The first time Sunset saw this world’s Cadance, she almost hadn’t noticed.
In fairness, there had been a lot going on at the time. She had just discovered the existence of a new Twilight, before witnessing said Twilight drain the magic from the statue portal, the suction heating the pedestal and nearly scalding Sunset’s hand as she struggled to pull it away. In the immediate aftermath of the whole ordeal, amid seeing Twilight flee and discovering the portal was gone, she hadn’t fully registered just who it was by the bus that had told Twilight to go check in with the rest of the Crystal Prep team – until she’d looked over once more and noticed a very familiar set of hair colors on the figure walking away.
It had been a shock, to put it mildly.
Through the Friendship Games event schedule, she’d been able to determine that this Cadance was Crystal Prep’s dean of students; unfortunately, it offered precious little beyond that. There was so much more Sunset wanted to know, had to know, but couldn’t afford to spend time investigating, as Twilight’s actions had made her the absolute priority. Thus, as the Games proceeded, Sunset had simply done her best to keep a straight face whenever the visage she’d once been so familiar with stood before her, holding a clipboard and a pen, displaying no recognition whatsoever.
Yet the questions were there, and they were there still.
Who are you here?
What was your life like?
What is your life like?
Is this what her life is now?
Celestia, in one world, was the ruler of all things, controller of sun and of moon, ageless alicorn who alone knew the deepest magic in existence. Or at least, she’d been alone; recently, Princess Twilight had mentioned that the Mare in the Moon, Vice Principal Luna’s counterpart, had returned to rule by her sister’s side, which was its own can of worms Sunset hadn’t felt like delving into at the time. (Or now. Like most such cans of worms.) But in this world, Celestia was only a high school principal, with her long-feared sibling of legend simply her deputy. Not even the top of the school district’s food chain, much less that of the planet.
So what did that mean for Cadance? Dean of students at a local preparatory school in this world – how did that translate? Royal governor of an Equestrian territory? Mayor of Canterlot? President of the Capitol District? Leader of the Equestrian Senate?
…Dean of students at the School for Gifted Unicorns?
That last one didn’t make any sense, she’d been a pegasus before her ascension. Sunset herself had been the one to teach her so much about unicorn magic–
At any rate, why had it been so hard to simply ask Princess Twilight about some of this stuff? There were so many things she could have written down in her journal, and just… had never done it. Which was crazy. Didn’t she want to know the answers? Didn’t she want to find out what had become of the ponies she’d known?
Didn’t she?
Did she?
She shuddered as the memory flooded back in, the few fieldwritten words that had manifested in her journal and changed so, so much with so little.
And then she pushed it aside as she remembered where she was, and that she’d been dangling her fork in midair for long enough that the food had fallen back onto her plate.
Her eyes gradually shifted from the silverware down to the rigatoni, then back up when she heard a cough. She glanced to her right, finding Twilight shooting her a mildly concerned look.
Oh, right. Figures she’d be thinking about asking questions when she was supposed to be answering them.
“Sorry, what was that?” Sunset asked, eyes moving back to Cadance. Human Cadance, who wore a two-toned blue dress bearing the all-too memorable icon of a crystalline heart. Other Cadance, who looked at her with a face that was recognizable, yet not. Stranger Cadance, who was asking questions because she didn’t know her, give or take as the shiny magical girl with golden wings from the night the world cracked open.
She could be normal about this, right?
(Sunset wasn’t entirely sure who she meant by she.)
Stranger Cadance gave her a bit of an odd expression, and Sunset, noticing her own awkward position, quickly stuck the fork back onto the plate. “I was just a bit distracted. From the, um, food and dinner and stuff. It is really good, by the way,” she said as she stabbed into the “meat”-ball.
The last sentence eked a smile from Cadance. “I’m glad. It’s been a while since I’ve broken out the vegetarian recipe. Gave me a chance to try some new seasonings; maybe I’ll write them in and make them official.”
Sunset nodded, lifting up the fork and taking a bite.
“But anyway,” Cadance went on, “I just wanted to know a little bit more about how you two got together. I mean, I hoped things would be different after changing schools, but this is still pretty surprising and exciting. It’s just so wonderful to see Twilight blossom like this!”
“Phrasing,” Twilight muttered.
Off to the right, Sunset noticed Shining Armor roll his eyes and sigh. “Not what she meant, sis.”
“It’s a loaded term.”
“I can’t believe you’re still on about that.”
Finishing the last bite of meatball, Sunset spoke up, head turning towards the other side of the table. “Sorry, I don’t follow.”
“Twily insists the word blossom is a puberty thing,” Shining said with a scoff.
“It is a puberty thing, it’s literally defined as when seed plants begin to bear flowers–”
“Okay, okay, you’re right, sorry,” Cadance interjected, raising a hand in defeat. “I should’ve remembered.”
“Aw, Cady, don’t let her win!” Shining said in an artificially nasally voice, and he smirked as the two girls across from him laughed.
“Oh, tough luck,” Sunset jeered. “Even your fianceé ruled against you!”
That got an equally performative folding of the arms against Shining’s chest, followed by a sly grin in Twilight’s direction. “Y’know, I went to school with a Blossomforth. Should I tell her her name offends you?”
Twilight shrugged. “Probably. Make sure she knows it’s your little sister you’re humiliating yourself over, though.”
Shining snorted. After a moment, the giggles started to die down as Shining relaxed his posture. Cadance, meanwhile, pointedly ignored the whole exchange, speaking again once the siblings had quieted.
“The point is, I want the inside scoop. How did, well, Twilight and Sunset come to be? Especially in so little time? I mean, it’s just been two months, right? A long two months for me, and probably for you both as well, but… still…”
She set her utensils down, then placed her elbows on the table, put the backs of her hands together and, leaning slightly forward, sat her chin on them, looking at them closely with an expectant smile.
An image Sunset probably would have found uncomfortable if it wasn’t reminding her of something from a long time ago. Which did make it uncomfortable, granted, but in a different way.
There was no doubt about it, though; Cadance was the one in command of where tonight’s conversation went, and any questions of Sunset’s own would have to wait. After all, it wasn’t that surprising that Cadance of all people would be interested to know how a relationship had started.
A shame Sunset only had a vague concept of how to explain it herself.
Before she could even try, though, Twilight cut in. “What’s there even to tell? It can't seriously be that weird I’m dating someone, right?”
(Sunset smirked at the recognition of how similar that was to what Rainbow Dash had said earlier that afternoon.)
Something Shining Armor did in response to that statement clearly caught Twilight’s attention, though Sunset wasn’t sure exactly what. But as she was shifting her gaze in his direction, she definitely noticed Twilight’s sharp response of “Don’t you say anything.”
Shining threw up his hands in pleading innocence. “I didn’t!”
“Yeah, you’ve made jokes before, as if you were ever the height of the dating scene.”
“I’m getting married, aren’t I?”
Before the siblings could bicker further, Sunset raised a hand. “Wait.” She turned back toward Cadance. “You’re not, like, worried, are you? About how quick things have kinda gone? Because right now, well, it’s…”
Right now it’s what? Sunset combed through her mind, trying to find the word that would make sense without making her sound deeply unserious – or way too serious, for that matter.
Setting her palm back on the table, she glanced over at Twilight for just a moment, and found an encouraging smile.
“Right now,” Sunset said as she looked back, “it’s a bit of a surprise to us, too, I think. When Twilight asked me, I was definitely not expecting it. And I know it was a bit spontaneous on her end, too. So I mean, I guess, um… I guess we’re still learning a lot. It’s still pretty early, but when she asked, I just knew, um, that I– that I, um… that I’m not making any sense, or saying anything remotely convincing, and I guess just seemed to think that talking would make something profound come out of my mouth. I should probably just, uh, stop speaking words and maybe go find somewhere to bury myself.”
When she again glanced over to Twilight, that encouraging smile had contorted into an expression of utter bafflement.
“Wait,” Shining spoke up – probably for the best, since it appeared as though Twilight could’ve spent years trying to find a coherent response to Sunset’s lunacy. “Twily was the one who asked?”
That seemed to redirect Twilight’s mind enough for a response, conveyed with a grimace. “I already told you that.”
“Well, you probably did somewhere in the mumbled half-explanation you gave me a few weeks ago about suddenly having a girlfriend. But I can’t say I’d really thought about that until now.”
With a huff, Twilight turned to face Shining. “And are you gonna riff on me for having to be the one to ask, that no one would think to ask me?”
Sunset’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Shining responded first.
“What?” he balked. “What kind of BBBFF would I be if I did that? I think it’s awesome that you put yourself out there, especially, um… anyway, yeah. I think it’s great. I know we tease each other about a lot, but give me some credit.”
“Oh…” Twilight shrank uncomfortably in her seat. “I mean, thanks? I’m sorry, Shiny…”
As Shining brushed off the need for Twilight to apologize, Sunset turned away and looked down at her plate, her cheeks so flushed she could feel it. Not only had she completely failed to sell herself as worthy relationship material with her confused rambling, she’d also made Twilight feel utterly embarrassed about having had to ask her, and now she really was envisioning just which plot of land would make for a fitting final resting place for her dumb stupid–
“Are you okay?” It was Cadance’s voice, and it was directed at her.
She lifted her head. “Huh? Oh, um… I’m sorry. I think I just made everyone here really uncomfortable.”
Shining laughed softly, catching her eye. “Don’t sweat it, Sunset. You’re doing fine. You wouldn’t believe how bad it went the first time I had dinner with Cady’s nonna.”
Cadance shuddered. “Yeah…”
The words Cady’s nonna echoed in Sunset’s head until she suddenly felt a hand resting atop hers on the table. She turned and found a worried look in Twilight’s eyes.
“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have made a big deal out of who asked like that. I swear I wasn’t trying to make you feel awkward, really.”
Sunset nodded, then flashed a smile. “That’s okay. I should have thought more carefully when I was trying to say um, everything before that.” She flipped her hand around underneath Twilight’s and then, before Twilight could instinctively lift it up, clasped it, and then placed her other hand atop it. “All good?”
Twilight, the worry dissipating from her face, smiled back and nodded.
“Awwww…”
They both looked over to see Cadance beaming at them.
“I have to apologize too, girls,” she said. “I didn’t mean to ask you questions that were hard to answer. It’s one thing after it’s been a while, but like you said… you’re both just kinda getting started, and this is pretty early for a dinner-with-family thing, even if we’re not Twilight’s parents. And even if Sunset and I’ve met before, kinda. I’m sure it’s all still kinda weird.”
You have no idea, Sunset narrowly stopped herself from speaking. “Maybe,” she said instead. “I’m also just a bit worn out, I think.”
“Oh?” Her head tilted. “How come, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Sunset blinked. “Well, uh…”
“Probably that bake sale, right?” Shining said.
“Yes!” Sunset replied, more forcefully than intended. “I mean yeah, basically. It was part of our whole big Camp Everfree fundraiser project.”
“Like the daycare Twilight was at?” Cadance asked. “It’s quite nice of you all to be helping out with that. More, well, altruistic than the fundraiser my students are running. Sour Sweet insisted we were supposed to have the Spring Dance on a yacht, and I told her if the school’s ballroom wasn’t good enough for her and her friends then she’d have to raise the money herself.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, internally grateful the confusion from that statement was spawning a more natural reaction in her. “Wait, isn’t it a little late for the Spring Dance?”
Cadance nodded. “We delayed it after the Games while, uh, ex-Principal Cinch’s conduct was being reviewed. But now that I’m principal, I’ve set it for the end of the school year.”
“Crystal Prep starts and ends two weeks after CHS,” Twilight clarified, which Sunset momentarily acknowledged before a particular part of what Cadance had said overwhelmed her faculties.
Now that I’m principal
Principal
Princess
Was she her equal?
“But can we not talk about Crystal Prep right now?” Twilight added. “Sorry, I-I don’t meant to keep derailing the topic, but, um…” She trailed off.
“Oh, of course,” Cadance replied. There was a relieving little moment of silence as everyone collectively decided to take another bite.
Sunset took that moment to shift her focus to Twilight, who seemed a little stressed. She did have a habit of changing the subject quickly when the topic of her old school came up. Understandable, given everything, though having the chief administrator of the school as a soon-to-be aunt raised the question of exactly how much Twilight could realistically expect to avoid it. Of course, it had been barely two months since that fateful night in the CHS courtyard, as Cadance had indirectly noted, even if it was already starting to feel more like two years.
Still, she mused as she picked up her glass for a sip, maybe it’d be worth a more in-depth discussion–
“On that note,” Cadance said suddenly, “was there anything else you’d want to talk about?”
Suddenly the thought of discussing anything no longer seemed especially palatable. Sunset took a swig from her glass in lieu of a response, during which Twilight immediately had an answer-in-the-form-of-a-question: “The wedding?”
There was a split second where Sunset experienced complete and total cardiac arrest before she remembered exactly whose wedding her girlfriend was referring to. During that brief instant, her face went sheet white, and the liquid she was currently swallowing was rerouted to her trachea.
Sunset then demonstrated her excellent sense of decorum by grabbing the napkin off her lap and coughing violently into it, several times. She mentally cursed herself before peeking up at her tablemates, bearing a smile that, as she could attest with authority, was painfully forced. “Sorry, um, wrong pipe,” she said, before hacking again into her arm.
“Are you okay? Do you need any–”
“I’m good.” A final loud cough into the napkin followed, clearing the last droplets out of Sunset’s airways, before she inhaled deeply and got her breathing back to its normal rhythm.
Cadance, not looking convinced by Sunset’s words, nodded nonetheless before turning back to Twilight. Sunset decided the best course of action at the moment would just be to keep eating, in the most nonchalant manner possible. She picked the fork back up and stuck it into the pasta, briefly glimpsing Shining doing likewise.
Maybe he too was looking to stay out of that conversation, she mused. Understandable, she supposed. She imagined talking to a sibling about one’s upcoming wedding might feel fairly awkward.
Or maybe eating dinner is what being at the dinner table is actually for, Sunset thought further as she took a bite of the noodles, and making assumptions about one’s girlfriend’s sibling’s motives over something so minor wasn’t actually sensible conduct. Nor, for that matter, was making extrapolations about someone in another world based on their parallel universe double. Some food for thought that would probably linger for less time in her head than the flavors of the actual food would linger on her tongue.
Dinner was going just great.
“Well,” Cadance began, snapping Sunset back into the moment, “I guess it’s my turn to not have a very good answer for you. Right now, we’re only just getting started on the planning. We’ve looked into a few venues – well, really, it’s more that we’ve looked up a few possible venues online. But we’re a ways away.”
“Oh,” Twilight said. “Sure, um, I get that.”
“I really do wish I had more for you. But when you’re trying to plan a day that you’ve dreamed of when you were small, then you want it to be perfect. Right now, that means taking it slow and steady. I’m really glad you’re interested, but that’s basically all there is so far.” She smiled. “But I hope you can both be there when it happens.”
And there came the heart palpitations again. The thought of going to Cadance’s wedding – but not Cadance’s wedding – she’d always been so much into the idea of weddings, and love, and what her own wedding would be like–
She distracted herself with another bite, only to regret it as Cadance looked back in her direction. Though this time, seemingly having caught on to Sunset’s nerves, Cadance waited until Sunset swallowed before saying anything.
“I don’t mean to press if you’re uncomfortable,” she began, “but I don’t want you to feel like you got nothing out of this. Was there anything that you’d like to ask, specifically?”
Sunset blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Well, there’s a lot I know about you, I think. I mean, after the Games, and everything, and seeing you do, um–” her eyes briefly darted towards Twilight, then back “–anyway. But I wanted you to feel like you have the chance to know me, while we’re here. Am I making sense?”
It made all too much sense, Sunset noted, even if she was almost certain the “a lot” Cadance must have learned from Twilight and the principals wasn’t actually all that much. (Their level of concern certainly didn’t seem to suggest she and Shining knew they were staring at a de facto alien in human skin, at any rate.) Regardless, this was an opportunity to ask something, and she knew had a lot of questions that were worth asking.
“Do you have any siblings?”
Too bad the stupidest question was the one that slipped out of her lips instead.
Okay, maybe that was unfair to herself, it was a meaningful question – that she needed to find a place to introduce casually into an ongoing conversation, not blurt out to start said conversation. She could only imagine the red flags that had to be flaring in Cadance’s mind as she wondered what in sun and moon could have spawned that line of thinking–
“Oh! You must have heard that Luna and I are family,” Cadance said. “That’s a bit of a misunderstanding that started during the last Games. I’m actually from Florentina. It’s a small community just across the provincial border. Mostly Oleandrite immigrants, which is how I got a lot of my recipes. My nonna and I moved to Canterlot just before I started high school, and I didn’t actually meet Celestia or Luna until the next Friendship Games, when Celestia was just a teacher and Luna was still finishing her degree. I got to know them well after that, but in terms of actual siblings, no, I never had any of my own.”
Huh.
Sunset was in such awe over how miraculously not-horribly that had gone over that she almost failed to notice what any of that actually meant. And when she finally did, her mental response was less critical thinking about the implications than it was simply filing down a checklist.
Florentina? Check. Oleandrite? Check. Moved to Canterlot? Check. Taken in by Celestia? Not check. Ascended to supreme power through a stupendous act of virtue? Seemingly not check.
Siblings with Sunset Shimmer? Not check.
So close, yet not close at all…
“What about you?” Shining asked.
And then all thought was gone as she seized up, slowly shifting her gaze in his direction and then entirely failing to respond verbally. She may have mouthed the word what, but she wasn’t definitively aware of if she’d done so or not.
“Do you have any siblings?” Shining clarified.
“Siblings? I…” Sunset knew her face had fallen, as Cadance’s started to mirror it. “Um…”
She glanced over to Twilight, as if for guidance, as if she was expecting to see anything on her face other than utter confusion that Sunset’s response hadn’t been a straightforward no.
“Uh…”
And now she realized she had little need to go out looking for a grave; she was already standing deep in one she’d dug for herself.
Cadence spoke up. “Shining, this was supposed to be her getting to ask the questions–”
“No, it’s okay,” Sunset said as she turned her attention back to her. Toward the image of her.
There was only one way to climb out of the pit.
“I, well… I did. A long time ago. My family situation is, well, hard to explain, and I guess I never really had a proper sibling either. But I had a po– uh, a person who felt like one, for a few years. I just… I just haven’t seen her in a really long time. Not since I started living here. And I miss her.”
For an interminable moment, there was heavy silence as Sunset’s head drooped, the image of the table in front of her glazing over with her eyes.
It didn’t really seem worth the effort to restore her vision right then. There was nothing about the inevitably shocked and horrified expressions she knew were on her tablemates’ faces she particularly wanted to see.
“Sunset?”
It was Twilight’s voice. After a moment, it was Twilight’s hand behind her back.
As she reluctantly blinked and shifted to face that voice, she realized how much her own had trembled in making the admission.
She also noticed a faint dab of moisture just under her eyelid.
“Twilight, I, um…”
It wasn’t a frown on Twilight’s face. It wasn’t shock. It was just… concern.
“I–”
And that concern quickly began to bore into her, agonizing, like fiery needles, and she tore her eyes away from it, pivoting them to Shining Armor. She found his expression was less worry, more bewilderment in a similar vein to that which she’d seen on his sister just a short while earlier. Uncannily similar, even, despite the stark differences in their face shapes.
But that’s how siblings are supposed to work, right? Different in so many ways, yet those similarities are absolutely unmissable.
And then she looked back at Cadance, and–
“I should just go. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” She scooted her seat backwards and started to stand.
Two hands caught her right arm. “Sunset!”
Still hovering just above her chair, she tugged, fighting the grip, without looking at the source. “I promise I’ll explain later, just let me–”
“Please.”
And then she looked. And she couldn’t leave.
She dropped back down into the chair, and suddenly Twilight was there too, arms wrapped tightly around her, rubbing soothingly down her back. Sunset let her head fall onto one of the shoulders stretched before her.
“It’s okay, Sunset.”
“No, it’s not, I should’ve told you before… Twi, I should’ve told you a lot–”
“You can tell me after we leave, okay? After. Let’s just be here right now.”
Sunset exhaled forcefully, shuddering in Twilight’s embrace. She reached up and wiped the liquid from under her eyes, wondering just how badly the small amount of makeup she’d applied beforehand had smeared. Somewhere, she knew Rarity was appalled and didn’t know why.
She peered up, slowly, and met the gazes of the two on the other side of the table.
“Hey, um, I–”
“It’s alright,” said Shining. “You and Twily can talk it out when you want to. It’s probably not our place.”
Sunset took another deep breath as Twilight gradually loosened her grip, reaching over with her left arm and pulling her chair right to Sunset’s side. “Thank you both, really, I’ve just been such a mess and I didn’t think… I didn’t think I… I don’t know. Something’s just getting to me, and I wish I could just tell you what, but it’s just, well, it’s too much.”
Twilight shifted back onto her chair, facing the others, but slipped her left arm behind Sunset’s back, giving it a soft pat. She leaned her head against Sunset’s side, and Sunset let herself relax a bit in turn.
Cadance gave a comforting smile. “I imagine it’s hard to find anyone who can truly relate to your story.”
The words bounced around for a moment inside Sunset’s head before clicking. “Wait, you… you know? Where I’m from?”
Shining nodded. “We didn’t want to bring it up, we thought it’d make you uncomfortable if you thought we were thinking of you strangely.”
“Sunset, I was there at the Games that night,” Cadance said. “I saw the other world. A talking horse looked me in the eyes and screamed at me. And I saw you, and everything you did for us. For Twilight. And after things were calm and Cinch left, Celestia and Luna gave me the debrief on everything they knew. Including you.”
Jaw now quite a bit slack, Sunset turned her gaze toward Shining.
“Cady told me,” he said. “I needed to know everything that happened with Twily, but she was still too shocked to talk about it, so I asked her, and, well, you came up. And I, um, I think our parents know, too.”
“They know I-I-I’m…” Sunset mumbled, staring at not quite anything in particular.
“I’m sorry if you wanted that to be a secret,” Cadance said. “I wasn’t thinking at the time that Twilight would stay at CHS with you. I didn’t go around telling everyone, obviously, but with everything that happened, and how important you were that night, I wanted to make sure Twilight’s family had at least as much information as I did.”
“It was a while before I was able to talk about that night with them,” Twilight added quietly. “And when I did, they already knew about you.”
Sunset nodded instinctively as she fumbled through the memory of the dinner up to that point, trying to figure out if there’d been a moment, a hint that they’d known she’d missed. But everything felt scrambled and messy.
Of course, if Cadance’s source had been Principal Celestia, then she and Shining still wouldn’t know all that much. As many questions as Celestia and Luna had asked, Sunset had dodged explaining a lot of her background to them, believing broaching the subject of Celestia having a doppelgänger that ruled the heavens would only deepen the hole she was in post-Fall Formal. (Among other reasons to avoid reflecting on her, anyway.) Twilight’s appearance had eventually revealed the concept of pony-human equivalents, but the principals hadn’t raised the issue of their own counterparts since the Games.
Right then, Sunset wasn’t sure if she was thankful or not that attempting to explain exactly who her sister was to the woman sitting opposite her wasn’t feasible at the moment. It might well have been a relief, to not have to wait to explain. But it wasn’t knowledge that would do any good for Cadance.
Twilight would learn, tonight. Later. But right now, the dinner just needed to end on a decent note.
“So… you’re okay with this?” she asked. “With me being what I am, and, well, d-dating Twilight.”
Cadance looked intently at her. “Like I said, I was there that night. I saw everything you did to help Twilight after so many people did wrong by her. And you’ve already done so much for her since then. Sorry if this is embarrassing for you, Twilight” – Sunset could feel the body against hers cringe in anticipation – “but she’s talked about you so much ever since. I don’t know why you’ve chosen to live in this world, but I know I’m glad you’re here for Twilight.”
“And just so you know,” Shining added, “tonight wasn’t about proving yourself, or anything. I know there’s been a lot of questions, and I’ll admit asking you about siblings was one where I probably didn’t think hard enough about what it could mean. But we just wanted to meet you, not shake you down.”
“Yeah,” Twilight chuckled beside her. “That’s what Mom and Dad are for.”
Shining laughed. “I will say you’ll probably need to work on preparing for family dinners a bit more before you get to them.”
Sunset forced another grin at the unpleasant thought of bungling a dinner with Twilight’s parents. “Point taken. I… I’m so used to being confident, and knowing how to handle myself, and just being able to talk when I need to, and… I wasn’t prepared for that to suddenly not be the case.”
Cadance shrugged. “Love makes fools of us all, I suppose.”
Shining balled a fist and lightly jabbed her in the arm. “I resent that.”
He earned a laugh and a return jab in reply. “You didn’t even need the love for that.”
“Oh, it’s on.”
Sunset could hear Twilight making gagging noises beside her, and she giggled.
“But thank you, really, for dealing with me tonight,” Sunset cut in. “And for the lovely dinner, that I at least got to enjoy most of before letting it get cold just now.”
She turned her head and leaned down, planting a kiss on the top of Twilight’s head.
“And thank you for keeping me here.”
Twilight’s other arm wrapped around Sunset as she straightened up beside her, and Sunset returned the gesture.
She heard a soft squeak from across the table, one she’d grown quite familiar with hearing any time her sister passed by an affectionate couple.
“Well then,” Shining spoke, “I think we should go ahead and bring out dessert.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Sunset said, smiling as her gaze fixed itself fully on Twilight.
That could’ve gone better, Twilight mused, grimacing as her eyes wandered the kitchen.
The taste of gelato still on her tongue, Twilight stood beside the dishwasher as Shining finished loading plates into it, her back resting against the counter. With Sunset in the bathroom, and Cadance wiping down the dining table in the adjacent room, she was grateful for the moment to themselves.
“Hey, um…” she started, before realizing she hadn’t really known how to finish the statement.
“Hmm?” Shining looked up.
“I’m sorry, for how that all went. I should’ve just said no, when you asked about doing this.”
He pushed the dishwasher tray in, then knelt down and picked up the detergent bottle. “Twily…”
“Sometimes I just forget how recent all of this is. That there’s still just so much we don’t know about each other.”
He poured in the fluid. “Sounds like a normal relationship.”
Twilight let out a deep exhale. “Maybe? But the fact that I asked her to meet my family, and never even thought to ask about hers, is just… I don’t know. I should be thinking through every step of this, and I haven’t, really.”
Shining capped the bottle and closed the dishwasher. “Hey, this is all new for you, right? Pretty much the biggest thing you learn in any relationship is that it’s not a formula. Just when you might start to think everything makes sense, something’s gonna shake it up. And that’s okay. The important thing is that you were there for her tonight, just like you said she’s been there for you. She’ll remember that.”
Twilight nodded as Shining pressed a few buttons, and she felt the gentle hum as the machine started up. “I hope so.”
She watched as he stood up next to her, then rested a hand on her right shoulder. “She will. Take it from someone who somehow managed to make it all the way to being engaged.”
She smiled, nudging the hand off of her as she stood up in turn. “I-I said I’d meet her by the door so, um, I’ll text you later.”
“Sounds good. Stay safe on that motorcycle of hers.” He grinned. “Let me know how things blossom.”
She ribbed him in the side with her elbow as she stepped forward. “Hard pass. See ya.”
Waving goodbye to Cadance as she stepped into the hallway connecting the kitchen and dining area to the front entrance, she turned and saw Sunset’s shadowed figure waiting at the exit.
There was still a long night ahead. But she’d be there through it all.
She needed to be.