream.’”
“Oh! Um…” I felt my cheeks heat up. “I meant it. After the Games, you gave me something to look forward to, someone to look up to.”
“Can you… Can you say it out loud?”
“You’re my angel, Sunset Shimmer,” I said as I felt her breath shorten. “My daydream.”
“I spent all last night reading that part.” She sighed and melted into my side. “I think I just needed to hear it in your voice.”
Even if it was the drowsiness getting to her, it felt nice for her to hold onto me for once. I hoped she felt as safe as I did when I held onto her.
She took in a quick breath and shut her eyes. “I want to take you to the Spring Fling. Will you go with me?”
“Of course.” I held her tighter. "I'd love to."
“And I want you to be wearing the crown.”
“You deserve it,” I said back.
I could feel her hesitation. “I’ll think about it,” she said. “Just know I’m trying to be better. I just don’t know if it will be on time to earn it for the Fling.”
“You’re already perfect.”
Sunset didn’t respond, and I figured she had fallen asleep.
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
I woke up the next morning to my phone’s latest alarm. It was 11:11 on a lazy Sunday morning, and it certainly felt that way. There was a gross feeling in my mouth that was unique to going to sleep without brushing. I tried to wash it away with a quick sip of whatever was left of my water, but most of it seemed to fall on my shirt.
I reached around for my glasses and felt myself ease as I slowly slipped them on.
Everything was perfectly still. Spike lay on the floor, nestled into the rug like it was a blanket. I found Sunset curled up into the couch, and I was content to just watch her sleep for a little bit. Spike eventually woke up and jumped up next to me.
“Don’t you feel a little creepy just watching her sleep?” he asked, yawning as he stretched out his legs.
“We’re dating. That makes it cute now.”
“Ah, I think I get it now. It’s like when I’d watch over you when you slept. Protecting you and stuff.”
“Yes, it’s just like that.” I giggled and rubbed at his head. “Except that she doesn’t need protecting. She just floats above it all.”
Spike hummed sleepily. “Like an angel.”
“Like an angel,” I repeated. “I’m glad you’re finally seeing what I am.”
Sunset took in a sharp breath, but she seemed to still be asleep. A bit of drool hung from her lip, and she crinkled her nose before burying it deeper into the pillow.
“What time is it?” Her face was scrunched into a cute squint.
“Eleven.”
That shocked her awake. She dragged her palms down her face. “Oh, damn it, I’m gonna be late for work.” She forced herself up and rushed to slip on her boots that she left by the door. She checked her phone and combed through her hair with her free hand. “Should have just enough time to run home and change.”
“Work?”
She cocked her head. “Yeah, how do you think I pay for rent?”
I hummed. “I guess I never really thought about it.”
“Lucky you.”
I couldn’t quite read her tone. I decided to move past it. “So, where do you work?”
“NDA.” She had the most smug grin.
“That doesn’t even apply here!” I tossed a throw pillow at her. “Seriously, I’d love to drop by one day.”
“That’s exactly why I won’t tell you. Because whatever you think it is, it’s much lamer,” Sunset answered. She came back to the couch to claim her jacket (but not before planting a quick kiss on my forehead).“I’d rather keep the mystery alive.”
“Please let me have this one?” I put my hands together in a mock prayer and spilled over the arm of the couch.
“Fine.” Sunset had her hands in her pockets. “I’m a waitress.”
“Uniform?”
Sunset was already halfway out the door. “Yes. It’s adorable, and no you can’t see me in it.”
She winked as she left the house, and I spent the rest of the day doodling Sunset in waitress uniforms.