“It started before Crystal Prep. I used to live in a small town. One traffic light, everyone knows everyone else, that whole cliche. I found out near the end of the school year that we were moving to Canterlot. There was another girl in my class, a girl I thought of as a friend.” Sugarcoat continued her story as their food arrived and they ate slowly.
“I was young and just getting to know myself, but I knew then that I liked girls. Everyone else in class was talking about ‘how cute that boy down the street is’ or things like. Everyone but me and my friend. No one paid any mind to it, because we largely kept to ourselves. I.... I hoped that she felt the same, or at least that we both liked girls and could bond over that, too. She wasn’t that great at math or science, but she read novels like it was a mission to have read the entire library before we left for high school. For her birthday, I got her a box set of her favorite series. She hugged me.” Sugarcoat chuckled ruefully with a bittersweet smile on her face. “A couple of weeks before the end of school, I asked her if we could hang out in the park for a little bit.”
“And?” Twilight asked, her cutlery set on her plate now that she’d finished.
Sugarcoat dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “And she showed up. We chatted and eventually we got around to the fact that I was going to leave. And I told her that I liked girls and that I liked her. She hugged me, and said she was sorry; she didn’t like girls, but... she wished me all the best.”
“That doesn’t sound... I mean, I’m not seeing...” Twilight said.
“It... wasn’t entirely her. I guess one of the other girls in class, a...” Sugarcoat bit her tongue. “Notorious gossip, shall we say? Decided it would a good idea to follow us and stay out of sight. She overheard and the next day at school.... I was teased, and humiliated, and my friend...” She clenched her jaw. “She didn’t stand up for me. No one did. The teachers said I was confused, it would pass. The last week of school was hell. I was glad to leave. And that resentment just festered for a while. When I got to Crystal Prep, I made it a mission to not let anyone hurt me with that, so I made sure everything was out in the open.”
The bill arrived in the brief silence, and Twilight pulled out her purse to grab her bank card to pay for their meal. By the time she came back up with her wallet, the billfold was gone and Sugarcoat tucked a few bills back into her purse.
“Aw, Sugarcoat, I was going to pay.” Twilight protested meekly.
“It’s alright. I don’t mind. I haven’t told anyone else that story. So thank you, Twilight Sparkle, for listening.” She brushed her hair around her shoulder and smiled softly.
Twilight stood up, strode around the table to her date, and offered her a hand up. When Sugarcoat accepted, Twilight pulled her into a hug. “Thank you for sharing it with me. I’m not going to say I know exactly what I want, but I’m willing to try with you.” She kissed Sugarcoat’s cheek and pulled away. When Sugarcoat blushed a deep red, she giggled and covered her mouth. “Shall we head out then?”
Sugarcoat nodded and grabbed her purse. She slung it over her shoulder and grabbed Twilight’s hand with her other, unoccupied hand. They turned and shared a warm smile.
Twilight walked a little closer as they exited the restaurant in the slightly chilled evening air. Night had properly fallen, and a few stars dotted the sky.
“You know, going out of the city with you to stargaze doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Just us, a telescope, and maybe some hot cocoa...” Twilight sighed wistfully.
“You’re a dork, Twilight,” Sugarcoat replied. “But you’re an adorable dork. It’s endearing.”
Twilight fidgeted with her purse. “Um, thanks? I—”
Sugarcoat clicked the button on her car remote and the door locks clicked open with a mechanical thunk and an electronic beep. “It was a compliment. If that’s what you’re thinking.” She opened the passenger door to her car.
Twilight stepped in and held the door open for a moment. “You’re going to take some getting used to, you know?” She smiled.
“Then I can only hope that I’m worth it,” Sugarcoat whispered as she closed the door. She quickly walked around her car, opened her door, and slid into the driver’s seat. She pushed the ignition button and the car whirred to life. “9:35,” she read from the display. “And it’s a 20 minute drive back to your house.” She sighed as another adagio filled the car from the stereo.
“Hey,” Twilight said, reaching a hand over to lay on Sugarcoat’s arm. “Tomorrow’s another day. We’ll see each other again.”
“Does this make us... does this mean we’re dating?” Sugarcoat asked. Her hands wrung together.
“I think it does. Now how about we get home before we get in trouble?” Twilight grinned.
Sugarcoat smiled back before slipping the car into gear and pulling out of the parking lot. The drive home was pleasantly quiet, the music and Twilight’s humming aside. Sugarcoat stole a few glances at her date and blushed each time. Twilight always was prettiest when she didn’t care what anyone else thought and just expressed her true self. That, and she finally, maybe, had a girlfriend.
Soon enough, they pulled up in front of Twilight’s house. The porch lights were still on, even if the lights of the foyer weren’t. Sugarcoat walked Twilight up to the front door and stood there, playing with Twilight’s hands. She blushed and glanced away nervously.
Twilight held onto both of Sugarcoat’s hands. “Is this the part where we kiss?”
Sugarcoat blushed brighter. “I’d like to, yes,” she said softly.
Twilight placed one of her hands on Sugarcoat’s shoulder and stood on her toes once more, this time aiming for her date’s lips. They leaned in together, closed their eyes, and bumped glass frames before recoiling in shock.
Twilight chuckled and Sugarcoat joined in. “I didn’t think that would be an issue.” Twilight pulled her frames off and tucked them in one of her cardigan’s pockets before trying again. She placed her hand on Sugarcoat’s shoulder and stood on her toes. This time, she leaned her head to the side, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips against Sugarcoat’s as they met. The last thing that went through Twilight’s mind before it blanked with the white light and electricity of their kiss was how soft Sugarcoat’s lips felt against hers.
Sugarcoat’s arms moved down and wrapped around the small of Twilight’s back, helping to keep her steady as she continued to stand on her toes to kiss the silver-haired beauty on her door stop.
Slowly, they parted after what felt like an hour to deep red blushes. Blushes that got even redder when the lights to the foyer flicked on and the door opened to Twilight Velvet and Night Light.
Sugarcoat’s face drained of color and she quickly darted off to her car, once again showing a remarkable ability to move at unfathomable speed in heels. Twilight reached her hand out after her, to which Sugarcoat waved her phone once.
Twilight sighed dejectedly as the car pulled away with little noise: just the crunch of rubber on asphalt.
Her mother hugged her from behind, nearly lifting her from the ground. “Oh, my little baby’s growing up! Her first kiss, Night!” she simpered.
“MOM!” Twilight screeched. “We were having a moment. She’s scared off and I’m so embarrassed!”
“Oh, honey, these things happen!” Night Light laughed and ruffled Twilight’s hair in the embrace she struggled to free herself from.
Eventually her mother let go and Twilight stomped off to her room, grumbling most of the way. Once inside, she slumped to the floor and Spike leapt into her lap.
“Oh, Spike, what a night.” She scratched his ears to an appreciative woof. “The date went really well. We even kissed. And then Mom and Dad had to ruin it.” She picked Spike up and put him back in his basket. “I should text her.” She pulled her phone from her purse and opened her messaging app.
Hey Sugarcoat! I had a really good time tonight, and I hope what happened with my parents doesn’t change anything. They just... they’re parents, you know? They’re happy for me, if that makes a difference.
I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you over the past couple of days and I’d really like to keep doing that. And... I maybe really liked that kiss too. Soooo...
Twilight nibbled on the end of a finger, her other hand occupied with holding her phone and tapping the screen in an attempt to see the moment she got a reply back.
“Should I text her again?” she asked aloud.
“Give her a bit, Twi,” Spike said from his bed.
Twilight sighed and started to undress. She managed to slip into her pajamas, brush her teeth, remove what little makeup she was wearing, and comb her hair before her phone buzzed.
Hey Twilight, sorry I had to go. I did kind of panic a bit about your parents being there. I shouldn’t have, but old habits. I’m glad, at any rate, and maybe we can all sit down and meet properly some time.
I liked the kiss too, and I would like to be your girlfriend. Maybe we can hang out a bit at school tomorrow?
Twilight beamed and clapped her hands together.
Yes! I have my free periods in the afternoon, but I don’t want you skip class again. We could always spend lunch in my lab. That might be best, even. As much as I want to spend more time with you, I do need to get everything packed up. But I like the sound of that. Being your girlfriend, I mean. I’m heading to bed now, so good night Sugarcoat. Thanks for dinner and everything else.
Twilight set her phone down and sighed. “Maybe tonight was a good night, Spike.”
Twilight’s phone buzzed one last time. She read the message, smiled, and shut off the display before falling into a peaceful sleep.
Good night and sweet dreams, Twilight Sparkle. See you soon. :)
Twilight woke to the gentle, climbing tones of her alarm. She shut it off, yawned, and slipped out of bed to start on her morning routine.
Showered, teeth and hair brushed, dressed, and packed for school, Twilight gave Spike a good ruffle behind his ears before bounding down the stairs to breakfast.
“Good morning, Twilight,” said her mother.
“Morning, Mom,” she replied brightly. Her mother passed a bowl of cereal over to her and Twilight dug in, talking briefly between mouthfuls. “About last night, I’m sorry for snapping. I guess I was a bit angry that I didn’t really say goodbye to Sugarcoat and it felt like a sour note to end the night. And it is kind of embarrassing to be caught by your parents kissing your girlfriend.”
Twilight Velvet hugged her daughter tightly once more. “Honey, we understand. You’re new to the dating thing, and probably to the liking girls thing, so some embarrassment is natural. But your father and I will try to keep our part in that to a minimum, OK?”
Twilight nodded. “Thanks, Mom.”
“And do the kids at school know? Or will they know?”
“No, and I don’t know.” Twilight munched on her cereal. “I’ll be having a talk with Sugarcoat later today, so we’ll see. With me transferring, it might not be so bad, but with her staying... it’s more her call.”
Her mother nodded sagely. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, for any reason. Stay safe, pumpkin.” She kissed Twilight’s forehead as Twilight finished her cereal and headed out the door to the bus stop.
Twilight Velvet sighed and pulled out her phone, tapping rapidly on the screen.
Twilight dashed to her lab from the bus so she could drop off her books and pick up her notebook for her first class. When she exited and turned around, she crashed into Sour Sweet.
“Sour Sweet, I’m sorry!” she said. “I just turned around and—”
“Oh, Twilight, don’t worry about it!” Sour Sweet started sweetly, before her voice dropped in pitch. “Just watch where you’re going next time.” She stalked off with an odd look on her face, and Twilight continued down the corridor, careful not to bump into any more students, lest she draw more wrath than necessary.
Twilight made it to her class on time and sat down in her desk, pen and notebook ready to take notes. History lectures may have been a bit of weak point for her since most textbooks lacked adequate citations, primary sources, and multiple viewpoints, but Twilight trudged forth.
At least, she normally trudged forth. Class seemed especially dull today, and the lecturer could not have been more boring. Her thoughts wandered back to her date last night and the pleasant memory of Sugarcoat’s soft lips pressing insistently against hers. She smiled.
Which she regretted a moment later, when the lecturer called on her in his gratingly nasal tone. “Well, Miss Sparkle? Do you have something to add to our ‘discussion’,” he finger quoted, “about 20th century banking regulations?”
“N-no, sir,” she said. “I’m sorry, sir.” She kept her head down for the rest of the lesson. It did nothing to help her focus, however, as her notes resembled nothing but hearts and other doodles. Twilight felt like despondently rolling her head across it if it weren’t for the twin specters of getting ink on her forehead and being called out again.
Blessedly, the class ended, and for once, Twilight was out the door with everyone else to many curious looks. She shot them a sheepish smile in the hopes that would be answer enough.
Moving with the crowd presented its own problem when Twilight once again bumped into someone and knocked them both to the ground. Unfortunately, that someone was Sour Sweet. Again.
“Sour Sweet, I’m still so sorry! It’s not on—”
“Oh, Twilight, don’t you worry!” she said, picking herself up. “I’ve got my eye on you.” She shot Twilight with a glare and walked off.
“Uh...” Twilight said to no one. A hand reached down to help her up. “Sugarcoat!” she said gleefully. She quickly hugged her and then stepped back to dust herself off. “Ahem. Um, thank you,” she said awkwardly with an equally awkward smile.
Sugarcoat froze up for a second and glanced around. “You are welcome?” She leaned in for a moment and whispered, “I’ll see you in your lab at lunch, OK?” She squeezed the top of Twilight’s hand and dashed off to class.
Twilight gathered herself and headed to her class, as well, perplexed at what exactly was going on this morning.
Once more settled into her desk in class, Twilight tried to focus on the math lesson and the equations on the board. She exhaled sharply. She hoped her new clumsy streak would end soon or she’d find herself in the infirmary with a good few bumps from crashing into people.
Twilight found herself resenting not having anyone to talk to in class, especially when the day’s worksheet got distributed. She finished in record time; calculus proved to be a decent, if short-lived, distraction from her pining. Slowly, the chatter around her increased and increased, until it seemed like the entire class was talking around her now they’d finished with the worksheet, too.
The teacher called for order and asked that everything be handed in a few minutes before the end of class. Again, Twilight found herself in an unusual position of joining her classmates in eager anticipation of the end of class, because it signaled the start of lunch.
As soon as the bell rung, everyone bolted for the door. While everyone else headed for the cafeterias, Twilight walked briskly to her lab, fortunately in the opposite direction.
She opened the door and found it thankfully empty. She needed a few moments to just sit and relax in peace. She collapsed into the chair, let her head fall over the back of the chair, and draped her arm across her forehead. “Oh, I should’ve brought Spike to school today,” she whined to the ceiling.
“I prefer a little privacy myself,” Sugarcoat muttered, slipping into the room quietly.
Twilight laughed but made no effort to get up.
“Rough morning?”
“Nothing that I didn’t do to myself. Being new to this dating thing... I’ll need time to adjust.” Twilight twirled around in the chair until her upside-down head came to face Sugarcoat’s half-smirk.
Sugarcoat spun the chair around so Twilight now faced her and she straddled Twilight’s lap. “Well, I hope we can make the transition easy for both of us.” Sugarcoat leaned down with her lips puckered.
“Sugarcoat, one thing really quickly,” Twilight said, leaning back with her hand pressed against the top of Sugarcoat’s chest, just below her necktie. “Are we... are we going to go public about us? Maybe not kissing in the hallways, but are we going to tell our friends?” Twilight looked up into Sugarcoat’s eyes, her own wide and hopeful.
Sugarcoat smiled back. “I’ll be OK with whatever you choose. For all its faults, Crystal Prep isn’t.... I feel safe here.” She leaned down again and this time Twilight met her.
They kissed wildly in the privacy of the lab, Twilight’s hands on Sugarcoat’s waist, Sugarcoat’s hands running through Twilight’s hair or pressed against the chair. Their mouths parted just enough to let their tongues inexpertly wrestle for a few brief moments until they pulled away, panting lightly with bright red blushes.
“Wow, that was... that was something else, Sugar—Sweet?!” Twilight yelped.
“Aw, aren’t you two just the cutest?” Sour Sweet simpered. “It’s just a shame I want to yank you off that chair by your pigtails for making out with my crush, Sugarcoat!”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. This would be an interesting school year indeed.
