//------------------------------// // Redux // Story: Perspective // by Orpheon //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer stood before the soft light of the portal, Twilight Sparkle and Spike not far behind her. The surface of the mirror was as smooth and still as the glass it pretended to be, but if one listened carefully, a gentle hum could be heard (or perhaps felt?) emanating from it. It was a baleful sound to the unicorn. She knew she had to cross this threshold, but the memory of her last trip was coming back exponentially more quickly the longer she stood there. She nodded to herself--time to rip off the bandage. No point in prolonging the inevitable. Sunset glanced behind her to her host for the weeks and her...friend. Yes. Spike was definitely a creature she could call a friend now, too. And Twilight...She took a moment to study the alicorn's face. The lavender mare was wearing a conflicted face. One part reassuring and another part melancholy; the unicorn found her hesitation growing even as her insides torqued uncomfortably. If only she'd been able to convince Twilight to come with her, but that was the nature of the beast when one was a Princess. She couldn't just vanish without notice for who knows how long...Or maybe she could put off going back for a few more days--no, no. She shook her head. This was the opposite of not prolonging the inevitable. She could always come back for another visit. Twilight would be here--but how much time would pass? It would only be a scant time for her, but for the alicorn it would be--Sunset inhaled sharply, facing the portal again. Focus. She glanced one (final, damn it) time at Twilight and Spike. Sunset gave her best bracing smile and turned back to the portal. She sucked in her breath, and jumped. The pandemonium of the between greeted her with open, howling arms. The cacophony pounded in her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut, curled in on herself as bones twisted and flexed. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out even as sound roared from all directions at once, her wail of pain echoing in the endless void and reverberating in her skull as it swelled and deformed AND SHE WAS AFLAME, SKIN CRACKLING AND PEELING AS IT WAS TORN FROM HER WITH CLAWS OF-- Sunset Shimmer fell unceremoniously on her face, the pavement scraping her cheek and nose as she tumbled out of the mirror and the sensory overload finally went quiet. In its place was the gentle sound of wind coursing over dry grass, the whoosh of a car's tires on pavement behind her as it passed, the distant chatter of young voices and the squeaking of shoes on a court. She looked up, blinking slowly. There was the front steps, the main door, the walls of Canterlot High. Tentatively, she glanced around. Seemed like the front lawn was mostly abandoned; that made sense, it was the middle of summer and there ought not be students or faculty roaming about (excepting perhaps groundskeepers, she supposed). She lay there for just a moment, collecting herself. The familiar sights and sounds came rushing back, but with them came a profound sense of loss that managed to be nostalgic. She knew this feeling; her sixth sense was once again gone, the vast majority of her magic locked away. She could feel the onset of tears, but resolved to control herself. She was a grown mare who wouldn't cry at this again. But the other void... She couldn't put her hoof--no, finger now-- on it, but it still tugged at her mind insistently. Sunset decided she would figure it out later; lying here on the sidewalk wasn't doing her any good. Sunset moved her hands beneath her and went to push herself off the ground before an eerie tone sounded behind her. She barely had time to turn over before a figure emerged from the portal and landed roughly on her. The pair rolled over one another, knocking foreheads with twin yelps of pain and a tangle of limbs until they came to a rest on the grass, Sunset poised over the other girl, indignation rapidly turning into surprise, joy, and confusion as she saw who had come through. Wait a moment, she thought to herself. Did she... On her back in the grass and face to face with her, breathing hard, was the rapidly flushing face of Twilight Sparkle. The moment the tip of Sunset's tail went through the portal Twilight felt a sense of loss crash down on her. She sagged, her rump hitting the floor. Spike patted her reassuringly. “She'll come back for another visit, Twilight. Don't worry!” The young dragon leaned on the alicorn, hugging her. His gesture meant the world to her; if there was anypony she could count on to support her, it was Spike. “I...I'm sorry. I...” She petered out before she really began. Spike regarded her for a moment, his face analytic. “...you really do care about her.” Twilight looked at him, surprised. “W-well, yes! She's my friend, and I..” The dragon cut her off, his emerald eyes flashing. “No, it's more than that. I know that look.” He sighed as he patted her. “I've looked that look.” “Spike...?” The dragon exhaled again. Twilight felt a flash of alarm at the sudden change in his demeanor. Why did he seem so much...older? World-weary? That wasn't her Spike. That wasn't her baby dragon. “Twilight, go on.” The mare didn't quite register. “...what?” “Go through the portal. Hurry up.” “Spike, what are you saying? I can't just--” The dragon cut her off for a second time, waving his hand dismissively. “You're a Princess of Equestria. You can do basically whatever you want. Trust me, I've checked.” He pulled her forward, bringing her off her haunches to a stand. “Listen, Twilight. You shouldn't waste this opportunity. If you wait too long, you'll miss it.” Twilight's alarm had blossomed into surprise and a measure of fear at the tone in his voice. “I can't...I shouldn't...how did you know?” Spike's wan smile didn't do anything to assuage her. “Twilight, I'm...your brother, in all but blood. Your little brother, maybe, but your brother all the same. I've spent all my life in your company and care, when I wasn't with Celestia. I know you. I know when something's changed. The past few weeks, you've...you've changed. Not in a bad way!” He waved his hands at her look of shock, his voice reassuring. “But you definitely went out of your way more and more to spend time with Sunset. You're still being kinda chilly to Dash and Pinkie, even.” Twilight felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to... Spike continued before she could finish the thought. “What I'm saying is, I know why that is. And I'm not judging you. I think it's a good thing. You seem so relaxed around her. Contented, in a different way than with your friends. She UNDERSTANDS you, Twilight. In a way only she can. It makes sense. So go. I'll cover for you, and if anypony asks, I'll tell them Sunset asked for your help with something.” He winked. “Just...don't stay for too long, and please be careful. I can't very well watch your back if I'm here.” Twilight stared at her companion, agape. “Well? Get going!” He barked at her, a good natured smile on his face. “U-uh, right!” Twilight started, galloping for the portal and diving through. As soon as the bizarre sound of flowing metal and glass stopped, Spike folded his arms and heaved one more sigh. And now he was alone. He pulled a stepladder over to the machine, climbing up and removing the book from its slot. He'd need to keep this on hand, in case Twilight needed a message sent through. It also wouldn't do to have the portal just left open; anypony from either side could happen across it and that might be disastrous. Putting the unwieldy tome under his arm, the dragon whelp made for the kitchen. He needed some stinking ice-cream, stat. Being grown-up was hard work. Sunset's heart hammered in her chest as she looked Twilight in the eyes, violet orbs filling her vision. “S-Sunset! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to land on you, I--” “N-no, it's fine, I shouldn't have been on the ground right on front of--” “I mean, it's hard to to aim coming out out of the gate--” “Of course if I was just flopped here like a rug you were gonna--” “W-well I still probably should've watched where I was going or not just jumped through the portal--” “I-I mean, I'm glad to see you! But I thought you couldn't come with me?” “Spike convinced me! He said that he could cover for me while I--” Twilight stopped. She apparently couldn't continue that line of thought; instead she lay there just staring into the other young woman's eyes. Silence passed between them. The warmth in Sunset's body spread through her body, heat suffusing her to the fingertips. The pounding in her heart drowned out the ambient noise. She wasn't quite conscious of her face sinking closer to Twilight's, pulled by some mysterious gravity she was only peripherally aware of. She couldn't really explain the tingle in her stomach as she felt the lavender girl's breath on her lips as they-- “Girls?” They turned in tandem to the sound of a familiar, gentle and almost maternal voice. Standing on the paved path a few feet away was the school's primary administrator, Principal Celestia. She seemed to be in a squatting position, an expression of concern on her face. “If you're gonna do that, I'm gonna have to ask you to find another spot, relaxing as this place is.” The school's rooms and halls were largely devoid of activity, the Principal's office seemingly the only one not locked up tight. It was mildly eerie for Sunset, given that it was the middle of the day, but then, with it being summer, who could reasonably expect there to be students in the building? She was surprised to see Celestia working, on that note, and she said so once the two of them were seated in the chairs across her desk from her. “Principal Celestia, it's summertime. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home with your sister, taking time off?” “I could ask you two the same thing, Ms. Shimmer. Hardly five days since you graduate and you're already back on school grounds swapping spit with another of our more exotic transfer students.” Celestia's stern expression cracked, not quite able to suppress the corners of her mouth at the spluttering response of the girls across from her. Sunset was faster to regain her composure, but not by much. “W-we just got back from...uh, out of town. You know.” “Is that so? Did you enjoy your sabbatical?” Celestia inquired, curiosity piqued. If memory served, word had never reached her of Sunset ever going back to her homeland. “It was...it was really nice.” Sunset sounded more certain of herself the more she spoke. “It was really nice to be home.” “She stayed with me while she was there; I have a lot of space in my...house, so it was really the more the merrier!” Twilight quipped. “And I take that's when this little development happened? Or has this just been a long-distance low-key thing since that Fall Formal?” Celestia punctuated her query with an index finger wagging between the two. “Wh-No! I mean, yes! Wait...” Sunset struggled to find the right answer. “Maybe? It's not something I'm ready to discuss if that's what you're asking.” She didn't catch the flash of mixed emotions on Twilight's face as she spoke. “I see. Well, if that's so--and to be clear, girls, I'm happy for you one way or another-- have a care to be somewhere private the next time you opt to ravish each other or fall into a position ripe for wild misunderstandings, whichever is more accurate a descriptor. For now, though, I'm afraid I do have some work to do.” She tutted at Sunset's incredulous expression. “Yes, Sunset. Staff does have some work over the holidays. Go on, you two; try to stay out of trouble.” The pearl-pink woman paused. “Well, since you're technically graduated and no longer my students, you're not really obligated to listen, but I hope you do anyway. And, ah...welcome back.” Twilight and Sunset made their way back to Sunset's apartment, neither of them really quite able to speak to one another. The alicorn's mind was a jumble the whole way, thoughts crashing against one another and feelings tugging her every which way. It wasn't until the click of the lock opening at her front door that she was able to drag herself out of autopilot and back to the real world. She took up a position on the sofa, distant surprise at finding the apartment exactly as it had been left registering. There wasn't even dust on anything...had so little time really passed here? The strange clock on the wall with the luminous face showed that only five days had gone by since they'd gone back to Equestria; and yet Sunset had been in her castle for more than three weeks. They were just getting into July back home, for Celestia's sake! Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully as she tried to do the math on the exact ratio-- “Twilight?” The voice tore her from calculations, immediately making her head spin with a feeling she couldn't identify. Sunset had taken a seat on the arm of the couch...on the other side from Twilight. The princess found a sense of shame and sorrow at the implication (while also wondering if she was just paranoid and there was no implication there). It was the fire-maned girl's expression of uncertainty and worry that drove the spike into her heart, though. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come to her, dying on her lips even as Sunset's sea-green eyes begged for her to say something, anything. After another protracted silence, the amber-skinned girl spoke first. “Twilight, I...what happened there, back at school. I'm not sure what came over me. I'm sorry--” “No, don't--don't be sorry! It--I--ugh!” Twilight finally gave into frustration, a trademark groan coming from her as she put her hands on her head. “What?” Sunset's confused response only served to aggravate the swirl in the princess's skull. “That...I...Sunset, I don't know how to explain! I...” She stood and marched over to Sunset, taking the girl's face in her hands and looking into her eyes. It wasn't fair; the latent unicorn's cheeks were squished in a way that was unreasonably cute, even on an alien face. She felt Sunset's hands clasp over hers, confusion evident in her eyes. She could feel her pulse quicken, heart pumping hard in her chest. “Twehlet?” NO SHE WASN'T ALLOWED TO SOUND THAT CUTE “Sunset Shimmer, I don't know what you... When I'm close to you, I get all...fuzzy inside! Like my heart's gonna burst, like I'm gravitating toward you! Just being in the same room as you makes me warm all the way to my hooves!” She paused as Sunset blushed, her grasp on Twilight's hands tightening. “It's like when you meet a friend for the first time in a long while except stronger and all the time. Like the softness of blankets on a morning you sleep in, like a pillow after you've flipped it to the cool side, like a familiar little alcove where you curl up with a good book while it snows outside and...and--” Her heart hammered in her chest and filling her ears as she sucked in a breath and loosed another incoherent growl of frustration. “Wah, Twehlet. Ah diddend--hohd on.” She leaned out of Twilight's hands, to the latter's regret. She continued more clearly, “I didn't know you felt that way. I--agh!” She attempted to stand but her precarious seating made rising awkward, the girl falling forward onto Twilight, who was wholly unprepared for the additional weight as she fell backwards with a yelp. They clipped the edge of the couch, falling in a chaotic mess to the floor between the seat and the coffee table, ultimately a tangle of hair and limbs. Twilight lay there a moment, facing the ceiling. A grunt to her left told her Sunset had managed to roll over. She turned, catching the other young woman's eye. Unbidden, laughter came bubbling from her as the absurdity of the situation finally sank in. It was apparently contagious, because Sunset laughed with her. A half hour, some controlled breathing exercises and a little plain old chilling out later, Sunset found herself across the counter from Twilight, in a strange deja vu of the situation a scant few weeks ago she and the princess across from her had been. It was surreal. They sat in companionable silence for a little while before Twilight spoke, tracing invisible spirals on the counter with her fingertip. “So...what now, Sunset?” The million bit question first, then. “Well...” Sunset straightened up, folding her arms as she considered her response. “...I don't know.” At Twilight's confused face, she continued, “I've only really been in one non-friendship non-antagonistic non-weirdly-familial-teacher/mentor relationship. Flash and I...well, you know why that was a thing. He was polite, but there was a part of me that always suspected he was staying close to me to limit the amount of damage I could do.” She frowned. “That or he was just as shallow as I was. Hard to say with that guy. We did the date thing; it was sorta like going through the motions for both of us...or at least for me. Again, can't really speak for Flash. “Either way, this is...well, uncharted territory for me. I...” She paused, forcing her thoughts to line up in cohesive patterns. “I mean...if I'm honest, there's been an pull there, but I sorta dismissed it as a passing fancy or infatuation because of gratitude. Something shallow.” “Shallow?” Twilight asked, perplexed. “Just after you left, after the Fall Formal, I had a lot of time to be alone with my thoughts, without rage and vengeance clouding me.” Sunset blinked very slowly, memory drifting back with ease. “You...when you were standing up there on the edge of that crater, looking down at me, your face was what kept coming back.” Twilight tilted her head. “My face?” “Your expression--not that your face is weird--was what stuck in my memory.” Sunset paused again, a smile coming to her face. “Everyone, everyone else was staring down at me with this look of vindication, or spite, or something similar. Not undeservedly. But you...” She looked Twilight in the eye. “You seemed like you pitied me. No, not quite. You seemed sympathetic. Sorry for me.” Sunset leaned on the counter, smiling. “You pulled me out of that crater. Took my hand when I had no right to anything besides a beatdown.” She reached out, taking Twilight's hand in hers, as if to emphasize the point with a gentle squeeze. The lavender girl flushed slightly as Sunset concluded, “I can't forget that moment. I never will. It was--” Sunset's words and train of thought were interrupted by a familiar jingle from her bedroom, causing both girls to turn toward her door. She frowned. Who could be calling her already? They'd been back all of an hour... “Sorry, Twilight. I better check; it might be one of our friends.” Twilight nodded, but the glum look on her face spoke volumes as Sunset went to grab her cell phone. She found it where she left it; plugged into the wall charger on her side table. The ringtone continued insistently even as she picked it up to get a look at the display. It was to her surprise that she saw the number and explosively neon blue picture of Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl Scratch was mildly infamous around town as a music junkie and DJ with a strange gift for sound engineering; it was rumored by some that she had built her monstrosity of a transforming car entirely herself (alternative theories included that she was a rogue superspy or a particularly unsubtle alien observer using audacity as a cover). In any case, she was by all accounts mute, and Sunset herself had never heard more than a nearly silent gasp come from the woman in the (admittedly few) times she'd been in her presence. Sunset's surprise was twofold, then: as she was mute, Vinyl rarely called anyone, generally texting instead. Moreover, Sunset didn't recall ever giving the music buff her phone number. She shrugged; if it was important enough that Vinyl Scratch had called, she should probably answer. With a swipe of her thumb, she placed the device to her ear and answered, “Hello?” “Sunset Shimmer?” The voice on the other end was almost certainly not Vinyl Scratch; it had an accent the unicorn had only ever heard on certain news channels from overseas. She was reasonably sure it was called Received-- “Miss Shimmer, are you there?” “Oh! Ah, yes. Uhm...who is this?” “Octavia Philharmonica. I'm a friend of Vinyl's...oh, I've gotten off track. I'm sorry to bother you, Miss Shimmer, but a friend of yours has asked that we use our phone to see if you would answer. Miss...Applejack? Yes, Applejack. I believe she--oh, very well. Here she is.” Sunset paused as the phone apparently traded hands, only to smile as a familiar voice came through the speaker. “Sunset?” “Hi, Applejack.” “Well, I'll be! It is you; when Mac said he saw you and Twilight coming from the school I wasn't sure I believed him but dang if he wasn't right. How ya doin', sugarcube?” “We're alright, but are you really sure it's okay to use another person's phone to have this conversation?” A moment of silence from the other party. “...well, I s'pose not. Tell ya what; why don't I meet you somewhere for a late lunch? We can catch up.” Sunset took a moment to consider. It would be nice to talk to the more familiar version of Applejack, but as far as she knew it had only been a few days in this world since they gone through the portal. Twilight would probably be a little put out that their conversation would have to wait; it was important that it be given the time it deserved to be hashed out properly. Maybe this time it was okay to be a little selfish...? “...maybe we could get a raincheck on that, AJ? We just got back and the transition is...uh, jarring. How about tomorrow morning, a late breakfast?” “That's fine too, sugarcube. I'll ring you tomorrow?” If Applejack was disappointed, it didn't show in her voice. “Sounds good. Catch you tomorrow!” Another sound of scuffling, and the foreign accent of Octavia spoke. “Well, I hope that we've been helpful, Miss Shimmer.” “You have been, but why did YOU answer Vinyl's phone?” “Eheheh...well, we all make mistakes. Have a good afternoon!” With that, the call was closed, which only served to confuse Sunset more. Back in the kitchen Twilight seemed to have contented herself reading through a pizza delivery pamphlet (though what she was looking for was beyond Sunset). She started when she noticed Sunset and neatly folded the advertisement back up as Sunset pocketed her phone out of habit. “Was it important?” “Applejack heard we were back in town; invited us to get together and catch up, so I guess that's the plan tomorrow morning.” “Well, that sounds nice enough. Uhm...unrelated question: why would anyone put anchovies on their food? According to this, it's an available topping for pizza, but even putting aside how weird eating fish is, anchovies smell terrible!” Twilight seemed nauseated by the mere prospect. Sunset nodded sympathetically and patted her on the shoulder. “It's one of the many mysteries of humanity. There are humans who say they're indifferent to anchovies; some even claim to favor them.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Those humans are lying. Nopony favors anchovies. Anchovies don't even favor anchovies.” Twilight covered her mouth as she giggled, but tried to calm herself down. “Humans are strange...in any case, ah...you were saying, before the call came in?” Sunset flushed a bit, trying to recall her exact phrasing. She'd been doing so well with the lead up, and then the moment got a hole poked in it by the diabolical chiptune of the little block of plastic and metal in her pocket. Damn that thing! She took up a seat on the stool next to Twilight, once again taking her hand. “I don't think I'll ever get that particular speech back, but that's what improvisation is for.” The alicorn-in-disguise's giggle made her face warmer. “I was going to say that I--” The doorbell rang, the twin chimes drowning out her words. “Oh for CELESTIA'S SAKE!” Twilight gave the most powerful invective she had even as Sunset loosed a loud, exasperated groan of frustration easily on par with her companion's. She stomped over to the door as Twilight slumped on the counter, one hand supporting her head while she frowned at the wall as hard as she was able. Sunset opened the door, her expression set to Lv. 2 Irritation as she ground out, “Can I HELP you?” Shock overtook annoyance as she took in the person before her. “Yes, I believe you can.” The voice was husky, too actively sultry for the unicorn's comfort. The woman it came from sported a self-assured smirk on a yellow face and wine-colored eyes framed by a cascade of fluffy, curly orange hair and an outfit that sported more spikes than Sunset personally believed strictly necessary. An emblem of a treble-clef overlaid with a golden gem completed the picture. Before Sunset stood Adagio Dazzle. The two locked eyes, a silent stare-off of cataclysmic proportions taking place in the doorway. Sunset found herself tensing up, waiting for the young woman before her to make a move of some kind, any kind. The siren also seemed visibly taut, despite her smirk, as though she expected Sunset to swing at her. The quiet dragged on... And then a baby blue face managed to poke through Adagio's curtain of hair, tongue out as it released a small 'bleh!' of distaste. “Dagi, I can't see past your hair! Is she here? Oh, there she is. Hello!” Sunset slumped as Adagio sighed and put a hand on her face, a grimace of what looked like physical pain replacing the confident grin.