3. Welcoming Party
Twilight looked from the crowded hall to her wide-eyed girlfriend.
“Sunset? Are you okay?” she asked, gently nudging the frozen unicorn.
Sunset shook her head. “Yeah, it’s just… They all look and act so much like the girls from CHS.”
Twilight looked back at the six ponies chatting, flying, drinking, arguing and bouncing around the room. They had yet to notice the two unicorns watching them from the hallway.
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Twilight said, hoping to console the other mare.
Sunset closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“No, I need to do this,” she sighed. “If I can’t even talk to their pony counterparts, how will I ever confront the others?”
Twilight nodded. “Okay,” she smiled encouragingly. “Just remember that I’ll be with you the whole time.” She awkwardly leaned into Sunset, hoping the touch would comfort her girlfriend.
Instead, Sunset gave her a mischievous grin. “Oh, no you won’t,” she said, tapping Twilight on the muzzle with her hoof. “You need to socialize, too, young lady. I won’t have you hiding behind me all evening.”
Twilight groaned. “Do I have to?”
“Well, I want you to,” Sunset replied, almost making it sound like she was giving her a choice.
Twilight responded with a pout. Or at least, what she thought a pout looked like in this body.
“It’s not that big a deal, Twi,” Sunset chuckled. “I’m sure you could get along with Fluttershy. She’s quiet and kinda socially awkward like you.”
“The last time I tried to chat with someone ‘like me’ as you put it, we spent half an hour staring at anything but each other and struggling to think of anything to say, or find anything we had in common,” Twilight deadpanned.
“Okay, so maybe Rarity or Rainbow?” Sunset suggested. “They can usually keep up a conversation by themselves if you let them.”
Just then, they were interrupted by the Princess waving at them.
“Sunset! Twilight! C’mon over!”
“Here we go,” Sunset whispered unenthusiastically.
The couple trotted over to the center of the room, where the others had all gathered to greet them. Twilight noticed that she seemed to be getting a lot of confused looks.
“Girls,” The Princess started. “I’d like you all to meet Sunset Shimmer, and her marefriend, Twilight Sparkle. The other Twilight Sparkle, that is.”
Twilight gave a wave and a nervous smile. Before she could properly say hello, she was interrupted by a raucous laughter.
“That’s priceless,” a hovering pegasus said. “Your friend is dating another version of you!” she guffawed a few of the others giggling a little with her.
Twilight squinted at the colorful pegasus, trying to discern how she could possibly be airborne with those wings, not to mention while rolling in the air from her laughter.
She looked over at Sunset, hoping for an answer, only to find her scowling at the pegasus.
“You done, Rainbow?!” she snapped angrily, once the pegasus settled down. “Got it all out of your system?”
Everyone went completely silent, staring at the amber unicorn.
“Ahem,” the Princess nervously trotted forward a couple of steps, wearing a forced smile. “Sunset, Twilight, you’ve met these ponies' counterparts, but for formality's sake, I’ll introduce them.” she said, looking at her doppelganger.
“This is Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie,” she pointed to each pony in turn. “Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, why don’t you girls help yourselves to some food and drinks?”
Sunset sheepishly bowed her head, and went for the drinks table, Twilight following close behind.
“Oh thank goodness, they brought the alcohol,” Sunset sighed in relief. Using her magic, she poured herself a mug of cider. “You want some too, Twi?” she offered.
Twilight looked over the selection of drinks available. “I’ll just stick to the juice, thanks.” She picked up a muffin in her teeth and awkwardly tossed her head back to eat the whole thing in one go. She couldn’t help but notice how strange it felt to suddenly have a differently shaped mouth.
Sunset took a large swig of of her drink. “That’s a shame, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of a drunk you are,” Sunset teased.
Twilight stuck her tongue out in concentration as she put Sunset’s earlier lesson into practice, focusing her magic to lift a jar of juice. “What do you mean, ‘what kind of drunk’?”
“Like, if you’re an angry drunk, or a sleepy drunk, or sentimental drunk,” Sunset trailed off.
Twilight smiled victoriously as she picked up her full mug. “I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait to find out.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Oh fine, then.”
Just then, Twilight’s attention was pulled to a pair of ponies approaching her.
“Darling, you simply must tell us more about yourself,” said Rarity the unicorn. “We’re very curious to know about our friend’s counterpart.”
“Uh,” Twilight stammered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sunset being waved over by the Princess.
Sunset gave her a wink before abandoning her.
“Uhm,” Twilight gulped. “Right. Uhm, you’re Rarity, correct?” she said with a forced smile.
“That’s right, darling,” replied the unicorn. “And this here is Fluttershy,” she added, pointing to the yellow pegasus next to her.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Twilight said.
“So, as I was saying,” Rarity continued. “While you look very much the spitting image of our Twilight, you seem to be a bit more… what’s the word?” she waved her hoof absently, looking to Fluttershy for help.
“Timid?” the pegasus suggested quietly.
“Yes, that’s exactly it,” Rarity beamed. “Not to say that it’s a bad thing, dear,” she added, looking sheepishly at Twilight.
Twilight shuffled her hooves. “It’s fine. I have noticed that the Princess seems to be more outgoing than me.”
“Yes, she has really come out of her shell since she moved to Ponyville,” Rarity nodded.
“I guess having a group of close friends would have that effect,” Twilight smiled with a hint of melancholy.
Rarity cleared her throat awkwardly. “Yes, quite.”
Twilight cringed at the awkward silence that followed. Every time she was put in social situations like this, she always managed to say something wrong.
“So, what do you do for a living?” Twilight asked, hoping to break the tension.
Rarity’s face lit up. “I am a renowned fashion designer,” she proclaimed proudly. “I run a boutique here in Ponyville, but I’ve done commissions for quite a few stars. Why, just a couple of weeks ago, I made an entire ensemble for none other than Sapphire Shores for her Equestria wide tour!”
Twilight wracked her brain for the name. “Oh! I know Sapphire Shores. She does music, right?”
Rarity’s expression turned a little sour. “Yes, I suppose you could put it that way.”
Meanwhile, Fluttershy stifled a giggle. “She really is like our Twilight used to be, huh?”
Rarity chuckled brightly. “I suppose I should have expected that.”
“So, you must be moving up in the world, huh?” Twilight asked, happy to have found a subject matter that actually resulted in interesting conversation.
Rarity nodded excitedly. “As a matter of fact, I’m hoping to be able to open up a new boutique in Canterlot soon. I’ve been saving up for years now, and think I might have found the perfect location, too. It’ll still be a lot of work, but I’ve never let that stop me before.”
Twilight nodded along.
“So, what about you, darling?” Rarity asked. “You may not be a princess, but I’m sure you have quite an interesting job nonetheless.”
“Oh, I’m still in school.”
Both ponies stared confusedly at Twilight.
“You mean as a professor?” Rarity asked.
“No, as a student,” Twilight clarified. She shuffled her hooves a little uncomfortably. “There’s this weird quirk with the portal where Sunset and I are younger when we’re in the other world than here in Equestria. I’m not even old enough to be in college yet.”
“Oh,” Rarity said, looking even more confused.
Twilight sipped her juice, happy to at least have something to do with her hands. Or magic, as the case was.
“Well, anyway,” Rarity said. “I must say I like your glasses. I’ve had Twilight — that is to say our Twilight,” she giggled, “model for me on a few occasions, but you have a slightly slimmer build,” she leaned to the side, clearly examining the uncomfortable unicorn. “Not to mention you don’t have wings. Yet,” she chuckled. “You simply must come by my boutique and let me try some designs on you,” she finished with a gleam in her eyes.
“Uhh,” Twilight cringed. “I’m actually only going to be in Equestria for three days — more like two and a half, really — and I…” she hesitated as she stifled her initial impulse of following up with ‘I have more important things to do’. “Sunset and I have a really packed schedule already,” she lied
“Oh, pish posh, darling, it’ll only take a few hours,” Rarity said, unperturbed.
Twilight gave a forced smile. She didn’t understand how ‘only a few hours’ of her short vacation in a magical land could be considered a small sacrifice in the fashionista’s mind.
“But-” she hesitated, worried that anything she might say would come off as rude.
Before Twilight could think her way out of this awkward mess, she was saved by the voice of her girlfriend calling her over.
“Hey, Sweetie! Come see this.”
Twilight gave a strained smile to the two ponies in front of her. “Um, I’ll think about it. Excuse me.”
Twilight sighed in relief as she made her way to the amber unicorn, who seemed to have just finished a conversation with Applejack and Pinkie.
“What did you want to show me?”
“Here, look at my hoof,” Sunset lifted the appendage in question. “Does it look weirdly bumpy to you?”
“What?” Twilight furrowed her brows. “What do you mean? And why would you ask me of all people.”
“It kinda looks like a rash to me.” Sunset continued worriedly, then shoved her hoof closer to Twilight’s face. “What do you think?”
“I don’t even know what a horse rash is supposed to look like!” she whispered annoyedly. “You called me over for this?”
“No, I called you over cause you looked like you were dying over there,” Sunset said simply, lowering her hoof. “Was it really that bad?” she asked with a sympathetic smile.
Twilight sighed and softened her voice. “I don’t know. Rarity wanted me to model for her. I barely even know her and she’s asking me to spend my valuable, limited time here in Equestria in a dress shop of all places!”
Sunset put a hoof over her withers. “Don’t worry, Twi. I know how excited you’ve been for this trip, and I’m going to make sure it’s as not boring as possible,” she said, giving Twilight a kiss on the muzzle and eliciting a small giggle from the purple unicorn. “C’mon, let’s go talk to the princess.”
Sunset led them over to where Princess Twilight was chatting with a small reptilian creature.
“Hey, Twilight, “Sunset said.
“Hi girls,” the Princess said brightly. “How are you enjoying the party.”
“It’s great,” Sunset replied in a tone that Twilight recognized as her girlfriend’s ‘I don’t want to tell you I dislike something,’ voice.
“Yeah, same,” Twilight added, forcing a smile.
“Oh, by the way, this is my assistant, Spike,” the alicorn indicated the small figure she’d been talking to with her hoof.
Twilight’s eyes widened.
“Nice to meet you, other Twi!” Spiked greeted cheerfully.
Twilight’s eyes widened even more. “Sunset,” she whispered. “Is that what I think it is?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
Twilight looked between her girlfriend and the awkwardly shuffling creature.
“Ahem. Hello, uh, Spike,” she greeted nervously. “W-would it be rude of me to ask what you are?”
“Not as rude as referring to me as ‘it',” he replied with a frown. “But, to answer your question, I’m a dragon. I heard you don’t have those in your world?”
Twilight shook her head. “Only in stories and fairy tales. So, can you breathe fire?”
“Yep,” Spike replied proudly.
“How does that work?” Twilight continued, her curiosity overshadowing her nerves.
Spike rubbed his chin in thought. “Magic I guess. I never really thought about it,” he looked over at the alicorn at his side.
The Princess shrugged. “I don’t know the specifics either. I thought about doing some research on it, but I didn’t like the idea of doing experiments on my number one assistant.” She ruffled the top of Spike’s head lovingly.
Spike extracted himself from her grip. “Oh, hey look, it’s Rarity. I’m gonna go say hello,” he said hastily, before running away from the giggling alicorn.
Sunset chuckled. “You know,” she whispered nudging Twilight in the side. “The Princess might get to have all this cool magic stuff, but if you ask me, your Spike is way more adorable.”
Twilight snickered.
“So, how are you girls getting along with everypony?” the Princess asked hopefully.
Sunset shuffled a little uncomfortably. “Pretty well, I guess. Apart snapping at Rainbow earlier. I’ll admit that they aren’t the same as the girls from CHS. They’re more mature, at least,” she reluctantly admitted.
“How about you tell me what the other girls were like?” the Princess suggested. “And I also want to know what happened when you ran into them today.
Sunset sighed. “Alright, just gimme a sec, first.” She proceeded to chug the rest of her mug, before magically reaching for another from the distant drinks’ table. “Okay, so where do you want me to start?”
The purple alicorn huffed at Sunset’s antics. “Okay, let’s start with…” she furrowed her brow in thought as she summoned a piece of parchment with her magic. “How often did they invite you to hang out with them?” she asked, reading from her list.
“Technically, they invited me to pretty much everything they did,” Sunset started, causing the Princess to smile. “The day after you left, they added me to their group chat on MyStable. So, anytime one of them invited the others, they were inviting me too.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad,” the princess said hopefully.
“It doesn’t,” Sunset said bitterly. “Except that half the time I’d show up, their first reaction was surprise, like they’d forgotten all about me. We once went to the cinema together, and I had to sit three rows behind the rest of the girls, because they’d only bought five tickets in advance.”
“Ouch,” Twilight winced, giving her girlfriend a questioning look. “And you kept hanging out with them?”
Sunset’s expression softened and her voice turned sad. “The thing was, that the other half of the time, they genuinely seemed to be putting in an effort. And those times really were good. I loved hanging out with them when they actually let their guard down and treated me like a part of the group. I assumed that I just had to be patient, that it would take some time for them to get used to me.”
Sunset took another gulp of her cider. “Then they decided to start a band together,” she continued bitterly. “And they never even asked me if I was interested! They had to practically drag Fluttershy into going on stage with them, and they didn’t even think to ask me if I was interested?! And then they wrote all these songs about how great friends they were and how the whole school loved them." Her expression turned even more bitter. "They were there, singing lyrics like ‘we are all together,’ while I sat on the sidelines, and being ‘better than ever,’ while I felt as unwanted as a… a-!”
She cut off her rant, sighing angrily and rubbing her forehead. “It didn’t help that the rest of the school didn’t treat me any better,” she added, taking another gulp of cider.
Twilight shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. “I know the feeling. It’s tough to be excluded like that, especially when the people often don’t even realize they’re doing it.”
Sunset looked at her with a small smile. “Thanks, Twi.” She sighed again, calmer this time, before continuing. “And when I say they’d forget all about me, I’m not kidding. They’d get all mushy about Flash’s crush on, well… you,” she jabbed a hoof at the Princess. “And then they’d suddenly remember that I’d dated him for over two years. And even worse than that, they’d keep throwing my past mistakes in my face as if they didn’t even realize I was right next to them! ‘It’s almost as bad as that time Sunset turned into a demon,’” she imitated in a mocking voice. “’Oops, no offense.’”
Twilight froze. “Wait, what? Demon?”
“I don’t want to talk about that part right now. Too painful,” Sunset groaned, massaging her temple with one hoof. She drained the rest of her second mug of the evening. Twilight decided to keep count, just in case she needed to step in at some point.
“But after you helped beat the sirens…?” the Princess asked desperately, the parchment in her magic wilting.
“They started to get a little better,” Sunset admitted. “They even invited me to a bunch of slumber parties.” She sighed sadly. “Then one day when it seemed like all of my hard work to try and redeem myself just vanished into thin air. Until today, when we ran into them on the way here, and they said that the culprit came forward, and then apologized.” Sunset’s voice lost its earlier vigor. “They said they wanted me back.”
She slumped to her haunches with a heavy sigh. “Do you think they’ve changed? Should I forgive them and let them back into my life?” she looked up desperately at the Princess.
The purple alicorn shuffled her hooves. “I-” she stammered. “I don’t know,” she bowed her head in defeat. “I want to say you should accept their apology and give them another chance — to believe that they have changed and that they have good in them, just like my friends do. But I don’t know if that would be fair to you at all. From what you've said, it sounds like you’ve already given them plenty of chances.”
Twilight looked on warily as Sunset summoned up a third mug. “If you ask me, you should just tell them to stop bothering you. Since I met you, they seem to have only caused you stress and heartache.”
“Maybe,” Sunset muttered uncertainly, staring into her mug.
“Oh! I know!” the princess piped up. “Whenever I’m not sure what to do, there's one pony I can always go to for advice,” she smiled brightly.
Twilight cocked her head questioningly. “Cadance?”
Sunset, however, paled. She stared at the alicorn with wide eyes. “You can’t mean Princess Celestia,” she moaned.
The princess put a comforting hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “Sunset, I know you’re worried about seeing her again, but I promise you she won’t be upset,” she smiled reassuringly.
“Wait, Celestia as in the ruler of Equestira, and also your mom's counterpart?” Twilight asked, glancing at her own doppelganger.
“Yep,” Sunset said unenthusiastically. “She was my mentor back when I used to live here. But... There's some hefty baggage between us.”
Twilight frowned. “You seem to have baggage with a lot of people from your past.” As soon as Twilight saw the hurt look on Sunset’s face, she realized what she’d said and her hoof shot up to cover her mouth. “That came out wrong. I’m so sorry.”
Sunset sighed and hung her head. “You’re kinda right, though. As much as I wish it were otherwise.”
The princess lifted Sunset’s chin with her hoof. “All the more reason why I think you should talk to her.”
Sunset groaned uncomfortably. She downed her third mug of cider, burping into her hoof before answering. “Fine, you win. I’m probably making a bigger deal out of it than it really is,” she said, though clearly unconvinced. “Besides,” she smiled at her girlfriend. “I did really want to show you around Canterlot while we were here.”
“That’s great!” the alicorn shouted, accidentally spilling a little of her own cider in her excitement. “I’ll get us train tickets for tomorrow morning. We can spend the whole day there, seeing the sights, reconciling old differences, visiting the Royal Library…” she trailed off, smiling into empty space.
Twilight perked up. “Royal Library does sound pretty exciting. I’d love to get a chance to visit there.“
“There’s also some great restaurants there,,” Sunset rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “After I meet with Celestia, we could make a date out the rest of our day.” She looked guiltily at the Princess. “If you don’t mind, that is.”
The alicorn giggled. “Don’t let me get between you two. But, how about we go to the Royal Library together, the three of us, then you two can go off on your romantic date afterwards. I’ve been told that library visits aren’t very romantic, anyway,” she added with a blush.
Sunset giggled, while Twilight shuffled her hoofs awkwardly, joining the princess in blushing.
“That sounds good to me,” Sunset said. “At least I’ll have something to look forward to after talking to Princess Celestia.”
Twilight laughed brightly. “A Royal Library and a magical date? Sign me up!”
Twilight had tried to stop Sunset from drinking past her fifth mug, but was later annoyed to find her sneaking sips when she wasn’t looking. Well, more like gulps really.
By the time the party ended, both Twilight and her counterpart had to work together to help Sunset over to their guest room.
“I’m so glad you two like each other,” Sunset slurred happily. “My best friend and my marefriend getting along just makes me so happy.”
Twilight shared a look with the princess. The two of them were pressed either side of the amber unicorn, supporting her so she didn’t fall on her side while they walked.
“It’d be pretty awkward if we couldn’t get along, given how similar we are,” the princess said with an awkward chuckle.
“Where are you taking me?” Sunset asked absentmindedly, looking around at the crystalline hallway.
“To bed, Sunny,” Twilight answered.
“Oh, good,” Sunset said, closing her eyes tiredly. “Bed sounds nice. Are you guys coming to bed with me?”
The purple ponies both blushed, deliberately not looking at each other.
“I am,” Twilight answered. “I don’t think it’d be appropriate for the princess to join us,” she said sharply.
“But we’re such close friends!" Sunset whined. "It’d be so much fun to have a sleepover together."
“We can have a sleepover some other time, Sunset,” the princess assured her. “But I have to go back to the party to say goodbye to the girls.” Sunset looked pleadingly at the princess. “Then I have to take care of some… princess stuff?” she added unconvincingly.
It seemed to convince the inebriated unicorn though, as she slumped her head in defeat. “Okay, Twi… Twilight,” she blinked a couple of times, looking back and forth between the two ponies flanking her. “Twi?” she asked, confusedly, still glancing between them.
“I’m here, Sunset,” Twilight said patiently. “I’m the one with the glasses, remember?”
“Oh, right,” Sunset smiled. “So, how do you like Equestria so far?”
“It’s certainly incredible.”
Sunset laid her head down on her shoulder. “I’m so glad you like it. I know that Terra is my home now, but this place will always be special to me.”
“Okay, we’re here,” the princess brought them to a halt in front of an unassuming door. “This is where you guys will be sleeping for your visit.” She opened the door in her magic before leading them inside.
The room itself felt impersonal. Just the basic necessary furniture, and a large bed.
“Sorry that it’s so plain,” the princess said sheepishly. “I haven’t made time to decorate the guest rooms yet. I was planning on adding some paintings, at least. You know, something to liven it up a bit.”
Sunset sniffled. “No, it’s beautiful, Twilight,” she said, putting her hoof on the Princess’ shoulder and locking eyes with her. “The whole castle is beautiful, just like you. It’s wonderful, and welcoming, and kind, and forgiving,” she sniffled, seemingly holding back tears. “And I’m so glad you got it, because you deserve it more than anypony else,” she cried, pulling the sheepish alicorn into a tight hug, sobbing into her mane.
“Uh, thanks, Sunset,” the alicorn patted her back awkwardly. “That’s very nice of you to say, but you need to get to bed now, okay?”
Sunset let go of her, wiping her eyes with a hoof. “Okay, Twilight. Thank you,” she sniffled.
The princess gave her counterpart a questioning look. Twilight couldn’t do more than shrug in response.
The alicorn smiled at Sunset, her magic wrapping around the drunk unicorn. She lifted her softly onto the bed. “Good night, Sunset.”
“Oh!” Sunset groaned. “My stomach didn’t like that.”
Twilight rushed up to her girlfriend, then stopped to cast a worried look at her counterpart. “Hey, Twilight? Can Equestrian ponies vomit?”
The princess tilted her head in confusion. “Yes. Though I think Sunset’s going to be fine,” she added, taking a closer look at the rapidly recovering unicorn. “Sorry, Sunset, I didn’t mean to upset your tummy,” she smiled.
“S’kay,” Sunset slurred. “I’m good.”
Twilight took a step closer to her counterpart. “Thanks for the help, uhm… Twilight,” she smiled sheepishly.
“Don’t mention it. If you need anything, my bedroom is at the end of the hallway to the left, okay?”
Twilight nodded. “Thanks,” she repeated. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Twilight,” the alicorn giggled as she left, closing the door behind her.
As soon as she was alone with her girlfriend, Twilight felt a tinge of nervousness. They had slept in the same bed a few times before, and Sunset had always behaved herself. But this was the first time Twilight would be sharing a bed with her drunk girlfriend.
She heard a shuffling sound from the bed behind her. “Sweetie?” came Sunset’s voice, still slightly slurred from the alcohol. “Aren’t you coming to bed?”
“Yeah,” Twilight replied. “Just… gimme a sec.” She walked over to a dresser and made herself look busy. She ignited her horn and, with a little effort, opened one of the drawers. It was empty, as she suspected, but that wasn’t the point. She stared into it for a few moments, all the while working to keep her breathing steady, and her hooves from shaking.
As much as she loved being close to Sunset, there was something holding her back from taking the next step. Normally, she trusted Sunset to respect her boundaries, as much as she hated having to make her girlfriend hold back and wait on her account. Now though, Twilight wasn’t sure if she could trust Sunset like that, nor did she expect to be able to stop Sunset if…
She considered going to the princess and asking to sleep in a different room. Her counterpart had mentioned that the castle had plenty of unused rooms, so it probably wouldn’t be an issue. Though, the thought of sleeping alone, especially in an unfamiliar world like this, didn’t appeal to Twilight all that much.
No, that’s excessive, Twilight forcefully pulled her train of thought to a halt. Sunset may be drunk, but she’s still Sunset, and I trust her. This isn’t a big deal.
Twilight took a deep, calming breath, then turned and made her way to the bed. She peered at the amber unicorn, hoping to discern her mood or her intentions. She couldn’t see her face through the darkness, though.
“Sunset?” she asked quietly. No response. After a few more seconds of silence, Twilight concluded that her girlfriend had simply fallen asleep.
With a flicker of her magic, she levitated her glasses onto the nightstand, and then she tentatively reached up and hopped onto the bed, trying her best to not disturb the sleeping unicorn. After a moment, she found herself on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her earlier worries had quickly faded, but a new problem revealed itself.
With nothing else to distract her, Twilight was keenly aware of her new body, as well as how strange and uncomfortable it felt to her. She fidgeted a little, hoping to relieve some of the discomfort in her new and awkward joints, but found no respite.
She rolled herself onto her side — away from Sunset, so as not to disturb her sleep — and kept wiggling and shuffling her body in the hopes of finding a comfortable position.
She heard a groan come from behind her, and immediately stopped moving. The groan was followed by a brief shuffling, and then Twilight felt her whole body tingle as a teal glow surrounded her.
She only just managed to stifle a yelp as she was tugged backwards, until she felt a furred hoof wrap around her barrel, swiftly followed by three more hooves that each pulled her into the other unicorn’s embrace.
For a moment, she held her breath, wondering if Sunset had fully woken up or not. She felt her heart beating quickly as she waited.
She heard Sunset sigh happily, and felt the sleeping mare’s muzzle bury itself in her mane.
See, Twilight, she’s still the same sweet, considerate girl, even if she is drunk. And a pony, Twilight thought to herself happily. A very soft, very comfy pony. She leaned into the comforting embrace and closed her eyes. The familiar warmth of her girlfriend soothed her to sleep in mere minutes.
This chapter gets a little nitpicky about some of the early parts of Rainbow Rocks, but hey, what else would a drunken rant be about? 
In case someone is wondering about the timeline, this story takes place sometime in season five. Before Tanks for the memories (which takse place during winter, thus most likely to line up with the whole Anon-a-miss debacle) But before Canterlot Boutique (Which Rarity eluded to in this chapter)
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Yeah, the girls did treat Sunset a little rather awkwardly in Rainbow Rocks, though given their past history can't say I blame them really. They do seem to be putting in an effort to change and make amends from what we've seen so far... So there is that.
And Sunset and Princess Celestia's reunion... Hoo boy. But as always, Sci-Twi and Sunset are adorable. So cute.
I like the last two chapters. Sci Twi shoving her muzzle into Sunset as she was so cuddly, cracked me up and made me daaawwww.
Next chapter was good, and Sunset breaking down like that, guess she feels Twilight got the dream she always wanted, and she feels terrible for how she acted before.
I'm still very angry about the previous confrontation thou, i stand by it, the apology was bland, and they seem to think everything will be alright, and they yet to confess who WHO was the real Anon A Miss. Where they punished or ....GASP! Only the Rain Bitches know!
And now, having heard how the Rainbooms treated her storywise here, I'm hoping Sunset stays at Crystal Prep and gives the Rainbooms the double middle fingers!
Good chapter though. Drunk Sunset was hilarious.
Rainbooms were pretty crappy to Sunset for literally the whole "Rainbow Rocks" event, that it was very cringey. Thankfully Sunset can forget about that for now and focus on her date with Twi tomorrow
With everything Sunset vented about she really needs her space from her former classmates at Canterlot HS. She definitely need to tell them how they hurt her and how they are going to need to earn her trust back. With all they did to her this will be a process. Now I wonder how Sunset will treat those bratty half pints who orchestrated this whole thing?
Awww snugly wugly sunset.
I really enjoyed this chapter, Sunset snapping at Rainbow Dash shows that she has some hidden resentment to words her human counterpart. The Rainbooms were being mean to Sunset throughout Rainbow Rocks, but it’s understandable seeing as what Sunset did to them. However it’s their actions afterwards that are problematic, Sunset should take her time in figuring out if she wants to forgive her former friends. If they are truly sorry for what they did then they should show it on their actions. Talking to Princess Celestai might be just what she needs, looking forward to the next chapter. Keep up the good work.
I found Princess Twilight's response to be appropriate. Telling Sunset she wasn't sure what Sunset should do as opposed to saying Sunset should forgive them and give them another chance.
Yeah they made an effort but compared to their reaction to Anon-A-Miss, you have to wonder if it was a sincere effort or just fulfilling a favor to a princess.
Well, now we know what kind of drunk Sunset is.
AWW OMG! I've been waiting for new chapters for like... eva! So happy and can't wait to see what happens next.
As much as the drunk escapades fit the story...it might be fun to realize that Earth horses pretty much can't get drunk. The natural alcohol generated by the fermenting plant matter in their gut is quickly processed by their liver. They clear alcohol out of their blood faster than humans less effective liver.
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Considering that Sunset basically bullied them, and then nearly KILLED them with some kind of energy blast, it is understandable. But if they were willing to accuse Sunset so quickly after Anon-A-Miss, it means some of that distrust didn't really go away after Rainbow Rocks.
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So true on that... A shame, really...
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Again, I am not saying that turning on Sunset was right, but a lot of Anon-A-Miss fics seemingly ignore that Sunset was worse then a nasty bully, but a power-hungry usurper who turned into a vicious monster.
Considering all she did, she was lucky Princess Twilight didn't drag her to Tartarus.
Okay, I really like this fic as a whole and I like the direction you seem to be going with Sunset and the girls - confronting issues and, I hope, eventually working past them. But this line? Doesn't work for me, not at all.
Firstly because, earlier in that very conversation, Sunset says that many of the chances she gave them worked out extremely well:
Yes, their record wasn't perfect, but the "plenty of chances" line seems to imply that she's been repeatedly trying to get close to them with zero results, which just isn't true. Frankly, if we're just going by how many chances she gave them and how they turned out, that'd actually give her incentive to reconcile.
And secondly, as others have pointed out, Princess Twilight seems to be forgetting that, at the time she gave them most of these chances (or, rather the ones that didn't turn out well), they had damn good reason to be hesitant in bringing Sunset into their group. Yes, in hindsight, we can see it was the right move, but at the time, even if we ignore the whole mind-controlly, world-conquery, demon-transformy thing, they had known her for years as a cruel, manipulative sociopath who viciously tore apart friendships (including theirs) and made the lives of other students a living hell for seemingly no reason other than her own power and enjoyment. Yes, her apology seemed sincere and she was certainly less contentious after the Fall Formal, but after all that time, it's not unreasonable that they'd be hesitant in letting her get close. Heck, her shown talent with and track record of deception would be enough to make trusting her sincerity a risky prospect. Again, I'm not saying that they shouldn't have accepted her, they should have and it was a very good thing when they did (and not just for practical reasons), I'm simply saying that it was far from unreasonable for it to be a slow and tentative process.
Oddly enough, though, I don't think I'd mind that line as much except for one thing: Sunset knows all this. Part of the reason Sunset's redemption worked so well is that, as much as she hated how the girls and other students treated her post-FF (and pre-siren), at no point did she pretend that it was anyone's fault but her own. She knew perfectly well that the girls had every reason to keep her at arms length, even when it hurt her, and she treated their forgiveness not as something she was entitled to, but as something she needed to earn. And talking about how she "gave them plenty of chances" feels incredibly disingenuous when she knows as well as anyone that she was the one with something to prove.
Again, I'd like to stress that this whole diatribe is solely aimed at that one line. The rest of the story is great, and not just for Sunset and Sci-Twi's relatio... okay, mostly for their relationship and interactions, but only because they're so darned adorable. Plus, even if Sunset doesn't reconcile with the girls, this story is certainly a damn sight better than most Anon-a-Miss fics I've seen, which tend to treat the girls' actions as completely irredeemable while ignoring how Sunset was redeemed from even worse. This one at least raises the possibility of them confronting their failures and working through their issues. You know, like friends do.
So, yeah, love the story overall so far but that line really sticks out.
Actually, come to think of it, the whole reason it sticks out so much is because the story surrounding it is so enjoyable, so that's something. What's the opposite of a backhanded compliment, do you suppose?
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Fronthanded insult?
Regardless of that, I actually agree with you; Sunset was known for deception, so it makes sense the girls would be wary of her and that it was up to Sunset to prove she wasn't malicious anymore.
However, the girls still shouldn't have fallen for their sisters' framing of Sunset; what did the girl have to gain by becoming malicious again? Would she ever make anything so obviously 'her' when trying to ruin friendships? No and no, plus the six of them weren't the only ones at their sleepovers, so why not suspect their siblings?
GIRL
By the sounds of things she's the sentimental/sad drunk
I think the biggest point of contention to me is...if Sunset really felt that way about the Rainbooms, why'd she have to silence their texts? From the sound of it the only one she likely wouldn't have blocked was Fluttershy, especially after unfriending them all on myStable. And I don't see Flutershy texting Sunset more than once.
Judgement:
Sunset is the sentimental drunk. Period.