• Published 18th Nov 2018
  • 1,194 Views, 19 Comments

Two Days Before We Graduate - LateToTheParty



Sunset's been troubled the last few days. Graduation looms near and Twilight doesn't even know that her time is running out.

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Two Days Before We Graduate!!

“DON’T YOU DARE, RAINBOW DASH! PUT THAT BOTTLE DOWN THIS INSTANT!”

Rarity’s shrill voice pierces the steadily warming atmosphere around them. Applejack was next to her, clutching her stomach, loud, hearty guffaws seizing her abdomen with spasms of unconfined mirth. Their eyes train on the unfolding spectacle despite the fact that they all knew how it would play out. Rainbow Dash was already swaying, her eyes were already glossy, and her face was already flushed. Her movements elicit a careful “oh my” from Fluttershy, strategically positioning herself just behind the swaying teen, just in case Rainbow fell, as she was prone to do in this state. Her movements and intentions go unnoticed as her self-appointed charge keeps the dwindling vestiges of her focus on Pinkie Pie. Little more than a pink blur now, there was enough white for Rainbow to know she was still sporting a wide, presumably more sober, smile.

The scene was simple. Seven girls sitting around each other, a crate of Sweet Apple Acres’s best cider between them, sharing a moment of camaraderie, enjoying the presence of one another. It wasn’t new for anyone present. Even the newest member was veteran enough to continue her tentative sips from her water cup.

She shakes her head, still finding it in herself to draw amusement and her eyes drift to the only other occupant distant from the proceedings. She curiously cocks her head at the sight.

Sunset Shimmer was amused as well. Twilight could tell by the slight raise of her brow, one side of her lip tugged upward. She kept her arm resting on her knee, a study in relaxation, but tinted with a contemplative edge. Something in her teal eyes were telling Twilight that they weren’t seeing the exact same scene. The pupils lazily trail the amusing antics, looking—no, more like absorbing—each movement, processing the sight in a way far more complex than even the greatest student to attend Crystal Prep could fathom.

She turns to look at Twilight, meeting their eyes. Her smile broadens.

Twilight keeps her head steady. She smiles back and the moments pass. One second. Two seconds. Three…

And they break, looking back to their friends.

Twilight swears that something profoundly sad flickered through Sunset’s eyes, making her heart swell with pain, disappearing as quickly as it had slipped through.

Twilight catches Rarity snap her head, turning her glare onto the laughing farm-girl, immediately quelling her amusement.

She sighs. “Alright” Her voice grows into a passable imitation of stern. “Ah think it’s pretty clear that Pinkie wins. Again.”

“Thatsh not fair! She-she’s,” Rainbow hiccups, “cheatiiing.”

“Nuh-uh!” Pinkie whines, frowning.

“Yeaaaaah. Don’t see how she coulda done that, seein’ as we were all watchin’.”

Grin returning at full force, Pinkie winks and tosses up another swig from her bottle. “You’re just a lightweight, Dashie.”

Rainbow opens her mouth but stops, her eyes squinting and losing their focus. She sways and topples right into Fluttershy’s waiting arms.

“And that’s a rap.” Applejack drops her facade, smirking in Rarity’s direction. “All ya had to do was wait a while. Girl knocks herself out every time.”

Rarity rolls her eyes. “And I’ve still never approved of such antics, Jacklyn.”

Applejack shrugs. “Well, it’s done. Dash is asleep and ‘bout time we all head off to sleep too. Granny’s expectin’ me back pretty early tomorrow.”

The group nods, except, of course, for Rainbow Dash, her snoozing form being dragged and tucked into her sleeping bag.

The group exchange their chorus of goodbyes, little bits of chatter finding their way between the silence, before the last murmured word falls into a soft snore.

Twilight notices all the voices except one. The husky timbre of Sunset’s is absent.

Maybe she went to sleep early. Twilight thinks, but she has her doubts.

She waits, following the moon’s trajectory up the midnight backdrop, charting the stars in her mind, identifying the constellations. The room’s temperature steadily drops. Rhythmic breathing and two tempos of snores make the soundtrack on her late night vigil. She doesn’t need to fight sleep. She already knew that it wouldn’t come to her, so she finds no need to remove her glasses. Everything is clear, from the contours of the boxes, pushed to the corners of the room, to the cracks in the plaster, extending past the walls to diverge and converge on the edges of the ceiling.

Only when the moon had reached its zenith did she hear a change in the late night song, an interlude of rustling sheets as someone rises from the covers. The figure drifts across the room, collecting boots and a leather jacket along the way, her feet padding to the door.

Twilight waits for it to click twice—once to open, another to close—and waits a few moments more before rising up and following after. She makes a beeline down the stairwell and into the chilly air.

Sunset turns to look at her, a freshly lit cigarette in her hands. “Hey, Twi. You’re up late.”

Twilight hardly notices the greeting in her surprise. “You smoke?” She asks.

Sunset smiles down at the tubular shape in her hand. “Not anymore. Not really. It’s the first time I’ve picked one up since before the Friendship Games.” Sunset scrunches up her face in thought. She entertains the idea of putting it out, but after more consideration, presses it between her lips and inhales the chemicals. She releases and saturates the air in the smell of tobacco. “And this will mark the last one.”

Ignoring the pungent scent, concern propels Twilight forward, placing a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”

Sunset’s chest puffs up slightly in a silent sigh. “It’s nothing. Just…” She trails off. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Twilight’s voice grows insistent, trying to catch Sunset’s eyes. “You’re smoking at God knows what hour and you’ve been acting strange the whole night. No, wait. It’s been this whole week, hasn’t it? The girls have all noticed it, you know.”

Sheepishly, Sunset finally looks at her. “Can’t we all just write it off as graduation day jitters?” She asks.

Twilight’s frown deepens.

“Right. Of course not.”

“Just tell me what’s wrong, Sunset.” Her voice softens. “Please? I just want to help you.”

They stand together in silence, the cold slowly and steadily seeping into their limbs, fingers and toes having gone numb some time ago. Sunset’s eyebrows knit, that same sadness unveiling itself fully, allowing Twilight to analyze it properly. Phantom pain seizes her heart. The measured beats increase until it pounds against her ears. She searches Sunset’s face trying to find a clue, somewhere in the tight line of her lips, the slight crinkle of her nose, the crease in her brows, the depths of her eyes.

Her eyes.

Twilight finds herself delving too deep into the teal pools, drowning with the way her chest tightens, her blood rushing to her head, making everything feel weightless.

Sunset chuckles, her husky voice accompanied by a deep rumble. “You’re sweet, Twilight.”

Twilight gulps, panting, knees shaking, but back on solid ground.

Sunset flicks the cigarette on the floor, and steps on it before turning to face Twilight’s quaking form. “I guess there is something I’ve wanted to tell you.”

Twilight looks downward focusing on her pigeon toed stance, afraid that if she kept her gaze toward Sunset, she was in danger of passing out.

“I’ve been in love with you for a long time now.”

Passing out be damned, Twilight’s neck springs upward like a coil.

Sunset smiles, cheeks pink as a fresh strawberry. “I’ve been too afraid to say it, because if I did, I didn’t want to lose you as a friend. I didn’t want these feelings to strain our relationship. I didn’t want the good thing we had to change.”

Twilight’s eyes were wide and unblinking.

Sunset brings a hand at her cheek, the cold of her fingers pleasant against the heat of her face. “I hope this doesn’t disqualify me as your best friend. I just wanted to say it before we graduated.”

Twilight rolls the words in her head, mainly the phrase “I’ve been in love with you for a long time now.” Mind on repeat, she didn’t catch the other parts of Sunset’s thoughts.

Love? In…love? With me? A light of 1,000 lumens shines in her eyes.

Sunset’s nervousness morphs to worry. “Twilight, are you al—.”

Her words are silenced by purple lips, clumsy with the way that they mash into her. Their warmth amplifies the red in her cheeks.

Twilight tastes cigarettes mingled with toothpaste mint. The motion is quick, though not without it’s own passion.

Twilight draws back while Sunset keeps her eyes closed, savoring the lingering sensations.

They flutter open. “Wow,” she mumbles breathlessly. “I guess you feel the same then.”

Twilight nods, fiddling with her fingers. “I’ve wanted to say the same thing to you for a long time too.”

They stand together in silence again, a gentle smile on Sunset’s blissful face to Twilight’s uncontrolled grin. The cold doesn’t bother them this time around.

“Would you like to go see a movie together?” Twilight asks.

That same something flickers, but Sunset knows better than to reveal it again. She pushes it down. “We should focus on graduation first.”

“Yes! Yeah. Of course. Can’t forget about the big day.” Twilight giggles nervously.

Sunset takes her hand, ignoring how sweaty they’d gotten and leads her toward the door they’d exited.

“Let’s head back to the others. We should get some sleep. Tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day.”

Twilight’s breath hitches.

They travel up the stairwell, hand in hand, back into the warm room, covered by their friend’s still sleeping forms. Twilight walks a step behind, her eyes fixed on the swaying locks of red and yellow that flow across Sunset’s shoulders and back.

She doesn’t notice the sadness that’s amplified in the deep pools of teal eyes.