//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: City In A Snowglobe // Story: Cracks In Our Reflections // by Onyx Archer //------------------------------// Chapter 1: City In A Snowglobe “Stupid unpredictable weather,” Twilight Sparkle muttered quietly to herself as she stared the stormy visage outside the window. The city of Canterlot had been experiencing a massive snowstorm for the past three days, and it showed no signs of stopping. It was like someone had taken a metaphorical snowglobe, and kept shaking it non-stop, all so they could see how long it would take for the fake snow inside to settle. It was annoying. So it was with a heavy sigh that Twilight couldn’t help but feel trapped inside by circumstance. She wasn’t used to weather just happening without warning, where she was from, there was a team of pegasi that determined when and how much it snowed during the winter months. Whenever she was curious about the weather, she merely had to ask Rainbow Dash or some other pegasi on the weather team. Sadly, that wasn’t the case here. Looking out the window, she couldn’t help but be frustrated. Sure, she had planned to stay awhile, but that was two days ago. That was before the weather became so nasty that if she so much as tried to leave, she’d be blinded by the harsh winds more or less throwing natural snowballs at her face. She let out another annoyed sigh as she walked away from the window, taking a seat on the sofa in the center of the room. Her plans for the week had been made nearly a month in advance via an exchange between herself and Sunset Shimmer. She had planned to celebrate the human equivalent of Hearth’s Warming (Christmas, if she recalled correctly) with her friends from Canterlot High, as it took place several days after it’s Equestrian counterpart. She had agreed to it after Sunset had told her a little bit about human holidays and customs, which had piqued her interest when she had heard about the small differences. She wanted to experience both forms of the holidays back to back, and record her findings, which would help with her understanding of human culture. Christmas was the first Holiday she had chosen to experience, as she had just barely missed their celebration of Thanks-something. The holiday had certainly been interesting to her, as it wasn’t based on the three tribes of ponies and wendigos. Instead, it was to celebrate the birth of a religious figure. According to Sunset though, it was more or less just a highly commercialized time of year. There was also something about a large man in red with a white beard, coming down chimneys and leaving gifts for good natured people. Quite frankly, Twilight thought that was a bit absurd, and she and Sunset came from a land of magic, which was virtually non-existent here. She had intended to head back to Equestria on the day following the festivities, but “mother nature” had different plans, deciding to impede her desire to return home with a snowstorm. Instead of leaving, as she had planned initially, she was forced to stay until the storm died down at the very least. And much to her displeasure, that wasn’t happening anytime soon. “Hey Twi, you want some tea or some cocoa?” Sunset’s voice questioned, pulling Twilight of her frustrated thoughts. Looking over to the doorway to the left of the sofa was her fellow Equestrian turned human, giving her a small smile as she approached her with a warm looking blanket. “Sure, some cocoa sounds lovely, thank you,” Twilight replied with a smile, accepting the blanket that her friend had offered her. Wrapping herself loosely with the blanket, she watched as the other girl left the room. Sunset had been incredibly nice to let her stay with her while she was stranded by the evil weather. It wasn’t the biggest place she could have stayed, but it was the one she oddly felt the most comfortable with. Sunset’s home was a simple apartment in a rather nice looking building. It was a nice, cozy place to live, and when the wind and snow wasn’t blocking it, had a fairly nice view of the cityscape. It was on the edge of the suburbs that housed Canterlot High, and was a short walk from said high school. At least, it would be if the weather was permitting. She really needed to stop thinking of the weather this much. Thankfully, she was able to do just that when her fiery haired friend came back through the doorway with two warm looking mugs and a small bag of mini-marshmallows. The smell was very distinctly chocolate, and boy did it smell good. She wasn’t normally one for cocoa, but she was definitely in the mood for something sweet to contrast with the sour feeling that the condition outside. Seriously, she needed to stop thinking about the weather. Sunset took a seat beside her, and passed her a mug. “Thank you,” Twilight said, taking the mug that was held in front of her. Sunset simply nodded as she opened the bag of mini-marshmallows, plunking a few into her steaming hot chocolate. She didn’t even so much as try to take some of the blanket that Twilight had wrapped around herself, despite it clearly being big enough for the two of them. It’s not like it was cold inside, but it’s not like it would have been weird for the two of them to share the blanket. Instead, Twilight watched Sunset take a small sip of her cocoa as she flipped on the television with the remote that just happened to be beside her on the couch. The TV simply showed what appeared to be about girls that were apparently talking space rocks, and a boy that was half space rock, half human. Sunset had showed her the show a few days prior, and Twilight had to admit, it was pretty cute, and very entertaining. She couldn’t quite recall the name of the show, and didn’t really bother to try as she sipped at her warm beverage. It wasn’t long before Twilight, out of a small pang of guilt, offered some of the blanket she had received earlier to Sunset. She had accepted it without a single ounce of hesitation, bringing herself closer to Twilight to maximize comfort. The two were only a few inches apart, as had been the norm when they wrapped themselves up in a blanket on the sofa. It was certainly warm, and while it wasn’t by any real stretch cold, it certainly was much more comfy than sitting without the blanket. A half an hour passed in near silence as the two enjoyed each other’s company whilst watching the television. It was a comfortable silence that both seemingly appreciated, but for whatever reason, Twilight couldn’t help but feel like something was missing, or at the very least not right. For a while, she tried to dismiss it as simply feeling like it would be more natural if they were both in their true forms, as an alicorn and a unicorn respectively. After a while though, that didn’t quite feel right. “When do you think the snow is gonna stop?” Sunset asked. Twilight’s attention immediately shifted to Sunset Shimmer’s face as she tried to silence her previous thoughts and think of an answer to her friend’s inquiry. The answer to her question didn’t really take long to leave her tongue. “I’m not sure,” she said simply, sighing for a third time that evening. “I mean, it’s not like we can just ask one of the weather pegasi when the blizzard is going to end.” “True... That is one thing I really miss about Equestria.” “The fact that you have a more concrete idea of what the day’s weather is going to be?” “Yeah, it makes making plans with friends a heck of alot easier,” Sunset said, putting her mug to her lips. “That, and they never have snowfalls last this long. Three days and counting is a bit too extreme for most weather ponies.” The two shared a brief moment of laughter before returning to the familiar silence. Twilight had grown very accustomed to the lack of conversation, as it felt as though they had run out of conversation topics over the past couple of days. Between catching up on the goings on in each other’s lives, and the odd bit of harmless gossip, the two of them had simply just started to enjoy the other’s wordless company. Even still, Twilight wanted to converse, mostly so she could keep her mind off of the bitter thoughts about bitter weather. “So Sunset, how are things with the girls at Crystal Prep?” Twilight asked, unsure as to what else she could ask. She feels like she might have asked about it at some point prior in her days cooped up in Sunset’s apartment because of mother nature’s cruel sense of humor. “They’re doing fine, though I’m not exactly the best person to be asking. Sci-Twi is the one who hangs out with them the most,” Sunset responded, turning her attention to the Princess of Friendship. She did have a point, Twilight’s human counterpart was the one who knew them the best, given her status as a former classmate of the five girls. “They’re dealing with human me right now, actually.” “Human you? Huh...” “Yeah, I mean, I should have expected her to show up at some point. Especially considering your human counterpart popping up reminded me that this is a parallel world,” Sunset laughed. “I guess it should come as no surprised that she’s a total brat. Not unlike how I was a little while ago.” “Think we should blast her with a magical rainbow beam?” Twilight joked, lightly elbowing her friend in the side. “It seemed to work wonders for you.” “Haha, yeah, but I was a raging she-demon when I was hit, so who knows if it’d work on her.” “True, but it could be fun to try.” “When did you become the princess of laser light shows?” Sunset laughed. Twilight was quick to laugh at her new joke title. “Lemme guess, it was some time between shooting Tirek in the face with alicorn magic, and the giant alicorn of rock?” “You know me too well, Sunset,” Twilight giggled. “In all seriousness, maybe I should confront her or something? I was able to get through to you, and you were likely a lot worse than some bratty teen.” “I don’t know. I mean, I was pretty bad, and until I put the Element of Magic on my head, I was also just a bratty teen.” “I guess that’s true,” Twilight chuckled halfheartedly. “I’m sure she’ll come around eventually. Let’s hope she doesn’t happen to stumble across any Equestrian magic anytime soon.” “Yeah, who knows what she would do with that kind of power,” Sunset said, shuddering at the thought of her bratty doppleganger getting her hands on something akin to an Element of Harmony. “Haha, well it can’t be much worse than an army of brainwashed teenagers.” Sunset just laughed. And then the silence returned, if only for a few moments. “So Twilight, have you gotten around to asking out your world’s Flash Sentry?” Sunset asked, bringing up a name that would often come up when Rarity was around. Twilight’s expression shifted to a disappointed smile. “Yeah, I did. We went on a date, and it really didn’t work out,” she said. Her reply was soon followed by the fourth sigh of the evening to leave Ms. Sparkle’s lips. “He was sweet, but there wasn’t really much to him outside of that.” “I know what you mean, the Flash in this world is a great guy, but he seems kind of... plain?” Sunset said, earning a nod from her best friend. “I mean, I wasn’t dating him because I actually liked him, but we went on enough dates for me to figure that out about him.” “I remember when I told the girls about the date. Rarity was blown away by me saying that I wasn’t up for a second one. She said I was crazy for letting a catch like him go,” Twilight said, chuckling at the memory of Rarity’s flabbergasted expression. It was certainly an amusing memory. “I’m sure this world’s Rarity would have a similar reaction, given how she reacted when I told her I wasn’t really interested in any guys here.” “Let me guess, she tried to set you up with a stalli-I mean guy, that she felt was ‘a perfect match for you darling?’” Twilight asked, doing her best Rarity impression, earning a bit of laughter from Sunset. She wasn’t sure if Sunset was laughing more at the slip up, or at the impression, but she didn’t really mind. Her laugh was nice, regardless of the reason. “Oh yeah, she’s done that quite a few times, especially since the Friendship Games. Apparently she met a nice guy from Crystal Prep, and ever since then, she’s been trying to ‘improve the love lives of her dear friends,’” Sunset replied, doing her own impression of their mutual friend. Twilight, like Sunset not a minute prior, couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s nice, but I kinda wish she didn’t bother.” “She means well, but yeah, it’s a tad frustrating at times.” “Yeah... besides, I’m not really into guys, though I’d rather not tell Rarity that,” Sunset sighed. The statement didn’t surprise Twilight in the slightest. Most fillies back home played for both teams, which was due to a larger female population. That was another difference between the two worlds she had found interesting: there was a better balance of males to females when compared to the land of talking ponies. “Not to mention there’s still a slight stigma against that kinda thing here.” “There is? What’s wrong with being a fillyfooler... or whatever this world calls them?” “Nothing’s ‘wrong with it.’ Heck, most people here are okay with it,” Sunset said, shrugging. “It’s still not nearly as widely accepted as it is back in Equestria though. I think it’s because of the whole ‘Catholicism’ thing.” “So it’s some kind of spiritual thing?” “I think so? I could never really follow any of that stuff,” Sunset shrugged. “Either way, it’s not really anyone’s business whether or not I’m a lesbian or whatever.” “Yeah, that’s true. I mean, it’s not like there is anything actually wrong with it.” “What about you?” Sunset asked, earning a confused look from her guest. “I mean, do you like girls at all?” “I’ve never really thought about it. My personal preferences in romance and sexuality aren’t things I tend to worry about much,” Twilight said with a shrug. She wasn’t really the type to get hung up on her own love life. She was perfectly content with her current quality of life, and was in no hurry to find love. Or anything of the sort for that matter. “I’m not opposed to it I guess? I’m just going to wait and see what happens.” “I can respect that,” Sunset said with a smile. “I’m in no hurry to find my special somepony either.” And then the earlier silence returned. Twilight’s mind lingered on the conversation, as she had nothing better to think about. That, and it was certainly better than the prickly thoughts of the current state of the world outside the apartment that had occupied her thoughts for the majority of the day. Her brief relationship with Flash wasn’t really one that had been rewarding. Immediately following the date, she had figured it was because she had expected too much of the pegasus counterpart to the boy she had met in here. However, after the recent visit after the conclusion of the Friendship Games, she found that she wasn’t as drawn to the guitar playing teen as she had once thought. Was it because she knew his pony counterpart better? She couldn’t really say for sure. The question of whether or not she was into fillies was an interesting thing to consider. She hadn’t really experienced any sort of attraction towards anyone but Flash, and that attraction ended as soon as her date with him had ended. Was it because she never really tried to find something in anyone other than friendship? Perhaps she’d have to pay a visit to her sister-in-law, since she was kind of the Princess of Love. If there was anypony who would be able to help her with the subject of love, it was Cadance. Of course, she was open to entertaining the idea that she could be interested in fillies, and by extension, girls. This called for a test of some kind, and who better to test this possibility with then Sunset Shimmer? “Hey Sunset?” she spoke, albeit quietly. than she had intended. “Hmmm?” Sunset hummed, acknowledging that she had heard Twilight’s quiet call for her attention. “What’s up? “I was wondering if... umm...” Twilight began, her words getting caught in her throat. She inwardly cursed the fact that this was an incredibly weird thing to ask. It seemed so much simpler in her head. “Would you be okay with... snuggling? With me I mean?” The question had very clearly caught Sunset off guard, as her present slackjaw expression had made evident. Twilight watched as Sunset’s face lit up like her namesake, and she found her flustered expression extremely adorable. She could feel her own face heat up at the mere thought that she found Sunset adorable. “Wha-What? Where’s this c-coming from?” Sunset asked, clearly incredibly confused. “I mean, s-sure, I don’t mind... but... why?” “I’m just... y-you know... c-curious I guess?” “Curious? A-about what? What it’s l-like to snuggle?” Sunset asked, earning a nod from Twilight. “S-sorta? I’ve snuggled with a guy b-before... so...” “You want to know what it’s like to snuggle... with a girl?” Sunset asked, once again earning a nod from her royal friend. “Well I... sure! I’d be happy to show you!” Sunset sounded a little too excited at the idea in the end, but Twilight didn't mind. Sunset was into girls, and the two of them were incredibly close, so it only made sense in her mind. Silently, the two of them brought themselves closer to one another, until they were touching. Twilight watched as Sunset moved one of her arms over her shoulders, pulling the two of them ever closer. Adjusting the blanket to be more snug around them, Sunset leaned her head onto Twilight’s, and sighed in a content manner. Twilight smiled, finding the sound cuter than she had when Flash had done effectively the same thing when they had went to see a play during their first and only date. Nuzzling up against Sunset, she let out her own sound of content. This was nice, nicer than she had thought it would be. Sunset was as warm and welcoming as the blanket they were both wrapped in. The two of them continued to watch the television, not even bothering to drink what little was left of the cocoa in their mugs, until Twilight pointed out it’d be a waste to just leave the warm beverages left unfinished. They had cooled considerably, but were still just warm enough to enjoy. “This is nice,” Twilight said softly. “Yeah. It is.” Before long, Twilight heard the quiet sounds of Sunset’s calm breathing slow down. Glancing up as best she could, she found her friend to be asleep, lying against her. It was rather late, so she couldn’t blame her friend for falling asleep like she did. Yawning, she cuddled up closer to Sunset and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before she herself had fallen asleep. The weather outside might have been a furious blizzard, but no matter how much mother nature shook the snow globe they were in, they were both warm, and they shared a similar smile as they slept on the couch. And as they slept, the weather slowly began to die down.