The Sunlight Theory
When stuck on a coach bus for nearly an entire day, you have time to think whether you want to or not. There was only enough times you can listen to "Mrs. Robinson" on loop before it got tired. Coo coo cachoo.
On the hours and hours of the trip, I had to come up with something. I needed the perfect plan to patch things up with Sunset. I needed to make my happy ending.
I had a few phone calls to make, but it would all be worth it if I could pull it off.
I let out an overjoyed squeal as a single bar appeared at the top of the phone. I had earned a few awkward looks from my fellow sardines in the can, but I ignored them. What mattered was that I got into contact with everyone that propped me up during my experiments with love.
I dialed Lemon Zest first.
“Yo, Twilight, what’s up?” Lemon said, bright hum and everything.
“I need your help,” I said, urgency in my voice. “I’m in Mexicolt, and—”
“Say no more,” Lemon interrupted. “My big sis was arrested in Cantercun on spring break last yea—”
“No, it’s not that!” I shot back, cutting her off. “I just need you and the rest of the girls to do something for me.”
Lemon hummed. “Yeah, sure, anything? What’cha need, girl?”
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but remember that night we snuck around Crystal Prep?”
—☀—
“Hey, Rarity?”
“Oh, Twilight!” she practically gasped into the speaker. “Are you okay, dear? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you since you left. Sunset was just absolutely devastated when we told her you ran away to Mexicolt.”
I winced, staring out the window. The only thing I found was the endless expanse of desert on the other side. “Oh, jeez. Tell her—actually, don’t tell her anything yet. I don’t know.”
“You can’t just ghost her like that,” Rarity countered, frustration in her voice. “In case you forgot, dear, she’s my friend, too.”
“I know.” I sighed into the speaker. “Listen, I’m coming home, like, right now. I just want it to be a surprise.”
I could hear the excitement jump back in Rarity’s voice. “Are you going to be able to make it in time for the Spring Fling?”
I grimaced. “No. The bus I’m on won’t arrive until after midnight.”
Rarity sighed. “Well, I suppose everything can’t just wrap itself up neatly.”
“No, it won’t,” I said curtly. “But that’s not stopping me.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I think Sunset’s going to want you here for the Spring Fling princess crowning,” Rarity responded. I gritted my teeth, just realizing I was going to miss that as well. “It means a lot to her.”
“Just be there for her when it happens,” I said, shifting in my seat. “If she asks about me… tell her I just need some time to think. I want to surprise her when I get back.”
“…Okay, dear, but—”
“And one last thing,” I said, clutching the phone against my cheek.
“Yes?” she asked in a hum.
I paused for a moment. “Get the other Rainbooms. I have a gig for them.”
—☀—
After carefully detailing my plan to Rarity, I called Pinkie Pie. I should have held the phone away from my ear.
“Twilight!” Pinkie screamed into the speaker. “I was worried you’d never come back after you ghosted Sunset! I thought that you would be in a small farm raising alpacas!”
I chuckled politely and fought the urge to tell her alpacas aren’t native to Mexicolt. “I’m fine, Pinkie. I just needed time away from— well, everything.”
“I feel that, girl,” she responded, chipper as always. “Sometimes, I just wanna climb into my party cannon and fire myself off in a random direction. Let the wind carry me and the confetti anywhere.”
“That’s almost profound, Pinkie."
“Thanks!”
Shaking my head, I focused as to why I called her in the first place. “Listen, Pinkie, I need a favor.”
“Oki-doki, what is it?”
—☀—
I looked down at my phone and winced at the missed calls from my mom, dad, my brother, Cadance, and even my friends. Sending a quick few texts to confirm I hadn’t been left to die in the desert somewhere only seemed to make the calls even more frequent. I shut off my phone and tried not to think about how much trouble I was in after this was all over.
The bus stopped to refuel in a small town just past the Mexicolt border. I was almost home. One more leg of a few hours, and I would be there at around twelve thirty in the morning. I took a look at my phone. It was five after six, and I had over twenty missed calls. By now, the Spring Fling was officially on inside the CHS gym.
I imagined arriving just in time to catch Sunset at the entrance to Canterlot High. If I had made the flight, I would have made it. I’d be jumping out the bus and leaping into her arms, breathless but happy.
Instead, I was in a desert town, waiting for a bus to fuel up.
At this moment in time, I was hundreds of miles away from Canterlot, but I was hundreds of miles closer than when I started the day.
I swiped away all the missed calls and texts but found myself looking at a string of messages from Rainbow Dash. It was a picture of me and Spitfire from our earlier rush through Mexicolt City with a message under it that read, “EXPLAIN.”
I shut my phone off again.
In the distance, the sun began to fall over the horizon. Orange shades rose up from the ground in the distance, meeting the dark purple of the sky.
Sunset, Twilight.
Everything was still, save for the chatter of the other riders and the hum of the engine. I watched the wind blow at a row of desert trees. Despite how much the plant bent, it never broke, resilient to whatever nature threw at it. An arid environment nor the desert winds could snap its resolve.
Then my gaze fell on a single cactus, a lonely looking barrel that sat alone off the side of the road. Its harsh exterior of spikes was there only to protect the precious water it held inside. At the top of the cactus grew a single flower, bright red—growing strong despite the dry environment.
The roar of the bus coming back to life cut me off from my thoughts, and we were heading northwest.
I was chasing sunsets.
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
It was past midnight by the time the bus arrived in Canterlot. Once I got past the city limits, I texted Cadance to pick me up at the bus station. The battery was low, so I shut my phone off, which spared me from any potential lectures.
I had never expected my phone to be this useful, especially during that day a few months back when my Crystal Prep friends badgered me to get one. I made a mental note to thank them because none of this would happen without them. I couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly things changed.
I stepped off the bus, only to get immediately tackled by Cadance.
“Oh, thank goddess you're safe!” she cried, bringing me in for a tight hug. “What the heck were you thinking just hopping on a bus from a different country like that!?”
“I wasn’t,” I answered. “For once, I’m happy I didn’t think.”
Cadance perp-walked me to her car, and I shuffled into the back after noticing a familiar face in the driver’s seat.
“Someone’s in trouble,” teased my brother, stretching out the last word childishly. The situation must have been bad if it was enough to get him off from work. I simply just ignored him and plugged my phone into the car’s charger. “I was worried, too, you know.” His tone didn’t make it feel like a lecture, which I appreciated. “You’re supposed to be the good one.”
The good one. Those were the same expectations I ran from at Crystal Prep. They were the same ones I forced on Sunset.
“Your parents aren’t happy, Twilight,” Cadance said, using her ‘Dean Cadenza’ voice. “Just call them and tell them you’re safe.”
“Okay,” I said with a little nod. I stared at my phone, dreading the last phone call of the night I had to make. With a deep breath, I called my dad. He was always a bit softer with me. I stared out the window as the phone rang.
“Nice try,” said my mother from my dad’s phone. Shining laughed, and Cadance smacked his shoulder. “You’re grounded until you deliver me grandkids. Until my grandkids have grandkids!”
“Yeah, I thought so.” There was something oddly freeing about being in trouble. “Though, to be fair, I’m gay.”
“Exactly,” was her response. She always knew just what to say. “Now tell me, who gave you the bright idea to steal a stunt car, and my leading actress off my set just to bum a ride, so you can hop on the first bus home? I’m not above firing your father. And if it was Spitfire, I’m getting a new Daring right—”
“Yearling did, Mom.”
“Of course she did!” She let out a frustrated grunt. “The one person on this set I can’t replace.”
Cadance put her hand on my shoulder, lending silent support.
“Get some sleep, Mom,” I said. “You can yell at me in the morning.”
She sighed, and I felt the tension drain from her. “I was scared, Twilight.” Her voice warbled. “Don’t worry me like that, and promise me not to ever do anything that stupid again.”
“I won’t.” That was a complete lie. “Night, Mom.” I had one big dumb stupid rebellious teenager thing left to get out of my system. I looked to Cadance and Shining, waiting a minute or two before asking: “Can you drive me to CHS?”
“At this hour?” asked Dean Cadenza. She shook her head. “Absolutely not, Twilight. You’ve tempted fate enough already. You’re getting into trouble, sneaking out at night. What could possibly make the brightest girl I know be such a mess sometimes?”
Shining chuckled. “I think that’s a question Cadance knows the answer to, not the Dean.”
She looked at him with a glare that was more confused than annoyed. “What are you talking about?”
“I thought you’d understand more than anyone, Counselor Matchmaker.” Shining smiled, the same boyish grin that won her over every time. “She’s in love.”
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
I tried to convince Shining and Cadance that it was okay to just drop me off and go, but they insisted on parking just up the street and watching in case anything happened, which, after considering my behavior these past few months, wasn’t totally uncalled for.
I walked down the Canterlot High sidewalk until I was right in front of the Wondercolt statue. I took a seat in front of it and pulled out my phone. This time, I didn’t overthink what I was going to say.
-I’m sorry. Can I see you?
My hands shook as I sent it. I came all this way, so I had to commit to it. I wanted to, but that didn’t make the nerves go away.
-I’m at CHS right now. I want to make things right with you.
I watched the little text dots for what felt like hours. My chest burned, and I had to force myself to breathe. Please.
Then the dots stopped. My body felt hollow, and I stuffed my phone into my pocket and took a deep breath. I told myself that she was just having trouble responding. But as the minutes went on, dread began to set in. I screwed up. There was no getting around that. She had the right to be upset.
I could already tell that Shining and Cadance were getting a little antsy. I looked at my phone again. Still no message. I decided to give her a few more minutes.
Deep breaths. Don’t think. I closed my eyes, mostly to try to snuff out the tears forming.
By the time I was sure she wasn’t coming, I saw a text from Rarity.
-Sunset’s with me
-We’re on our way.
I nodded, hugging the phone close to me, and I was okay to wait however long it took. Then I tried to get my brother to drive off by letting him know I had a ride home with Rarity.
They waited as I did, and didn’t seem content to leave until Rarity pulled in in front of the school in her mom’s minivan. She was the first to get out, and I didn’t blame Sunset for not jumping out to see me.
Rarity rushed to me, and I knew I deserved whatever she told me.
“How is she?” I asked, a bit ashamed, but I needed to feel that.
“You’re lucky she had me and the girls with her tonight.” Her arms were crossed, and she glanced back at Sunset in her car. “I know you did what was right for you, but that affects her, too.”
“Yeah, I know,” I sighed. “Thanks for being there for her. I’m grateful to have you and the girls. And thank you for helping set this up. I hope I didn’t ask too much from you.”
“We love you both,” she said, letting it sit there. “There isn’t anything we won’t do.” She looked back to Sunset for a moment, just as I was noticing she’s been in there for a while. “Should I leave you two alone?”
“Yeah, I’ve held it off long enough.”
Rarity squeezed my arm as she began to step past me. “I’ll be waiting for you inside.”
I nodded, and took in a breath as I stepped to the car, where Sunset had waited.
It was her. She seemed to almost hesitate leaving the car, but she stepped out anyway. It was her. Her hair, once perfectly styled for the Spring Fling in an intricate weaving, had loosened over the night. She had thrown on her jacket over her dress, but I still caught a glimpse at the sash around her. She won, and I was glad for her.
It was still her.
I came all this way—through deserts, parades, across countries— and I didn’t know what to say.
Sunset spoke first. “Twilight, I—”
“Shh,” I hummed. “Let’s do something stupid. Right now. We can talk about it soon. I just want to be with you.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t confident in her answer, and that was okay.
I took her hand and led her across the campus. An eerie silence surrounded the school, but I didn’t care. No one would bother us here. I rushed up to the steps of the school and simply pulled the door open. I didn’t care if Cadance and my brother were still watching.
“How did you?”
“I called some friends for a favor,” I said, my shoulders relaxing. Thankfully, my Crystal Prep friends delivered in unlocking the school and disabling the alarms. Part one of the plan went off without a hitch.
I led Sunset down the quiet halls. The school was creepier at night. It felt like something would jump out from around the corner at any moment. And the hallway with the perpetually broken lights looked even darker somehow. However, it was the same school as always, which made it easier to navigate with just my phone’s flashlight.
Eventually, we reached the entrance to the gym.
“Twilight,” she called. “Why are we here?”
“I rode on a bus for hours, so I could get my dance with you,” I answered, pushing open the door. “I’m getting my dance.”
I took her hand, and we walked inside. It was dark, and I felt my legs trudge through the leftover streamers and confetti from the Spring Fling.
We were a few steps into the gym before a spotlight centered on us both. Shielding my eyes for a moment, I was able to make out Indigo Zap manning the spotlight. She gave me an excited pair of thumbs up.
Right after, the entire room lit up. I turned to the door and caught Lemon Zest, leaning against the wall, the gym’s light switch to her left. And on her right, draped on her arm—to my surprise—was Sunny Flare, her own hand locked with Lemon’s.
“Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet are on lookout, Twi. You’ve got this place ’til five, then we gotta dip,” Lemon said, completely not acknowledging her holding Sunny’s hand.
I grinned at them. “How’d this happen?”
“I asked!” Sunny said, beaming.
I giggled at the response , then led Sunset to the center of the gym, the spotlight following us all the way.
The stage sat on the other side of the gym, which had been set up for the Spring Fling earlier in the night. Rarity and the rest of the Rainbooms were there, on their instruments and ready to play.
Then a dreamy chord resonated through the room.
Rarity had written one song for the Rainbooms. It sat in the back of their songbook, purposefully ignored by Rainbow Dash, who insisted on sticking to rock. I simply just gave them an excuse to play it, one that Rainbow couldn’t say no to.
Pinkie, showing some restraint, slowly dragged her hand across the wind chimes, filling the room with an airy sound.
Finally free from her keytar, Rarity sat at a real piano, playing a simple, listless melody. She sang into the microphone in a way that sounded like she was whispering into your ear. And she sang it just for us.
“Thank you for this,” Sunset said into the nape of my neck.
I held Sunset in my arms as we slowly danced to the song. One moment felt like forever, and I almost wanted it to go on, but life never gives you that option to just end moments cleanly. Eventually, we had to break away, and the song had to end.
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·☀·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
Sunset and I sat at the steps leading into CHS. The sky had taken on a rosy color as the morning slowly came around. Streaks of light passed through the cracks of buildings. The party had ended, and the rest of the girls went home. It was just the two of us sitting there.
"I used to get up just before the sun would rise.” Sunset’s voice was soft.
I looked over to her. "Hmm?"
“Back when I was a filly, I would wake up and race to the castle's balcony every morning, just so I could watch Princess Celestia raise the sun," she continued. A ray of sun fell across her cheeks. She squinted, her eyes tearing up before she blinked it away. "The way the morning light shined through her mane was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
I sat there, deciding to just stay quiet and listen.
"After bringing light to millions of ponies across the world, her next order of business was to brush my mane—since I’d always forget to do it on my rush to see her.” Sunset forced a laugh. “I never actually forgot. I think she knew that, too."
I couldn't help but laugh.
“That’s the first story you shared with me about your past,” I said, mostly noting it to myself. “It’s cute.”
Sunset hugged her knees. “I… haven’t been too honest about that time in my life. It wasn’t right to keep avoiding it like it didn’t happen, but I thought if I could learn from it and be a better person, I could move on.”
I nodded. “I haven’t been right to you, either.” I slowly swiped my hand against the steps and felt the cool stone against my palm. “I shouldn’t have forced you talk about it, and I was wrong to pry. And I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to tell me or hide it. Whatever happened before I met you, you don’t have to tell me.”
I set my hand on hers, and she accepted it.
“Thank you.” Sunset seemed to drop her shoulders.
I held her hand for a moment and bit my cheek as I knew where the conversation had to go next. “I’m sorry for leaving you like that, the night of the pageant. I freaked out and said some really hurtful things, and I’m sorry. You deserved better.” Sunset kept quiet, and I continued.
“It’s just, coming from Crystal Prep, they hold you to such a high standard. And I transferred out, and I thought I left that behind, but this last week, I realized that I was still holding myself and everything around me to those standards. Especially you. It wasn’t fair to you at all.”
It felt good to say. In fact, it felt so good to say aloud that I wasn’t sure if it made any sense. “I just have a lot to unlearn about how judgmental I am.”
Sunset kneaded her thumb across my hand. “I get it. I’m not too proud of that night either.”
“I should have been here earlier tonight, too. I should’ve been the first one there to congratulate you for winning the Spring Fling. And I shouldn’t have left you like that.”
She seemed to finally remember that she still had the Spring Fling Princess sash on under her jacket. She picked at the little flowers strung across the lining. “You know, this is the first time I actually felt like I won any of these things.”
“Really, in all four years?” My tone was curious, but this time I didn’t need to know more.
“Really. You already know this, but I wasn’t a good person before you met me.” Sunset trailed off, and I could hear the shakiness in her voice.
"Sunset, you don't have t—"
"I want to." She put on a smile for me but it was still unsure. “I want to. It’s still a part of me that I have to accept.”
I nodded.
“There was a time where everyone at CHS was afraid of me. I was entitled, spiteful, cruel.” She winced and rubbed at her arm. “It actually lasted longer than I’d like to think about. I won because people were afraid of what I’d do if I didn’t.”
Everything was starting to make a little more sense now. “Even by your first year here?”
“That was worse.” Sunset let out a pained chuckle as she squeezed my hand. “Everyone just pitied the little homeless girl.”
“Right,” I said, remembering the moment she let it that fact about herself slip. “That must have been a hard time for you.”
“It only got worse.” She nodded. “Even I didn’t feel like I earned it then. One of the seniors that lost to me let me know why I won, and I got so upset that I hit her. Then the whole school found out, and I just leaned into it. It’s a lot easier to get what you need if they’re scared of you. Food, money, cigarettes.
“But this year was different.” Her voice was a bit grainy, but hopeful. “They chose me.” I could feel in her voice how much it meant to her, and I sank a bit for having missed it. I could be here for her now, at least.
“And you deserve it,” I said, looking her in the eye. “I still wish I was here for you. But I’m glad the school finally saw the person I was lucky to always have known.”
“I don’t think I even wanted to do the Fling, but I think I needed it,” she said.
The conversation lulled, and I figured we just sat in our thoughts for a moment. Just processing it all. I felt like I was beginning to understand her. The real her.
Sunset chuckled. “I should have said no.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She laughed again. “Back at the hospital, when I saw just how far you went in getting me to ask you out. Everything told me to say no, and I wanted to say no, and I probably should have said no and that it was wrong and weird and kind of creepy of you for stalking me like that.”
I winced. “You did?”
“Yeah…” She stared away, down the steps and up the path leading to the street. “Maybe I was just lonely at the time, but I realized you were the only person that looked at me like that.” She slumped a little. “Not exactly the healthiest mindset to take into a relationship.”
“You’re right.” It hurt, but she was right. And I needed to work on that obsessive side of me, too.
“You were the only one at CHS who didn’t know what I used to be. And when you looked at me, I could tell that you saw someone better, and I wanted to be that." She ran her hand through her hair. "That project of yours didn't help. I’m not that Sunset. And I probably won’t be. I just want you to know that I’m trying, Twilight.”
I took in her answer for a moment, and I remembered something she said when we last saw each other. “That’s okay. It took me too long to realize this, but maybe it only seems like you get worse the further back you go because you’re getting better.”
She stared back at me, and I could see a hint of a smile. “All this time, I was scared of what you'd think when you found out who I was and that you’d forget who I am now.“
Scared of me? I never thought about it that way.
Sunset looked down at her boots. All the mystique behind her was gone. And in that moment, I didn't see the angel that saved me at the Friendship Games. I didn't even see the unreachable mystery girl that was full of the confidence I never had.
I saw Sunset Shimmer, someone flawed, someone who didn't want to be alone anymore. Someone who was getting better everyday.
I still loved her.
“You were my fresh start,” she said into her arms.
I took her hand. “I still am.”
She looked up at me. Her eyes were watering, and I saw the sun in them.
“I love you, Sunset.” I let it hang there. Full stop. “And when I’m holding onto you when we drive through town, it feels like the safest place in the world—even though it’s clearly not.”
Sunset chuckled.
I leaned into her. “I want you to feel that way around me. If I was kinder to you, you would have. But now, I just want to be here for you. Girlfriend, friend, it doesn’t matter. I’m just excited to see the person you’re becoming.” I felt my chest squeeze tight. “And knowing what we know now, do you… maybe want to give it another chance?”
Sunset blinked through the tears. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”
We spent the rest of the morning watching the sunrise. I put my arm around her, and we just enjoyed the silence. The city eventually sprang to life around us as the new day bloomed. Not too long after that, cars and people were passing by. It was about time we got up, too.
I stood up, brushed off my skirt, and held my hand out. “Come on. We should get going.”
She took it, and I helped her stand. “Where are we heading?”
“Sugarcube Corner should be opening soon,” I answered, leading the way. “We can get some coffee.”
Art by ScruffyTurtles, commissioned by me. Thank you for waiting for me all these years.
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It's been five years, and it's over. And I have nothing to say other than thank you.
A well written story this.
I can finally remove this story from tracking to my favorite.
I'm so happy to see this story finished! It's very precious to me, thank you so much for writing it!
A very nice ending. I'm glad I stuck around. Glad Twilight was able to see where she went wrong and how she'd be able to make it better.
:Applause:
A beautiful conclusion, and a valuable lesson indeed. Thank you for this.
Yay!
Congrats on finishing an utterly fantastic story. You did it!!! I'm so proud as your friend.
And a delightful ending it was at that!
Just finished re-reading the whole story, and it's still as great as I remember it being. Fantastic work!!!
Yep, these things happen sometimes whether we like it or not.
But it'll be worth it in the end.
Sometimes you just have to break the rules. 😏😉
That seems a bit too far if you ask me.
At least someone other than spitfire and yearling understand Twilight's situation. 😕
So that's what she wanted them to do, but at the same time she's still gonna be in some serious hot water once this whole situation is fixed. 😬
You sure did sunset.
Sometimes most people will not accept it while some will, and I'm one of them as everyone deserves a second chance.😊
Ngl, i wasn't so sure at first when I added this story and the sunlight project to my read it later I'd like these two stories but I was dead wrong as this story was fantastic. It deserves a 10/10.
For all that things are working up towards the big dramatic finish here (I mean come on, a title reprise as the chapter title!), it’s nice how you keep the tone fairly light-hearted throughout, and more importantly, consistent with the rest of the story. Saving the big feelings for when it’s one-on-one and keeping things fresh when we’re skipping between multiple characters.
Man, that little ‘game’ of Twilight phoning the softer parent, only for the stricter parent to answer it. I think everyone, at some point in their life, has had a moment like that!
Having Rarity as the mediator, as brief as it was, helped build tension like you wouldn’t believe. Say what you will about her dramatics, but you do a great job at writing her as knowing when to keep it short. Similarly, Twilight’s assertiveness here is a really welcome change, and you still make it justified in-universe via the bus ride. In a way, this feels like Twilight’s character development coming to a head here: Through months of uncertainty, she finally understands what she wants to do, and she’s going to do it no matter what.
I often build up a mental picture when I read a scene, and the fact that the gym just felt right imagined in the EqG art style is testament to how well it works. In a way, this chapter almost feels like it would fit in the show, as a more mature take on the cartoon. The Torchwood to EqG’s Doctor Who, if you will.
Alright, I actually gasped out loud at this. For someone who relies so, so heavily on certainty, on understanding, that is a monumental leap. And it's so, so warming that Sunset takes that in kind and offers her past to Twilight, rather than feeling forced to give it.
Alright I apologise, I’ve vomited enough words in the comments section here. Wrap-up time.
In my comment on Project, I mentioned that it didn't feel like Twilight had earned her happy ending. Here, though? She does. She absolutely does.
Not because of her devotion. Not because of her dramatic gesture. And certainly not because of her running through a street parade, full-pelt, in what can only be described as a parody of the cliché rom-com climax.
Twilight's earned her happy ending here because she's grown as a person, because she’s thoroughly left her comfort zone, and because she's learned to confront the things about herself and her girlfriend that terrify her, and gained the strength to work through them. I'd repeat that wonderful little mantra at the very start of the story, "All you had to do was ask", but that'd be doing her growth a disservice. Perhaps it'd be more apt to say "You have to ask. It'll hurt like hell, but you have to ask, and in return, you have to give your own answers for your own missteps."
She did. And she took the pain, the ugliness, and the resultant mistakes, and carried on because she thought it was worth it.
In fact, that's not fair either.
They both did.
And that's why they earned their happy ending.
damn wtf that was heartfelt