Sunny's front door jerked open as she cautiously poked her head out, giving a cursory scan of her surroundings before looking back at her marefriend inside.
"Coast's clear, Izz. Let's move." The earth mare instructed coolly, holding the door open for her marefriend as the two of them made a quick exit. Trying to appear as casual as possible, the duo cantered calmly side-by-side down the road.
Sunny blushed scarlet as she self-consciously adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag in an attempt to hide the reddened hickey that would've otherwise been plainly visible beneath her coat. As she had rather quickly learned once the two of them had a quiet moment to themselves, Izzy's enthusiasm really did extend to everything. Everything.
Flashing the shorter pony next to her an impish smile, Izzy reached into her mane and took out her phone (a gift from Pipp, who'd also helped each of them set up social accounts to stay connected to one another) to contact Pipp and Zipp. Her casual demeanor evaporated in an instant, however, as she beheld the lock screen full of notifications she'd received since she last checked it.
"U-umm, Sunny? You maaay wanna look at this. Right now. Like, right-now right now!" Izzy said quickly, the urgency in her voice vividly apparent. Sunny shot her an inquisitive look as the two of them stopped walking. She squinted curiously at the screen of Izzy's phone when the unicorn presented it to her, and her own eyes widened in astonishment as they darted across the screen. A bevy of news article notifications and Flutter mentions whizzed past her eyes as Izzy scrolled through them with her magic, but a beaming smile quickly grew on her face as she read through the commentary.
That wonderful little kiss they'd shared in plain sight had unintentionally kicked the beehive of public opinion...but she'd never expected this sort of positive response so quickly and easily. She was heartened to see that the vast majority of ponies praised the progressiveness of their union and how well the two ponies seemed to match each other - observations which Sunny was both flustered and vindicated by.
Tears of pride and appreciation for her fellow ponies welled in Sunny's eyes as she wrapped Izzy in a tight hug, nuzzling against the fluffiness of her chest. "See what I mean? You were worried over nothin', silly filly." Izzy chastened softly as they rocked side to side in their shared embrace. "You gave the unicorns and pegasi their magic back, for pony's sake. That's something they thought they'd never get back." The two of them stood up as Izzy stowed her phone in her mane, and their stroll continued.
"That's not a gift that either of those groups is gonna take lightly, not by a long shot. As for the earth ponies - they know unicorns and pegasi aren't horrible monsters after they saw how crazy Sprout was in contrast. All of those years they spent cowering in fear of the other races...I'm gonna guess that they're realizing it was all just a great big misunderstanding that went on for waaay too long." Izzy said reassuringly.
Sunny kept quiet as she ruminated on her marefriend's perspective, and admitted to herself (with no small amount of embarrassment) that the older mare was probably right - she'd been getting wound up over silly little issues as much as the irrationally skittish earth-pony townsfolk used to, pre-reunification. "Heh...I think you hit the nail on the head, there, Izz. Thanks for being you." Sunny said softly, flashing that winning smile of hers that Izzy cherished seeing.
"Don't mention it, Sunny-bun. Now, let's put all this grumpy stuff behind us and get things sorted out with Zipp and Pipp, yeah? I get the feeling those two could use some cheering up!" Izzy prompted exuberantly.
"To Zephyr Heights!" Sunny whooped, and the two of them set off for the grandiose golden city in a gallop of hooves. It reminded each of them of their first journey to Zephyr Heights as a duo...that impulsive, fateful trip where the embers of their friendship, and mutual attraction towards one another, had blossomed like wildfire.
As Sunny and Izzy crossed through the gates of the radiant pegasus city, their eyes widened as they gazed up at one of the many digital screens that dotted the city's skyline. Pipp's video of them played on a loop in the background as the ZBS broadcasters had some kind of discussion over it, not that it was very intelligible beneath the excited chatter of the surrounding passersby, both on the ground and in the air, that were starting to notice the two of them...
"It's Sunny and Izzy!" Somepony shouted, and that was all it took to catalyze the crowd into a frenzy of fan-pony fervor.
"Can I have your autographs?" One pegasus asked from above, proferring a plushie...of the two of them hugging?
"Thank you for saving Equestria!"
"When is the wedding?!"
Sunny's head began to spin as the chatter and questions overwhelmed her; even Izzy was beginning to look uncomfortable at the size of the crowd around them, and here was a pony who usually relished being the center of attention!
Thankfully, the Royal Guard arrived to save the day -- a whole group of them pushed through the crowd, surrounding the two cowering ponies as they ordered the ravenous fans to back off. "Sorry about the commotion, you two. With Princess Pipp having been offline for nearly a day, it looks like these ponies are a little too eager to find somepony else to go crazy over." A familiar blue guardsmare addressed them formally, gazing around in disapproval at the throng of ponies that surrounded them. "Congratulations, by the way. You two are really cute together." she added casually, smiling slightly as she winked at the two of them.
"We'll escort you to the castle. Queen Haven has been expecting the both of you." The green guardstallion, yet another familiar pony, instructed them cordially; the wave of ponies parted before them as a path was cleared straight to the castle entrance.
As Izzy knocked hesitantly on the door to Pipp's room, it took a moment of shuffling and muted sounds of conversation before Zipp - rather than the expected younger sister - answered the knock.
The tail-end of a thorough crying session was evident in the sniffling sounds that echoed from the room behind Zipp, a heart-rending sound that made all three mares wince and the two guards at either side of the door shuffle uncomfortably.
"Sunny, Izzy! Glad you're here! Listen, Sunny, you and her really need to talk. I still haven't gotten her to calm down." Zipp said, grimacing as Pipp whimpered loudly behind her. "I was way too hard on her before. She really was just trying to help, in her own way...still not sure how I'm gonna make it up to her, but I will."
"Get in there and fix that filly's heart, Sunny. She sounds like she could really seriously use some cheering up." Izzy said softly, beckoning Sunny into the room as she started chatting up Zipp. "Sooo...aside from the obvious, how've you been, Zippy-flippy?"
"...Okay, first of all, save the pet names for your marefriend. Seriously." Zipp deadpanned, a faint blush lighting her cheeks as she avoided eye contact with the two door guards, one of whom was visibly struggling not to burst out laughing. "Other than that, well..."
"Sunny...I want to explain. Why I did what I did, I mean. When you're...a pony like me. Young royalty who's got thousands of eyes on her every waking moment, who starts to see everything as a photo op or a new thing to post to her followers...staying in touch with reality can be difficult. Yeah, I spend way too much time on my phone, I get it. I could blame my mom for being really distant towards me, but I wasn't really making much effort to connect with her or Zipp to begin with. The ponies who follow my every moment...they've validated me and encouraged me more than Mom or Zipp ever have. I think Zipp got jealous of it, but I don't think she knew that I was just trying to be more like her all along. Cooler, more laid back, more popular. Instead of being frumpy, short, chubby-" she cut herself off with a choked sound, leading Sunny to raise a hoof to her mouth in deep concern.
"Pipp, you are not frumpy or chubby. You're funny, pretty-" Sunny interjected reassuringly, though Pipp cut her off.
"I know, Sunny, I know. Zipp is helping me get over those feelings and fix both our relationship and whatever's left of my self-worth. And...to you and to Izzy, I am so, so sorr-" Pipp began to plead, but cut herself off as Sunny raised a hoof for silence.
"Pipp, have you checked the media since you uploaded that video?" Wincing at the pained expression that crossed Pipp's face when she mentioned the media, Sunny continued awkwardly. "Well, ponies loved it, Pipp! Zipp may have been pretty harsh on you, but I get the feeling that she was only trying to protect her family and friends. Thankfully, I left a lot more of an impression on ponies than I thought, so everypony that I've seen talking about it has been amazingly positive. We got mobbed with admirers on our way to the castle! Can you believe that?!"
"R-really? So...I did help, after all?" Pipp asked hopefully, her sadness quickly evolving into excitement as the realization hit her...although it was short-lived. "That doesn't make what I did right, though. I totally invaded your and Izzy's privacy, and even if both of you forgive me for it, it's definitely not okay. I'm gonna be a lot more careful with what I post from now on." she said softly, setting her phone down for a moment as she focused her attention solely on Sunny. Leaping out of bed and onto her hooves with a flourish of her wings, she gripped Sunny in a hug as the two of them smiled for her phone camera. "Thanks for coming by to give me a kick in the flanks, Sunny. You're a fantastic friend." The plump little mare made eye contact as their smiles grew. After a moment, she pulled away, muttering to herself as she tapped through her phone, "The Pippsqueaks must be so confused with me being offline for so long..."
"Glad to have you back to your old self, Pipp. See you around." she replied cheerfully, waving goodbye as she quietly closed the door behind her.
Turning around to address Izzy and Zipp, she was blindsided as the sprightly unicorn tackle-hugged her. "Woah!" she yelped, nearly buckling to the floor under the assault; only her earth-pony resilience kept her from being bowled over completely.
"You handled that perfectly, Sunny." Izzy said sweetly.
Zipp merely offered a hoof-bump of congrats; one which Sunny happily reciprocated. "Totally. Thanks for getting her out of that headspace, Sun. I wish I were close enough with her that you didn't have to come over and help, but...you know how she is once she gets on her phone. And with our differing opinions on the whole "faking flight" thing, well..." The pale pegasus admitted, annoyance clear in her voice as she trailed off thoughtfully.
"She's got a good heart, Zipp. Even if might seem like she shares it with her fans a lot more than with her family," Sunny replied, placing a hoof on Zipp's shoulder. "She loves you, even if she has trouble expressing it sometimes." At that, she glanced meaningfully over to Izzy, whose eyes widened as a blush crept across her face.
"...You're a good pony, Sunny. Fair winds and safe travels," Zipp replied, smiling ear-to-ear as she glanced down Sunny's chest, giving her cause to raise an eyebrow. "By the way, you've...got a little something, there."
Wordlessly, Sunny grumbled and blushed as she adjusted the strap of her bag, doing her best to hide that blatantly obvious "love mark" from view. "Thanks, Zipp."
"Heh. No problem."
Their journey back to Maretime Bay passed without incident, although the sun was already beginning to set in the distance. The construction ponies around Sunny's lighthouse were finishing up for the day, and the pair of them were ecstatic to note the scaffolding and beginnings of new brickwork that had been put up around the broken edge of the former spire. Unicorn magic had seamlessly sealed up the cracks in the kitchen and other first-floor areas. Slowly but surely, her beloved home was being returned to its former glory.
As the two of them retired to Sunny's bedroom for the evening, Izzy had a question of her own for the earth pony who had asked her so many already.
"Hey, Sunny..." Izzy began, causing Sunny to make eye contact with her in the vanity mirror as she took off her hairbands and brushed her mane out. "About what you said...earlier today, when we were visiting Zipp and Pipp. You...love me. Did you really mean that?" Izzy asked hesitantly, the beginnings of a lovestruck smile forming on her face.
Swiveling on her seat to talk to Izzy face-to-face, Sunny responded whole-heartedly, "Of course I love you, Izz. I'm just sorry it took me so long to say it for real." she said firmly, as she took a seat on the edge of her bed and beckoned her unicorn marefriend over, "And there's something else. I...I think I'm ready, Izzy."
"Oh, you are, are you~?" Izzy purred, her demeanor changing in an instant as she moved in close, their proximity causing them to share their heavy, increasingly warm breaths. "Well then...let me show you what a unicorn is really capable of..." she growled huskily, pushing Sunny back onto the bed as she took a dominant position above her, Sunny left prone and belly-up beneath Izzy as the unicorn kissed, licked, and nibbled her way down the smaller mare's underside.
The tingle of electricity that raced down her spine as Izzy attended to her nearly made her head spin. "O-oh buck~" she groaned softly, that unfamiliar feeling building in her belly with every touch and tease. "Is this what they meant when they said unicorns have tongues like tasers? Mmph~!" A sudden moan left her throat as she felt a shudder roll through her, her flesh warming and tingling with every passing moment. It was an unfamiliar sensation, to be sure, but Sunny could already tell she'd be getting addicted to it.
Pulling off of Sunny with a soft gasp, Izzy chuckled softly, "Let's keep going and find out, filly..."