Synchrony

by Fangren

Chapter 2 - Social Consequences of Bus-Schedule Adherence

Sunset took a deep breath and walked up the driveway of the large, old-looking house that her best friend called home. It was thoroughly magenta in just about every detail, which surprised her, and was in the more well-off neighborhoods of Canterlot, which did not. Well-manicured lawns and picturesque gardens stretched as far as she could see, and the sun glinted off the several expensive-looking cars that hadn't been parked under shade trees.

She sighed. It was intimidating in its perfection, a reminder of this world's standards and her growing awareness of how poorly she fit them. This was her first time visiting Twilight Sparkle at her home, and thus the first time meeting her parents, and she wanted nothing more than to make a good impression. But every second she spent in the neighborhood only increased her self-doubt, and strengthened the little voice inside her that said she was only deluding herself that Twilight's family would like her after everything she is and has done. Just like she was only deluding herself that she and Twilight would ever be more than just friends...

“It'll be fine,” she told herself under her breath, stopping on the porch. “There's no way Twilight would tell them about how I used to be, so there's no point worrying about it. They'll like me, so just...get it over with!” Another deep breath, a quick check of her bag to make sure everything was still there, and then she finally rang the doorbell.

The door swung open before the tone had a chance to finish, revealing Twilight Sparkle standing behind it with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. Without word or warning she grabbed Sunset by the shoulders and pulled her into the foyer, enveloping her in a warm and enthusiastic hug. “Sunset! Good morning! I'm so glad you were able to come!” she said, breaking the hug and taking a step back.

“Me too,” Sunset answered after her blush faded. She took a quick look at what Twilight was wearing – a light and ruffled magenta blouse with the top button left open, a matching skirt of a darker shade, her crystal geode on a string around her neck, and a pin in her hair in the familiar starburst shape she seemed to favor. “You look nice today,” she added. “New clothes?”

“Oh, no, just part of my usual rotation!” she explained with a blush. “Just...not part that I wear that often.”

That just made Sunset even more self-conscious, and for just a moment she looked down at the clothes she had chosen – yet another variant on her standard outfit, light blue blouse with jeans and leather jacket. “Right, right, I should've known,” she said, laughing it off.

“Don't worry about it,” Twilight told her with a light hand-wave, oblivious to her friend's insecurity. “You look great too! So, umm,” she continued before Sunset had a chance to respond, “did you bring everything?”

“Pretty much,” Sunset replied, swinging her bag off her shoulder and opening it up. “I've got all my original notes and data as well as summaries of both,” she explained as she rifled through the notebooks and files full of paper she had brought, pulling them out one by one. “Just so you understand exactly how little I've been able to make sense of all of it,” she added as she handed the first set of papers to Twilight. “Plus I brought what little information I was able to find about our current 'person of interest'.” She pulled out another file folder, and handed it to Twilight who was looking at the whole unopened stack with growing curiosity. “So, what did you wanna go over first?”

That snapped Twilight's attention away from the treasure trove of data just as she was about to open the first folder. “Oh! Well, actually-”

She was interrupted by the sound of a sliding door from a few rooms away, followed by a fast-paced scramble across both carpeted and hardwood floors. She wasn't surprised to see Spike turn the corner seconds later, and scamper down the hall towards them. “Hey Sunset! How ya been?” he asked the moment he stopped at their feet, tail wagging excitedly.

“Same as always,” Sunset answered with a smile. She as about to say something else, but stopped when she saw two people walking up from what she assumed was the same place Spike had been. A gray-skinned woman with purple-and-white striped hair and a blue-skinned, blue-haired man, the two looked plenty old enough to be Twilight's parents – so Sunset assumed they were.

“Why hello! You must be Sunset Shimmer,” the man greeted with a broad smile and an outstretched hand that Sunset promptly shook. “The name's Night Light, I'm Twily's father,” he said, putting a hand on his suddenly-nervous daughter's shoulder.

“And I'm Twilight Velvet,” the woman greeted in a similar fashion, opening her arms for a hug that Sunset accepted with only a moment of awkwardness. “We've heard so much about you! It's so great to finally meet one of Twilight's new friends.”

“Thanks,” Sunset replied. “Though it's a little surprising you haven't met any of us before now considering how long we've been friends.”

Twilight interrupted with an awkward laugh. “Yes, well, there's never really been a reason for them to meet you before today,” she explained. “I...don't exactly have people over very often.”

“Same with me, to be honest,” Sunset shrugged, not bothering to elaborate. “Can't judge you for that.”

“Which is why this is such a big occasion!” Night Light said, still brimming with enthusiasm.

“And we really must thank you for helping her come out of her shell,” Twilight Velvet added, now taking Sunset's hands.

“And for defending her from the bullies at her old school!” Night Light beamed at his daughter and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“Uhh...thanks?” Sunset told them, brow raised in confusion. She sent a questioning look at Twilight, but she seemed to have frozen in a nervous grin.

“We were so surprised when she suddenly wanted to transfer to CHS,” Velvet continued, looking at her daughter but seemingly ignorant of her mood. “But we can't argue with the results! Six new friends, a boyfriend, and all without sacrificing her future career.” She sighed happily, but this only seemed to make Twilight's smile more grimace-like. Not that her parents noticed.

“It's also nice to know she has someone working with her on her science projects!” Night Light continued on. “Maybe that'll help her remember not to skip meals,” he said with a fatherly chuckle and wink.

“D-Dad!” Twilight stammered, cheeks lightened by embarrassment. “I haven't missed a meal in thirty-seven days!”

Night Light just chuckled again. “I know, Twily, I know. So, what is it you girls are gonna be researching today?” he asked with a look of genuine interest.

“Oh, it's nothing,” Sunset answered. “We're just gonna try to-”

She was cut off by Twilight suddenly thrusting the stack of notes and data into her arms. “Sorry! Top secret! Gotta go!” she said rapidly, moving behind her bewildered friend and pushing her away from her parents all the way up to the next floor of the house.

“What was that about?” Sunset asked while Twilight looked around the hall as though someone would step out of a room at any moment.

“They don't know about magic!” Twilight whispered through her teeth, leaning in close even while her eyes continued to dart around.

“Wait, seriously? You haven't told them yet?” Sunset asked, more confused than ever. Twilight gave her a pleading look, and so she continued at a whisper. “But how did you explain the fact that Spike can talk?!”

“I panicked and said there was an accident with an untested biological nano-agent at the Friendship Games that made him smarter!”

“And they believed that?!”

“Apparently!”

“What about Cadance?”

“I told her not to tell them! Same with Spike!”

Sunset groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know you're gonna have to tell them eventually, right?”

“I know!” Twilight replied, her shoulders sagging as she looked down at her feet. “I know...it's just...I'm not ready yet. I mean,” she looked back up at Sunset, “what if they freak out about it? Or, or, or if they start thinking I'm a freak?”

“Relax,” Sunset said, smiling a putting a hand on her shoulder. “They seem pretty cool, all things considered. If they're fine with a talking dog I'm sure they'll be fine with a magical daughter too. And even if they aren't, you know you can always count on me and the girls to help you through it.”

Twilight let out her breath and smiled, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks once again. “Right... You're right. Thanks. I really mean it.”

“No problem,” Sunset said, pulling back her hand. “Tell them when you're ready.”

“I will,” Twilight nodded. “I'll tell them everything...” Her expression became solemn for a moment, but she quickly put a smile back on. “So, let me show you my lab!”

Her 'lab' was, in fact, her bedroom. To say it was a complete mess would be a lie; it was a mess that had been hastily contained to the closet and desktop so that the bed could be made and the floor walked upon. The fact that the desk took up about one-and-a-half walls and the remainder was taken up primarily by bookshelves only stood as a testament to Twilight Sparkle's efficient use of space, or so Sunset imagined her friend would say if pressed.

“Sorry if it's a little cramped,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile as she led her friend inside, Sunset casting curious looks around. There were stacks upon stacks of papers, texts, and notebooks piled as tall as could be managed in just about every nook and cranny she could see; the only places left bare were undoubtedly because they were too close to the various detectors and analyzers and other machines that had been set up. “I lost most of my storage space when I left Crystal Prep.”

“That's what I figured,” Sunset idly said as she looked more closely at a grouping of equipment that looked like it belonged in a chemistry lab. “So, as I was saying, what did you wanna go over first?” she asked, looking back and Twilight and holding up the stacks of papers in her arms.

“Actually, I was thinking we could wait to go over the details until later,” Twilight replied. Sunset raised a brow. “I'd like to go over this morning's schedule first,” she explained, pulling a checklist out of some unseen pocket and getting an amused smirk from her friend. “It's important,” she said, her expression pointed and insistent. “How else will we make sure we do everything we need to today?”

“It's true,” said Spike, walking casually into the room. “Last time Twilight tried going without a schedule she got so caught-up in an experiment she forgot to sleep for a day and a half!”

Sunset's smirk widened into a smile as a blush crept onto Twilight's cheeks. “Okay, I get it, I get it,” she said. “I prefer working on the fly, but I'll restrain myself for you, Twilight.”

Twilight's cheeks turned a slightly different shade. “R-right! Thanks!”

“So, what's first up on the list?” Sunset asked, setting her stack on the bed then stepping around to look at the checklist over Twilight's shoulder..

“Oh, that's easy,” Twilight smiled. “We just have to walk to the bus stop! We leave in...,” she paused to look at her phone, and her eyes promptly widened with panic. “Thirty-nine seconds ago! We're late!”

She bolted for the door, grabbing Sunset's hand on the way and dragging her along behind her.

---

Despite Twilight's fear to the contrary, the two girls made it to the bus stop on foot with time to spare.

“What's the big rush, anyway?” Sunset asked while they caught their breath. “The store isn't going anywhere, y'know.”

“True,” Twilight admitted, “but I'd prefer that we get there before the lunch rush. Fewer customers besides us plus more items in stock equals an easier time purchasing what I need to finish the magic detector.”

“If you say so,” Sunset said with a small shrug.

The bus pulled up a few moments later, and the two girls boarded to find it nearly empty. “Another benefit of leaving this early is that we avoid this route's second morning rush,” Twilight explained as they took their seats next to each other, Twilight by the window and Sunset by the aisle. “This way we can share our preliminary information in relative privacy.”

Sunset smiled. “You really think of everything, don't you?”

“W-well, not everything,” Twilight answered with a blush, looking away to hide it under the pretense of adjusting her glasses. “I usually only consider events that have at least a 5% chance of occurring,” she explained. “Otherwise I tend not to get anything done.”

Sunset laughed. “I can imagine. So, I don't think you ever told me how your talk with Cadance went.”

Twilight's blush spread rapidly, and she stiffened in her seat. “R-right. That. A-about Timber!”

“Yeah, about Timber,” Sunset repeated, looking at her warily. “You did talk to her, right?”

“Yes!” Twilight replied, affronted. “Of course I did! It's just...just...” She looked away again, rubbing her arm.

“Just what?”

Twilight sighed. “Just...nothing,” she said with a vague hand gesture. “She said it was okay if my crush was over, it just meant that me and Timber weren't meant to be together. She also said that I should just take some time to think over why I was crushing on him in the first place and why it's no longer the case, and then just...explain it to him when I get the chance. She said that if he's really as great a guy as I've been saying, then he should understand.”

“Hey, sounds like a good idea to me,” Sunset said with another shrug. “Any idea what changed that made you lose your spark?”

And just like that, Twilight froze up again. “W-well, it's not that I haven't thought about it,” she said quickly, mashing her fingers together, “although obviously my viewpoint is inherently biased and therefore not entirely trustworthy, but then again introspection is meant to be entirely personal, so...”

“I'll take that as a no,” Sunset deadpanned.

“That's probably a good idea,” Twilight sighed. Her cheer returned moments later, though her smile was slightly awkward. “So! How about we change subjects?”

“Sure, I guess I can summarize some things for you,” Sunset said. “What do you wanna know first?”

Both girls went silent as Twilight quickly looked around, verifying that they weren't being listened in on. “I'd like to know the findings from your previous experiments first,” she said at a whisper. “They're more relevant to our current overall goal, after all.”

“Right,” Sunset nodded, leaning back in her seat. “Well, like I told you before, all I was able to figure out is that the magic of this world doesn't obey any known law of Equestrian magic. To be honest, I'm not sure it obeys any laws at all! Even back then, I wasn't able to figure out any consistencies between the girls besides the fact that playing their instruments was the only way they could pony up. But now even that's changed, and I can't even begin to imagine how our geodes factor into everything – much less how to quantify any of it.”

“Hmm, I can see why you'd want help,” Twilight said, hand to her mouth in thought. “There clearly has to be something consistent about the magical energy we put out, otherwise I never would have been able to build a detector for it in the first place. But it sounds like we're going to have to figure out everything from the ground up...” Something occurred to her just then, and a wide grin soon formed on her lips. “Ooh, we get to be the pioneers of an entirely new field! This is so exciting!”

Sunset couldn't help but laugh. “Hey, I'm glad you found a bright side to all of this. Asking you for help with this was the best decision I've made in a while.”

“I'll say!” Twilight said eagerly, blushing in embarrassment once she realized her faux pas. “I mean, not that you don't usually make good decisions, of course, just that this one was clearly in the top percentile of decisions you've made recently!”

“Haha, I know, Twilight. I know.”

The two spent the rest of the bus ride talking about their study with newfound excitement tempered only by their caution about discussing magic so openly. Observations were discussed, hypotheses proposed and debated, and the first simple tests were planned out. But before they realized it they were forced to put their conversation on hold, as the bus had arrived at Twilight's predetermined stop. With the final leg of their journey to the hardware store passing through more crowded sidewalks, they kept to smalltalk and vague plans for the summer outside of their research projects.

“Here we are!” Twilight said with a happy little smile when she and Sunset had finally reached the front door to Canterlot Hardware. “Though I suppose it's unnecessary to point that out, isn't it,” Twilight added with a hint of embarrassment just a few moments after.

“Just a little,” Sunset told her, looking amused as she pushed open the door bearing the store's name in big block letters.

A bell rang, alerting the single cashier standing at the counter to their left – an old man with white hair and pale green skin, who put down the newspaper he'd been reading. “Ahh, good morning Miss Sparkle,” he greeted. “Another project, I assume?”

“That's right!” Twilight beamed.

“Good, good, I'll trust you to find what you need, then,” he said, resuming his reading.

Twilight took the lead as they headed through the store, grabbing a basket and making a beeline for the electronics section with Sunset right behind her. “So, what is it you're looking for exactly?” Sunset asked, idly looking at the wares for sale on the aisles they were passing through.

“Oh, nothing much,” Twilight answered. “A few pieces of casing, some LEDs for the display, microchips, that sort of thing. I still have most of the materials I used for the previous model and its prototypes, but there are a few critical components that I'll have to scavenge from other devices since the ones I used were broken in the,” she paused for a moment as a sheepish look passed over her face, “ahem, 'incident'...”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Sunset said, just as sheepish as Twilight was. “Throwing your detector on the ground seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“It's okay!” Twilight quickly told her. “It's not like it was completely obliterated by the impact and resulting explosion!” She held her now-forced smile for only a few moments before sagging her shoulders and saying “Only mostly obliterated...”

Sunset winced, then after a moment of hesitation gave Twilight a pat on the shoulder. “At...least it'll be easy to build the second time around?” she offered with a smile that wasn't entirely reassuring.

“Easier, actually,” Twilight said, turning the bulk of her attention to perusing the shelves of electronic parts and devices. “Since it's not like I have to worry about building a specialized capacitor or contracting lead poisoning from the interior lining of the device. In fact,” she thought aloud, tapping a finger against her chin, “I don't even have to worry about getting everything to fit into a clam-shell design at all! That'll give me 50% more room to work with!” Grinning excitedly, she swiped several items off the shelves in quick succession. “There's so many upgrades I can make if I don't have to worry about containment! Why didn't I realize this before?!”

“Better late than never,” Sunset said with a smile. She watched Twilight grab more and more components, then pointed a thumb back towards the front of the store. “I'll just go get another basket for you...”

---

Both baskets were filled past the brim by the time Twilight was finally ready to check out. “Uggh, I thought you said you weren't looking for much?” Sunset groaned under the weight of the basket she was carrying.

“I wasn't!” Twilight said, similarly struggling with her burden of electronics. “But I couldn't help myself!”

“You know we have to carry all this back to your house, right?”

“I know! I'm sorry! But I really do need all of it! And we'll be on the bus most of the way!”

Sunset sighed, setting down her basket on the checkout counter once they'd reached it. “Fine, fine, I get it. Things like what we're gonna be doing require a lot of equipment.”

“Certainly is a lot of it, though,“ the old cashier remarked as he scanned item after item. “Not that I'm complaining of course, Miss Sparkle,” he added with a light chuckle.

“Not to be nosy or anything, but how exactly are you paying for all this?” Sunset asked after watching a few expensive-looking items get scanned.

Twilight responded with a brief look of surprise and confusion. “Huh? Oh, well, I've been saving up my allowance for a few months now for a project like this. It's really not that big a deal.”

“...if you say so,” Sunset said, casting her friend an uncertain glance as she pulled out a card and paid for their haul with a smile.

With a satisfied sigh, Twilight stowed her card and looked at the time on her phone. “Okay, if we hurry we should be able to catch the next bus,” she told her partner.

“Let's get going, then,” Sunset replied, picking up half of their double-bagged purchase. Twilight picked up the other half, and the girls made a beeline for the exit.

They paused when they saw another group opening the door, and more importantly saw who that group consisted of.

“Oh, hey Sunset! Hey Twilight!”

“What're you two doing here?”

“Buying hardware, obviously.”

“Well duh. But what're they buying it for?”

“They do got a lot of it...”

“Eeeyup.”

“Hey girls,” Sunset greeted the Crusaders with a smile, stepping to the side to let them and their escort enter the store. “Hey Big Mac.”

“Yes, hi,” Twilight added. “All this is actually just materials for a research project I'm helping Sunset with,” she explained. “We actually have a bus to catch, though, so maybe we could talk-”

“Ooh, what kind of research project?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly, peeking into their bags. “Anything we could help with?”

“I don't know,” Sweetie Belle said, casting an apprehensive gaze at the electronics in one of Sunset's bags. “This stuff looks a little too advanced for us...”

“Pfft, we can handle it,” Scootaloo scoffed, waving her hand dismissively as she joined Apple Bloom in rooting through Twilight's bags despite their owner's visible discomfort. “We can do anything if we put our minds to it!”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom chorused.

“Good point,” Sweetie said, her smile growing as she looked more intently at what was in the bags. “Hey, maybe we should try being Crusaders for Science again after we're done being Crusaders for Justice?”

“That's a great idea!” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom chorused, again.

“Uhh...I'm sorry?” Twilight asked, giving the girls a confused look. “Did I hear you right? You're Crusaders for Justice?”

“Sure are!” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, today we're going around fighting bad guys and helping people, just like Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said, striking a karate stance.

“Well, more like Mare-Do-Well,” Sweetie Belle corrected. “I don't think Rainbow Dash has been all that active as a superhero yet.”

“Hey!” Scootaloo protested despite her lack of counterargument.

“Well, regardless, we're gonna be tryin' our own hands at the hero business,” Apple Bloom said. Then Big Mac crossed his arms and caught her eye with a stern look, prompting her to sheepishly add “Uhh, at least as far as we can do so, err, responsibly. Y'know, helpin' old ladies cross the street and the like.”

Her brother nodded approvingly, but Scootaloo crossed her arms and sputtered. “So just the boring stuff...”

“Yes, well, we'll just leave you to it then,” Twilight said, putting on a forced and frantic smile as she hooked her arm around Sunset's. “But we really must be going now, so....goodbye!”

She immediately started pulling Sunset towards the exit and out the door. “Later, guys!” Sunset called out behind her, the other four waving her off. “You keep an eye on them, Big Mac!” She stopped just outside the doorway, adding “And if you see Rainbow Dash, tell her not to be so aggres-SIVE!” before Twilight finally yanked her away.

Big Mac watched them leave with stoic silence, then nodded and said “Eeyup.”

---

“We're gonna be late, we're gonna be late!” Twilight said to herself in a panic, running as fast as she could down the sidewalk with Sunset just a step behind her. They turned the final corner only to see the bus at the bus stop, a blue-skinned man in a business suit stepping onto it. “Wait for us!” Twilight called out, stretching out a hand towards it, but it was in vain – the bus drove off before the girls reached the stop. “We...we were late...!” Twilight moaned, nearly doubled over as she tried to catch her breath.

“I'm so sorry, Twilight,” Sunset said, putting a hand on her back. “This is all my fault. I shouldn't have kept talking to the others.”

Twilight sighed, still slouched over. “No...it's alright...,” she said halfheartedly. “It won't be too long before the next bus comes...”

Sunset frowned. “Maybe, but I know how important punctuality is to you. Let me...make it up to you,” she said, quickly looking around for something.

“Can you turn back time with magic so we can catch the bus?” Twilight asked quickly and excitedly, catching Sunset off guard.

“Uhh, no?” Sunset answered, evoking a frown from her friend. “I was thinking something more along the lines of buying you something to eat while we wait,” she said, pointing to a corner store not too far away.

“Something to eat? Now?” Twilight asked, stunned. “B-but it's not time for lunch yet! And it's too soon after breakfast! Not to mention the fact that they don't allow eating on the bus, and-”

Sunset cut her off with a smile and a light laugh. “Relax! Just...think of it as a light brunch,” she said. “Just a little snack to take your mind off being late. You can eat a little now, and save the rest for later!”

“Well...if you really think it'll help me feel better...,” Twilight said, still looking uncertain as she sat down on the bench next to the bus stop.

“Cool,” Sunset smiled, setting her half of the bags down next to Twilight. “Anything in particular that you'd like?”

“Suzy Starshine's Chocolate-Raspberry Constellation Cakes,” she answered without hesitation. “I-I mean,” she quickly backpedaled, “obviously any flavor is fine, it's not like I have a-a chart ranking all of them according to my personal taste preferences or anything...” She put on an awkward smile with matching laugh.

Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes. “Chocolate-raspberry it is,” she said, turning towards the shop. “I'll be right back,” she added, looking back at Twilight and winking.

“R-right,” Twilight replied, left alone clutching her bags with a blush once more on her face. For a few minutes she simply sat there, drumming her fingers and humming tunelessly as she waited, until one of the passersby stopped at the bus schedule that was posted at the stop. She looked to be around Twilight's age, with light pink-purple skin and short, straight purple hair streaked with aquamarine. She was dressed for casual comfort, a pair of slightly-torn old jeans with a slightly frilly blouse a few shades darker than her skin.

“Hmm...,” she murmured as she looked over the schedule, tapping her chin as she thought. After a few more seconds she sighed irritably, then turned around to face Twilight. “Excuse me,” she opened with a less-than-genuine smile. “I'm new in town, and I could use some help getting around. Do you know if I can take this bus to the library?”

“The library?” Twilight repeated, standing up and moving closer. “Oh no, at least not directly. You'll have to take this bus to 4^th street, then catch the 45,” she explained as she pointed out the stop on the route map attached to the schedule. “That'll take you to the library.”

“Rrriiiight...,” the other girl said, eyes fixed on the map as she took the instructions in. “Thanks.”

“No problem!” Twilight smiled, clasping her hands behind her back. “It's not every day I meet someone who's trying to find the library.”

“Well...you know what they say, knowledge is power!” the other girl said with an awkward smile, the corner of her eye twitching under Twilight's eager gaze.

And she seemed just plain startled when Twilight held out her hand. “I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm too busy today to show you around the entire city, but I'll be glad to answer any questions you have while we're on the bus!”

The other girl's eyes darted from her hand to her face a few times before she hesitantly shook it – but only for a few moments, dropping it like something slimy. “Thanks...,” she said. “I'm, uhh, Amethyst Shine.”

“Nice to meet you, Amethyst!” Twilight said, beaming obliviously.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too...” Amethyst replied, halfhearted and without quite making eye contact.

It was then that Sunset finally made her return, attention on the two packages of snack cakes she was holding. “Sorry, Twilight, they were out of the chocolate-raspberry kind so I just got you a chocolate and a raspberry. I hope that's okay.”

“It is,” Twilight answered. “Thank you, Sunset.”

Sunset finally looked up, and noticed the new girl staring at her in utter disbelief. “Uhh, who's your new friend?”

“Oh, this is Amethyst Shine,” Twilight said, still smiling brightly. “She wanted to know how to get to the library and I helped her! Isn't that great?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sunset replied, taken aback by Amethyst's continued gawking.

A split-second of silence passed before something occurred to Twilight. “Oh! Right! Sorry, Amethyst,” she told the new girl with a laugh, “where are my manners? This is-”

“Sunset?!” Amethyst blurted out, immediately realizing what she'd said and slapping both hands over her mouth.

Sunset and Twilight shared a confused look. “Uh...do I...know you?” the former asked.

Amethyst slowly removed her hands to reveal an awkwardly forced smile. “N-no! Of course not, we've never met before in our lives!” she answered with a laugh. “I just...thought you were someone else! Sorry,” she added quickly, putting her hands behind her back and taking a slinking step backwards. “IjustrememberedIhavesomewhereelsetobe, bye!”

She turned and ran the way she'd come from without a second thought.

“Well...that was odd,” Twilight said after a moment of staring.

“I'll say,” Sunset added. “Have you ever seen her before, cause I know for a fact that she doesn't go to CHS.”

“Well I don't remember her from Crystal Prep, though I did spend most of the time there in my lab,” Twilight admitted.

“She recognized me, though,” Sunset said with a thoughtful frown, “so I don't think she goes there either. And she knew my name, too...” And then, all at once, both girls' eyes widened in realization.

“You don't think...” Twilight asked, trailing off hesitantly.

“That she knows the other me?” Sunset finished. “I'm not sure, but I intend to find out.” With new-found determination she narrowed her eyes, thrust the snack cakes into her friend's hands, and took off running after Amethyst.

Now beginning to panic, Twilight dithered in place for a few moments as she looked from Sunset to the bags of parts on the bus stop bench. With a grimace she darted over and stuffed her snack cakes into one of them, then lifted all four despite their weight and started chasing after. “Sunset, wait for me!”

Sunset barely heard her, too focused on keeping track of the girl in front while dodging and weaving through the morning foot-traffic. At first it seemed like fortune was favoring her, as Amethyst seemed to have slowed her pace to a fast walk. That changed, however, when she cast a nervous glance over her shoulder and saw her pursuer. Letting out a startled cry she resumed running, leaving a trail of irate pedestrians in her wake as she barged past them to flee from Sunset.

Eventually Amethyst ducked into an alleyway between a pizzeria and a book store, and Sunset smiled. While she may not be familiar with every alley in the city, she did know that they weren't usually easy places to navigate. Whether they were ponies or humans, it was surprising just how much a person could cram into a small place.

She turned into the alley fully expecting to see Amethyst tripped over a garbage can, or tangled up with some hapless person using the alley for something else, or even just cornered at a dead-end.

Instead, she just saw the dead-end. No Amethyst Shine, or anybody else. No ladders to have climbed, doors to have entered, or even so much as a bag to hide behind. Just an empty alleyway. “What?! Where'd she go?!” Sunset exclaimed, eyes wide as she dashed into the alley and looked frantically for any nook or cranny she might have missed.

She spent minutes on her fruitless search before Twilight Sparkle finally arrived, almost entirely out of breath. “What,” she panted, “happened?”

“I don't know!” Sunset replied, eyes wild as she paced the narrow space. “I swear she came down here, but then it's like she just...disappeared!”

“Disappeared? Do you think,” she quickly looked around, then lowered her voice, “do you think maybe she used magic?”

Sunset was silent for a moment, gripping her hair as she thought. “I don't know, maybe?” she finally said. “I mean, I didn't feel any magic being used, but what else could it be?”

“I...wish I had the answer to that,” Twilight said with a frown.

Sunset sighed, leaning against a wall. “Well, however she escaped, Amethyst Shine is pretty suspicious. We need to keep an eye out for her from now on.”

“Do you think we should tell the others about her?” Twilight asked. “If nothing else, they should be able to approach her without scaring her off. I don't think she'll want to talk to us if we see her again.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Sunset said after a moment, her mind racing. “But not right now, I'd prefer it if we didn't miss the bus again.”

Silence passed between the two girls for a moment before they stiffened with horror and looked at each other. “The bus!” they exclaimed, immediately dashing out of the alley at top speed to make a break for the bus stop, Sunset taking half the bags from Twilight as they went.

Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed it!

As you've probably guessed, most chapters will only follow one of the established storylines rather than all of them as in chapter one. This time we followed Sunset and Twilight through their morning, next time will be RariJack, and the chapter after that will probably be Rainbow Dash and Mare-Do-Well.

Of course, as we saw with the Crusaders and 'Amethyst Shine' this week, there will be little crossovers each chapter as well. Just...think of them as hints of things to come.

Comments

[Flufux]

Okay, seriously, why aren't more people reading this? This story is awesome so far!

I like how while everyone are doing their own thing, they still end up crossing paths with each other. It kinda reminds me of the formula used in the TV show 'Heroes'.

Usually, I only give a like to a story that's finished, but since you've gotten so little response on this, I'm gonna give one anyway. Please enjoy!

[Fangren]

8310951
I know, right? It's been super disappointing. I think I've simply forgotten to add it to more groups like I'd planned, so I'll have to get on that. But thanks for the praise and the like! I'll admit that I never watched Heroes, but it sounds like the formula is a good one.

[Czar_Yoshi]

8311071 I haven't read this, but if you're looking for ways to get more views, there are a few things you could probably do.

First off, the story description and tags don't really say tell me much about what the story's about, or even match that much. Reading the description and looking at the character tags, I get a Random/SL feel (something similar to the Season 5 episode with the wedding and all the references and background ponies)... but the genera tags tell me it's something quite different from that, and probably a good deal more serious. I also came here expecting SunLight, since that's how it showed up in my feed, but when it lacks both Sunset and Twilight tags, it kinda sends the message that that ship isn't really an important part of the story, y'know? It's not bad in an "Oh, I don't like this, better leave a downvote" way... but it's not eye-catching. Again, having not read it, I can't really say much about what it should be... but people need to want to read it to, well, read it. Finding cover art, if you can, helps with that.

Next is the fact that it has nine prequels. It doesn't matter how short they are, that's really intimidating. And on top of that, it's continuous with a 50k story... Things that happen simultaneously with others tend to be things most readers avoid, simply because they don't want to put in the work figuring out what order to read them in. To be fair, I looked through at them and some of them do look pretty neat... but it's still a high barrier of entry. Unless they really are all required for the story to make sense, I'd advise mentioning as little continuity stuff as possible before the reader actually reads the story, sort of in an "If you liked this, here's more" way, or at least adding a disclaimer that it stands on its own, or something.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I wish you luck with this.

[Fangren]

8311706
Hmm...good points all around, and thank you for giving me your perspective as someone who's only judging the story based on the description and tags. It's a viewpoint I hadn't really considered. You're right that it is, overall, a more serious story than would be implied by using the SL and especially the Random tag alone would imply. I had hoped the description would convey that better, but clearly I was mistaken.

Although I suppose the SL wouldn't be entirely inaccurate, at least early on in the story when most of the cast will be having rather mundane days. Which will variably quickly turn into a rather more extraordinary day, so in that sense giving it the SL tag directly may not be appropriate? Perhaps just a disclaimer that it'll start off in such a fashion, I'm not certain. Character tags will be more difficult; I understand your point regarding the lack of Sunlight in the tags, but the things is that while they (and Rarijack) are important parts of the fic they're not the only important parts of the fic - there's so much more that's going on, and using four out of five character tags on like a third of the plot threads seems like a disservice to the rest of the cast.

Cover art would be lovely, but, well, as you can probably imagine there's a lot going on in it so I don't think any existing work of art would really do. And I don't have money to commission anything, sadly, so there's not much I can do.

Also, I admittedly hadn't considered the intimidation factor of all the prequel material, so thank you for bringing that up. The 50k story, fortunately, doesn't need to be read to understand this story and that can easily be mentioned; the nine actual prequels I can at least make clear which plot threads they set up. In fact I think I'll make it clear in the description what those plot threads are, at least to some extent.

Anyway, thank you so much for your feedback! Either tonight, or more likely tomorrow when I have more time, I'll rewrite/update the description with your advice in mind.

[AlexTFish]

Hee. And so it begins. The crossings between the threads. I look forward very much to seeing what comes of it!

Twilight is acting pretty antsy, but that's obviously nervousness caused by being in the presence of her crush; at the moment it's still adorable rather than annoying. Hopefully they'll get caught up in adventure and she'll forget to be nervous soon.

When Rainbow Dash saw Mare-do-Well disappear into a dead end, my immediate thought was Trixie and her Magician's Exit (from Forgotten Friendship). But seeing Starlight do the same thing is mysterious. It suggests that Starlight herself is the Mare-Do-Well, but that doesn't seem to make much sense, either in personality terms or just physical geographical location. Though, hmm, I guess evil-Sunset said she didn't see much of where her riding partner went during the day... Currently my money's more on either some secret doors in alleyways that Starlight and Mare-Do-Well both know about, or some Weird Magical Goings-On(TM) :) I shall look forward to seeing what transpires!