//------------------------------//
// Step Three: Form A Hypothesis 
// Story: The Sunlight Project 
// by Space Jazz 
//------------------------------//

"Hey, did anyone else wonder why Four-Eyed Twilight has glasses, but Princess Twilight doesn't?"

I let out a short cry of protest at Rainbow’s nickname, which the other girls ignored in favor of an easy alias.

"Beats me." Applejack shrugged. "Maybe she was blinded with science."

"It could be for fashion," Rarity suggested. "A nice pair of glasses adds a certain sort of symmetry that others can find attractive."

"Maybe Princess Twilight just has magic eyes." Pinkie Pie answered, bobbing excitedly in her chair.

"Or," I cut in, "I spent a lot of time as a kid close up on a computer screen.”

"No that can't possibly be it," Rainbow Dash dismissed. "It's gotta be something cooler than that."

"I'm pretty sure that's it," I said, remembering the scolding my parents gave me after I was prescribed glasses. "You can ask my optometrist."

"What does a dentist have to do with your eyes?" Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrow skeptically.

"An optometrist is an eye doctor, Rainbow," Rarity said. "You're thinking of an orthodontist."

"Oh."

A knock at the door prompted Sunset to answer it. After a minute or two, she was back, carrying a pair of pizza boxes, one pepperoni, and one plain cheese. She opened the boxes and presented them to the rest of the hungry girls.

"Wait!" cried Pinkie Pie. "I just want to get a good look at the pizza."

"Why?"

"Because there's just something about an untouched pizza that just radiates purity," Pinkie explained, holding back a giggle.

"Right..." Sunset responded, staring over the pizza. She turned her head to get a better look but never had the same glint in her eye that Pinkie had. “I... guess you have a point?"

"Can we eat now?" Rainbow asked a bit impatiently.

"Wait for it," Pinkie ordered, raising a finger and admiring the bubbling cheese for the last time. Smiling, she looked up to Rainbow and stuck her thumb out. "Okay, we're good."

Rainbow was the first to dive in, grabbing a relatively larger slice of pizza. I reached in afterward and was surprised to find that Princess Twilight had a different slice in mind.

She grabbed a plain cheese slice, and I grabbed one with pepperoni, which got me thinking. If we had the same thinking process like before and we both picked a slice on impulse, why didn't we grab the same slice? I was probably thinking too much about it, but it wouldn't hurt to ask why.

"Hey Twilight." Weird, we were both still synced. Immediately after, she asked me if I ate meat, and asked her if she was a vegetarian. Of course, our questions spoke over each other. Once again, Princess Twilight dug into her pocket, called out heads, and let the coin hit the table with a weighty thud,

It was tails, but this time, we weren't afforded the order granted by the talking pillow.

The talking napkin would do.

Again, I brought up if she was a vegetarian and followed up with questions about the Equestrian diet.

"Mostly fruits, vegetables, sweets." Princess Twilight answered. "No meat, though, though dairy and eggs are on the table—no pun intended." She was a liar, and I knew the pun was intended.

She slid the napkin back, and we kept passing it back and forth, comparing our lives against each other.

Turns out, Princess Twilight led a more interesting life in not only her world but mine as well.

"So, what's it like, being a princess 'n' all?" Rainbow Dash asked, violating the integrity of the napkin. I guess that's what I get for not investing the time to bring something as respectable as a pillow. In fact, no one wanted to touch it after Rainbow Dash had wiped her mouth with it.

"Oh, it's nothing special, really," Princess Twilight said, brushing it off modestly, the same way I probably would have. "My duties mostly revolve around me settling friendship disputes around Equestria."

"So, like a guidance counselor?" Rainbow Dash asked dismissively.

"A little more than that," Princess Twilight defended. "Instead of playground bullies, it's more like crazed tyrants and magical monsters and all those sorts of things. It's all marked on a map that tells me where to go."

As if suddenly interested, Rainbow Dash leaned in closer, "Why can't we do that!? It sounds soooo much better than sitting around and waiting for magical mishaps to come to us."

Princess Twilight only laughed in response. And, if I knew what she was thinking (which I was sure of), the other me probably would have preferred a less hectic experience day to day. I knew I was sick of magic after my first real run in with it.

•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•

For the next few days, Princess Twilight made a few brief appearances, mostly joining me and Sunset on trips to Sugarcube Corner. I managed to pull the other me into private intel-related talks in the bathroom. And thankfully, it was easy to convince Sunset and the other girls that our bladders were synced up. I didn’t know if they really were, but I didn't care to find out.

We used our little insider chats to mostly come up with a plan for or until we managed to get a moment alone again. Unsurprisingly, the best wingwoman I could have ever had was myself.

With a piercing squeal, the city bus stopped, the brakes straining under the weight of its passengers. Cut off from my thoughts, I stood up, made my way down the aisle and stepped off. Instead of being greeted by the same cheery group of girls that I usually was, I was was met with the drab architecture of Crystal Prep.

If I had subscribed to the childish school rivalry nonsense, that day would have made quite the narrative. Twilight Sparkle, the prodigal daughter of Crystal Prep High School, had returned, still wearing the school uniform right down to the socks. Not only did the despicable, traitorous wretch come back, but she had come back looking for a favor from the school that she so heartlessly had turned her back on.

It was an amusing thought, to say the least.

Thanks to my lack of an actual wardrobe, I blended right in with the rest of the school. No one noticed me, which, to be honest, felt just like the Crystal Prep I had left behind. Still, walking through the halls again was a surreal experience. Class was still in session here, unlike at CHS where classes had ended about an hour before.

I stopped at a lone bench, graciously donated by the class of '96, and sat down. On the other side of the hall, there was a gold plated plaque hanging by the door that read, "Dean Mi Amore Cadenza."

From what I could tell, someone was already in her office. On closer inspection, I quickly noticed the neon green hair and recognized that it was Lemon Zest, one of the girls I had left behind. After a minute or so, she walked out, quickly catching sight of me and smiling as we made eye contact.

"Twilight Sparkle!?"

"Lemon Zest! What are you doing here?"

"Uh... I go here? I should be the one asking you that," she shot back. Without hesitating, she dropped down on the bench next to me. "You sort of just disappeared. All we’ve heard from you was what Sunny Flare told us.”

“I know…” I sighed, staring down at my shoes. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t know how to tell you girls.”

Lemon leaned back. “So you just transferred and hoped we’d forget about you?”

“Wow, it sounds really stupid when you put it like that,” I admitted.

“Duh,” she said, patting my back lightly. “Life’s all about communication, dude. We’re social animals and all that jazz.” Lemon Zest poked at her phone. “So what brings you back here, buddy? And don’t tell me that you miss this hellhole.”

"Oh, nothing important really," I droned. "I’m just here to ask Dean Cadance something."

"You mean Dean Cadenza?" she asked. "I think you're the only non-adult who calls her that. Is she a close friend or something?"

"She used to be my babysitter." I paused. "And she's dating my brother."

"Aww, that's adorable," she cooed, her voice softening. "In a weird sort of way."

I could feel my face scrunch up, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," she paused, "it's probably just that she took one look at you and was like, 'yup, she probably has a hot older brother.'"

"What?"

"I'm just saying," Lemon Zest defended, "I got those vibes from you, too."

"What?!"

"Do you think Dean Cadenza ever tucked you into bed, and then did the same with your brother? If you know what I—"

"So what are you doing here?!" I sputtered, immediately changing the subject. "I mean, by Dean Cadence's office this time.”

"My phone got confiscated fifth period," she explained brightly. Smiling, she brandished her cell phone proudly and, with a sing-song lilt, she announced, "I got it back, though." She shuddered in place then turned to me, saying, "Thank goodness Dean Cadenza had it. If they handed my phone over to Cinch, I probably would have needed to buy a new one."

"No kidding."

"Speaking of phones," Lemon brought up slyly, "how come you never gave any of us your number?"

Knowing the response before I even said anything, I winced as I replied. "I, uh, don't have one." As expected, her eyes widened in shock and horror as if I had told her I had snapped my spine.

"Girl! How the hell do you not have a cellphone? It's literally a basic human right."

Noticing the misuse of the word “literally” I said, "I don't think—"

"—that your parents love you enough. I know, Sweetheart—spare me the details." She glanced at her phone and scowled, most likely at the time, "Whelp, I better get back to class. My physics teacher thinks I left to go to the bathroom." Standing up, she dusted off her skirt and turned to me. "We still have some bidness to talk about, though. Stop by my dorm room before you go."

I nodded and watched as she skipped away. Before she disappeared behind a corner at the end of the hall, she turned to me and sent over a light, friendly wave.

Inside, Dean Cadance sat at the desk in the back of the room. Her eyes were trained on the computer, yet she somehow noticed me walk in and greeted me with a welcoming, warm tone.

"Hello, Dean Cadance."

"Oh, Twilight, you don't need to be so formal," she replied, finally looking up from the computer screen. "So, what's up?"

I thought about my next course of action for a quick second.

"How's, uh, my brother?" I asked, feeling it was better to bring up my love life by bringing her up her own.

"Oh," she piped cheerfully, "he's still the same ol' goofball I fell for."

Smiling, she looked down at her hands and began playing with her fingers.

"That's nice," I responded, already growing impatient with the small talk. "Hey, Cadance?"

"Yeah?"

"This might seem totally random, but do you remember the night you babysat me—the night of Shining's recital?"

Her face broke out into a reminiscent smile, her cheeks swelled with blood as she giggled, "Of course I do, Twilight. We spent all night baking cookies and calculating whether or not Shining and I were compatible. Uh, why do you ask?"

"Because," I paused, feeling a twinge of uncertainty, "I kind of need help with something... similar."

Immediately, Cadence's face lit up with joy. "Oh, my. Does Twily have a special someone in her heart?"

I felt the flush of warmth on my cheeks, "S-stop!" I cried. I knew she was teasing, but I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at the coddling tone.

"Oh, I'm only kidding, Twilight,"Cadance assured, "Though it definitely means a lot that you came to me. So who's the lucky boy?"

"Uh, uh," I stammered, feeling my chest tense up. "Actually, it's a—a girl."

Caught off guard, Cadance's eyes flared in surprise, "Oh, I didn't think you were into girls. It's just that I didn't quite expect you to be so confident about it. A lot of kids your age seemed to really question themselves about it, but you've got it figured out."

"Thanks?" I responded, not really knowing what else to say. "Do you think we could get started on the charts... like we did with Shining?"

Without waiting a moment longer, she dove into her desk and dropped a handful of markers onto the desk. Expectantly, she looked up back at me. "And here I was thinking you would never ask."

•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•

According to my calculations (I couldn't help myself), I had a chance. The odds, after extensively crunching the numbers, seemed a lot less likely. Cadance, back before she dated my brother, at least had the advantage of being the more popular of the two. I, on the other hand, was climbing an upward slope.

Sunset Shimmer was perfect in every sense of the word. The girl of my affections exuded confidence while I questioned myself whether wearing my hair down was too much of a shift in style. Princess Me looked good with it, so maybe…? Advantage: Sunset Shimmer.

However, we both shared an interest in playing music. Sunset was the bandleader of the Rainbooms, and I was the core pianist for Crystal Prep's top jazz ensemble since freshman year. Well, before I quit. Tied, one-one.

Sunset, from what the girls told me, was voted Princess of the Fall Formal. And technically (also from what the girls told me), I won the last one, so I'm the current Fall Formal Princess. Still a draw. It was sad and a bit of a stretch, I know, but I needed all the help to stand even the slightest chance.

From then on, I lost every category pretty handily, until the scoreboard was overwhelmingly one-sided with tick marks that that told me exactly how much better Sunset was than me. Dejectedly, I looked at the whiteboard and felt a sense of dread. Whatever chance I felt I had quickly seemed like it was slipping away with each stroke in Sunset's column.

"D-do you think I still have a chance?" I asked, looking at a comparative graph of mile times (don't ask).

Smiling, Cadance placed her hand on my shoulder, "Of course you do, Twilight. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You're a smart, kind, and beautiful young woman."

"But she's smarter, kinder, and more beautiful!" I whined childishly. "I don't stand a chance."

She grabbed at my shoulder again, rubbed at my back, and then squeezed the nape of my neck. For some reason, that simple sequence always seemed to bring me down from

"Twilight," she said sweetly. I felt the tension in my chest lift. "Even if she's everything you've said, give me one good reason on why she wouldn't want to date you."

Maybe because she's a magic unicorn and might not even entertain the idea of a meaningful relationship with a human.

Maybe because there's another, much more impressive me out there who not only was from Sunset's home world, but she was also literally a princess.

I swallowed an annoying lump forming in my throat, deciding not to disclose the last two bits of information.

"See?" Cadance reassured, "All you have to do is go up and ask her on a date."

If only it were that easy.

"What if she says no?" I asked, flinching at the incoming answer.

"Then you have to be prepared for the rejection, respect her decision, and move on."

That was exactly what I was afraid she was going to say.

"How did you do it? Build up the courage to, you know, ask my brother out?"

She smiled. "I didn't. I just thought we'd be happy together and went for it." She paused for a quick second. "You just won't know until you try."

"Right."

Then, as if her beaming smile couldn't get any wider, she casually slipped in, "Plus it netted me this really nifty ring."

Cadance, holding back a giggle, brandished the diamond ring on her finger.

"No."

"Yes!"

Immediately, I grabbed her hand and inspected the ring. Sure enough, it wasn't coated in watermelon flavored candy or showed any signs of coming from a capsule machine. It was a real, expensive-looking engagement ring.

"Holy... I didn't think he had it in him."

"Me neither," she agreed with a giddy cheer, "but I'm just sooo happy he did. Don't tell your parents—I want to surprise them myself."

I nodded happily and thought about my parent’s reactions, especially if she dropped the bomb as nonchalantly as she did with me.

From that moment on, I couldn't help but stare at the ring on her finger. It just seemed totally obvious in hindsight, the click her fingers made when she tapped them, the way she'd glance down at her hands and then smile. How could I have missed it? It was so obvious… ugh I'm such an idiot.

•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•

"Sparkle! It's sooo nice to see you!" Three. Two. One. "After you ditched us... traitor."

"Hello, Sour Sweet," I greeted politely, lowering my voice and staring at my shoes because of the sudden accusation.

"Don't mind her. Sunny told us everything," Lemon Zest reassured me, pushing me into the messy dorm room. "Just take a seat on my bed. Want a soda, Twilight?"

I nodded and graciously accepted the bottle of soda, courtesy of the mini-fridge in Lemon's dorm. The inside, unsurprisingly, was unchanged from the last time I set foot in Lemon Zest's room, which was about a week or two ago. In fact, the same pair of socks was still crumpled up by Lemon's window sill.

During the days before my transfer, my relationship with my Friendship Games team grew slowly. By the time I left, I felt like they were good acquaintances. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like they had considered me more like a friend, while I didn’t.

The day after the Friendship Games, Lemon Zest threw an after-party and was adamant that I attend. Of course, I managed to talk my way out, citing sickness, but I found myself regretting the missed opportunity afterward.

Even then, the others still tried to include me at their lunch table, where I sat quietly and waited to transfer. Their attempts to involve me in their conversations never succeeded as I pretended to be working on homework or pretended not to know what they were talking about.

It wasn't until after I left that I realized that they weren't just trying to be nice for niceness’s sake, given that they went out of their way to keep in contact.

"Hey, Lemon," I called.

"Hold up," she said, tapping away on her phone. "And... sent. The rest of the girls should be coming soon."

"I really didn't mean to hang around so lon—"

"Come on, Twilight. It's been, like, forever since we've seen you," Lemon said. "Plus, think of how bummed they'll be if they found out you were just here and left before they saw you again."

"It's not like we're pressuring you to do something awful," Sour Sweet defended. "Except, you know, sell your soul to the cellular overlord."

"You told her about that?"

"Of course I did, Twilight. How could possibly I let this injustice go unreported? It's inhumane, I tell you."

I crossed my arms,. "I don't really think it's a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Not a big—"

"What's this I hear about Twilight having no phone?" an outraged voice cried, its owner nearly tearing down the door as she stepped in. I quickly recognized it as Indigo Zap, who seemed more outraged now than when the school’s newspaper dubbed us as, “the worst Friendship Games team in decades.”

Two other girls, Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat (also equally offended), stormed in, staring down at me with crossed arms and scowls on their faces.

"You told them?" I asked, turning to face Lemon Zest.

"Yes, Twilight," Sugarcoat remarked patronizingly, "you can use cellular phones to wirelessly communicate with others."

"I know that!" I huffed indignantly.

"Honestly, you of all people should understand the merit of cellphones," Sunny Flare argued.

"Why? They're nothing but distractions."

"Oh come on, Twily," Indigo chimed, "Sunny told me it's like having the library of—what was it again?"

"The Library of Alexandria," Sunny clarified. "It's like having the Library of Alexandria in the palm of your hand."

"Yeah, of porn," Sugarcoat cut in, her voice deadpan as she turned to me. "The Library of Alexandria of Porn."

"What's—"

"Oh, you poor, sheltered baby, Twilight,” Lemon Zest cooed, bringing me into a tight hug. She scowled at the rest of the girls. "No one tell her!"

"Of course we won't!" Sour Sweet promised. "She's the only one of us left that I have any hope for."

Giggling, Indigo Zap slapped my back. "So, what are ya doing here, Twilight? Was CHS not challenging enough?"

"Obviously," Sugarcoat agreed. "She's still wearing the uniform."

Sheepishly, I stared at the ground, "I kinda don't really have much else in the wardrobe department."

Apparently, that was a worse sin than not having a phone.

•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•

The Canterlot Mall was the local hot spot for students from both Crystal Prep and CHS. Like everything else in the city, it seemed to be designed just to further bolster the rivalry between the two high schools right down to the location as it was perfectly equidistant to both campuses. Personally, I wasn't a fan of these kinds of places, but peer pressure had won.

After a few minutes of navigating the mall, I found myself inside a one of Lemon Zest's favorite stores, helplessly held hostage as I was assaulted by various items of clothing flying in my direction.

"I can still wear some of my old clothes, right?" I asked, staring at the pile of clothes the rest of the Shadowbolts had picked out for me. Sunny Flare turned to me, holding up a T-shirt for my approval. Unable to bring myself to refuse, I simply nodded and watched as it was added to the pile of clothes.

"Not with all these," Lemon commented. "I think you'll be set all through college... and life."

“Yeah, I should probably start cutting back," I admitted sheepishly. "I’m just finding it hard to say no. It all looks so nice."

"Alright," Lemon agreed, "let's start by keeping the clothes that you'd actually wear." She reached for the top of the pile, picking up the exact same T-shirt Sunny Flare had shown me just seconds earlier, and dropped it on the floor.

"Hey!" Sunny protested. “I thought it was cute."

"It is, but Twilight's too modest of a girl to be wearing a crop top," Lemon argued on my behalf. Expectantly, she turned over to me and cocked her head, waiting for an agreement, which I was happy to supply.

"If we're going to remove clothes," Sugarcoat started, "this shirt is awful." Without hesitating, she swept down and picked up a blue button-up blouse. "The shoulders are gonna make her look like a linebacker."

Through a slow, arduous possibly friendship ruining process, we chipped away at the pile until I was happy enough with the last remaining clothes. Satisfied by my choices, they ushered me into the changing rooms, and I quickly dressed into the first out of many outfits that the others helped me coordinate.

I walked out of the tiny cubicle and immediately felt a little less optimistic about the outfit than I was going in. "I don't think it's me. Plus, the shirt's a little too small, and the jeans kinda ride up my—"

Out of the corner of my eye, off in the distance, I caught her, Sunset Shimmer. The blazing locks of curly hair stood out against the rest of the store. She stopped for a moment, looking over the jackets and the rest of the winter wear out on display.

And then she started walking towards the changing rooms.

As far as I knew, she hadn't spotted me yet. She seemed more focused on a pair of jeans draped around her arm. Panicking, I rushed back into the featureless chamber. Great, I thought. The last thing I wanted was for Sunset to see me in clothes I was having second thoughts about, especially ones that barely fit.

"Don't let her in!" I cried, hopping up of the little chair inside the room, bringing my legs up and out of sight.

"Who?" Sunny asked, her voice coming right outside the little plastic blinds of the door.

"Redhead," I blurted, "two o'clock!"

"Oh, wasn't she at the Friendship Games?"

"Yes! Just don't let her in!"

"Did she do anything to you?" Indigo inquired, her tone clearly concerned. "‘Cause if she did..."

"No!" I cried in defense. "Nothing like that—just don't let her see me."

The next minute seemed unbearable. My heart raced with each interminable second. Hopefully, Sunset was just admiring the clothes and went to put it back on a nearby rack or something.

She wasn't.

"Excuse me," I heard her say politely, most likely to the Shadowbolts who had probably blocked the way into the dressing rooms. "Indigo Zap, right? We competed at the Friendship Games"

"Oh yeah, I remember you," Indigo shot back. "But I still can't let you in."

"Why?"

"We have a friend in there who's, like, deathly shy." Sour Sweet answered. "I'm ninety percent sure, she'd keel over knowing that she's half-naked next to somebody else."

She was more right than she even knew.

My stomach dropped as Sunset simply stated, "I can wait."

I could hear Indigo sigh just before she knocked at the door, "Hey, we're just gonna let her in. Just sit tight and wait it out, ‘kay?"

"Uh-huh."

There were a few seconds of silence before Indigo spoke up and said, "She's fine with it. Just don't take too long."

"Thanks."

From the inside of my prison, I heard the clacking of Sunset's boots, followed by the click that came from the booth next to mine. I held my breath, unable to focus, knowing that the girl I was hopelessly crushing on was changing right next to me. Things would have been a lot easier if it weren't for Sour Sweet's naked comment. After about a half a minute, she began to hum a simple, mindless tune that I recognized as some bubblegum pop song that had been circulating the radio for weeks. If my lungs hadn’t been burning, I would have been soothed by the melody next door.

There was a slight snapping sound, followed by an irate, "Aw, fuck me!"

I jumped back a little after hearing her swear. Sure, I had heard that sort of language in movies and TV, and I admit to slipping and letting out a frustrated “damn” every once in awhile, but it felt weird to hear it coming from Sunset. Not sure of what to think, I held my breath, trying to hide my presence.

"Excuse me," she called again, knocking at the wall that separated us, "You wouldn't happen to have an extra hanger? I kinda broke mine."

Without saying anything, I grabbed the nearest hanger and, without thinking, tossed it over the wall.

"Thanks," she said, her voice a little annoyed.

"N-no problem," I piped, raising my voice about an octave, but the anxiety was still clear in the tone.

"Oh, they weren't kidding," Sunset mumbled under her breath, "Don't worry, I'll be out in a bit."

"Okay."

True to her word, Sunset quickly left the stalls after about two or three minutes. Still, I stayed inside the booth until I got the all clear from Lemon Zest.

"Crisis averted?" Sunny Flare announced, clearly unsure as she patted me on the back.

I nodded.

•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•

"Yeah, what was all that about?" Sugarcoat asked, referring to the events inside the store.

Sighing, I took a sip of a strawberry smoothie, sucking in every ounce of sugary support. "It's a long story."

Sugarcoat looked over the food court and shrugged, scowling at the lines in every booth. "We've got time."

I looked down at the drink I bought after the whole Sunset debacle and groaned at the small amount left. "I guess I could tell you guys since you all helped me out earlier."

"Ooh, story time!" Lemon Zest chimed, leaning in on her arms. I felt my chest seize again. Turns out, it doesn't get any easier each time you talk about the girl you like.

"I'm—"

"Hopelessly in love?" Sugarcoat interrupted, "You're blushing like a lovesick tomato."

"Yeah," I croaked, "that's about it."

"Aww," Sour Sweet beamed, "Twilight's in love... shame she's too much of a wuss to do anything."

"Hey!"

"She's not wrong," Indigo joked. "You spent five minutes ordering that smoothie." There was a small round of taunting, yet playful laughs. "And then the lady blended the wrong fruits, but you were too scared to say anything about it."

Okay, so they weren't off base with the whole "wuss" thing.

"So, how long have you been fancying her?" Lemon Zest asked.

"Since—"

"Wait, lemme guess, it was when she went full on with the magical girl transformation?"

"Yeah," I hummed dreamily. "I guess that helped a little."

The girls, like any other group of teenagers, swarmed me with questions about my budding love life. I lost track of how many questions they asked, but I had a sense that it was a long list once Sunny Flare slumped at the open spot on the table, carrying a tray of food. The conversation seemed to end there as some of them began to announce how hungry they were, exaggerating about the last time they had eaten.

The topics seemed to range from their grades to music. Some questions were directed my way, mostly relating to CHS, its curriculum, staff, and whatever else seemed to interest them about my new school.

"Guess who's hella gay?" Indigo Zap brought up, facing Sunny Flare. She then pointed at me, and I couldn't help but stare down at my food. "Though I guess you probably figured that out with your gaydar or something."

"That's not a thing," Sunny defended, turning towards me. "Though, as a 'gay,' let me be the one to officially induct you, Twilight Sparkle, into the Intergalactic League of Homosexuals. We meet on Tuesdays and trade off refreshment duties every week." She did a quick little jazz hands and mad an “ooh” sound.

"Wait," Indigo interrupted, "that's a thing?"

"Of course not," Sunny shot back, earning a laugh from the rest of the girls. "Though I wouldn't object to starting one."

"Wait, so you're..." I faltered, knowing that I didn't really need to hear the response.

"Yup," she hummed coolly. "Though my mom thinks it's just a phase." She paused for a moment and took a sip from her own drink. "It's almost funny how wrong she is."

Unable to think of what to say, I just shout out, "So do you have a girlfriend?"

"Whoa, slow down, tiger," Sunny Flare warned playfully, "I'm flattered and all, but I'm not putting myself on the market until college."

The rest of the girls broke out into a fit of giggles, and I couldn't help but feel the heat burn away at my cheeks, which seemed to only encourage them even more.

"Hey, Sunny… if you were to ask a girl, you know, to go out, how would you do it?"

"Well," she started, pausing most likely in thought. "I'd make sure we're friends at the very least."

"But what if it ruins your friendship?" I blurted out, voicing my biggest fear. "I c-can't have that happen. I don't even want to risk it." The girls looked over to me, the laughter now long gone. I felt one of their hands brush my back, and I felt the heat flush over my face, this time out of anxiety rather than lovesickness.

"It won't happen," Sunny assured firmly. "If she's really your friend, she can look past a little awkward moment like that."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Twilight," Indigo Zap called, "you just have to take a chance and seize love by the balls—or lady balls, in your case. It's worked out for me."

"Hopefully not literally," Sugarcoat cut in.

•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•

I'd been neglecting my studies. No, not school… oh jeez, I'd die if that were true. Though, truthfully, I was in a slight education slump after I had contracted that disease known as "love.”

I looked down at the twenty-six page manuscript and reviewed the information within. Over the past few days, I managed to log likes, opinions, and even trivial information about Sunset Shimmer. There were also the countless amounts of comparative charts Cadance and I got through earlier in the day.

I had also included the testimonies about dating I got from Cadance, the Shadowbolts, Maud, Princess Twilight, and anyone else whom I gushed about Sunset to. Though, pretty much all of their advice was no more helpful than "just go for it."

Even after hedging my bets through extensive research, it was still a yes or no decision.

I couldn't resist smiling cheesily at the final draft. It was pretty much complete from a writing standpoint. All I needed was to get a proofreader—preferably someone close to Sunset, so that meant it had to be at least one of the girls at CHS. Then, it was just as simple as getting the experiment underway.

I finally felt like I was ready. Confidence was key.

There was a knock at my bedroom door, cutting me from my thoughts as my head whipped to face the visitor.

"Oh, hi, Mom." I greeted, looking up from the stack of paper.

"Hey, Twily,” she hummed. “Your father made hot cocoa, and I wanted to see if you wanted some.”

I shook my head. “No thanks, but can I, uh, ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure, of course you can, sweetie." Smiling, she stopped at the door post, leaning up against the wall. "You know you can tell me anything."

Well, I pretty much told everyone else on the planet that I was in love with Sunset Shimmer, so it wouldn't hurt to at least tell the woman who brought me into the world. I began to open my mouth and immediately felt my lungs freeze in resistance. There was just something about the phrase "you can tell me anything" that seemed impossible to actually believe.

"I... uh... need a cell phone."

Nice, Twilight. Real nice.