Twilight has but one burning question on her mind: how does one ask out Sunset Shimmer?
Ever since Camp Everfree, Twilight has been asking herself the same question every night: how does one ask out Sunset Shimmer?
Normally she turns to science, but science can't help when emotion starts to override everything she does.
Inspired by the story The Sunlight Project by Space Jazz, a story I highly recommend. Also, this is my first story on this site, so all constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.
A sudden bang rang out across the dim bedroom, accompanied by a frustrated groan. Various sheets rustled through the air, and a small dog shifted slightly in his sleep from the sudden noise, but otherwise the room remained still and silent. Only a solitary lamp resting upon a wooden desk illuminated the vicinity, casting its warmth and flickering shadows among the various notes, charts and diagrams drawn in the past…. Well, she didn’t even know how long she had been at this.
Twilight rested her head on her cluttered desk as she attempted to refocus herself, her hair let loose from its usual bun and shielding her from her lamp and work. Come on, Twilight, you can do this, she thought to herself, and brought her gaze to a small portrait propped up on the smooth surface she currently laid her head on. Wiping a small collection of dust from the image, her thumb revealed herself and her friends all gathered in their camp uniforms.
It had been at least a month since the Camp Everfree incident, and school was due to start up again soon. This would be her first official year at Canterlot High, as well as their final year in high school, and all her friends were excited for it, even though she had attended the remainder of the previous year with them. She would be too, if not for one thing.
The problem that plagued her that night.
She read book after book, searched through mountains of web articles detailing the subject, drew charts and diagrams for various possibilities and outcomes, yet nothing had given her a clear answer nor strengthened her resolve to go through with her intended action. She tried every form of information outlet she could get her hands on, yet nothing gave her the assurance she craved. As she glanced around at the cluster of photos and hypotheses that currently adorned her walls, her doubts once again crept into her mind.
Did she really want to attempt this? And was it really worth it? Her whole life had been consumed by knowledge up until a few months ago, and in so little time she had gained so much more than what she thought possible. A new start with new friends. New opportunities not only for her scientific horizons, but for her outlook on the world around her. It had taken so much effort to earn her friends’ trust in her mind, and she did not want to lose a single one of them, especially to something as trivial as this.
But it's not trivial. It started out small, a niggling idea when she returned home. She brushed it off at first, occasionally doing some research on the subject, but never any more than scratching the surface, having seen the notion as a mere opportunity to expand her field of study. But the more she read and the more she found, the more she couldn't ignore it. Stories and anecdotes of people finding all the happiness they could have possibly asked for, filling her mind with idyllic visions of what could be. What started as a passing thought became something she needed. She became certain that she had to do this; it was no longer an option, but a necessity, and it led to many a sleepless night trying to find the answers she sought, but the question still remained, burning at her conscience like the flaming heart she so desired.
How does one ask out Sunset Shimmer?
It was silly, really. For some people, it came so easily, just going up and flirting with the object of their affections. To those less sociable, it was a waiting game. For her to think so much over something that everybody says must be solved by the heart and not by the mind was, to her, would be mind-boggling. The heart always knew best when it came to love.
Twilight just never really stored much knowledge in her heart.
She sifted through some of her notes, having jotted down any of Sunset's hobbies, her passions, her favorite places, favorite foods (which, strangely, were all vegetarian), even somehow managed to find a house address. How someone like Sunset could afford her own house from a job at a sushi restaurant was beyond her, but it was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment.
As she continued through her latest research, she realized just how little she truly knew of everything that had been thrust upon her. Dating, relationships, courtship...Calm down, Twi, you're getting ahead of yourself, she mused as she rested the papers back in their appropriate pile.
Most importantly, though, she knew so little about Sunset herself. She never heard anything of Sunset's life before Canterlot High, only that she appeared one day and took over the school in a matter of weeks. Not Sunset's proudest moment, but one Twilight was willing to look over, all things considered. "What kind of hypocrite would I be if I didn't?"
Otherwise, though, nothing was ever spoken of. Twilight had been advised to never ask Sunset about it, as she was prone to lashing out if someone pried too much. None of her other friends knew anything either, having tried and failed to convince Sunset to calmly talk about it. All that she knew was that she was afraid to go to the other side of the portal, most likely for some sort of transgression that might have occured during her raid of the crown. If anything, every answer Twilight tried to find only led to more questions.
She slowly yawned as she glanced at her alarm clock, reading ten past one in the morning. She decided now would be the appropriate time to allow herself some rest, should her body and mind follow suit. She had agreed to meet up with everyone at the mall tomorrow, and she didn't want to oversleep. She didn't want any unnecessary questions, though she could usually just use the excuse of late night research. Even Applejack never questioned, because technically, Twilight wasn't lying.
She rested her glasses upon her desk, rubbed her eyes, and proceeded towards her bed, having already changed into her pajamas some time ago. She paused to take another quick glance at the walls of research surrounding her room, very reminiscent of her Canterlot High conspiracy research. Maybe I should look into getting some actual posters for my walls, she thought and chuckled to herself before lying in bed and reaching for her lamp.
A loud snap shot through the room as the bulb suddenly burst.
The last thing that sounded through the home that night was a frustrated groan.
Twilight awoke the next morning after only a few hours of sleep, her hair hardly any messier than when she had retired for the night. She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms, hoping that maybe the daylight might help her find the answers she sought. Alas, her mind was still too weary to try and make any connections, and so she resigned herself to venturing into her kitchen for some breakfast.
Despite not attending Crystal Prep anymore, Dean Cadance had assured her that her dorm would still be readily available until she graduated or found another place to stay. It put Twilight's mind at ease to know she wouldn't have to haul all her equipment to some random apartment and risk it getting damaged. Heaven knows what she'd do if she lost any of her magic detection equipment, or worse, if somebody else stole it.
Her dorm was very simple, but accommodating. A single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room made sure she and any guests were reasonably comfortable, though she hardly ever had guests. Her front door led out to a small parking lot that was located away from most of the school's events, so it was more often empty. Some potted plants rested in the windows, at Fluttershy's encouragement; something about "brightening the place up". Don't see how plants can make a room brighter...
She rummaged through her kitchen, finally settling on a bowl of cereal. She constantly wondered why several cereal companies seemed to be on their own sugar high of sorts, always coming up with new products that just sounded overly sweet, and so she abstained from most of the product. She preferred the simpler stuff, much to PInkie's chagrin. Maybe that's why the girl is so hyper all the time.
After downing her cereal and the remaining milk, she decided to get dressed and head out for the day. Maybe she could ask her friends for some advice while she was at the mall. Yeah, that sounds like it might be a good idea
This is a terrible idea
It should have been easy. These were her best friends now, and they always said that she could come to them with any of her problems and they'd do their best to help. So why couldn't she ask them about this? It was something Twilight had debated with herself time and time again, especially since they had no issue giving her relationship advice for Timber, even if that advice was practically worthless.
The only logical answer was that it came down to the party in question. Sunset was another of their best friends, and the likelihood of any of them spilling the beans to her ruined any confidence Twilight had in confiding her troubles to them. Pinkie and Rainbow were especially notorious for not keeping their mouth shut, and Rarity loved to gossip. How embarrassing would it be if Sunset actually knew the truth?
More importantly, what would she think? Would she accept, or simply let Twilight down easy and try to move on? What if she just flat out rejected her, and their friendship never carried on the same? What if Sunset wanted nothing to do with her ever again, and the rest of her friends cast her aside, deeming her not worth being their friend?? What if......
"TWILIGHT!!"
The abrupt shout jolted her back to reality, reminding her that there were currently six girls occupying her food court table, each one looking at her with concern.
"What has gotten into you lately?" Rainbow asked. "You're always dazing out on us ever since we got back from camp!"
"Oh, sorry, it's nothing, just a lot of ideas buzzing around my brain. You know how I am with my research."
Applejack leaned towards Twilight, "Well sure, but ya'll ain't never this out of touch, sugarcube. Ya also don't look like ya got a lot of sleep."
A soft voice on Twilight's right caught her attention, "You're not still having nightmares about Midnight, are you?"
"What? No, I got over that at camp, remember?"
"Well," Sunset placed her hand over Twilight's, eliciting a blush from the girl, "just remember that we're here if you need anything from us. If you want, I'll help you with all your late night research if it'll help you sleep easier."
Oh, please, yes, yes, YES! "Oh don't worry about it, I've got everything under control. Spike just kept me up with his antics last night. No biggie."
"Ugh, enough with the sap, lovebirds," Rainbow drew the attention of the entire table, leaving both Twilight and Sunset's faces aglow. "Now, if we actually have your attention, Pinkie was wondering if you were gonna be available for a party before we head back to CHS this year."
"What for? Aren't you supposed to celebrate at the end of senior year?"
A large poof of pink hair appeared upside down in front of her face, "Well, duh, we're not celebrating that, we're celebrating the start of your first full year at CHS!! We're gonna have lots of cake, play some games, tell scary sto-mmmphmph...."
Sunset placed a hand over Pinkie's mouth to quiet her enthusiasm, "More importantly, we're gonna give you a little more info about the school, extracurricular activities, scheduling and so on. I doubt there are any classes that compare to what you took at CPA, but I'm sure we can find you some interesting clubs to join."
Rainbow let out a snide laugh, "Sunset, you know it's too earlier to worry about stuff like that. It's a party, not a campus tour. Besides, we all know that the only clubs worth joining are the sports and our band."
"Oh, sure, Twilight is certainly going to want to play a sport," Rarity interjected. "Honestly, do you ever consider what others but yourself might actually enjoy?"
"Actually, I did play tennis while at CPA. It was easy to figure out trajectories based on the angle of the racket's mesh, tensile strength and...." Twilight paused to take account of the surprised looks around the table. "What? We still needed PE credits. Almost every high school makes them mandatory."
"Never took you as a jack-of-all-trades, Twilight." Sunset's compliment sent a fresh wave of blood into Twilight's cheeks.
"Oh, I can't do nearly as much as you can. I mean, you're smart, can play music, do art, not to mention..."
"UGH, ENOUGH! Look, are you coming or not??"
"Oh, uh," Twilight turned to Pinkie, "when and where is it?"
Pinkie reached into her hair to pull out a rather large calendar with sticky notes present on almost all the dates. "Sweet Apple Acres, this Saturday at 6:00 sharp!"
"Ok, I think I can make that, anything I should bring? I probably should bring some partygoing necessities, is there a book I can..."
She was silenced by a finger poking her nose, belonging to none other than the object of her affections.
"You don't need to bring everything, and you're not gonna always find your answers in a book." Sunset stood from her chair and stretched. "I don't know about you girls, but I'm ready to head home for the afternoon." Her friends agreed, each citing some reason or another for their departure. Twilight excused herself from the rest of the group, leaving her once again to her own thoughts.
She couldn't stop thinking about every little action Sunset would take towards her, from lending a comforting hand to tapping her on her nose to get her attention. Even the way she teased her was gentle in its approach, and more often than not gave Twilight a sense of giddiness. It made her feel special, and gave her just that little more confidence that maybe, just maybe, she might have a chance after all.
Having returned home for the day, Twilight resumed digging through her notes, trying desperately to find that one thread of data that would give her the answer she so desired. She knew Sunset was catching on. She had to be. Rainbow's snide jokes had planted the seed in her mind, and Twilight knew Sunset would start noticing the signs now that she's basically been told to look for them. Twilight needed to make a plan, and fast.
Any sense of clamor and dread stopped dead in its tracks when she heard a knock on her door, drawing Twilight's attention away from her project. Who could possibly be here now? All of her friends had gone home to do some errand or another, and she hadn't made any plans to invite anyone over. Twilight slowly made her way to front door, wishing that she had one of those small peepholes so she could see who waited on the other side. Probably some telemarketer or something like that. With that in mind, she slowly cracked the door open, only to come face to face with a head of fiery hair.
"Sunset?!"
"What's up, Twilight," Sunset peered her head around the door. "Sorry for not warning you when I'd get here, I honestly didn't even know myself, you know how traffic is."
"I didn't even know you were... Wait, what do you mean traffic? How'd you get here?"
Sunset stepped aside to reveal a relatively old model motorcycle. The machine itself wasn't anything too special, most of the parts were relatively out-of-date by current standards, and several were slightly rusted. The seat had been reupholstered, and a new dashboard had been installed, giving it a strangely bipolar look.
The paint job, on the other hand, was something Twilight could only assume Sunset did herself. Most of it matched her hair, flaming streaks of red and yellow flaring from the head of the bike and tapering to a stop just after the seat. The undertones were more akin to her namesake, brilliant orange fading into red and purple the further her eyes trailed down. The entire pattern seemed to shine in the late afternoon sun, radiating a glow that, to Twilight, was very reminiscent of its rider.
"Sweet ride, right?" Sunset snapped Twilight's attention back to her. "I got it after the Friendship Games. Took a bit of work, but I think she came out alright. So, what's this project your working on?"
Twilight's face quickly paled when she realized what was going on. Of course Sunset wouldn't take no for an answer.Though I suppose I never really did give an answer.
"I told you I was fine, I don't need the help, really," she muttered.
"Well, I'm here to give it to you anyway," Sunset smirked, "so you might as well make good use of it."
Think, Twilight, think! "Right, well, you make yourself at home, and I'll be out in a just a minute, ok? Ok." With that, she rushed back into her room, panic fully setting in. She quickly made to gather all her current research and stow it away, someplace Sunset would be unlikely to look during her visit. She hurried to pull down all of the pins and papers from her walls, and made sure there were no files on her computer open or likely to be stumbled upon. Just in time, too, as Sunset decided to enter just as she finished.
"Actually, Twilight, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Sunset sat beside her on the bed, encouraging Twilight to sit as well, a gesture that the girl nervously followed. "About earlier at the mall. I've seen how you sleep at Pinkie's sleepovers, and it'd take a lot more than Spike running around to give you a rough night. So what's been going on?"
"Just some late night research. I know you guys told me I should stop, but it's a hard habit to kick."
Sunset smirked. "You know you're a terrible liar, right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Twilight." Sunset turned to face her friend. "I know you well enough to tell when something is bothering you, and I don't want to see you drive yourself into a panic because you won't let anybody help. So tell me, what's going on with you?"
Twilight found herself in the exact scenario she never wanted to happen. Here was Sunset, asking her, in the sweetest, most gentle voice she had ever heard, to pour her heart out to her. Sunset's voice alone was almost enough to make Twilight oblige. It pained her so much to resist, to deny her friend, to seemingly push her away for fear of what she would think of her. Despite her mind's objections, she looked to face her friend eye-to-eye.
She took every one of those few precious seconds to study the face in front of her. Sunset's hair always glowed, but in the waning light of the sun it was something only angels would speak of, and it always reminded Twilight of her own angel saving her in her darkest hour. Her skin, combined with the soft visage she always carried when showing concern for any of her friends, Twilight wished she could see every waking moment of her life. Everything about Sunset, from her cute nose to the lips Twilight longed to seize with her own, was simply perfect.
But it was Sunset's eyes that sealed Twilight's conviction. A stark contrast to the rest of the girl's fiery appearance, the pools of teal always left Twilight in a trance. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, and while Twilight would need more than a simple superstitious statement, Sunset seemed to be proof enough. There was always something Twilight saw in those eyes, a history just waiting to be told. She could tell Sunset has weathered more than she let on, and she carried the baggage wherever she roamed. It almost pained her in a way, a part of her yearning for the knowledge of what her friend had been through, the other part longing to simply be satisfied with what was already before her.
"Come on, Twilight, you can tell me anything."
If only she knew how to tell her this. A full month of research had yielded nothing, and Twilight couldn't ask any of her friends. If she told them, the likelihood that someone would tell was too great, and Twilight didn't want Sunset to know until she was absolutely sure she could do this right. Even if she was vague, and didn't hint at who the selected party was, that would only serve to give her an inaccurate approach; the whole point of Twilight's research was to cater a solution specifically to Sunset, and the only person who really knew how to do that was Sunset.
A light bulb suddenly shined in her mind's eye. She knew exactly what she needed to do, After all, what better way to get the perfect answer than straight from the source?
"Actually, yeah, there has been something bothering me," Twilight absentmindedly twirled her hair. "Promise not to tell anyone?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Twilight snickered at the strange vow, "There's been someone on my mind, someone I really like, but I don't know how to tell them about it. I'm really worried that I might ruin the friendship we already have," Twilight paused, a sudden rush of emotions swelling in her stomach, urging her to continue. "I can't stop thinking about them, every day and every night. I wish I could just leave it be, to appreciate what I have now, but it's not enough. I want more, but I don't know how to get it, and it's driving me crazy because every time I see them, my heart aches for what I wish to be true. They're just so perfect in my eyes, and a part of me worries that I'd never be good enough for them! I want them, Sunset, I want to hold them in my arms every night, to wake up every morning and see their face, I... I..."
It was a few moments before Twilight realized what she had just said, feeling the tears streaming down her face. She had just told Sunset everything, more than she had imagined she would, yet it felt like the weight was still there, even stronger now, threatening to throttle her to the ground if she couldn't overcome it. Her hair drifted to cover her face, to hide herself from the shame she felt in the presence of her best friend. She couldn't tell why she said so much, only that whatever tidal wave of emotions had taken her over had already seemed to wash away.
Then she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, bringing her head in to rest upon Sunset's neck.
"Shhh... just let it all out," Sunset cradled Twilight in her arms, giving her the sense of security and affection she always wanted. She took in a breath of air, carrying with it the scent of the strawberry shampoo Sunset always used. She shifted to bury herself into it, taking great comfort in her literal shoulder to cry on. The weight of her emotions came back full force as Sunset held her there, consoling her with soft words, and Twilight decided it was now or never.
"I love you, Sunset."
The silence that pervaded the room hung like an eerie fog, blanketed over the two of them. Twilight simply allowed herself to savor the few seconds she had left where she was, waiting for the moment that Sunset would push her away, either to reject her or to allow them to talk this out.
It didn't happen. Sunset seemed to be just as content to hold Twilight where she was, having not moved a muscle despite Twilight's bold proclamation. Instead, she simply caressed Twilight's upper back, granting her the comfort she sorely needed. Maybe she didn't hear me...
"When?"
"Huh?" Twilight moved to face Sunset, but was held firmly in place.
"When did you fall in love with me?"
This brought Twilight's mind to a standstill. She knew when, of course, but that being Sunset's first response was jarring to say the least.She had expected Sunset's first question to be "why?" or "what do you mean?". She just hoped that she could speak to Sunset without breaking down again.
"At camp, after we stopped Gloriosa. You were always their to help me get past my troubles, even the ones I wanted no one to see. You gave me exactly what I needed to overcome my own inner demons, and ever since, you've always been my closest friend. I could never stop thinking of you. Even in my dreams, if Midnight did ever return, you were always there as my..." Twilight swallowed, "as my guardian angel."
Silence once again befell the two as Twilight took stock of her own emotions. She wouldn't tell Sunset, but she was scared half to death right now. The anticipation of Sunset's response to this sudden revelation was killing her inside, and yet Sunset's warm touch kept her alive. It was a vicious cycle in her mind, all the while Sunset kept her in her shoulder, not even allowing Twilight to chance to look into her eyes. It was probably for the best, Celestia only knows what she'd do if she were that close to her lips.
"Please say something," Twilight whispered. She hoped the request would help this conversation reach its conclusion, but Sunset remained silent. Twilight wanted to apologize, to take back everything she said and hope that they could carry on as before, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wasn't sorry, for any of it, and attempting to recede would only make things worse if Sunset did reciprocate her feelings. She would commit to this, for better or for worse.
Another five minutes past, and still not a word was exchanged. Twilight simply enjoyed where she was, since she had a feeling it wouldn't last much longer. Even if Sunset didn't want the relationship, Twilight hoped that this would be enough for to carry forward afterwards. It pained her to consider the possibility, but as a girl of science, she had to accept that everything comes with the chance of failure.
The silence was suddenly broken, Sunset speaking in such a way that Twilight had only ever heard in her wildest dreams, a faint whisper that she would still here above all other noise in the world.
"I love you too, Twi."
Relief washed over the young girl, a fresh wave of tears pouring out of her onto Sunset's leather jacket as she released the breath she didn't even know she was holding. All the weight she felt crushing her during those moments vanished entirely, suddenly filled by elation, and the prospect of what lay ahead of her. She did it; not only that, but it worked! Had she not been cuddled into Sunset, she probably would've been bouncing around the room like Pinkie on the best of days.Wonder what Sunset would think of that...
Her thoughts were interrupted when Sunset pulled her out of her shoulder and brought her face to face with her. Sunset herself had been crying the whole time, her lips now quivering with anticipation. Without a single moment of hesitation, Twilight leaned in to capture Sunset in a kiss.
It was unbelievable. Sunset's lips were warm and soft, just as Twilight had always imagined. She never thought herself a particularly good kisser, but that didn't matter now. She let her emotion guide her actions, bringing her arms to Sunset's waist and pulling her into an even closer embrace. She felt Sunset returning the kiss, snaking her arms around Twilight's back and caressing her shoulders. Twilight, in return, ran her hands up and down Sunset's sides.
It was a few minutes before either of them broke apart, and when they did, Twilight wanted nothing more than to go back in. Everything in the past fifteen minutes had been better than she had ever imagined. It seemed Sunset had other plans, though, as she stood and made towards the door.
"Sunset? Where are you going?" Oh, no, did I do something wrong?
"Don't worry, Twily," she said earning a blush from Twilight. "I'm gonna need some stuff if I'm gonna spend the night, right?"
"Oh, uh if its pajamas you're worried about, I suppose you could justborrow some of mine..."
"Sorry? I didn't quite catch that."
"You could just borrow some of mine," Twilight reiterated.
Sunset turned away from the door and went towards Twilight's bureau. "Well, if you insist," she went to open one of the drawers.
"No, wait, not that!" Her attempted discouragement was simply followed by the tiniest of whimpers.
Sunset turned to her with a massive smirk on her face, one that Twilight knew would be painted on her features for the rest of the night.
Twilight sat there, her face both paled and flushed, her eyes wincing with the sound of each paper Sunset passed through her hands. Knowing the ridicule that was soon to descend upon her, she buried her head in her hands.
Sunset, on the other hand, was having a grand time sifting through all of Twilight's research. A month's worth dedicated to finding out everything about her, from her hangouts to her favorite ice cream. Every single passing mention of anything she liked or any of her habits was scribbled onto a notepad, then clustered together along with ideas for potential dates or activities.
"You really do your homework, Twilight. I'm actually flattered."
The only response was a muffled groan.
"Aw, there's cute drawings too!" Twilight immediately looked up, finding herself face to face with a random doodle of her and Sunset at a garden picnic. It was rather poorly drawn, all things considered, as she and Sunset were only stick figures, and most of the scenery had no detail to it.
Sunset returned the paper to the rest of the stack. "And you say you can't draw."
I'm never going to live this down, am I? Twilight simply fell back on old habits, and started nervously twirling her hair, waiting for Sunset's eventual conclusion.
As Sunset continued through the mish-mash of information, an unusual sense of unease started to fill Twilight. It sat in the back of her mind, its source unknown to her, but it became stronger as the time passed. Was there something she forgot was in the back of that stack of papers? She was sure Sunset had already seen the worst of it, those being her fantasy drawings, and anything more on the project was stowed away on her computer. So what was she worried about?
Her attention shifted back to reality as Sunset fixed up the stack of papers and placed them back in the drawer she found them in. "I assume you're gonna wanna keep those?" she inquired.
Apparently, it was nothing"You're not gonna tell anyone, are you?"
"Hmm, I don't know, Twily, Rainbow would sure get a kick out of this," Sunset laid back on Twilight's bed. "Maybe another time, but for now, your secret is safe. Now, about that spare set of pajamas..."
It figured Sunset had to grab the cutest pair of pajamas she could find. The t-shirt was a simple violet, its center adorned with Twilight's signature six-point star. The pants, however, were a midnight blue adorned with bright yellow and faint periwinkle stars. An odd choice for Sunset, given her usual taste in attire, but to Twilight it suited her just fine. A little too fine.
They had decided on an impromptu movie marathon to celebrate the evening. They both curled underneath Twilight's blankets, Twilight resting her head against Sunset's shoulder, and Sunset holding her with one arm around her back. The second movie had just ended, and both of them were having a good laugh at its terribleness.
"The effects were horrible! You'd think with such a large budget they could afford to have a monster better than what you'd see in a 1980's kaiju flick."
"Did you here some of those voices? How do you even manage to sound that boring?"
After a few more laughs, Twilight nuzzled in closer. "You know how Pinkie has that party this weekend?"
Sunset shifted to look at Twilight. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Do you think we should tell the others? About us, I mean?"
"I say we wait a little bit," Sunset stretched her arms and settled against the pillow behind her head. "Don't need Pinkie throwing another party for us before school even starts."
Twilight chuckled, "Yeah, you're right," she said as she stared up at the ceiling. It felt so surreal to her, to even be discussing this, when just a few hours before she had no clue of how to reach this point, and was gonna spend another night trying to find that one clue that she had been missing.
Speaking of which... "Hey, Sunset, can I ask you something?"
"What's up, Twily?" She was never going to get used to Sunset calling her that.
"What was your life like before Canterlot High?"
A sudden chill shot down her spine the moment she finished that question. Which was weird, she didn't feel like she was afraid of anything, and the windows were shut; it seemed to come out of nowhere. Just like that uneasiness earlier...
"I don't like to talk about it."
Sunset's reply brought Twilight back into focus. "Why not?"
"It's not important."
Twilight turned to look at Sunset, a confused look painting her face. "But shouldn't we get to know more about each other, now that we're together?"
"Twily..."
"I already know you were in a rough spot when you first got there, how much worse could it be?"
"Twilight..."
"What are you gonna do if we visit your family and they..."
"I SAID IT'S NOT IMPORTANT!!"
Fear swelled in Twilight's eyes, quelling the tiny sense of fury in the back of her mind. She just stared into the face of the now flustered girl hovering over her. Sunset was breathing heavily, her anger swiftly twisting into regret upon her face.
"Twilight, I... I'm sorry. It's still a sore subject." She turned to face away from Twilight and laid down.
Twilight was simply stunned, still reeling from Sunset's outburst. A devastating thought crossed her mind, and though she knew she shouldn't pry anymore than she had already attempted, the words slipped out of her mouth anyway.
"Sunset, is your family..."
"They're not dead, if that's what your worried about." a muffled voice responded. "We just... aren't on the best of terms." Sunset slightly shifted into the bed. "Come on, let's just get some sleep."
Twilight didn't even have the awareness to respond. Her mind was racing, struggling to put together the pieces of what just happened. Eventually, she relaxed her head back into the pillow, the sound of light snoring catching her attention. She must have fallen asleep.
New questions burned in her mind, most pertaining to Sunset's sensitivity towards the subject at hand. What could possibly have been so bad that not even becoming a she-demon dwarfs it? Twilight could only imagine what 'not on the best of terms' entailed, but that train of thought took a sharp dark turn. A possibility I'd rather not think about...
More important, though, were these phantom emotions that continued to arise with no explanation. Her feelings were never this much of a roller coaster, and several times she couldn't even begin to reason why she was feeling such a way. She just.... was. It didn't make any sense, especially that small tinge of anger she felt at Sunset when she shouted. Sunset yelled at her the same way at the Friendship Games; she didn't feel angry then. Even if she did, this was something much more trivial. So why did Twilight feel angry at this? She wasn't an empath like Sunset.
An empath.... The realization dawned on her. She wasn't actually feeling these emotions, Sunset was somehow transcribing her own emotions onto her. Twilight quickly got up and pulled out a notepad, jotting down each of her phantom emotions, tying them to an emotion Sunset may have experienced at the same time. The anger was obvious. Then there was that sudden chill, most likely a spike in nervous energy as a result of her asking Sunset a question she clearly didn't want to answer. Her earlier unease, however, was a bit trickier to try and account for. Maybe Sunset was growing worried that Twilight found something she didn't want her to? Yes, that would make sense, the later information in her project was a little more... personal.
But she would've had to be touching me, right? That explained all but the first, as Sunset was nowhere near her when she felt that unease. Even with that, Sunset never managed to do this before; Twilight didn't even notice her eyes glow whenever they laid next to each other, or when they shared that hug and confessed to each other.
Twilight pupils shrank, her hand dropping the pen it held. She should've known it was too easy, too quick to be true. If her hypothesis is correct, then that means that during that hug, Sunset would've felt every ounce of love that Twilight held. Sunset would see how much she cared, how much she longed for her. She would see every fantasy Twilight had over the last month, every idea that had arisen in her mind's eye. Sunset would feel all of it, but it wouldn't be her own; she could've just as easily been overwhelmed into believing she loved Twilight.
Then again, Sunset hasn't mentioned any phantom emotions of her own, so it is possible she is only broadcasting and not receiving. Did that mean that were her feelings genuine, then? Or was it a two way connection, constantly escalating the emotions to match the other's? That seemed to be most likely, as Twilight had no inclination beforehand to pour her heart out as she did. Twilight knew which one she wanted to be the answer, but her logical mind wouldn't discard the other possibilities simply because she didn't want them to be true.
Worst of all, though, was trying to figure out the cause. Twilight could only imagine the damage this effect could do to their relationship, friendly or otherwise, if it was allowed to continue unchecked. Was it still going on now? Twilight had to assume not, seeing as she didn't feel any more exhausted than normal. Was fatigue an emotion? Was that something that could be passed on by this? This is going to drive me crazy.
A part of her wanted to wake Sunset up and tell her about this, but the moment she turned to, she was reminded of her other dilemma. It was clear that Sunset had suffered something horrible when she was younger, and Twilight, friend or otherwise, wanted to help her come to terms with it. Sure, she wanted to know everything about Sunset, just as she would tell Sunset anything about herself, but the overwhelming sense of responsibility and concern for her friend dwarfed it. It pained Twilight to think anything so horrible could've happened to her love, but it was a possibility she had to accept for now, until she could find better answers.
Her eyes were drawn to a glow and vibration within Sunset's backpack. She hesitantly approached and pulled out the source, a book adorned with Sunset's trademark sun. She opened the book to the last page that was written upon:
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I wish I knew more, but in terms of the scope of your abilities, your guess is as good as mine. Empaths aren't very common in Equestria, and the closest I have for reference is Celestia's visions. I'll keep looking in the library for something to help, but for now, just keep me informed of any new developments.
Twilight Sparkle
So she does know about her powers increasing. Figures she'd tell the princess first...
An idea sparked in her head. She quickly returned the book to its rightful place and laid back in her bed, excited for what the new day would bring. Sunset may not have told their friends anything, but there was one person she told everything.
After bidding Sunset goodbye the following morning, Twilight got dressed and made her way to Canterlot High. She had opted to take a trip through the portal rather than use the journal to contact Princess Twilight; she knew Sunset would be furious with her if she knew that Twilight was still pressing the issue, and a message in the journal would be way too obvious. Ducking through the bushes, she took a quick peek to ensure that no one was at the school. It was still summer, but the courtyard was often a place for the students to meet up for whatever plans they had. After ensuring the coast was clear, she slowly walked up to the face of the portal.
She hesitated as the full scope of what she was about to do dawned on her. This was the first time she had ever considered going to Equestria, despite her massive curiosity. After the Games, she had decided it was better to wait until Sunset offered the journey. It was unlikely, but she figured at some point Sunset would be just as curious as she was.
This was different, though. She had to do this, not for her sake, but for Sunset's. She wanted to help Sunset with whatever her problems were, and she wasn't going to let her hesitation or Sunset's pride get in her way.
She slowly brought her hand up to the statue's surface, checking to see if it was even open. Her fingers caused a slight ripple effect on the material, giving her hand the sensation of being in a jelly-like fluid. Pulling her hand back, she took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.
"Here goes nothing," she told herself as she passed through the portal.
That could've gone a lot better.
Twilight stirred, her head pounding like a thousand drums. She never thought inter-dimensional travel would be so dizzying. As she attempted to stand, she lost her balance and found herself once again face-first in the floor. Right, four-legged ponies, different center of gravity and gait...
"Can I help you?"
Twilight looked up to see the princess standing over her, or who she thought was the princess. the entire room around her was so blurry. It was always hard for her to make out details without her... wait, my glasses are on.
"Um, hello?"
Twilight looked up to where she believed the princess's face was. "Could you please remove my glasses for me?"
She saw a magenta aura surround her vision, followed by a much clearer view of the scene around her. She appeared to be in a library; more specifically, it appeared to be a historical wing, based on what few titles she could see. The walls were crystalline, colored in various cool hues. In fact, the whole structure seemed to be made from the material; the walls. the floor, even the bookshelves. The few windows installed in the room were patterned with a lattice lining and stained a pale-lime green. Oddly enough, the only things about the room that matched its owner were the color scheme and the thousands of books lining the shelves. Otherwise, the style didn't seem to cater to the princess all too much.
Princess Twilight extended a hoof to her new visitor, helping her to stand up straight. Twilight had to admit, this was a lot stranger and certainly a lot more difficult than she had anticipated it to be.
"So, who exactly are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Princess Twilight inquired.
Twilight responded to the question with an incredulous look. "Uh, duh, I'm you. The other you, I mean."
Princess Twilight eyes went wide at the assertion. She slowly levitated a mirror in front of her guest. "Um, you certainly don't look it."
She was right. The reflection staring back at Twilight was nothing like her counterpart. She was shorter, with a relatively small horn and no wings to speak of. That makes sense. Her coat was a darker violet, her signature bun mane and free-flowing tail a blackberry hue with magenta and cyan highlights. Her cutie mark contained the same six pointed star as Princess Twilight, but was more symmetrical and was contained within a cyan prism.
She looked like she was Midnight Sparkle, only without the crazy eyes, wings, crooked horn, and terrifying presence. If any were to take a passing glance between the doppelgangers, they could've easily mistaken them for just sisters.
Princess Twilight lowered the mirror. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Well," -Twilight hesitated,- "I wanted to talk to you about some stuff. I didn't have any access to Sunset's journal at the time, so I just decided to pay a visit."
Princess Twilight placed the small mirror back onto a small table by the entrance. "Well since you're here, I was talking to Sunset earlier about how we could differentiate each other in conversation should we ever be in the same place at the same time. It would get rather confusing for everyone. Sunset hasn't been able to give me an answer, so maybe we could figure something out."
So maybe she was thinking about visiting.Twilight glanced at her reflection in the mirror portal, an idea coming to her. "Call me Midnight."
Princess Twilight look surprised. "Are you sure? Sunset told me about what happened at the Games and at camp, we kinda figured that would be too uncomfortable for you."
"It's fine," Midnight continued, "I've gotten over it."
"Suit yourself," Twilight returned to sorting through various books. "So what did you need to talk to me about?"
"Well, it's about Sunset," Midnight said, gazing at several of the books in the library. "I don't even know where to start. I suppose the first thing I should ask is what she's told you about her powers."
Twilight pulled a book down from the shelf and began using her magic to skim through it. "That's actually what I'm working on right now. She's told me her powers are getting a little out of control, despite the rest of your friends hardly using their geodes. So far all she's told me is that she is starting to not only hear people's thoughts without any conscious effort to do so, but she can also feel their emotions. From what she's told me, it's taking a toll on her."
"I think it's getting worse," Midnight turned her attention to the book held in Twilight's aura. "I have a hunch she's broadcasting her emotions as well. Several times when she was with me yesterday afternoon, I kept getting these strange feelings. I couldn't place their cause, but they all seem to correlate to Sunset's change in mood."
Twilight swapped out her current book for another one. "If that's true, then that can have some serious ramifications. Sunset's abilities have been increasing exponentially, and to my knowledge, there is no limit. Sunset could overload both her mind and somepony else's if their emotions ran high enough. Even if it doesn't reach that point, I don't think it would be a good thing if Sunset was broadcasting anger or fear everywhere she went."
Midnight attempted to scan the shelves for another book that may aid them. "So far nothing serious has happened, though I will have to let Sunset know when I return so she can try to rein it in a little."
Twilight brought a small scroll to her attention. "I've also tried looking within her family history to see if any of her ancestors had similar powers, but there's no records of any empaths within her bloodline." Twilight tossed the scroll back onto a nearby table and resumed perusing the book she held.
The scroll reminded Midnight of her true purpose in coming here. "By the way, there's something else I wanted to know."
"What's that?" Twilight responded, her eyes still glued to the tome she held.
"Has Sunset ever talked to you about her life before Canterlot High?"
Twilight turned to her counterpart, a confused look on her face. "Why do you care about that?"
This was the hard part. While Midnight knows how to convince her counterpart, that also meant that any mistake would likely leave Twilight as mute on the subject as Sunset, leaving her straight back at square one.
"Something else has been bothering her as of late, I can feel it. I've tried asking her, but whatever it is, it's too painful for her to recount, and considering that she can speak of last year's 'Fall Formal' without hesitation, I worry what else could've possibly happened. Not to mention she shouldn't be carrying that kind of baggage around with her powers; she could possibly scar who knows how many people, if it's as bad as I think it is."
"I don't think she'd be able to do that. Her situation is very... unique, let's say, and anyone who could feel the same thing would likely have no idea how to comprehend it," Twilight explained. Well, that's one worry put to rest.
Twilight sighed before she continued, "Honestly, there isn't really much to discuss about that time. I've tried asking her to return to Equestria on multiple occasions, but she always refuses, saying that she still hasn't made up for the 'terrible things she's done here'. Honestly, I don't know what more she thinks Celestia wants; I mean, she's saved an alternate dimension three times, for Celestia's sake!" Twilight placed the book back on the shelf. "I don't know what her plan is, all I know is that she's not going to be able to put it off forever."
Midnight just stood there, dumbfounded. From the way Twilight talked about this, it was as if... "Twilight?"
"Hmm?"
"Is Sunset... from here?"
"Uh, yeah." Twilight turned to see the look of shock on Midnight's face. "Wait, she never told you that??"
It took all of Midnight's remaining brain power to shake her head.
She had no idea what to make of this, any of it. One answer just brought about a world of new questions, all of them swirling around her head in an attempt to be the first one she spoke aloud to the pony princess. However, one thought pushed its way to the forefront, one that wasn't even a question, but a realization.
I'm in love with a magical unicorn alien from another dimension.
"Um, ok, I think I've heard enough on that." she muttered. "Hey, is it possible you could teach me how to do a levitation spell so I could help you?"
Twilight gave her a sideways glance, knowing all too well that she was trying to change the subject. "Hmm, sounds like somepony else has something they're hiding."
"Huh, uh, no, I don't know what your talking about." Midnight turned away to 'marvel' at some of the other books in the room. "This is a, um, really impressive collection you've got here."
"I do my best, and nice try. That's exactly how I acted when my friends kept needling me about Flash. So, did you and Sunset already get together or not yet?"
Midnight groaned; she was practically an open book to her counterpart, so it was no surprise how much Twilight could figure out from just a few choice words on Midnight's part. Still, it might help her get some other answers. "We actually admitted our feelings to each other yesterday, but..."
"But?"
"I don't know how much of what she felt was because of me. If her powers were still going haywire yesterday, and I do believe they were, then she could've just been riding off of my own emotional high, and anything she said and did might not have been because of her own feelings for me. I want to believe she was genuine, but I have no way to tell."
"Hmm," Twilight took the journal from its pedestal and skimmed through their conversation for the past month. "All of your powers come from these 'geodes', right?"
"Yes, why?"
"Then the solution is simple. Ask her to remove the geode, place it at a safe distance, and ask her if she feels any different. Then you'll know for sure."
That could work. "Ok, I'll try that. There's one last thing I wanna know, though."
Twilight simply waited for Midnight to voice her query.
"What about Sunset's family?"
Twilight once again pulled up the scroll of Sunset's heritage. "This is literally all I know of them. Sunset doesn't talk about them whatsoever, and I've never really bothered to ask about them. Considering she's still hesitant to talk about her time as Celestia's student, I figured she'd shut me out if I even made the attempt."
Midnight brought her gaze down to the crystalline floor. "That's what I was afraid of."
After some more discussion about Sunset's time with Celestia, magic basics, Midnight's unusual appearance and some possible hypotheses to explain Sunset's burgeoning powers, Midnight decided it was time to head back.
"You're welcome to use the journal to contact me whenever you feel like it. If Sunset gives you a hard time, just tell her I gave you permission."
"Thanks, Twilight." Midnight turned towards the portal, only to feel a hand placed on her shoulder.
"Just be careful telling Sunset about what I told you today. I know you're just looking out for her best interests, but she's still very sensitive about her time here. Make sure it's just the two of you; I doubt she would want the rest of her friends to know just yet."
"Look at you, the Princess of Friendship, telling people - er, ponies - to keep secrets."
Twilight gave her a lighthearted smirk. "Yeah, yeah, get going."
Midnight gave one last wave goodbye before retrieving her glasses and heading back home.
She emerged from the other side of the portal a little unbalanced, but had a much easier time regaining it than her first passage, though the sudden blurriness every time she exited was something that would take a while to get used to. She placed her glasses back over her eyes...
Silence blanketed the courtyard of the school. Twilight's heart had dropped the moment she saw Sunset waiting for her outside the portal, and every moment without a word made it sink even lower. Without any idea of what to say, she resigned herself to simply stand right outside the gateway, constantly fidgeting her hands behind her back.
"You couldn't just leave it alone, could you?" Sunset broke the silence, her voice choking on her own fear and anger.
"I... I just wanted to v-visit my counterpart to, you know, try and... learn more... about my magic." Twilight knew from her own tone of voice that Sunset wasn't going to buy her excuse for a second, but she couldn't bring herself to admit that she had betrayed their trust.
Sunset was visibly struggling to not lash out at the meek girl before her. "I told you that it doesn't matter, it's all in the past, and that's where I want to keep it," she stated as she turned away.
Sunset's denial was enough to take Twilight out of her own anxiety, her hands steeling themselves at her sides. "But it's not. I may not know what exactly goes on in your head, but I know that you haven't let it go; you can't let it go." She took a step towards Sunset. "I wanted to know so I could help you, so I could be there for you when those memories are too much for you. You won't let anybody in, and so I had to find another outlet."
Sunset spun to face Twilight again, her fury painted across all of her features. "And you think that the Princess telling you about everything was somehow going to change that?! A history lesson isn't going to help you, me, or anybody else! I don't say anything about because no one here could understand!" Tears had begun to flow from her eyes, her anger intermittent with pain and sorrow. "I lost my family, my home, my future! After the Fall Formal, I resolved to make a new start here, to leave all that behind in Equestria where it belongs! But you're right, I can't do that. You know why? Because you, and every one of our friends can't leave it alone either! When will you guys take the hint that I don't EVER want to talk about it?! None of you could possibly understand how much it hurts!"
"But I..." I want to understand. Her whole body choked on those words, followed by a sharp pain firing through every nerve in her body. She knew what would happen if she uttered those words, and from the looks of things, Sunset knew exactly what she had been thinking. Sunset turned away from her, the only remnants of her outburst being a few forced sobs now and again. A dense fog of silence held over the two girls, now even worse than when Twilight had first returned. Twilight moved to take step towards the crying girl. "Sunset, I... I..."
"So that's all I am to you?"
"...what?"
Sunset glanced over her shoulder. "I know what you were going to say. Exactly what you told me at the Friendship Games." She paused for a moment, struggling with the words she wished weren't true. "That's what you think of me, isn't it? Just a case study? Some... unnatural phenomenon that has to be researched?"
"Sunset, that's not..."
"That's not what, Twilight?!" Sunset shouted, her voice more broken than angry. "I thought that little research project of yours was cute at first, but now I see what it really was. I was never a person to you, I was an enigma; a puzzle that you just had to solve, no matter what. You don't care about me, you only care about your knowledge!" Sunset attempted to hold back more tears, the effort in vain as they slid down her cheeks. "I should've known that yesterday was too good to be true..."
Twilight was left speechless, her back against the statue's frame as she tried to summon the willpower to refute Sunset's accusations. Her want was left unfulfilled, a combination of Sunset's heartbreak along with her own preventing any courage from mustering. She simply sat there, hoping that Sunset would allow her the time to attempt to explain herself.
Her hopes were dashed, however, when Sunset moved to leave the school behind, uttering one last sentiment that would haunt Twilight for hours on end.
"I should've known you hadn't changed."
Twilight was not looking forward to tonight's celebration. She had barely gotten any sleep the prior night, Sunset's words echoing in her mind verbatim, a constant beat that would drum at her conscience during her every waking moment. She swore she had never felt more depressed and ashamed in her life. All she wanted to do was help her friend, and not only had she screwed that up, she lost any hope that they could ever be something more.
Was what she had done really as bad as Sunset had made it out to be? Twilight found herself unable to answer that question. It entirely hinged on whether or not her assumptions about Sunset were correct. Was Sunset telling the truth when she said that her only struggle with her past was everyone else's obsession over it? Or was it actually eating away at her, and she was simply in denial?
No, Twilight, stop thinking about this as science. It didn't matter how bad she thought it was, who was right or wrong, or what she knew. She had hurt Sunset. She had betrayed her trust in her blind pursuit for answers. She had thought much too quickly, assuming that Sunset's declaration of her feelings was a license to take more extreme measures without thought of repercussion. Her intentions were good, but that didn't matter either. What mattered was that Sunset was heartbroken because of her, and no matter what she had to try and make things right.
She resolved to go to the party for a brief moment, simply to see if Sunset was there. It was unlikely, but she had to try. If Sunset didn't attend, she would excuse herself from the festivities, citing a family emergency or something other, to buy herself the time to search for Sunset and set things right. She knew Sunset wouldn't likely forgive her, but that wasn't going to stop her from saying her piece on the matter.
She swiftly dressed in her usual attire and made her way to Applejack's barn. It was a slow, painful walk, Twilight's mind alight with all the different possibilities and outcomes of the night. She hoped that things would at least go back to normal, but it was more likely that Sunset simply wouldn't want anything to do with her for a very long time, possibly even bribe her to keep her mouth shut from her other friends. No, that's something the old Sunset would've done, she's not like that anymore...
The train of thought brought her back around to Sunset's last remark the previous afternoon. "I should've known you hadn't changed." Those words stung like a nail driven straight through her chest, not only because of who had said it to her, but because she had to entertain the possibility that the sentiment was true.
Had she really changed since the Games? What about herself had to change? Her mind defaulted to her natural curiosity of everything around her. It was hard to imagine herself putting any form of restraint on her scientific pursuits, but then again she could never have imagined ever in her life that she would deal with the kind of forces she now commanded. Sure, it required a bit of extra care, and she certainly wouldn't be exposing the majority of what Equestria has to offer to the general public, but she had done well in that regard.
Maybe her social skills? True, she didn't socialize very much at Crystal Prep, but that was more down to other students' demeanor than any disinterest on her part. Yes, sometimes her studies took priority, but honestly, when hasn't somebody had their priorities skewed?
It frustrated Twilight more than she cared to admit that she simply couldn't find an answer to her problem. Her rash decisions were made out of a concern for Sunset's well-being. Sunset may not have known that Twilight could feel every intense emotion flowing throughout the fiery-haired girl, but Twilight knew what Sunset was going through. Unless...
The realization crashed into Twilight, making her heart drop from her chest. While she could feel some of Sunset's stronger emotions, she could never tell what was actually going through her head. All of those emotions, waging a war in her mind; it was likely Sunset couldn't discern whose was whose. Her final sentiment was a reflection upon herself, a fear that everybody said was passed. Sunset was afraid she hadn't truly changed, and in the storm of thoughts and emotions plaguing her in that instance, she defaulted to project it onto Twilight. Not only did this theory explain Sunset's own illogical outbursts, it proved to Twilight what she had believed all along.
Sunset isn't over her past. She still lingers on it, regardless of whether or not her friends mention it to her or anyone else. She was quietly suffering; no, she is quietly suffering, perhaps now more than ever, probably expecting that Twilight thinks of her as some sort of monster, either for her actions in Equestria, or for her actions the previous day.
It was in that moment Twilight could feel the heartache call to her; Sunset had to be close. Without further hesitation, she dashed to Sweet Apple Acres. When she arrived at its archway, she spot the familiar fiery hair at the entrance of the barn. It looked as though she was talking with Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Twilight hurried around the corner, staying just out of sight but close enough to hear, the pain in her chest growing with every word spoken.
"So you're not sticking around then?"
"I'm sorry, I've just got a lot on my plate I'm dealing with right now, and I don't think a party atmosphere is going to help me too much. Tell Twilight I said hi."
With that, she waved goodbye, and turned to where her motorcycle was parked. Twilight followed, her nerves slowly returning to her as she mentally prepared herself. Now or never, Twilight.
The slight breeze carried her cry throughout the orchard. Sunset stopped momentarily at the sound, but then resumed towards her vehicle. Twilight ran to catch up with her, placing her hand on Sunset's shoulder when she reached her. Sunset turned to remove the hand, only to stop when her eyes met Twilight's.
Twilight didn't know when she had started letting the tears slip,but by now she didn't care about the rivers streaming down her face. If anything else, Twilight needed to let Sunset know how she felt, and she had to do it without... "Please, take off the pendant for a moment."
Sunset's lack of response only served to weaken Twilight's resolve further, her arms slowly slinking back to her sides while the rest of her body retreated into itself. She was about to turn away and leave, but a weak chuckle caught her attention.
"...I stopped wearing the pendant when my powers got out of control." Sunset pulled the neck of her shirt to show the lack of the geode around her neck. "It helped, for a little bit. Then everything just came back, full swing."
Words could not express both Twilight's confusion and her disappointment, if she could've even gotten any out at the time. Now what do I do? Her only chance to convince Sunset of how she truly felt was if Sunset had no means to confuse each other's emotions. "C-can... can y-you control it y-yet?"
"No, I can't, thanks for asking," Sunset replied in a rather cold tone.
Think, Twilight, think! Twilight pondered, not put off by Sunset's distant attitude. There had to be someway to help Sunset differentiate between each others emotions. How did it work that afternoon in my room?
An idea formed inside her head; one perhaps a bit too scientific in its approach, but it was all she had. "How do you feel right now?"
"Oh, where do I start? Angry, afraid, hurt, betrayed, confused, shall I keep going?"
"What do you feel the most?"
Sunset turned slightly to look at Twilight. "Is this for more of your research? Cause if it is I don't want-"
"FORGET ABOUT MY RESEARCH!" Twilight shouted at her, her own guilt and sorrow bringing a fresh stream of tears to her eyes. "This isn't about research, it never was about research! I wanted to help you! I wanted to help, so desperately, because I knew you were still aching inside; that despite the show you put on for everybody, you're afraid. Afraid of everything you've done, everyone you've hurt, and that someday, despite everything you've accomplished to make up for it, everyone will turn their back on you for it."
Sunset attempted to speak, only to be cut off by Twilight.
"You think I couldn't possibly understand the pain you're going through, but you're wrong, because you force me to understand whether you want to or not. I've felt everything, every doubt and every sorrow, since you came to my house. I didn't know it at the time, but you were broadcasting your emotions to me, all of them. Sometimes it was just a small nib at the back of my mind, sometimes I couldn't ignore, and others..." she paused, thinking back to when she confessed her love for Sunset. "Others, I believe, and I hope, coincided with my own and caused them to skyrocket."
Twilight's legs gave out under her as she resigned herself to just ball up on the ground, her knees held to her face as she poured more tears into the fabric of her leggings. "All I wanted was to help. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think about anything else. It broke my heart to know that my best friend - that my girlfriend - was in so much pain. That, on top of all the problems we could see, there were even more that we couldn't. I can't bear to lose you to your own sorrow."
Twilight fell silent, her eyes swollen and red, yet still letting tears flow. It didn't even occur to her to try and sense what Sunset had been feeling that whole time; she doubted she could even if she tried. All she knew was that, after a few brief moments, another set of sobs joined her own.
Twilight looked up to see Sunset's head hanging down, small droplets falling from her face to the ground. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. Seeing this, Twilight brought herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around Sunset, one wrapping around the back of her waist, the other cradling Sunset's head to rest on her shoulder. She gasped lightly when she felt a pair of arms tightly circle her own back, but slowly settled into Sunset's embrace, a warmth blossoming into her own heart.
The two girls held each other in place, slightly rocking back and forth to help console the other. Twilight then slowly pulled her head away to look Sunset in the eyes.
"So I'll ask again... how do you feel?" Twilight could feel Sunset tense at the question. She knew it wouldn't be easy. Sunset had such a storm of emotions within her, that to try and simplify it to one feeling was nigh impossible.
This was where Twilight's theory came into play. She closed her eyes and thought back to all her favorite moments with Sunset, and how her love for her companion grew through every ordeal they faced. She thought of everything she loved about Sunset; her confidence, her compassion, her intellect, everything about her set Twilight's heart ablaze, a fire that she hoped was fueling Sunset's own.
She opened her eyes to find Sunset staring right at her, aware of what she had been trying to do.
"You... you really think of me like that?"
Twilight brought her hand to Sunset's cheek, gently caressing the soft skin. "That and so much more," she replied as she leaned and captured Sunset's lips.
Twilight couldn't even begin to describe the sensation she felt when they were locked in that embrace. Their first shared kiss had been gentle and comforting; this one was much more passionate. Twilight slightly tilted her head, prompting Sunset to deepen the kiss. Twilight held onto that union for several moments, running her hands along Sunset's back in small, elicit circles. When they parted, Twilight laid her head upon Sunset's shoulder, never wanting to let go for even a second.
"I love you, so, so much. I don't think I could ever imagine myself without you, and I never, ever want to break your heart again." Twilight choked on a few remaining sobs. "I'm so sorry, Sunset. I just wanted to be everything you need."
Sunset slowly ran her hand through Twilight's hair, consoling the young girl beneath her. "I love you too, Twily, and you're already everything I could ever need."
Twilight didn't know if it was Sunset's confession, reassurance, or the fact that she used that pet name again, but whichever it was sent her into another bout of tears. They stood there together for what felt like ages, until another voice broke them from their isolated stupor.
"Ahem, uh, are we interruptin' somethin'?"
Both Twilight and Sunset turned to find Applejack and the rest of their friends standing a good few feet away, with Pinkie bouncing this way and that to get a better look at what was going on.
Sunset was the first of the two to break the awkward silence. "Uh, how long have you guys been standing there?"
"Oh, long enough, dear, to know that you have something important to tell us," Rarity replied.
"Long enough, Rarity? We've been here since Twilight shouted something about research," Rainbow remarked, earning blushes from the two girls in question.
Well, more than just a blush from Twilight. "You've been there the whole time and you didn't say anything??"
"It looked like you guys were having a moment," Rainbow replied.
"What I think Rainbow is trying to say is that it looked like you two were dealing with something rather personal, and that it would've been rude to interrupt," Rarity corrected, to which Rainbow stuck her tongue out at her. "Ugh! Honestly, Rainbow, can you be any more childish?"
While Rainbow and Rarity continued on their own little argument, Fluttershy approached Twilight and Sunset. "I'm really happy for you two. Although if you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened?"
Twilight decided to speak up for the both of them. "It's something that we'd like to just keep between us for now. We've had a rough enough night as it is, and I don't think we'd want to pour our hearts out on anything else right now."
Pinkie suddenly sprung up between the three girls. "Enough chitter-chatter, you're late for your own transfer celebration, and I intend to make up as much of that time as possible! Onward, to the barn!" She effortlessly bounded her way back to the site of the party, the other girls following behind. Sunset pulled Twilight close, holding her at her side.
"Thanks for keeping things between us. I still don't think I'm ready to tell them about Equestria just yet." She felt Twilight snuggle into her side. "You know, you're too cute sometimes."
"I try," Twilight replied, earning a soft round of giggles from the two of them. Twilight suddenly felt a small tug on her sleeve, and turned to find Fluttershy had hung back with them.
"Can I ask you something, Twilight?"
"Sure, what's up?"
Fluttershy slowly started fidgeting with her sleeves. "How did you do it? I mean, how did you... you know... admit..."
Twilight raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk forming across her face. "Got somebody on your mind, Fluttershy?"
"Yeah," she replied, a small rainbow streak flashing across her mind's eye.
The party wasn't quite what Twilight had been expecting. It was a rather small affair, only including themselves and Vinyl as a DJ. The hay bales that littered the barn were stacked up against the walls, both to make room for a dance floor and to make sure the flashing lights within didn't wake the rest of the Apple family. A few small tables were set closer to the barn's entrance, each with a designer tablecloth that mirrored each of the guests. Several strands of lights hung overhead, each colored somewhere between blue, purple and pink. The centerpiece of the affair was a large banner hung across the rafters with "Welcome to Canterlot High" written in what Twilight could only assume was a rather large purple crayon.
Applejack and Rainbow were currently having a dance-off, with Pinkie and Vinyl as judges. Fluttershy was sitting with Rarity at one of the tables, discussing the former's possible admission into the fashion club when school started at the end of the month. Twilight was content to stand close to the entrance, the cool summer air wafting through her hair. Sunset joined her, two cups of punch in her hands.
"Here you go, Twily." She handed one of the cups to her girlfriend. "Whatcha thinking about?"
"Oh, nothing." Twilight eyed the cup suspiciously. "Should I be worried?"
"It's not that kind of party, Twi." Both of them shared a giggle at the joke before returning their attention to the burgeoning night sky. The sun had just passed below the horizon, the stars slowly twinkling to life.
Pinkie noticed them at the entrance, and whispered something to Vinyl, to which the mute girl nodded. She went to her station and swapped out the records as the last song finished playing, trading out the head-banging party music for something slower and more melodious, much to Rainbow's chagrin. Rarity, on the other hand, squealed in delight at the more formal repertoire, immediately pulling Applejack in to dance with her.
Sunset also noted the change in music, as well as Pinkie's smirk towards her. She nodded to the party girl, then turned to Twilight. "You wanna dance?"
Twilight looked up at her. "Oh, I don't really know how to dance."
"Then I'll teach you," Sunset declared as she took Twilight's hand and brought her to the dance floor.
Twilight couldn't even remember where she was for most of it. Whether Sunset held her close or twirled her all around, all that could stay in Twilight's perception was Sunset. Beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, confident, great artist, great musician, and now great dancer.