//------------------------------// // I'm Really Bad at This Thing Called Stealth! // Story: Double Sun Daze // by Albi //------------------------------// I was bored. So very bored. I sat on my bed (or was it Sunset’s bed? But I am Sunset…) kicking my hooves against the frame. I tried reading the magic book, but it got really boring really fast. I didn’t know why, but ancient magic didn’t excite me anymore. In the hour since Sunset had been gone, I’d painted my own cutie mark to look normal again, read my diary (I really was a mean pony), and dug through my wardrobe. It was filled with mostly ballgowns. They were pretty, but they were all the same shade of yellow and red. I was starting to think I was a narcissist, too. The bed was very soft, so I spent the next few minutes bouncing up and down. I giggled and snorted until I remembered that I had to be quiet. If somepony heard me in here while Sunset was away, we might get in trouble. Even if she was a meany, I didn’t want to get her in trouble. She was my twin. My stomach roared with the ferocity of a bear. I gave it a gentle pat. “I know, but Sunset said she would eat for both of us.” It roared again. “Hmm, but what if she did and it didn’t work? Maybe she just can’t hurt me without hurting herself.” I rubbed my angry stomach and whined, “I want food!” I fell on my side, bouncing up and down on the bed. How was I so grumpy with a bed this soft? While in my fetal position, I began to daydream of food. Roasted vegetables and cinnamon buns. Hay fries and daisy salads. Cucumber sandwiches and cupcakes. My mouth watered and created a stream across the sheets. If I didn’t get nourishment soon, I was going to die! The door stared at me from across the room. Somewhere on the other side was the kitchen, where delicious food stuffs were being made. I needed it. Hmm. If Sunset is with Celestia, that means she’s only in one room. So if I can sneak to the kitchen and grab some food without being seen by anypony important, then nopony has to know there’s two of me! Yes; stealth mission was go! I jumped off the bed and poked my head out the door. There was one guard standing in the middle of the hall. Probably the only one that would notice me coming out my room twice. I would need to think of something clever to say to avoid suspicion. First, I tried to walk by as inconspicuously as possible. I whistled ‘Please don’t notice me, please don’t look at me’ and kept my head down. If I looked as innocent as possible, he wouldn’t even question why I was coming out of my room again. “Miss Shimmer? I thought you were at your lesson with the Princess?” Aw, peanuts.  I looked up. “Uhh… I am at my lesson.” I waved my hooves in front of his face. “What you’re seeing right now is only an illusion. Ooooooooh.” He blinked. “Well, if you say so.” Oh yeah, I’m so smooth. “That’s right, just an illusion, nothing to be worried about. Now, return to your post, Saber Shine.” The grey earth pony looked at me in surprise. “Oh… you… know my name?” “Of course I know your name, silly. Why wouldn’t I?” I asked brightly. “Well…” He rubbed a hoof against his neck. “It’s just, all the years I’ve been here, you’ve barely even acknowledged me.” I pat his armor-clad shoulder. “Well, I apologize for my rude behavior. I promise to always say hi to you from now on.” He smirked at me. “I thought you were an illusion?” I looked at my hoof on his shoulder plate. “Uhhhh… kitchencallingbye!” I dashed off as my stomach gave another annoyed rumble. Okay, I got through that. I should be in the clear now! Just gotta get to the kitchen, grab some food, and sneak back. Everything’s going to be fine! “Hello, Sunset.” “Hi, Cadence.” I skidded to a stop. Seaweed on a stick! I’m bad at this thing called stealth! I spun around and found myself face-to-face with a pretty pink princess. She had a really nice mane too, made up of gold, purple, and pink locks pulled into a ponytail. Still, her presence made my heart race. She was giving me a very curious look. “Aren’t you supposed to be at your lesson with Celestia?” “Uhhh… no?” She raised an eyebrow. “I mean, it’s over. It was a short lesson,” I said quickly. Her stare persisted, so I deftly changed the topic. “So how are you?” “I’m good, thanks for asking.” She paused and tapped a hoof against her chin. “Actually… I think this is the first time you’ve asked how I’ve been.” Narcissistic, mean, and selfish. I don’t like the old me. My ears folded at the shame bubbling in my stomach. “There must have been one time I’ve asked how you were doing.” Cadence shook her head. “No, usually it’s in a sarcastic tone or followed by, ‘no one cares.’” I bowed my head. “I’m sorry, then.” “R-really?” Cadence was at a loss for words. “Are… you feeling okay, Sunset?” “Well, I’m kinda sad that I’ve been so mean to you for so long.” I kicked at the carpet. Cadence stepped forward and hesitantly place a hoof on my shoulder. “It’s okay. I never took it personally.” Really? Because I’m pretty sure I hated you the most. I decided to keep that to myself. “So, you forgive me?” I asked. “Of course.” Cadence’s wide smile fell a little. “But what’s with the sudden change in attitude? Not that it’s unwanted, it’s just… unexpected.” Oopsies. In hindsight, it might have been a better idea to just keep running instead of talking to Cadence. This is a complete turnaround from how I treated her yesterday. And the day before that… and pretty much the entire time I’ve known her. Time stretched the seconds into hours. The hallway around us was horridly quiet. Cadence said nothing; she just stared at me with unblinking eyes. She was suspicious! Beads of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. I needed a reasonable explanation for my new behavior before Cadence figured out that I had split myself in two. “Unexpected?” I asked, showing off all my teeth. “It’s not that unexpected. I just… got a good night’s sleep.” “Must have been a really good sleep.” “Yes it was! Have you felt my bed? It’s super soft!” I made a hop like I could emphasize the springiness of it. “Yep, a good night’s sleep was all I needed!” Cadence shifted her eyes, her mouth still turned down. “Well… if you say so. I suppose I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” She took a breath, fluffed her wings, and smiled at me. “I’m glad you got a good night’s sleep for the first time in… since I’ve known you.” “Hahahaha,” I laughed nervously. “Yeah. Anyways, I should—” My stomach decided to be quite rude and interrupt me with a loud grumble. No manners whatsoever. Cadence, however, giggled. “Sounds like someone’s hungry after their lesson.” My ears folded back. I thought about Sunset in her actual lesson with Princess Celestia. Was she hungry, too? She hadn’t grabbed any food like she had promised. Big meanie. A pretty pink hoof tapped my shoulder. “Hey, why don’t we go grab some breakfast together? It’d be nice to finally sit down and just talk.” The little beads of sweat on the back of my neck gathered into several rivers and flowed right down my back. Somewhere along that river was my common sense screaming, “Noooooooo!” I entertained all the bad things that could happen if ponies learned there were two of me walking around. At the same time, my stomach was being rude again and making successive grunting noises, voicing its clear opinion on the matter. I get it, you’re hungry!  I weighed the idea in my mind. This might have been my only chance to walk around as a free pony before I had to merge back with miss grumpy pants. Celestia knew she wasn’t going to let me wander around freely. And I would get to spend time with Cadence. The idea was greatly appealing. I hadn’t had a friend in… Have I ever had a friend before? Well, that decided it. I beamed at Cadence. “Sure, breakfast sounds great!” We set off down the corridors together. I wasn’t going to invoke the wrath of the natural universe by asking what could go wrong. Instead, I prayed that the consequences would only happen after I had eaten.