Gosh, even in a crude drawing she's cute.
Frustrated, I scribbled over the rough sketch in my notebook, crossing out Sunset's face with heavy, unforgiving strokes of pencil lead. As it turned out, the rest of my calculus homework was also littered with little Sunset Shimmers, none of which I remembered drawing.
In every image, her hair was wrong. It was just hard to capture how... perfect it was. Besides, my art skills only extended into general blueprints and mechanical designs, and definitely not to the smile of a girl who you can't stop thinking about. The same smile th—
Stop it, Twilight. You've got homework to do.
In a matter of minutes, I transferred my work to a new, Sunset-free sheet of paper, and I was back where I left off. The last two questions, while somewhat challenging, were straightforward to complete by plugging numbers into a formula I knew by heart.
Along with another drawing of Sunset Shimmer.
Groaning, I tossed the now-worthless sheet of paper over my shoulder and a yelp in the distance told me exactly where it landed. An awkward shuffle followed the startled The now half awake puppy slumped over by my side and brushed up against my leg.
“Hey, Spike,” I said sheepishly. “My bad.”
Instead of asking for forgiveness, I brought my hand down and scratched at the back of the puppy’s head, rubbing behind the ears. Thankfully, he seemed content despite me rudely waking him.
"You doing alright?"
Oh, Star Swirl on a bike! I forgot he could talk.
The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, thanking everything that my bedroom was carpeted. Noticing my fall, Spike rushed over and lapped at my face as if it would kick-start the healing process. It didn't even hurt, but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless as I forced myself back up.
"Sorry," he sighed, staring down at his own paws.
"It's fine," I told him in between strained grunts. "It's my fault for forgetting you talk."
Turning away from Spike, I stared back at my desk, and somehow, through every fault of my own love-struck mind, my notes were covered with Sunset Shimmers.
Okay, so I have a problem. The first step is admitting, right?
I grabbed the offending slips of paper, crumpled them up, and tossed every last trace of Sunset into the trash.
If only it were that easy to do with my thoughts.
"You okay, Twilight?" Spike asked again. "I'm starting to worry about the trees."
"It's nothing, Spike," I answered, brushing off his concern. "I'm just having trouble figuring out this problem."
It wasn't a lie. My crush on Sunset was a problem... just one I didn't mind having.
Spike nuzzled my calf. “That doesn’t sound like you, Twilight.”
"Even I hit walls sometimes," I said matter-of-factly. "And I hit it... hard."
Normally, a teenage girl could confide in her pets and truly trust that they wouldn't tell a soul. Of course, I happened to be the one girl in the universe with a dog who actually could spill secrets.
And, knowing him, he'd probably do it willingly just as an excuse to talk. I couldn't really blame him, though; he talked every chance he could since the first time he’d formed a syllable. Now that he could actually ask for food, the puppy had gained a noticeable amount of weight since my parents practically melted every time he’d pout and say “Please.”
Plus, I didn't want to take social advice from a dog whose courting ritual revolved around sniffing butts.
Maybe he was on to something. They called it "puppy love" for a reason.
Dismissing the gross, absolutely errant thought, I turned my attention to the laptop on my desk. Ever since the Friendship Games, I found myself on MyStable often and specifically the “Cute Critter Corner” group. The pictures and videos of tiny animals doing human things served as a sort of discount therapy—not that I couldn’t afford therapy, but I’d probably be referred to a mental institution rather than an actual therapist’s office.
Instead of a video of a kitten attending a tea party, the website was cluttered with an overwhelming amount of private messages and notifications. As it turned out, my transformation made it onto my social feed. The video was private, thankfully, but I still felt uneasy about it being on the internet.
In a brief moment of curiosity, I clicked on the video. I knew it would only make things worse, but I felt like I had to.
It was a mistake.
I never had a good look at what I turned into, but I didn’t expect the wings and horn. Instinctively, I gasped and held my hand to my mouth. I probably would have kept on staring at the video if it weren’t for the ding of a new notification.
“If you ever need to talk about you-know-what, feel free to come to me —Sunny Flare.”
I looked at the message and reread it over and over. It was simple, but the sentiment behind it carried weight. Trembling, I held the cursor over the reply button and debated over whether I should send a reply.
In the end, I decided not to. I’d rather not bother her. Even then, I didn’t have the heart to tell the Shadowbolts why I transferred in the first place. I figured it was better off to disappear and hope that they would forget about me.
Wanting to get my mind off of things, I made my way over to the stereo on the opposite side of the room and turned it on. The song flowing from the speakers was a simple, swinging jazz standard—a welcome distraction. I closed my eyes and flopped onto the bed, letting the saxophone soloist take over my thoughts.
He was a little sharp, though.
After a few songs, I found my thoughts drifting away from the Friendship Games and back to Sunset Shimmer. It didn't take long (twelve and a half seconds to be exact) until I started to think of swing dancing with her. It was a harmless fantasy—cheesy, yes, but I couldn't help it. We held hands, walking into the center of the high school gym as the music swelled. We were both dressed in full stereotypical fifties garb, down to the saddle shoes, bobby socks, and even a kitschy poodle skirt.
As if Sunset would be caught dead in a poodle skirt. Still, the image was burned into my mind, and I never wanted it to leave.
Stop it, Twilight. Your crush is getting in the way of your studies.
But wasn't friendship the reason why I gave up on Everton? Having a girlfriend is still a friend. Technically, it should be considered advanced studies.
Advanced studies. Yeah, that sounded about right.
Besides, she only gave me a ride home because she had nothing better to do. I outranked cold coffee in the friendship meter.
Maybe she really liked coffee.
Twilight, you're overthinking it again. She likes you, and she's your friend.
I sneered at the word friend as if it wasn't enough. It was my first real friendship, after all.
But what can I do? How do I even know she's into girls? What if she thinks I'm weird for asking her out?
What if I ruin my friendship with her?
I hit my head against the wooden headboard.
So what? You like Sunset. You really like Sunset. Do something about it.
But how?
Another unanswered question to throw onto the pile.
You need a plan, otherwise, it's all going to blow up in your face. You need a tried and true method of getting results.
There were just too many unanswered questions to even risk blindly asking Sunset out of the blue. No, Twilight, you have to be smart about this. She might like you now, but dating is a much higher level than just being friends.
It wouldn't be easy, and there was no handbook on love, no proven method of capturing someone’s heart.
But I can make one.
I jumped off the bed in excitement and clambered onto my desk. Giddily, I reached for a clean sheet of paper, not caring how many shoddy drawings of Sunset ended up on the page. I sketched a small outline and then added in the details from there. The next step was to organize everything I could use to my advantage in various charts and spreadsheets, all separated based on relevancy and usefulness.
In about an hour, I had a rough draft to be somewhat proud of. It was unpolished, but I didn't mind; the kinks would be worked out towards the later stages.
The Sunlight Project was a go.
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I stepped off the city bus Like the day before, my new group of friends waited by the stop, nearly pouncing on me as I stepped off the bus. To be honest, it was a little suffocating, especially since Sunset Shimmer wasn't there this time around.
"Hey, Twilight!" a voice cheered before rushing me.
"Guess you weren't scared into transferring back to Crystal Prep," another voice joked.
"Wouldn't think of it," I said coolly, following the group into the high school.
"You totally should've stayed longer yesterday, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, turning towards me while walking backward. "You missed Pinkie Pie downing an entire bottle of syrup."
"Why would she—"
"Rainbow Dash bet her she couldn't drink the entire bottle," Rarity clarified, grabbing Rainbow’s shoulders and spinning her until she was facing forward.
"It was worth it.” Rainbow dug into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill and quickly slipped it into frizzled mess that was Pinkie's curly hair.
We walked through the halls, not necessarily going anywhere—it was still a few minutes before the passing period began. I barely had a grasp on the school’s layout so I kept close to the group of girls, mentally studying the halls and where they led.
"So my sister Maud got a scholarship!" Pinkie Pie announced, her voice rising with excitement.
"What's she studying?" I asked.
"Geology," the bubbly girl answered. "Apparently the scholarship committee never had an in-depth essay about rocks like hers before. She doesn't know it yet, but I'm throwing a really big party to celebrate!"
"Sounds like a lot of fun."
"It's gonna be a lot more fun with you guys!" Pinkie shot back smoothly. "You all have to come tomorrow."
Unsurprisingly, the group exploded into a chorus of acceptance. Even Fluttershy, as timid as she was, jumped at the chance to attend. Not wanting to be the odd one out, I agreed to go. The last thing I needed was another lighthearted interrogation on why I couldn't attend.
"Hey you know what I just realized?" the bouncing girl asked. "This will be Twilight's first real Pinkie Pie Party."
Oh jeez.
"Ah guess so," Applejack agreed, clapping me on the back. "It just seemed like you've been with us awhile, Twilight."
"Especially after Princess—"
Before the conversation could go on, the shrill school bell rang, signaling the start of classes. Already having had my fill of social interaction, I marched off to my first class of the day. Which just so happened to be one of the many periods I shared with Sunset Shimmer.
She waved me over and pulled out a seat from the desk. I smiled and nodded, trying hard to make sure my smile wasn't too wide or that my nod wasn't too enthusiastic.
We sat next to each other, and I did what I could to keep my crush hidden. It wasn't that hard to sink myself into the education mindset again, but I came close to slipping when Sunset's hands met mine while reaching for pencils. It happened fast, but I felt my cheesy, doofy smile telegraph how I was feeling.
Is doofy even a real word? I'm rambling.
How do crushes even work? You don't get one out of the blue. Or do you? I don't know. All I knew was that I wanted to brush hands with Sunset again. It was all I could think about for the rest of the class—up until the teacher called on me.
"Twilight Sparkle," the teacher droned, placing his worn hand onto the desk. "Would you mind writing on the board some similarities and differences between the Keynesian and Classical theories of economics?"
I nodded and uttered a confident "Sure." I knew the material, so it would be a cinch to just regurgitate what I read onto the blackboard. I grabbed the chalk and scribbled two intertwining circles, a Venn diagram. Without any sort of warning, the teacher swooped over and snatched the chalk from my hand.
"I know you're new, Twilight, so I'll just let you off with a warning."
"Uh, why?" I asked, crossing my arms indignantly.
"The school board banned Venn diagrams because students would turn them into phallic symbols."
That seemed irrational. It appeared to be more of a problem with the student rather than the diagram itself, an overreaction to an immature joke. If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if biology textbooks were also banned for the same reason.
"Well, what isn't a phallic symbol?" I said, immediately wishing I could take it back. To further illustrate my point, I reached for another piece of chalk and began waving it around. It was definitely too late to back down, but the moment felt like an out of body experience.
The class erupted into a fit of giggles, including Sunset, who buried her face in her textbook. The brief look of her smiling face as she stifled laughter seemed to fuel my bravado even more.
As I had figured, my teacher wasn't too thrilled about the comment. His bushy brow formed into a scowl, and his shaking hand pointed back towards my desk, which I slumped into quietly.
"I don't know how they ran things at Crystal Prep, Miss Sparkle—"
"We used Venn diagrams." I shot back quickly, unable to stop the snarky remark. I couldn't help it. The cadence in his voice left a breath long enough to sneak it in.
Once again, the students laughed, hoping to keep the distraction going in order to kill another minute of class.
Thankfully, I was able to keep my big mouth in check and I was let off with a stern but otherwise forgiving warning. The class moved on like nothing had happened, leaving the disruption to be dramatized through the exaggerated stories that bored students would tell each other during passing period.
Leaning back in my seat, I felt a gentle nudge poke at my arm.
"That was awesome, Twilight," Sunset whispered. "Never thought you had it in you to be a smart-ass—to a teacher, no less."
She brought up her hand to a fist and looked at me expectantly. Not knowing what to do, I did the same and followed her movements as we bumped fists in a friendly sort of way, miniature explosion included.
Close enough, I thought to myself, knowing that I'd want more than just that.