• Published 9th Jul 2018
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The Book of Sunlight - elPossenreisser



Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer are falling in love across the dimensions

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Chapter Five

Sunset’s mood remained stable until later the next day, shortly after Twilight had been on her way to Rarity’s to get ready for the night. Sunset tried to distract herself for a while with one of the tomes Twilight had brought over, but not even a bunch of beautifully crafted thaumaturgical theorems could hold her attention long enough.

She closed the book with slow, controlled motions and put it down gently on Twilight’s side of the desk. Calm, she told herself. I’m calm.

Standing in front of the desk—now much cleaner than it had been almost since she had moved in—she carefully took note of all the details of her apartment—the new set of candles on the window sill, the growing pile of laundry that would need to be taken care of soon, the laptop idling peacefully on her bed; her bed, which nowadays had two pillows and two blankets. Two used cups standing forgotten on the nightstand.

What a bunch of useless stuff!

It was no good; there was too much of Twilight in this room. Telling herself that she wasn’t running from anything she briskly walked out of the room, heading for the kitchen. Maybe a cup of tea would help her ease her mind, or maybe some hot milk, since hot milk was supposed to help with falling asleep. Sunset glared at the small pot which was now clean and sparkling again, but had been a mess of scorched milk that night when she and Twilight had texted for the first time.

“This is so not working,” she groaned, swirled around and stormed out of the kitchen. She hurried to put on shoes and a hoodie and, grabbing her purse, left the apartment. Maybe a walk in the crisp autumn evening would clear her mind. Her home just wasn’t where she wanted to be right now.

It was already getting dark, and a thin fog was rising from the ground. The street lanterns were on, and in the fog their lights were surrounded by a faintly glowing white shroud. There weren’t many people out and about, most of them undoubtedly daunted by the chill weather.

Sunset wasn’t particular fond of the weather; her season was the summer with long days and bright hot sunshine. Cold and grey days like this one tended to make her moody. On days like this the only thing appealing to her was normally to curl up in bed with a good movie or book. And—

Nope. I’m not thinking it, she stubbornly told herself and kicked an empty soda can that was lying on the street.

She turned another corner and found herself facing a bridge—her aimless wanderings had led her to the river. Down at the river banks the fog was even thicker, and the lanterns were fuzzy yellow balls of light suspended in a white sea.

A sudden image flashed in front of her mind’s eye: as she made her way through the fog, suddenly she found herself in front of a bench, and on it, invisible from more than a few yards away, sat Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle, enjoying their sandwiches and chatting animatedly.

“Heck no,” she murmured. Unlikely as it was that they would venture out in such weather, it was still too dangerous. The river banks would remain out of bounds for the night. She turned around, heading vaguely for the school.

Her phone buzzed twice—a message from Rarity.

How are you doing, dear? In case you have nothing better to do, would you care to join Fluttershy and me for a cup of tea?

When Sunset was halfway done punching in a short decline she started. Why not, she thought. Maybe hanging out with Rarity and Fluttershy would take her mind off of things. That was, as she had learned, how friends worked. Hiding away because she felt sorry for herself, regardless of how well-founded her feelings were, was way more like her past self.

Sunset wrote, Suew, Id love to When amd where do i meet yoiu?

She snorted at the typos. After all those nights texting with Twilight through the book her phone typing had badly deteriorated. Again.

Before she could delve any deeper into thoughts of Twilight—and Flash Sentry and dates and all that—her phone buzzed again.

Wonderful! We have just arrived at Donut Joe’s, so join us whenever it suits you!

Sunset returned her phone to her pocket. She changed course for a street that led away from the river, deciding that there was no use wandering around any longer—her walk hadn’t provided any distraction at all. If anything her silly jealous worrying about Twilight’s date had only worsened. Hanging out with her friends and having a nice cup of tea would be better, even though those friends weren’t Twilight.

As she turned around another corner and Donut Joe’s came in sight she scolded herself for this last selfish thought.

***

“Sunset, darling! Good to see you!” Rarity greeted Sunset emphatically as she entered Donut Joe’s. She and Fluttershy were seated in a far corner of the diner, a pot of tea between them. Rarity waved, and Fluttershy smiled at her timidly while at the same time appearing eager to hide behind her long hair. Sunset waved, made her way to the table, and sat down.

“It was on rather short notice,” Rarity said apologetically, “but I thought it was worth a shot.”

“That’s fine,” Sunset said. “I wasn’t really doing anything after Twilight left.” She bit her lip. She really didn’t want to discuss this, although she suspected that Rarity and Fluttershy would both listen to her worries if she was to share them with the two girls. But the point of her being here was to distract herself! “What are you having?” she quickly added.

“Earl Grey,” Rarity said. “You can partake in the tea, there’s plenty!”

“I don’t really feel like tea tonight, I think,” Sunset said. Nor hot milk with honey, nor hot chocolate, for that matter. All these drinks, while tasty, had certain connotations associated with them which she simply didn’t want to deal with, not now and probably not any time soon. “Can I get a coffee please?” she asked the approaching waitress, who just nodded and veered off. “Hope I’m not interrupting you.”

“Fluttershy was just telling me…”

Sunset followed the conversation, but only with half her mind, or at least to her it seemed that way. Apparently Rarity and Fluttershy had a habit of going to a local spa together. And there was a certain sophomore who Fluttershy thought was really cute, but hadn’t had the courage to talk to yet. Rarity was offering advice and, when she realized that advice wasn’t going to be enough, got into designing several schemes for getting Fluttershy and the boy to talk to each other.

Sunset listened and nodded and made understanding noises whenever appropriate and took it all in, but at the same time her thoughts were elsewhere. If something happened to Twilight, she thought, she had no way of knowing, since Twilight didn’t have a phone. If the date went badly, for example, there was no way Twilight could let her know. She had the spare key to the apartment, but still—what if she came home and needed Sunset’s support?

Then again, there was no reason to assume the date would go badly. Nor did Sunset want it to go badly. She wanted her friend to have fun on her night out.

She noticed that the other two had stopped talking, and were looking at her quizzically. Looking down she realized that she had reduced two napkins to a pile of small shreds while she had been lost in thought. Her cup of coffee was silently cooling in front of her, completely unnoticed.

“Is everything quite alright?” Rarity asked. “You seem distracted. Distressed even.”

Fluttershy chimed in, uncharacteristically bold. “Are you worrying about something? Um, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m fine,” Sunset waved it off. “Sorry for the mess.”

“Are you sure, dear?” Rarity prodded.

“Yes,” Sunset said, faking a smile.

“Hm,” was all Rarity replied. She kept looking at Sunset Shimmer with a suspiciously raised eyebrow for less than a second, then put on a smile. “My, Twilight was quite nervous when she left me. It was so adorable, really! How was she holding up before she left?”

Sunset flinched. So much for distractions.

Twilight had been a little excited, and had tried her best to hide it from Sunset Shimmer. Of course her attempts had been futile—it was usually very easy for Sunset to read her. The way Twilight had kept playing with the new curls in her bangs, or how she had again and again brushed her hands over the fabric of her skirt had been telltale signs. Sunset could only guess why she tried to hide her nervousness—perhaps she was still worried about Sunset not wanting her to date her ex-boyfriend.

And when it had finally been time to leave she had given Sunset a long goodbye hug, just long enough so that one could think Twilight might back off in the last moment.

Of course she didn’t; Twilight was no coward, as Sunset knew perhaps better than anypony. So eventually Twilight had broken the hug and had gone, leaving Sunset in that weird state of mind that had eventually led her outside, and then here.

“A bit excited, maybe,” she replied flatly.

“I’m certain she’ll be okay,” Rarity said, and Sunset wondered whom she was trying to console, Sunset or herself. “You must be so happy for them. Wouldn’t it be the most romantic thing in the world? Love that crosses the worlds! The princess and the quarterback!” She sighed and pressed her hands against her chest. Sunset couldn’t believe she was serious.

“It would be really nice if they could make each other happy,” Fluttershy dreamily agreed, and it was all Sunset could do to hide her snort with a sudden cough. She shuffled around on her chair uncomfortably. It was her own fault, she told herself, for bringing up Twilight in the first place. For being a jealous ass.

“I can’t wait to hear everything about it,” Rarity gushed.

Sunset sighed and turned away, looking around the diner. She didn’t want this conversation. Didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to be part of it. It made her queasy to discuss these things; it was just too much. It needed to stop. She let her gaze wander.

People-watching didn’t help, either, as each table seemed to be occupied by a hand-holding couple, their gazes interlocked longingly. She remembered her coffee and picked up the cup to take a careful sip.

“Sunset?” Rarity sounded genuinely worried.

She had to get out of there. “Sorry, girls. I’m super tired, I should get going,” Sunset mumbled. With shaky hands she fumbled some bills from her pocket and dropped them on the table. “Was nice to hang out with you, but I can’t…” She didn’t finish her sentence, just gave them a weak wave and turned away without looking at their faces.

Once outside she pulled her hood as deep into her face as possible. Head lowered, staring at the ground, she briskly walked the streets leading to her apartment. Coming to the diner had been a terrible idea, she told herself. She just should have stayed at home, hidden under a blanket or two, where nobody would see how bad a friend she was. Rarity and Fluttershy were happy for Twilight and were rooting for her, and that was only just. Sunset herself had just failed at that.

Sunset pushed through the more densely populated streets, brow furrowed and trying not to snarl at everyone who obstructed her way. A guy mouthed his protest as she pushed through between him and his girlfriend with whom he was walking hand in hand.

She spun around. “Got a problem?” she hissed at the bloke. Her expression or something in her voice convinced him to back off, raising his hands defensively. “Then shut your face!” She was almost disappointed that that wimp didn’t put up a fight.

Muttering a few more choice swear words under her breath she walked on. Sure, everything wasn’t that guy’s fault, but what did he know. He had someone by his side. Was happy for his friends when something good happened to them. Was not a jealous ass. What a jerk.

Her eyes itched suspiciously. She wasn’t going to cry in public, she told herself. It was bad enough that she was too selfish to be a good friend; there was no need to let everypony see just how pathetic she was.

Finally she reached her apartment building. She cursed at the door when she almost dropped her keys trying to open the front door. She virtually ran upstairs and slammed her apartment’s door shut behind her, kicking off her shoes violently without caring whether they struck the wall or crashed through the window. She stormed into the bedroom, tore off her hoodie and threw herself on the bed, not bothering to switch on the lights.

She was not going to cry. There was no reason to, other than her being ridiculous. What if Twilight came back and found her, what was she going to tell her?

Why couldn’t everything just have stayed the way it was? Twilight and Sunset, hanging out, watching movies, reading books… and most importantly, together.

Because of Flash, that’s why, she thought, gritting her teeth. He was handsome and considerate and sometimes adorably awkward, and he was clearly into Twilight. Sunset of all people knew that he was a good guy, sometimes sickeningly so. Why wouldn’t Twilight be into him?

She turned on her back, staring at the ceiling of her dark bedroom. She really wanted to hate Flash, be mad at him, curse his name, scratch his eyes out the next time she saw him, but she knew Flash wasn’t to blame. He didn’t steal Twilight away from her with the intention to mess with Sunset, after all—

oh but it would feel so nice to give in to the anger to have a culprit a scapegoat an enemy to plot her vengeance to make him rue the day—

Sunset jumped up and started pacing in front of her bed; all those emotions had made her jittery and restless. “Keep it together,” she murmured to herself, breathing heavily. “Keep cool.” She sluggishly combed through her hair with her fingers, then she gave the doorframe a punch. “Keep it together.”

The way her thoughts were trying to turn into revenge fantasies was downright scary; that was her old self all over again. The winged demon monstrosity. The one from which Twilight had freed her. Twilight…

What was the point of even being New And Reformed Sunset™, making friends, playing nice, all cuddly and soft? What was the point if Twilight still turned away from her? Before, she had at least been able to deal with feeling like crap. Before, she could always just make sure everypony else was even more miserable than her, which was always a relief.

But isn’t everything so much better, she thought bitterly. I have friends who I can talk to about anything, and I don’t have to be alone and angry anymore. What a load of crap. Here she was, definitely alone and well on the way to a truly spectacular fit of anger. She punched the wall again, harder this time, so that it hurt. A single tear ran down her cheek, and with an annoyed huff she wiped it away.

And those friends that she could talk to—

the ones who are gushing and giggling their brains out about Twilight’s date who have nothing more important to discuss than going to the spa or some silly sophomore crush—

Yeah. Great.

Of course she knew she was being unfair. Rarity and Fluttershy and the other girls had been nothing but awesome to her, and she had no reason to believe they’d turn away if she asked them for help.

Somehow knowing this just made Sunset angrier. Squinting her eyes shut and lowering her head she continued pacing back and forth, back and forth. Not that there’s a lot they could do. I’m losing the most important person in my entire life, and what are they gonna do? Take me to the spa?

But she couldn’t lose Twilight. It just couldn’t happen. There was no way. She couldn’t even think of not having Twilight around. And yet it was happening, right now, and there was nothing, nothing at all she could do to prevent it.

Sunset groaned and gave her nightstand a kick at full force, almost knocking it over. The pain in her toes was sharp and brilliant and offensive. She screamed, a wordless howl of outrage. That stupid nightstand!

She gave it another kick with the other foot before she, unsatisfied with the results, smashed both her fists on its surface, knocking over the two mugs that had been standing there and which she had completely forgotten about. One of them just fell over, but the other one slid over the edge and shattered on the floor.

“Horseapples!” she yelled. “No!”

Sunset turned towards the wall and butted her head against it. The dull pain did not help calm her down, and so she turned back to the nightstand and swiped the remaining cup off the surface as well, sending it shattering into the wall. Then she gave the nightstand another punch for good measure.

“Horseapples!” she mumbled. “Everything is bucking horseapples!”

Absentmindedly she realized that she was crying, probably because of the pain or the stupid insolent nightstand or some other inane reason. What did it matter, she furiously thought—even when she was just trying to feel sorry for herself she only ended up destroying things. She was probably crying because she realized just how pathetic she really was!

She tossed herself on the bed again, not caring if she stepped into shards of the shattered mugs, took one of the pillows and started battering it with her fists. She sobbed. The sound enraged her even more and she lay into the pillow even harder.

It lasted for about half a minute before Sunset’s strikes became weaker and the sobbing uncontrollable. With one last feeble blow she buried her head in the battered pillow, sobs shaking her body. She cried because of her toes, because she was stupid and jealous and alone and pathetic, because she had broken her mugs, because she missed Twilight so much that her silly toes were nothing in comparison—

—but why would Twilight pick me over Flash Sentry or anypony for that matter look at me kicking over my furniture throwing hissy fits like a silly foal breaking my toe she’s way better off without me and I’m gonna make the entire world pay—

She was aware that she was overreacting. Of course Twilight wouldn’t abandon her, even when things between her and Flash progressed further. But that only made her cry harder. Tears and snot soiled the pillow, but she didn’t care. She was a mess anyway—not only jealous, but having a complete meltdown. Blowing things utterly out of proportion.

Sunset kept crying for a good ten minutes, until it finally seemed that a good part of the pain was gone. She didn’t get up or raise her head but just kept lying, her face buried in the now damp pillow. She felt empty. Spent. There wasn’t enough energy left in her to even just turn around, let alone to deal with her aching toe or the broken mugs.

She thought, If Twilight comes back now, I’m gonna have some explaining to do. But not even that thought could rouse her.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when she finally got up. The pain in her toe when she stepped on it made her wince. One of the broken cups, she realized, was the one Twilight usually picked when she made tea, and it took all her willpower to let out nothing more than a single hushed sob. Careful not to cut her hands she picked up the bigger pieces and threw them in the paper bin. Then she hobbled to the kitchen to get a brush and dustpan.

After cleaning up the mess—

—I dropped it I’m just gonna say I dropped it she mustn’t know how pathetic choleric stupid I am—

—she limped to the bathroom. Her face was in dire straits; she looked like a crazy person, or like when she’d had one too many drink, back in the days. Or probably both, crazy and drunk. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she had a red mark on her forehead from headbutting the wall. She splashed some water into her face and scrubbed her cheeks and eyes with a washcloth. The result wasn’t great, but she didn’t care enough to invest more energy.

By now the pain in her toe had been reduced to a dull thumping. Hoping it wasn’t broken, Sunset sat down in a kitchen chair carefully removed the sock. The two outermost toes were red and swollen. With a sigh she hobbled to the freezer to search for an ice pack.

Only then did she hear the key turn in the front door lock. Twilight was home.

Keep it cool. She doesn’t need to know just how pathetic I am.

Twilight closed the front door behind her and found Sunset in the kitchen. As she saw the bare foot and the ice pack her eyes widened. “Sunset, what happened? Are you hurt?”

Sunset looked up, into Twilight’s eyes, and saw the concern in her face, heard it in her voice. Felt it radiate from her like some wave of magical energy. Twilight was worried about her. The most important person in her life was worried about her. Cared for her. Cared for a pathetic, hissy-fit throwing, favorite mug-destroying, self-pitying, jealous excuse for a friend like her.

Sunset turned her face away. There was no way she was going to give in to Twilight’s concerns—she didn’t deserve her compassion. “I’m fine,” she murmured.

Twilight’s gentle touch on her shoulder made it very clear that she wasn’t buying it. “Sunset—“

“I’m fine!” Sunset repeated more forcefully. “Leave me alone.”

She heard Twilight gasp and felt her backing away. But it took only a second before Twilight put both her hands back on Sunset’s shoulders, trying to get her to look at her. “Sunset, you’re not fine! And I’m definitely not going to leave you alone! Please tell me what’s wrong!”

It was too much to grasp. In a futile attempt to deflect Twilight’s attention Sunset managed to say, “How was your date—“ and then she burst into tears. Twilight, shocked by her sudden outburst, crouched down next to Sunset’s chair and put her arms around her waist. Sunset leaned forward to return the hug and buried her face on her shoulder.

“Sunset—“ Twilight murmured, still visibly shocked by Sunset’s behavior. “What happened? Are you in pain? Should I take you to a doctor?” She was so worried, Sunset realized, because Twilight cared for her so much. She needed to calm her, tell her that she was just being stupid, nothing serious. She only cried harder. Twilight put her hand on Sunset’s unruly mane and began to stroke her.

The height difference was uncomfortable—and more importantly it kept Sunset from properly hugging Twilight. So she slid off the chair and knelt down beside Twilight and embraced her, holding on to her tightly. Twilight put her arms around her and pulled her in closer, letting her cry it all out on her shoulder.

Sunset leaned heavily against Twilight, at the same time sobbing—again—and trying to take stock of her emotions. While she was overjoyed that Twilight was back she was still very aware of her earlier outbursts, the aching toe being a constant reminder just in case she forgot. While she couldn’t believe she was deserving of Twilight’s sympathy and worry she never would have given up being held like this with Twilight gently stroking her back and her head.

Before too long her sobs ceased. Twilight asked, “Are you feeling better?” and she nodded. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” Twilight asked.

“I dunno,” Sunset murmured. “It’s kinda stupid. And embarrassing.” She took a deep breath. “Can you just hold me like this some more?”

She heard Twilight’s smile in her reply. “Of course, Sunset.”

“I think I do want to tell you,” Sunset continued. “It’s just… I dunno how.”

“You know I won’t think less of you, whatever it is, right? You can tell me anything.”

Sunset realized that she did, in fact, know. She bit her lip in an effort not to start crying again. “I know that,” she said hoarsely. “I’ll… I’m gonna have to think about it, okay? I’ll tell you when I can. If I can.”

“Take as much time as you need,” Twilight whispered. “I’m here for you, no matter what.” Sunset just nodded as some fresh tears filled her eyes.

Holding onto Twilight, safe and warm in her embrace, Sunset tried to sort out the chaos in her head. She knew Twilight wouldn’t press the issue and wouldn’t hold it against her if she didn’t tell her what was bothering her, and that was great. Even if she did know how to put what she felt into words, it was scary. The idea of showing Twilight all that crazy, all those nasty bits of her old self that still lingered, horrified her. What if it drove Twilight away? Sunset wouldn’t even blame her.

At the same time she wanted to tell Twilight everything. It felt important, and it also felt wrong to keep something this important as a secret from Twilight. If there was anyone who would understand her it was Twilight. Probably better than she was able to understand herself.

Still. The only way to start her confession she could think of was something along the lines of “I got jealous when you went out with Flash Sentry”, and nothing good could come from that. Besides, she wasn’t even sure what exactly she felt for Twilight other than that she was incredibly important to her and that she wanted her to stay with her forever, not sharing her with Flash Sentry or whoever else came along. That’s quite something though.

They remained like this for a long time, kneeling and hugging in the brightly lit kitchen while the ice pack slowly melted into a puddle. At some point Twilight sat down and leaned against the table leg, and Sunset lay down on the kitchen floor with her head in Twilight’s lap, knees pulled to her chest. Twilight stroked her hair.

When Sunset finally spoke her voice was hardly more than a hoarse whisper. “I was jealous,” she said. “Scratch that. I am jealous.” She waited for a reaction from Twilight, but she didn’t say anything and just kept stroking Sunset’s hair. “When you went on that date with Flash Sentry all I could think about was what it would be like when the two of you started dating. That you’d spend so much time with him and I’d have to just sit at home alone.

“I know I won’t be alone. I have friends now, and they are great and all… it’s just… you stand out. You’re more important to me than anypony else, and… yeah. I know it’s silly. I know you won’t leave me behind or anything. It’s just…”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. There was so much more, the way she had felt like her old self, filled with anger, a worthless bully who deserved to be left alone. But all she ended up saying was, “I need you, and I’m scared of what’s gonna become of me without you.”

Suddenly she found herself enveloped by Twilight as the other girl bent over and rested her forehead on Sunset’s cheek. “Silly filly,” Twilight whispered. “I’m not gonna leave you behind. You mean way too much to me. I wouldn’t ever have left you behind, even if…” Twilight chuckled. “Even if the date had gone well.”

***

Twilight turned into the familiar alley that led to New Deli and immediately saw Flash who was standing outside the little eatery, shuffling his feet and looking around. She smiled and waved, but it took a few seconds before he finally noticed her. He waved back at and started for her, and they met halfway into the alley.

“Hi, Twilight,” Flash said, awkwardly extending his hand. Twilight shook it with a smile.

“Hi, Flash, good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too, you too,” Flash agreed. They looked at each other for a short, silent moment before Flash added, “Shall we?”

“Yes!”

“I got us a table,” Flash explained as they entered the deli. “Like, it’s usually pretty crowded in here, and you can’t really get a table unless you make a reservation.”

“Great!”

The waiter greeted Flash Sentry with a somewhat knowing smile and without further comment led them to a small table at the windowed front where they sat down. Flash picked up a menu and fiddled with it, not really reading it.

“Do you know what you want already?” Twilight asked.

“Um, yeah. Here!” He pushed the menu over to her.

“So do I,” Twilight said. “Then we can order right away!” She turned to the waiter and said, “A tomato, mozzarella, and basil sandwich and a soda, please!”

“For me an Italian BMT and a coke, please,” Flash added. The waiter noted down their order and wandered off. Twilight looked at Flash expectantly, saw that he was staring at his hands on the table, and also lowered her gaze. Was she supposed to do something specific? Say something? But what? She didn’t really know a lot about Flash Sentry, so where would she start off a conversation?

When the silence started being awkward, she asked the first thing she could think of. “So, um… how’s your band doing?”

“Um, great!” Flash replied with enthusiasm. “Just great!”

“How was your practice session last weekend?” Twilight asked when Flash wouldn’t elaborate. It seemed fair that she needed to pull her weight in keeping the conversation going.

“Um, just fine, I guess. We played a bunch of songs, and it went pretty well. We were working on Paradise City.” He looked at her expectantly as if Twilight was supposed to say something. While she was still trying to think of anything to say, Flash added, “You know, the Guns N' Roses song?”

“I, um, don’t think I know it,” Twilight said. Not wanting to discuss her lack of knowledge about human music, she quickly added, “So when is your next concert?”

“We’re kinda still planning our next gig,” Flash replied. “We have a few ideas lined up though, so it’s only a matter of time. When we have it organized, will you come?” he asked eagerly.

“Sure, if I’m in town,” Twilight agreed.

“So, how long are you in town for this time?”

“Just the weekend,” Twilight replied. Hadn’t they discussed her staying already the day before, when they had met near the portal? “I’m going back home on Sunday.”

“That’s tomorrow,” Flash helpfully commented, chancing a quick look at her face.

“Yes,” Twilight agreed.

“Got any plans for tomorrow then?”

“I’ll probably just hang out with Sunset Shimmer a bit.”

“You two are really good friends now, huh.”

“Yes, we are.” Twilight briefly wondered how Flash himself felt about Sunset Shimmer—he had treated her friendly during their breakfast the other weekend. All she knew was that he had split up with her some time before the Fall Formal. The Fall Formal… Had that really been only eight weeks ago?

She considered asking Flash how he and Sunset were getting along these days, but then again, ex-girlfriends could be a rather touchy topic. She made a mental note to ask Sunset Shimmer later instead.

The food came and pulled her out of her thoughts. Flash grinned at her and picked up his sandwich. Twilight took a bite from hers and once more marveled at the combination of flavors. She couldn’t believe nopony in Equestria had come up with the idea yet. She really needed to try it out at home some time.

They ate in companionable silence for a while, and although Twilight appreciated being inside a heated building and safe from the foggy cold outside, the small sandwich parlor was way too crowded and noisy to be really considered cozy. And being out in the cold and freezing one’s fingers off, she remembered with a faint smile, had certain advantages to it as well.

Twilight’s gaze fell on Flash’s hands as if on its own account. His fingers didn’t look as slim and soft as Sunset’s. They were thicker and seemed stronger, but also rougher. The back of his hands and fingers were covered in fine blue hairs.

Flash finished his sandwich first. After a sip of his soda he asked, “So, where are you from?”

Twilight hastily swallowed. “Um, from a place named Ponyville,” she said.

“Never heard of it,” Flash said. “Is it big?”

“Not really, no.”

“And is it far from here?”

“Heheh, yes, you could say that,” Twilight said, rubbing her neck with a hand. She was quite sure that telling Flash Sentry the entire truth about her Equestrian origins was probably a bad idea. She took another bite from her sandwich.

“And you go to school there?” Flash continued asking.

“No, um… not anymore.”

“Ah, so you’re home-schooled?”

“Um, you could say that.” How would she explain to a human boy that in her home country she was a princess? A magical prodigy? Let alone an alicorn? How could she explain what it was like to be Princess Celestia’s personal student? But even though it was easier this way, she didn’t feel comfortable telling this white lie. Dishonesty was not a good way to build up a friendship. “Home-schooled, yes.” She took another bite.

Flash watched her finish her sandwich. Twilight felt reminded of her very first day in this world when she had had lunch with Fluttershy in the school cafeteria. It was a bit uncomfortable to be scrutinized like this. On the other hoof she was glad that Flash let her finish eating without interruption.

When she was done Twilight cleaned her hands on a napkin and took a sip from her soda. Flash was at least looking at her and not his hands now. The silence between them dragged on for quite some time, just enough for Twilight to wonder if that kind of awkward silence was normal for a date.

“So, um, do you play sports?” Flash finally asked.

“No, not really.” There were her flying exercises with Rainbow Dash, but she had no idea how to explain that particular arrangement to him. No, she thought, that amount of awkwardness was probably unique to when you dated somepony who didn’t know you were a pony from another dimension.

“I’m in the football team,” Flash said. “I’m the quarterback. Um, do you like football?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a match. Is it like soccer? My friend Rainbow Dash is really into soccer.”

“You must’ve lived under a rock!” Flash said. “Football is nothing like soccer. Football is much tougher than soccer, it’s a real fight, really physical. Soccer, well… mostly girls play soccer. You should really come see us play some time!”

“Um, sure, why not.”

“Great!” He gave her another smile. The awkward silence fell again.

Silence wasn’t per se awkward, Twilight mused. She could spend entire days alone and in silence, reading through piles of books or organizing some checklist. Most of the nights she had spent at Sunset’s, each of them engrossed in some old Equestrian tome or modern human book, they hadn’t spoken much for hours, but it had never felt awkward. Quite the contrary, Twilight fondly remembered just looking up from her book and seeing Sunset right next to her, who would infallibly smile back at her.

Did dates really have to be awkward like this?

She chanced a look at the clock above the counter and to her surprise realized that not even forty minutes had passed since she and Flash had sat down. Time really flies…

“This isn’t going too well, is it,” Flash said, noticing her look. Twilight turned back at him, feeling found out. He looked dejected. Twilight really wanted to say something kind to him, but all she could do was shake her head. “Well… I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“You’re not—“

He gave her a weak smile. “It’s pretty obvious that you’d rather be somewhere else.”

“But I—“ she protested.

“I’m sorry for the lousy date. At least we tried, huh?”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest but found that she couldn’t. He was right. It had been a lousy date. Not that she had ever been on a good date as a point of reference, but she was pretty sure it had been a lousy date. “I’m sorry too.”

“No worries,” Flash said, casually waving at the waitress. “This is my treat, of course.”

“But I can—“

“Lousy or not, my date isn’t paying for herself,” Flash said with a smile.

“Thanks, Flash.”

“Don’t mention it.” He paid the waitress and stood up. “So. We’re still friends, right?”

Twilight smiled, feeling like it was the first genuine smile she had given him tonight. “Of course we are!” She stood up as well. “I’d be happy to see you play some time. Music or football.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

She followed him to the front door and outside, through the throngs of teenagers chatting and eating their sandwiches in little groups. He turned around and extended his hand, but Twilight gave him a quick hug instead. “I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Not if I see you first.” He let go of her. “Tell Sunset I said hi.”

***

Twilight finished her short account of the date, casually stroking Sunset’s hair, her head still resting in Twilight’s lap. Sunset hadn’t said anything ever since Twilight had started talking about the date, and while it was nice to just sit here with her, Twilight was still somewhat worried about Sunset. About how she had broken down in her arms. And about the implications of Sunset’s breakdown.

“I’m sorry it was a crappy date,” Sunset finally murmured.

Twilight smiled at that. “You don’t have to be.” And I don’t think you really are. “But thanks.”

She looked down at Sunset’s face resting in her lap. Sunset was facing away from Twilight, her eyes closed. On her face the traces of her tears were still visible, but she looked much more peaceful now. Each time she stroked Sunset’s hair her fingertips almost brushed against her cheek.

Twilight was surprised that she wasn’t more shocked. Seemingly within just one week she had become so important to Sunset Shimmer that the prospect of Twilight going out with someone else cause her to break down uncontrollably, fearing she might lose her.

Lose me… As her fingertip passed Sunset’s cheek by a few millimeters again, she couldn’t help but smile. Like I would ever allow that to happen.

How would she feel, she wondered, if she lost Sunset Shimmer? Unconsciously she scrunched her nose. That was not a pleasant thought. While she might not be prone to anger as Sunset, she would probably—

I don’t even know what I’d do. And immediately after that: I won’t let it happen. A wave of affection surged through her. Never.

Twilight bit her lip when she brought her hand up for the next stroke, vaguely aware that caressing someone’s face was more intimate than stroking their hair. With only the slightest hesitation she lowered her fingers and softly brushed past the soft, warm skin of Sunset’s cheek. To her delight Sunset only sighed happily and turned a face up a little for more contact. Butterflies danced in her stomach.

Twilight stifled a yawn. She leant her head back, resting it on the table’s leg she was leaning against and closed her eyes. She was glad that Sunset seemed to have bounced back from her breakdown, but she still continued to worry. Twilight resolved to pay extra close attention to Sunset to see if she was still troubled. And spend the entire day with her. Well, in all honesty not only because Sunset had been so upset.

Twilight traced Sunset’s ear with a finger, eliciting a subtle shiver but no complaints. She opened an eye and chanced a look. Sunset was breathing very slowly now, her eyes closed, and Twilight smiled as she closed her eye again. We should really go to bed.

***

Twilight Sparkle barely noticed when her mother stuck her head into her room to bid her good night, reminding her not to stay up for too long. She didn’t hear her father go to bed sometime later. She had completely forgotten about the plate with a sandwich on her desk. All of her mind was occupied by trying to get her makeshift emitter configured correctly.

She had spent the better part of the past week working out the formula that described the specific form of the energy emissions her meter had picked up. The correct formula had turned out to be a differential of a rather obscure geometrical Dho-Nha function whose parameters she had easily calculated from the data points she had. The emitter was mainly a means to confirm that her formula was correct—if she could build something that produced the same energy readings, she most certainly had them nailed down.

Still, taking into account the margin of error of her measurements meant that getting to the last tenth of percentile of accuracy required a bit of trial and error on the actual hardware—not really Twilight’s favorite strategy.

It was tedious work—exchange a resistor or two to get to the next possible combination of parameters, switch it on, check if the energy meter picked up the emission, rinse and repeat. But tedious or not, she needed to get to the bottom of those mysterious energy spikes, and she worked on her project with the same meticulous attention to detail with which she approached all her projects as well as her school work.

Twilight stuck a new resistor into her emitter’s main board before making sure the connection was stable. Then she flipped the power switch and picked up the energy meter.

When she saw the reading, she almost dropped the device as a sudden jolt of excitement shot through her body. There it was! Faint and weak, but unmistakably there! She was close enough to the frequency of the mysterious energy that she could detect her own emissions.

“Just a little…” she murmured as she removed the resistor and put a slightly smaller one in place. The flipped the switch again, and now the reading was stronger. “Almost there…” Behind her, laying on her bed, Spike raised an ear when he heard her voice, but didn’t wake up. As Twilight installed another resistor and turned the emitter on again, she had to bite her tongue to not squeal in delight. That was it! The divergence from her earlier readings was less than five percent, even though it was of course much weaker than the readings she had picked up with her antenna. It was good enough to try it out in the field as soon as she got a chance!

There was one more experiment she wanted to try with her emitter before going to bed. Carefully she removed the batteries from the emitter’s power supply and put them back in, this time reversed. The emitter’s circuit was designed for reversed polarity, and she needed to know if she could produce the inverse of the energy pattern she had picked up.

It worked, and this time she did squeal. The emitter did not go up in flames (always a possibility), and the energy meter picked up a negative reading. Now her series of interference experiments could begin!

Looking up from her desk for the first time in hours she realized the faint light outside and the relentless chirping of the birds. She yawned—high time she got some sleep. She could still put the finishing touches on the emitter and clean up her desk tomorrow. Thank goodness it was Sunday.

Still unable to suppress the giddy grin at her achievement, Twilight put on her pajamas and quickly brushed her teeth before lying down next to Spike.

***

Twilight awoke from something poking her arm. With an annoyed grunt she tried to brush the intruder away from her, but whatever it was, it wouldn’t stop. She opened an eye only to find Sunset Shimmer kneeling next to her. “Morning. Or whichever time it is.”

“Hey, Twi,” Sunset whispered. “Let’s go to bed, hmm?”

Twilight yawned. “Sounds good.” Sunset took her hands and pulled her to her feet, and Twilight held on to her shoulder, just to be sure. Being awake was almost too much hassle.

Sunset chuckled and put an arm around Twilight’s waist, leading her to the bedroom. The girls quickly put on their pajamas. Twilight chanced a look through the window and saw the first trace of light in the otherwise black sky. Part of her was curious about dawn in the human world, something she hadn’t thus far experienced. She wondered what it was like when the sun just raised on its own account, without Princess Celestia’s magic. But another, much more vocal part only wanted to sleep. “What time is it anyway?”

“Half past five,” Sunset replied.

“We spent half the night on your kitchen floor,” Twilight said as she crawled under the duvet. “With a perfectly fine bed right here.”

Sunset, who was just getting into bed as well, hesitated for a moment, her face turned away from Twilight. “Yeah,” she said in a low voice. “We did.” Then she lay down next to Twilight. Still not looking at her, she added, “Thanks, Twi. For… you know. All of that.”

Twilight tugged on her shoulder to get Sunset to face her, and the other girl finally complied. “Anytime,” Twilight reassured her with a smile, leaning her forehead against Sunset Shimmer’s. “Now let’s get some sleep, shall we?”

“Yep.” Sunset reached for the bedside lamp and switched it off before lightly putting and arm around Twilight. “Night!”

Twilight didn’t immediately respond. Despite the near darkness she kept her eyes open, tracing the contours of Sunset’s face with her gaze, happy that she looked peaceful now. “I just should have gone out with you instead, that would have been much more fun.”

A sleepy smile on her face, Sunset slowly opened her eyes. “I would’ve liked that.”

“Well, then the two of us should go out sometime, what do you say?”

“Sounds great,” Sunset dreamily agreed. “Can’t wait.”

“I admit I’m looking forward to a quiet day in tomorrow, though,” Twilight said. “So maybe next weekend?”

“It’s a date,” Sunset murmured. “Totally agree about tomorrow.”

“A date,” Twilight agreed. “I’m excited! It’s going to be great!”

With a mischievous grin, Sunset replied, “If you’re excited now, just wait for the goodnight kiss.” Tugging Twilight’s arm around herself she turned around, leaving Twilight to deal with the sudden heat rising in her cheeks.

She leaned her forehead against Sunset’s back, breathing in her scent, only able to muster a shaky squeak, “Good night.”

“Night!”

***

Sunset woke up from somebody knocking at her front door. With a groan she half crawled, half fell out of bed. After this night she would have welcomed some additional sleep. Remembering her unpleasant thoughts from the night before, she tried to refrain from overly vengeful feelings against the intruder, whoever it was, as she left the bedroom. Her right foot was still tender, and she had to favor it slightly.

Behind her, Twilight asked, “Hmmm?”

“I’ll go get it,” Sunset said. “You go on sleeping.”

“Mhmmm.”

When she opened the door she was surprised to find Rarity outside, greeting her with a somewhat uneasy smile. “Good morning, Sunset Shimmer!”

“Hey, Rarity,” Sunset greeted and beckoned her to come in. “What’s the story?”

“Forgive the early visit, dear, but… to get right to it, are you quite alright, Sunset?” Rarity asked as she made her way into the kitchen. “You seemed upset last night, and I was wondering…” They both sat down at the table. “I was worried,” Rarity continued. She looked at Sunset quizzically. “Is something bothering you?”

Despite the very lively memories of lying in a warm bed next to an equally warm Twilight Sparkle, and the sleep deprivation, and a general lack of coffee, Sunset couldn’t help but notice a warm feeling in her gut when she looked back at her friend’s concerned face. It was kind of nice that she worried.

“I’m fine,” Sunset said. “Just had a bad day and a bit of a pointless freakout.”

Rarity kept scrutinizing her for a few more moments. “Are you better now?”

“Yes,” Sunset said. “Twilight… she gave me a hand when she came home. Set me straight.”

Right behind her Twilight’s voice resounded, startling her. “I’m glad I could help. You had me worried too, you know.” She slumped down in the chair next to Sunset’s and rested her head on her shoulder, her hair tickling Sunset’s cheek. “Hi Rarity!”

“Good morning, Twilight!”

“No need to worry,” Sunset said a bit uneasily. “I’m fine, promise. No more relapses or freakouts.”

“’Relapses’?” Rarity asked, cocking a brow. “Pray tell, what was it that was bothering you so?”

“Um, I… I’d rather not talk about it. It was a crappy night, and I just want to forget it.”

“Of course.”

“I, um, I was in a pretty bad place last night,” Sunset added. “I’m sorry if I was, um, unfriendly to you or something. I didn’t mean to brush you off. It was just… just not a good night.”

“Nonsense, dear,” Rarity said with a warm smile. “We all have bad days from time to time. No foul, no harm. Just know that your friends are always there for you on such days.”

Sunset swallowed, fighting back a growing lump in her throat. “I know. Thanks.”

To Sunset’s chagrin Twilight broke the contact between them and stood up, yawning. “It’s way too early to function without coffee,” she said. “Do you girls want some as well?”

“Yes, please!” Sunset said.

“Thank you, I’m good,” Rarity said.

Twilight began rummaging through Sunset’s cupboards, bringing forth two mugs, the coffee filter, and the pot, before switching on the kettle. Sunset watched her go about and idly thought how well Twilight knew her way around her kitchen already. The thought made her smile.

“So, Twilight,” Rarity asked, and despite her words she was closely eying Sunset, “I’m absolutely dying to hear how your date went the other night.”

Twilight sighed. “It was… an interesting experience, but I don’t think there will be a second iteration.” She placed the pot with the filter on it on the table, next to the mugs.

“How’s that?” Rarity asked, sounding slightly aghast. “Did something untoward happen?”

Sitting down, Twilight sighed again. “No, nothing happened. It was just… really awkward.”

“That’s somewhat par for the course, actually,” Rarity remarked with a smirk.

“We didn’t have anything to talk about,” Twilight said. “It was… uncomfortable. He noticed it too. So we called it a night.”

“What a pity. But at least you tried. And I am certain there will be another Prince Charming coming your way soon enough.”

Sunset bit her cheeks in an attempt to rein in a smug grin as she recalled their last conversation that night. Before any Prince Charming could smarm his way into Twilight’s life, she’d be going on a date with Sunset Shimmer. And, yes, she remembered with a sudden joyful queasiness in her stomach, she had told Twilight she was going to kiss her. Closing her eyes, she carefully leaned to her right and rested her head against Twilight’s shoulder. For a moment, the three girls sat in companionable silence, each lost in her own thoughts.

“So, do you two have any plans for today?” Rarity finally asked.

“Yes,” Twilight said, the smile clearly audible in her voice. “We’re going to hide under a blanket and watch movies all day long and play some Dungeon Raider VI, as we had planned for last night.”

“And we’re going to finish Daring Do,” Sunset reminded her. “That’s a series of books from Equestria,” she explained to Rarity. “Twilight and I are… well, Twilight is reading it to me.”

Rarity chuckled. “That does sound like a lot of fun.” She pushed back her chair and stood up. “I’ll be leaving you to your activity, then. Will you be here for longer, Twilight?”

“I’m going back home tomorrow morning, but I’ll likely be back sometime midweek.” Again, Sunset had to fight back a giddy grin.

“Marvelous! You absolutely have to come over for tea, you hear? It’s so wonderful that you have found a way to come visit more often.” Rarity circled the table and hugged both girls at once. “I’ll see you tomorrow in school, Sunset.”

“Bye, Rarity!”

As Sunset struggled to get up from her comfortable spot leaning against Twilight, Rarity just laughed. “I’ll see myself out, you two take all the time you need to wake up.” She waved and left the kitchen before Sunset and Twilight heard the front door.

“I may have said so before, but I really like our plans for the immediate future.”

“Yes, you… you’ve said things to this effect,” Twilight replied, her voice again a bit shaky. But she didn’t break the contact. “Now. Shall we get started? I’ve been here for one and a half days now and hardly got to spend time with you.”

“You were there last night. That meant a lot to me.”

“Anytime,” Twilight said, leaning her cheek on Sunset’s head. “So, what should we watch first?”

“Dunno.” Sunset rubbed her cheek against Twilight’s shoulder. “I’m in no hurry though, this is really comfy.”

Twilight chuckled. “It is. I guess we’re in no hurry.”