//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Fate Discussion and Sweet Dreams // Story: Our Red String // by Crimson Inferno //------------------------------// As I walked in the school hallway alone... or I thought I was alone until I heard footsteps behind me. Probably no one, I mean who's ponyfeathering stupid enough to stay afterschool for an extra 30 minutes, I thought. Uh... you would because you volunteered to clean the class! my self conscious named Solar Eclipse screamed. Wasn't my fault, right? I mean, I wanted to stay back because I don't want to bother the girls, I told Eclipse. Uh-huh... or is it because you don't wanna end up being invited to your marefriend's- er girlfriend's house for a sleep-over? my other self conscious, Daydream, just had to ask that question. Puh-lease, I'm up for any sleep-over Pinkie throws at me, I chuckled as my two self consciousnesses agreed. There it is again. The sound of footsteps behind me. I turned around to see if someone was following me, but there was no one, so, I did an about face and walked outside. "Sur-PRISE!" a voice yelled behind me. "Oh sweet Celestia!" I screamed and grabbed my chest as I jumped. "Hehehe... sorry Sunset," Twilight, the counterpart of the alicorn princess, said as she walked beside me. "It's okay. Sheesh, since when did you get Pinkie's job for scary people and why are you still here?" I asked. "Huh? Oh, I... uh... I told my parents that I wanted to stay here and um... talk to Principal Celestia," Twilight said nervously. "Okay... I'll pretend that the statement you have given me is a fact. Anywaaaaays, you want me to walk with you home? That is if you do, I mean my motorbike's dead," I said. Great job idiot unicorn! "Okay, I really don't want to walk home by myself," Twilight said and twirled her hair. We were just passing by the Wondercolt statue until a lavender blur came zooming through the portal. Of course, as an instinct that I had gotten used to, I ran in front of the portal and got knocked down to the ground. The lavender figure was, of course, Princess Twilight. "Why did you come here?" I asked. "Oh yeah, my Pinkie Pie told me that you're going to head over to Twilight's," Princess Twilight said. That reminds me, I thought as I took my phone out of my bag. "FREAK YOU PINKIE!" I yelled as I looked at my phone to find 200 messages during the past 2 minutes. "Dang. Pinkie has unnatural speed. I mean 200 messages in 2 minutes? Meaning she sent you 100 in one minute," Twilight said. "Great math," I said as I dialed Pinkie's number. "Yes? Bacon haired pony?" I heard Rainbow's voice over the phone. "I will get revenge Rainbow!" I yelled. "What's up Sunny?" Pinkie asked. "Why the hay would you send me 200- er 500, sweet Celestia!" I screamed as I found out that there are 300 more messages. "Oh... you weren't answering so I sent the same message over and over again," Pinkie said. "Okay... what's it about?" I asked. "Rarity, AJ, RD, Shy, and I are here at Twilight's house to discuss bonding activities... and we bumped into someone that you might wanna meet," Pinkie said. "Alright, we're on our way now and Princess Twilight's going to follow us," I said and looked at the two Twilights, who are apparently discussing magic and science. "Okey dokie artichokie!" Pinkie said and hung up. "Come on, Twilights. Let's go to Sci-Twi's house," I said as I walked off. "What was that all about?" Princess Twilight asked. "Just some friendship emergency," I said. I wish I didn't say friendship emergency, I thought as I soon realized that Princess Twilight will rush at anything that involves friendship. "Let's go there now!" Princess Twilight said as she dragged me and Twilight. "I'd prefer to go there safely, thank you very much," I said and blushed in embarrassment. =========================== As Princess Twilight dragged Sunset and I to my house I noticed Sunset blushing. Does she like Princess Twilight? I frowned at the thought. "Twi? Twi? Hello? Sunset to Sci-Twi? What's got you so sad all of a sudden?" Sunset asked. "The thought of you liking Princess Twilight," I mumbled. "What was that?" Sunset asked. "Oh, just something, I guess," I replied. "Okay, whatever's bothering you, would be bothering me as well," Sunset said. "Well, thanks..." I trailed off, blushing because Princess Twilight was wiggling her eyebrows. "What?" Princess Twilight pretended that she didn't notice. "Whatever, alicorn," Sunset sneered. "Excuse me? You do know, I have contact with your Mom and you're an alicorn too," Princess Twilight. "Okay," Sunset mumbled once we got to the door of my house. "YOU'RE BACK!" Pinkie Pie said through her megaphone. Sunset, Princess Twilight, and I rubbed our ears due to how close Pinkie was to the three of us. "Pinkie, uh, you're too close to my face," I said turning crimson red. "So, how come Sunset can be really close to your face, darling?" Rarity asked with a sly smile. "We're best friends," Sunset said through a blush. Thank you so much. I think Cadence would refer you as my knight in leather jacket with a motorbike as a your steed, I giggled then closed my eyes to think of how Sunset would carry me and we'd ride to a castle. I opened my eyes only to see moderate cyan eyes looking at me. "Aah!" I screamed. "Sorry, Twi, Pinkie thought that I should kiss you to wake you up from your thoughts, though I think I was a little too much for you," Sunset blushed. "Eh... It was a good try, Pinks," someone with the similar voice of Sunset said. "Oh. Yeah forgot... Sunset, meet Sunset," Rainbow Dash said. "She's the one that I need to see for myself?" I asked. Applejack and Fluttershy nodded. "Hey, Sunset. You can call me Sun to not confuse the others," Sun said and held her hand out. "Okay, but I just noticed two things: You're wearing a CPA uniform and you wear glasses," Sunset pointed out and shook hands with her. "Er... I get that a lot but I just wear this when I have to go somewhere important... and when I bumped into them-" Sun pointed to the girls "-They said,'It's been a long time ever since we saw you four-eyed Sunset.' I have to admit, Pinkie remembers me the most ever since Kindergarten." "Well, since we're all here. I'll say what we'll be doing tomorrow," Pinkie said. "Go for it Pinks," Rainbow said. "Kay-kay, we'll be going to the arcade and after that, we'll be heading for a sleepover at my house!" Pinkie said and threw away her megaphone. "Oh, darlings, have you heard of the Red String of Fate?" Rarity said with her eyes showing glee. "The Red String of Fate? Isn't that a string that connects a person to their forever lover?" Sun asked. "Yes. And Applejack is my lover," Rarity said and latched arms with Applejack. "True. We've dated ever since the Friendship Games," Applejack said. "Cool. I wish I could find my partner like you two," Sunset said. "I'm in on the agenda for tomorrow!" Pinkie said, trying to change the subject. "'Shy and I are in," Rainbow said as she grabbed Fluttershy by the waist and pulled her close. "Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked. "D'aw... You found the red string too," Pinkie said happily. "Ever since we were heading here," Fluttershy said, and twirled her pinkie finger. Sun and Princess Twilight were looking at each other ever since we got here... I wonder if- I got cut off out of my thoughts when Princess Twilight and Sun screamed. "Where's the fire?" Rainbow asked with worry. "N-no fire. Just a red string," Sun said and seemed like she was pulling something with her pinkie finger. "Stop that," Princess Twilight scolded Sun and as if she was being tugged by an invisible force as Sun kept pulling something with her pinkie. "Aw... They found their red string," Sunset cooed and shot a look at me then quickly looked away. "Pinkie, are you the only one that doesn't have the string yet?" I asked. "Nope. Sour Sweet and I have been dating," Pinkie said. "Sour? What about the others?" Sunset asked while the couples around them were playing or making out. Thank goodness, my parents, brother, and sister-in-law aren't here. Cadence would be nudging me closer to Sunset if she was here, I thought and started to daydream... "Twilight?" Sunset asked and her face was really close to mine. "Huh?" I said and accidentally moved forward, which caused Sunset and I to fall. "I... uh..." Sunset was on the ground with a blush forming on here face. I got up and dusted myself off. I looked at Sunset's expression for one more time and lent out a hand to get her standing. She looked at it for a while until she accepted it. "Well, that's the agenda for today right?" Sunset asked. "Yep," the others said. "Okay, I'll be crashing here for tonight since Twilight's family is not here," Sunset said. "Okay," I said. "So, can I go with Sun?" Princess Twilight asked. Sunset nodded as Sun looked at her with pleading eyes. "You two have fun," Rainbow Dash teased and stifled a laugh. "Bye," Sun and Princess Twilight said as they zoomed off to Sun's house on a motorbike. "Well, bye girls, AJ and I have some business to attend to," Rarity said as AJ carried Rarity bridal style. "Yeah. It's getting late and Rainbow and I have to go to my house to take care of the animals and Tank," Fluttershy said. "Yeah. See ya!" Rainbow said and dragged Fluttershy outside. ======================= "Where's Pinkie?" I asked and looked for the pink, bubbly girl. "She's gone. Look, she left a note saying: 'I left after Rainbow and Fluttershy left. Have fun, you two,'" Twilight said. I slipped my hands into my jacket and felt something. "Huh?" I said as I looked at the picture: Twilight and I holding Spike. "Hey, Sunset, what do you have there?" Twilight asked and looked at picture. "Dang it Pinkie!" I growled when I pulled out a note in my jacket. It said or sang: "Sunny and Twily, Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" I didn't notice Twilight looking at the note. "H-how ch-childish, r-right?" Twilight stuttered. "Yep. Anyways, I'm going to head to your room. See ya," I said and headed upstairs. "Sunset!" Spike said and tackled me when I got in Twilight's room. "Hey, Spike. Who's a good boy? You are," I cooed and gave him a treat. "Oh, now I know why Twilight likes you," Spike said. "Wait. What?" I asked. "I said,'Now I know why Twilight considers you as a best friend," Spike said to cover up what he had just said. "Oh. okay," I said and jumped onto Twilight's bed. So, what now? I mean, your laying on a bed that Twilight sleeps on, Eclipse said. Sunset could either sleep now, wait for Twilight and sleep at the same time as her, or cuddle with Twilight for a while, Daydream said which earned a snicker from Eclipse. Hold up you two, only one of those are happening and I don't know. Now please shut the buck up, I told them in my thoughts. Okay, just blow her mind if ya want, Eclipse said and went away. Yeah, try to blow her mind, Daydream said and followed Eclipse. So, what to d- I got cut off my thoughts when Twilight entered the room wearing a pink tank top and purple shorts. "So, what do you think about my room?" Twilight asked. ============================ It took Sunset about 3 whole minutes to answer. "Cute looks it. GAH! I meant it looks cute," Sunset fumbled. "Oh. Thanks," I said and felt a nudge on my foot. I saw Spike, so, I bent down to pick him up. "Why don't I leave you two in this room?" Spike whispered. "What? Are you out of your mind?!" I whispered angrily. "Nope. Just wanna get you two alone together," Spike whispered before jumping from my arms. "Spike, I'm going to turn you in to a fish in the next few months," I growled. "You okay, Twilight?" Sunset said, getting up from her spot and walking up to me. "Yes. No. I don't know," I said before hugging Sunset tightly. "Okay, Twily, let's just sleep," Sunset said and carried me to my bed. "Sunset? Why did you just carry me to my bed when I can just walk there myself?" I asked with a blush. "Er... I don't want you to got tumbling on the bed and start beating yourself up because of something that you can't solve," Sunset said and put me down on my bed. "Thanks, Sunset," I said and closed my eyes. Go and hug her when you sleep, my self conscious Midnight said. Excuse me? I need to know if she's comfort- I was cut off to feel an arm wrapped around my waist. I turned around to face Sunset, who was asleep and smiling at the embrace she gave me. You were saying? Midnight chuckled. Puh-lease, I don't think Sunset has interests in humans. Example number 1 is Flash Sentry, who she used for popularity. I think Sunset is more interested in her kind, I told Midnight in thought. Why don't you ask her yourself tomorrow then? If she says she likes girls, ask her who. If she doesn't like girls, just don't show that you still like her, Midnight said and disappeared. After Midnight disappeared, I felt some slight movements. I turned around to see Sunset sitting on the edge of my bed. "Sunset? Is something up?" I asked. "I just don't know... If you felt me hug you, I am so sorry," Sunset said while turning red. "No, no. I kinda like the hug," I smiled and sat beside Sunset. "You're welcome..." Sunset trailed off. "Is there something else?" I asked, looking slightly concerned. "Would you mind me hugging you... just for tonight?" Sunset asked. "Oh. Oh. S-sure," I stuttered. Sunset smiled and held out a hand before saying,"Follow me." ========================= I held out a hand to Twilight, which took her about 2 minutes to accept it. After she held my hand, I started dragging her outside to her porch. "What are we doing outside?" She asked, through chattering teeth. "Oh buck. It's cold, isn't it?" I asked and draped my jacket over her shoulders. "Thanks. We are lucky Cadence isn't here huh?" Twilight chuckled. "Yep. I would kill myself if she starts asking me questions about you or what we did," I giggled. "Okay... again, what are we doing out here?" Twilight asked. "Oh. Just wanted to talk to you about the Red String of Fate under the sparkling stars," I started. "What about it?" Twilight asked. "I don't know, but I have a feeling that I'll never find a red thread connected to me and another person," I said and looked at the stars. "Why would you think that? Someone would be really lucky to have you connected to the end of their string," Twilight said and snuggled next to me as we looked up at the stars. "Really? Thanks Twilight. You know, I've been losing sleep ever since the Games," I said. "Why? I mean, I don't know if it's something about Equestria that's bothering you but whatever it is, I think I could help you," Twilight said and looked at me. "No, it's nothing about Equestria. It's just something that's brought me to question about us," I said. "U-us?" Twilight said with complete shock. "Huh? Oh, um, not 'us' like me and you, I meant 'us' like all the girls, me and you," I with such speed because I noticed what I just said. "Oh, okay," Twilight said. "Uh-huh. Well, let's head back inside, I'd hate it if you get sick before our bonding activity... but I'd be glad to take care of you if you did get sick," I said and carried her in my arms. "Ah! Sunset, a warning next time. You're starting to act like Pinkie multiplied by 2," she giggled. "Okay, my Princess," I smirked and pretended to drop her. "Sunset, bad pony. Bad alicorn!" Twilight giggled and playfully slapped my head. I giggled at the slap as I put her back down. Once she looked at me, I grabbed her arm and dragged her to her room. "Okay, goodnight, alicorn princess," Twilight giggled and jumped on her bed. "Okay... I made a mental note to never carry you like that anymore," I said as I jumped on the bed. For about 5 minutes of silence, both of us broke into laughter. "Okay. I'm serious. Goodnight Sunset," Twilight said as I wrapped an arm around her. "Nighty, night Twily," I joked and earned a pillow to my face. "S-shut u-up," Twilight stuttered. "Okay, okay. Night," I said as I hugged her close and slept. ============================================ I was sitting on one end of the bench while Sunset sat on the other side. For 3 minutes, Sunset has been showing me smiles. "Twilight, I need to tell you something," Sunset said and faced me. "What is it?" I asked and looked at Sunset. "I've been trying to tell you this for a long time and well... I hope by the end of our bonding activity with the girls, maybe we could be more than friends?" Sunset asked with worried eyes. "Sunset, I thought you don't like anyone or in your case, anypony. But I need to ask: Why me?" I asked with a smile. "Well, how do I list them down? Okay. You're cute, smart, funny, full of wonder, full of concern, you also have that potential of learning more, and so much more," Sunset said and grabbed my hands. "*sigh* Sunset, I really, really like you, but I just don't know what would happen next," I said and looked away from her. "Twilight," she tilts my head, so, I'm facing her again,"I like you too. I promise you that no matter what, I will never and I mean never drift away from you." Sunset had put a hand on my cheek and started to lean closer. I didn't know what to do, so, I followed her. Our faces were mere centimeters away and when Sunset was about to close the gap between us, we heard a loud feedback and stopped. "AW! SUNSET, JUST KISS HER!" Pinkie said through a megaphone and she was behind a tree. ==================================== "GAH!!!" I screamed and almost fell off my bed if Sunset didn't catch me. "What happened Twi? You made me really worried," Sunset said and pulled me closer to her, so, I won't fall backwards. "Just a really great dream, until Pinkie popped outta nowhere stopping me from getting my first kiss with..." I trailed off when Sunset raised an eyebrow. "First kiss with who in your dream?" Sunset asked. "Just the most enchanting, magical, and forgiving pony- er person ever," I sighed. "Is it... *gulp* me?" Sunset asked, turning crimson red. "I don't know..." I trailed off. "Well, who ever it is, I think they'll always care and love you," Sunset said as held my right hand. "Thanks, Sunset, and wow... it's 2:30 in the morning. Sorry, I woke you up," I apologized. "Don't be. As long as you're the one that woke me up, I won't mind," Sunset said and hugged me. I was taken aback from the embrace but I soon found myself sleeping in her arms. ==================================== As I hugged Twilight, I heard her cute snored. "Good night, Twilight," I said and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. "Good night, Sunset," Twilight mumbled in her sleep. I gave a small chuckle before going back to sleep. What I didn't notice when I dozed off is that I was still hugging her.