10 – Loose Ends, Tied in Knots
*Minor CW for homophobia and slurs.
Anxiety is a concept I’ve only recently become familiar with. If you’d seen my actions over the past six months, you probably wouldn’t believe that, but it’s the truth. At one point in my life, I was so impulsive that I never had time to feel anxious. I would never say this to anyone, but it’s honestly one of the few things I miss about being the old me. There was never a reason to worry when I lived without consideration for the repercussions of my actions.
Now, it’s something I’ve become intimately close to. There’s rarely a moment where I’m not anxious about one thing or another. Even if I know worrying won't do me any good, I’ll still do it. It’s an impossible feeling to stop. It doesn’t listen to reason, it cannot be proven wrong; it just exists, and I have to live with it persisting for the rest of forever.
It feels bad to say this, but I take comfort in the fact I know several people who have it much worse than I do. For instance, Fluttershy is wracked with anxiety to a degree that’s impossible for me to fathom. Before we became friends, I thought there might have been something horribly traumatic she’d been through to make her like that. Both she and Rainbow Dash have since told me that she has no dark past – she’s just always been that way. It wasn’t like I took issue with how nervous she was, though. If anything, it made me appreciate her more. If I lived my life like that, I’d have gone crazy by now. Yet she carries on, battling through it every day.
Twilight, my beloved, is another good example. I thought Princess Twilight was an anxious wreck when we first got close – and she is, don’t get it twisted. But then I met this world’s Twilight Sparkle, and she makes the princess seem like a zen master. My Twilight is simply too smart for her own good. However, as smart as she is, Occam's razor is a completely foreign concept to her. Simple explanations do not cut it because of the fact that they’re simple. She can pull facts from all sorts of disparate subjects and rationalize the irrational. Luckily for her, she has me to keep her grounded.
While I’m grateful I don’t suffer from that much anxiety, that hasn’t done anything to put my mind at ease at the moment. It's hard to think of anything that could relieve me. 5:01 PM, and I’ve been pacing back and forth in my apartment. I was already completely dressed and ready for the Fall Formal, yet it wouldn’t begin for another two and a half hours.
I arrived home from school about an hour and a half ago. When I did, I immediately started getting ready. I hopped in the shower, then spent almost an hour making sure my hair was extra perfect. Those two things alone took me longer than any other part of getting ready.
The hardest part of picking out my outfit was choosing which one of my band shirts to wear, and that wasn’t very hard at all. I just picked the one that represented my favorite band, which just so happened to be the one with the biggest graphic and the brightest, gaudiest mix of colors. Rarity will undoubtedly be upset at my lack of color coordination, but I have my own set of priorities.
Everything else was easy. My best pair of skinny jeans, my coolest pair of boots, and of course my leather jacket were all I really needed. After that, I was all set to go.
That was 20 minutes ago. Yet somehow it feels like it was several hours ago.
I’d run out of distractions by this point, too. When I initially threw on my jacket, I actually took it back off a moment later and unscrewed some of the studs and spikes on the collar and shoulders. I didn’t know how touchy Twilight would be tonight, but I figured I might as well leave those off in case she wanted to hug me. I’d just have to fill my outfit spike quota with the ones on my choker.
Then I put it back on and sat down on the couch. As I did, my mind began to wander, and that’s when the anxiety started to mount. At first, I was just anxious about the fact that this was me and Twilight’s first date together, but my mind wasn’t about to stop there.
Earlier today, before lunch, Twilight and I discussed how we wanted to present our relationship to our friends. She told me she wasn’t comfortable with telling all the girls yet, but would work herself up before tonight. Rarity knew about me and Twilight, but none of the rest of our friends did. In fact, no one else in the school did. Almost everyone knew I was bi, and I wasn’t worried about what anyone thought of me. But this would be Twilight’s first time being out to anyone.
How would she handle our friends knowing she was gay? How would she handle the whole school becoming aware? Would she be able to work herself up enough in time? If she couldn’t, did that mean she would ask me to keep public affection to a minimum? Of course I would if she asked, but it would seriously bum me out. Our first night together as a couple, and I couldn’t even express how much I love her?
Would the rest of our friends approve of our relationship? Again, they knew about my sexuality, but what would they think of the fact that I was with Twilight? This is something I’d worried about for a while now. Ever since Rarity mentioned our dynamic a few months ago, it’s been on my mind. I was loud and outgoing, and she was meek and shy. Would they believe I actually loved her, or would they think I was taking advantage of her because of our power dynamic?
Speaking of Rarity, how was she going to feel tonight? Despite how last night went, she seemed perfectly normal at school all day. But Twilight and I also weren’t all over each other like I know I would like to be tonight. Would she be able to hold herself together? What would I do in the event she had another breakdown? If she left early, would Rarity want me to keep my mouth shut as to why, or explain it to the girls? How would she even want me to explain it?
I got up and started pacing when my mind arrived at a subject I was really hoping it wouldn’t. While most of what me and Twilight discussed before lunch was how we wanted to handle presenting our relationship to our friends, there was something else I’d asked her. It was about Timber, and the moment I said his name, she became very uncomfortable.
Before I left her house the night before, I asked her to message Timber in the morning and tell him she wasn’t going with him. I told her I didn’t care if she lied about whether or not she was going with me, but that she should tell him she’s not interested. Tell him not to show up at the formal, and definitely not to show up at her house, and then block his number.
When I asked her to do this, I tried to be as gentle and accommodating as possible. I told her to do it in the middle of the night if she’s afraid of him responding before she can block his number. I told her to say she’s not feeling well if she wants to give him a reason she’s not going, then ghost him. Any suggestion I could think of, I gave to her. All I asked was that she do it.
So when I asked her this morning whether or not she did, she gave me the most unconvincing answer. When I asked if she was sure, she shriveled up, but continued to express she had done what I asked. I could tell she was afraid I would get mad at her, so I didn’t press her beyond that. Throughout the rest of the day, I did my best not to agonize over the fact that, more than likely, she hadn’t done what I asked. Eventually, I was able to push it to the back of my mind.
However, now I can’t. If Twilight hadn’t told him, there was a high probability of a confrontation between me and him tonight. If I knew when or where it would be, or if it would even happen at all, I probably wouldn’t be so stressed out. But if he was going to show up, he would have the element of surprise.
It’s not like I was afraid of him. I wasn’t buff, but I wasn’t weak. Between the two of us, I think I had a couple inches over on him. And I knew how to fight. Even if my ribs had developed a huge bruise from yesterday, I’d still be able to take him down if it meant protecting Twilight. If he showed up, there was no outcome that ended in his favor.
There were two words that stressed me out more than anything, though. “If” and “when”. If I knew whether or not he’d show up at all, I could be prepared. And if I knew when he was going to show up, I could plan around that. Since I couldn’t know either, this meant that for every moment he didn’t show up, he could be there the next. The worst part is: this could happen anywhere between Twilight's house and CHS. This was going to hang over my head the whole night. I simply hated the fact that my first date could be marred by worrying about that the entire time only for nothing to happen.
If nothing else, it gave me the foresight to bring my lighter and my cigarettes. I hadn’t touched them since Twilight broke up with Timber. If he showed up, I didn’t know what I’d do to him, but whatever it was I knew I’d need a smoke break after the fact. I’d just have to hide them in one of the bags on my motorcycle.
As I paced the length of my coffee table, I heard my phone buzz. It was on the charger, sitting on my desk. As I walked up to it and looked at the notification, I saw Twilight’s name. Every time I saw her name with the little purple heart emoji in my notifications, the stupidest grin would spread across my face.
As I read the message, my smile quickly disappeared.
Twilight 💜 | 5:16 PM
>Hey, Sunny? Would you mind coming
by a little early? I wanted to talk to you
about something.
It was probably nothing to be worried about, but considering my already elevated stress level, reading that message made my heart sink into my stomach. Nevertheless, I replied with a quick “omw” and slipped my phone into my pocket. Once I did, I grabbed my keys and my wallet. I patted myself down to make sure I had everything I needed on me, and once I was sure I made my way out of my apartment.
I replaced the helmet in the motorcycle bag with my lighter and the pack of cigarettes. As I strapped my helmet on, my thoughts began to race even faster. The words “I want to talk to you about something” rarely preceded anything good. My saving grace was the fact that my mind was already at capacity. Considering the events of the day, I couldn’t really think of anything bad she’d want to talk about. Except for one thing. But I was trying really hard not to think about that one thing.
As I pulled out onto the road, I did my best to clear my mind and focus on the road. Trying to predict what it was that she wanted to talk about wasn’t worth it. I could come up with a million answers, and more than likely they’d all be wrong. It was better for me to focus on the road than it was to wrack my brain trying to hopelessly guess what the issue was.
Unfortunately, I am burdened with the ability to think of multiple things at once. And while I tried to reason with myself, I was reminded: anxiety does not listen to reason. Somehow I still managed to weave through rush hour traffic without incident. Usually when I weaved through traffic like that, I’d immediately start worrying about a cop being nearby, but my worry capacity was thoroughly maxed out. I just needed to get to Twilight.
Before I knew it, I was pulling off on the exit close to her neighborhood. All that was between me and my love was an intersection and a handful of stop signs. The closer I got to her house, the more my anxiety seemed to fade. Even if I wasn’t sure what she wanted to talk to me about, even if I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with Timber, I was going to be with Twilight soon. And Twilight made everything better.
Finally her driveway was in sight. I stood up off the bike and placed my helmet on the seat before power-walking to her door. Before I could even make it there, she opened it and greeted me with a wave. I ran up and hugged her, and she hugged me tight.
No matter how many times we’ve done this, it fills me with so much life. Twilight is my girlfriend. I get to do this any time I want because she lets me! Because she loves me! Life is kinda cool sometimes.
“That was quick,” remarked Twilight, “How’d you get ready so fast?”
Twilight led us through the front door and toward the staircase to her room. “Oh, you know. I started getting ready the moment I got to my apartment and finished way before I needed to be,” I said with a chuckle.
She turned around, walking backwards down the hall as she giggled. “I thought I was the one who got ready for things too early.”
I just smiled at her as she turned back around right before reaching the doorway to her room. As we entered, I looked over at her mirror. All the pictures I’d seen in that stack lined the sides of the mirror. I knew it!
A sly grin spread across my lips. “Say, when did you put up all those pictures of us?” I said, coyly.
“Oh, I just put them up today!” she answered as she sat down on the bed. I don’t think she picked up on my tone.
“Really?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm this time, “Just today, huh?”
As I sat down next to her, I could see her cheeks turn red. She kept trying to say something, but she was getting so flustered. I’d barely been there a few minutes and she was already melting my heart.
“You forgot to hide them the day I copied your trigonometry notes last week.” I pulled her into another hug. “You’re way too cute, you know that?”
“I’m noooot,” she whined. She knew she was, though, the little liar.
I relaxed my embrace. “You know, when I saw that the first time, I ran a calculation in my head to see what percent of those pictures were just us. I think the number I came up with was 71 percent. Does that sound right to you?”
Twilight looked over at the mirror above the dresser. Her forehead wrinkled as the calculator in her brain ran through the equation.
“The ratio is ten to fourteen, so that’s close enough to the actual answer. However, 71.428 is the most precise percentage I can come up with in my head. If you count the two pictures at Camp Everfree as well, which I chose specifically because we were standing next to one another, the ratio becomes twelve to fourteen, and 85.714 is the percentage.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her. When she saw this, she got flustered again. “B-But your answer is good enough! Anything after the decimal is extraneous, anyway.”
I couldn’t help but squeeze her again. “Like I said: too cute.”
She whimpered in protest at me as she hugged me back. After we pulled away, things went quiet for a little bit. Considering Twilight wasn’t bringing anything up, I figured she was trying to work up the nerve to bring up whatever it is she needed to speak to me about. With that, I decided to rip the bandage off for her.
“So… what was it that you wanted to talk about?” I inquired.
“Right! Yeah, that…” The smile that had been upon Twilight’s face since I arrived quickly faded into dejection. “Just… promise you won’t be mad, okay?”
“Of course.” I grabbed her hand and held onto it. “You can tell me anything, Twilight.”
“I… uhm, well…” she kept stammering for a few moments. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then she did the same after.
“I… didn’t tell Timber anything,” she admitted.
I knew in the back of my mind this was what this had to be about. It was irritating to hear, but I wasn’t mad at her. I didn’t show my irritation either, I just nodded and let her continue.
“I know you told me to, and I’m really sorry for not doing what you said, but I just–”
I leaned toward her and pulled her into another hug. I wasn’t going to make her explain herself to me.
“Shh, don’t worry about it. I kind of figured that out on my own after I asked this morning at school,” I assured.
As she pulled away, she looked up at me. “So, you’re not mad at me?”
I shook my head. “I’m not. Not in the slightest,” I answered, “I don’t blame you for not wanting to talk to that jerkoff. Though, I would like to know why, if you don’t mind me asking.”
She turned away from me and shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Every time I tried to work myself up to do it, I’d get too anxious and stop myself. I wish I’d done it, though. He’s been trying to text me since this morning.”
Twilight sighed as she pulled out her phone. She navigated to her recent calls list.
“Before I texted you, this is how many times he tried to call. I didn’t pick up on any of them. I just blocked the number.” Twilight handed her phone to me.
I didn’t count how many times he’d called, but the number of times I saw his name on this list was enough to tell me it was far too many. I knitted my brow as I passed the phone back to her.
“I-I’m sorry.” Twilight curled into herself.
I put my arm around her. “I’m not mad at you, but I’m pissed at him,” I said. She relaxed a little after that. “Do you want me to call him and tell him not to bother you anymore?”
Twilight shook her head. “I just wanted you to be aware of that. I don’t know if he’s going to show up or anything, but I figured you should know just in case.”
“And if he shows up?” I asked. Twilight looked up at me with a little confusion in her expression. When she didn’t answer, I followed up my question with another. “How do you want me to handle it?”
She was quiet for a few seconds as she looked away again. “I don’t know. How would you want to handle it?”
I chuckled, as I wasn't sure she'd like how I'd respond if I was being earnest. “Don’t ask questions you aren’t prepared to handle the answers to,” I said, half-jokingly. The concern on her face as she looked back up at me told me the “joking” part of my answer fell completely flat.
“What do you mean? You wouldn’t hurt him, would you?” she asked.
I wanted to respond with my previous answer, but I refrained. Then I wanted to tell her just how badly I did want to hurt him, but I restrained myself. I needed to choose my words wisely. Twilight’s eyes followed me as I stood up and walked to the window in her room. As I stared outside in contemplation, I sighed.
“I’m going to be totally honest, but if at any point you feel uncomfortable with my answer, I want you to stop me.” I briefly turned toward her. When I did, she silently nodded.
I turned back toward the window. “Hearing his name is enough to piss me off. I haven’t seen his face since camp, but if I did I know I’d have a really hard time not starting something.” I paused for a second to choose my next words carefully. “If he shows up tonight, I’ll tell him off. If he leaves peacefully, then we’ll be good. If he gets ugly, I’ll get uglier. And if he gets anywhere near you, I can’t guarantee I won’t be expelled from school or in jail by the end of the night.”
A few seconds of silence went by. I looked back at Twilight who had turned her face away from me and toward the wall. I kept staring as I waited for a reply. When she didn’t say anything, I decided to explain myself.
“I don’t mean to frighten you, and I don’t want to get violent. If he were just a shitty boyfriend, I might not feel like this. But I heard how he treated you, and I saw what he did to you afterward. Maybe it didn’t involve me, but now that we’re together, this is personal.” I asserted.
After a few seconds of silence, Twilight nodded and looked at me again. “Just promise me you won’t resort to violence first.”
I looked down and held my hand up. “That’s all you had to say.” I looked back up at her. "I promise." She smiled, and I smiled back at her.
As things got quiet again, I thought about what happened at Rarity’s the night before. If we were confessing things, I suppose now would be the best time to bring this up. I took a deep breath.
“There’s something I wanted to talk about, too.”
Twilight looked over at me with an attentive look on her face.
“Last night, after I left, I went to Rarity’s house. She was going to start work on outfits for both of us, but, as you’re probably already aware, she wasn’t able to do that.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah, she already told me about that during first period. I don’t mind, honestly. I’d rather dress myself.”
“Well, there's a reason she wasn't able to finish ours in time,” I continued. Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“I asked if she had an outfit prepared for herself, but she said she didn’t. When I asked why, she told me it was because she wasn’t going. When I tried to ask why she wasn’t going, she got really combative. This is the part that’s weird to talk about.”
Twilight just kept staring as I sighed. “Rarity has been helping me with my crush on you since the night of the sleepover, and the reason why is because she’s been in love with me for months. So now that we're together, she wasn’t going to come to the Fall Formal because it hurt too much to see us.”
“But she said she’d see us tonight before we left sch–?” Twilight began to question before the rest of that sentence finished processing. “Oh…”
“Yeah.” I said solemnly. The room went quiet for a few seconds.
Eventually Twilight was the one to break the ice again. “So… umm… what happened, then?”
“Rarity got upset when I kept asking why she wasn’t going, and by the time she confessed, she was hysterical. I calmed her down eventually, and we talked it out,” I answered.
Twilight looked worried. “D-Do you have feelings for her?”
I shook my head. “Rarity is a wonderful friend, and I’m forever indebted to her for helping me to win you over, but I’ve honestly never thought about her like that.”
“I see.” Weirdly enough, Twilight looked saddened by my answer.
I took another deep breath. “Once I got her calm enough, I let her get everything out in the open. She was afraid I wouldn’t need her anymore now that we’re together, but I had to remind her we were best friends for reasons beyond her helping me. And this is the part I wanted to mention to you.”
Twilight stared at me with anticipation. I could feel her eyes drilling into me as the seconds ticked by. No amount of bracing could prepare me for whatever impact I was about to face, but I steeled myself to the best of my ability.
“I kissed her before we left.” I said as I closed my eyes.
Twilight kept staring. Her expression didn’t change for the first few seconds. Then she looked perplexed. “That’s it?”
I opened my eyes and looked at her. “Umm… yeah. I wanted to make her feel better, and I'm fairly certain it worked.”
“Oh. That's so sweet of you, Sunny!” she cheerfully responded.
My expression changed from anxious to shocked. “Wait, you’re not mad? Why aren't you mad?”
“Why? Do you want me to be?" Twilight giggled. "It’s just a kiss! Besides, we've kissed more, so my score is higher than hers. I’m winning!” she joked.
I let out a nervous laugh, then she started laughing too. As dumbstruck as I was from Twilight’s apathetic reaction, I was immensely relieved.
Twilight got up and walked over to me, hugging me tight once more. “I appreciate your honesty, Sunny. That really means a lot.”
“Anything for you, Twilight.” I hugged her back, pulling away just enough to kiss her.
Once we pulled away from each other, I fished my phone out of my pocket and turned the screen on to read the time.
I looked back up at Twilight. “I don’t know if you’re ready or not, but if you’re not, you’d better get moving. We’ve got an hour before we have to leave.”
“An hour?!” she cried out. Twilight immediately stood up from the bed. “I still have to shower and everything!”
She sheepishly looked over to me, still standing in the middle of her room. “Umm, do you mind waiting downstairs while I do that real quick?”
I nodded and walked toward her. “Not a problem, but you owe me something first.”
Without another word, she threw herself into me and I squeezed her. Of course, she squeaked, which made me squeeze her so hard I picked her up. She laughed and squealed as she kicked her legs in the air. As I placed her down, I knelt down toward her. She leaned into me, her lips meeting with mine for the briefest of wonderful moments.
“I’ll be quick!” she said as she made her way to the bathroom down the hall.
I nodded as I walked toward the stairs. “Take your time! Yell for me when you’re done, and if I don’t respond just text me. I might go sit outside.”
“Gotcha!” she shouted back.
Walking down the steps, it occurred to me how many times we’d hugged and kissed since we’ve been together. It’s only been a day, and already I’ve lost count. When she broke up with Timber, I remember her saying she wasn’t very touchy. At first, I thought I might be too pushy. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized she was just as physically affectionate as I was. Apparently, she was even keeping score of how many kisses we shared. I decided not to think about it. As long as she didn’t express discomfort, I would love her and let her love me as much as we could.
As I walked out onto her front porch, I made a beeline for my bike. I was good at concealing it, but talking about Timber stressed me out much more than I liked to admit. Already being so nervous about everything else, I needed a cigarette. Hopefully Twilight wouldn’t smell it on me afterwards. I’d done a good job keeping my promise to her of quitting since the last time, but everything going on was so much. I just needed a little reprieve.
I pulled my pack and lighter out of the bag, slipping one of my smokes between my lips. Holding my hand in front of the tip of the rod, I flicked the spark wheel of the lighter. As I heard the familiar sound of ignition, I breathed in. Immediately I could feel a soothing feeling spread through my nerves from my chest to the rest of my body. I loved that feeling, and hated that I loved it even more.
At first I wanted to lean against my bike, but I quickly realized any ash I dropped onto the concrete driveway would expose the fact that I’d been smoking. So I elected to stand next to the lawn instead. Every time I flicked some ash off, it would be obscured by the dirt and grass below. I wasn’t as concerned with Twilight seeing it – she was probably going to smell it on me anyway. No, I was worried about her parents coming home later tonight and seeing it. If they knew I smoked, our relationship may not last that long. I wasn't worried about her neighbors seeing me, though. This is a rich people neighborhood. They don't talk to each other – they don't even like each other.
It was getting very close to being dark outside already anyway. That made me wonder how I appeared to Twilight’s neighbors as I took another puff. I’m sure I looked every bit as out of place as I felt. The thought of someone looking at me through their third story window, clutching their pearls at the sight of a teenager smoking made me chuckle to myself. I didn’t think I looked cool or anything. I wasn’t trying to look like a bad girl, but I knew that was the impression I gave off.
No, I wasn’t a bad girl. Not anymore, at least. I reflected on where I was at this moment a year ago. Right around now, I was getting ready for this same event. It was going to be the day I assumed absolute power. The day Sunset Shimmer would bring this world and all others down to its knees in obedience. I was so sure everything was going to go my way. I’d finally have all the power I could ever dream of, and nothing would stand before me. It almost happened, too.
Thank Celestia it didn’t.
Life has become a lot more boring since a year ago, if you don’t count the magical mishaps that have happened along the way. I appreciated that, though. As much anxiety as I felt about the little things, it was nice to enjoy the peaceful moments like this. I tossed the butt of my cigarette into one of the bags on my bike as I lit up another. Then I walked to the waist-high fence that surrounded Twilight’s property. My eyes scanned over the row of houses in front of me. Occasionally, my eyes would be drawn to a pair of headlights as they slowly strolled through the neighborhood streets.
At least that’s what most of them had done. It was hard to tell due to how dark it was getting, but what looked like a dark green truck slowed down as it pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Twilight’s house. That couldn’t be, could it?
The truck kept slowing until it came to a complete halt. The driver killed the engine, and the headlights went out soon after. At first I thought maybe that was one of her parents, or maybe her brother. I hoped it was. I didn’t want to explain why I was smoking on their property, but it would be much easier to manage than what I knew was coming. But that wouldn’t have made any sense. They would have parked in the driveway.
Of course, as the driver seat door opened and shut, and the driver came walking around the corner, I immediately knew who it was. It’d been a while since we last met, but I recognized that face instantly.
It was Timber.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If nothing else, this was the ideal scenario for us to meet under. Twilight was busy getting ready, so she wouldn’t have to hear or see this, and we weren’t at school. If he wanted to get ugly, he’d have to hop the fence. That’d mean he’s trespassing, and I’m not. I’d be in the clear to do whatever needs to be done.
But I’d made a promise to Twilight. I wasn’t going to swing. Not unless he did first. Most of me hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but a sick part of me was praying it did. I had weeks of pent-up aggression ready to let loose.
At first his eyes were turned toward Twilight’s driveway as he aggressively walked forward. Then he spotted me and began to move in my direction. Eventually, we were nearly face to face, with him standing on the opposite side of the brick fence.
“Hey, do you live here?” he asked me. I guess he didn’t recognize me. Either that, or he was pretending not to.
“Maybe.” I took a drag of my cigarette.
“I don’t think you do,” He looked at me with contempt.
“Can I help you?” I kept my voice as dry as possible.
“This is the Sparkle residence, right?” he inquired. I just shrugged. He knit his eyebrows as he got a closer look at me.
“Oh, you. I know who you are,” he remarked, “You’re Twilight’s dyke friend, aren’t you?”
If I had been taking another puff, I might have started choking. Instead, I let out a hearty laugh. I could tell he meant for that to be insulting, but it was just funny to me. People at CHS have called me slurs before, but that was a new one. I didn’t think I gave off that vibe.
“Yep, that’s the one,” I replied sarcastically. I could see the frustration in his eyes when I wasn’t offended.
He scowled at me. “So I take it you’re the reason she’s not responding to my calls, then?”
I chuckled. “No, but I know who is.”
Timber raised an eyebrow. When he didn’t answer after a few seconds, I just pointed at him. He grumbled in frustration at the gesture.
“Look, I don’t know why you’re here, but this doesn’t involve you, so why don’t you leave before I call the cops on you for trespassing,” he asserted.
Everything this guy said was comedy gold. I wanted to bite my tongue to limit how much I laughed, but I remembered not to. Besides, he deserved to be laughed at.
“What the hell are you talking about, dude? She invited me over. I’m taking her to the formal.” A smug grin spread across my face as I took another puff. “Not you,” I prodded as I blew smoke in his face.
Timber scoffed as he waved the smoke away. “Bullshit. Just because she’s friends with you doesn’t mean she munches carpet too.”
I started cackling at him. “Really, dude?! How are you this bad at homophobia?” I flicked the ashes of my cigarette at him and he jumped back. "Do better." I laughed even more as I saw him gritting his teeth. Was I supposed to be intimidated by a guy who just flinched at cigarette ashes?
When I finally stopped laughing, I just smirked at him. “Look, I’ll level with you here. This is embarrassing. You are embarrassing. Quit while you’re this far behind. Go home, forget about Twilight, move on with your life so we can move on with ours, ‘kay?”
I could see in his face he wasn’t about to budge. If anything, he looked like he was moments away from swinging. That sick part of me that wanted him to try and hit me started getting louder.
“You sure talk a lot of shit," he snapped, "I was gonna say I don’t hit girls, but judging by that deep-ass voice of yours, I don’t think I have to worry."
Up until now, I’d been trying to remain cool and calm. However, that was a threat. I don’t think he realized he was putting himself in more danger than he was putting me. Still, it was hard to take him seriously. I squinted at him, taking one last drag of my cigarette before I flicked the butt at him. As it bounced off his chest, I could tell he'd had enough. He angrily walked toward the entrance to the driveway again until I began to speak.
“Look, Timber, I’m only gonna say this once. You come around this fence, this won’t end well for you. Twilight has told me everything you’ve done, and I’ve seen and heard the horrible things you’ve said to her. If it weren’t for her holding me back, I’d have laid your ass out weeks ago,” I warned.
I could see him hesitate, so I kept going. “Even if by some miracle you manage to take me down, Twilight doesn’t love you. She doesn’t like you. She never has, and she never will.”
He started walking again, but when he got to the entrance I kept talking. “Do you think you’ll be going home tonight if you fight me?” I gestured at the row of houses behind him and all around us. “I bet you anything we’re being watched right now. This is a rich neighborhood, too. The instant things turn violent, there’ll be cops swarming all around us. And who do you think they’re going to side with?”
The look of pure rage on his face was priceless. I couldn’t help but laugh at him again.
“I-It was him, officer Shining Armor!” I mock-whined. “That’s the man who trespassed in you and your sister's yard and tried to get in a fight with me for no reason! I only beat him unconscious out of self-defense!”
He stood still. His face didn't show his rage anymore, but I could still feel it.
“Face it, dude. The only way you get out of this is if you turn your fruity little ass around, get back in your truck, and fuck off. If you still want to try something, go for it. Consider what I’m saying right now my favor to you, because I’d love nothing more than for you to come over here and embarrass yourself even more,” I concluded.
I could hear him growl in frustration. After a few seconds, he turned back around and started walking towards his truck. “Whatever. Fuck Twilight and fuck you too, dyke.”
I wasn’t going to let him have the last word. Especially not one as weak as that.
As he walked down the sidewalk to his truck, I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Just remember, you’re such a shit boyfriend you turned your girlfriend into a lesbian!” I shouted, “Have fun living with that, loser!”
I saw him flip me off as he yanked his truck door open. The engine came alive as he slammed the door behind him, and in just a few moments, he was gone. Hopefully for good. As I watched him speed down the road, I wondered if his sister had a social profile. Maybe I could send her a message and show her all the nasty shit her brother had been up to. I’m sure she’d love to know.
I walked over to my bike and placed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter into the bag. Upon walking back into Twilight’s house, I felt awash with a sense of satisfaction. Timber would no longer be hanging above our heads, and soon I’d get to tell Twilight all about what happened. The best part is: she didn’t have to be present for any of it. Even if we just exchanged words, I know that altercation would have stressed her out real bad. Things couldn’t have worked out any better than they had.
Triumphantly, I took a seat on the couch in her living room. The fact that I had so much to tell her made the wait feel that much longer. I was getting a little nervous that we were going to be late as I looked down at my phone. It was 6:49 PM, and we needed to leave in just under 20 minutes if we were going to make it on time.
As that thought passed through my mind, I heard Twilight from upstairs. “Okay, you can come back up now!” she shouted.
As I stood up from my seat and made my way to the stairs, there was a spring in my step. Not only was I excited to tell her everything, but I was also excited to see how she looked. It wasn’t long before I turned the corner of her doorway. When I saw her, I gasped.
It wasn’t because of her outfit. Twilight preferred modesty in almost every aspect of her life, and her outfit was pretty tame. She wore an argyle sweater vest over a white blouse. Underneath that was a black pair of pants that went down to her boots. As humbly as she dressed, I certainly wasn’t complaining. It was still cute! Plus, I had no room to talk, considering I was dressing like it was any other day myself.
What made me gasp was her hair. I told her the night before that I always preferred seeing her with her hair down, and that’s exactly how she wore it. Twilight’s hair was almost always in a ponytail or a bun out of preference, so I could only imagine she’d done that just for me.
That wasn’t the only reason for my gasp, though. One of my favorite hoodies, one with a gray and red striped pattern, had gone missing weeks ago. And as I looked her over, I realized where it went.
“You stole my hoodie?!” I yelled.
“I-I didn’t mean to!” she frantically replied, “You just let me wear it one day. So when you didn’t ask for it back I kept it because it’s cute and really warm and also it kindasortasmellslikeyou.” She started looking away halfway through her explanation, her voice getting faster and quieter with every word. My heart was on the verge of bursting.
“Ugh! You are too cute!” Naturally, I ran up to her and hugged her as tight as I could. “You cannot keep doing this to me! I am too young for a heart attack!”
I could hear her giggle as she hugged me back, her face buried in my chest. Everything she did melted my heart. As I pulled away, she was smiling wide and blushing bright. It was almost enough to make me forget I had to tell her about Timber.
“By the way, Timber won’t be an issue for the foreseeable future,” I stated gleefully.
The smile drained from her face upon hearing Timber’s name. “What? Really? How?”
The smug grin from earlier returned to my face. “He was mad you weren’t responding, and while I was standing outside, he showed up in front of your house.”
Twilight immediately looked worried, “Oh no.”
I held up my hand. “Don’t worry. Nothing happened. He almost came after me, but I talked him out of it.”
“You did?!” Twilight looked shocked.
My brow furrowed as I pursed my lips. “Could you at least try not to sound so surprised?” I joked.
“S-Sorry, I just… The way you talked about him made it sound like if you saw him, you’d put him in an ambulance.” Twilight gave a sheepish smile.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay babe, I was joking. Besides, you’re not exactly wrong. If I’m honest, I was sorta provoking him. I reasoned with him in the end, though.”
“Reasoned, or intimidated?” Twilight grinned as she raised an eyebrow.
I winked at her. “I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.”
After that, she hugged me again, nuzzling me as she did. “Thank you, Sunny. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” No matter how many times she does that, it never gets old.
“If I can help it, you’ll never have to figure that out,” I replied.
As she clung to me, I heard her sniff a few times. At first I thought she was crying, but then I realized what she was actually doing.
“I thought I told you to quit smoking!” she barked.
Shit.
“Sorry! I was just really stressed after our last conversation,” I admitted.
She looked up at me, giving me a comforting smile. “It’s okay, I understand. Yesterday was a lot, and I know today’s kind of a weird day for you, too,” she comforted. “But no more!”
“Fiiiine” I surrendered.
She was right. Yesterday was immensely stressful, and today had been as well. It didn’t help that I kept having weird memories from a year ago resurface, but those were the least of my concerns. I had so much more to be stressed about now. In a weird way, I was grateful for that.
I pulled away from the hug. “Anyway, are you ready to go?”
Twilight nodded. “Let me go make sure Spike has food for tonight. Then I'll lock up around here and I'll be all set!”
We both made our way out of her room. “I’ll meet you in the driveway,” I remarked.
As I made my way out the front door, I noticed all the light from the sky was gone. I took the other helmet out of the saddlebag and placed it on the backseat. Then I placed my own over my head and clicked the strap together. All that was left was to wait for Twilight.
I sat on my motorcycle, letting out a deep sigh. This was it. The night we’d been waiting for. Everything I’d worked toward was finally paying off. I was still nervous, but far more excited than before. I couldn’t imagine anything else going wrong from here on out.
The fact that I couldn’t was worrying in and of itself. I knew there was nothing to worry about, but when does anxiety listen to reason?
So you remember how I said the last chapter was the penultimate chapter? I lied. This is the penultimate chapter. The next will be the final one, for realsies this time. I promise!
When I started this one, I planned on it being the final one, but about halfway through writing it, I realized there was no way I could fit everything I wanted into this chapter without making it the size of 3 chapters on its own. Plus, I wanted to include this confrontation, and the ending I have planned deserves to be its own chapter. It'll be worth it!
Lastly, I might split the last chapter into two parts if it grows beyond expectation. If I can help it, I won't. But I figure I might as well throw that out there since this one ballooned far beyond expectation.
1/24/23 EDIT: Thanks again to EileenSaysHi for editing this chapter! This one ALSO needed quite a bit of work. 
Thanks for reading! 
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Jajajaja in you're face Timber!!! Sunset really knows how to provoke, I also want to see how well (or badly) the fall dance goes
Ha! In your face, Timber!
Now it is time for the fall formal!
Timbers such a chickenshit, though I do applaud Sunset backsliding to EQG1 briefly with her blatant admission to using the "scared women" trope to manipulate any potential violence in her favour.
11364749
As a reformed bitch myself, falling back on bitch powers for good reasons can be quite gratifying. That part was especially fun to write for that reason.
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With great bitch power, comes great bitch-sponsibility.
11364880
See, you? You get me.
Not gonna lie, seeing Sunset put Timber in his place was very cathartic. Especially since she knew exactly how to take the wind out of him, and twist the knife just right.
Figures Sunset would be able to settle a confrontation with that douche face without having to throw a single punch. Win after win for this bitch and i'm all here for it
. Well now that he's taken care of before the fall formal even begins I'm VERY curious to see that happens then.
Well done, Sunny. Twi would have been sad if you ended up having to wash all that blood off your knuckles. Go, enjoy your date.
I deal with it all the time myself and it's quite a hassle to deal with. But it's normal whether we like it or not.
Huh, for the fall formal, I'd thought she'd go in a dress.
https://m.Huh, that was not the answer I was expecting!
Uh oh!
Damn, this is not the same Timber I recall from the movie, it's like he's become somewhat evil like his sister. 😰
Huh, and here I thought they'd fight.
Guess Twilight didn't want to wear a dress either.
Hell yeah, that's something I wish she did more often in the series. Still, awesome!
Busted!
Twi wants a threesome. It's always the quiet ones.
~SolidFire
GOD TIMBER that first real line of his made my JAW DROP
And a hint of transphobia, too? Wasn't expecting that, not even sure if it was intended, but I definitely see it.
Even after all that's happened, Sunny's still got it
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It was intended indeed, and may or may not be indirectly hinting at something in another story that I'll eventually tell
Well damn yeah I was thinking and some hoping that Sunset would lay out his homophobic ass I know personally I would have enjoyed that
Absolutely priceless lmao; i've always enjoyed this kinda stuff and its really funny seeing it applied to these characters. great work as usual, this pairing's cuteness is unmatched