3.) A Walk in the Park
Come the weekend, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle found themselves in a gazebo in Whitetail Woods, which was conveniently halfway between Crystal Prep and Canterlot High, making it a fair neutral zone. The plan had been to meet here and then head onto further activities, but a sudden heavy rain looked like that might not be an option.
Thunder struck in the distance, causing the two girls to shift in closer together.
“Well, this is off to a great start,” Sunset said begrudgingly.
Twilight sighed heavily.
“Do you think we should call them and cancel? They were already supposed to be here by now...”
She shook her head, “No it’s fine, they shouldn’t be too far away. We can always all go somewhere drier when they get here.”
“If they get here.”
“You really think they might not show?”
“I don’t know… you spoke to Sunny Flare, did she sound positive about it?”
“I couldn’t really tell over text,” Sunset thought a little. “Is she the kind of person to stand someone up?”
Twilight shrugged.
“Not usually… but again, I didn’t really know her that well. She's usually the one making plans.”
It was okay. This could still work. She would make it still work.
It wasn't ideal, she was well aware. The reason she wanted them in a large group was so she and Sunny Flare could spend some alone time together in a comfortable environment for them both. It now wouldn't be as easy with all the Shadowbolts attention on her.
Mentally, Sunset had prepared a checklist of the information she wanted about Sunny's family background and made special care to ensure it wasn't anything that wouldn't come up in conversation. She'd decided to take the quantity approach over quality; she'd try and discover as much generic info for her investigation as she could, rather than focusing all of her attention on one aspect of it. That way she could cover a large amount of ground without… ahem… scaring her away.
But this was all of course, relying on the hope she actually turned up.
“Sunset Shimmer?” A third voice entered the gazebo.
Almost magically on cue, Sunset and Twilight turned to see Sunny stood in the doorway, with a handful of the Crystal Prep girls stood behind her.
“Sunny Flare!” Sunset said a little too eagerly.
Sunny dropped her umbrella, smiled and stepped inside.
“Hey...” she noticed the number of the girls, “... oh, we er, kinda expected more of you guys.”
“They didn’t want -”
“They didn’t feel like coming after such a long week!” Sunset interrupted Twilight. “In school, I mean.”
As Sunny Flare moved inside, the other girls made their way in also. Unless Sunset’s memory failed her, not all of the group they competed against at the games was here, but taking a scan over them, the ones who had arrived definitely seemed familiar to her.
“Sunset, this is Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest, you’ve all met before,” Sunny gestured a hand to each of her friends.
Sunset smiled at the girls and offered a friendly wave, “Hey! I’m sorry we didn’t get chance to properly hang out during the Friendship Games.”
“Where’s Indigo?” Twilight asked.
“She didn’t want to come,” the one who was obviously Sugarcoat said quite blankly.
“Ah.”
It was not lost on Sunset that Twilight had yet to greet her old friends with a hug, smile or any kind of traditional friendly greeting. Instead, she had remained routed to her spot and shifted around uncomfortably.
“Yanno it’s a bit suspicious that out of your seven-person friendship group only two of you could be bothered coming to meet us. Actually kind of offensive,” Sugarcoat added, cocking her hip.
Sunset went to leap to her friends defence but was beaten to it by Sunny Flare.
“Sugarcoat.”
Sugarcoat merely rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
Sunny Flare turned to the Sunset and Twilight.
“She’s only joking. It’s good to see you again Twilight. How’ve you been?”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Ahh-! I mean, I’ve been well, thank you. A-and yourself?”
“I’ve been good,” Sunny smirked, seemingly amused by Twilight’s awkward behaviour. “Shame about the weather though, forecast said it was going be dry.”
“I kinda like it!” Sunset said, “Rain always was my aesthetic. But this cold isn’t great, we could try and find somewhere more warm if you guys want?”
“We can’t stay long, actually,” Sugarcoat said quick and matter-of-factly.
“Oh, I’m sorry… If you guys have other plans you don’t have to stay,” Sunset suddenly felt a heavy weight on her.
Sunny, seemingly noticing Sunset’s uncomfort at this, merely waved her friend off.
“We’re fine for staying, Sugarcoat is just shy.”
“I am not shy.”
“She just doesn’t like meeting new people.”
“I do too!”
“Then why don’t you introduce yourself properly and stop being such a baby?”
Sugarcoat gave a loud ‘hmph!’ and crossed her arms, turning away from Sunset. It didn't do anything to settle Sunset’s nerves.
She had definitely accounted for the atmosphere being awkward, but ideally, that's what she was bringing her friends over for. Having a large group of them would not only ease the tension but provide a good distraction for the other girls while she got to spend time with Sunny Flare. Thinking about it, they probably would have come along with her if she was honest about her intentions.
But, she’d come this far and wasn’t about to give up now.
“So!” she clapped her hands together, startling the girls. “What is it you guys normally do outside school?”
Quick as a beat, Sugarcoat responded.
“I play World of Horsecraft.”
Sunset nodded. “That’s cool, me and the girls have Ogres and Oubliettes nights sometimes! We could all go back to my apartment and have an improv game?”
“Why would we do that?”
“Because… it’s similar? And something to get us out of the rain?”
“World of Horsecraft is an online RPG, OnO is tabletop RPG, gameplay-wise they’re completely different.”
“Sugarcoat!” Sunny Flare snapped again.
Sugarcoat held her arms up defensively.
“Not my fault she’s trying to start a conversation about stuff she clearly doesn’t know about...”
The glare sent to her from Sunny Flare was enough to make Sugarcoat fall silent.
“I’m a Soundclop artist,” Lemon Zest said out nowhere, still not having taking off her headphones. “We could all go back to mine, listen to some tunes?”
An air of silence hung over the group for a second.
Sugarcoat sneered. “Why would anyone wanna do that?”
Sunny Flare groaned.
“At least she’s making a contribution, Sugarcoat!”
“Yeah!” Lemon Zest groaned, “So just shut up being negative!”
“Why don’t you come over here and make me?”
“Maybe I will!”
“I’m waiting.”
An fair of silence hung over the group for a second as Lemon Zest very noticeably showed no sign of moving.
Until one by one, each of the girls let out a quiet chuckle.
“You are such a jerk!” Lemon Zest laughed.
Sugarcoats face broke into a smile. “Thanks for the newsflash, Captain Obvious.”
As she watched each of the Shadowbolt girls start laughing, it occurred to Sunset that all of what she just witnessed was their groups form of banter. That, or when it had stopped being serious and had become light-hearted banter, she wasn’t entirely sure.
She let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding.
Something gave her a sneaking suspicion that she would struggle to find out any of the things she'd set out for today.
They eventually deduced that all interests considered, the Dragon's Lair board game café was probably the best suited for their group.
It wasn't much different to any other gimmick café Pinkie Pie had dragged them too before, except that it catered to a far larger number of people that she'd assume it would. The staff were all wearing uniforms that looked like cosplays; apparently, the Whitetail had a large underground geek population. Sunset felt like she should be impressed by how well everything came together, but really couldn't muster up anything beyond being surprised. She noticed that the Shadowbolts were looking around, too. Twilight was doing so excitedly, as though she just discovered something amazing.
"Oh my gosh, this place is amazing!" Twilight said in a low voice, unable to contain herself. "I've never been here before! I don't know why we didn't come before now!"
"My fault," Sunset said, trying to think of some way to make things right. "I didn't realize this would be your kind of place."
Twilight grinned at her.
"Are you kidding me!?"
An attendant met them.
"How're we doing ladies? Group of of five, is it?"
The attendant was a guy about their age, wearing a black t-shirt with a red dragon logo on it. His eyes flicked over them each, sizing them up.
"Yeah, five." Sunset glanced at Twilight. "This'll be our first visit."
"Great! Welcome to the Dragon's Lair. If you need anything, just let us know! You guys got an idea of what you're looking to play?"
She looked around, pointing at one game after another.
"We should go for something quick and easy," Sunset suggested. "Something not too complex, or won't lead to arguing when I whoop your flanks."
"Oh my gosh, look what they have!" Twilight pointed at a board game, "It's Daring Do and the Call of Count Hulu!"
"I like that one," Sunny Flare stated. "We'll go for that."
The attendant led them to a table, where he dealt out various pieces for them to use. Each got their own character card with stats of health points, mana, and movement speed. Apparently a pawn represented the player's avatar, while two gold coins marked the start of the treasure chest.
Sunset turned her attention to Twilight, who seemed to be having trouble getting started.
"So how do we -"
"You have three cards and you can apply any of them to your pawn to see where you can move along the map. At the end of each turn, you can either pull a replacement card or do a coin flip to see if you can open a treasure chest."
As Twilight's autopilote kicked in, Sunset seized the opportunity. She'd spent enough time observing the Shadowbolts as a group, now she had chance to talk to Sunny Flare directly.
"So, Sunny Flare, what do you think of it here?" she asked with a smile.
Sunny had been watching Twilight intently as she explained the game, but now she turned her gaze to her. Her expression was calm, almost neutral.
"It seems cool... do you - "
"I have a question about the game," Sugarcoat cut her off.
"O...kay ?" Twilight asked, confused.
Sugarcoat raised her hand, and sat forward.
"What is our drive to win?"
She blinked. "Uh..."
"Why are you playing it? Do we get a reward?"
Sunset winced internally.
"Well, obviously, because it's... fun?"
"World of Horsecraft is fun. This seems like portfoilo of rules and maths."
"Uhh..." Twilight stammered.
"Hey Sugarcoat, how'd you like to get swallow my fist?"
It took a full moment for Sunny Flare's words to actually occur to Sunset and only when they did, did she choke.
"I'd like to see you try."
"I bet you would. Shut up and let her explain the rules."
Sunset could feel her face turning scarlet. She knew that Sunny Flare wasn't serious, yet there was no denying what she'd said. It was true; Sunset had never seen a friendship dynamic quite like theirs. The fact that it was so apparent to everyone else was only making it worse.
"Fine. So... um, the goal is to open treasure chests."
" - and if you open treasure chests, you get gold coins and more cards, yeah, we got that bit."
"And you might also find magic items in chests which grant bonuses to the players. And you can use gold coins to buy stuff from stores on the board..."
Sunset couldn't help but notice that Sugarcoat was becoming more and more irritated by Twilight's explanation.
"...and there are enemy characters lurking on the board, who will attack if you get too close, and if they defeat you all, you lose the game. So as long as one player stays alive, the game isn't over. That's basically it."
"Sounds good Twi," Sunny Flare replied, nodding at Twilight before turning to Sunset. "You say you've played this before?"
"Yes. But only ever online. I'm looking forward to trying it out with real people."
"Aha. That makes sense."
Sunset looked around cautiously around her surroundings. Lemon Zest had not spoken, nor seemed particularly interested in the game at all. Sunny Flare was staring at the board with what Sunset could only describe as a passive optimism. Twilight was lost in the rule book and Sugarcoat appeared to be trying to destroy the board game with her eyebrows. There was enough going on for her to try again.
"So, you... say you like the place?" she asked Sunny.
Sunny leaned back into her chair, folding her arms over her chest and tilting her head to stare at Sunset thoughtfully.
"It's alright! Not really my scene, but it's pretty chill. How about you?"
"Yeah! I like it! Pinkie Pie drags us to a lot of novelty stores like this..." Sunset glanced at her for a moment, as though considering something "... what is your usual scene, then?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Movies. Clubs and bars, I guess."
"So who want's to roll first?"
"I do," Sugarcoat said instantly.
"... Ahh. You don't look very club-like."
Sunny quirked an eyebrow at Sunset's comment, which made the other girl blush.
"I play in a band, we do a few shows occasionally here and there."
"Oh, that's badass! Us girls are a band too! What do you play?"
"Guitar and sing, but mostly just backups. I'm far from amazing, but it's fun."
Twilight turned to Sunset again, looking exasperated.
"Girls, are you listening?"
"They're not listening," Sugarcoat accused.
Sunset's brow furrowed at the girl.
"Sorry, Twi... just having a chat," she said, shrugging again.
"Right, well, do you want to do your first roll? I'll explain how the scoring works while you do."
Sunny nodded.
"Sure, I'll go first."
Today had been fun. A complete and utter failure of her mission, but… fun?
Sunset sat in her reclining gaming chair, staring at her map of theories and ideas.
She'd wanted to spend the day studying the differences and similiarities between herself and Sunny Flare, but the whole day had mostly been spent just watching the Shadowbolt girls interact. Their friendship group was, frankly, fascinating to her, so much so that it had (at least at the time) distracted her from her investigation.
They argued, quite brutally insulted each other, but then just… forgot about it? Small niggles that Sunset's group would usually spend 20-30 minutes having a friendship lesson about, their group just seemed to... skip over? At first Sunset thought she was watching a genuine argument, only for the group to then laugh about it and move on, and then immediately dive into another fake argument… Unless, they were serious arguments, and their group were just putting on a good face so they didn’t argue in front of her? Normally, if Rarity and Applejack disagreed on something, they would argue, then talk about it, and then usually settle on some kind of compromise and resume being on good terms. But these girls… just never seemed on good terms in the first place?
But... were still all friends?
She was definitely starting to see why Twilight was so confused about friendship before coming to CHS.
She huffed. She needed to stay determined, and focus on the investigation at hand.
Private conversations with Sunny Flare had been scarce, but enough for her to piece together a rough outline of a theory. It was string-thin at this moment and considering how wild a proposal it was, she'd need more evidence before properly believing it herself, never mind proposing it to her friends. She doubted if they met again under the same circumstances much would be different, if she wanted the information she needed out of Sunny, it would have to be in private.
Taking out her mobile, she opened her text messages.
After glancing over the conversation that'd arranged today's meetup, Sunset began to type a fresh entry.
SUNSET: Hey, you up?
After a few seconds of staring at the open message, she saw Sunny Flare begin typing.
SUNNY: I am!
As Sunset typed her next message, a second one came through instantly.
SUNNY: Was good seeing you guys today!
Sunset smiled. Why were her friends so turned off against meeting up with these girls again?
SUNSET: Awh, you guys too! Sorry we didn’t really do much
SUNNY: Don’t worry silly! We all had fun! Sorry if everyone came on a bit strong, they’re like that haha xD
SUNSET: It’s ok! I get it, we did have fun! We should do it again sometime!
SUNNY: I’m up for that :)
SUNSET: Are you doing anything next weekend?
SUNNY: Was just going to study, wbu?
SUNSET: I don’t have plans, do you want to do something, just me and you?
Sunset pressed send but then winced at her choice of wording, hoping it wouldn’t be taken wrongly. After a moment, a response came.
SUNNY: I’d like that :)
Mentally, she found herself grinning.
SUNSET: Awesome! We could catch a movie or something?
SUNNY: Yes, cool :) Meet at the coffee shop? Around five?
SUNSET: Sounds great :)
Sunset placed her phone down on her makeup table and glanced back up at her investigation process, her eyes slinking over each piece individually. If her theory was wrong - at the very least, she'd gained a new friend out of all this.
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Was not expecting this update. YAY!
Ooh a late Christmas present! Yay!
Sunset be careful, you really don't want to hook up with your alternate universe self. Pretty sure that was what Celestia was really worried about when she only let Twilight through the portal the first time.
Yay! I'm so excited to see how this turns out!
Thank you!
I've been waiting so long for someone else to point this out!