Trust and Responsibility
Sunset stretched her limbs. No matter how many times she visited Equestria, turning into a human always felt so much stranger than the reverse transformation into a pony.
She looked around, seeing no one in sight.
“Twilight?” she called out. The other girl was supposed to be here to pick Sunset up.
After receiving no answer, Sunset frowned. The little scientist was probably too focused on school work. Collage had really brought out the overachieving academic in her.
Sunset rolled her eyes. With a glance at the beautiful sunset, and a contented sigh, she started the walk to the apartment she shared with her fiancée.
She felt a smile form on her lips just thinking about that word, ‘fiancée’. It was still months away, but she couldn’t wait for the big day.
Sunset wondered what time it was, and her hand idly searched her pockets for her phone, before she remembered that she’d left it at home. The portal still hadn’t returned her first one.
Sighing, she resigned herself to a rather boring walk home, and started to hum a Rainbooms song to pass the time.
Sunset breathed a contented sigh when she stepped inside the apartment she shared with Twilight.
The lights in the living room and kitchen were off, and Sunset’s roommate was nowhere in sight.
Sunset made her way over to Twilight’s lab, were her fiancée spent most of her free time.
“Twilight?” she asked, poking her head into the darkened room. It was as devoid of preoccupied scientists as the kitchen and living room were.
Sunset was feeling worried now. She walked down the short hallway, stopping just in front of their bedroom door.
She could hear faint sniffling on the other side.
Sunset opened the door. This room was just as dark as the rest, but it wasn’t empty.
She flicked the light on and gently stepped closer to Twilight.
She was curled up on the bed, wrapped in the comforter. Her glasses had been left on the nightstand. When she looked up, it was painfully obvious she had been crying.
“Twilight? What’s wrong?” Sunset sat down next to her fiancée and tried to pull her into a hug, but Twilight flinched at the touch and leaned away from her.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, ” Twilight whispered, barely audibly.
Sunset gave her a questioning look. “Twilight… What happened?”
Twilight looked away. “Last night, I went to see one of Trixie’s shows.” Her voice was raspy, and she paused to clear her throat.
Sunset tried to inject some humor into the conversation. “It was that bad, huh?”
Twilight just gave her a deadpan stare.
“Sorry, bad joke,” Sunset said.
Twilight sighed and looked away again. “After the show, I talked to Trixie backstage. I told her that I really liked her show, and we chatted for a bit. She invited me to party she was going to I figured ‘why not’.”
Sunset stayed quiet, but she could feel a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“There was alcohol there,” Twilight continued. “They even made me my favorite cocktail and everything. Trixie and I hadn’t really seen each other since high school, so we spent the evening catching up, and just getting to know each other. A-and we kept drinking, and… and…” Her voice faltered.
Sunset sat in silence, waiting for Twilight to say those dreaded words.
Tears were streaming down her face as Twilight finally faced Sunset. “I slept with her.”
Sunset let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Without a word, she stood up and started pacing in front of the bed. Her hand moved in the familiar motion of the breathing technique Twilight had insisted she use whenever she got mad. The effect calmed Sunset a tiny bit, but had the reverse effect on the shaking figure in the bed.
After a few seconds of silence, Twilight unfurled herself from the comforter and crawled to the edge of the bed.
“I’m so sorry, Sunset. It was stupid of me and I promise I’ll never do it again. A-and I’ll make it up to you somehow. I’ll do all the chores for a month, I’ll give you back rubs whenever you want. I-I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Sunset took in the heartbreaking sight of her crying, begging fiancée. She sighed and sat down next to Twilight, pulling her into a sideways hug.
“You don’t have to do all that for me, Twi,” She said softly, resting her head on Twilight’s shoulder. “I’m not angry-” she faltered. “No, I am angry at you, but I still love you. And it’s enough for you to apologize and promise not to do it again.”
Twilight was trembling in her embrace, her arms wrapped around Sunset’s midsection. “Yes, yes! I’m so sorry, and I promise I’ll never do it again. And I love you too, Sunset, I really do.” she sniffled. “Y-you really forgive me? Just l-like that?”
Sunset couldn’t help but think that, had something like this happened before she was hit by the Elements of Harmony, she would have stormed out in a blind rage. But she was a different person now, and anger had taken a backseat in her life.
“No, I’m still pretty angry.” She kissed her fiancée on the forehead. “But I will. Just… be more responsible in the future, okay?”
Twilight wiggled out of Sunset’s embrace, and turned to face her. “Oh, definitely. I’m never touching alcohol again!” she exclaimed with a disgusted look on her face. “And I won’t talk to Trixie again, either,” she said in a quieter voice.
Sunset’s thoughts turned to the magician. She hadn’t given her much thought since graduation, but they had left on relatively good terms after Trixie helped her figure out the memory stone mystery.
“I’m surprised she’d stoop so low,” Sunset said, her anger showing through her voice.
Twilight placed a placating hand on Sunset’s. “Please don’t blame her. I never actually told her about us.”
Sunset glared at her. “You’re wearing a wedding ring, how could she not have known?!” Then, her face fell. “You were wearing the ring, right?”
Twilight nodded fervently. “Of course I was! But, well. It’s not exactly a standard diamond engagement ring.” Sunset followed her gaze to Twilight's hand and the gold band with a red gemstone on one finger. Sunset’s own hand bore a silver band with a purple gemstone.
Just the thought of the day Sunset had presented that ring to her helped calm her down again.
“She actually commented on it being a really nice ring,” Twilight continued, “and for some stupid reason I didn’t think to mention that it was an engagement ring.” her eyes were fixed on her hand. “She’s probably wondering why I suddenly disappeared this morning. Dammit!” she burst out. “How many people have I hurt with one stupid mistake?!”
Sunset reached over and took Twilight’s hand, hoping to calm her down. “Well, that’s three so far, by my count,” she said with a sad smile.
Twilight looked up, her face scrunched up in thought. “Who’s the third?”
Sunset playfully shoved Twilight’s shoulder. “Yourself, you dummy!”
“Oh.” Twilight blushed. “I guess you’re right about that.”
Sunset sighed. “You need to talk to Trixie. If she really didn’t know, then she doesn’t deserve to just be shut out after last night.”
Twilight curled herself into a fairly convincing ball, her hand still gripped in Sunset’s. “You’re right,” she murmured into her knees. “I’m a bit surprised though. I was half expecting you to rush off to confront Trixie as soon as I told you. Not, you know… This.”
Sunset smirked. “Oh, the old me would’ve stormed off without a word, and not come back before kicking some great and powerful butt.”
They shared a brief giggle.
Twilight squeezed Sunset hand tighter. “So, are we going to be okay?”
Sunset gave her a soft smile. “Yeah. We’ll be okay.”
“I love you, Sunset.”
“I love you too, Twilight.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
But Sunset could tell that Twilight was still guilt-ridden over what she had done. She was still fidgeting and glancing nervously at Sunset, as if expecting her to start shouting any moment.
Sunset grinned as she came up with an idea to help her fiancée relax.
“On second thought, is it too late for me to accept that back rub offer?”
Twilight looked up in surprise. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Nope, just say the word and you get free back rubs whenever you want!” she smiled cheerfully, though her smile faltered a little.
Sunset had learned the hard way that a good cure for guilt was to feel like you were making up for it, even if only in a small way.
“I’ll take one now then,” Sunset turned her back to Twilight. She took off her jacket and pulled her hair aside, giving the other girl better access to her tense muscles.
Twilight started light, barely touching the skin. Clearly she was still nervous, though with every passing second she was regaining her usual confidence.
Sunset wracked her brain for something to talk about. One topic was bothering her, though, and despite being a potentially difficult subject, she decided to go for it.
“So, why Trixie?” she asked in a curios voice.
Twilight’s hands faltered for a moment. “Uhm. Do you really want to know?”
Sunset hummed in affirmative. She glanced back briefly to see Twilight biting her lip.
“Okay. I actually had a crush on Trixie just after I transferred to CHS. The other students would always talk about how loud and annoying she was, with her showgirl persona. But I always found it kinda charming. It made me want to know what she was really like, behind the mask she always wore.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, even though she was facing away from Twilight. “You had a crush on her before you had one on me?”
Twilight snorted. “No, I was crushing on you super hard from the moment you saved me from Midnight. But I also kinda liked Trixie. Of course, back then I was way too shy to act on any of those feelings, for either of you. Then, after you asked me out, I got the girl of my dreams, and kinda stopped thinking about Trixie.”
She paused for a moment, and breathed one of the deepest sighs Sunset had ever heard from her. “Until last night, of course. We spent most of the evening talking. About four drinks in, all those old emotions rushed back to me. Not so much that I wanted to cheat on you, that would be a really dumb thing to do.” Twilight’s voice and ministrations became harsher, causing Sunset to wince. “Unfortunately, nine drinks in, I lost the ability to make non-dumb decisions and after the twelfth drink, I ended up in her apartment.”
“Honey, you’re being a bit rough,” Sunset placated.
Twilight’s touch softened instantly. “Sorry.”
They lapsed into a brief silence while Twilight continued the repetitive motions of the back rub.
“Do you like her?” Sunset asked. “And be honest with me. I won’t get mad or anything.”
Twilight flinched at the question.
“Well, yeah. She’s really sweet once you get past her outer shell. And it turns out she’s about as much of a nerd as I am, she just doesn’t show it much. We spent hours just talking about our DnD stories.” Twilight took on a wistful smile. “I did wonder what my life would be like if I’d ended up with her instead of you. I think I could have been happy with her, but not as much as I am now, with you,” she sighed. “So, yes. I really do like her, but I like you more. I guess I’d be happy to just be friends with Trixie, but I don’t see that being an option now.”
After a brief silence, Twilight continued in a sad voice. “I really don’t know what to tell her.”
“Will it be any worse than having to tell your own fiancée?” Sunset asked.
“Well, no…”Twilight said hesitantly. “But she just seemed so lonely. She didn’t really keep in touch with anyone from CHS, and I’m pretty sure she hasn’t made many new friends either. And, uhm… I was also her first,” she finished quietly.
Sunset resisted she urge to facepalm. “Seriously, Twi?”
“I didn’t know! She only told me afterwards,” Twilight half shouted, half whined.
“So now you’re worried you broke her heart?”
Twilight groaned, retracting her hands. “I’m more worried that’ll happen when I tell her I’m engaged.” She flopped backwards on the bed. “What am I gonna do?” she groaned. “I mean, I know that I have to tell her, but… but…” she trailed off.
Sunset crawled behind Twilight, lifting her into a sitting position. She brushed Twilight’s hair out of the way and gave her a small kiss on the shoulder, then started giving her a back rub in return.
“Let me tell you a little about my visit to Equestria,” Sunset began, changing the subject.
Twilight perked up. “Oh, I completely forgot to even ask you how it was. Also, I’m sorry for not being at the portal when you came back.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Sunset said soothingly. “While in Equestria, I met an old classmate of mine, Lyra Heartstrings.”
Sunset could already feel Twilight’s muscles relaxing under her touch.
“We hadn’t seen each other in years and decided to catch up over lunch. She was pretty chatty and told me all about what she’d been doing since school. She told me all sorts about her career as a musician, her move from the big city of Canterlot to the small town of Ponyville. And also about her partners.”
Sunset gave Twilight a few moments to let that last part sink in. Sure enough, after a few seconds, Twilight turned her head to give her a questioning look.
“Partners, as in plural?”
“Mhmm,” Sunset confirmed. “She had been living with a mare, named Bonbon, for a few years and had recently started dating a Canterlot musician named Octavia. That kind of thing isn’t too rare in Equestria. It relates back to Equestrian herd culture from a few centuries ago.”
Twilight turned her head back and leaned into Sunset’s ministrations, seemingly not daring to say anything.
A bit of cheer entered Sunset’s voice. “Lyra kept complaining about how much of a mess her schedule was anytime Octavia was visiting. She’d have to split her time between her performances, her practice, household chores, her friends and both of her lovers,” Sunset finished the list with a giggle. “She said it was difficult to make it work, but it was all worth it.”
“That’s… interesting,” Twilight said hesitantly.
Sunset gently spun Twilight around so they were facing each other.
“I probably should have talked about this sooner, but I never really expected this sort of thing to come up. I’m not opposed to polyamory, so if you want to start dating Trixie, while also marrying me next spring, I’m willing to let you do that. So long as we establish some ground rules.”
Twilight stared at her, mouth hanging open.
“Rule one,” Sunset raised one finger. “You need to be transparent. That means you need to talk to me before you start new relationships, and you need to tell them about any relationships you’re already in.”
Twilight closed her mouth and nodded dumbly.
“Rule two,” Sunset raised another finger. “I don’t want you to get involved with someone if I don’t like them, that’s a recipe for disaster. I’m okay with Trixie, because I’d like to consider myself her friend, even after all this time.”
Twilight said nothing, continuing to simply stare and nod.
“And rule three,” Sunset said with an air of finality, raising a third finger. “STIs are a real issue if you have multiple partners, so you’ll need to get yourself tested regularly.”
Twilight blushed, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly with no words coming out.
“Oh,” Sunset added, “And all of these rules will apply to me as well, if I ever start making googly eyes at someone else,” she grinned.
Twilight took a few more moments to finally find her voice. “Is this really happening?”
Sunset chuckled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m still angry about what you did and I will be furious if you do anything like that again. But, I am open to this kind of relationship if it’s what you want.”
Twilight looked away in thought. “And you really won’t get jealous or anything?”
“I like to think I’ve done a good job of getting my jealousy under control,” Sunset replied. “And like I said, I grew up in a culture where this sorta thing isn’t that rare.”
Twilight bit her lip. She pondered for a little bit, then nodded. “I’ll talk to Trixie, and see if she’ll be okay with an arrangement like this.”
“Okay,” Sunset smiled and pulled her fiancée into a hug.
Sunset parked in front of the apartment complex. Twilight was fidgeting in the passenger seat.
Nighttime had rolled around, and Twilight was more or less ready to talk to Trixie.
“Are you sure you can’t come with me?” Twilight pleaded.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not a good idea, Twi,” she said. “But I’ll be right out here when you come back, no matter how this goes, okay?”
Twilight bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.” She leaned over and hugged Sunset, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Sunset answered. “Good luck.”
Twilight exited the car and Sunset watched her all the way to the building’s entrance.
Knowing that she had plenty of time to kill, Sunset took out her phone and got caught up on all the messages she had from her friends. They had decided to keep her posted on various happenings, despite knowing she wouldn’t have her phone during her visit to Equestria. She read all the messages, and sent out responses to some of them.
After finishing that, Sunset noticed that half an hour had already passed. She left the car, to get some fresh air, and to stretch out her legs a bit.
She stood next to her car, staring at the night sky. Until the sound of a door shutting brought her attention towards the building’s entrance.
She perked up, seeing Twilight walking towards her with a spring in her step. Sunset smiled, prompting her fiancée to break out into a run, nearly knocking Sunset over when she pulled her into a bone crushing hug, giggling all the while.
“I take it things went well?” Sunset wheezed.
“Mhmm,” Twilight hummed, loosening her grip as her smile faded slightly. “There was some shouting at first, and a few tears. It took a while to convince her I hadn’t meant to hurt her.“ Her smile came back in full force. “But once I had explained everything, she agreed with the arrangements, and we even have a date on Friday.”
Sunset locked eyes with her fiancée. The only time she had seen Twilight this happy had been the day Sunset proposed.
“I’m glad to see you so happy, Twi,” she said.
Twilight replied with a giggle. “How can I not be happy? I just got an exciting new girlfriend, and I have the best, kindest, most perfect fiancée anyone could ask for!”
Twilight tightened her hug again, and pulled Sunset into a kiss. The kiss lasted longer than most, and when it ended, Sunset felt more loved than she had in a long time.
“I love you, Twi.”
“I love you too, Sunset."
They stood there, basking in each other’s presence, until the moment was broken by Twilight’s giggling.
“What’s up?” Sunset asked.
Twilight shook her head. “It’s just so surreal to think about everything that’s happened today.” Her giggling subsided. “This morning, I thought I had ruined everything. And now, I’m happier than ever.” She tightened their hug, and rested her head on Sunset's chest. “I’m so lucky to have you, Sunset.”
They broke the hug, and got into the car. Sunset’s eyes locked on the darkened road in front of her.
“So,” Twilight began, with a hint of mirth. “How many back rubs will it take for you forgive me?”
Sunset chuckled. “Hmm, It’s gonna take quite a few.”
“Would it help if I gave you breakfast in bed too?” Twilight asked.
Sunset reached a hand out to take Twilight's. “Maybe,” she answered mischievously.