//------------------------------//
// Another New Experiment 
// Story: A New Experiment 
// by Jhoira 
//------------------------------//

Sunset Shimmer banged on the door. "Moon Dancer! Where are you?"

The call from inside the room was a bit slow, and confused. "I'm... In here...?"

Sunset groaned and facepalmed. Moon Dancer was worse than Twilight when it came to being literal. "I meant why are you in there? We were supposed to leave five minutes ago!" The pause was longer this time. So long that Sunset was about to ask again, until she heard the little ping from the room and she frowned. "Are you texting someone?"

Another muffled ping. "Yeah, I was asking... I mean... No! Of course not!"

Sunset groaned again and pulled out her own phone and brought up her texts. Tapping her top conversation and typing her own message. "I take it you're the one?"

After a moment, noticeably after Sunset heard another ping from inside the room. The little bubble with Rarity's name popped up on the phone. "Of course not! It must Be someone else."

Sunset rolled her eyes and responded, ignoring the denial. "Just tell her to open the door."

"But it's not been ten minutes yet! It is critical that a lady not be too early! That her date show they are willing to wait for her, as is proper."

"RARITY!"

"... Fine. Be a pill. But don't get mad at me if this makes everything go sideways!"

Sunset still had to wait a minute before the door started to open, so the timing was more or less the same. Sunset smiled at Moon Dancer as the door opened, but also raised an eyebrow. "Rarity?"

Moon Dancer blushes and rugged at the hem of her dress, grinning. "Well, I was talking to Rarity about when we should show up and she said fashionably late..."

Sunset chortled as she shook her head. "And when did she suggest this little stunt, moooooooooooonie?"

Moon Dancer wrinkled her nose, she hated that nickname! Though in a good natured way. "Well, I told her you were here and we'd head out soon then she texted me back..."

"And she said it'd be normal to make me wait?"

Moon Dancer nodded.  "Yes, I take it that was not so true?" Moon Dancer was impressively not embarrassed by her apparent mistake. But she was a scientist, finding out that Rarity's hypothesis was in error.

Sunset smiled and turned, pulling Moon Dancer over to her by the shoulder and rolling her eyes. "So, how did you like my indignance? Good enough for a demanding girlfriend?"

Moon Dancer nodded, pulling out her phone and pretended to examine her screen. "You are at an... Eight out of ten."

"Only eight!?" Sunset gasped, before grabbing Moon Dancer by the waist, pulling her closer. "Maybe I can earn that nine?"

Moon Dancer simply stared at her flatly and Sunset sighed, her shoulders slumping as she let go of Moon Dancer. "You're no fun."

Moon Dancer grinned as she broke ahead of Sunset. Ignoring Rarity's earlier advice "You coming? We're going to be late."





Sunset walked up behind Moon Dancer, leaning against the balcony's railing and holding out one of her two cups. Taking it, Moon dancer took it, looking out over the large park that Rarity's apartment was near. "Thank you."

Sunset glanced around the balcony then smirked. "Well, it's my job, isn't it? I mean, as both your girlfriend and your assistant."

Moon Dancer laughed gently and nodded. "True, though with how the party's thinned out, I don't think you need to anymore." She motioned back to mostly empty room, with only a few people chatting around the Christmas tree.

Sunset grinned. "True enough. Though the experiment doesn't have to end tonight, you know?"

Moon Dancer waved a hand, shaking her head. "Oh, that's the thing about social experiments. You kind of need to trick people to get true results, but you should try to limit the trickery as much as you can. I think one party is enough."

Sunset shrugged. "Fine then, no more experiment." She slid over and bumped into Moon Dancer's hip. "Tonight was fun."

Nodding Moon Dancer smiled. "I agree. I'll have to look more into how much this experiment changes social interactions. Maybe if I get everyone to sign up for the experiment without knowing what exactly it is..."

Sunset grinned and did her best to sound nonchalant, not that Moon Dancer would be likely to notice. "You know, you could just observe in the real world... Under the right circumstances."

Moon Dancer's eyes widened for a moment before she smiled. "Aha! Genius!" She then pushed off from the balcony and started to head in.

Sunset was taken aback, but managed to grab Moon Dancer's hand. "Hey, where ya going?"

Moon Dancer gave Sunset a wide smile. "I'm going to go ask Rarity if I can follow her and Applejack around and observe them! It won't be perfect but I do have some memories of how they interacted with each other and others before they got together."

Sunset let her head fall as she sighed, shaking her head. "I had a more direct idea for your experiment."

"Oh!" Moon Dancer bounced slightly on her heels. "What is it? Because I will say following Rarity and Applejack around wouldn't have been the easiest thing."

Sunset smiled. "How about you just follow me around?"

Moon Dancer frowned then smiled. "That's great!" Sunset rolled her eyes, having a feeling her point had been missed, which it had been. "Who else will I be following too? We should ask them too! And I'll need your word not to act different than normal just because I'm there."

Sunset thought for a moment then just shrugged. She should just get it over with, Moon Dancer would probably never get hints. "Moon Dancer, I meant you and me actually going out. Wouldn't that be a useful first hand view?"

Moon Dancer stared for a moment before blushing gently. "O-Oh!" She giggled gently, and nodded. "Long term observations then?"

Sunset nodded. "Hopefully very long term."