Act VI-IV
“Oh no! Oh nonononono! This isn’t happening—this can’t be happening!”
Some people worked better under pressure; some handled panic with an air of grace and dignity, as if their thoughts became focused into a laser. I was not one of those people. The last time I went into a full panic, I crash-tackled my friend in front of the whole school and nearly cost the Rainbooms the Battle of the Bands competition—or it would have, had the judging not been rigged beforehand.
I just wasn’t used to working under pressure. Throughout my entire life, up until the Fall Formal, rarely was I in a situation where I didn’t have complete control over the outcome. My tutelage under Princess Celestia represented the greatest challenges to be set against me, and I made them look like foal’s play. When you never needed to work under pressure, you never learn how to handle it.
And that inexperience was showing as my brain went through every stage of panic imaginable. It wasn’t too unlike the five stages of grief, except with less crying and higher blood pressure.
I continued to stare in disbelief through the window at my magic-infused friend performing what would otherwise have been an awesome rock performance. It wasn’t until a voice spoke up behind me that I remembered that I wasn’t alone.
“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked. It was clear she was worried and wanted to help, but was too polite to try and force her way into my problems, at least just yet.
“No, no! It’s fine. I’ve got this under control,” I blurted back to my friend, though I doubt my wide-eyed expression helped my argument. “I knew I shouldn’t have left Rainbow Dash alone. She’s always looking for an opportunity to show off! How could she be so careless?”
I must’ve been clenching my fists tighter than I thought because Twilight suddenly took me by the hand and turned me to face her. “Sunset, calm down,” she said in a firm but polite tone.
“Right. Calm. Of course,” I stammered back. “Can’t solve problems while panicking. I can fix this: m-maybe if I bash Lightning Dust over the head, she’ll forget everything she saw. That’ll fix things.”
Unsurprisingly, my suggestion of violence was poorly received. “Sunset!” Twilight snapped, shaking me a couple times. “You’re starting to scare me, so please talk to me.”
Her voice provided the necessary anchor to ground my thoughts until the initial burst of anxiety subsided. That didn’t leave me in any better of a state, but at least it wasn’t going to lead to any rash decisions.
“Oh sweet Celestia, I’m so doomed,” I groaned.
“What do you mean? Why?”
“Because Lightning Dust just saw Rainbow Dash pony up! Now everybody’s going to find out about the magic portal, and it’s gonna get taken away by some men in a black van, and I’m gonna wake up in a science lab with probes shoved into every one of my orifices! I like my orifices unprobed, Twilight! Unprobed!”
Even Twilight was taken aback by my remarks for a moment, no doubt because nothing I said would make sense to anybody other than myself. “Sunset, I need you to take a deep breath and calm down. Listen to the sound of my voice and take some nice, slow breaths,” she instructed.
I heeded her instructions, and with each inhalation, I could feel my heart beginning to settle once more. After several seconds with my eyes closed and only her voice to coach me along, I felt something resembling serenity return to my mind. I was, by no means, out of the woods just yet, but at least I could think straight again.
“Feeling better?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
I nodded slowly. “A little, yes.”
“Now, perhaps you can tell me what’s going on from the start.”
Was it really going to be as simple as that? As I stood outside my home, which a part of me was still worried might soon become an ex-home, I took a moment to consider my options in full. Maybe it was time to stop hiding from the truth and tell somebody what was really going inside the swirling, chaotic storm that was my mind. If anybody would understand my fears about Equestria and living as a pony-turned-human, it’d be Princess Twilight Sparkle.
What did I have to lose by telling her the truth?
With my thoughts under control again, I was able to focus and formulate a plan of action. I just had to tackle this one issue at a time.
“I’ll explain once we get you inside,” I said before grabbing Twilight by the wrist. “Also, I need you to be quiet and follow me upstairs. I promise it’ll make sense when I explain everything.”
With everybody at the party focused on Rainbow Dash and her extended guitar solos, it was easy to whisk Twilight past all of the crowds and upstairs to the relative safety of my bedroom.
Once I closed the door behind me, I felt a little more secure. “Okay, nobody should bother us here for a while,” I said, mostly to myself.
“What exactly is going on, Sunset?” Twilight asked. Her concern was evident, but so was a growing undertone of impatience. “I thought this was just a birthday party.”
“It is, but it’s gotten… complicated,” I tried to explain. Perhaps it was time to just be direct with it. “Listen, I made a new friend here: her name is Lightning Dust.”
“Why do you not sound happy about that?”
“I am, it’s just—” I stopped mid-sentence as I tried to pick my words carefully, but once again my compulsion to obfuscate was beginning to rear its ugly head. I knew I just needed to get it out into the open before my bad habits kicked in. “Lightning Dust goes to another school. She doesn’t know anything about magic, or at least I was trying to keep that part of our lives secret, but now Rainbow Dash just went and let that cat out of the bag.”
“Is it really that big of a deal if this Lightning Dust knows about your magic? I mean, I told Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and the others that I’m a pony princess and they accepted it. Plus, the whole school has seen us ponied up. What’s the problem with one more girl?”
“Well, it’s because she’s… uh, you know, it’s not like…” I began to stammer and fumbled with my words as my mind tried to apply logic to the situation. The more I tried to put a rational explanation to my worries, the more they felt overblown. The truth, I began to realize, was far simpler. “I… I’m just… what if it freaks her out? What if I lose her as a friend?”
Twilight put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I was worried about the same thing when I had to tell my friends about who I really was,” she said. “I know it can be scary, but if Lightning Dust is your friend, then you need to place your trust in her, and your friendship.”
For somebody who prided themselves on being so smart, I had to hear the same message a lot more than most people to get it through my skull. My fears and paranoia were getting in the way of me forming meaningful friendships with others. I needed to stop being afraid of the truth.
“Well, if Lightning Dust isn’t freaking out when I get downstairs, I suppose I can take that as a good sign she won’t when I tell her the whole truth,” I muttered to myself.
“If you’d like the moral support, I can go with you,” my friend offered.
I was just about to accept that offer when the other issue that had been plaguing my mind sprang to the forefront. “Yeah, about that,” I began with a nervous grin. “You see, there’s also the teeny, tiny issue that Lightning Dust might also happen to know the Twilight Sparkle that goes to her school.”
“Oh,” came Twilight’s response. “That might be a bit harder to explain.”
“Hence why we’re hiding upstairs,” I added. “Also, I haven’t told the others, but I sorta caught the other Twilight Sparkle snooping around our school and investigating the statue out front.”
“Investigating?”
“Our fight at the Fall Formal might’ve attracted some outside attention,” I explained. “People knowing about our magic is one thing, but the portal is our only link back home. If people find out about that, I could get stranded here and it could mean humans wandering into Equestria.”
“I could see that being problematic,” Twilight nodded in agreement, much to my surprise. “And I know how determined I can get when it comes to solving a mystery.”
Ever the problem-solver, Twilight began to pace back and forth across my room, one hand rested upon her chin and tapping the side of her face at a steady tempo. I hoped she could come up with a plan because the only thing that came to mind involved removing either Twilight or Lightning Dust from the party. Needless to say, that wouldn’t make me a very good friend to whichever one I chose, and thus only a choice of last resort.
“I’ve got it!” Twilight suddenly announced. “Rarity’s downstairs, right? I’ll need her help with this.”
“I’ll text her to come up here,” I said as I pulled out my phone. I didn’t even know what Twilight had in mind, but I knew it’d be better than anything I could devise. Just that fact alone was a huge relief to my already frayed nerves. One desperate and discrete message later, and Rarity was knocking on my door within minutes.
“Sunset? Are you in there?” she called out.
At first, I only opened the door a crack, just to make sure she was alone. “Quick! Get in before anyone sees you.”
Whatever confusion she might’ve held was brief as Rarity was soon elated with the sight of her friend. “Twilight! Darling, when did you arrive?” she exclaimed before she raced over and hugged her friend. “And why are on earth is Sunset hiding you up here?”
“Apparently, she’s a little worried because her new friend goes to school with this world’s version of me,” Twilight explained.
“Oh, right. Lightning does go to Crystal Heart,” Rarity said with an understanding nod. “I suppose that could make things a little confusing, but what’s wrong with just explaining the truth to her?”
“That Twilight and I are actually from a parallel dimension where everybody’s talking magical ponies?” I asked in a rhetorical fashion.
Rarity pursed her lips in thought for a moment before giving a reluctant nod. “Hm, I suppose that could be a little hard to swallow when you put it like that,” she mused. “I mean, it seems normal to me, what with all the demons and other magical monsters we’ve dealt with.”
“Perhaps one day our two worlds can have more open relations, but I don’t think it’d be fair for us to make that decision,” Twilight continued. “To that end, I was wondering if you could maybe help me with a disguise: like the one you had for me back when I first visited Canterlot High.”
The challenge was met with a trifling laughter from our fashionista friend. “Give me a few minutes, and I can have you looking so fabulous, even Flash won’t be able to recognize you.”
“Well, we don’t have to go quite that far,” Twilight replied with a faint blush.
With the Twilight problem being addressed, I felt confident enough to go downstairs and settle the issue with Lightning Dust. With luck, any sense of confusion and bewilderment at seeing Rainbow Dash sprout wings and float across the living room would’ve dissipated by now, and she’d be more receptive to an explanation. The fact that nobody was screaming bloody murder was a promising sign.
By the time I arrived back in the living room, the music had subsided and been replaced with ecstatic cheers. Unsurprisingly, Rainbow Dash was still on the far side with her guitar, bathing in the adoration of her peers. I pushed my way through the crowd until I eventually found Lightning Dust, who still stood wide-eyed and agape.
Despite all the panic going through my mind about how this conversation might go, I figured my best bet would be to pretend that everything that just happened was completely normal, which in a way it was for the rest of us.
“Hey, LD,” I greeted as I gave her a nudge with my elbow. “Pretty awesome show, huh?”
“Did… did I just see Rainbow Dash flying?” Lightning eventually stammered out. “Th-that was all just special effects, right?”
“Nope, that was all me!” Dash said as she joined us, having overheard the remark.
“Those are real?” Lightning said as she pointed to my friend’s wings. Still skeptical as to what she was seeing, she reached out and gave one of the wings a few tugs. “How is this even possible? Are… are you an alien?”
“Nothing so outlandish, it’s just magic,” I explained, continuing my matter-of-fact charade.
“Magic? Like ‘abracadabra’ sort of magic?”
Dash and I both nodded in the affirmative.
“Woah,” Lightning murmured under her breath. She tugged on Dash’s wing again, stretching it so that she could get a closer look at it. The mixture of confusion and awe on her face worried me, as I still couldn’t tell if she was going to freak out or accept our answer. Slowly but surely, and much to my relief, her eyes began to light up. “This. Is. Awesome! Oh my gosh, how fast can you fly with these? Can you transform at will? Is there any way I could do this too? This is so cool: it’s like something out of those silly cartoons my little sister watches!”
“Slow down there, Lightning,” Rainbow insisted before pulling her wing back in. “It’s better if you ask Sunset. I know I’m awesome and all, but she’s the real magic genius around here.”
Feeling a little embarrassed thanks to my friend’s praise, I tried putting on an air of humility with a sheepish chuckle. “I’m hardly a genius: I only just barely figured out how to activate the magic.” Despite having Lightning’s undivided attention, at least I didn’t have to worry about her freaking out anymore. “Anyways, it’s all a bit of a long story, but the short version is that my friends and I have this sort of… friendship-powered magic. So far it’s just us, it’s still a bit sporadic even at the best of times, and we’re really, really trying to keep this on the down-low.”
That look of puzzlement returned to Lightning’s expression. “Friendship magic?” she repeated. “That sounds a lot less cool when you say it like that. And was I the only person here who didn’t know about this?”
“Well we did kind of have a giant magical battle with Sunset in front of the whole school,” Rainbow Dash boasted as she playfully nudged me with her elbow.
Lightning looked to me once more with that expression that pleaded for clarification, like a puppy staring at a high-pitched whistle.
“You remember how I mentioned I had a bit of a bad phase?” I remarked with growing embarrassment. “I might’ve tried to… you know, use an ancient magical artifact to imbue myself with dark magic and take over the school.”
“Seriously?”
To which Lightning’s remark was answered by a near-unanimous ‘uh-huh’ from everyone else at the party.
“Raging she-demon and everything,” I added.
“And you’re all cool with her and just hang out together?”
There was another round of murmured confirmations, much to Lightning’s surprise.
“I feel like I’ve walked into a story that’s half-way finished.”
“Don’t you worry,” Rainbow Dash reassured her as she slung an arm across our newest friend’s shoulder. “You hang around us long enough, and you’ll hear all the stories soon enough. Spoiler alert, though: I save the day a whole bunch.”
“Okay, Dash, that’s enough. You don’t need to oversell us that much,” I reminded her. And just like that, a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Lightning Dust had learned about our magic and she didn’t immediately call the nearest psychiatric hospital. In fact, it seemed to make our friendship even stronger than it was before, or at the very least more enticing.
Perhaps now I could get back to enjoying my birthday party properly.
Before I could lose myself mingling with my friends and classmates once more, a flash of movement from the stairs caught my attention. It was Rarity, descending alongside a seemingly-unfamiliar girl. Given this mystery guest was wearing one of my hoodies and an old pair of jeans, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was Twilight Sparkle. She had donned a lengthy blonde wig and some large sunglasses to help obscure her identity further.
“Nice work there, Rarity,” I remarked as the pair approached me. “I almost didn’t recognize her for a second.”
“Do you think I look okay?” Twilight asked as she nervously twirled some of her ‘hair’ around one finger. Rarity had to swat her friend’s hand down before she accidentally tore off the wig.
“You look fine,” I reassured her. I draped an arm across her shoulders and started walking her towards some of the other party guests. “Now why don’t we find Flash? I’m sure he’s dying to see you again.”
Twilight tensed up for a moment, although her resistance to my guidance was a paltry show. “S-shouldn’t we go say hi to the other girls first?” she stammered at first. “We don’t need to do this right away.”
“Nonsense! There’ll be plenty of time for the rest of us to catch up. You’ve got to strike while the iron is hot!”
I had to admit, I was taking a far more vested interest in this arrangement than I should’ve. Considering everything I had gone through to make this happen, however, I felt justified in playing a more aggressive role. Besides, sometimes young love just needed a swift kick in the pants to get it moving.
We wormed our way through the crowded living room. Twilight’s disguise appeared to be working better than I hoped because nobody stopped to say hello to the Fall Formal Princess. The penultimate test came when we inadvertently bumped into Lightning Dust, who was making her way through the crowd in a hurry.
“Oh, sorry about that!” I apologized in haste. I felt my heart begin to tighten, as the next few seconds would determine whether our careful machinations were worth the effort.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Lightning replied. “Hey, have you seen my claymore anywhere? I lost track of it when Rainbow Dash did her music thing.”
How somebody could lose a five-foot slab of steel was beyond me, but it did sound important. “I think I saw Bulks with it last,” I said as I gestured off towards another part of the house.
“He better not be trying to one-hand it again.” Lightning was just about to head on her way, but stopped herself when she noticed my disguised friend. “Hey, who’s your friend here? I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”
“Oh. Uh, this is—”
“Amethyst Star,” Twilight introduced herself without missing a beat.
“Lightning Dust. Nice to meet’cha.”
I was just about to relax again when Lightning cocked an eyebrow and leaned in closer to Twilight for a moment. This party was becoming quite hazardous to my blood pressure.
“Say, have we met before? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.” Lightning pursed her lips, one hand resting on her hip and the other tapping upon her chin, all of which prompted me to quickly devise a half-dozen different escape routes. The curious teen leaned in ever closer with her face contorting as she sorted through every mental file she could.
Every passing second drew us closer to being discovered, and my own anxieties were stripping away at my mind like it were an onion. I was a fool for thinking such a haphazard disguise would be able to convince anybody with one functioning eye: the wig looked cheap and plastic, Twilight had way too much hair to hide, nobody could realistically hide their identity just by concealing their eyes and cheekbones, and she was still the same shade of purple as before. Our hubris was about to blow up in our face like a cheap science experiment volcano. I had to do something before I ruined one of the few good things still left in my life!
“Trottingham under-sixteen regional soccer championship?” Lightning asked, snapping me out of my panic.
Twilight offered a simple, apologetic shrug. “Sorry, but I’ve never been to Trottingham before,” she answered.
“Guess I must be going crazy. Anyways, I’ve got a sword to track down.” Convinced it was all in her head, Lightning Dust continued on her way, and I was able to step back from the edge of an anxiety attack.
It worked. I couldn’t believe the disguise actually worked. I wanted to drop to my knees and praise whatever powers that be for this small mercy, but I didn’t want to reveal how panic-stricken I had been to my friend.
“Huh, so that’s Lightning Dust,” Twilight remarked. “She seems nice.”
“Do you know her from the other side?”
“I’ve met a Lightning Dust, but only briefly. She was friends with Rainbow Dash while they were training at the Wonderbolt Academy.”
As curious as I was, I decided against probing any further. This Lightning Dust wasn’t the same as the one from Equestria, and I didn’t want to risk giving myself false impressions by hearing stories of the pony version of my friend. Anything worth telling I felt I would’ve already known.
We continued on, and I soon found Flash Sentry lounging with his bandmate friends. When he saw us approach, the confusion on his face was evident for a brief moment, but he soon began to put the pieces together and his expression lit up.
“Hey Sunset,” he greeted after he hurried over to us. “Is this… um—”
“It’s me, Flash,” Twilight said before lifting her sunglasses enough for him to see her eyes.
“I knew I recognized that smile,” Flash said, wasting no time in turning on his patented charm. I had to hide my snickering, but it also made Twilight blush a little. “So what’s with the get-up?”
“It’s a long story. There’ll be time to explain it all later, but just trust us when we say it’s for an important reason.” Twilight’s explanation was enough to sate the other teen’s curiosity for the time being. Compared to what everyone at Canterlot High had gone through over the past few months, something as mundane as wearing a blonde wig was a welcomed change.
“Now you two play nice,” I said as I gently eased my friend towards Flash. “And if you need privacy, you’re welcome to use my bedroom.”
The two of them immediately turned as red as a tomato, and after a few seconds, so did I as the implications of my remark set in.
“That sounded better in my head,” I muttered. “I… uh, I’m gonna go now.”
I made a hasty retreat before I made things more awkward for any of us, finding some refuge in the relative tranquility of the kitchen. I kept an eye on Twilight and Flash; I watched as they began to talk. He smiled and said something that made Twilight laugh, then soon he was laughing as well. I remembered when we used to do the same as well, although I was usually faking it. At least now Flash might have a chance with somebody who’d appreciate him for who he was.
“A bit unusual to be standing on the sidelines at your own party,” a familiar voice perked up behind me. I turned around to see Celestia at the kitchen island, in the midst of preparing a sprawling birthday cake covered with strawberries and rainbow sprinkles. “Or are you just taking a moment to enjoy the fruits of your labour?”
“I guess you would know what that feeling is like,” I remarked as I shot back a playful smirk. I walked over to inspect the cake, or at least pretend to.
Celestia was still placing the candles, of which she had about a dozen set down already. “If you enjoy seeing those around you succeed, perhaps you should consider teaching as a career,” she suggested. Pausing for a moment, she did a quick count of the candles already placed. “I realize this sounds a little foolish but… how old are you exactly?”
“Just go with eighteen,” I answered.
“Is that the truth?”
“No, but the truth is irrelevant at this point.”
Celestia raised a concerned eyebrow. “I don’t quite follow what you mean.”
Letting out a quiet sigh, I grabbed a stool and parked myself on the opposite side of the island from her. “The way I see it, however old I was before stepping through that portal is meaningless. It’s like what you said to me when you first took me in: I was in such a hurry to stop being a child that I never actually matured past that. I think the portal recognized that, too, so when it spat me out in this world, it put me into a body that reflected my emotional maturity. And really, when we first met, would you have pegged me as anything other than a typical self-absorbed fourteen-year-old?”
Slowly, Celestia nodded in understanding. “That is certainly true, though you’ve come a long way since your first days at Canterlot High.”
“Plus, I got myself checked by a doctor last year, and he said my growth plates put me somewhere in the mid to late teens.”
“You know, you could’ve just led with that,” Celestia remarked with a brief chuckle.
I couldn’t help but laugh along with her. “But that wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting to talk about.” Once we settled down, I gave her a heartfelt smile. “Thanks for letting us have the party here. If we had tried something this big at Pinkie’s place, it probably would’ve driven her parents mad.”
“It was the least I could do.” It shouldn’t have surprised me that she had been willing to play host. “I must admit, though, I made the offer because this birthday is clearly an important point in your life, and I selfishly wished to be involved in it while I still could.”
“While you still could? I don’t understand.”
With everything she’d done so far to help me on my recovery, a little party was likely a triviality, and especially when compared to the task of managing an entire school. It also spoke volumes to how the students felt about her that they were all willing to hang out and have a party right in front of her. Canterlot High was turning out to be the best place for my rehabilitation.
“As I said, you’ve made a lot of progress since the Fall Formal,” Celestia answered. Her eyes fell to the cake she was preparing, planting each candle one at a time with care and precision. “Certainly exceeded every expectation I had for you, and then some.”
“To be fair, nobody expected somebody would try to take over the school using Equestrian magic a second time,” I remarked. My attempt at levity did little to change Celestia, which forced me to consider her words further. “Wait, are you worried that I won’t need you anymore?”
“I’ll always be here if you need me,” she reassured, “but I’m not going to be surprised if that’s few and far between anymore.”
I reached across the island and set my hand atop of hers, hoping that the momentary contact would help make my words more meaningful. “Celestia, I wouldn’t be where I am if it hadn’t been for you,” I reminded her. “And the peace of mind knowing that you’ll always be there for me when I’m feeling lost or alone is one of the best things you’ve ever given me.”
Celestia smiled back. “It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”
I wanted to say something else, something to add to my remarks to make it more poignant, but instead all I could do was smile. That probably conveyed more meaning than anything I could’ve thought of.
The moment was short-lived, however, when Rainbow Dash barged into the kitchen. “Sunset! Come quick, we’re going to have a guitar shredding free-for-all between you, me, Trixie, and Flash!”
I shot a quick glance back to Celestia, not necessarily looking for permission but rather to ensure that she’d be okay without me.
“Oh, get going,” she said while shooing me away. “You wouldn’t want to keep your fans waiting too long.”
*******************
By the time the party had settled down, it was late in the evening. We sang, we danced, we laughed, and we stuffed our faces with so much cake that I didn’t even want to think of anything sweet for the rest of the night. And needless to say, I was dead on my feet as I shuffled back into the living room where the last party guests, my closest friends, were.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank goodness that’s finally over,” I said with a weary groan.
Once I had reached the couch, I unceremoniously collapsed into its warm embrace between two of my friends. On one end was Applejack, who slouched low and had her feet up on the coffee table, and on the other side of the couch, Pinkie Pie was collapsed across the cushion and armrest like some kind of giant pink cat.
“I’m party pooped,” Pinkie declared to nobody in particular.
“Can’t… move… too much cake…” came Rainbow Dash’s slothen whimpers. She was beneath the coffee table, having taken refuge there a short while ago so that she could lay down without anyone tripping over her.
Fluttershy and Rarity were sharing one of the easy chairs, both having fallen victim to post-party napping. I would’ve offered either of them a spot on the couch, but I didn’t have the heart to wake them up.
In fact, the only one of my close friends not already collapsed in a tired heap was Princess Twilight, who was saying goodbye to the last our of party guests. Given how it had been more than fifteen minutes since she walked Flash Sentry to the door, it was probably more than just a farewell. My suspicions were only furthered when she returned, sporting a hint of crimson upon her tired expression.
“So how did it go?” I asked, mustering what energy I had left for a Cheshire grin.
Twilight must’ve caught on to my insinuations, or at least imagined something equally embarrassing because she turned an even deeper shade of red. “W-what? N-nothing happened! We just talked,” she stammered.
“Something totally happened,” I chuckled and gestured for my friend to join me on the couch, shuffling over just enough to make room for her. “Come on, no need to be shy among friends.”
Twilight accepted the invitation, taking a seat next to me in just as tired a fashion as I had. “I haven’t danced that much since the Fall Formal,” she remarked as she pulled off her wig.
“Yup, that was one hay of a party,” I nodded in agreement. “Though next time, maybe we can make it a smaller affair. The big party was nice and all, but now my feet hurt and I’m pretty sure Luna is gonna have a fit when she sees what we did to her Alpine Mist supply.”
“But you had fun, right?”
“Of course I did, Twilight,” I replied, “but let’s not get focused on me. It’s time to spill the beans.”
“S-Sunset, please,” Twilight pleaded as she wrung her hair. “Flash and I talked for the most part.”
“And?”
Twilight began to fidget in her seat, one finger twirling at her hair while the other tapped on the couch cushion. “He… um, might’ve possibly suggested the idea that we could consider going on a… uh, date.”
Suddenly, Rarity bolted upright, no doubt awoken by the siren’s call of romance in the air. “Did somebody say date?” she called out.
“Looks like Flash finally popped the question,” I answered with a teasing chuckle.
“Oh, that’s wonderful, darling!” Rarity exclaimed. The news seemed to have reinvigorated her as she hopped from her chair and hurried over to her friend’s side. “Did he suggest someplace romantic? I know this lovely little bistro downtown that serves the most eloquent candlelight dinner for the couple on a budget.”
“He didn’t suggest anything specific: he just asked that if I had free time that maybe we could have lunch or dinner tomorrow,” Twilight answered.
“That sounds like Flash alright,” I remarked. “He likes to start things slow and simple; he won’t break out any of the really charming stuff until the third date.”
“So when’s the big day?” Rarity continued to interrogate our friend.
Twilight gulped and donned an apologetic grin. “I… um, said I’d have to check my calendar.”
“You what?” Rarity and I shouted in unison. It was loud enough to startle the rest of our friends, particularly Fluttershy who let out a yelp as she flailed and fell out of her seat in a half-asleep panic. There was also a loud thump from the coffee table, no doubt from Rainbow Dash forgetting what she had been resting beneath.
“I said I’d have to see how my schedule was,” Twilight reiterated. “I have a lot of responsibilities back in Equestria, remember? I can’t just brush those off.”
“But Twilight, this is young love we’re talking about! You can’t just squander that,” Rarity pleaded with her, grabbing Twilight by the shoulders in the process. “You must seize the opportunity while the fires of passion are still burning bright!”
“Rarity, he’s been pining for her since the Fall Formal,” I reminded her. “I think their love will survive a few days while Twilight checks her schedule.”
As Rarity relaxed her grip, I eased her away. Twilight may have been the Princess of Friendship, but she was as inexperienced as the rest of us when it came to matters of love, and I didn’t think she needed more anxiety on top of what she must’ve already been feeling. As was stated, she had responsibilities, and she was mature enough to know what was more important in the grand scheme of things.
“First chance I get, I’ll go back to Equestria to check to see when I’m free,” Twilight explained. “I don’t suppose anybody has any books on courtshipping norms in this world? J-just in case there’s any differences from those in Equestria.”
“Don’t worry; it’s pretty much the same,” I reassured her while the others giggled amongst themselves. “Why don’t you stay the night? I can give you some advice if you really want to score points with Flash.”
“That’d be great, if Celestia doesn’t mind me staying.”
“Don’t worry, we were already planning on crashing for the night,” Applejack stated.
Despite her exhaustion, Pinkie still managed a quiet cheer as she threw a hand into the air. “Woo, slumber party!”
“Oh! Speaking of party, we almost forgot the most important part.” Rarity’s look of surprise left me confused for a moment, as I had thought we finished all the crucial stuff. The girls even sang me ‘Happy Birthday’ and made me make a wish before blowing out the candles. It all made me feel a little childish, but my friends—and especially Pinkie Pie—helped me to understand it was okay to stop acting your age once in a while.
As Rarity raced out of the room, I was left to stew in my curiosity while all the other girls looked at me with excitement on their faces. Something big was on its way, but for once, I was looking forward to this surprise. The wait wasn’t long: Rarity soon returned to the living room carrying several boxes of varying sizes, all wrapped in bright and colourful paper.
“Yay! Time for presents!” Pinkie cheered.
“Oh my goodness,” I gasped. “Girls, you didn’t have to get me these.”
“It’s hardly a birthday without presents, darling,” Rarity assured me. “Besides, we wanted to. You are our friend, after all, and I simply couldn’t let you go around wearing those hoodies day in and day out.”
“Come again?”
My question was answered by her putting the first of the boxes into my lap, and gesturing for me to open it up. Just one look at the immaculate and shimmering pink wrapping and the silky ribbons was enough to confirm that this had been hand-wrapped by Rarity. I almost felt bad when I began to tear away at it, spurred on by insatiable curiosity. Inside the gift was a brand new leather jacket; it had a more contemporary style as opposed to my old ‘biker chick’ look, with a shorter cut and cuffed sleeves.
“Rarity, it’s gorgeous! Did you make this yourself?”
“But of course,” Rarity boasted. “A special moment like this requires a special touch. And Fluttershy helped pay for the materials.”
“I think I’ve got the perfect top to go along with this.”
“Open mine next!” Pinkie exclaimed as she shoved the next box into my hands. “This one’s from me and Rainbow Dash!”
“This isn’t going to explode in a blast of confetti when I open it, will it?”
“Uhhhhh… I plead the fifth.”
As it turned out, she was just pulling my leg because when I opened her gift, all I found were a pair of boots. It was hard to say which had impressed me more: the boots or the jacket. They were calf-high with a solid heel on them, which meant they were going to be both stylish and practical. I also noticed both the boots and the jacket shared an orange chevron marking on them, which led me to correctly guess that Rarity had some inspiration for the design of her coat in order to make them the perfect pairing.
“These are incredible!” I exclaimed. “I can’t wait: I have to try them on now!”
To no surprise, they fit like a glove, but what could one expect from Pinkie, the girl who epitomized party perfection. I did a few laps around the couch to try them out, and they were surprisingly comfortable. I could likely go an entire day through school with ease while wearing them. Next, I threw on the matching jacket and did a quick pirouette to showcase my new look to my friends.
“Now be honest, how do I look?”
“Absolutely fabulous, dear!” Rarity exclaimed. She did always take a certain degree of joy seeing her friends enjoying her creations, and I felt surprisingly invigorated by the new attire. The others nodded in agreement soon after.
“Heh, you know, I wish I had gone first ‘cause now mine’s probably gonna look boring in comparison,” Applejack commented as she handed me the last of the presents.
“Don’t be so modest,” I reassured her. “Not everything needs to be frilly or glamourous to be special.”
I wouldn’t expect fancy clothes or pretty boots from someone like Applejack. Knowing her, it’d be something much more practical, but memorable all the same. Upon opening her gift, I was greeted to the sight of a messenger bag, which had embroidered on its surface an image of my cutie mark. Granted, my friends only knew it as the symbol on my magic journal, but seeing it presented to me still made me feel a little teary-eyed.
“It’s beautiful, Applejack.”
Despite the minor hiccups and mishaps, the day had turned out to be one of the best birthday’s I’d ever had.
Stats
Page generated in 0.04 seconds
Total duration
973 users online
416,238 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I can't seem to remember whether the Sunset's friends already know she's friends with the Human Twilight... Great chapter nonetheless.
The syntax here is a little odd. Maybe something more like, "Dash said as she joined us, having overheard the remark," would be better.
Can't wait for more!
But anyway, this story if great!
Glad to see everything worked out for Sunset here. She really deserved a great birthday and those gifts at the end was a perfect way to transition into the next phase of her life. I can't wait to see what comes next!
8410958
Nope. That timebomb has yet to go off.
I'm hoping Sunset pairs up with Sci Twi.
That my fav pairing!
8410958
8411094
Hah. If they'd known about Sci-Twi, Pinkie would have popped out of her 8th Edition and dragged her through bookspace to the party before she knew what was happening.
I just finished every single chapter of this story, and while I have enjoyed the ride very much so far, I can't help but feel a little disappointed by how little Sci-Twi there is.
Loved this story! I kept bouncing from this...
derpicdn.net/img/2013/1/5/203131/medium.gif
...to this...
images.wikia.com/mlp/images/e/e1/FANMADE_Luna_I_see_what_you_did_there.jpg
..to this...
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120621071403/mlpfanart/images/c/c9/Lyra_'Oh_you'_reaction_pic.jpg
Rarity, professional romantic
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a rainbow seen over Celestia's house that night!
She's been building this house of cards up for so long now, that I'm genuinely worried about how bad the collapse is going to be. Everything is going well for her right now - albeit in an unusual manner - and, quite frankly, I don't see any way for it to remain so... someone please hold me, I'm scared....
Anyway, fantastic chapter, as usual! I missed this story so much!
Very sweet chapter, especially the scene between Sunset and Celestia.
"Now everybody’s going to find out about the magic portal, and it’s gonna get taken away by some men in a black van, and I’m gonna wake up in a science lab with probes shoved into every one of my orifices! I like my orifices unprobed, Twilight! Unprobed!”
By far the best freak out I have ever read.
“This is like the sequel to the movie I missed.”
Also, the bolded Are should be “And,” I think.
I loved the explanation regarding Sunset's age, it completely avoids a straight answer while explaining why we don't need one. Of course, if that's the reason then why would Twilight be the same "age", unless it's because it tries to match with any doppelgangers. If it isn't that, maybe the mirror just tries to conserve mass and since ponies are smaller it gives them smaller bodies?
Oh Sunset, you had a perfect chance to go over the Sci-Twi is Secretly Your Friend issue with Pony-Twi, and you missed it. The Friendship Games are coming up (and we really need to see how Sombra gets replaced with Cinch), you don't have much time.
8419844
It really gets confusing the more you try to think about it...
I mean, if you go by what's in the movies I think the only explanation that can satisfy all the canon facts is that time in EqG world moves significantly faster than in Equestria, which is how Twilight can go through all her schooling under Celestia and become an alicorn in the five years or so that Sunset's been in the human world.
This is just me giving up and going 'fuck it, it doesn't matter!'
I wished you updated this more often. I always forget why this is one of my favorite of all time stories because of how few and far between the updates are.
Loved this one, and it raises the question in my mind just who is the true queen of the freakout, given Sunset's performance. I love your use of the dialogue and your clearly evident understanding of the characters, and this whole story flows very nicely. You are very good at this fanfic stuff.
SciTwi incoming
Hmmm. That's not implying anything.
Chapters that proceed unfortunate events