Chapter 1
Her Royal Canterlot Voice boomed through the crystal halls. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! Get in there and break up with him RIGHT NOW!"
~~~~SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE~~~~
The Castle of Friendship gleamed in the late afternoon sun. Princess Twilight Sparkle - alicorn, princess, headmare, and magic book-horse - was indulging in her fetish for proper silverware placement. Dinner was going to be an exciting occasion: her dimensionally-displaced friend Sunset Shimmer was going to be there.
This time, the mirror wasn't going to be her manner of entrance. Sunset had come through earlier in the month and almost immediately traveled to Canterlot. She was on summer break and had somehow managed to convince her school that spending time helping the School For Gifted Unicorns (and coincidentally catching up with Princess Celestia) would count as an internship.
But tonight was about Sunset coming by for a nice dinner. And she was bringing a friend! As Princess of Friendship (and the one who had introduced Sunset Shimmer to friendship via rainbow laser) this meant it was doubly special! A good friend AND a new one!
Twilight hummed cheerfully to herself as she moved the strawberry pick 3.27 millihooves to the right, ensuring perfect symmetry in the five place settings. (One for herself; one for Sunset; one for her friend; one for Spike; one just in case because you never knew who would drop by! Starlight would not be attending tonight, which was fine because if she was it possibly meant Trixie and it was better to hold off introducing new friends to Trixie. For as long as possible.)
The Princess considered possibly changing the centerpiece to something a bit more sun-themed just for extra ambiance, but the sound of hooves on crystal interrupted that train of thought. It was time.
Moments later, the doors to the dining room opened to admit an amber unicorn and a saffron-shaded pegasus. Almost immediately, Twilight and Sunset embraced. "Oh, it's so good to see you! Welcome back!" The Princess beamed with joy. As the two broke apart, she looked past her friend to the 'new' friend. Not so new, it seemed.
It only took a momentary meaningful glance by Twilight to tip off Sunset to her part. "Oh, right. Princess Twilight Sparkle, meet my coltfriend, Flash Sentry."
Flash immediately bowed to the Princess. "It is an honor, Your Highness."
"Pfffft." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Come on, Flash, you know you don't need to do that with me." But there was no suppressing the joy in her voice or the broad grin on her face. "But never mind! This is so amazing! Sunset, I had no idea that you and Flash had gotten back together! I knew you made up, but this? This is wonderful! Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
Panic flashed in Sunset's eyes.
Confusion clouded Flash's. "I'm sorry, Princess? What do you mean, got back together? I only just met Sunset two weeks ago. Princess Celestia assigned me to assist her and--"
Behind him, Sunset was rapidly shaking her head and making cutting motions across her throat with her hoof.
Twilight stared. The giant nerd part of her brain struggled to process the information she was getting before things went further wrong. And wrong they were - this wasn't Flash Sentry, the guitar-playing high school student. This was Flash Sentry, Royal Guard.
It was rude, but the Princess cut the guard's story of the first meeting off. "I'm sorry Flash; could I borrow Sunset for just a moment?" She backed away with a nervous laugh before grabbing Sunset in a raspberry glow of magic and hauling her out of the room.
The doors closed behind them with a slam and the hum of a sound-muffling barrier spell. “SUNSET SHIMMER HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!”
Sunset cringed under the weight of Twilight’s fury. “I--I don’t know what you’re—“ Her eyes darted side to side, looking for an escape route.
The Princess was having none of that. “You’re dating the interdimensional duplicate of your ex-boyfriend and you HAVEN’T TOLD HIM?”
“It didn’t come up?” Sunset preemptively braced.
“Didn’t come up?!” Twilight sputtered as her brain rebelled. One hair of her mane popped loose.
Recognizing the signs, Sunset cut back in before Twilight lost her mind entirely. “I was going to tell him! Just... not yet. I had to make sure that he was allowed to know about the mirror in the first place, and it was just nice and comfortable and I didn’t want to scare him!”
Twilight closed her eyes and counted to ten. “Sunset,” she repeated with a thin veneer of calm, “You know better than this. You're basing your entire relationship on a lie - there's no Honesty. Why did you think this was a good idea?”
Spike entered, carrying the tea service for dinner. There was a brief moment where he looked ready to ask Twilight a question. Then – seeing her current state – he thought better of it and continued about his business.
Without aid coming, Sunset had to face it. “Well, Flash is a good stallion. And he's as cute on this side of the mirror as he is on the other. And, um.” She hesitated. She braced. “And I thought maybe since I screwed it up with one Flash, I could make it up to him with the other? Some cross-dimensional good karma?”
Another hair sprang loose from Twilight’s mane. Her eyes bulged. Spike retreated more rapidly, taking the tea into the dining room. Her Royal Canterlot Voice boomed through the crystal halls. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! Get in there and break up with him RIGHT NOW!"
Dead silence.
Sunset’s eyes shrank to pinpoints. Not at the shouted demand, but at the confused Flash Sentry poking his head through the door. The door that Spike had just walked through, opening it up and breaking the privacy spell. A moment later, Twilight realized something was up and turned her head – to have much the same expression of disbelief and panic.
Very gently, Flash stepped out into the hall. “Sunset. Princess. Please. You’re friends, please don’t do this.”
Taking a deep breath, Twilight turned to face the guard. “I’m sorry Flash, I didn’t mean for—“
Flash Sentry held up a hoof. “It’s alright, Princess. I understand. I’ve liked you from afar for a long time, too. I just didn’t know how to say it. But you don’t have to fight Sunset over me.” A soft smile crossed his muzzle as he tried to placate them both. “I am entirely happy to spend time with two wonderful mares.”
Sunset’s eye twitched.
~~~~LATER~~~~
“Starlight! You’re back! Wonderful!” A harried-looking Twilight Sparkle grinned too widely at her former student. “Sunset and I really need your help with something. She says you know what to do and I don’t think you’re quite as knowledgeable in this specific area as she thinks you are but it’s either you or Trixie and if I talk to Trixie right now I’m going to need twice as much help with this problem because we’re going to have the same problem a second time and-—“
Sunset pushed Twilight aside before things got worse. “Starlight, we need your help to hide a body.”