Here is the Answer
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of free time with be in need of Pinkie’s parties. While it was mostly said in jest by several of her friends, it was true that anything that thought of themselves as somebody of importance will always assist at one of those incredible reunions. Suffice to say that this time it was even truer due to the people in attendance; the capital of fashion and art seemed to have moved into their streets, turning a city that was already a nest of street art and music into the central of a new revolution in terms of modern and vintage art.
Sunset wanted to blame herself after starting her career as a street artist; even thought it was under a pseudonym and only Rarity seemed to have realized who Flanksy was after all the times the boutiques and fashion centers had been ‘hit’ with new art all the time.
First it was Flanksy -Sunset was in no way using a solar name for her pseudonym- and then came the runways inspired by that art at the expert hands of Rarity and Suri Polomare. The two became friends and close co-workers which made Sunset happy and completely shocked Princess Twilight, who explained to them how rotten the pony Suri was. This one, thankfully, had learned from Twilight’s almost demise and showed how sweet and passionate she was. Still, the girls kept an eye on her just to be sure.
With fashion then came the big guns; the people from the capital city arrived, all spearheaded by a man with the charisma and heart to make this a success. Fancy pants quickly gained the hearts of the Canterlot community with how sincere he was and with him, a whole bandwagon of strange things came too, like music, sounds and cameras.
Between Fancy Pants who all but gave Rarity and Suri the moon and Countess Coloratura, who ended up being one Applejack’s old childhood friends, the night environment of the city had changed and with it, the parties.
Now, being invited to one of Pinkie Pie’s parties was even more important than before, with small parties and soirees as some called them, having a whole list of people all but begging to be part of them. Pinkie wasn’t a fan of leaving people out of her parties, but it was something necessary when the person the party was made for needed space to unwind, relax and have fun with the people closes to them; probably that was the reason why Rara -as Applejack called her- became so close to the pink party animal and was a regular client of the now renowned caterer.
While it was true that the small parties garnered the feeling of exclusivity and close relationships, when it came the time to break the ceiling and do a party where everyone was invited, well, it was clear that something amazing and almost catastrophic would result from it. That’s what happened that night and put in motion so many things that changed the way many people lived and made the future so interesting.
Of course the party was good, so good that basically everyone was invited, with rich and powerful ponies, popular artists and eggheads all present on the mega party that had been organized on the city park. The party served two purposes, to be a symbol of the end of the cultural week of that year in Canterlot and as a way to garner good PR, considering that next year there were going to be elections in the city. With that in mind, there was little surprise that the rich and powerful, commanded by Fancy Pants himself, were present, alongside the artists like Rarity, Coloratura and even Sunset Shimmer, who have garnered not a small amount of fans thanks to her canvas work; some of them already being shown on galleries on the city and who knows, maybe someday there would be a gallery dedicated exclusively to her. At least that’s what the intoxicated mind of Twilight Sparkle thought when thinking about her best friend’s work.
That was another thing about the parties; not even eggheads could miss what could be the biggest party of the year in Canterlot, so she had arrived alongside Timber, with Gloriosa accompanying them as a non-official chaperone.
Timber’s family had nothing against his son’s relationship with Twilight, they liked her and thought that it was a nice girl with a good head on her shoulders; it was not only an adorable couple, but one that seemed to have a lot of potential for the future. That didn’t meant that they will simply leave the two of them without supervision and although Gloriosa knew that she was being coerced into going too by her parents, the idea of a party this big was not bad.
As with all parties, things turned a little wild, what with the access to alcohol thanks to knowing the hostess of the party and that not many were worried a minor getting alcohol considering they were all now attending college or already graduated from it.
So it was with great music, company and alcohol that the evening turned into night and that things had been funny, entertaining and slightly well behaved. Save some light kissing between the couple, things had been rather tame among them. It was with her close friends that things tended to become crazier, due to her own inhibitions lowering due to people she trusted with her life. Everyone that knew them understood that, so that’s why no one batted an eye whenever Twilight and Sunset were dancing together; sure, they were grinding a little too much, but they were simply close friends.
How the two ended up on Sunset’s flat? That was something nether girl could quite remember due to how intoxicated both girls were; their brains were working overtime to maintain them not only conscious, but to be able to move their mouths and have any kind of coherent conversation. Of course, that would be highly impossible considering that their mouths were not being used to talk at that precise moment.
A keys being thrown somewhere inside the apartment, the small bag that was chosen by Rarity sailing through the air and the door being closed due to the slightly smaller girl being pushed against it just as the two old friends enter building.
Twilight’s dress was a gift from Rarity a couple of years ago, a nice, simple number made out of cotton that felt perfect to the now college girl; it was nice to the touch and fresh to wear on days where heat would a problem. She loved it and didn’t miss the chance to say to Rarity who was glad her decision for a rather simple dress would be taken well. Twilight also loved the way the dress felt against her skin as her friend Sunset continued to caress and her whole body over the dress. It was cool to the touch, but warm due to Sunset’s heated palms as the redheaded woman took hold of her waist and pushed her against the door as she began to kiss Twilight across the face and found a hoe on her neck.
It was ticklish but oh so pleasurable, sending spikes of arousal across her boy, making her giggle as her eyes watched only figures and shapes around the apartment. She wasn’t drunk enough that she was about to pass out, but her brain felt clogged, as if cotton had been inserted in the machine and made it work slower than ever.
“Shunset… don’t be a vampire,” she slurred as she was fighting back giggled due to how her friend was kissing and licking her neck; as the redhead seemed to be about to answer her, Twilight pushed her head into her neck. Sure, it was ticklish, but she hasn’t told her to stop.
Sunset lightly snorted in laughter which only made Twilight giggle harder due to how it felt on her skin. The giggle then became a gasp as Sunset put her hands on Twilight’s rear and all but carried her away from the door as the girl with glasses locked her legs around Sunset’s waist and enjoyed the way she was being transported.
So it was with great enthusiasm that both girls spend the rest of the night rolling around the bed big enough for four that Sunset had bought for her new apartment; with soft touches, kisses, fingers. It was a long night, sometimes almost frenzied and loving, with trends of magic forming in the air, travelling around them until with a flash it was over. Of course, due to how intoxicated the two were, they were ready to think the magic was just the effects of the high amount of alcohol the two had in their systems.
-----
It was a testament to how many times Twilight have seen the ceiling of that apartment, that the first coherent thing that went through her head was something close to “not again,” before putting a head across her eyes while she covered herself with the silky sheets. She grunted due to a combination of hangover headache and the fact that once more she was naked on Sunset Shimmer’s bed.
At this point on their lives, it felt more like a comedic gag that felt flat on its face, which in its own way was even more tragic. Instead of initiating the panic routine, Twilight began to search for her glasses, until a hand caught her by the wrist and then she felt her glasses being put on her hand. Calmly, Twilight was once more capable of seeing the world around her and everything was clear once more.
“What makes it this time? Sixth’ Seventh?” she asked to her friend and sometimes bed partner as this one only smirked in her patented way as she began to walk in the direction of her bathroom.
“This is number seven, the last one was the time Miss Cherilee married, which I think it was three months ago,” to say that Sunset was comfortable on this situation will be understatement, considering that she was completely naked and without any hurry to get dressed. For a moment, Twilight was heavily envious of Sunset’s hourglass figure; the redhead looked as curvy as those models Shining Armor always had on his walls when he still lived on their parent’s house, but then that envy disappeared as fast as it came. Sure, she was more petite and slender than Sunset, but she had no qualms with her figure this days, thanks to Timber and Sunset’s reassurance that she was perfect the way she was.
It was at that point that her usual guilt trip began in earnest, considering that once again she had went to bed with her best friend behind her own boyfriend’s back, all because of stupid alcohol and hormones. Of course she was blaming the alcohol since at that point it was basically impossible to say that it was a mistake of some kind. This wasn’t the first time she had slept with Sunset right after they got drunk, so this was mostly a routine at this point. Still, the guilt of acknowledging the fact that she had cheated on her boyfriend, again, was also a routine.
“Are you doing the whole ‘oh no, I just cheated on my boyfriend’ thing?” The slightly muffled voice of Sunset came from behind her bathroom’s door, effectively pulling Twilight back from the precipice of guilt that she so wanted to jump into.
“Well, excuse me for feeling bad about that!”
“Twilight, tell me, what happened after you told Timber about what happened the first time?” the memory of that time it was still clear on her mind, alongside that ‘first time’ situation. In the end, he was very calm, well, once he understood that Twilight had slept with a woman and not with a guy as he first thought. Just remembering the way he looked once he understood Twilight had slept with Sunset, it was clear that he was imagining it on his head; Twilight didn’t need Sunset’s power to know that he was getting excited about it.
“Yes, I know, but still!”
“Come on, I think it is pretty obvious the fact that there are only two things that can happen when a guy hears that his girlfriend slept with another woman,” Sunset said walking out of her bathroom, still completely naked much to Twilight’s shame; shame due to a part of her that enjoyed the view more than it should “they will either ask if they could watch next time or they will ask to be a part of it; sometimes both of them, so don’t worry.”
It was infuriating how calm Sunset was at this point, but taking in consideration the amount of guilt and self-recrimination she showed the first time, it was clear that she had vanquished all that thanks to the amount of times in which they had found themselves in that situation. Repeat offense was not something Twilight was proud of, since it was like a man doing a bank heist after he was released from jail due to a bank heist.
The whole situation was just so tragic, comical, and weird and a combination of so many different things that Twilight was drained already and the day had barely started; of course, she knew that she had to call home, or at least Timber and Gloriosa, after all she had been out with them. Now that she thought about it, where exactly was Timber? Well, it would be hypocritical of her to think Timber could cheat on her considering what she had been doing.
Just as she was feeling the call of nature that was guiding her to the bathroom, Sunset also got a call on her cellphone, which was apparently under the bed. The redhead pulled it out from underneath it and after untangling it from Twilight’s panties she answered it.
“Hey sis, what is it?” maybe it was strange to call her human self, or better said, the one that was born I the human world as sister, but at least it wasn’t as awkward as with the two Twilights.
“Just wanted to call to see if you wanted to eat lunch, after last night’s party I’m sure you are hungry,” the two had found each other by mistake, when they had shared a classroom on college; the irony was that it was the first class the two had on their first day on campus. After a session of 20 questions which ended with a trip to Princess Twilight’s castle, her human counterpart was more than ready to welcome the pony one with open arms.
It was crazy and more than a little bizarre to be accepted so easily by someone, not to mention that the someone in question was none other than her own human counterpart. To finally have a set of parents, or even beyond that, to finally meet those parents was something out of a damn hallmark movie in the opinion of Sunset Shimmer, the pony one that is; the redhead hated how emotional she had been when Sunny had introduced her new friend to her parents and the way in which they simply made her part of the family as if she had always been there.
“Meh, I see why not, I don’t have work today so sure, panini place?”
“Panini, ask Twilight if she wants to come with us.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“Sis, I know you two very well, besides, I saw you two drinking together, so make some coffee for the poor girl and bring her if you want,” Sunset had to contain her urge to growl at her ‘sister’, but Sunny simply laughed aloud before ending the call.
-----
The week after the party was a lot slower and almost boring, with summer still going strong and the city a little quieter now that most people have left to some vacation spot or another, which allowed some people to enjoy moments of peace and relaxation; maybe some sat down with a nice book, or took time to finish their favorite series which was the case of Timber and Twilight.
At the moment, sitting down on a sofa while watching TV, the young couple was avidly watching the shenanigans of a group of friends. Well, avidly would be exaggerating; while Timber was truly enjoying the series known as Big Bang Theory, poor Twilight was bored out of her mind. When Timber had told her the series was about a group of science college students, Twilight thought that it would be a lot more scientifically or maybe a little bit educational; the truth was that the series was just a series of boring jokes and cringe worthy moments that made Twilight’s cell commit suicide.
“So what happened at the party? Me and Gloriosa spend the rest of it with some friends from school, what about you?” Thankfully, he talked so it allowed Twilight to put her attention to something else beyond repeating some theorems and formulas in her head.
“Oh, well, Sunset and I just danced a bit, then I crashed at her apartment,” well, they later on, but there was no way she was going to tell him that, at least not to his face, but thankfully, Timber only smiled at her as if nothing weird had happened.
“That’s good, is always nice when you can trust on a friend in a situation like that,” really? That was his answer? Timber knew that she had cheated on him with Sunset and he was happy with her because she had spent the night with her? Sometimes she didn’t understand her boyfriend; sure, he was a little corny and cheesy with his jokes, but besides that he was a nice guy, maybe not Flash Sentry levels, but it was okay. The problem was that beyond some nice flirting and jokes, the conversation usually stopped for a while, and trying to start a conversation on something that she had read or researched only ended with Timber’s eyes losing focus.
Placing her head on his shoulder, Twilight decided to give one more chance to the series since Timber found it so enjoyable, besides, it was summer, they had nothing to do for today so maybe she could… Twilight’s mind scratched to a halt at that point, because really, what could they do? Sure, she was together with her boyfriend on his house but, besides watching television or something like that, there was not much of a difference in what they usually did. Sure, sometimes Timber saw her work on something on her lab, but beyond the first few times it was clear that Timber was as lost as Twilight herself was in the middle of a forest.
According to what Twilight had read, it was known that most couples had something called the honeymoon phase and beyond that was where most of the important decisions were taken, as in, would they go serious? Where they right for each other? What compromises should they make? Beyond some talks about what Twilight wanted to do after college and her bachelors, there was… well, nothing of importance.
So it was a slightly depressed Twilight the one that was sitting hours later among the silence and slight darkness. Twilight had learned thanks to a huge amount of sleepovers and pajama parties with her friends, that the perfect place to think about your life decisions and this was definitely one of those moments. They were on a rut, plain and simple. Sure, they spend time like any other couple, but beyond some talking and joking and maybe kissing and rather bland sex, there was not much in terms of a relationship. Not to mention the whole fact of cheating on your boyfriend with your best friend every time inhibitions were being hit by consuming alcohol of any kind.
As she continued to think about her situation, Twilight took a long sip of her glass of water as her mind went on and on as if it were a merry go round. Her heart was louder on her ears than the clock tickling the hours in the kitchen, but still not enough to help her get everything under control on her part. All day she had felt like that, as if there were something important that had happened but she had forgotten about it. There was something pushing and pulling, as if calling for her attention, but no matter how much she checked her notebooks, agenda and checklists could she find what was missing. It was a little bit irritating and distracting considering that she had been dealing with a crisis on her relationship.
Well, not that her relationship was wrong, although she had no real way to compare her relationship except with the clear example of what not to do on one, mainly to cheat on her partner! She was going on circles when dealing with her guilt, but she still couldn’t understand so many things about what she was doing with her life. First the whole thing with Sunset was the strangest thing ever; Twilight didn’t even consider herself a lesbian or even bisexual so why was she so attracted to the redhead? Or at least attracted to her whenever she too any kind of alcohol.
The only problem was the way in which she just kept cheating on Timber, or was it even cheating when the guy in question basically knew it and kept doing nothing about it? It was true that she had been contrite enough about the first time, but Timber was so patient with her as she explained what happened that day, a little too patient in the opinion of Twilight.
In the end, all the people that had known about the ‘incident’ had taken things way too lightly; even Gloriosa had all but shrugged her shoulders when she knew what happened. The camp leader had been getting things ready for the next batch of campers while Twilight helped with one of her custom made checklists. Instead of raging or screaming at her for stringing her brother or breaking his heart she had calmly put things in order before turning to her.
“Look Twilight, what happens on your relationship with my brother is none of my business, I cannot do anything, besides, if he doesn’t find it weird or gets angry, who am I to do it?” What she said next made her brain stop completely “although, to be fair, when I saw you and Sunset the first time I thought my brother was wasting his time.”
“Wait, what?”
“Oh, not in that way, I mean, I just thought you and Sunset were already on a relationship, that’s all.”
“Can you please explain that? I mean, we are just good friends, that’s all… excluding last night,” oh, she had been filled with dread and guilt by just saying those words aloud, considering that she had been having sex with her redheaded friend and she was calling her a good friend in front of her boyfriend’s sister.
“I don’t know, it’s just that you were a little too touchy feeling when it came to Sunset; I mean, sure, you and the other girls hug a lot, but you just stayed glued to Sunset whenever you weren’t with Timber, you know, holding hands, dopey smiles, the whole thing, I mean, anyone would have thought you were on a relationship with Sunset, not with my brother,” and if that was supposed to help, it only made things even weirder between Twilight and Sunset, to the point that sleeping with her after a party was the norm.
So there she was, sitting down on her boyfriend’s kitchen, thinking about the reasons she cheated on him and feeling guilt about not feeling guilt about that same cheating; no matter what, she just couldn’t find a reason why and just enjoyed the quiet and calm. She raised her hand as if toasting, with something inside of her telling her that things would only get worst from now on.
Those were her nights now, ready to admit to herself that while it was true that she had made mistakes these past few years, she wasn’t sure which side of her life had been a mistake. She wanted to think that her life with Timber, although a little boring, was the right decision, but there was no denying that there was a reason why she always found herself jumping into Sunset’s arms. Sure, she could fault the alcohol, but if that was the case, why wasn’t she always like that with Timber? Why Sunset? Because it was too easy to want to be with Sunset, that’s why. There, she said aloud, well, not aloud, she only thought about it after all.
If there was a reason why she always did what she did, was because Sunset was special to her; form the very first interactions that she had with the redhead, it was clear that she was an amazing person and it had only grew from there. From day one, Sunset always had her back, constantly helping her through her fears and nightmares, talking with her about her past mistakes and helping her forgive herself for putting so many people’s lives in danger. While it was Timber the one that she dated, Sunset had become such a central part of her life that no matter what she did, from accompanying her to take her driver’s license to the first exposition of her paintings, she always craved the sight of the redhead. It was sickening, it was wrong and in the end she knew, no matter what she did, her decision to continue dating Timber would end up with more than one heart broken.
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“That you did what?!” while the human Twilight Sparkle was known for her panic attacks, she was a mere amateur in comparison with the pony version of Twilight Sparkle, she was something of a national and interdimensional expert of that ability. Her voice may not be able to reach the Royal Canterlot Voice that came so naturally to Luna, but her surprise had made her reach a high enough volume that Sunset flinched back at the outburst of her friend.
“I know, I know, I screamed at myself already, you don’t have to scream too,” the young looking unicorn massaged one of her ears with a hoof, mostly because she was being dramatic; her friend just snorted, knowing well the tendencies of Sunset Shimmer into trying to make everything less dramatic that it was. As the years passed, Twilight had seen the way Sunset had grown, from a teenager that had no self-esteem to talk about or confidence to deal with problems, to a calm and collected woman -or mare as the case was- that could tackle all problems that life and magic could throw at her, well, except the little fact that she some kind of weird relationship with her best human friend.
“I wouldn’t have to scream at you if it weren’t because you keep doing the one thing you say you wouldn’t do OVER AND OVER AGAIN!”
“And what am I supposed to do?! Never go to a place where Twilight is again?!”
“Well… not that extreme of course, but, maybe if you… are accompanied by someone else?” Princess Twilight didn’t want to tell them to never interact again; after all, it went against everything she had ever learnt about friendship and magic in her life; although, to be frank, she had never seen something as bizarre as the relationship between her human counterpart and Sunset Shimmer.
“Tried, didn’t help; last year’s celebration of Lace Brocade’s boutique opening, you know, Rarity’s boss, we were all there, we were on a group, nothing could have been able to separate us; next thing I know, Twilight and I are back on my apartment and is morning. Even to this day not even Pinkie knows what happened or how we left the party with no one being the wiser, and that’s Pinkie Pie, who knows exactly when someone leaves her parties! This is all making me go insane!”
“Well, you don’t look that desperate for help to me!”
“That’s because if I don’t act like that Twilight will go into overdrive on a panic attack, and will not be helpful if both of us are panicking about this whole thing, inside I’m constantly in terror!” Sunset basically screamed as her body sagged completely due to how tired and tense she was about it all. Her chin was resting now on top of the pristine looking map slash table as Twilight Sparkle looked worried.
“I’m not sure how to help you Sunset, I mean; this is well beyond what I know about relationships, although I can say that cheating is wrong, but in the other hand he knows she is cheating with you and that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
“Do you think there is some kind of curse at hand or something like that? I mean, it could explain a bit of what’s going on.”
“It could be, but we have ruled that before, after all, is clear that you and the rest of the girls are immune of mind control due to your harmony powers.”
“Well, then either Timber likes the fact his girlfriend is cheating on him and it excites him the fact that she is having sex with another girl or something dangerous is attacking the human world.”
“Sunset, do you have to say that way? I mean, that’s a little… crud,” Sunset simply rolled her eyes at the words of the princess; here was one of the most powerful creatures in the country and she was not capable of cursing or letting others curse.
“You know you can curse if you like, right? You have executive powers on the same level as Princess Celestia, so I think you can let go a little bit and not be scared of simple words.”
“I swear you are as bad as Starlight when it comes to this, so what if I don’t want to curse? I am a princess and I need to be a symbol, an example to all ponies of all kind, pristine and eternal,” an eyebrow was risen as Twilight put a hoof over her heart as if she was doing a dramatization. No matter if the pony in front of her was an alicorn; she was still the same purple bookish and slightly awkward mare Sunset has known for the last years.
“Is that the reason why you don’t get a coltfriend?”
“And that’s why I don’t get a col-wait, no!” the way in which Twilight also reacted to comments like that also never changed; just looking at Twilight cross her front legs over her chest while puffing her cheeks like a little filly, it was so hilarious that it took Sunset several seconds to get her laughter under control.
“Sorry, sorry, it was just the perfect opportunity.”
“I think you spend too much time around Rainbow Dash these days,” the Princess of Friendship had always been amazed at the differences between the two sets of Harmony Bearers and how many discrepancies had appeared over the years. While she was close friends with all of them, she had never been as close to the blue daredevil as Applejack and Pinkie; with the former she had a friendly rivalry that only sometimes went out of control, while with the pink party pony, well, their pranks had become stuff of legend around Ponyville.
Meanwhile, on the human side, Rainbow Dash was probably a lot closer to people like Rarity than the pony one, considering that she never said no to some of the attires that the star fashionista created for her. Perhaps the less surprising was the fact that she just loved to spend time with Sunset Shimmer, probably due to the fact that the two were pretty into music, but mostly due to the change that the athletic girl had underwent after the whole Anon-A-Miss fiasco and how much her guilt had corroded her usual hubris; that added to how they almost lost to the sirens at the Battle of the Band just meant that the overabundance of ego had been clearly drained.
What happened next was that Rainbow Dash had matured in a way that left Princess Twilight breathless; dropping most of the false bravado and leaving a confident, headstrong girl that tackled a musical career like she was born to. Sure, it was just starting, but people were already saying how she could be the next Runaway Jett, whoever that was.
“Well, I don’t see you having a lot of company… except for… you know,” well, what a way to answer back than with something as awkward as the strange relationship of her human version and one of her best friends.
“Nah, is okay; well, I haven’t had a real date since Pearly White broke up with me and that was… a month and a half I think?”
“Wow, okay, I haven’t heard of that one, what happened? I mean, if it is okay with you, I don’t want to bring back painful memories,” even with the years, Twilight was still as nice as always so Sunset didn’t mind it, which was one of the reasons she always visited Equestria.
“No problem, besides, it wasn’t that serious, she just said that I was apparently too perfect and really didn’t feel like a real person; really, me? Perfect? I don’t think many people would say something like that.”
“I don’t know, I mean, I know you are not perfect, I’ve seen when you get annoyed over something and I’m sure I saw you growing horns one time,” the playful smile on Twilight’s face was perfect on Sunset’s opinion.
“Uh, nice one there Twilight, you are finally getting the hang of snarking.”
“I don’t know, I leave that to the professionals, like you; but seriously, that’s the reason why she left you?”
“Yeah, I’m still not sure what she meant by that, I mean, perfect? Me? I don’t think you can go that far.”
“Yes Miss I can play guitar and have a band that is preparing an album, have a career as a painter that is about to explode around the world, can run a mile by the time I can finish a hundred meters, can sing, draw comics, been part of one of the biggest trilogies of movies about the Power Ponies, which was so successful that the writers made Mane-iac a hero on the last movie,” if she had fingers at the moment, Sunset Shimmer was sure the princess would have been counting all that stuff with them.
“Okay, in my defense I had nothing to do with that last one.”
“Oh, sure, because your comic about Mane-iac wasn’t popular enough; let’s be honest, you are not perfect, yes, but you do so much stuff and work so hard to master it that many will think you are perfect, but you should be proud of it,” always the good friend that pony, but Sunset had heard the ‘friendship speech’ enough times that she was surprised the effect was still positive no matter the times it was being said; maybe that was also the reason why Twilight truly deserved the title of Princess of Friendship.
“Okay, okay, I gotcha, anyway, where are Spike and Starlight? I haven’t talked with them in a while,” the redhead looked around the throne room or better said, map room, as if searching for two of her Equestria friends.
“Well, Spike is helping Rarity as far as I know.”
“Is he still pining after her?”
“In his own words, hope springs eternal Twilight, but between you and me, I think she’s dating someone, although nothing has been confirmed so far.”
“Hey, good for her, so what about Starlight?” Sunset was glad that Princess Celestia had taught Twilight her favorite tea related spell of ‘Forever Warm Cups’, because having a cup of tea remain warm at the perfect temperature was something she always wanted to replicate back home at Canterlot City; she was so close, but it still eluded her how to do it with technology alone.
“Well, she is traveling with Trixie right now; apparently Trixie got a contract for a couple of appearances on Las Pegasus so she invited her; apparently Starlight has never been there so she was pretty excited.”
“That’s quite nice, so why didn’t you go with them? I mean, you get along pretty well with Trixie these days.”
“According to Trixie, that trip was exclusive to ‘Trixie’s Best Friend’ so it would be really awkward to have a princess around them, her words, not mine,” no matter the time or if the unicorn and alicorn had put their past behind, Trixie Lulamoon will always find a way in which to annoy Princess Twilight.
“So, when Trixie said Best Friends, did she mean ‘Best Friends’ or just normal bets friends,” since Sunset Shimmer did the quotations with her hooves at the same time she said that, Twilight was sure there was a secret meaning behind the words, but for the love of Equestria she wasn’t sure what she meant.
“I think you lost me because I have no idea what other kind of best friend could be,” rolling her eyes at how naïve the princess after all this time, Sunset Shimmer was ready to educate her friend on the different kinds of friends one could have.
“Okay, so are they Bon Bon and Lyra ‘Best Friends’ level, Sci-Twi and Me level or Rarity and Fluttershy level?”
“Wait, there is a difference? I thought there was just one kind of best friend level you could get! What kind of Princess of Friendship I am when I don’t know the difference!” Before the pony Twilight could start her meltdown, she was quickly calmed by Sunset levitating Twilight’s tea cup underneath her nose; the jasmine scent was enough to calm the princess, or at least avoid the darkness that was one of her patented freak outs.
“Well, considering most of those levels fall under the jurisdiction of Cadence, is not that important; so, basically, Bon Bon and Lyra level mean that they are in a romantic relationship, but they try to disguise it as pure friendship, although I don’t think anyone believe that considering those two have been living together for, what? Three years now?”
“Wait, Lyra and Bon Bon are in a relationship?”
“Didn’t you know? I mean, it is probably the worst kept secret on Canterlot City, even their pony counterparts are the same; seriously, you never noticed that?”
“No, I… I am an old friend of Lyra and I never knew of that, I think I’m going to have to study past conversations that I’ve had with her, because if that is truth, it gives a whole new meaning to certain things those two have said to me. What about the other two levels?”
“Oh, okay so, Sci-Twi and I level is the strange, murky area between being friends but not quite lovers, while also having a healthy sexual side; awkwardness is optional.”
“Beyond the fact that it is extremely nightmarish to think about my former apprentice and the mare that still causes me headache together like that, I think they would have told me about that development,” with the way Twilight was massaging her head with one of her hooves, it was clear that she was already having a headache.
“Alright, so the last level, the Rarity and Fluttershy one is basically purely platonic; the kind of friendship that, while you both acknowledge the fact that the two are freaking hot in their own way, there is no sexual tension and is the stereotypical friendship that you see in books and television.
“I think I will have to say they are on that level, because I don’t think I will be able to stomach finding out about their relationship, nor do I want to know if they have ever crossed that level! So yes, Rarity and Fluttershy level.”
“Are you sure? Because those two have been a little chummy since the last time they came back from visiting Thorax and-“
“No, I refuse to hear anything else that has to do with Starlight and Trixie!” it was the perfect time, just smiling with a friend, nothing bizarre, nothing life changing, just two friends spending tie together and helping each other, the perfect picture of harmony in Equestria; it would be the happiest Sunset would be for quite some time.
-----
Even after seeing the small stick on her hands for more than five minutes since the result had been shown, Twilight still couldn’t process the results or even comprehend what was being shown to her. Her eyes were open and wide, her mouth hanging open at the sheer surprise and shock of what was happening.
The small stick in her hands showed two lines, just two lines and that was all. No words, no numbers or medical jargon to explain what was going on, just two lines that were sending her mind on a tumble without any real way to stop the shaking that was taking control of her body.
She felt it first, the way her stomach grumbled and then began to send a signal to her brain; it was a good thing she was already on the bathroom, because her body was soon bending over the toilet and retching sounds soon echoed across the empty bathroom. Stress can do weird things to your stomach.
-----
The way in which the apartment’s temperature had dropped was probably a world record, but it was not exactly something to feel proud of, mostly to be as confused, shocked and surprised as Twilight had been just a couple of days ago. The silence that permeated the nicely decorated living room was not something that was usual on the house of Sunset Shimmer, what with it almost always being a hub of activities, either by Sunset working on something or playing the latest videogame, or when one of her friends decided to visit her or have a little get-together alongside the other Rainbooms.
This time there were two redheads standing alongside Twilight Sparkle; one of them had her hair on a loose ponytail and seemed a lot more tanned due to her time spend outside with her trusty camera. Her favorite work tool was quite the difference between the two ‘sisters’, with one of them trying to get it through her lenses while the other was more comfortable doing it through her brushes.
Both redheads stood gawking at the bespectacled girl that had brought such monumental news to them, leaving them frozen due to how fast the words had come out of her mouth, without even a good morning or a question about their health.
“Okay… I can see why that can be surprising,” the ponytailed redhead looked at her similar counterpart as this one raised an eyebrow; talking without even uttering a word had become something of the norm between them, what with the ease they had in understanding each other. It was bizarre and beyond any kind of scientific explanation that could be found, if it was ever found considering the whole deal of being the same person, but from different dimensions. Still, it seemed that some of the things people said about twins could be said too about counterparts, considering that the way in which they talked and were in synch with each other mirrored those of identical twins.
Sunny raised an eyebrow indicating Twilight and how down she was, which Sunset slightly shrugged her shoulders in response; several other blink and you’ll miss moments were exchanged, which could be translated roughly into.
‘So what are you going to do?’
‘Why are you even asking me?’
‘You are her love, isn’t it?’
‘I’m her friend!’
‘Considering how many times you’ve had sex, I think you are a little bit mixed with all this.’
‘She is pregnant; I can’t be guilty of that.’
‘You have magic.’
‘Magic doesn’t work like that!’
“Are you alright Twilight?” clearly, Sunset didn’t want to continue the private conversation with her sister if she was going to go in that direction, besides, Twilight was still one of her closest friends and her heart was being torn apart by the way in which the other girl was crying.
“I don’t know! This just came out of nowhere! I mean, how could it happen?”
“I’m not going to make a joke about that considering the mood, but, well, these things happen, right?” Even if Sunny wasn’t as close to twilight as her sister was, she still met the rest of her sister’s friends considering how close they were so had grown to like them. Among those friends there was a very nerdy looking girl and even though the relationship between her sister and that girl was complicated to the max, she still wanted to help her.
“But, we always took precautions, I mean, we always used a condom!” As weird as it was to listen about things like that considering how everything was between them, Sunset knew that the possibility of this outcome was very high now that Twilight and Timber shared an apartment.
“Still, no method is 100% safe, it could always happen; but what is done is done, have you told this to Timber?”
“Yes, I had to do that once I found out; I think he took it better than me, which is not much considering I threw up, but he sat down with me and we talked. I don’t think either of us expected something like to happen, I mean, yeah we are in a relationship, but… neither of us talked about the future, what with Timber still taking care of Camp Everfree and me in college, this is so confusing so I had to tell somebody about what’s going on.”
“Is okay Sparky,” Twilight’s face showed her puffy red eyes after crying so more, but her mouth twitched a bit at the old nickname Sunset had given her after Camp Everfree; it was not a big smile, but at least she got a good reaction from the words so Sunset felt a little bit better. Scratch that, she was as lost as when Twilight dropped that bomb on her lap, she could only imagine how Timber reacted to the news that he would be a father “did you tell your parents?”
“Yes, you should have heard my mom, she was excited one second and enraged the next; I don’t think they were ready to hear that their daughter was pregnant out of wedlock,” oh yeah, there was that little fact of Twilight and Timber just being boyfriend and girlfriend and there had been no plans for a ring yet.
“Yeah, that could… be quite the thing for parents to ask about, not that it is not important or pressure you, I mean, well,” Sunset decided to shut up before she make the whole thing even more awkward that it was right now, so with one hand behind her head which have turned to be a classical pose for her, Twilight took several breaths to calm down.
“He… well, Timber’s parents said that… that there should be a wedding,” at those words, the two redheads stood frozen like statues not quite believing what had been said.
“Excuse me?” Sunny was probably the less shocked of the two, at least to be able to say something and ask what was in the mind of both Sunsets “did you just said that Timber’s parents are going to make you have a shotgun wedding?”
“Sis, if you make a joke about the bride’s parents traditionally doing that I’m going to hit you,” the humor was a little forced, but it was the thing Twilight needed to calm herself down and tell her friends what had been decided.
“Our parents got together and decided that it would be a good idea for me and Timber to get married, all without even asking us what we wanted to do; they even decided to do a small ceremony! Just the parents, Timber and I.”
“Wow, Sparky, wait, do you mean that none of us was invited?”
“They wouldn’t even let Shining attend the wedding, if you can even call it wedding! Is just going to be Timber and I signing a paper and boom, there we go, officially married without even asking us what we want! And you know what makes me even more confused and angry?! Timber just stood there listening and agreeing to what they were saying!” It was clear that this was heavily affecting Twilight because she had gotten up from the sofa and began to walk back and forth in an action that was very familiar to Sunset; it was the way in which Twilight dealt with stress or whenever she had something to get out of her chest.
“So let me get this clear, you are going to get married without your friends, without getting any say on what will happen? I’m pretty sure that is against the law.”
“Sunny, I don’t think we can do much about it unless Twilight tells us what she wants to do. Sparky, tell me, what is it that you are thinking?” What was said by Twilight Sparkle, the one girl that had been at Sunset’s side for so long, made her go numb and it was for several days that Sunset had to fight back tears and depression. It had been a long time since she felt something similar to what was happening, not since the days when she was trying to find herself and redeem herself in the eyes of Canterlot High.
She was sitting down, with eyes downcast and with half a mind of getting drunk out of her mind that Rarity found her, opening the unlocked door with ease and her stiletto heels clacking until she sat down at Sunset’s side.
“Is there any news from Twilight?”
“Not really, since Timber’s parents are basically keeping her on their house until the baby is born, which doesn’t really sit well with Velvet and Night Light considering she is their daughter and with a future grandchild on the way.”
“I suppose they are in their right to take care of their daughter, considering how nervous she must be these days; oh, how I wish Twilight would have had a beautiful wedding , I’ve had so many ideas for her wedding dress, well, for each of us to be truthful, but most importantly, how are you doing these days? I haven’t heard from you since she gave us the news.”
“I don’t know Rarity, I mean, shouldn’t I be happy about her? She is going to finally start a family! Why am I like this?”
“I may not be an expert on your rather puzzling relationship my dear, but I suppose you already know why you are on your apartment with all lights out. I’m just surprised there is not a glass of scotch in your hands while ‘As Time Goes By’ is playing on your stereo,” the elegant girl, now truly blossoming into a fashion star always knew the way to guide a conversation, which at this moment it was what Sunset needed to get her head on the right track “don’t you think you should say what you feel aloud?”
“Rarity, it doesn’t matter, she is married, and she is pregnant… what am I supposed to do? Declare my undying love? I think I had my chances and I blew them in amazing fashion, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know what to say to you Sunset, besides, I don’t want to make you feel worse than what you already accomplished by yourself… maybe be happy for Twilight and offer her your friendship once more? I know this is hard for you, for all of us to be sincere, but what is done is done and I don’t want you to keep punishing yourself for things that were out of your control; please my dear, if not for yourself, do it for all of us.” Sunset sighed after those words from her friend, looking up at the sky silently wondering how they had arrived at this point.
“Yeah, you are right, you have always been right.”
“My dear, I’m not Rainbow Dash to admit something like that, I just have my moments, so what do you say? Want to help me and the others raid Twilight’s castle and tear down the doors so we can finally be able to spend time with our dear friend?” There was a spark on Rarity’s eyes that told Sunset she was not lying about the raid thing. If Timber’s parents were truly barring the door to Rarity and the rest, then there would be hell to pay; a smile began to grow on Sunset’s face at the idea of some fun with that.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
-----.
It took some time, but when six girls are stubborn as the Rainbooms want to do something, there is very little forces in the world that could slow them down, let alone stop them, so when the middle aged couple known as Fir Evergreen and Cedar Crown found one day six irritated college girls ready to break down their door; there was nothing they could do but allow them into their house and light up the days of a girl that had been hit hard by the reality of her situation.
While it was true that the girl was being treated well, with a nice place to spend on, the reality was that the girl had grown from her complete shut-down teenage days before she enter CHS, so while in the past she would been perfect being inside at all times with only books at company, the time she had spent among students of that magical school had changed her; now, instead of finding herself at ease in that kind of environment, she only had desire for company and outside.
Sure, both Fir and Cedar were nice people, especially now that she was married to Timber, something that still didn’t feel real to Twilight, considering that the only thing they did was firm a paper and exchange rings that were simple and to the point, something that she would have found endearing once upon a time. The problem was that Twilight had overgrown that timid, insecure teenage girl that was at home among scientific tools and no on in sight so their desire to protect her and their grandchildren felt chocking more than welcoming. In their own way, Fir and Cedar felt like too much, which explained a lot about both Timber and Gloriosa and the fact that they did everything they could to stay as much time as possible at Camp Everfree; that same desire was counterproductive since Timber had to spend his time commuting between Twilight’s new home and the camp.
The reason why Twilight had to spend her time around Fir and Cedar instead of their own apartment or even with her own family had been decided among the older members, with no word against it by Timber, and due to how shocked Twilight still was, her opinion was never taken in consideration.
At least, with her friends around her, Twilight’s mood got brighter and as the weeks went on, the idea of becoming a mother began to feel less and less strenuous. Sure, she still dreaded the moment when she will become a full time mom, but she knew she will have her friends at her side, always ready to give her hand, especially as her relationship with Timber began to evolve and not in the best way.
Timber in the past always found a way to make a joke or a pun, to always try to be as smooth or corny as he could, but Twilight noticed the changes that he went through. At first, she thought that it was due to Timber taking things seriously and that the idea of finally marrying her and becoming a father had made take things seriously, but that wasn’t the case. He stopped being the goofball that he used to be, instead being almost laconic when interacting with others, almost abrupt. While in the past the two will always find a reason to cuddle up or at least sit down together, Timber now was always busy or would find a reason to get up from where he was standing and walk somewhere else, much to the surprise and agitation of Twilight.
It was clear that Timber was not as excited to be a father as his parents wanted him to be, but it was obvious, what with how nervous he was from time to time, always trying to maintain the same smile on his face as when they met him on Camp Everfree. It didn’t fool any of the CHS friends and it was clear it was hurting Twilight. Seeing him quickly leave the house and basically run in the direction of Camp Everfree was enough to win him a lot of reproachable glares from the Rainbooms one day.
Twilight now truly showed her pregnancy, having a belly as a true testament of her motherhood; in the opinion of Sunset, the girl was still as beautiful as ever, even more now that she had almost an aura around her, or at least when she was happy, which didn’t happy a lot these days.
“Now, now, my dear, don’t worry, he is probably worried about something at work.”
“Yeah, because he must have soooo much job at a camp in the middle of the forest, so many things that keeps him busy,” the sarcasm on rainbow’s voice was strong enough to drown the girls on the room, enough that it made them wince knowing full well that she was right.
“It may be so, but that’s no way to talk about him in the presence of Twi ya bonehead,” with that, she gained a hit on the back of her head from one Applejack who as always, took upon herself the job of stopping Rainbow and her mouth with no filter. The multicolored hair of Rainbow flew around with the smack, but instead of fighting back as was the usual between the cowgirl and her, this time she accepted her punishment considering how bad Twilight looked this time.
The visit was short, since all the girls were busy that time of the year, but Sunset Shimmer, thanks to her very open hours as a painter and artist in general, found herself with enough time to stay around to keep Twilight company.
The friendship was still there, but the time apart had truly strained the relationship between both girls, not to mention that the situation was an even bigger factor between the two. Still, this was not going to keep them separated, so without a word, Sunset took a seat at Twilight’s side, quietly supporting her as the now bespectacled woman found calm at the side of the redhead. Her head found a home on the other girl’s shoulder and Twilight finally allowed herself to calm down. Without even noticing both of them slowly looked for the other’s hand, reaching out for what they missed the most.
“How are things?”
“Bad,” it was quite, with no one around and still, they felt separated, that they were too far apart, even being on the same coach felt too far away.
“How can I help you so things won’t be bad?”
“Stay here.”
“… I can’t.”
“… I know,” and it hurt to acknowledge it.
Twilight was right.
No matter what, more than one heart did end up broken.
The two simply enjoyed the silence and that they were together for now, without realizing the magic sparkling between their hands.
-----
She ended up flying more and more those days, but it was something she had decided for herself, for her own peace of mind, at least she had a lot of time to think about in the sky, to deal with everything around her and with all the changes in her life so far.
It had been months since the last time she had spoken with Twilight, but she knew that the date was close, or if not already the day have went by and she couldn’t be there for her friend, but she had decided that way was better for them, no way was she going to make Twilight’s life as a mother any more difficult that it will be.
She had just changed her cellphone’s settings back into normal and she was waiting for her own bag when she received a call from her friends.
“Hey, Rarity, what is it?”
“Oh Sunset, we were wondering when you will arrive; I would love to ask you how Manehattan is these days, but there are a couple of more important things that I need to tell you,” something in the way she have said that made Sunset’s eyebrows to go way beyond her hairline; she was dramatic for sure, but Rarity rarely talked like that.
“Okay, you are scaring me, is everything okay? Is Twilight okay?”
“Well, it depends on what you mean by okay.”
“Rarity! I swear! Is Twilight and her baby okay?!”
“Yes, they are both alright, Twilight is recovering from giving birth,” Sunset once more started to breathe, not realizing that she had stopped for a second in worry “but-“
“But what? Rarity, you are not doing my heart any favors.”
“Well, both Twilight and Timber’s families are here for the baby, but there were a couple of surprises that took everyone by… well, by surprise if I have to be redundant; you see, it was a baby girl that was born,” great, so it was okay for her to buy that big teddy bear, although she would have given it to Twilight and her kid anyway “and she has red hair,” okay, what?
“Rarity… can you repeat that last part? I swear you said that the girl has red hair,” looking at her phone completely dumbfounded, Sunset was sure that the airport was spinning, but that was not possible, so what was going on?
“Like I told you my dear, the girl was born with red hair and, well, cyan eyes for what we can see; it came as quite the surprise as you can imagine; oh, you should have seen the drama when everyone saw the new baby. My word, poor Timber came out of Twilight’s room in the hospital looking as if he have seen a ghost, although considering the baby is just been born there is not much to say if he looks like one parent or the other.”
“Rarity… I’ll be there in ten minutes, wait for me there!”
“Oh please, because I swear there is going to be problems between the two families at any moment and I don’t want to be in the middle of all of this.”
And it wasn’t in fact ten minutes later when Sunset finally reached the hospital, but it was close to it considering she had to drive from the airport to the general hospital, but it was close. Several times on her trip she thought a cop would stop her, but there she was, running into the hospital and with some directions from the desk she arrived at the same sterile corridor that she grown to dread on that side of the mirror.
As a woman that had finally gained citizenship, legal on top of that, hospitals kept being a place she hated to go into considering how different her original physiology was, always expecting the moment they will tell her there was some mistake on her test and that she had type K of blood or something similar.
This time it was different; instead of a somber or even nervous place, what she found were heated discussions, people screaming at each other and even a couple of security guards holding back two men. At the sides, Pinkie Pie was wearing her classic 3d glasses and holding in her hands a bag of popcorn that she was sharing with Rainbow Dash.
As she got closer, one of the men saw her and got closer to her; it was none other than Timber who without saying anything threw a punch in her direction. In a blink, the one who ended up in the floor was Timber, being knocked down by a woman that had taken self-defense classes for years.
“It was your fucking magic! Was this your stupid plan all along?!” To see the anger on his face was new to Sunset, who always have seen him either with a small smile or with passiveness and almost melancholy the last few months.
“Okay, what is going on?”
“So this is the woman you were talking about? So she must have a brother, that’s the only way that bitch inside had a kid like that!” Sunset was ready to hit Fir in his face for those words, but it was clear that everyone else, including Shining Armor, standing with his military uniform -Rarity later told her he came back from his post on the navy- made Fir think twice about what he wanted to say and simply walked away, not even paying attention to his son who was still down in the floor. Looking between all the people present, Cedar walked out in search of her husband, leaving behind only Gloriosa who stood there, watching everything with a pensive look.
“Can someone please explain to me what is going on?” Sunset was still confused about everything and by the way Timber and his family had acted, well, it was obvious that things had been bad even before she had arrived at the hospital.
“Ah think it would be easier to explain if ya go into Twilah’s room and meet her and the baby sugarcube,” Applejack was calmly leaning against the wall, looking almost like the gatekeeper of Twilight’s room, but with a nod Sunset entered, not quite expecting what she would find inside.
Opening the door, Sunset felt it, that vibration in the air that she had felt the first time they went into the crystal cave back at Camp Everfree, it was pulling her, it was vibrant and it made the room feel almost ethereal. It was floating in the air and it made her remember Equestria and all of its wonders. All the energy was pulling her, pointing in one direction, in one small bundle on the arms of the woman that he loved more than anything in this world.
Twilight looked tired, glowing and happy all at the same time; even when drama was happening outside, even when people were mocking her and pointing fingers at her, she looked at the small baby girl. A small baby that opened her eyes after hearing Sunset walking in her direction; eyes that shined like little cyan gems and with a small tuft of deep red hair on top of her small head.
A shaking hand made contact with another, a spark of magic meeting the other, one soul embracing the other, two hearts finally together. A bond unbroken. The baby yawned and went back to sleep, happy, safe and loved.