Chapter 1: Denying feelings

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...You know, Eric? From what you, Sunset, and even Princess Twilight herself said, she really likes you. So why won’t you ask out Princess Twilight? The others and I here think you and her could make a good couple!

Really? I bet you think that because you’re Princess Twilight’s counterpart, you might have better luck to get me to do it, right? Look, I will admit that she's cute when she smiles. But she's not just my best friend, she’s one of my two Equestrian big sisters AND a mare, so it would feel too weird!

But you used to say that you couldn’t look at mares like “that”, but then two weeks ago it happened with Diane Heart!

I know it did. But trying to look at my big sis in that way is just too weird. Besides, I told you and the other girls how nice she’s been to me since she found me in Equestria, right? If I could do it, don’t you think I would have fell for her by now?

Well, I guess you have a point. You have been in Equestria for several months, so you had plenty of time to form a crush on her.

And she doesn’t think of me like that anyway. If she did, she would have shown signs of it, like blushing when near me for seemingly no reason, but that's never happened. But I gotta go, but tell Sunset and the others I said hi and I’ll “talk” to them later, okay?

Okay, and I’ll tell them. I hope Princess Twilight can someday do something about the magic that blocks you from passing through the portal, so you can finally talk to me and the others in person.

Me too.

Hey, Eric “Buggie” Reed here.

Two weeks ago, and several months after I woke up in Equestria and been unable to leave, I formed my first crush on a mare, Diane Heart. After I suffered an embarrassing week of trying, Sunset Shimmer made a rare appearance in Equestria to help me ask Diane out. But, my pony crush turned me down, and I later discovered it was because I looked “weird” to her because of my “real-life” appearance. It reminded me of an...awful experience eleven years ago as a little kid and I ended up heartbroken.

But my three Equestrian siblings, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and Spike, as well as five of my friends, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy cheered me up by performing a dance. The “Chicken Dance” to be exact, and it was h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s!

Unfortunately, Sunset didn’t join them. The poor thing thought my heart getting broken was her fault and felt horrible. She returned to “her” world before the others came to my room to cheer me up, but not before asking Twilight to tell me that she’ll make up for it someday.

But later that day, after "talking" to her in a special journal that’s magically linked to one of two journals Sunset has, I got her to feel less guilty. It was the same journal that I just “talked” to “Sci-Twi”, or the human Twilight Sparkle, with. The other journal Sunset keeps with her is the one she talks with Princess Twilight with.

Apparently, the whole "human" Mane Seven, or should I say the “Shipping Seven", thought I should ask out Princess Twilight because the two of us have such a tight bond. Uh, no. Not happening!

Three hours after I talked with Sci-Twi, on the floor in the middle of the library in Twilight’s castle, Starlight and I were working on solving a jigsaw puzzle. Twilight often does them with us too, but she had “princess” stuff to do, so it was only me and “Starie”. Spike was also off somewhere. Thirty bits says he was trying something to land Rarity again.

The puzzle Starlight and I were working on was a one-hundred piece puzzle, and at this moment we each had five pieces beside us. The mostly-complete puzzle was lying between the two of us, since we were sitting on the floor and facing each other. My thoughts were on something else, so I was struggling to stay focused on the puzzle.

Picking up a puzzle piece in her light-blue magic, Starlight lifted her head to look at me. “Hey, Buggie? Is something wrong?”

Also picking up a puzzle piece with my left hand, which I was barely aware I was doing, I shook my head and answered, “Oh, uh, no. It’s nothing.”

Starlight frowned and asked, “Is it about last week with Diane? Because I thought you said you were over it.”

“But I am over it. I promise!”

Starlight sighed and tilted her head down to the puzzle. “Okay, if you say so. But I’m glad your boss finally gave you a raise three weeks ago. You’re one of the top masseurs at the spa, so you deserved it.”

I don't know if I'm that good a masseur, but ponies seem to think that. Maybe it has something to do with me having hands, not hooves. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure if my cheap as buck boss would ever give me a raise.” I fitted in a piece of the puzzle, as Starlight fit in one at the same time, leaving four pieces by each of us.

“Tell me about it, Buggie. Twilight was close to marching down to the spa and tell your boss to give you your overdo raise.” Starlight put in a puzzle piece, leaving three by her.

I put in another puzzle piece, also leaving me with three. “That so? And I’m surprised you didn’t try to run there and take my boss’s Cutie Mark, big sis!”

"Augh, I know you’re joking, but must you make jokes like that? You know how I'm still trying my best to become a better pony."

"Sorry." After my not-so great joke about Starlight being prone to acting like an overprotective big sister to me, a moment of curiosity about her passing through the portal last week took over. I found myself making circles on the floor with a finger. “Uh...when you went through the portal to get Sunset last week, did she ask about me even before you told her what was going on?”

Starlight raised her head up in thought. “Hmm...yeah. Before I told her about you having trouble asking out Diane, she asked how you were doing.”

I felt a burst of joy fill my heart, and couldn't fight the big smile that followed. “She did?!"

“Yeah. And how Twilight and Equestria is.”

“Oh.”

“Why you ask?”

“I was just wondering.” I drew more invisible circles on the floor with a finger. This is something I never used to do, but is something ponies sometimes did with their hooves when they felt awkward about something. It’s one of the habits I picked up in Equestria.

“Okay.” Starlight placed two of her three remaining pieces in their correct spot in the puzzle. “When we finish this puzzle, you want to come with me and watch Trixie practice some spells?”

“Uh...not this time. I think I’ll stay in the castle and read a book or something.” I put in a puzzle piece, leaving me with two.

Starlight chuckled and said, “I can’t believe you’re passing on a chance to mess with Trixie. In fact, maybe the others were right, and you have spent too much time with Twilight.”

This is something I heard a lot last week, and it annoyed the Tartarus out of me! I guess it’s because I gained some of Twilight’s habits that I didn’t have before we met, and I spent more time with her than anypony else. I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Oh, don’t you get into the act too, Starie! And I could say the same about you and Trixie.” I placed my last two pieces in the puzzle.

“But, I...” Starlight realized I had her, so she gave a defeated sigh. ”Fine, point taken.” Starlight placed the last piece to finish the puzzle and smiled. “And that’s the last piece, so we’re done!”

Since it looked upside down from where I sat, I got up to walk around it, then stood beside Starlight, who also stood up. The finished puzzle was of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing beside each other with their wings spread out. The right half of the puzzle had the sun in the background in the light-blue daytime skies. The left half showed the moon against the dark-blue nighttime skies. This is also Twilight’s favorite puzzle to do. Heh, I wonder why?

“This might be a new record for how fast we solved this puzzle, Buggie. In fact, I think we need some new ones.”

“Well, when I get my next paycheck, I’ll buy us some new ones and with more pieces for a better challenge. You want to see if we can do the next one even faster, or are you about to go help Sunset -- er, I mean, Trixie?”

“What’s up with that, Buggie? It’s like you can’t stop thinking about Sunset or something. What’s wrong?”

I couldn't resist giving one of my big ‘ol nervous grins. The last four days, Sunset’s been on my mind far more than usual. At first, I thought it was because part of me was worried that she still felt bad about the thing with Diane. I’ve always struggled with paranoia. “Oh, uh, nothing’s wrong! It was just a slip of the tongue.”

Starlight’s frown showed she didn’t buy it, but still backed off. “Okay...but anyway, I think I should go to Trixie. But when I'm done teaching her new spells, I can come back and we can try to do another puzzle even faster.”

“Sounds good to me. Have fun, Starie.”

Man, did I want to say “have fun with your marefriend, Starie" instead! But thought better of it.

After Starlight left to train “Ms. Powerful” in more spells, I picked out a red book from one of the library’s bookshelves and hopped on one side of a purple couch. The couch was close to the bookshelf I got the book from. Most of the time when I read in the library, it’s with Twilight, so I felt a bit lonely reading alone. I even found myself staring at the other side of the couch, where Twilight usually sat when we read. Good thing the Shipping Seven couldn’t see me like this, or they would have used it as "shipping fuel".

But, as I opened the book and looked at the words on the first page, that’s what I did: I looked at the words. Well, more like stared at them. Thoughts about Sunset clouded my head, and blocked my ability to comprehend what they meant.

Thoughts like how nice it was of Sunset to come to Equestria just to try and help me land my first crush here. Or for that matter, how nice Sunset is period. Her red and yellow “bacon” mane. Gold coat, and her turquoise eyes, which I didn’t even notice were turquoise till I saw Sunset a week ago.

And, oh boy. Thinking about her deep, silky voice almost made me melt on the inside. The fact that it was quiet in the library made it even harder to get my thoughts off Sunset and onto reading my book.

I shook my head, sighed, and focused harder to “force” myself to read, and it worked. For five seconds. Then, along with my previous thoughts, I thought about how cute Sunset looked in her pony form, and it used to feel weird thinking she's cute as a mare. But not this time. In fact, I even thought about how hot that mare looked!

Knowing I wasn’t in the frame of mind to read, I hopped off the couch and placed the book back on the bookshelf. I figured what was going on in my noggin was from the lingering shock of Sunset coming to Equestria without a heads-up, and I’ll be “back to normal” soon. Yet as I paced back and forth in the library trying to think of what to do next, deep down, I knew the real reason. The warmness in my heart proved it.

But the fear that Sunset possibly thought I looked weird too, but was just hiding it from me, made me fight to deny it.

In the human world where Sunset Shimmer resides, in Rarity’s bedroom, Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were waiting on Rarity to finish combing her hair. Rarity sat in a chair in front of a two-feet-tall mirror on her dresser. The other girls stood close together near the open bedroom door, with Sunset closest to the doorway. Sunset also carried the strap of a brown pack over her shoulder. Photos of various designs of dresses, as well as pink and purple diamonds, hung on the walls. Sunlight shone through the windows, though they were half-covered by purple curtains.

As always, Rarity wanted her hair to be perfect. However, she was combing it too long for her friends’ tastes, and their crossed arms or annoyed groans proved they were near their limits.

Applejack whined, “Come on, Rarity! Aren’t ya done yet?”

Keeping her eyes on her reflection in the mirror, in a sing-songy voice, Rarity answered, “Not yet, Applejack.”

“You look good already, so let’s just go,” Sunset said.

“Sunset, you should know that I don’t want to look 'good'. I want to look fabulous!”

“But at this rate, we’re going to miss seeing ‘The Return of Chrysalis’!” Pinkie pointed out.

Rainbow warned, “If you’re not done in the next minute, we’re going to the theater without you.”

“Annnnnd, finished.” Rarity stopped combing her hair, which was purple and ended in three curls, and set the comb on the dresser. “Okay, my hair is perfect, so I’m ready.”

“Finally!” Applejack exclaimed.

Twilight Sparkle, or “Sci-Twi” in Eric Reed’s words, walked to the doorway, but didn’t go in the room. Fluttershy, with Spike in her arms, stood beside her.

“Hi, guys,” Twilight greeted.

Applejack waved her hand at Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike. “Hey. I thought ya two were goin' to meet us at the theater.”

“Well, we were nearby, so we thought to come here so we can all go together,” Fluttershy explained. “Are you all ready?”

“Yeah, we’re ready.” Rainbow took notice of a brown journal Twilight held in her arm. “Oh, Twi, did you talk to Eric yet?”

“Yeah,” Twilight answered.

“Did you have any luck?” Rarity asked with a smile.

Twilight frowned and shook her head. “No. I tried, but I couldn’t talk him into it.”

Pinkie in turn frowned. “Wow, and I thought he would listen to you at least, since you’re ‘another’ Twilight."

Rainbow groaned and complained, “Why is that guy so stubborn? He and Princess Twilight get along so well!”

“Girls, maybe we should back off on this. Eric told Twilight that Princess Twilight has never shown signs that she might like him,” Spike explained.

Applejack said, “Well, in that case, maybe Eric shouldn’t ask her out after all, and they just keep their relationship as a brother-sister friendship.”

“I guess so,” Rarity agreed. “And none of us want him to get crushed if he ask her out, but she didn’t like him like that.”

“Yeah, that would be baaad,” Pinkie chimed in. “Especially not after Sunset got Eric hurt last week and--” Pinkie suddenly became aware of Sunset’s presence, and smiled sheepishly at her. “Uh, no offense.”

Sunset sighed, hearing “no offense” for the millionth time. Or it at least felt like the millionth time to Sunset. “None taken, I guess.”

Fluttershy asked, “Sunset, do you still feel bad about last week?”

The frustration in Sunset gave way to lingering guilt, which forced a frown from her lips. “A little, Fluttershy. I know Eric said he’s all right and not mad at me, but I still can’t believe I got his heart broke like that. I felt like an awful friend.”

“Well, at least he’s all right now,” Applejack reassured. “But, that reminds me: ya and Princess Twilight said Eric looks different from Equestria or even our world, right?”

“Oh, yeah! How ‘different’ does he look?” Spike asked.

“Oh, that’s right, I never told you how he looked.” Sunset placed a finger on her cheek in thought. “Well, it’s hard to explain. The details on his body are more...detailed, and he definitely stands out. But I don’t think Eric looks ‘weird’ like Diane Heart did, but just ‘different’.”

Rainbow asked, “Is he cute?”

“Cute? Well, I didn’t really think about it. But I guess he’s kind of cute.”

Rarity smiled mischievously toward Rainbow. “Wait, Rainbow, don’t tell me that you might want to go to Equestria and ask Eric out, now that we know he and Princess Twilight will never get together?”

Rainbow shook her head and waved her arms in front of her, in a manner used when denying something. “N-No, it wasn’t that! I was just curious!”

Twilight chuckled and said, “Anyway, here’s the journal back, Sunset. I know you like to be the one to hang on to it.” Twilight walked through the doorway and handed the journal to Sunset.

Sunset took the journal and placed it in her pack. “Thanks. But the next time Eric gets a crush, I’m staying out of it, unless he's the one that asks me for help.”

Rainbow glanced to a clock on the wall of the room. “But that’s enough about Eric; it’s almost time for ‘The Return of Chrysalis’ to start! Girls, let’s go before they run out of tickets!”

As she left with her friends, little did Sunset Shimmer know that the next time Eric Reed would form feelings for a "mare", she would play a much bigger role in it than she would ever suspect.

Chapter 2: Accepting feelings

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Well, I was in no shape to read, so I had to find something else to do. And try to get the thoughts of Sunset Shimmer out of my head.

But I was falling into a trap: the harder I tried to get Sunset out of my head, the harder it became to actually do it. Hate it when that happens. As I walked out the front doors of Twilight’s castle and felt the warmth of the sun, I thought, I can’t be getting a crush on Sunset. What if she thinks I look ‘weird’ too? Besides, she’s out of my league. She’s Sunset Shimmer!

While I was busy trying to lie to myself, save for the part about Sunset being out of my league, Pinkie Pie hopped up beside me. I was so deep in thought, I failed to notice the trademark springing sound effect her hops do. “Hey there, Eric-berry! Whatcha doing?”

I turned to Pinkie and answered, “Nothing, Pinkie. Just trying to think of something to do.”

“Oh, so you don’t want to read any books or do any of those jigsaw puzzles?”

"It’s more fun to read or solve puzzles with Twilight and Starlight, and they’re gone.”

What I said was true, so I wasn’t lying. I just wasn’t telling the full story.

While hopping around me in circles, Pinkie quickly asked, “Or is it because after you solved a puzzle with Starlight at a record rate and she left, you tried to read something but couldn’t because you can’t get a pony or girl out of your mind?

Despite being friends with Pinkie for so long, I can still get surprised when she has her “Pinkie Pie” moments. With my mouth open, I foolishly asked, “How do you know that?”

Pinkie stopped hopping. “Just a hunch,” Pinkie replied, gave a big smile while giving a high-pitch “squee”, and looked adorable.

But yeah, I walked into that one. I was tempted to ask which Pinkie Pie was she, but I thought better of it. “I’m not even going to ask how you knew that, Pinkie. But since I’m trying to find something to do, you want to do something?”

“Well, I was about to bake some cakes for a party later. You want to help?”

“Sure.”

“Then let’s go, Eric-merry!”

I have no idea what made Pinkie start calling me nicknames like “Eric-merry” or “Eric-berry” so much. She did stuff like that every once in awhile, but ever since she tried to help me ask out Diane Heart, she did it a lot more. It was almost like something gave her the idea to do it. I considered asking Pinkie what made her do it, but her “answer” might have left me with more questions.

So I kept my mouth shut.

Instead, I just went with her to Sugarcube Corner, and she hopped as we went.

In the kitchen in Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie and I stood beside each other in front of a table. We both wore chef hats; Pinkie’s idea.

Pinkie had a bowl in front of her that had some cake ingredients, such as flour, baking soda, and sugar in the bowl already. The oven was preheating.

“Okay, Eric, can you hand me two eggs?”

“Eggs? Yeah, let me find them. Uh, where are they?”

Pinkie pointed a hoof to six eggs in a bowl that sat near the edge of the table. “They’re right there.”

Well, I felt stupid. I tried to rub the back of my head, but my hat blocked my hand from touching my head. “Oh...uh, yeah, sorry. Here they are--oops!” When I picked up one of the eggs, thoughts of a certain gold-coated Unicorn broke my concentration again, and the egg in my hand slipped out and fell on the table! It didn’t hit the table hard, but it hit hard enough to crack.

“Eric!”

“I-I’m sorry! Uh, I’ll get you two more eggs.” I picked up two more eggs. To make sure I wouldn't drop them, I gripped them tightly, but not too tightly, and handed them to Pinkie.

Pinkie cracked the eggs and poured the yolk into the bowl. “Now can you get a cup of buttermilk?”

“Sure.” I poured a bottle of buttermilk into a cup. But, my focus was broken by another thought of you-know-who, and I only filled it half-way. I was supposed to fill it all the way. Oops! At least I didn’t drop anything this time.

“Eric? That’s only half-way full. I need a full cup.”

“Sorry, Sunset--uh, Pinkie.”

“Eric, if you’re thinking about Sunset Shimmer so much, why don’t you just talk to her in that journal you said you have?”

Pinkie decided to just say Sunset’s name, which scared me a bit, and I gulped. It meant that Pinkie was really getting annoyed now, and wasn’t just “being Pinkie Pie” this time. “Well, I talked to Sunset yesterday, and I don’t want to be a pest to her.”

Pinkie shrugged her shoulders, and focused back to her bowl.

I poured more buttermilk to fully fill the cup, handed it to Pinkie and she poured it in the bowl, then she used an egg beater to mix everything into cake batter, which was yellow-colored. She mixed everything so fast, some batter got on the table and floor. After that, she poured the batter into a pan. Memories about how I used to beg my mom to let me lick the spoon when she baked cakes filled my head, and it made me forget about Sunset. The little boy in me even wanted to ask Pinkie if she could let me lick the spoon that she held in her hooves, since it had some batter stuck to it.

“That should do it, so can you put the pan in the oven?”

"Sure, boss,” I replied playfully. Unfortunately, as I picked up the pan and turned around to the oven behind Pinkie and me, I noticed some stickers on the wall; one was of the sun. Yep, that made thoughts of you-know-who enter my head again, and I stopped paying attention to my feet.

Next thing I knew, I slipped and lost my balance on a bit of cake batter that fell on the floor. I didn’t fall, but something worse happened: I dropped the pan! With the thud from the pan, the batter poured and splashed all over the floor. Some got on my shoes, and a bit on the hoof of one of Pinkie’s hind legs. Uh-oh.

“Eric! Look what you did!”

“I’m so sorry, Pinkie! I didn’t mean to do that.”

I thought Pinkie was about to lose it, and I should start running! Luckily, instead of forming a scowl, she formed a concerned frown and suggested, "Maybe you should go rest in the castle because you don't look so good. I can take it from here, Eric-cherry."

Since it was obvious that I wouldn’t be much help in my current state, I agreed, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. See you later, Pinkie."

With that, I left Sugarcube Corner, and headed back to the castle. Guess Pinkie's random omniscience isn't so "omniscient" after all. She knew Sunset was on my mind, but didn't know why.

Back at the castle, I thought I’d try to read something again. After pushing open one of the green double-doors of the library, I spotted Twilight sitting on the purple couch I was on earlier. She was writing in the journal she uses to talk to Sunset. I figured Twi got done with her “princess” duties sooner than expected, since she said that she would have been gone longer. I’ll confess that I sometimes forget Twilight Sparkle is a princess because she doesn’t carry herself like one.

For starters, not many princesses have freak-outs over losing checklists or books! Or have so many freak-outs period.

I walked in front of her and said, “Hey, Twi.”

Still writing in her journal, Twilight replied, “Hey, Buggie.”

“What are you doing?” Don’t know why I asked that, because I knew what Twi was doing.

“Uh...talking to Sunset. You forgot that I use a journal to talk to her too?”

“Oh, uh, right.” I facepalmed, but took a couple of steps closer to Twilight and asked, “So, how is Sunset doing?”

“She said she’s all right. Why?”

“Uh, no reason.”

“Oh.”

“But, uh...did she ask about me?”

“Not yet.” Twilight looked at me with a confused frown. “You know that you can talk to her in your journal too, right?”

I could feel my cheeks becoming warm and I rubbed the back of my head. “Uh, yeah, I know. I was just curious.”

Twilight set down her journal and squinted her eyes at me. My big sis knew something was up. “Buggie, what’s wrong? Starlight told me how you were asking her if Sunset’s asked about you.”

I shook my head. “N-No, there’s nothing wrong.”

Twilight kept her gaze on me for another couple of seconds, then relaxed her eyes and said, “Okay,” and focused back on her journal.

As for me, I decided to head to my room to think things over.

Watching Eric Reed exit the library through its green doors, Twilight sighed. She knew something was on Eric’s mind, but knew that he wouldn’t tell her if she tried to press him.

The journal Twilight was writing in glowed with a reddish light, breaking Twilight out of her trance. Twilight levitated the journal and a quill in her magic, and resumed “talking” to Sunset Shimmer in her journal.

Twilight? Are you still there?

I’m still here. Sorry about that, but Eric was just acting weird.

Weird? Did something happen?

I don’t think so. But he was asking how you were and seemed like he wanted to ask you something.

Do you know what it could be, and is he all right?

Eric said he’s fine. But I told you how he sometimes hides it when something's bothering him.

Should I come over and ask him if there’s something he wants to ask? I have nothing to do right now.

I don’t think that would be a good idea. If he really doesn’t want to talk, you’ll upset him if you pressure him. But I don’t think it’s anything serious. If it is, he'll eventually come to me on his own.

Now sitting on my bed in my room, I was thinking about trying to talk to Sunset, since I obviously wanted to. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I was oddly worried about bugging her. I’ve never worried about it before, and she’s never said or hinted that I annoyed her when talking to her in our journals. I was tempted to look at myself in a mirror I have on the wall and ask myself what was wrong. Or maybe a very light tap on my head with a baseball bat, which I had in a corner of the room, would have done the trick.

Then again, I already knew what was wrong, and was close to finally admiting it.

Looking around my room to nothing in particular, more thoughts about Sunset filled my head. Her voice. Her red and yellow mane and tail. Turquoise eyes. How kind, cute, brave, and just great she is. A warm feeling flowed through me, and there was only one other time I had this kind of feeling in Equestria. Try as I might, I couldn’t deny my true feelings any longer.

I wasn’t sure what happened that triggered it, but it wasn’t a crush I had. It was a big crush I had on Sunset. But I had a more important question to figure out than what made me form my crush: what the buck was my next move?

Do I try to get over Sunset?

Or do I try something stupid? Such as try to ask the Sunset Shimmer to go on a date with me in Equestria, since Twilight still haven’t been able to fix it so I could pass through the portal to “Sunset’s” world?

Staring at my arms and legs, and particularly aware of my “real-life” appearance compared to how “cartoony” everything else looked, I sighed. Fear that Sunset might have thought I looked “odd”, but wasn’t telling me to protect my feelings, grew stronger than ever.

Boy, this was one of those times I would seriously consider asking Starlight to use spells to rid me of my annoying paranoia problem.

Chapter 3: Deciding what to do

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It was time to make a decision. Either try to get over Sunset Shimmer or ask her out, and hope she doesn’t say "no" with the reason being I look weird. The odds of her even saying I look odd was slim to none, but my paranoia didn’t care about the odds.

I once asked Twilight if she could cast a spell to fix my “realistic” appearance. However, the spell she knew for it could only last a few hours, and Starlight couldn’t use it any more effectively. Recasting it over and over would have been too dangerous for my body, so that was out as a way out of my little dilemma.

The answer on what to do was scary, but clear. If I did nothing, I’d either get worse, or Twilight and/or Starlight would eventually grill me for answers if they got too worried and entered their “big sister” modes.

Therefore, I decided to go for it!

But then I had a new problem: how do I say it in our journal?

Yet the answer of simply writing “Sunset Shimmer, would you like to go on a date with me?” refused to enter my head.

In the library of her castle, Twilight Sparkle had finished "talking" to Sunset Shimmer, but remained on the purple couch she sat on when she talked to Sunset. She had a hoof on her cheek with her teeth gritted, struggling to deduce what was wrong with Eric Reed.

Maybe he wanted to ask her for something but was worried about her reaction? Perhaps he wished to confide in her a secret, but couldn’t bring himself to say it? Or could it be that she accidentally upset him? It took all of Twilight's willpower to not run to him and beg for him to tell her what it was, making her let out a frustrated groan.

Hearing Twilight’s groan in the castle’s hallways, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Starlight, and Spike all walked through the doors to the library. Pinkie Pie was also with them, but she hopped through the doors.

“Twilight, was that you? What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

Twilight turned her head to the others with a frown. “It’s about Eric.”

Fluttershy asked, “Eric? Is he all right?”

“I’m not sure. He said he is, but I know something's on his mind.”

Rainbow said, “Guess Eric still can’t stop keeping things to himself if he thinks it might make us worried, huh?”

“Yeah,” Spike answered. “Too bad he hasn’t figured out that he’s bad at pretending nothing's bothering him.”

“At least the darling means well,” Rarity brought up. “But maybe we can figure it out on our own. Twilight, what did he say?”

“Well, not long ago, he came up to me when I was writing to Sunset in my journal, and he--”

“Wanted to know if Sunset asked about him, right?” Starlight interrupted.

Twilight nodded her head.

“Sunset? Do you mean Sunset Shimmer, who lives in the world on the other side of the portal?" Fluttershy asked.

“Yep, Sunset Shimmer.”

“Okay, so Eric asked if Sunset’s asked about him. What else?” Applejack questioned.

“Hmm. Well, he looked nervous, like he wanted to ask something else.”

Fluttershy rested a hoof on her cheek. “Odd. Anything else?”

“He blushed when I suggested for him to talk to Sunset.”

“Okay. Well, let’s try to remember the last time he acted like this, and maybe that’ll give us some kind of clue on what’s goin' on in his head,” Applejack suggested.

With Fluttershy already doing it, the rest of the friends placed a hoof or claw on their cheeks to think, except Pinkie, though she stopped hopping. After five seconds, Rarity smiled. “I think I got it.”

“What?” Spike asked.

“This sounds like how Eric acted when he tried to ask out Diane Heart.”

“Oh, yeah, he was a mess. But what does--" Rainbow gasped in realisation. "Oh, so THAT’S it.”

“Y’all thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

Spike replied, “I think so, Applejack.”

Starlight facehoofed. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner! What kind of ‘big sister’ am I?!”

Pinkie resumed her hopping and confessed, “It’s about time! I was getting bored waiting for you to figure it out!”

“Wait, you already know Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked. "When did he tell you?”

“He didn’t,” Pinkie answered with a smile, as if she were answering a "run-of-the-mill" question.

“But if he didn’t, how--” Applejack stared at Pinkie, and the realization that she’s Pinkie Pie sank in her head, making her facehoof. “Never mind, Pinkie Pie. Then why didn’t ya tell us?”

“I thought it would be more fun to watch you figure it out on your own.”

Spike commented, “That sounds like something Discord would say.”

As the friends’ attention shifted to Pinkie Pie’s unexplained moments of nigh-omniscience, Twilight Sparkle remained confused about something else. With a bewildered frown, Twilight asked, “Hold on, guys. I don’t understand. What’s wrong with Eric?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Twilight? Out of all of us, you're the closest to Eric, and you still can’t figure it out?”

“No.” Twilight gasped and in a more alarmed voice asked, “It’s not something serious is it?!”

Applejack shook her head. “And Eric wonders why we were so surprised when we thought he wanted Twilight to help him ask out Diane.”

“And to think we were worried that Twilight and Eric had spent too much time together,” Rarity commented.

“Come on, just tell me. What’s wrong with Eric?”

Knowing they would have to simply tell the oblivious Twilight, Rainbow explained, “Fine. Eric has a crush on Sunset.”

“Oh, so that’s what it is. He likes Sunset and--” Twilight’s eyes grew. Of all the things that she thought it could be, Eric having feelings for Sunset Shimmer was one of the last things she considered. “Wait, WHAT?! Eric likes Sunset? Sunset Shimmer?!”

“At least, that’s what it sounds like,” Fluttershy replied.

With her moment of shock over, Twilight’s eyes returned to normal size. “Wow...yeah, that would explain things, but I didn’t think that could be it because he hardly sees her and always talked about her as a friend. But if he likes Sunset, why wouldn’t he want to tell me?”

Twilight gasped and jumped from her couch to her hooves. “Wait, could he be scared that I might become jealous or laugh at him if he did?” Twilight paced in front of her couch and gradually sped up the speed of her pacing as she continued, “Because it's not like I have a crush on him so I wouldn't get jealous over him liking her, and I didn’t mean to laugh when he told me what happened the first time he tried to ask out Diane Heart! Oh, gosh, I’m a horrible friend and big sister and I--”

Before Twilight could panic any further and hyperventilate, Applejack said, “Okay, calm down, Twilight. I got a feelin’ there’s more to it than him worryin’ about ya gettin' jealous or laughin’ at him.”

“But whether there’s ‘more to it’ or not, what are we going to do?” Rainbow asked.

“Twilight, if Eric can’t tell Sunset how he feels, maybe you could tell her?” Pinkie suggested.

“Hmm...I don’t know, Pinkie. He doesn’t want to overly depend on me or others, so he prefers to try to solve his problems himself first. I don’t want to step in to do things for him, unless I have to or he asks me to do it.”

Fluttershy asked, “Well, if he won’t tell us how he feels, and we can’t tell Sunset, then what do we do?”

After a moment of having a hoof on her cheek, Starlight removed it and looked to Twilight. “I have an idea. Is Eric in his room?”

Twilight answered, "Yeah, he is."

"Okay. Give me five minutes, and I'll take care of this.

Starlight Glimmer trotted out one of the library's green double-doors. She or the others couldn’t inform Sunset of Eric’s true feelings to see if she might make a move. Starlight knew letting Eric try pointlessly to get over Sunset was not an option, and would struggle to ask Sunset out in his journal. There was only one other course of action that Starlight could think of.

But first, she needed to give a little "tough love" by forcing Eric to tell her how he felt about Sunset.

Holding a quill and the journal, I was struggling to think of what to write in it. Or write something period.

Okay, I can do this. Just write words. It’s not like Sunset would get mad or judge me if I ask her out. The worst she’ll do is say ‘no’. That’s no big deal, and we could just stay friends.

I lowered the quill to a page of the journal, but stopped right before it touched the page and sighed.

But Sunset’s really nice, so of course she wouldn’t say anything if she thought I look weird. But what if she thinks she’ll need to be honest if I ask her out and say I look weird to her? Oh buck, I don’t know if I can do this.

But before I could tear myself apart on the inside more, Starlight walked in through my bedroom door and closed it. The frown on her face didn’t show anger, but was one she’d have when about to do something, whether you like it or not. Likely with a Starlight plan.

“Hey, Buggie? We figured it out.”

I set the journal beside me and closed it. “Figured what out?”

“You have a crush on Sunset Shimmer, don’t you?”

Yep. My jaw dropped at what came out of Starlight Glimmer's mouth! I tried to deny it and lied, “W-What? N-No I don’t!”

Knowing I was full of it, in a voice showing that she knew the answer to her question, Starlight asked, “Then why are you blushing?”

“Uh, well, I…” I became more aware of the frown on Starlight’s lips, and I realized she was in "big sister" mode and thus wouldn’t budge unless I fessed up. She only acts like this to me if she has to and is quicker to do it than Twilight is. I groaned and admitted, “Okay, Starlight, you win! I have a big fat crush on Sunset Shimmer! There, I said it! You happy?!"

Starlight relaxed her frown into a smile. “Now, was that so hard to say?”

Feeling a wave of guilt go through me, I sighed and answered, “No. And it wasn’t that I was trying to hide that I like her. It’s just…”

A frown formed on Starlight's face again, but this was a sympathetic one. “What’s wrong, little bro? If you were worried I might laugh, I wouldn’t, because this isn’t funny.”

“I know you wouldn’t. It’s just...what if Sunset thinks I look weird?”

Starlight walked to and sat on my bed, to my left, and wrapped a foreleg around me. We’re about the same height while standing, but because of how ponies sit, my head came up to Starlight’s chest. With her face tilted down to mine and mine up to hers, in a soft voice, Starlight said, “Oh. So that’s why you’re having so much trouble to ask her out. I should’ve already known it. But Sunset’s not like Diane, or those kids that picked on you when you were little and healing from burns that firecracker gave you.”

“I know, but--”

Starlight smiled and hopped off my bed. “Wait, before I came in here, I thought of an idea. Hand me that journal for a second.”

“O-Okay. Here you go.” I was so surprised that Starlight asked for the journal, I didn't think to ask why she wanted it. But I handed the journal to her, which was sitting to my right, and she grabbed it with her magic.

But I got my answer anyway when she levitated the quill I used to write in it and opened the book with her magic. With a smirk that came out of nowhere, she started writing in it!

I gasped and tried to grab the journal back, but before I could, Starlight froze me in place with her magic, so I couldn’t get to it or even move. This was one of those times when it’s clear how much weaker I am compared to Unicorns, let alone powerful Unicorns like Starlight Glimmer.

“Starlight! Let me go and give me back my journal! I mean it!”

Of course, Starlight refused to listen and kept writing. After three more seconds of writing, she released me from her magic and levitated the journal back to me. I snatched it from her magic and growled at her. I was not happy!

“Hey! What the buck was that about, Starlight?! And what did you write?!”

In a casual voice, Starlight answered, “Oh, I asked Sunset to come to Equestria tomorrow to spend the day with you.”

“Why?!”

“Eric, you and I both know that unless you tell Sunset how you feel, you’re going to stay a mess,” Starlight told me in a more serious voice.

“Yeah, but…*sigh*...okay, point taken. But I still don’t get it. Why did you ask Sunset if she could come to Equestria?”

“First, she’s going to think you asked. And second, when she says you don't look weird, it may mean more if she tell you to your face than in the journal.”

I set a hand on my chin to think about it. Hearing things told to your face do mean more than hearing it in other ways, so I figured Starlight was on to something.

“You know, I think it would.”

“And, maybe if you and Sunset hang out for a while, you’ll feel calmer and will have an easier time asking her out. You hardly see her in person.”

And that made sense. I was never worried about Starlight, Twilight, or the others thinking I looked weird as I spent time with them. Though, during my first few months in Equestria, I had bigger things to worry about. But even before “those” issues were solved, I felt comfortable enough to trust that they truly didn’t think I looked odd. "Maybe I would. But she doesn’t seem to like staying long in Equestria, so would she even agree to it?”

My journal, which I was still holding, glowed. It was Sunset writing something because the glow matched her magic, which is a red color. Even though she was in human form, the journal still glows red when she writes in it.

“I guess you’re about to get your answer, Buggie.”

My muscles tensed. I took a deep breath, slowly opened the journal and almost looked away from nerves about what Sunset wrote.

Sure, Eric, I can come to Equestria tomorrow for a day. I'll come at noon.

Starlight smiled and asked, “From your smile, I’m gonna guess that she said ‘yes’?”

“Yep, she said she’ll come tomorrow at noon."

Well, it wasn’t a “date”, but I was going to spend the next day with Sunset. I had the rest of the day to try to decide the best way to ask her out, as well as what we could do. Since it would be on a Saturday, she didn’t have school.

Though, I was surprised at how casually Sunset agreed to come to Equestria for a day. It even felt like she was too willing to come, almost like she already wanted to see me, but didn’t for some reason.

But I had no idea why.

In the “other” human world...

Sitting outside on a bench, Sunset Shimmer was holding the journal she “talks” with Eric with. Sunset wore a perplexed frown on her face. Twilight Sparkle sat on the same bench, to Sunset’s left, with her eyes on the journal Sunset held to.

“Sunset? What’s wrong?”

“Something must really be up with Eric. When he writes in the journal, it glows green, but it wasn’t glowing green just now. So that couldn’t have been him who asked me to come,” Sunset explained.

“Okay, so if that weren’t Eric, then who was it?”

Sunset raised her eyes up in thought. “If I remember right, the magic we just saw come from the journal was the color of Starlight Glimmer’s magic.”

“Starlight Glimmer? Why would she be writing in Eric’s journal?” Twilight asked.

“I can’t say why she did for sure. But I think it has something to do with what was bothering Eric, but he wouldn’t tell Princess Twilight what it is.”

“Hmm. So maybe she did it because he wouldn’t ask you to come on his own, and that was a way to get you to come. But, in that case, why wouldn’t she just come through the portal to get you? She did last week.”

“That’s what I can’t figure out and was why I decided to play along and pretended that she was ‘Eric’. Until I can ask her what’s going on, I don’t want to risk ruining whatever Starlight’s planning.”

“At least you have a reason to go to Equestria and talk to Eric, so he won’t think you came for another reason. So are you going to ask Eric about what’s bothering him?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, Princess Twilight said to don't try to ask him, and she knows him far better than either of us do.”

“Well, in that case, what are you going to do?”

“It might change depending on what Starlight says, but for now, I’m planning to just chill with Eric. Maybe I can get him to say what’s wrong without asking what it is.”

Sunset Shimmer struggled to think of what could be wrong with Eric Reed. It could help her choose the best way to coax him into admitting it.

However, what was on her friend’s mind was one of the last things she considered.

Chapter 4: The pseudo-date, part 1

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Well, I found myself with a date with Sunset Shimmer…kinda.

Starlight asked Sunset to come to Equestria for me, hoping that Sunset and I hanging out would calm me down to ask her the big question.

Or the “not-so-big” question, since I wanted to go on a date with Sunset, not marry her! One step at a time.

Still sitting on my bed in my room with Starlight in front of me, I said, “Well, guess I need to think of what to do with Sunset tomorrow.”

“Yep.” Starlight walked to my still-closed bedroom door.

But when she opened the door with her magic, seven figures that were leaning against it fell forward to the floor with a thud and a grunt. Don’t know why I was surprised.

Twilight, who lay in the center of the pile, rolled Rainbow and Pinkie off her and pointed at the door. “Uh, see, Rarity? I told you the door didn’t have any scratches.”

“Yes, yes. I should have known you would be right, Twilight. This is your castle.”

“But I bet the next door has a scratch,” Rainbow said.

In case you thought I was annoyed, nope. I giggled at the "Nosey Seven" and Starlight said, “Well, at least you guys already know what I talked about with Eric.”

“And you can help me come up with ideas of what I can do with Sunset tomorrow.”

On the next day, in Sunset Shimmer’s human world and in the courtyard of Canterlot High School…

By a pedestal of the Wondercolts statue, though the statue itself had long been destroyed by Midnight Sparkle, stood Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and their friends. Sunset was preparing herself to enter Equestria and spend a day with Eric Reed. Her goal was to learn what was bothering Eric and help if possible, but understood to not ask him directly or risk upsetting him.

“Well, Sunset, it’s almost noon, and you and Princess Twilight told us that the time of day is the same in both Equestria and this world. You ready?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah.”

“Have you thought of a good way to get Eric to tell you what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset shook her head. “Not really, besides just talking and chilling with him. But I was going to ask Starlight if she had a plan and has any advice on doing it.”

Twilight placed a finger on her chin. “Hmm. Do you think that Princess Twilight would mind if I went with you? Perhaps I could be of help.”

Sunset rolled up her eyes, pondering Twilight’s idea. “Uh...I don’t think she would mind, but maybe it should just be me to go.”

“You sure? I never met him personally like you have, but you don’t know him that much better than me,” Twilight countered.

“It’s nothing like that. When I went last week, it didn’t take him long to figure out that I was there for him and not just visiting. I usually only go to Equestria if Princess Twilight ask me to, or if something was wrong.”

“Oh, I get it. If Twilight goes with you, he’ll know something’s up because she’s never gone unlike me,” Pinkie reasoned.

Sunset nodded her head. “Yep, and then he might think I’m trying to make him talk about something he doesn’t want to.”

“And Princess Twilight said not to do that,” Applejack reminded. “But in that case, should ya even try this at all?”

“If Starlight didn’t ask me to come ‘for Eric’ I wouldn’t, and I made a mess of things last week. But since she did, I think it’ll be all right.”

“Well, in that case, just be careful,” Rarity advised.

Spike added, “Yeah. You don’t want to risk making Princess Twilight mad if you upset Eric.”

“I’ll be careful. Anyway, I better get going, so wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” all of Sunset’s friends said at the same time.

Sunset took a deep breath and walked through one of the four mirror-like sides of the pedestal in front of her, as if made of air, not something solid.

Inside, a disorienting mix of colors, such as yellow, green, purple, blue, orange, and pink, swirled around Sunset. Or rather, she was the one swirling, as her body stretched and spun in the bizarre environment, yet the stretching was painless, though it felt strange. Despite experiencing it several times already, Sunset failed to resist screaming as she spiraled through the colorful void, and she couldn’t reach the other side soon enough. Even so, she thought it would be amusing to see how Eric would react to being in this odd realm.

In the library, I was pacing in front of the portal, waiting for Sunset. She would be passing through it at any moment. I played with the brim of my hat, with a design of my friends’ and sisters’ Cutie Marks, to try to calm the ‘ol nerves.

I felt joy, knowing Sunset was coming to spend the day with me. But my heart was beating at twice its normal speed and power, knowing the Sunset Shimmer was coming and I was going to ask her out. Surprised I wasn’t sweating.

Worries about embarrassing myself, like I did with Diane Heart, aside, this was a time I appreciated Twilight being the Princess of Lists. She wrote one that listed everything I could do with Sunset. It was three times the length of my body, but it was rolled up in a black backpack, which I had on my back.

Speaking of Twilight, I thought she, Starlight or the others would have wanted to tag along; whether I liked it or not. But the “Nosey Eight” were nowhere in sight.

Finally, pink lights that sparked like electricity flowed through the cord-like attachments of the portal. The portal itself, which usually looks similar to a full-length mirror that’s twice my height, glowed pink.

Then out came a screaming gold Unicorn, who flew through the air end over end, and at me! I gasped and stretched my arms out to catch her, but she slammed into me with so much force, I was sent flying and rolled on the floor with her! My hat flew off my head as well, halfway across the library.

Heh, most friends greet each other with a high-five, fist-pump, or a hug. But Sunset “greeted” by ramming into me. Not that she meant to, of course.

When our rolling and grunting ended, I was on my back, and Sunset lay on top of me. Her turquoise eyes were spinning, and I just knew my face became red. Of course we would stop rolling in this kind of a position, because why not?

Once Sunset's eyes stopped spinning, her cheeks turned red, immediately rolled off me, stood up and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry, Eric! Guess I should’ve warned you that the mirror can send me out hard, and to watch it if you waited for me by it. Are you all right?”

Oddly, being floored by Sunset calmed me down, making me less tense now. “I-I’m okay, and I should’ve remembered the portal might send you out like that. Besides, you should get softer landings than what you got before by flying into books!”

Sunset giggled and since I was still lying on my back, and Sunset is Sunset Shimmer, she offered her hoof to help me up. I reached out to grab it, but before I touched it, Sunset leaned forward to wrap a part of her foreleg around my wrist, and pulled me up. It wasn’t quite the same as if she grabbed it with a hand, but it was something a pony had never done before. Let alone a Unicorn, who would normally pick me up with their magic. Though she did levitate my hat back on my head. Whether that was the moment she remembered she’s a Unicorn again, or if she just felt like picking it up with magic, I don’t know.

After I was on my feet, Sunset turned her head to look around the library. “Is it just you here, Eric? Is Starlight around?”

“Starlight? No, she’s off somewhere. Did you want her to hang out with us?”

“Uh, no, it wasn’t that. I just thought she would be around.”

“Ha, to be honest, I thought she would be too--”

"What’s wrong?”

That was close. I nearly blurted out that I thought Starlight would be nearby to watch me try to ask out Sunset. For obvious reasons, I shut up about it, and made circles on the floor with a foot. Ponies have really rubbed off on me.

I thought Sunset might press me for answers, but she instead complimented, “Uh...I don’t think I said it, but I like your hat.”

The compliment made me stop with the making of invisible circles and I calmed down on the inside some more. “You have to thank Rarity, because she made it.”

“Oh yeah, I guess the Rarity in this world is great at making stuff like hats as the Rarity in ‘my’ world. Oh, are those designs of Princess Twilight's and the others’ Cutie Marks on the hat?”

“Yep, and I asked Rarity to put Twilight’s and Starlight’s Cutie Marks near the top. Those two are my Equestrian big sisters, so I wanted theirs on the top to show I’m closest to them.”

“I wondered if that was why their Cutie Marks were on top, so it looks like I was right. What would you like for us to do first?”

“Oh! Uh…” I pulled out the list in my backpack and about two-thirds of it unfolded onto the floor. Okay, what could we do? Wait, what does Sunset like to do again? Uh, she likes to paint, but I don't feel like painting. Maybe we could check out the Antique shop? No, that’s what Twilight would want to do, not Sunset, and I don't want to go there anyway! Maybe we could get something out to eat?

And the funny thing is, if I wanted to know what Sunset liked doing, I could have asked her!

With me reading the list struggling to pick something, Sunset suggested, “Uh, I have an idea. You wanna take a walk around Ponyville?”

The idea surprised me, but I was fine with it. That would be much better than her watching me read a list all day. “Sure, we can walk around Ponyville.”

Walking beside Sunset through the streets of Ponyville, I tried to think of a way to make a move. But Sunset sometimes looked down and seemed to have something on her mind too, but I was too busy struggling to really notice it. I only saw two ponies in the area, by a brown one-story house, but they were out of hearing range. I wasn’t ready to make that move, but I was still calm enough to talk to Sunset as I could before my crush formed.

“You know, Sunset, we have gotten to be good friends, but this is the first time we have really hung out like this. We usually only talk in our journals.”

“Yeah, it is. I really should visit more and not only when something’s wrong.”

“Please do! And you saw my list, so we won’t run out of stuff to do.”

After a giggle, Sunset shyly asked, “So, uh, Eric, how is your world like compared to Equestria?”

Hearing Sunset ask that gave me a powerful wave of déjà vu, making me chuckle.

She cocked her head to the side. “What’s so funny?”

“The way you asked that reminded me of when Twilight asked that same question soon after we met.”

“Really?”

“Yep, but she had...other things on her mind so she didn’t do it right away. But during our first evening together, she asked me twenty-three questions about my world.”

“That’s an oddly specific number to use to say she asked you a lot of questions,” Sunset said with an eyebrow raised. Ha, she thought I picked that number randomly. Not so!

"That’s because it’s the actual number Twi asked. I counted them, but stopped after she passed a hundred questions during my third week in Equestria.”

Sunset let out a deep gasp. “Wait, she asked you over a hundred, and in just three weeks? Huh. The way she talked to me about it, she didn’t ask that many.”

“Of course not. For Twilight Sparkle, a ‘hundred’ questions are like ‘ten’ to you or me.”

“In that case, maybe it’s for the best that the magic from the ‘Nightmare Prevention Spell’ trapped in you blocks you from passing through the portal. If you two finally meet face-to-face, the Twilight that you like calling ‘Sci-Twi’ would probably want to ask you another hundred questions!”

“I didn’t even think about that. But I still can’t believe I forgot to tell her in our journals about my world’s nickname for her until you told her last week. She told me she really likes it.”

As I thought more about the Twilights’ tendency to ask a ton of questions about anything they’re curious about, Sunset gasped and asked, “Hey, Eric, you want to play some games?”

“Games? You mean something like ‘Dragon Pit?’ Because Starlight has a copy in the castle.”

“Well, we could, but I was thinking something like 'Snake Hunter'.”

“'Snake Hunter'? Okay, we can play that, if you remember how to play it. That and the other arcade games in Equestria are fun, but I wish Equestria had more advanced game systems like what my or even 'your' world has. I really miss them.”

“Well, if Princess Twilight can ever do something to let the magic stuck in you pass through the portal, and it’s okay with her, we can spend a whole day playing video games at my place. A game I think you would like is called ‘Tirek’s Revenge’ and I got it three weeks ago. It’s really fun.”

“Wait, you like playing video games that much?”

“Yep. Though I should warn you that I can be a little competitive and can get carried away in them.”

Wow, this was something I didn’t know about Sunset. She mentioned before she played some video games in our journals; which for some reason slipped my mind when I tried to pick something for us to do. But I didn’t know she liked them that much! She’s nice, cute, and a gamer!

Now in the area of Ponyville with some "old-school" style arcade games, in front of the one called "Snake Hunter", Sunset and I were preparing to play our first game. I offered to let Sunset go first, and she took it, and I was paying for both our games.

“You said you remember how to play, right?”

“Yeah, I remember. I didn’t play it much before I went through the portal for the first time, but I remember how it works. There’s even a game similar to Snake Hunter in ‘my’ world.”

“Well, in that case, show me what you got!”

Sunset didn’t have to be asked again. After I put a bit in the coin slot, or "bit slot", she gripped the joystick with a foreleg and started playing.

Snake Hunter is a side-stroller game, where you collect apples while avoiding, zapping with a small short-range bolt of electricity, or simply jump correctly on the snakes in your path.

“Okay, I jumped on that snake, now to grab those five apples. Got them, oh there’s another snake...ha, jumped over it too. Yeah, nice try, but you gotta do better than that! This game’s easier than I--no! That’s not fair! I jumped on the--okay, fine, I still have most of my health bar left. Now...”

Watching Sunset play that game, advancing from level to level, I thought about how I never liked her more than I did at that moment.

“…Okay, I’m close to the end of the sixth level, just got to get by these last two snakes. Yes, zapped the first, just one more to...what?! NO! I was so close!”

Sunset took losing like a gamer: by having a mini-temper tantrum! She stomped her hooves and whined, “Augh! Did you see that, Eric? I jumped squarely on the head of that snake, but it still took the rest of my health! This game cheated me!” Sunset turned her head to scan the arcade game area while scowling. “Hey! Who’s in charge of making sure these games work correctly?!”

With Sunset losing it over being “cheated”, I wondered if the warm feeling and happiness I felt was love. She was also hilarious, and I laughed at the mad but cute sight in front of me.

Unfortunately, Sunset snapped back to her senses and stopped scowling. She formed a cute grin and blushed. “S-Sorry about that, Eric. I told you I can get carried away when I play video games.”

I calmed down my laughing and responded, “Oh, it’s all right, Sunset, and I can be like that too. But 205,550,200 points is a good score.”

“Wait, you’re like that too with video games? This may be even more fun than I thought! In that case, let’s see what you got.”

“Gladly.”

Sunset backed away from the game, and I strutted to it, put in a bit, and started my turn. My own competitive streak kicked in, and it made me forget about trying to ask her out for the moment. I just wanted to beat Sunset’s score of 205,550,200 points.

“Okay, I got those three apples. Uh-oh, a snake. All right, careful, careful...come on...stomped it. Now to get those three apples and--oh, buck, where did that snake come--ha, got it! Now to...”

This more or less went on till I got to the part Sunset reached on her turn. I had about the same amount of health left as she did at this point, and my score was currently just below hers.

“...Yes, I got those six apples, and prepare for me to beat your score, Sunset! Oh, there are those two snakes. Good, jumped over the first one, now I just have to--wait, no! I jumped on it right! How did I lose the rest of my health?!”

I’m a gamer too, so I had my own little temper tantrum by stomping my feet over being cheated! “You know what, Sunset? You were right: this game does cheat!”

Now it was Sunset’s turn to laugh at the sight of a sore gamer. “Not so funny now, is it, Eric?”

And now it was my turn to give a big ‘ol embarrassed grin. "Yeah, and I said I can get carried away too. Oh, what’s my score?”

Both Sunset and I turned to the game screen, and saw I ended with a score of 203,350,200. She had a score of 205,550,200 on her turn.

If you failed math and can’t tell who won, Sunset hopping up and down and cheering should tell you who did, by 2,200,000 points.

“Yes! I might never be a princess, but I can still rule in video games!”

“But I was just getting warmed up, so one more game?”

“Sure. I don’t mind winning again.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdza03XOmTw

She even trash-talks like a gamer! At this rate, I was going to go from having a crush on Sunset, to straight-up falling in love with that mare! Cupid wouldn’t need to do his job this time.

In the second round, I won, with a score of 210,000,500 to Sunset’s 208,300,900.

I jumped in the air with a cheer and boasted, “Ha! Now who rules?!”

With a big, pouty frown, Sunset whined, “No fair! You were supposed to have lost your last bit of health ten seconds ago!”

“Maybe, but you didn’t mind it when you didn’t lose the rest of your health at that spot on your turn.”

Sunset's frown flipped into one of her more usual smiles as she chuckled. “Fine. One more game?”

“Of course. As you would say, I don’t mind winning again.”

Sunset even tried to make excuses for losing! I was definitely close to falling in love. But, any gamer will tell you that there’s no such thing as “one more game”. Especially since this was the second “one more game”.

Thus we played another seven games before we had enough. She won five of the nine total games we played. And no, I did not let her win any of them. I don't throw games, not even to my crushes.

Walking beside each other as we left the area with the games, Sunset said, “Well, the next time I’m in Equestria, we’ll play another best-of-nine series in Snake Hunter. That was really fun!” In a more concerned voice, Sunset asked, “Oh, uh, how have things been lately?”

I had no idea where the change in Sunset’s mood came from, but I answered, “It’s been good. I’ve gotten over that--” I stopped myself from saying more, remembering how awful Sunset felt over what happened with Diane Heart last week and covered my mouth. Plus, I was supposed to be asking her out! A bout of nervousness took over and I stuttered, “Uh, I-I, well…”

“Do you still feel bad about it?”

“N-No, I don’t! I promise! I was just worried you might feel bad if I brought it up. Uh, let’s drop it.” I pulled out the list in my backpack to find something to suggest doing. Like before, most of it unfolded on the ground.

As my eyes were on the list, Sunset, in a kinder voice than usual, told me, “Hey, I don’t know if I ever told you, but you know that you can tell me anything, right?”

A pulse of courage flowed through me. I turned my head to Sunset and tried to force my lips to say I liked her, and if she wanted to go on a date. A real date, not a “pseudo-date” like the one we were having.

“Because, I’m your friend. You can ask me for help if you need it.”

And hearing the ‘friend’ word ended that moment of courage.

“I-I know I can, Sunset. And you can tell me anything and ask me for help too. Uh, you want to get a bite to eat?”

“I’m getting hungry, so that sounds good to me. You have a place in mind?”

“Yep, and I’m buying.”

“No, Eric, you don’t have to pay for me.”

“I think I do. Or do you have any bits on you?”

Sunset’s eyes widened, her face turned red, and she gave another cute nervous smile.

“I'll take your smile as a ‘no’. But I can cover for you, I promise.”

At an outside café, Sunset and I sat in chairs at a table, on opposite sides. She ordered two hayburgers, and I ordered a steak and cheese sub. Since some races in Equestria, such as Griffins, eat meat and visit Ponyville more often than they used to, more places in Ponyville offer meat to eat for those that like it; places that served it used to be rare. Steak and cheese subs were something I loved in my old world and Twilight tries her best to help me feel at home in Equestria, so she suggested making it something cafés and restaurants in Ponyville serve.

Fluttershy wasn’t nearly as bothered about it than I thought she would. In fact, ponies in general weren't as bothered about it as you might think.

Holding my sub, which at this point I ate about half of, I asked, “So, how’s those hayburgers?”

Finishing one of her two hayburgers, Sunset answered, “It’s good. Hay isn’t...something humans enjoy eating in 'my' human world, so there’s nothing like this to eat there.”

“That, and because the human anatomy can’t process hay. Things would not be fun for you if you ate those hayburgers in your human form, trust me.”

“The way you say that, it’s like you have personal experience.”

“I do.”

Sunset frowned, and for some reason I was more aware of those big eyes of hers. “Huh?”

“Once Trixie gave me a 'great and powerful dare’ to eat a hayburger, and...oh boy. Sunset, the next day was horrible!”

“Oh, it was that bad?”

“Yeah, it was that bad! After Twilight rushed me to Ponyville’s hospital to clear out the hay in me, she tracked down Trixie and gave her an earful! Then after I recovered, Twilight got on me a little for being dumb enough to do it.”

“Ouch, so Princess Twilight really looks out for you, huh? And is why you two should try dating.”

“Yeah, and sometimes she acts more like an Equestrian mom than an Equestrian big sister. But she’s like that to Spike and even Starlight too."

“I see.”

I made circles on the table with a finger, again thinking about how to make a move. As I did, I wondered if Sunset had any feelings for Flash Sentry. If so, I would have bailed out of asking her out, because I did not want to potentially be part of a love triangle! “Uh, how well do you and Flash Sentry get along? Is there any chance of you two getting back together?”

“Flash and me? Well, we’re friends, but we have no plans to get back together.”

Yes! “Have you, uh, gave any thoughts about getting another boyfriend? Uh, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, I don’t mind. I...guess I would like to find another one. But with the magical threats and villains my friends and I deal with, it might be dangerous to be my boyfriend! Why do you ask?”

Yes! “Uh, no reason, I was just wondering.”

Since I had the green light, it was truly time to get the nerve to ask Sunset out.

Yet the thoughts of her possibly thinking I looked weird, but was hiding it, again kept me from doing it. The memories of being picked on in second grade didn't exactly help.

Hey look, it’s Eric “Burn” Reed!

Come on, leave me alone!

Whining again?

I’m not whining! I just want you two to stop picking on me! I can’t help it if I’m not healed yet!

Whatever, whiny. But at least you look better with those scabs!

I had never been more frustrated about my paranoia issue.

Still, I was close. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that Sunset wanted to say something too. I didn’t want to ask her about it, though, if she didn’t want to tell me on her own.

Maybe some bowling could help us?

Chapter 5: The pseudo-date, part 2

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Still on my “date” with Sunset, I was close to finally telling her how I felt. But my stupid paranoia with her possibly thinking I looked weird kept me from doing it. There are times when I feel like I’m pathetic.

Though, it seemed like Sunset wanted to say something too, but I thought it best to not ask what it was if she didn’t want to tell me. Doing something to annoy the girl/mare you’re trying to ask out is not what you should do!

“Hey, Sunset? I know you said you like painting and you love video games, but what else do you enjoy doing? Do you like bowling?”

“Well, I don’t do it much, but yeah, I like to bowl.”

“In that case, you want to bowl a few games? And like with lunch, I can cover for you.”

“You sure, Eric? I don’t want you to spend too many of your bits on me.”

“Yep, I’m sure. You’ve done a lot for your friends and ‘your’ world after you reformed, so think of it as a reward that you have been overdue for.”

That just might be the first time someone brought up Sunset’s past without reminding her of what she did before reforming. The blush that formed on her face with a cute smile suggested it.

Besides, she had got to be sick of hearing that and then the “uh, no offense” that always followed. In fact, I should lay off the occasional jokes about Starlight’s past that I do with her.

Anyway, we left the café and headed to Ponyville’s bowling alley. As we walked, I wondered if Sunset might have a rage moment if she got “cheated” out of a strike. I kinda hoped that she would...as long as the pony didn’t break anything!

Now at the bowling alley, Sunset and I got ourselves a lane and were preparing to start bowling. The sound of bowling balls thrown from other ponies hitting the pins, plus the cheers when somepony got a strike, really helped pump me up. This time, I was going first: Sunset insisted on it since I let her go first when we played Snake Hunter.

Because ponies don’t have fingers, there were no holes in the bowling balls, so I couldn’t throw my ball like I would in my old world.

However, to make things fairer, Sunset said she wouldn’t use her magic to throw her ball. The shape and size of the ball meant Sunset could get an adequate grip on the ball, despite her having hooves and not hands. She would have to walk on her hind legs to bowl, so she practiced walking on them a little before we started. At first, she wobbled when she “walked” and it was both funny and adorable! If she were Twilight, I would call it “adorkable”. But Sunset quickly got used to it.

Though, she got a lot of stares from ponies in the bowling alley when she was walking, but she didn’t seem to care. Sunset even made a silly pose once and gave the whole bowling alley a big laugh! If I didn't know better, she did it because she was trying to ease the mood for some reason.

Once Sunset was done and could walk on her hind legs without risk of losing her balance, it was time to bowl.

My competitive streak fired back up. Standing in front of our lane, holding a red ball, I boasted, “Well, Sunset, it’s a good thing I’m going first, so I can show you how it’s done.”

Sitting in a chair like a human would -- another effect being so used to being a human had on her I guess -- Sunset said, “Show away, Eric.”

Heh, I thought she would say something like “show away, Eric, so I can show you how to do it better”. Then again, Sunset’s not Rainbow Dash or Trixie, though her confident smile suggested that her competitive streak was just suppressed for the moment.

I bowled a few times in Equestria, but I wasn’t good at throwing bowling balls without holes. On my first throw, I knocked down three pins on my first ball, then three more on my second.

After my second throw, I turned to Sunset and said, “And for the record, I’m better at bowling in my old world.”

“I guess we have one more thing to do if you can ever come to 'my' world. Now, let’s see how I can do bowling with hooves.”

Sunset hopped off her chair and picked up her ball, a green-colored one, with her magic, and wrapped most of one of her forelegs to grip the ball. She can use her magic to bring her ball to her, just not use it to throw. Then, on her hind legs, she walked towards the lane and threw her ball down it. To be honest, I thought it would roll in the “gutter”, but it didn’t and she instead got five pins.

“Wow, not bad, Sunset.”

Sunset turned her head to me and asked, “I bet you thought it would go in the gutter, didn’t you, Eric?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny it.”

Sunset chuckled, and since she guessed what I was thinking without reading my mind, I took it as a sign to make a move. But as she threw her second ball, and got two more pins, I thought I would wait till our game was over to spill it.

Now in the tenth frame, it was a close game. My score was 69, and Sunset’s was 67.

Holding my ball, I said, “Well, well, just like in Snake Hunter it’s coming down to the wire.”

Sunset replied, “Yeah, we’re more evenly matched than I thought. I really wish we hung out sooner.”

On my first ball, I got seven pins, and two on my second.

“Well, my score’s 78. It’s all you now, Sunset.” If she were Rainbow or Trixie I would have added something like “Don’t choke!” But my crush on Sunset kept me from overdoing things and risk getting her mad.

“They say the great ones are at their best under pressure, and I can feel a strike coming!”

Sunset, as well as me, “opened” in the ninth frame -- that means we got neither a strike nor spare. To win, she needed to either get a strike, then at least two pins on one of her two extra throws, or a spare and then two or more pins on her one extra throw. This is because of how the rules work when you get strikes and spares in the tenth/final frame.

Or put more simply, because of how Sunset’s bowled up to this point, if she doesn’t get a strike or spare, I’ll win. If she gets one of the two, she’ll win.

With a smile, Sunset got on her hind legs again, picked up and threw her ball, and it went down the middle of the lane. She hit the "headpin" not head-on, but hit its left half, making me grimace. Hitting the headpin like this on its left or right half is a better way to get strikes, not hitting it head-on as you might think.

All the pins fell.

Except one of the four pins in the back row, which actually slid to the right, but remained standing.

Did Sunset have a fit over being “cheated” out of a strike?

Oh, yes, yes, she did! She was less “baconmane” and more like "firemane"!

Still standing on her hind legs, Sunset stomped one of her hooves and shouted, “OH, COME ON!! How did that happen?! How did that pin not go down?!”

I had myself a good laugh and admitted, “Wow! I saw that happen once, but I didn’t think I would see it again!”

“Well, I never saw it happen at all! You didn’t have anything to do with that, right, Eric?”

Chuckling, I answered, “How could I? You’re the Unicorn, not me!”

One of the ponies, a light-brown Earth Pony, bowling on the lane beside the one Sunset and I were on wasn’t as amused at Sunset raging as me. He shook his head at Sunset and asked, “Miss? You know you get a second throw, right?”

That got Sunset to calm down. Her face turned bright-red and formed one of the biggest embarrassed grins I’ve ever seen. “Uh, right. Sorry.”

I laughed again, and Sunset walked (on her hind legs) to the “ball return” machine, and her ball had already returned on it when she was having her “firemane” moment. She was more embarrassed than I thought, since she didn’t pick up the ball with magic this time, and instead walked to it.

She gave her ball a throw and it rolled at the remaining pin, but it slowly drifted to the right as it went. It rolled to the pin's right, just barely missing it.

"No!"

I stood up and cheered, “Yes! I win! But you almost had me, Sunset.”

”Aw, I was so close! But good game, Eric. One more game?”

“Sure.”

Of course, we didn’t bowl “one more game” but two more; one of the two I won. In fact, the only reason we didn’t do more was that Sunset felt too guilty about me paying for her games, or we probably would have had another best-of-nine series, unless we got too tired. I paid for the games we played on “Snake Hunter” but that cost less than bowling, and the fact that I was paying for her so much made Sunset not want to make me keep doing it.

By this point, it’s been about six hours since Sunset came through the portal, so we decided to head to Twilight’s castle and just chat for a while.

Actually, Sunset suggested chatting, and I thought that she might say what was on her mind, so I sure didn’t mind chatting. Plus, I still needed to ask her to go on a real date!

In the library, Sunset and I sat in separate chairs that were beside each other, separated by about a foot. Sunset sat in her chair more like a human, and we were about two feet from one of the library’s bookshelves. A long rectangular wooden table was in front of us, with two cups of juice sitting on it. Since it didn’t cost me any bits, I had no trouble getting Sunset to accept the drink.

I didn’t see Twilight, Starlight, or Spike in the castle, which I thought was odd. While I wanted to make a move, I first thought to focus on talking to Sunset as friends. Besides simply wanting to talk to her, I thought it could further relax me, making it easier to finally fess up.

“You know, something I don’t think I ever asked is how did it feel the first time you went through the portal?”

Sunset chuckled. “It was really surprising to say the least, and it took me a while to get used to a human body. If I weren’t so angry at Princess Celestia, I would have been a lot more freaked out than I was.”

“I bet. I don’t even want to think about how scared I would have been if I knew nothing about Equestria when I found myself here. Especially because I was the size of a bug at first, thanks to an effect from the ‘Nightmare Prevention Spell’ that brought me here.”

“I can only imagine how that felt, and how scary it was when you first saw Princess Twilight at that size. I bet you’re glad she and Starlight eventually learned how to reverse that spell’s shrinking effect on you.”

“Yes, yes, I am! They have to recast the 'counterspell' to it at least every few days, but it’s far better than always being bite-sized in a world of 'giants'!”

”And I know you accepted living in Equestria for the rest of your life, but do you miss your world?”

I raised my head and thoughts about my old world filled it. My family. My former house and school. A pond near my house that I liked lying by. “Yeah, I do. I can play it in Equestria, but I really miss playing baseball in my world, and I was a pretty good pitcher for my high-school baseball team.”

“You were a pitcher for your high-school? I didn’t know that.”

“Yep. I told Rainbow that in the journal, but I guess I never told you. But most of all, while I can talk to one person once a week thanks to a spell Twilight and Starlight learned, I still miss my family.” I lowered my head in Sunset’s direction and became somewhat more aware of who she was. I thought of something that I always wanted to ask, and now was as good a time as any. “We were talking about Princess Celestia a moment ago, and I don’t think you have seen her since you ran off, right? Have you wanted to make up with her?”

Sunset frowned and her ears drooped. She lightly patted the arm on her chair with a hoof as she answered, “I would like to. But, after how I hurt her, I don’t know if she’ll ever want to see me again.”

Princess Celestia doesn’t seem like the type to hold grudges that easily, and I wanted to tell Sunset that. But, seeing the pain and fear in her eyes, I backed off. I even regretted bringing it up.

Looking away out of guilt, I said, “Hey, I’m sorry for asking that. I didn’t know you felt like that or I--”

“Oh, don’t feel bad, Eric. It’s not your fault, and you didn’t do anything wrong. Someday, I will see Princess Celestia, but I’m just not ready yet. From what you said in our journals, you know how that feels, right?”

Feeling better, I turned my head back to Sunset, and she was smiling and her ears were perked back up. “Oh, yes, yes, I do! But let’s talk about something else.” I rolled my eyes up to help me think. “Uh...oh, I know.”

“Know what?”

“That girl that once captured you and the others in a mirror...what was her name...oh, ‘Juniper’, I think.”

“Juniper Montage? What about her?”

“Has she caused any more trouble, or has she been a good girl?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s been good. Her uncle even let her hang out at his movie studio again, and will even give her a chance in a future movie once she’s old enough. Not long ago, she was even asked out on a date!”

“Well, good for her. And funny that you mention ‘date’ because...”

“Because what? Is something wrong?”

I looked down, becoming more aware of how different I look compared to my chair. For that matter, how I looked different from everything. Including my clothes since Rarity made them for me. Again, memories of second grade haunted my thoughts, and it was getting really old! “Well, I…”

Sunset stared more intently at me and rested a hoof under her mouth. “Hold on. Do...you have another crush on a mare?”

I was at least able to nod my head.

Sunset smiled and exclaimed, “Oh, so that's it! I think I know what’s going on now!”

“Y-You do?” Sunset didn’t use her mind-reading powers, but it seemed like she figured it out on her own! A feeling of relief flooded through me, thinking that I didn’t have to say the words I was thinking.

“Yeah! You want to ask me for help, but worried I wouldn’t want to, right?”

So much for thinking she figured it out. That feeling of relief left me, and the nervousness returned. “I...guess you could say that. ”

“Well, don’t worry about that, and I’ll help if you want it.” Sunset’s smile further curled into a mischievous grin. “So, who’s the lucky mare?”

“Uh…”

“Is it Princess Twilight?”

“NO! Uh, I mean, no, it’s not her.” I guess Sunset was still thinking Twi and I should date. Fine, if I had to pick somepony from Equestria to date, and Diane Heart still thought I looked weird and if I couldn’t pick Sunset, then Twilight Sparkle would be one of my first choices. She is cute, really nice, and I trust her with my life. Even if dating Twi would feel weird as buck because I don’t look at her like that!

“From your ‘NO!’ I guess you’re sick of me and the others saying you should ask out Princess Twilight, so I’ll stop. Okay, if it’s not her, then who is it?”

Again I tried to force myself to say it. I looked into Sunset’s eyes, and something else kept my mouth shut. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get over what happened in second grade.

But while I couldn’t do it, Sunset got over her fears and past and became a great person/pony. She couldn’t face Princess Celestia yet, but at least she didn’t seem "affected" by it unlike me, who was still a bit scarred. Sunset’s nice, cute, brave, and could rise from her past like a Phoenix. Maybe fully realizing that last part is what triggered my crush on her, but it took seeing Sunset last week for me to finally “notice” her. Starlight’s risen from her dark past too, but maybe I never got a crush on her because I truly needed her as a sisterly figure.

As I thought more about all Sunset’s done, I thought that I didn’t deserve her anyway.

Wonderful. Now two things kept me from making a move.

I clenched my fists. “I...can’t say. And now that I think of it, she’s too good for me.”

Sunset slightly tilted her head to the side and formed a puzzled frown. “Why do you think that? You’re awesome, and I mean it, Eric: I’m not saying that just because we’re friends. And what could this mare have done that’s so great that you, someone who earned a Pink Medal of Courage from the Princesses, can’t compete with?”

“Well, it’s uh…” In addition to clenching my fists, I turned my head down, which again made me more aware of how different I looked. Bad move.

Or maybe not. It let Sunset notice how bad I was struggling and gasped. “Wait, what am I doing? If you don’t want to tell me, then I won't pressure you, and I’m sorry I did. You’re not mad, are you?”

I relaxed my fists, thought of an idea, and looked back to Sunset. “No, I’m not mad, but I want to show you something that I meant to show you when you came through the portal earlier. It’s in my room, so I’ll get it.”

Ha, I had nothing. But I needed to try to talk some sense into and pep myself up to tell Sunset I liked her.

After running to my room, I closed the door and sat on my bed. Okay, Eric? What the buck is wrong with you? You’re getting Sunset worried, so you gotta tell her, for both your sakes! Just forget about those dumb memories of second grade and man up! Like Starlight said, Sunset’s not like one of those kids, so get your act together!

Yet again, those painful memories of being picked on took over. No matter what I tried to tell myself, I just couldn’t go through with it, and I punched my mattress out of pure frustration. “Augh! I can’t do it! Why did I even try?!”

Before I could beat myself up some more, three knocks came from my door. I asked, “Is that you, Sunset? I’ll be right out.”

“No, it’s me, Twilight. Can I come in?”

That was a surprise since I thought Twilight was still gone. Though my voice didn’t show it when I responded, “Twi? Yeah, you can come in.”

Twilight opened the door with her magic, walked in, and closed the door. Seeing me sitting on my bed with my fists clenched, she frowned. “I guess you still haven’t asked out Sunset, have you?”

“No, and I don’t know if I will ever be able to do it.”

“With the fun I saw you had with Sunset, I thought you would have been calm enough to ask her out by now.”

“I know, and I had a blast, but I...wait.” I pointed a finger at Twilight. Despite how frustrated I felt, the fact that Twilight said that she saw how much fun I had with Sunset didn’t go over my head, though it almost did.

“What?”

“How did you know I had a lot of fun with Sunset today, and what did you mean by ‘you saw the fun I had with her’?”

Twilight’s eyes got big, she rubbed the back of her head and stuttered, “Oh, uh, I, w-well, a-asked her.”

I put my finger down with my initial shock over. “I doubt it, because you came to my door too fast for her to have told you. Plus, you wouldn’t be stuttering if she did.”

Now blushing, Twilight stuttered, “W-Well, maybe but, I--”

“Wait, let me guess. You and the others were following Sunset and me when we were hanging out, but kept yourselves out-of-sight. And when Sunset and I were talking in the library, you guys were behind one of the doors listening, weren’t you?”

“Maybe?” Twilight replied with her biggest grin and blush yet. She’ll get points for looking adorkable.

And when Sunset and I were out, I sometimes had an odd feeling that we were being watched, like how Bugs Bunny sometimes did. I remembered seeing two purple hooves holding up some newspaper by one of the tables in the bowling alley, and the paper blocked the face of who it was. Can’t believe I didn’t suspect that it was either the Princess of Snooping or Starlight, and the others were probably hiding behind the table or elsewhere.

“Ha, I should’ve known something was up when you, Starlight and Spike weren't around when Sunset came through the portal. So where are the others? Behind the door?”

“No, not this time, I promise, and right now they’re in the kitchen. But I wanted to talk to you by myself.”

“In the kitchen, huh? Well, I’m glad you’re here. I could use some advice on what to do.”

It was at that moment I realized what I just did. I actually asked Princess Twilight Sparkle for romantic advice! Oh, no! I couldn’t resist facepalming.

Oh my Celestia I’m in worse shape than I thought!

“What’s wrong?”

I shook my head to snap myself out of my stunned state. “Oh, er, just thinking about how bad a shape I’m in.”

“At least you’re not trying to hide it this time. But I have a feeling there’s more to it than worrying that Sunset might think you look odd.” In a gentler voice that she only uses when really concerned about someone/somepony, Twilight added, “Please, talk to big sis Twilight; is there more to it?”

I rolled my eyes up to help think. Something else that I didn't think about popped in my head, and I lowered my eyes back down to Twilight. “Well, I might be struggling to tell Sunset I have a crush on her because I can’t get over those kids picking on me when I was little.”

“I don’t get it. What do you mean?”

“Because Sunset was able to move past her past issues. With the help from you and the others from ‘her’ world, she saved it more than once. Add that to her being amazing and so cute, I’m not good enough for her if I can’t get over my issues. That’s another reason I want to ask her out: to prove to myself that I can get over my issues too. I was never ‘mean’, but I used to be selfish, and sometimes I need to know that I won’t go back to that. That's why I started trying to solve my problems on my own and sometimes be stubborn about it.”

“Hmm. Well, I can understand that, but you’re not that selfish kid anymore. ‘Selfish’ is one of the last things I would ever call you.”

“Thanks, Twi. And before you say it, I know that I will never know how Sunset feels unless I ask her and that she doesn’t think I look weird, and I’m trying to--”

But, to my shock, Twilight interrupted, “Actually, I wasn’t going to suggest that you ask her out.”

That threw me for a loop, and I would have bet bits that Twi would try to encourage me to keep trying to ask out Sunset! It was a few seconds before I replied, “Huh?”

“Well, at least not anymore. While I really don’t think Sunset think you look weird, I can't say for sure, because I can’t read her mind.” Twilight walked over to my bed and sat down on it. Just like when Starlight did this, my head came up to the upper part of Twilight’s chest, so I had to look up at her face. Though, unlike Starlight, Twilight didn’t wrap a foreleg around me but instead used one of her wings. “But from talking to her since she reformed, I can say this for sure: the last thing that Sunset Shimmer would ever want to do to you is say or do something to hurt you. You remember how awful she felt last week, right?”

“Oh, yeah, how could I forget that? It took all I had to get her to feel less guilty when I talked to her in our journals later that day.”

“And, like me, she wouldn’t want you to force yourself to do something, and it’s not like Equestria’s at sake. So how about you just think about staying friends with her for now? I saw you two enjoying yourselves.”

I thought about doing what Twi suggested. After all, I did have a lot of fun with Sunset as friends and she was talking about visiting more often, so it wasn't like this would be the first and only day we hung out. Yet, I just couldn’t bring myself to give up yet. “Well, I would like to do that, but I really need to tell her how I feel. Not just because I like her, but to prove to myself that I can get over stuff about my past, just like Sunset did.”

“Are you sure?”

Still looking up to Twilight’s face, I nodded my head. “I’m sure. I need to do this.”

“Well, okay, if you really need to. Is there something I can do to make it easier?”

“I’m tempted to ask if you know a spell to rid me of my paranoia problem. But I know you won’t use spells for stuff like that, and it wouldn't be a good idea anyway.”

“Well, you’re right about not trying to use spells to fix this problem and Starlight wouldn’t let me live it down if it backfired.”

“But, when I do tell Sunset, can you stay nearby for moral support?”

The grip of Twilight’s wing tightened and she made her smile bigger. “Of course I will.”

Unknown to Twilight Sparkle and Eric Reed, somepony stood behind the bedroom door, hearing their conversation.

Wondering what was keeping Eric, Sunset Shimmer left the library and found her way to Eric’s bedroom, using the direction he left in to point her where to go. She could hear Eric’s and Twilight’s voices from inside one of the closed doors, letting her know it was Eric’s room, and couldn’t help eavesdropping out of concern. As she did, her mouth and eyes widened, and she fought to not shake from the shock.

Of all the things she thought could have been on her friend’s mind, what he was actually thinking was one of the furthest things from her mind.

How and why he felt the need to prove that he wasn’t the selfish kid he used to be. How his paranoia made him worried that she might think he looked odd, despite knowing she doesn’t.

And, how he truly felt about her, and even thought that he wasn’t worthy of her.

Not wanting the door to open with her still by it, Sunset silently walked back to the library.

The kind-hearted Unicorn had a lot to think about.

Chapter 6: Sunset's question

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“I...I can’t believe it. Eric likes me? When? How?”

In Twilight’s library, Sunset Shimmer was back in the chair she sat on when she was talking with Eric Reed. She just discovered how her friend truly felt about her and was in shock.

Even Sunset herself was surprised by her stunned state. She never considered herself “unlikable”, but Eric always seemed to think of her as a friend, and that was how she always thought of him. But, now Sunset knew that Eric liked her. How long did he have his crush on her? How did it happen? Was Starlight aware of how he felt?

And possibly the biggest question of all: did she feel anything towards Eric? The Unicorn was too shaken up to figure that out on her own and needed some advice.

“I need to go back and talk to the others, but I can’t just take off and risk Eric thinking he did something to upset me. Not with how he’s feeling now.”

Sunset pondered returning to Eric’s room to tell him that she needed to return to “her” world for a short time. But she was not ready to see Eric. Not until she had the chance to search and sort out her own storm of feelings.

“No, until I know if I like him, I can’t face Eric. Man, I wish someone -- er -- somepony else was in the castle so I could ask them to--”

As if granting Sunset’s wish unknowingly, Starlight Glimmer trotted through one of the green doors to the library. She had no knowledge about what Twilight and Eric were discussing, much less that Sunset learned about Eric’s crush. But Starlight thought that she could say something to improve the chances of Sunset agreeing to date Eric.

Before Starlight could say anything, Sunset looked to her and said, “Hey, Starlight, I’m glad you’re here. I need a favor.”

“A favor? Sure, what is it?”

“I need to go back through the portal for a while, but I don’t want Eric to think it's because of something he did. He’s in his room, so could you tell him I’m leaving, but will come back in an hour or two?”

“I can, but what’s wrong? You look like you’re shaken up about something.”

“N-No, I’m not shaken up about anything. I’m just, uh, thinking of a funny story Eric told me. Ha, ha, ha?”

“O...kay. And I’ll let him know you’ll be back in a while.”

“Thanks, Starlight.” With the portal in the library glowing pink, Sunset trotted to and through it. She was so rattled, she forgot to ask Starlight if she knew about Eric’s feelings.

Starlight was left struggling to comprehend what happened. Something was amiss, but Starlight had no idea what, though she thought it would be best to just do what Sunset requested of her.

At the Wondercolt statue, Sunset was thrown out of the portal on one of its sides, and landed on her stomach. Standing up, Sunset rubbed and shook her head. “Augh, I will never get used to that. But I gotta call the others and ask them to meet up at my place.”

A half-hour later, in Sunset’s home, Sunset’s friends answered her request for help and had just arrived. Sunset, with her head down, sat on the third step of the stairs in her room that led to her bed high up in her room. Three guitars hung on one of the walls. The others stood throughout the room, with Rainbow leaning against the room’s door.

Twilight said, “Sunset? We did what you asked and came as soon as we could.”

“Now can ya tell us what’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked.

“Is it another villain powered by Equestrian magic? Because I’m always ready to kick some--”

Sunset shook her head, but kept looking down. “No, it’s nothing like that, Rainbow.”

Rainbow gave a disappointed sigh. “Aw.”

“Then what is it, Sunset?” Rarity asked.

Sunset sighed and lifted her head to her friends. “Okay. Remember how Eric had something on his mind, but wouldn’t tell Princess Twilight what it was?”

“Oh yeah. Did he tell you what it is?” Spike asked.

“Well, he didn’t tell me, but I know what it is.”

“If he didn’t tell you, then how did you find out?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset sighed again and tightened her hands into fists. She didn’t want to admit how she listened in on Twilight and Eric’s conversation in Eric’s room without their permission. “W-Well, I-I, uh…”

Pinkie Pie, who was uncharacteristically quiet, started hopping on one leg and quickly questioned, “Did he tell you that he would show you something, went to his room, you got worried and went to his room, saw the door closed but heard voices, became nosey and snuck to the door, then overheard Eric and Princess Twilight talking about how Eric has a big crush on you?” Pinkie stopped hopping, smiled and “squeed”.

Sunset’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped. She had never seen Pinkie’s random moments of omniscience. Neither had Twilight or Spike, but they were simply confounded, and their puzzled frowns showed it.

The others had seen it, but still thought Eric liking Sunset wasn’t what was wrong.

“Uh...I really don’t think that’s it, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said.

Recovered from her moment of shock, Sunset corrected, “No, she’s right.”

With the exception of Sunset and Pinkie, everyone shouted, “SHE’S WHAT?!”

Sunset nodded her head. "Yep. Eric Reed has a crush on me."

“No way!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“How?!” Rarity asked.

“When?!” Applejack chimed in.

“Augh, I have no idea! I’m asking myself that!” Sunset covered her head in her hands and groaned in frustration.

“Well, what did Eric say when you told him you know?” Spike asked.

“He doesn’t. When I heard, I came back here to talk to all of you about it.”

“Okay, but what is there to talk about? It sounds to me that the only question is, do ya like him?” Applejack concluded.

Yet for Sunset, this was the most complicated part of the problem. It forced another groan out of frustration in herself, though she did uncover her face. “But that’s just it! I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Fluttershy asked.

“No. I never once thought to think of him as anything but a friend, and I thought he felt the same way about me. But now that I know he likes me and for who knows how long...I don’t know what to think. He might have even formed his crush on Diane Heart from trying to get over me.”

Twilight suggested, “Well, maybe it would help if you thought about how you felt about Flash Sentry when you two were dating.”

“No, that won’t help.”

“Why? You two were dating, even if you were still a big jerk back then.” Rainbow realized her words and smiled sheepishly to Sunset, as she had done several times in the past. “Uh, no offense.”

Sunset groaned and facepalmed. “Really, Rainbow Dash? Will we ever get past that? I know I used to be beyond awful, but I’m trying my best to make up for it and become a better person.”

Hit with a wave of guilt, Rainbow frowned. “I’m sorry, Sunset, but it’s easy to let it slip. But I really do know you’re a waaaay better person now. In fact, you’re awesome!”

“I agree, but never mind that. Sunset, why won’t it help to think about how you used to feel about Flash?” Rarity asked.

“Well, sure, we were ‘dating’ but I was only using Flash and never truly liked him.”

Pinkie said, “Oh, yeah. Now that I think of it, you told us that before.”

“In fact, I’m not sure how feelings would even feel,” Sunset admitted. “I don’t think I ever felt them before, and learning about friendship was tough enough.”

“Well, this is going to be tougher than I thought, y’all,” Applejack admitted.

Well, first things first.” Twilight walked in front of and leaned down to Sunset, who still sat on the stairs. “Sunset, how do you feel about Eric? What do you think of him?”

Sunset raised her head and eyes up in thought. “Well, he’s sweet, funny, thoughtful, sensitive, and cute.”

Rainbow said, “Okay, that’s a good start. What else?”

“Hmm. He’s someone that’s trying his best to become a better person from who they used to be.”

“Wait, Eric wasn’t always so nice?” Spike asked.

“Well, I heard him tell Princess Twilight that, while he wasn’t the monster I used to be, he used to be more selfish. He even feels like he sometimes needs to prove to himself that he’s not that kind of person.”

“Really? He never told us that, but I guess that’s him trying to be unselfish: not telling us something that could make us worried about him,” Twilight remarked.

“In fact, Eric-berry wanting to be a better person while worrying how much they really changed...that kinda sounds like how you used to be, Sunset,” Pinkie pointed out.

Applejack turned to Pinkie with a puzzled frown. “Wait, did you say, ‘Eric-berry’?”

“Yeah? Why?”

Feeling like it might be for the best to not ask more about why Pinkie unexpectedly called Eric “Eric-berry” Applejack sighed deeply. “Never mind, Pinkie Pie.” Applejack turned to face Sunset. “What else do ya think or know about Eric, Sunset?”

“I know that he can’t get over being picked on as a kid despite trying his best to do it. This is even making him think that he doesn’t ‘deserve’ me, because he knows how I overcame my past.”

“What? He really thinks that?” Rarity asked.

“I guess he sometimes struggle with confidence." Fluttershy looked down and rubbed her fingers as she added, "I know that feeling.”

Sunset shook her head. “No, he doesn’t struggle with confidence, Fluttershy. It’s just about his appearance, but he’s confident in other things. Though, Princess Twilight told me that he used to be quick to ask her what to do when something went wrong, but now he tries to only do it if he really needs to.”

“Hmm. That also sounds like you, Sunset,” Pinkie again pointed out.

“Well, from what I’m hearing, you and Eric could make a good couple,” Rainbow said.

“You think so?” Sunset asked.

“Yep,” Rainbow answered confidently. “In fact, he might be able to understand you better than any guy we know. Even Flash Sentry.”

“In fact, maybe you girls should have begged him to ask out Sunset, not Princess Twilight,” Spike joked.

Twilight replied, “I guess so, Spike, but it doesn’t matter now. Sunset still needs to figure out if she likes Eric or not before we can do anything else. Sunset, do you feel anything to Eric that you don’t feel for any other guy?”

Sunset rested a hand on her chin and searched her heart. She learned a lot about friendship, but Sunset Shimmer had never experienced a true crush, but from her understanding of it, "feelings" would feel different.

Yet, while she liked and cared for Eric, how she felt about him did not seem any different from anything she had already felt. “I...I don’t think so. I like Eric and want to look out for him when I can, but I feel like this to you guys too.”

Applejack set a finger on her chin. “Hmm. Well, it sounds like ya like Eric, but don’t like him.”

Sunset sighed. She faced a new problem now. Since she had no feelings towards Eric, she would need to turn him down should he finally confess his true feelings to her.

But aware of his emotional struggles, Sunset worried about if his heart could withstand it. “Well, what do I do now? I don’t want Eric to think I have feelings for him if I don’t. But-- ” Sunset put her hands over her face ”-- I really don’t want to hurt him. I got his heart broke last week, and if I break it myself, he might never get over being picked on as a kid when he was healing from burns. Plus, I have hurt too many people already, and I can’t do it again.”

“All right, let us think. There just has to be a way for Sunset to tell Eric she doesn’t like him and not hurt him,” Rarity stated.

Sunset uncovered her face, and the eight friends turned their heads either up or down as they pondered Sunset’s best course of action. After ten seconds, Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, I know!”

“What?” Sunset asked.

“Last week, when Diane turned him down, he was fine with it and only took it hard once he learned that she thought he looked weird, right?”

Rainbow answered, “Yeah, but what does that--oh, I get you.”

Applejack said, “Me too. If Sunset can assure him that she don't think he looks weird, he’ll take her turnin’ him down better.”

Twilight asked, “But with how bad his paranoia is, do you think you can even do it, Sunset?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Uh...maybe I could look at him in the eyes when I say he doesn’t look weird.”

Pinkie hopped on one leg again and suggested, “Or you could give a ‘Pinkie Promise’.”

Sunset smiled at the idea. She knew how you never break Pinkie Promises or else, and knew that Eric understood it too. “Yeah, that should work. Thanks, Pinkie.”

“Well, since you know what to do, you want to go back to Equestria?" Rainbow asked.

“No, not yet. Even if he knows I don’t think he looks odd, I know about how it’s hard to hear someone you like tell you that they don’t like you back. I want to first think of the best way to do it.”

“Okay, and I think that’s a good idea,” Twilight agreed. “Guys, let’s go and let Sunset focus on what to tell Eric when she goes back to tell him how she feels.”

The friends walked out of the room, one by one, leaving Sunset by herself.

Now alone, Sunset stood up from the stairs and started pacing in her room. Sunset is often direct when she tells someone what she thinks, but understood that she needed to be careful when telling Eric she could not return his feelings.

“Okay. I could say ‘Eric, you’re a great guy and you’ll make a mare happy someday, but it just won’t be me’?”

But thinking about it, she shook her head at her idea. “No, I better not try that. If I don’t say it right, he could think that I just don’t want him and that would definitely break his heart. Maybe I could tell him ‘It’s not you but me’? No, that’s something someone might say if it is that person.”

Still pacing, Sunset lightly slapped her face, hoping it could help her think of a better idea. “Uh, okay, maybe I could say ‘I don’t feel that way about you, but I might someday’? No, that could make him ‘wait’ for me. Augh, I don’t know what to do!”

Sunset stopped pacing and returned to sitting down at the bottom of the stairs. “Come on, think, Sunset! There has to be a way to do this!”

Remembering how the others told Sunset that she and Eric were alike, Sunset thought that she could use that to her advantage. “Uh, wait, the others said he’s like me. Maybe I could think of what I would want to hear if I was him.”

Sunset tried to think of how someone could let her down easy. As she did, it sank in more and more how similar she and Eric were. She knew they shared some things in common, but she didn’t think they were as similar as they really are until she came to hang out with him earlier that day.

“Wow, he is a lot like me. And, when he brought up my past when we were together, he didn’t say what I did, and even said I deserved an ‘overdue’ reward. Not even Princess Twilight or my friends here have said anything like that to me. They still sometimes bring up how I used to be, then say ‘uh, no offense’. But Eric didn’t do that.”

Sunset thought more of the fun she had with Eric when playing Snake Hunter and when bowling. How he could match her competitive streak.

“And I had a lot of fun with him today. I don’t know a guy that can be as competitive as me in games. In fact...I’ve never had so much fun with a guy before.”

Now thoughts of Eric believing Sunset was ‘too good’ for him flooded her head.

“And not only does Eric like me, he thinks I’m so great, he wouldn’t deserve someone like me.” For a reason Sunset didn’t understand, knowing he believed that he wasn’t worthy of her made Sunset's blood boil, but her anger wasn't aimed at Eric. She gritted her teeth. “But that’s not true! I’ve never met a better guy than him, and if anything, I wouldn’t deserve him!”

Fully realizing she was becoming emotional, Sunset relaxed her teeth and asked herself, “Wait, where did that come from?”

Still more thoughts about Eric poured into Sunset’s head. How nice and thoughtful he is. His jokes. His smile and brown eyes. His light-brown hair that flowed down his neck to the middle part of his back, the individual strands of hair more visible because of his (in Sunset’s words) different appearance. The fun and laughs they shared that day. How he adapted to a world he wasn’t born in, just like her. How he didn’t remind her of past mistakes when they were talking, and even wished to reward her.

As the thoughts swirled in Sunset’s head, a unusually warm feeling filled her heart. It felt similar to when she was truly accepted by her friends after the battle against the Sirens, but something was different. She didn't feel butterflies in her stomach back then. Thinking about being near Eric made Sunset feel particularly happy and safe, as well as wanting to keep him safe. If anyone or anypony harmed Eric Reed, she would want to be first in line to do something about it. The feeling now felt different than how Sunset wanted to keep her other friends safe.

Finally, Sunset asked herself, “Do I like him?”

For another ten minutes, Sunset remained on the third step of the stairs in her room and thought about her new rush of feelings. She wanted to be sure that she wasn’t just tricking herself into feeling the way she did as an attempt to protect Eric’s feelings.

After the ten minutes passed, Sunset stood up. She now knew what to do.

Back in the library, I was standing by the portal. Starlight told me that Sunset had to leave, but would be back in an hour or two. I had no idea what was going on in her head, but I had to focus on something else.

I wasn’t going to bail or back down this time. I was going to suck it up, and tell Sunset Shimmer how I felt, if it was the last thing I did! I already gave myself a light slap to try to pump myself up.

However, to make sure Sunset wouldn’t feel pressured to say “yes” because of them, I had Twilight, Starlight, Spike, and the rest of the “Nosey Eight” stay outside one of the doors to the library. But I hoped knowing they were there would be enough to give me the strength to ask Sunset out. At first, I only asked big sis Twilight to stay nearby. But, since all my Equestrian siblings and friends were in the castle, I asked all of them to be nearby.

Thinking about how Sunset came flying out of the portal earlier, I placed a pile of pillows at where it appeared she would land when she flew into me earlier. I also made sure to stay out of Sunset’s “flight path”.

Pink lights and sparks suddenly ran down the portal’s “cords” and my heart rate sped up. The portal itself glowed with a pink light, and you-know-who came flying out end over end screaming.

I was a bit worried that I didn’t, but I guessed the spot correctly, and Sunset landed on the pillows I laid out on the floor, on her back.

“Welcome back.”

Sunset looked at the pillows, then around the room, which for some reason seemed to be particularly cute. “Huh? Where did these pillows come from?”

“I put them there. I thought you landing on pillows instead of me would be more comfortable for both of us.”

Sunset chuckled. “No complaints from me.” Sunset rolled off the pillows to get back to her hooves.

it was time. My own chuckling stopped, and the heartbeat of my pounding heart sped up even faster than before. “But, I’m glad you’re back, because, I…”

Come on, seriously, just tell her! It’s now or never! You can do this.

I gritted my teeth. “S-Sunset? I w-wanted to--”

Before I could finally force out the words my heart screamed, Sunset interrupted, “Wait, before you ask whatever it is you need to ask, can I ask you something first?”

Because I could use the time to further prepare myself, I didn’t mind Sunset going first. My heart calmed down and I said, “S-Sure. What is it?”

Sunset looked down and patted the floor lightly with a hoof. It felt odd seeing her look nervous.

After five seconds, since Sunset seemed like she was struggling to say whatever was on her mind, I started, “Uh, are you--”

Sunset blushed and blurted out, “D-Do you want to go out with me?”

“Well, uh, yeah we can--” Yeah, it took my ears a moment for me to register what came out of Sunset Shimmer’s mouth! “Wait, huh?”

“Do you want to go out?”

My mouth struggled to form words. When it could, I repeated, “Huh?”

Sunset chuckled at my little “Eric.exe wasn’t working” moment and asked, “I take it you weren’t expecting that question, were you, Eric?”

Instead of saying “huh” again, I shook my head. My mind was blown! And it exploded again.

“Well, I was thinking about how much fun we had earlier, and how much we have in common. And how cute you are.”

My brain exploded a third time. Sunset said I was cute.

“And, I think we could make a great couple. So, do you want to go out on a date? But, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

My mind reformed itself, but I still couldn’t say anything. I just couldn’t believe what was happening! Sunset, no, the Sunset Shimmer asked me out!

Almost like I was looking for the answer I had already, I looked to the door where Twilight and the others were hiding. I guess Twilight sensed it, because she peeked in the library on her own. Since Twi knew what Sunset said, or asked, she gave me an “answer” by nodding her head with a smile.

Now, there was only one thing left for me to do.

Like how a certain purple filly once did, I jumped in the air and shouted, “YES!!”

Sunset giggled, and I just knew I was blushing at how I gave my...answer. After I cleared my throat, I much more calmly repeated, “Uh, yes. I would like to go out with you.”

“Well, in that case, today’s Saturday, so would you like to have our date next Saturday?”

“Yeah. That sounds good to me.”

“Then it’s a date. But, I’m a bit tired so I’m going to go back, but I wanted to ask you that.”

“Sounds great, and I’m a little tired too. So, Sunset, till next Saturday?”

“Until next Saturday.”

Sunset went through the portal, and I stared motionless at it, even when its pink glow faded after Sunset was back on the other side.

As I was still staring at the portal, Twilight and the others walked into the library, and Twi walked up beside me. “Well, Buggie, looks like you have a date.”

With pure joy flowing through me, I turned to Twilight. I was in hoof-reaching range, so she wrapped her forelegs around me, thinking I was about to hug her. And I did.

But, this hug was different. First, before I wrapped my arms around Twi, I crouched down a bit; something I never did to hug her since we’re about the same height. This let me grip her in a way that I could actually pick that pony up! She wasn't that heavy; maybe that of an average human adult. With my head below Twilight’s neck, since her head was above mine with how I held her, while spinning us around, I yelled, “I got a date with Sunset! I got a date with Sunset! Can you believe it, big sis?! I got a date with Sunset Shimmer!”

“I-I’m h-happy for y-you, little bro. But, can y-you let me go? I’m getting dizzy!”

I was so much on cloud nine, I wasn’t fully aware of what I was doing, so once I was, I set Twilight back on her hooves, with a big embarrassed grin on my face. Her eyes were spinning from the spinning I did to her. The others let out some giggles.

“But, I just can’t believe I got a date with Sunset!”

Suddenly, the fact that I had a date with Sunset Shimmer sunk in my head again. “Wait, do you guys think I might get too nervous when our date comes? Because you know how I am when I get nervous! And oh man, maybe I could think about what to do to keep myself calm just in case! Uh, maybe we should start on a list of things that can help?”

Hearing what came out of my mouth, Twilight burst out in laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

After she calmed down Twilight answered, “You just brought up making a list. You’re my brother all right.”

You know, maybe I have spent too much time with Twilight Sparkle, even though she said to never think it. But, it looked like I would be spending a little less time with her anyway.

And more time with Sunset Shimmer.

Chapter 7: Preparations, and two warnings

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In the human world…

With half of the sun visible above the horizon, Sunset Shimmer’s friends stood outside the pedestal bearing the portal to Equestria. Sunset told them what she planned to do, and they decided to wait by the portal for Sunset to return to learn what Eric’s answer was. Even though they knew what it would be.

“So, you guys think Eric-merry said ‘yes’ to Sunset asking him out?” Pinkie asked.

Applejack answered, “With how Sunset said he felt about her, I don’t see why he wouldn’t say ‘yes’.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Applejack,” Pinkie responded. “That was a silly question.”

Rainbow chuckled. “But I wish I could see his face to Sunset asking him out. I bet he didn’t see it coming!”

The portal glowed, and Sunset came out. She landed on her stomach with a grunt.

“Are you all right?!” Twilight asked.

Sunset rubbed her head. “Yeah, but I wish that portal could be more gentle with me.”

Fluttershy extended her arm and pulled Sunset off the ground by her hand.

“Well, Sunset? What did he say? What did he say?” Pinkie asked. Despite knowing the answer, Pinkie’s unbridled excitement made her unable to prevent asking.

Sunset took a deep breath. “He said 'yes'!” Sunset cheered, jumped in the air, hugged Fluttershy and spun in circles while holding Fluttershy in her arms. “I got a date with Eric! I got a date with Eric!”

“Wow. We all knew he would say yes, but you are still ecstatic about it,” Rarity commented.

“And I-I’m happy for y-you, Sunset, but c-can you p-please let me go? I’m getting s-sick!”

Sunset gasped and set Fluttershy back on the ground with a nervous grin. “Sorry about that, Fluttershy, but it just feels so good! I’ve never felt like this before.”

“So, when is the date?” Rarity asked in an almost teasing voice with a mischievous smile.

“Next Saturday, but I forgot to ask Eric what he'd want to do for our date. I’ll ask him later in our journal.”

Spike said, “Still, congratulations on your date, Sunset.”

“Thanks!” Sunset’s smile turned into a frown as she held her stomach. “But I’m going to go lie down.”

“Might as well. This has been an eventful day for you,” Twilight stated.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just getting a stomach ache.”

Sunset and her friends all returned to their homes. Later, Sunset learned the reason for her sudden stomach ache.

I just couldn’t believe it! I had a date with Sunset Shimmer!

As you might have guessed, I spent the rest of the evening in a GREAT mood! I wondered how Sunset acted after she was back on the other side of the portal and told the rest of the “ex-Shipping Seven”, but I like to think that she was really excited about me saying “yes”. But then again, I was the lucky one.

Two weeks later, on a Saturday, it was time for my date with Sunset. I bet you’re wondering why two weeks have passed, not just one?

Well, it’s because Sunset became really sick soon after she was back in “her” world. Sci-Twi, in our journal, promised it wasn’t because Sunset was trying to get out of our date.

Turns out, when she ate the hayburgers when we were hanging out, she should’ve stayed in Equestria long enough for her pony anatomy to digest the hay. Since she went back before it did...well, let’s just say poor Sunset had an awful week!

Fortunately, she’s feeling better now, and ready for our date. We decided to have it in the evening, so Sunset would come through the portal at 6pm.

In my room, I was preparing for my big date. Since this was a real date, I was going to dress more like I would for one; a book Twilight had about preparing for dates helped with this. I wore a white button-up shirt, black jeans, and had a red corsage on my shirt. I also wore my hat with my friends’ and sisters’ Cutie Marks.

Twi was looking me over to make sure everything looked right, and was holding a black comb with her magic to comb the parts of my hair that weren’t in the hat.

However, I had one little problem.

If the Princess of Perfection wouldn’t exit her “motherly big sister” mode and stop trying to make my outfit and hair absolutely perfect, I wouldn’t be going on a date at all!

“Oh, come on, Twilight! You have been ‘fixing’ my shirt and hair for the last half-hour! I look good, so will you cut it out and let me leave?”

Pulling on the collar of my shirt with her magic, Twilight replied, “Not yet, Buggie. I need to fix your collar.”

“But you already ‘fixed’ it thirty-seven times, and Sunset will be here soon!”

“All right, I fixed your collar, but your shirt is a tenth of an inch crooked on the left.” Twilight pulled on my shirt to “straighten” it. “There, it’s straightened.”

“Good, so can I go now?”

“No, I need to go over your hair with a comb right quick. A strand of your hair isn't lined up with the rest.”

“Augh!”

Spike was standing in my doorway, chuckling at the sight. “Just let Twilight do her thing, Eric. You and I both know she won't stop until she’s ready.”

After combing my hair for like the hundredth time, Twilight finally levitated the comb on a dresser against the wall and her horn stopped glowing. “There. You’re good to go!”

Spike stopped chuckling and I whined, “Finally! I thought you would never get done!”

Twilight frowned and said, “Okay, I know I got a little carried away. But this is your first date in Equestria, and I want it to go well.”

Feeling a bit bad, I admitted, “I know, Twi, and you wouldn’t be you if you never did stuff like this sometimes.”

Starlight peeked in my doorway and whistled. “You look good, Buggie. I’m almost jealous I’m not your date.”

I think I actually blushed at what big sis Starlight told me. “Thanks, Starie.”

“Are you nervous, Eric?” Spike asked.

“A little, but I think I’ll be all right.”

Twilight seemed like she was about to say something; knowing her, it was something to reassure me. But before she did, she stared at my arm.

“Twi? What’s wrong?”

“Your left sleeve is folded inside itself a little.”

“It is?”

“Yeah, let me fix it.” Twilight’s horn glowed again and her magic pulled on my sleeve to unfold it, but it was barely folded. “Wait, now it’s not even with the other one, so I’ll fold it back. No, I folded it too much, no, now I unfolded it too much.”

“Augh, not this again! Twilight!”

“This will be quick, I promise!”

Knowing it would be pointless to keep protesting, I groaned and just let Twi be the Princess of Perfection like Spike advised. I doubted that my date was going through something like this.

Sunset was also finishing preparing for her date with Eric. In Sunset's room, Rarity stood behind and was going over Sunset’s hair with a purple comb. She had been combing it for the last thirty minutes. Twilight stood in the room, with her back facing the door. Spike lay beside Twilight.

“Augh, come on, Rarity! I’m sure my hair’s good, so you can stop now.”

“Not yet, darling.”

“But I have to go through the portal in another fifteen minutes! I don’t want to be late!”

“Don’t worry, I’m almost done.”

“Well, at least I doubt Eric’s going through something like this. I don’t think Princess Twilight is the type to do something like this to him for a date.”

Rarity let out a contented sigh and stopped combing Sunset's hair. “All right, I’m done.”

Sunset said, “About time.”

Twilight asked, “It’s almost time for your big date with Eric, Sunset. You still don't feel sick, right?”

Sunset took a deep breath and rubbed her hands. “No, I feel better. But last week was horrible, and Eric wasn’t kidding when he said things would not be fun for me if I ate hayburgers in human form.”

“Or come back too soon after eating them in your pony form,” Spike commented.

Twilight suggested, “If you eat something like that on your date, make sure you stay in Equestria until your pony form digest it.”

“T-This time, I’ll only eat stuff I can handle in human form, so I won’t have to worry.” Sunset walked to a dresser and pulled out a brown bag. With her hands slightly trembling, she picked the bag up, but lost her grip and dropped the bag back on the dresser. Gold rocks spilled out. “Shoot!”

Rarity stared at the rocks from Sunset’s bag. “What are those, Sunset? Some kind of gold coin, because they look gorgeous!”

“These are called ‘bits’ and I had them when I first came to this world. I’m going to take them when I go through the portal.” Sunset scooped up the bits into their bag, placed the bag itself in a pack, and put the pack’s strap over her shoulder.

“Bits? Are they Equestria’s currency?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah. I d-don’t want Eric to pay for everything.” Sunset rubbed her hands again to calm their shaking.

Noticing how Sunset’s hands were previously shaking and she was rubbing them, and how she was stuttering, with a frown, Rarity walked to Sunset. “Sunset? Is something wrong? You look like you’re becoming nervous.”

“But I’m not nervous.”

Spike questioned, “You sure? Because you look nervous.”

“That’s because I’m not nervous.” Sunset frowned and placed her hands on Rarity’s shoulders. “I’m soooo nervous!”

“Wait, you are?” Twilight asked.

Sunset turned to Twilight and answered, “Yes! This is my first real date. The ‘dates’ I went on with Flash don’t count, because I never liked him and was just making him think that I did.”

With Sunset’s hands still on Rarity’s shoulders, Rarity placed a hand on Sunset’s arm. “But, Sunset, you know how Eric feels about you, right?”

Twilight chimed in, “Yeah, he’s probably as nervous as you.”

“But this is the guy that once faced Queen Chrysalis and has a Pink Heart of Courage, and I told you what Chrysalis is like! If it were me, I would have freaked out like crazy, but he didn’t!”

Spike reminded her, “But this is also the guy that tripped over rocks when he was trying to ask out Diane Heart.”

Removing her hands from Rarity’s shoulders, Sunset glared at Spike. “Hey! What does that mean?!”

Spike flinched and responded, “Whoa! I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that he’s a regular guy, and you have saved our world more than once, remember?”

Twilight reminded, “And have you forgotten how Eric felt that he didn’t deserve you? Give yourself some credit, Sunset.”

Sunset’s glare softened and responded, “Y-Yeah, you’re right, and I’m sorry, Spike. I guess I’m a little worried that I might do something to ruin this.”

Rarity said, “Well, I guess I can understand. As you said, this is your first real date, and Eric’s never told us if he’s been on dates.”

Twilight assured, “But from how Eric talked in our journals, he’s not expecting you to never make mistakes. And he doesn’t seem like he would stop wanting to be with you if you did something wrong sometimes.”

“So try to relax, and enjoy your date!” Rarity suggested.

Looking at her friends’ comforting smiles, Sunset herself smiled. “Thanks, guys. Now, I know my hair is ready but what about my outfit? You think my usual outfit is good for dates, or should I change to another one while I still have time?” Sunset placed a hand on her hip to pose and smiled. Her current outfit, a deep-rose skirt, an orange shirt bearing a design of her pony form’s Cutie Mark, and an open black leather jacket.

Spike commented, “They all look great to me, so you can’t go wrong with one or the other.”

Twilight pointed out, “Wait. Didn’t you say that the clothes you wear magically vanish when you come out of the portal in Equestria, but reappear when you come back?”

Sunset facepalmed. “Oh...yeah, I forgot. And now that I think of it, combing my hair might not affect how it looks as a 'mane'.”

“What?! You mean I did all this for nothing?!” Rarity shouted.

“Sorry, but I did say I’m nervous.”

“You didn’t say you were ‘nervous’. You said you were ‘soooo nervous’,” Spike joked with a sly smile.

“Ha ha, fair point, Spike. But I should head to the portal now, so are you guys ready to see me off?”

“Ready,” Twilight, Rarity, and Spike answered in unison.

Sunset, Rarity, Twilight, and Spike left Sunset’s room, and made their way to the portal. Their other friends were also waiting by the portal to wish their friend luck.

Standing by the portal in the library, I was ready for my date to come through. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike were with me, helping me keep calm. But I bet Sunset wasn’t nervous!

“Well, Sunset should be coming through the portal any minute. How do you feel, Buggie?”

“A little nervous, Twi. I hope I don't--”

Starlight interrupted, “Come on, don’t think like that. Just be like how you were when you hung out with Sunset two weeks ago.”

“Yeah, you didn’t seem nervous then,” Spike said.

Twilight added, “And Sunset’s not someone that would want you to be perfect on your date.”

“Says the Alicorn that spent half an hour re-fixing my clothes and hair for being a bit off.”

“But I...fine, point taken. But still, just be yourself, and you’ll be fine. That’s what Sunset would want.”

“But since Sunset should be coming any second, let’s leave and let Eric be by himself when his girlfriend gets here,” Starlight said. Her voice tone became a teasing tone when she said “girlfriend” and winked. Heh, I was waiting for Starie to enter “big sister” mode and say something like that.

“I still can’t believe you’re in love, big bro, after being in Equestria for so long!” Spike said in a teasing tone, being the little brother he can be.

“Well, ‘love’ might be pushing it, Spike. We haven’t even started our date yet, but I know I like Sunset!”

“Anyway, Spike, Starlight, let’s go, and good luck, Buggie!”

Twilight, Starlight, and Spike went out one of the green double-doors to the library. After they left, pink lights and sparks came from the portal’s cords, and I took a deep breath.

Sunset was in for a surprise. This time, instead of flying out, she emerged while standing on her hind legs. But I was surprised myself by Sunset having her pack with her, since she didn’t have it when we hung out before.

After wobbling a little, Sunset came down on all fours and looked around. “Huh? I didn’t fly out this time?”

“Nope. Since it’s not such a rare event for you to come to Equestria, Twilight did some work on that portal, so it won’t send you out so hard anymore.”

“She fixed it, huh? I should have asked her to do it sooner.” With a smile, Sunset walked to me. “Eric, you look good!”

My nerves calmed down and was replaced with bashfulness. I rubbed the back of my neck and I could feel my cheeks warming up. “And you look good too, Sunset.”

Sunset chuckled and waved a hoof. “Please, Eric, I look the same as I always do when I come through the portal. But what do you have planned for our date?”

And she always looked good; it just took time for me to notice how good. But a thought popped in my head, and I said, “First, I need to check something.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll see.”

I crept to the door Twilight, Starlight, and Spike left through and swung the door open. With a grunt, eight figures behind it fell to the floor in a pile. Yeah, this time I knew they were there!

With a smirk I asked, “So, any scratches on the door?”

Rainbow answered, “No, but uh, we were coming to ask, uh…”

“Ask when you’ll be back, so we’ll know to have the castle be empty for you two.”

I’ll admit, that was a quick lie Starlight came up with.

“Suuure you were. I’m not sure when we’ll be back, but the castle doesn’t have to be empty.”

“Well, in that case, we’ll go. Uh, bye!” Twilight said.

They left, and I closed the door. I walked back to Sunset, chuckling at how I caught the “Nosey Eight” in the act.

“Well, since they’re gone, about what you have planned for our--”

I heard something, and I interrupted, “Wait, I need to do something else.”

With another smirk, I crept to the door the gang was behind and swung it open. This time, three figures fell to the floor. It was my Equestrian siblings, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike.

I turned to Sunset and pointed at the pile in front of me. “Hey, Sunset, look what I found: three shades of purple!”

“Okay, how did you know we were back there?” Starlight asked.

“I heard you three coming back to the door. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about how my date went later.”

Twilight responded, “Okay, and this time, we’re leaving. I promise.”

The three left, and I just left the door open this time.

“Okay, that should keep them gone.” I patted the pocket of my jeans, and noticed that I didn’t have my bits for the date! I would need them! “Wait, my bag of bits is still in my room, so I’ll be right back.”

I ran out of the library to get my bits. I couldn’t believe I forgot them! It was probably because of Twilight taking so bucking long to get me ready.

With Sunset alone, Starlight came back to the library and trotted in front of Sunset. She wore a serious frown.

“Starlight? What’s wrong?”

“With Eric out of the library, there’s something I need to say.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“As you know, Eric’s like my little brother, so I just want to tell you --” Starlight’s horn glowed, and Sunset found herself magically pulled to Starlight’s now-scowling face “-- never break his heart or hurt him. You got it, Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset gulped and forced a nervous smile. She would never do anything to hurt Eric in any way, but she was given another reason to not do it. “Oh, don’t worry, Starlight. I care for Eric too much to ever hurt him.”

Starlight released her magical grip on Sunset and chuckled. “I didn’t think you would, Sunset, but I just wanted to say that. Have fun on your date!”

With her warning made clear, Starlight trotted out of the library. Five seconds later, Twilight trotted in. Unlike Starlight’s when she came in, Twilight’s expression appeared to be one showing concern.

“Hey, Twilight. What’s wrong?”

“I bet Starlight had a...word with you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. I can tell she really cares for Eric and would do anything for him.”

“She would. But you know, even if you did hurt Eric, you wouldn’t have to worry about Starlight doing anything.”

“You sure? Starlight sounded serious to me.”

“She was, but if you did something to break Eric’s heart, Starlight would have to get in line,” Twilight explained in a friendly tone, but briefly gave a serious glare. Afterward, Twilight smiled and cheerfully finished, “Anyway, Eric should be back any second, so I’m going to go. Have fun!”

With her message delivered, Twilight trotted out of the library.

Now having two more reasons to never hurt Eric besides that she cared for him too much to, Sunset gulped again and wiped her forehead. “Oof. And guys say the fathers and big brothers of their girlfriends are scary.”

With my bag of bits in my left hand, I ran back to the library. “Hey, sorry I took so long, but I got my bag of bits. You ready to go?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m ready.”

Sunset looked like she was shaken up a bit by something, but seemed okay. We left the library, and we were going to do something that's typical for dates: go out to dinner.

Chapter 8: The REAL date

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I still couldn’t believe it. I was going on a date with Sunset Shimmer!

When we hung out two weeks ago, we had lunch at an outdoor café, but we were hanging out as friends back then. Since we were going on a true date, I thought we would have it at a more traditional restaurant. Well, Twilight suggested it, thanks to her book about the best places to go on dates.

The top restaurants were in Manehattan, but it would have taken too long to ride the train there and back. So, my date and I were going to walk to a local one, called “Hay & Shake”, and it was on the outskirts of town. Why they have Ponyville's biggest restaurant on the outskirts of it, I have no idea. We were going to use a dirt road that cuts through Ponyville to get there.

While I wasn’t too nervous, the nerves were there. I thought about holding one of Sunset’s hooves as we walked, but wanted to wait a bit before trying it; unless Sunset held my hand or wrist first.

“Wow, Sunset, I-I can’t believe the day of our date is here. To be honest, I didn’t think I would ever go on a date in Equestria.”

“Why not? You’re a great guy, s-so I’m sure mares would want to date you. After all, I’m a mare, and I want to date you!”

“Well, it wasn’t that. It used to feel weird thinking about ponies like ‘that’ and I thought it would never happen. Uh, n-not that I thought anything was wrong with ponies, mind you.”

“I understand, and I didn’t take that personally."

“But I’m glad I can look at ponies like ‘that’ now, or we wouldn’t be on this date!”

“Same here, Eric.”

A red-painted building, with the name “Hay & Shake” over its door, came into view and I pointed at it. “That’s the restaurant I was talking about, and I can smell the food from here.”

Sunset took a deep breath. “I can smell it too.”

It felt like there was more to that deep breath than her smelling the food. But I didn’t think much of it.

We walked off the road and up to Hay & Shake’s white door, and again I thought of holding one of Sunset’s hooves, but declined. At least I didn’t wait for Sunset to open the door with her magic; I hurried to the door to open it for her.

Inside, there were a bunch of circular tables with four chairs each. Some tables had nopony using it, which of course was one that Sunset and I picked. A few had all four chairs filled, but the majority of the tables had two or three chairs by them filled. All were decorated with white table covers and a flower pot holding five yellow or blue flowers set in the middle of the tables. There was a stage with curtains behind it by one of the walls, and the middle of the room was the dance floor, though nopony was dancing at that moment. Not too shabby a place!

Sitting opposite me, Sunset -- who was probably sitting in her chair like a human but I couldn't tell from my angle -- turned her head around to take a look at the restaurant. She did it after we walked in, but seemed to be taking a closer look this time. “Wow, this is a really nice restaurant that you picked, Eric.”

I “played” with my fingers a little to help calm the ‘ol nerves. “I can’t take too much credit. Twilight suggested coming here after reading a book about the best places to go on dates.”

“Oh, you mean those books she used to try to help you ask out Diane?”

“Yep. But l-let’s decide on what we want to order.”

We picked up a menu from in front of us, and Sunset briefly lost her magical grip on the menu. I never saw Unicorns lose their grip like that without being startled, save for foals that are still learning how to use their magic. I almost wondered if it happened because she felt nervous, but figured it was because she wasn’t fully used to her Unicorn magic after being in the human world for so long.

Though she had no trouble when we were hanging out two weeks ago.

When I focused more on my own menu, or should I say the prices, my mouth dropped. I didn’t expect the place to be “cheap” but the prices were even higher than I expected. Apparently, the Princess of Preparation forgot to check Hay & Shake’s prices, and only went by how well-rated and “nice” the place was! She picked a fine time to not be thorough with something she researches!

Thanks a lot for the suggestion Twilight, and I am going to get you for this! But at least I just got paid so I can afford this.

Still, I planned to pay for both Sunset and me, and Sunset had no bits anyway. I gulped yet offered, “And I-I’ll pay, so order whatever you want.”

“Oh, no, I’m n-not making you pay for me again, Eric. This time, I brought bits.” Sunset, to my relief, levitated out bits from her pack. Whew!

“Oh, so that’s why you have your pack! But where did you get those bits from?”

“I had them with me the first time I went through the portal, and--”

I gasped and dropped my menu, because Twilight wanted to keep the portal’s existence a secret to anyone except those she trusts the most as a safeguard. I whispered, “Shh! Twilight doesn’t want anypony besides us, the Princesses, and our friends to know about that portal.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. If somepony up to no good learn about the portal, they might try to use it. Rainbow Dash might be okay with it, but unless you don’t mind more battles either, you don’t want that!”

“And I don’t, so I’m g-gonna be quiet about it.”

In my normal tone of voice I said, “Anyway, since I know you won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, you can pay for yourself this time.”

I picked up my copy of the menu again to look through it, and Sunset focused on hers. I looked for something good, but not too expensive, and made my choice. My timing was good: a light-brown Unicorn, holding a brown “waiter book” in his magic, walked to our table.

“Greetings, valued guests, and welcome to ‘Hay & Shake’. I am Randbottom, and I will be your waiter this evening. Have you decided what you would like to order?”

Still holding the menu, I said, “Well, I know what I want. What about you, Sunset?”

“Yeah, I made my choice too.”

Our waiter levitated a quill and opened his book with his magic. “What would you like?”

“I’ll take two quesadilla supremes and a small order of onion rings,” I answered, and my mouth watered just thinking about my order.

“And I’ll have the deluxe salad and a carrot dog.”

Randbottom wrote what Sunset and I ordered in his book. “Will that be all?”

“Yep,” Sunset and I both answered at the same time. Could that have been some kind of a sign?

“All right. I shall return with your order once it is prepared.”

Sunset and I set down our menus. I’ll admit: Hay & Shake adding “supreme” to “quesadilla supreme” and “deluxe” to “deluxe salad” does make it sound tastier. Smart business sense there. If Twilight were nearby, I would not order quesadillas because she’s scared of them. I’m still trying to figure out how that pony could be scared of a food item!

After our waiter walked off to take orders from more ponies, despite still feeling a bit nervous, I joked, “No hayburgers f-for you this time, huh?”

Sunset shook her head. “Nope! After last week, I-I’m only eating food I can eat as a human without getting sick.”

“Ha, I don’t blame you.”

After we talked for a bit, the same Unicorn that took our order came back with two plates. I took a bite from one of the quesadillas, and the mix of cheese, beans, and salsa...wow! “Delicious” would be putting it mildly! The onion rings were great too!

“Hmm! These quesadillas and onion rings are the best I ever tasted.”

“I was thinking the same thing about my salad and carrot dog. No wonder they cost so much, but...maybe we could pick a cheaper place next time?”

“Yeah, and next time, I’m picking the place myself. With how Twi thinks of everything, I can’t believe she forgot to tell me about the prices, and she takes preparing for stuff seriously!”

In what seemed to come from nowhere, Sunset frowned and rubbed her hooves.

“Sunset? What’s wrong?”

Looking at me with eyes showing an odd amount of concern, Sunset asked, “Uh...you know that I don’t think you look odd, and I would never do anything to hurt you in any way, right?”

With how bad I was worried that Sunset thought I looked odd, her reassuring she didn't wasn’t a surprise. But the part about never hurting me was, and I rubbed my head, trying to figure out why she said it. Did I say something to make Sunset become worried that I was scared of her? “I know you don’t think I look weird and wouldn’t hurt me, and I would definitely never do anything to hurt you either. What made you bring it up?”

“Well, it’s, uh...”

Sunset looked down, and I remembered how Twi was coming out of the library as I was running back to it. And I had a feeling Starie went in there too at some point.

“I think I know what’s going on. When I was out of the library to get my bag of bits, Twilight and Starlight gave you a ‘talk’, didn’t they?”

“Yeah, they did.”

Yep, I was right! Usually, I don’t mind it when they act a little overprotective of me sometimes, though Twilight doesn’t show it much. But this time, I growled and gritted my teeth. “Oh, I am so gonna let those two have it later if they made you nervous!”

“But try not to get too upset, Eric. They only did it because they care about you.”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t--”

“But it’s fine. I was nervous about our date even before I went through the portal, so it wasn’t their fault.”

I would have still cooled it, but hearing Sunset say she felt nervous even before my two overprotective sisters “talked” to her further helped relax me. “Wait, really? I was nervous, but I didn’t think you were. So when you nearly dropped your menu just now--”

Sunset smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah, it was because I was a little nervous, but even if I didn’t get that...talk, I would have still done it. But, knowing you felt nervous is making me feel calmer.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll let what those two big sisters of mine did go. And I feel better knowing it wasn’t just me being nervous.”

“And maybe getting to know each other more would help, so tell me some more about yourself and your old world. But don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you twenty-three questions like Princess Twilight did the first night you knew her.”

“Sure, and I didn’t mind it when the Princess of Questions asked me so many. Ask me as many as you want.”

“Hee hee, ‘Princess of Questions’, that’s a good one. Okay, I have one, and I hope you don’t mind me asking it.”

“What is it?”

In a somewhat shy voice, Sunset asked, “Is this your first date?”

“Well, I went on a date two years ago in my old world, but it didn’t go well.”

Sunset’s eyes grew, maybe worried my heart got broken on the date. To think that Sunset Shimmer used to be horrible before she reformed. “What happened?”

“I didn’t feel a...connection like I thought we would, and my date even felt the same way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So we didn’t have another date after that, but I already know this date is different. In fact, I never thought I would be on a date with somepony, or someone, as incredible as you, Sunset.”

Sunset blushed, played with her hooves in bashful fashion and looked so cute doing it. “You really think that, Eric?”

“Buck yeah I do! I might be the luckiest human in the whole Multiverse!”

“I think I might be the lucky one, but thanks.”

Classical-style music started playing in the restaurant. I looked around and saw the source of the music: on the stage were four ponies, each playing a different instrument. One of the ponies was a light grey Earth Pony with a dark-gray mane, playing a Cello. Of course she would be one of the ponies playing!

The music wasn’t dance music, so every bronies’ favorite DJ was nowhere to be seen. One day, I’m going to try to get her to finally say something! Even if it’s just one word!

“They’re playing some music.” I don’t know why I felt the need to state the obvious.

“Yeah, they are. You want to dance?”

“Ha, now that’s the second time you asked me something I was about to ask you. Our food will be okay, so let’s dance.”

Sunset and I walked to the dance floor in the middle of the room. A few couples were already dancing once we got to the floor. As we walked, I again thought about holding one of Sunset’s hooves. But Sunset solved my question of what to do for me: she wrapped part of her foreleg around my hand to hold it. I couldn’t hold it back, since my hand was completely in her curled foreleg, so this wasn’t quite the same as holding hands.

Once we picked a spot, I wrapped an arm around Sunset’s neck, and she wrapped a foreleg around the lower part of my back. After that, we pulled each other close. Sunset still held the hand of my arm that wasn’t around her.

I felt the warmth of her cheek. A warm fuzzy feeling flowed through my body, knowing I was in the embrace of the Sunset Shimmer as her date. Or dare I say boyfriend, even though our first date wasn’t over yet? I wanted to keep that feeling the whole evening.

But, that feeling ended when I noticed the other ponies staring at us. I was so busy enjoying that warm, fuzzy feeling of holding Sunset, I failed to really notice how we were doing nothing else. I couldn’t see Sunset’s cheeks directly, but the one against mine warmed, “telling” me that she noticed the staring too and blushed.

With how often Sunset took the initiative, I stayed still and waited for her to “lead”. But she didn’t move either. Uh-oh.

Sunset whispered, “Eric, aren’t you going to lead?”

“I thought you were going to lead.”

“I would, except I don’t know how.”

Well, this got embarrassing in a hurry!

After a couple more awkward seconds, I remembered how “slow dancing” looked. I had never done it myself, but I drew a blank on what else to do. I winged it and started to sway and walk in a circle, and hoped Sunset would follow and match my movements. Luckily for both of us, she did.

The other ponies stared at us for a bit longer, before going back to what they were doing before. With our little crisis out of the way, the warm fuzzy feeling returned, and I tightened the grip of my arm around Sunset and felt her grip around me tighten. I didn’t want this feeling to end, so I kept dancing and waited for Sunset to release her grip first.

But even after ten minutes of dancing, that Unicorn’s grip on me didn’t even loosen, and we kept going.

When the music stopped, since it would look too weird if my date and I kept dancing, I released my grip. Sunset let me go at around the same time, and we walked back to our table. I was a little tired from the dance and was breathing a tad deeper, but I didn’t care.

“That was fun, Sunset, once we got going.”

“It was. And sorry if I danced with you too long. You weren’t getting bored, were you?”

“No, no! I loved it. I was worried that you were getting bored.”

Sunset shook her head. “Nope, I wasn’t. I would have wanted to keep dancing if the music didn’t stop.”

“In that case, maybe we can dance some more in Twilight’s castle later.”

Sunset and I talked for a while and finished the rest of our dinner. It got a little cold during the time we danced, but it was still good. Besides, with how much it cost, neither Sunset or I was going to waste even a crumb of it!

After we were done, we left Hay & Shake and went back to the castle. I was in a good mood, but I was still planning to give Twilight a hard time later over forgetting to check the prices of that restaurant. Then again, maybe that’s what I get for not picking where to go myself.

Back at the castle, Sunset and I were in the library. This time, instead of sitting in separate chairs like we did two weeks ago, we sat together on a couch. She sat more like a human than a pony, with her hind legs over the edge of the couch, but her hooves didn’t touch the floor. Even so, Sunset’s head was still above mine and my head came up to below her neck. When I was facing her, I had to tilt my head up to look at her face, much like I did when Twilight, Starlight, or another full-grown pony sat beside me.

“I bet you’re glad I could pay for myself.”

“Oh, I could’ve paid for you.”

Sunset's lips curled into a smirk. “Really?”

I finally decided to give up and I rubbed the back of my head. “Uh, well, I might have been a...little bit relieved when you said you could pay for yourself, and sorry for taking you to a place so expensive. I had no idea till I saw the menu.”

“It's okay. But don't think that you have to be a kind of boyfriend to spend all their money on their girlfriend. I don’t want you to do that for me.”

“Maybe, but--” My eyes got big. I really don’t know why I was so surprised by what Sunset said; we just went out! “Wait a second. Did you say ‘boyfriend’?”

Sunset’s own eyes grew and she covered her mouth with her hooves. “Oh, I’m sorry! Is it too soon to call you my boyfriend?”

“Well, we are officially dating now, so I think it’s okay for us to call each other boyfriend and girlfriend, even if our first date isn’t quite finished yet. But I will confess that I used to think it was ‘marefriend’ in Equestria till Rarity told me last week that it can be one or the other, but ‘girlfriend’ is more commonly used.”

“Even if you didn’t know that, considering you’re from a different world, you have gotten used to how ponies talk. Well, Equestrian ponies.”

“Well, that ‘cartoon’ I told you about helped with that, and I’m glad you’re not weirded out about it. I was worried about that when Twilight was going to tell you and the other girls about me.”

“With everything that’s happened to me, knowing a world knows some things about me isn’t too big a deal, and the others think so too.”

I already knew they weren’t creeped out about my world knowing about them; and it likely further helped that I promised that nothing too...personal was shown. Still, hearing it from Sunset’s mouth sealed it for me. “And I am so glad you feel that way! But that is another reason why I don’t mind you asking as many questions as you feel like asking. It’s only fair for you to know more about me and my world if you want.”

“If you ever meet ‘Sci-Twi', as you like calling her, face-to-face, I wouldn’t tell her that she can ask you as many questions as she wants. She might take you up on it and ask you a hundred in one day!”

“Heh, I’ll be sure to remember that.”

“But I have another question. You talked about your family before, but what about your friends in your former world?”

“My friends?” I raised my head to think. “Well, I had a couple, but I hardly saw them.”

“Why? Were you not close?”

“No. We used to be closer, but as they became more and more busy, I could feel our bond weakening. Even if I never became stuck in Equestria, we probably would have drifted away by now.”

Sunset frowned. After learning the joys of friendship, she’s with the other girls most of the time and is close with them, so knowing I had no close friends in my world felt worse to her than it actually was. “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. After I became friends with Princess Twilight and the others, I hated the thought of not being able to hang out with my friends.”

“Well, it wasn’t like I was lonely or anything. I had my family to spend time with.”

Now Sunset frowned more and lightly patted the couch with her hoof. Unlike the last one, this frown screamed sadness, not sympathy. “I guess that’s something we don’t have in common. I...didn’t have the best family life. But I wasn’t exactly a joy to be around.”

I wanted to ask what she meant by that. But thinking about both how sad she looked when I asked her about making up with Princess Celestia and how she was here, I kept my mouth shut about it. I will admit that I was i-t-c-h-i-n-g to ask about who her parents were: one of the great mysteries of both FIM and EQG is who Sunset Shimmer’s parents are and what they were like. I figured that once our relationship grew tighter, I’d ask. Besides, I had to focus on cheering Sunset up.

I formed as big a comforting a smile as I could and assured, “Well, at least you have a good family now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, even though I only have a sibling-type bond with Twilight, Starlight, and Spike, my other friends are like family too. Don’t you feel the same way about Sci-Twi and the others in ‘your’ world?”

That did the trick, and Sunset smiled. It looked to be a particularly joyful one, making me feel some joy too. “Yeah, you’re right, and the others have said that too, but I guess I just needed to hear it again. Thanks, Eric, and I guess we’re not opposites about having friends and family.”

“Nope. If you ever need to hear it again, ask me anytime and I’ll repeat it. I wouldn’t be a good boyfriend if I didn’t cheer up my girlfriend when she needs it, right?”

Instead of answering my question, Sunset pulled herself completely on the couch and lay on her stomach, so her head came up to my shoulder. I was about to ask why she did it till I looked closer at her facial expression.

The smile on her face wasn’t one of her usual ones. She was also blushing. Her turquoise eyes, one was slightly closed and the eyeshadow on its eyelid more noticeable, screamed two words. And if that wasn’t enough, she rested her hoof on one of my hands, which I already had on the couch beside me.

My own cheeks warmed up and butterflies filled my stomach.

At first, I wanted to wait and see what Sunset would do. But I had second thoughts. She beat me to the punch when she asked me out, so my pride as a male screamed to be the one to make the first move this time. It also felt like she was waiting for me to do it. Once she batted her eyelids, that clinched it!

I leaned down to her face, wrapped my arm around her neck, and kissed her. As I did, she wrapped a foreleg around my back. Part of me still thought it might feel weird to kiss a mare, even though she was Sunset Shimmer. Let’s just say a weird day gave me another reason to think it would feel weird.

But it didn’t.

It. Felt. Amazing!

The softness of her lips sent a wave of joy and warmth through my whole body. I truly thought her eyes sparkled, or shimmered, before they closed as our kiss continued. We kept our lip-lock for five seconds before we broke it up.

I was speechless. This felt too good to be true!

Sunset broke the silence and admitted, “To be honest, I wanted to make the first move. But I thought you might want to do it this time since I did when I asked you out.”

And she thought right.

The mood was tempered when faint giggling came from outside one of the library doors. I knew I should’ve checked those doors in case the “Nosey Eight” or “Super-Nosey Three” were at it again!

I groaned and facepalmed. “Just one second.”

I crept to the door where the giggling came from, opened it, and three figures hit the floor.

This wasn’t as amusing as it was last time and I shook my head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t you three know when to quit?”

Spike pointed at Starlight. “For the record, it was Starlight’s idea, Eric.”

“Don’t listen to Spike. He wanted to do it too!”

“And I tried to talk both of them out of it,” The Princess of Nosiness said.

“Yeaaaah. It was amusing at first, but it’s starting to get annoying. Can Sunset and I have some privacy?”

Twilight nodded her head as she answered, “Sure, sure, and we’ll leave now. Starlight, Spike, let’s go.”

The three left, but after running down the hall about seven feet, Spike turned around and said, “Way to go, loverboy.”

I could feel my cheeks warming from embarrassment. “Spike!”

“Okay, okay! I’m going!”

Once those three were out of sight, I closed the door and turned back to a giggling Sunset.

“I take it that it’s not as funny to you this time?”

“I guess not. Lost its charm I guess. But now that I think of it, it’s getting late. When do you need to go back through the portal?”

“Oh, yeah, I lost track of time. I guess it’s about time for me to go back.”

“Well, since I can’t walk you to your door, I’ll at least walk you to the portal.”

But, instead of hopping off the couch, Sunset made circles with a hoof and blushed again. I was pretty sure I knew what she wanted to ask, but nerves made me hesitate.

Do I dare ask her? I mean, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now, but sleeping in the same bed after the first date? Is it too soon?

After my little shyness moment, I shook my head. I was going to take a chance. “Or...you can spend the night here in the castle and in m-my room, if you want.”

Sunset’s eyes lit up and she grinned, so I guessed right! Yet her smile flipped into a nervous frown. “Wait, do you think Princess Twilight would mind?”

“I doubt it, and she owes us from not warning me about the prices of Hay & Shake. So, you want to?”

“Sure!”

Neither of us was sleepy yet, so we talked for a while longer. Once we started yawning, I changed into some pajamas in the castle’s bathroom. Then, while finally holding one of Sunset’s hooves, we headed to my room. I wanted to at least let Twilight know Sunset was spending the night, but she was already asleep in her room. Starlight and Spike were in dream land too. The "counterspell" that keeps me at my real size would be active for another day, so I didn't have to have Twilight or Starlight "refresh" it.

After we walked into my room, I let go of Sunset’s hoof and she complimented, "Nice room, Eric. Is that your baseball bat in the corner?"

"Yep, and thanks. But you’re not nervous about us sharing my bed, are you? You can sleep in a separate bedroom if you want.”

“No, we can sleep in your bed. Unless you’re nervous.”

I was a little nervous. I never shared a bed with a female that wasn’t my mom before, and that was years ago. And it was definitely the first time with a mare! But I felt excited at the same time, so I answered, “No, I’m not. It’s not like we’re going to...do anything.”

“All right, then let’s go to bed.”

We crawled into my bed and under the covers. Sunset lay closer to me than I thought she would, and even nuzzled my chest and kept her head there, looking so cute. Heh, guess this pony was in the mood to cuddle! It was a good thing Sunset didn’t try to nuzzle my neck, or her horn might’ve poked one of my eyes. That wouldn’t be fun! With a big ‘ol smile, I wrapped an arm around her, and my nose picked up the aroma of cherries coming from her mane. Her coat tickled somewhat, but felt great as I held her.

With my new girlfriend with me, I was going to sleep gooooood tonight!

But thinking about something that happened earlier, my lips curled into more of a smirk. I thought of not a good idea, but a delicious idea, and I asked Sunset if she wanted to try what I cooked up. And she did.

And, no, we’re not doing “that”. Let’s just say I was going to get some payback.

Chapter 9: The payback

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The morning after Eric Reed and Sunset Shimmer’s date…

In a hallway of Twilight’s castle, Spike stood by Eric’s door with his head against it. He felt guilty about listening in unwelcomely when Eric was with Sunset after their date and wanted to apologize. However, when he approached the door, he heard what seemed to be another voice from the other side, but was difficult to discern.

With Spike motionless by Eric’s door, Starlight trotted into the hallway and spotted him. Once behind Spike, Starlight greeted, “Hey, Spike.”

Spike yelped, jumped, and spun to the Unicorn behind him. “Oh, it’s just you, Starlight.”

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to make out what I’m hearing.”

“Hearing?”

“Yeah. I was going to tell Eric sorry about last night, but I’m hearing something weird in there.”

“Oh, come on, Spike, we can’t do it again.” Starlight stared at the door, and the thought that Sunset shouldn’t be in Eric’s room emerged in Starlight’s head. “Wait, what am I talking about? It’s not like Sunset is in there.”

“I don’t know, Starlight. Now that you brought her up, I think it was Sunset’s voice I heard.”

“No, she can’t be--”

Twilight trotted from around a corner and approached the two arguing friends. “Hey, guys. You’re here to tell Eric sorry too?”

Spike answered, “We were, until we heard, uh…”

“Heard what?”

“Spike heard something coming from the room and he thinks it’s Sunset.”

At merely the thought of Sunset and Eric in the same bed, Twilight’s eyes grew. “What?! No! They can’t be in bed together already! Maybe you’re just hearing things, Spike.”

“Well, if you and Starlight are so sure, help me figure out what I’m hearing.”

With a spark of curiosity, Twilight groaned, “Urgh, fine. But only to prove that it is not Sunset in Eric’s room.”

Hoping to learn the secrets of what Spike heard, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike laid a side of their head against Eric’s bedroom door, struggling to make out what it was that Spike heard.

Hiding in a room opposite my bedroom, peeking from its door, my new girlfriend and I were preparing to act on an idea that I cooked up before we fell asleep. It was time to teach the “Super-Nosey Three” a lesson. Plus, I needed to get payback on Twilight for not warning me about Hay & Shake’s prices!

“See? I told you those three would get into the act again, Sunset.”

“You were right. Guess they can’t help it.”

“But they will after this! You ready?”

“Heh heh, yep. Lead the way.”

Sunset and I crept out of the room and snuck behind the “Super-Nosey Three”, who still had their heads against my door.

After we were close enough, I did a silent countdown with my fingers.

Once the “countdown” reached zero, Sunset and I screamed, “BOO!!”

Twilight, Starlight, and Spike screamed and jumped ten feet in the air! Oh yeah, that scared the Tartarus out of them!

Sunset and I laughed our heads off as those three had their hoof/claw on their chests and panted like crazy. Twilight was close to hyperventilating; something she’s done like a million times.

Once she calmed down a bit, Twilight stuttered, “W-What's going on?!”

Sunset and I calmed down our laughing, and I explained, “I knew you three wouldn’t resist getting nosey again. So to get you back, I asked Sunset if she knew a spell to make her voice come from inside the room, but have it be hard to hear.”

“And I’m glad I still remembered how to cast it.”

“Oh, so that’s why I couldn’t make out what it was,” Spike said.

In a more serious voice I asked, “Now, will you guys cut it out?”

Twilight answered, “Okay, I promise to never listen on you two again.”

Starlight echoed, “Me too.”

“Me three.”

Twilight told Sunset, “But I really am surprised to see you, Sunset. I didn’t know you were spending the night.”

“Yeah, and I was going to tell you I asked her to spend the night, Twi, but you were already asleep. And you owe us.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side with a frown. “I don’t get it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me the food from Hay & Shake was expensive? You only told me it was a great place for a first date!”

“Wait, it was expensive?”

“Yeah, it was!” I answered.

Now that the Princess of Expensive Dining knew she bucked up, she facehoofed. “Oh...that’s why the rating for Hay & Shake was so high! I’m so sorry, and if you guys need them, I’ll give you some of my bits.”

I was actually tempted to accept Twilight’s offer, but giving her a big scare was good enough for me. Besides, ever since we met, she’s done her best to help me adjust to Equestria, so I couldn’t take her bits for something like this. Unless I won them in poker. “Nah, you don’t have to do that for me, Twi. But if Sunset needs them, you could give her some.”

“No, she doesn’t have to do that. I’m good.”

“Oh. Still, I’ll do something to make up for it later.“ Twilight’s guilty frown faded and she looked to Spike. “But I told you Eric and Sunset didn’t sleep in Eric’s bed, Spike.”

“Fine, I was wrong.”

With how Twi acted about the chance of Sunset and me in my bed, I knew her reaction to it was going to be gooood. I had a feeling Starie’s reaction might be just as priceless. Where’s a camera when you need one? “Well...I never said we didn’t.”

Both Twilight and Starlight stared at me and at the same time asked, “Huh?”

“Yeah, Eric and I were in his room before we snuck out to wait for you guys. We woke up a half-hour ago.”

And here it comes! Twilight’s and Starlight’s mouths dropped and their eyes grew to twice their normal size.

Sunset giggled at the glorious sight. “I guess your sisters didn’t think we would share a bed already.”

“Heh heh. Nope.”

After Twilight.exe and Starlight.exe started working again, they shouted, “YOU TWO WERE IN THE SAME BED?!”

Yep, I knew their reaction would be priceless! I felt tempted to milk it for more fun, but I assured, “But nothing happened in my bed.”

“Yeah, we only went to sleep together.”

The two relaxed their faces, and Twilight explained, “W-Well, it isn’t like I don’t approve of you sleeping together.”

“Uh, Twilight? I know you sometimes act like a mom as well as a big sister to me, but you know I’m eighteen, right?”

“Oh, uh, I-I didn’t mean it like that! I-I know you’re old enough to make your own d-decisions, Buggie, b-b-but--”

I chuckled and figured I better say something before Twilight.exe stop working again. “I know what you meant, big sis, and thanks. But how about we get some breakfast?”

This was one of the more interesting mornings I’ve had in Equestria. Or period. We headed to the dining hall to eat breakfast. Spike had already made some strawberry pancakes before he came to my door.

In the dining hall, on the table, lay four plates, each with four pancakes and scrambled eggs. Each plate had beside it a cup full of orange juice.

Obviously, Spike didn’t plan that we would have a guest, so after we got Sunset both a plate and cup of orange juice, I gave half of my pancakes and eggs to her. As you might have guessed, we sat next to each other, but were still in separate chairs. Spike offered to make more, but Sunset and I said it was okay. Her rumbling stomach gave the answer to why she didn’t even try to protest having half of my plate. The ex-Super Nosey Three sat by the table in chairs too.

While I don’t really like cooking, maybe I should try to make breakfast for us soon. Being a boyfriend that can cook could make Sunset like me even more!

I picked up my fork and dug in. The strawberry flavor of the pancake mixed with the maple syrup was simply delicious! The fluffiness of the eggs mixed with just the right amount of pepper...not even the Princess of Perfection could think that it could be more perfect. That Dragon can cook, and could make a killing if he opened his own restaurant! “Hmm, these pancakes and eggs are great! You outdid yourself, Spike!”

With a fork held in her magic, Sunset took a bite from her pancakes and eggs and smiled. Heh, guess she liked it too. “Yeah. Maybe Eric and I should have asked you to cook our dinner last night!”

Spike, trying to be Mr. Modest, grinned and rubbed his head. “Thanks, I do what I can.”

Twilight took a bite of her pancakes and eggs and praised, “And you do it well, Spike.”

“No arguments from me,” Starlight chimed in with some egg on her lips. She can be a messy eater.

We cooled it with the Spike praising -- things don’t end well when he’s praised too much -- and Twilight remarked, “So, I guess your date went well.”

I answered, “Oh, yeah.”

“It was amazing.”

“And sorry about us listening in on you two last night,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, me too.”

Starlight chimed in, “We’re really not going to do it again.”

“It’s all right. You three are my Equestrian siblings, so it figures you’ll do stuff like that sometimes.”

Twilight giggled, and took more bites out of her pancakes and eggs. “But what are you two going to do now?”

I’ll admit: I gave no thought on what to do with Sunset after we woke up, save for the big scare we gave Twilight, Starlight, and Spike. “Oh...good question. Once we're done eating, what do you want to do, Sunset?”

Sunset placed a hoof on her cheek. “Uh...maybe we could have another best-of-nine series of ‘Snake Hunter’?”

“That sounds good to me, and I’m winning our series this time!”

“We’ll see about that, and I’m paying for our games since you paid for them last time.”

“If you insist.”

After we finished eating breakfast, Sunset and I hopped off our chairs and out of the castle to make a beeline to the arcade section of Ponyville. If ponies’ top running speed weren’t faster than mine, we would have tried to race there.

After Eric and Sunset departed the castle, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike were left giggling at the new couple speeding out of the dining hall.

Spike said, “Well, guess Eric and Sunset are a couple now.”

Twilight remarked, “And they both looked so happy.”

Starlight added, “And I’m happy for them.”

Spike said, “Guess we won’t have to worry about Eric spending too much time with Twilight anymore.”

At the hint that she and Eric possibly spent too much time together since Eric arrived in Equestria, Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on! You guys are thinking that too?”

Starlight replied, “Yeah, and funny you reacted like that, because Eric did too.”

“But I…*sigh*...fine, but I still don’t think we spent that much time together since I found him in Equestria.” Twilight smiled and stood up from her chair. “But you two can help me make a new checklist for what I’ll need to make two checklists for the five checklists of stuff I need to have done by the end of the day. I need to get some paper, but I’ll be back.” Twilight trotted out of the library.

Starlight facehoofed. “Oh, I forgot she’d want to do that today, or I would have run away with Eric and Sunset!”

“Well, at least I’m used to making those checklists with her.”

At the “Snake Hunter” arcade game, Sunset and I were in our tenth game. She won our best-of-nine series 5-4 again, and for this game, we were cheering each other on. In our ninth game, we each nearly beat the all-time high score of 350,650,100, so we just wanted to beat that score now. I already tried and blew it, so it was Sunset’s turn and I stood beside her.

“...Yes, I got two snakes at once.”

I instructed, “Now grab those three apples, but once you jump over that pit, watch for the hidden snake in the ground.”

“I know. I’m not falling for--oh! Whew, that was close, that snake jumping out of the ground almost took the rest of my health. Now I just need five more apples to beat that score.”

“You can do it, Sunset. Whoa! Those two--”

“I see them. Now, one snake stomped on, one more to go.”

“Just zap that last snake, don’t try to--”

“Eric! Let me concentrate!”

Yep, that made me cover my mouth. “S-Sorry!”

“Yes, I got that last snake. Now to grab those last five apples...come on...YES! I did it! I beat the all-time high score!”

With Snake Hunter having a new all-time scorer, Sunset and I hugged while jumping in the air. She still had a bit of health remaining and could have kept playing, but neither of us cared.

“Maybe we should get you Alicorn wings, because you are the Princess of Snake Hunter!”

“If we do, I’ll gladly accept!”

After hopping and cheering for a few more seconds, a thought popped in my head. From what Sunset told me earlier, she wasn’t planning on staying the night and only wanted to after our date was over. “Wait, I just thought about something.”

“What?”

“Do the others know you might have spent the night with me?”

One of the biggest but cutest nervous grins yet formed on Sunset’s face. “Ooooops. And the journal that we ‘talk’ to you with is still in my pack, so I should go back and let them know everything’s all right.”

It was fun while it lasted. Really fun. But Sunset needed to go back -- for now -- so we went back to Twilight’s castle, and I held her hoof as we walked.

At the portal, Sunset was preparing to leave. I was still holding her hoof.

“Well, Eric, it was fun.”

‘Yeah. Last night was one of the best nights of my life.”

“The same goes for me.”

“When do you want to come back?" I asked. "Later today?”

Sunset rolled her eyes up in thought. Maybe it’s because we’re a couple, but it looked more adorable than it used to. “It might have to be after my school is out tomorrow. The others were thinking about practicing some of our songs after I got back.”

And now I had another reason to go through the portal eventually: to hear the Rainbooms play in person! “Oh. But it might be for the best; my shift at the spa starts in another five hours, and my shift there tomorrow would be over by the time your school gets out.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll see you tomorrow, boyfriend.”

“See you, girlfriend.”

After a kiss, I let go of Sunset’s hoof, and she passed through the portal. Much like when she left after asking me out, I stared at the portal, even after it stopped glowing.

But my little trance was broken by a voice that called out, “Well, if it isn’t loverboy.”

I spun around to the source of the voice: Spike, with Twilight, Starlight, and the rest of the “Nosey Eight”. They were standing in the doorway of one of the now-open green doors of the library. Well, all but Pinkie were standing: miss Hyperactive Pony was hopping, with her trademark springing sound effect.

Remembering the previous night when they were listening in on my date, I facepalmed. “You guys weren’t listening in on Sunset and me again were you? Because it’s getting--”

“No, no, not this time, Eric, I promise,” Applejack assured.

“We really did just happen to come this time,” Twilight told me.

Rarity asked, “But how does it feel to finally have a girlfriend in Equestria?”

Rainbow remarked, “More or less, since Sunset still lives on the other side of the portal.”

Thinking about Sunset, and how she’s my girlfriend, pure joy flooded through my veins. In fact, I jumped for joy and exclaimed, “I feel GREAT! I never felt this happy since I’ve been in Equestria!”

Guess seeing me happy make Pinkie happier, since she started hopping all over the library. “Maybe I should throw an ‘Eric has a girlfriend!’ party! With a heart-shaped cake, hearts on the walls and ceiling, and hearts everywhere!”

“Ha, I would like that, Pinkie. Sunset probably would too.”

With a big ‘ol smirk, Rainbow flew beside me, poked my left side while she said, “So, I heard you and your new girlfriend were in bed together? Heh heh, I didn’t know you had it in you, Eric!”

I got the message of what Rainbow thought we might have done and man did my cheeks heat up! “No, we didn’t do anything in that bed, Rainbow!”

“When will she be back?” Starlight asked.

“She said she’ll be back tomorrow. But my shift at the spa begins in a few hours so I’m going to rest.”

“Well, you go and rest, and we’re all happy for you, Eric,” Fluttershy said.

For the rest of the day, I would be in a better than usual mood. I wished that I could pass through the portal but not just to spend more time with Sunset in “her” world or hear the Rainbooms sing, but to see the reactions from the others about Sunset and me sharing a bed. Though I doubted Sci-Twi’s reaction was as priceless as Princess Twilight’s was.

On the other side of the portal, Sunset Shimmer stepped out of it and stumbled. She expected to land face-down on the ground from the usual force the portal ejected her with.

“Wow, I’m not on the ground this time. Thank you, Princess Twilight. Now to let the others know I’m all right and tell them everything that happened.”

Thinking about her date with Eric, Sunset smiled. In a giddy voice, she added, “And I can’t wait to tell them!”

Sunset pulled out her phone from her pack and texted her friends that she was back. Once they were all together, she planned to tell them all about her date and the fun she had with Eric.

Thirty minutes later, with most of them sitting in chairs by a table in a nearby mall, Sunset was about to tell her friends what happened during and after her date, and why she didn’t return the previous night. Pinkie Pie elected to remain standing. Spike wasn’t with the others, but was elsewhere taking a nap. Normally, the friends would be walking through the mall, window shopping in the shops with clothes, jewelry, and baked goods. But today, Sunset was too excited about telling her friends what happened, and her friends were nearly as excited to hear it, proven by the big smiles they wore.

“Well, with that smile, I take it your date went well,” Twilight guessed.

“Yep. Even better than I hoped! And after our date, I spent the night with Eric.”

“Oh, so that’s where you were!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Can’t believe I didn’t think about it.”

Fluttershy added, “Especially since you said Princess Twilight’s castle is huge and has a lot of rooms for you to sleep in.”

Sunset rubbed her head with a sheepish smile. “Well, she does, but I didn’t sleep in any of her extra ones.”

“But if it wasn’t in one of Princess Twilight’s spare bedrooms, where did ya sleep? One of her couches?” Applejack questioned.

“No.”

“Then where? The only other place is...wait.” Rarity pointed a finger at Sunset. “Did you sleep in Eric’s room and...his bed?”

Sunset meekly answered, “Yes?”

All of Sunset’s friends’ mouths dropped open. They did not expect to hear what they did from their friend in the slightest. “WHAT?!”

“You two slept together?! Already?!” Applejack asked.

With a mischievous smile, Rainbow rose from her chair, walked beside Sunset, and poked her in her right side. “Wow, I didn’t know you had it in you, Sunset. Way to go!”

Sunset’s cheeks turned bright red. “No, NO! We slept in the same bed and we...cuddled a little, but that was it!”

“Oh, well, that makes more sense. Still, I didn’t think you would want to share a bed with Eric already,” Rarity said.

“I was surprised myself, but I just love being with him! I never felt this kind of happiness before, and I almost want to run back and spend more time with Eric.”

Applejack said, “Well, I’m happy that yer so happy, Sunset. But ya don’t want to be the kind of girlfriend that always wants to be with her boyfriend.”

With the happiness bubbling in her heart, part of Sunset wondered if that could even be a bad thing, but Applejack wasn’t one to give poor advice. In addition, Sunset truly understood that nothing good would come out of growing too clingy and risk revolving her whole life around her boyfriend. “Yeah, I understand.”

Twilight asked, “Since we’re all together now, do you want to practice some of our latest songs?”

Sunset answered, “Sure.”

Sunset and her friends went on to practice their newest songs. Sunset wanted to travel through the portal immediately after they finished, but Applejack’s warning about becoming too clingy allowed her to resist the urge to return to Equestria too soon. She instead waited until the next day, as she told Eric she would.

While Eric’s and Sunset’s relationship was still new, a crisis would soon put it to the test. They would only have each other to see them through it.

Chapter 10: Sunset & Eric Vs. Startrix

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It’s now been a week since Sunset’s and my first date. We were growing closer than ever.

How much time she spent here varied per day, depending on how much she had to do in her world, but Sunset came to Equestria on six of the last seven days. Between playing "Snake Hunter" or a different arcade game, bowling, playing board games such as “Dragon Pit”, taking walks, or simply talking in Twilight’s castle, we had a blast together. Sunset even started working at the spa for a couple of hours. She thought doing that every three or so days could prevent me from having to “spend too many of my bits on her”.

But don’t think I forgot about Twilight and the others, so I didn’t just spend time with Sunset. They stopped trying to spy on Sunset and me, but I once found the CMC hiding in a bush being the CNC: Cutie Nosey Crusaders. Ha, nice try fillies.

This was a day Sunset and I were in the mood to bowl, but this time we asked Starlight and Trixie if they wanted to bowl with us. I was going to ask just Starlight, but I knew she would have wanted to bring “Ms. Powerful” along, so Sunset and I simply asked both of them.

Twilight’s OCD was in full force and wanted to write a ton of new checklists, so we didn’t invite her to come. Well, more like Sunset and I hightailed out of the castle, with Starlight, Spike, and Trixie, before Twi could ask us to help with the lists. For once, the Princess of Lists's number-one assistant needed to take a pass on assisting her and was with Big Mac.

In the bowling alley, Starlight, Sunset, Trixie (without her magician get-up) and I prepared for our first game. Sunset and I sat in chairs beside each other, and Starlight and Trixie were in chairs across from us. More used to being in her pony form again, Sunset sat more like a pony this time. Like the first time Sunset and I bowled, the sounds of the balls hitting the pins helped pump me up.

Because Sunset and I enjoyed cheering for each other when we were trying to beat the all-time high score in Snake Hunter, we challenged Starlight and Trixie to bowl as a team, and they accepted it. Or, to be more accurate, Trixie accepted the challenge. Thus, it will be the team of Sunset and me vs Starlight and Trixie, or should I say “Startrix”.

But, this time, Sunset and I weren’t going to bowl like we did before.

Since Starlight, Sunset, and Trixie are all Unicorns, instead of them bowling on their hind legs, this time I’m going to throw my bowling ball with magic. Starlight cast a special spell to grant me a small temporary “Unicorn” horn with a fraction of her magic.

This will allow me to use telekinesis like Unicorns can and “throw” my ball down the lane with it. Starlight already did the hard work of mastering and fine-tuning her Unicorn magic her whole life. Thus, all I would need to know is the basic knowledge of how to use telekinesis -- focus on what you want to move in your head -- and I can perform it without much trouble with Starlight’s magic. It’s similar to using advanced technology that’s not hard to use if you’re shown how to use it, but difficult to actually build. We told everypony in the bowling alley about what Starlight did, so I using magic wouldn’t surprise them.

The order we will bowl: Trixie, Sunset, Starlight, and me.

With us all ready to bowl, Trixie hopped off her chair and levitated her ball to her. “I, the Great and Powerful Trixie and captain of team Trixie and Starlight, will impress with a strike.”

“You’ll impress me if you just hit any of the pins, Ms. Powerful,” I teased. Trixie and I love messing with each other and have banter, but we really are friends.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will ignore that remark.”

Trixie walked to the lane we were bowling on to get in position to throw her ball. We all agreed to use our magic (or Starlight’s magic in my case) to throw the ball, but not steer it with our magical telekinesis. Even so, I watched Trixie’s horn to make sure it stopped glowing immediately after she “threw” her ball. It did, and she got seven pins.

Trixie turned her head around to me. “Are you impressed, big mouth?”

“I thought you were going to ‘ignore’ that remark.”

“You two aren’t going to be like this the whole game, are you?” Starlight asked. I was like this with one of my sisters in my old world and Starlight knows it. Knowing it can prevent me from potentially feeling homesick, the big sister in Starie will usually let Trixie and I have our fun without saying much; she’ll sometimes laugh at it a little herself. But she’d reach her limit and get mad if we overdo it.

Sunset, on the other hand, giggled at our banter. “I think I’m going to like bowling with you guys.”

Trixie picked up her ball from the nearest ball return machine by the lanes with her magic, so she didn’t have to walk to it. She threw it and got the three remaining pins. “Well, it wasn’t a strike, but a spare will work.”

“All right, I’m impressed, Trixie.” Despite how much we mess with each other, I give praise to Trixie when she does things well.

Starlight also complimented, “Way to go, Trix.”

“Impressive, Trixie,” Sunset chimed in.

“Thank you.” With a smirk, Trixie strutted to a chair by where the rest of us were and sat down. She looked directly at me, and her smirk grew bigger. Yep, Trixie can be so smug when she gets a chance to.

Sunset hopped from her chair and levitated her ball to her, with it being her turn. “Well, maybe I can get the first strike. I feel one coming on, so those pins better watch out!”

“Go get ‘em, Sunset!” Since we were on the same team, there was no reason for me to mess with her, and we wanted to cheer for each other anyway.

Sunset threw her ball and got eight of the pins.

Trixie teased, “So much for that ‘first strike’, Sunset.”

“No big deal. I can just get strikes the rest of the game.”

Like Trixie did, Sunset picked her ball up from the ball return machine with her magic, then threw it down the lane. She got the last two pins, giving her a spare.

“All right, Sunset!” I cheered.

“Nice spare,” Starlight echoed.

Trixie said nothing, but nodded her head.

Starlight hopped off of her chair, picked up her ball, threw it and got a strike. Maybe Starlight is a natural in more than magic.

“Yes! I guess that strike you ‘felt’, Sunset, was Starlight’s!”

I don’t mess with Starlight like I do with Trixie, so I complimented, “Nice strike, big sis!”

“You’re pretty good at bowling, Starlight.”

“Well, I don’t get too many strikes, but I get them. You’re up, Buggie.”

I stood from my chair, walked to the ball return machine close to the lane, and picked up my ball with my hands. I was about to face the lane to throw it when Starlight called out, “Uh, Buggie?”

I turned around to her. “What?”

Starlight pointed at her horn. That made me remember I had a “Unicorn” horn and could use magic.

Normally, I would have facepalmed here. But I was holding my ball, so I did it mentally, and I bet my face turned red. “Oh, yeah. I forgot I’m ‘part Unicorn’ right now.”

“Don’t feel bad, Eric. I was born a Unicorn, and I forgot I had my horn again when Princess Twilight asked me to come to Equestria a while ago.”

“But if you want to throw it with your hands and make it easier for me and Starlight, be my guest!”

Since I had no comeback, I said nothing to Trixie’s jab at me. Though it did feel amusing to hear her say “hands” and not “hooves”. With “my” magic, I picked up and brought the ball in front of me, and “threw” it. I just had to mentally will where my ball would go, then stop once it moved towards the lane. This gave the ball roughly the same kind of momentum as physically throwing it.

I hit the head-pin not head-on, but on its left half, but didn’t get a strike; I got nine pins.

“That’s okay, Eric. That will be a strike next time,” Sunset told me. Great teammate, isn’t she?

I thought Trixie would say something, but stayed quiet. Perhaps she was waiting for me to blow it on my second throw to do it.

Once the ball rolled back on the ball return machine, I picked it up with magic. When I threw my second ball, I got the last pin, giving me a spare.

“Good job, Buggie!”

Sunset cheered, “That's showing that pin who's boss, Eric!”

“Not bad, not bad. The Great and Powerful Trixie will give credit where credit’s due.”

Obviously, we’re doing better than if none of us used magic, like when Sunset didn’t use her magic when we bowled for the first time. Unicorns don’t know how good they have it.

For frames two through nine, the four of us more or less matched each other. Trixie and I kept trading playful insults and some praise, at times forcing eye-rolls from Starlight, but she did giggle a few times at it. Sunset not only enjoyed Ms. Powerful’s and my banter, she joined it by giving a little friendly trash-talk to Trixie too. Did I say how much I like Sunset Shimmer?

Starlight didn’t say it, but knowing her, she was thinking something like “Oh Celestia, now there are three of them!” when Sunset got into the act too. Starlight’s sassy and can crack jokes, but isn’t too competitive, so she didn’t feel like getting into it herself.

Going into the last frame, it was close. Trixie’s score was 141, Sunset had 144, Starlight’s 149, and I had 145. Since Sunset and I were bowling as a team against Starlight and Trixie, our combined score was 289, and “Startrix’s” was 290. We all “opened” in the ninth frame.

Trixie, of course, went first and got a spare. Because of the rules of how the tenth frame is in bowling, she got to throw one more time and got eight pins.

“I guess that’s not too bad a finish. Still wish I could have gotten a strike.”

“Nope, that’s a good finish, Trix,” Starlight said.

“Yeah, you did good, Trixie,” I complimented.

“You did, but now it’s my turn, and I truly feel a strike coming!”

“Sure you do,” Trixie teased.

Trixie walked to her chair as Sunset hopped off hers, with a particularly confident smile, and got her ball. This was the first time Sunset smiled like this at the beginning of her turn, so she was feeling it.

Sunset went up to the lane, threw her ball, and got a strike! She jumped in the air and shouted, “Yes!”

“A strike! That’s my girlfriend!”

“That’s your first strike, Sunset!” Starlight pointed out.

Sunset spun around to Trixie with a big smirk. “Ha! I told you I felt a strike coming on!”

Trixie had nothing, so she “played” with her hooves and stayed quiet in her chair.

“Wow, it’s not often Trixie can’t think of a comeback,” I remarked with a chuckle.

Sunset gave her own chuckle and picked her ball up once it rolled back on the ball return machine. She threw and got seven pins on the first of her two extra throws; she got two because you get to throw two more times if you get a strike in the tenth frame. On her second extra throw, she picked up the last three pins.

Trixie summoned her inner good sport, put on her usual smile and said, “Well, I am impressed, Sunset.”

“Me too,” Starlight echoed.

“And I’m definitely impressed,” I chimed in.

“Thank you.” Sunset sat in her chair beside me and we high-fived/hoofed.

Starlight hopped off her chair to take her turn. Like Sunset, she got a strike.

Obviously, Trixie loved it, and cheered, “That’s my number-one assistant!”

“Great strike, big sis!”

“You really are good in bowling, Starlight!”

Starlight didn’t react as happily as Sunset did to her strike, but she smiled at us and said, “Thank you,” to the praise we gave her. She got nine pins on her first extra throw, and the last pin of her last throw.

After Starlight’s turn, the team of Sunset and I were down 19 pins, and I stood from my chair. It was my turn.

To give my team the win, I needed to either: One, get two strikes back to back. Two, a strike and then a spare on my two extra throws. Or three, get a spare, then get a strike on my last ball.

I picked my ball up with magic; I didn’t forget I had magic this time. I felt some nerves but hid it, or Trixie would have milked it to rattle me. I was good at this when I pitched in high school. In sports in general, I’m good at hiding it when I’m nervous, but not so great at doing it at other times.

“Good luck, Buggie!” Starlight said, being the good sport she is.

Sunset tried to pump me up and encouraged, “You can do it, Eric!”

“Try not to choke, Eric.”

“Ha, you wish, Trixie.” I walked to the line and threw my first ball. It hit the headpin on its left side, but only nine pins fell. Guess I couldn’t follow Sunset’s lead and get a strike.

Much worse, though, was that the pin still up was the one in the back row that’s the farthest to the left. It’s the one I have the hardest time hitting, magic or no magic. I left it twice already in the game and missed it both times. This wasn’t good.

I facepalmed and whined, “Oh, no! Not that pin!”

“It’s your ‘favorite’ pin, Buggie,” Starlight said. This is about as close to “trash-talking” as she’ll do to me.

But the trash-talker of team Startrix, Trixie, had a good laugh. “And it’s now my favorite pin.”

“I almost want to throw you down the lane, Trixie, so I’ll get it for sure!”

“I’d like to see you try!”

“Nah, I won’t. I’ll pick it up the old-fashioned way.” Of course, I wouldn’t actually throw Trixie down the lane. Trying to do something that could get a Unicorn too mad would not be smart!

Doing all that, my ball rolled back on the ball-return machine and I picked it up with magic. I took special notice of Trixie’s smug grin. She “knew” her team won.

But with a big ‘ol smile, Sunset encouraged, “You got this, Eric. I believe in you!

One more reason to get that pin: I couldn’t let my girlfriend down, and it helped that I could be “clutch” in sports. I took a deep breath and my eyes locked on that pin, still up, and threw the second ball.

It was close, but I grazed the right side of it, and it went down!

“Ha! I got it!”

“Yes! That’s my boyfriend!”

"Great job, little bro! You finally got that pin!"

I spun back to a groaning Trixie and asked, “Is it still your ‘favorite’ pin, Ms. Powerful?”

Trixie collected herself and said, “Whatever, but you still need to get a strike to win.”

I threw my extra ball, and it hit the right half of the headpin, This time, they all went down!

Team Sunset and Eric win! Do I dare say team “SunReed”? I jumped in the air and exclaimed, “Yeah!”

“You did it! I knew you would!” Sunset hopped off her chair, ran to me, and we shared a quick kiss. Still love her kisses.

“Well, you guys win. Good game,” Starlight said.

“I guess you’re owed some luck.”

I responded, “Whatever you say, Trixie. And thanks, Starie.”

Sunset asked, “You guys want to bowl again?”

“As much as I would love to avenge my team’s defeat, I have to practice for my next show.”

“And Maud asked if I wanted to fly kites in a while and I don’t think I have enough time for another game, so I’m done.”

“In that case, Eric and I will see you two later.”

I added, “And maybe you can avenge your loss next time, Trixie.” I didn’t think I needed to rub it in any further, and risk being a sore winner.

“You can bet on that, Eric.”

Starlight and Trixie left the bowling alley. Neither Sunset nor I asked if the other even wanted to bowl again. Guess we grew close enough to sense what the other was thinking.

Or, we just knew how we always wanted “one more game”. For once, we did only have one more game, which I won. I've had Sunset's number in bowling, but she's had my number in "Snake Hunter".

Soon after we left the bowling alley, the spell Starlight cast on me ended and my “Unicorn” horn vanished. Sunset said that she’d always wanted to explore the Everfree Forest since she was a filly, so we decided to head there.

At the entrance to the Everfree Forest, with Sunset standing to my left, we were admiring the scenery. Well, not “admire”, because the forest’s not exactly a “pretty” place, save for some nice-looking red or white flowers here and there. The “road” in front of us was a dirt road that cut through part of the forest. Trees were growing on both sides of the road, with some patches of bushes also growing beside the roads on either side. Nothing else seemed to be nearby since we heard no sounds, save for the rustling of tree limbs from the occasional breeze.

Our ears were alert for any kind of sounds that wasn’t from us or the tree limbs. Sunset’s capable of teleportation spells so I figured that, if necessary, she could teleport us to safety if a Timberwolf or something appeared.

“Wow, so this is the Everfree Forest. Is this your first time here, Eric?”

I shook my head. “Nope, but it is my first time without Twilight, Starlight, or the others.”

“Why?”

“Like you said Princess Celestia once told you, it can be dangerous even during the day, and I can’t run as fast as ponies and can’t use magic or fly.”

“Are you scared? Because we can go back, and I know my magic’s not as strong as Twilight’s or Starlight’s.”

“Nah, I’m not really ‘scared’ and we can look around a little, but just don’t stay too long.”

We traveled deeper into the forest, but stayed on the road. The trees blocked much of the sunlight, so it grew a little darker as we walked. My heart rate sped up a little. But, with how paranoid I was about Sunset possibly thinking I looked weird when I wanted to ask her out, I didn’t want to bring up that I felt nervous.

After about fifteen minutes, I said, “I think that’s long enough. We better get out of here before something finds us.”

“Okay. I’m glad I could at least see this much of the forest.”

We turned around and started to go back down the road to exit the forest, so Sunset was now to my right. Then, I felt a chill. I stopped walking, making Sunset stop too. It didn’t feel like we were being watched. But it did feel like we were not alone.

“Eric? What’s wrong?”

“Do you feel like there’s something nearby?”

“I didn’t want to say anything, but yeah.”

I didn’t know if I should have felt relieved that it wasn’t just me, or felt worse because I wasn’t being paranoid for once.

“Uh-oh. If we both feel it, that can’t be good. Maybe we should play it safe and have you teleport us out of here.”

Unfortunately, instead of lighting up her horn and teleporting us away, Sunset frowned. “Uh...I don’t think I can.”

“Why not? I thought you knew teleportation.”

“I do.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Teleportation spells are hard and I’m still not fully used to how Unicorn magic work yet. At best, I could teleport only myself, and I’m not leaving you behind.”

Wonderful, just wonderful! There goes my plan of Sunset teleporting us away. Figures it wouldn’t be that easy, but Sunset did say magic in the human world “works” differently than in Equestria, whatever that means. I didn’t think growing so accustomed to it could have weakened her in Unicorn form.

“Well, in that case, you look right and I’ll look left for anything watching. Let’s hope we’re both just being paranoid.”

Not wanting to risk overlooking something, we took slower steps down the road than we did before. My eyes scanned for anything in the trees or bushes growing beside the road to our left. Sunset did the same to our right, and her ears were perked up.

After about five minutes, Sunset abruptly stopped walking, and I matched her.

“Eric? I think I hear something.”

“Where?”

She pointed to the trees to our left. “Behind those trees.”

I glanced over to those trees. They were still and quiet, at least to me, and nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. “I didn't hear anything. Then again, ponies can pick up sounds better than me. What now?"

"Let’s go closer and check things out.”

“You sure?”

Sunset nodded her head. “Yeah. This way, if there really is something over there, it won't be able to sneak up on us. Plus if we can find out what it is, we could think of a plan for our best move. I can still cast spells, just not my stronger ones.”

“Okay, and I like the idea of it not sneaking up on us, and we can use the trees as cover. Just stay quiet and near me, and be ready to throw out any spells that you can still do if we’ll need them.”

I hoped we were not trying a stupid plan as we crept to the trees where the sounds seemed to be coming from, at least according to Sunset. My heart pounded harder than before and I clenched my fists. In this patch of the forest, the trees grew very close together, so most of what was behind them was blocked from our view. We crept between the gaps of the trees that we could fit through, hoping Sunset's ears were just messing with us.

Or, if something were behind the trees, I hoped it was something that Sunset could handle with her magic. Too bad I didn’t have my baseball bat, so I wouldn’t have had to rely on my girlfriend for this; it was killing my pride as her boyfriend.

Soon, we peeked our heads through a couple of trees to finally see all of what was on the other side. It was a small clearing in the forest, around fifty feet long and wide, with mostly just grass growing from the ground. The trees surrounded most of the clearing; a bigger gap between the trees was on the other side of where Sunset and I were, and some bushes grew close to the trees.

This normally would have been a good-ish spot to have a picnic. But, that thing Sunset must have heard was in the clearing, and seeing it made my heart sink! Pure fear flowed through my body. I’m surprised I didn’t scream. With the frightened frown on Sunset’s face, the same thing happened to her too.

The thing before our eyes was big, about seven-feet tall but much longer than that, and was lying on its stomach.

It had thick-looking green skin. Rocks, or what seemed to be rocks, were growing on its skin, like huge spots. Its face was facing our direction. Its mouth had big sharp teeth, but was closed, and the sounds we heard seemed to be its snoring.

It looked like a Crocodile, but a giant one. Even “Salties”, or the largest Crocodile in my world, the Saltwater Crocodile, have nothing on this beast!

It was in dream land, but ten feet from us, beside the trees and to our right, was a bucking Cragadile!! It must have gotten into the clearing through the larger gap between the trees.

“Is that a Cragadile?” Sunset asked in an obviously hushed voice. “I didn’t think they were that big!”

In just as quiet a voice, I answered, “Yeah. Still, I thought they lived deeper in the forest, or I definitely wouldn’t have had us come by ourselves!”

“Or at all. Good thing it’s asleep.”

But before we could take any steps back to get the buck out of there, since we now knew what it was we heard, bird cries came out of nowhere. Then...oh man.

The Cragadile’s eyes flew open.

Its tail swung to its left and our right and it smashed into two trees. With the sounds of wood splintering that filled our ears, the two trees fell. They took down more trees in a domino effect. The trees fell toward Sunset and me.

With a scream, we ran into the clearing to avoid being crushed by the falling trees heading our way. We weren’t even thinking about where we were going. Then, that Cragadile’s eyes locked on us and it roared. Staring into that huge open mouth with those huge, sharp teeth, my girlfriend and I understandably screamed in terror.

Twilight Sparkle, an Alicorn, needed help from the rest of the Mane Six to handle one of these things when they ran into one.

And Sunset Shimmer and I were all by ourselves.

Save for the Cragadile.

Chapter 11: Sunset & Eric Vs. the Cragadile

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Oh boy, talk about a bad situation!

In the Everfree Forest, Sunset and I found ourselves facing a roaring Cragadile. I doubted it was just saying “hi”.

After Sunset and I stopped screaming, we both yelled, “RUN!!”

Don’t know why we yelled it; it was OBVIOUS to run for our lives!

We couldn’t escape through the trees because the ones by us were still crashing down in a domino effect. With the Cragadile coming for us, we darted to our left, away from it.

But before we even ran five feet, one of the falling trees, now to our left, instead of smashing into yet another tree, fell in the direction of the clearing. With a *CRASH*, it slammed right in front of Sunset and me. The impact knocked us onto our backsides. I lost my bearings from the impact, and the same thing seemed to happen to Sunset.

Shaking my head to get my bearings again, I sprung to my feet. I looked to my right and saw Sunset back on her hooves, then looked behind me. The Cragadile was only five feet away and still coming closer. I was even more aware of those teeth, though its mouth was still closed. My heartbeat sped up to a rare rate, and a lump formed in my throat. Rarely have I felt so much fear.

“Close your eyes!”

Without even wondering what Sunset was about to do, I did what she ordered. Despite my eyes being closed, a flash of red light still was visible to me.

“You can open them now!”

I turned to the Cragadile, which appeared to be blinded; guess Sunset’s flash attack was super effective! But that thing was roaring even louder than before. The voice made the whole clearing vibrate, and I grimaced at the sound. Despite its mouth opening due to the roaring, I didn’t even notice those sharp teeth because of the booming from the bellowing.

But, that beast was thrashing back and forth as well. Before Sunset or I had enough time to gain any distance, it spun around and the end of its tail rammed into us!

On impact, I felt a jolt of pain in my stomach, and my girlfriend and I flew in the air screaming. We hit and rolled on the ground, and stopped maybe twenty feet from where we were hit.

Groaning in pain and on my back, I looked to Sunset to see the shape she was in. She was also groaning in pain and her body had bruises, like mine did. And her horn was badly cut.

The Cragadile, for that moment, was still blinded but was roaring and thrashing about. Both Sunset and I were hurt and couldn’t “run”. Our only hope was to hide somehow.

The nearest bush was around fifteen feet away from me, and Sunset lay closer to it. Her horn glowed red and I felt myself being pulled toward her. But almost immediately, Sunset yelped in pain and her horn stopped glowing. Twilight told me once that using magic is painful for Unicorns if they have a cut on their horn. The worse the cut, the worse the pain would be until the cut heals.

Thus, I had to reach the bush myself. Sunset and I were healthy enough to stand and forced our feet/hooves to the bush, and I held my stomach as I went. My hat flew by the bush, so once near it, I kicked my hat into it. With our new “friend” still having a temper tantrum, Sunset limped behind the bush and I got there after she did.

Once we on the side of the bush hidden from the Cragadile, which stopped roaring and calmed down, I gently sat down and held my stomach, but retrieved my hat from inside the bush. To keep herself low, Sunset lay on her stomach beside me, facing the bush. We were now closer to the other side of the clearing we came from, around another fifteen feet from where our bush was.

Able to stop grunting from the pain to speak words, I whispered, “Other than your horn, are you all right, Sunset? Are you hurt bad?”

Sunset whispered back, “I think I’ll live. How about you?”

“I’ve been hurt worse. At least you bought us some time with that ‘flash attack’ of yours, or we might be dead right now.”

“But what do we do? If we try to escape through the trees, that Cragadile could see us before we could get behind them and knock them down.”

“We’ll just have to stay here and hope it either goes back to sleep, or leaves through the big gap between some of the trees.”

We carefully peeked from the bush to see what the Cragadile was up to. It was still on the side of the clearing Sunset and I were previously at, so we were a considerable distance from it. That’s some good news.

But now the bad news: it had its sight back. Its head was to the ground and appeared to be sniffing it. From what I heard from Twilight, Cragadiles are most violent when hungry. Given how hard it trashed around when it saw Sunset and me...oh, buck.

“Sunset, I don’t think that thing’s leaving. It seems to be looking for us.”

With a frown screaming guilt right before she did it, Sunset covered her eyes with her forelegs. “No, no, no! This is all my fault! If I didn’t want to come to this stupid forest, this wouldn’t be happening! I’m so, so sorry, Eric!”

“It’s all ri--”

My attempt to calm Sunset wasn’t one of my more effective ones. Sunset uncovered her face and in a slightly louder whisper countered, “No, it’s not! We’re hurt and can’t get away, and if we don’t do something, we’re done for!”

I wanted to say something to ease Sunset’s guilt, but had nothing. She wasn’t wrong.

But Sunset’s mood did a near 180-degree turn and her frown flipped into a smile. “Wait, I have an idea. Can you get my journal from my pack?”

“I can, but...oh, of course. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that!”

“Yep, we can use it to ask Princess Twilight for help.”

I picked up both Sunset’s journal and a quill out of her pack, working through the pain I was still feeling. I didn’t see the journal she uses to talk to me when she's in "her" world, so I figured she left it with one of the ex-Shipping Seven. Good thing Sunset wore the strap to the pack tied around her, so it didn’t fly off when she was struck by the Cragadile’s tail.

Twilight, it’s me, Eric. Sunset and I are in a clearing in the Everfree Forest. We are hiding in a bush and a Cragadile’s in the clearing with us. We can’t get away, we’re both hurt, Sunset’s horn has a bad cut so she can’t use spells, and we need your help! Please hurry big sis!!

“Okay, I wrote what’s going on, so let’s hope Twi gets my message in time.”

“Good. Guess all we can do is wait.”

We took another peek outside the bush. The Cragadile was slowly creeping closer to the bush Sunset and I was by, still sniffing the ground. It wasn’t coming right at us, but at the rate it was going, it would reach our bush in about a couple of minutes. There was no guarantee that Twi was near the journal to get our “S.O.S.” or even in the castle. By the time my big sis got the message and came running, it could have been too late.

I looked at Sunset, and her frown showed that she was more scared than she was letting on. The thought of that beast and those teeth tearing into my skin, literally ripping me apart, and possibly even start eating me before I was even dead gripped me with icy terror that I would even want Chrysalis to feel.

But despite that fear, one way or another, I had to protect Sunset, and not just because she was my girlfriend. If she died here, not only would I never forgive myself if I somehow made it, but without her help to protect it, the “other” human world could suffer. That made what I was thinking a bit easier. Still, it was one of the most frightening decisions of my life.

I made a fist in both hands and said, “Okay, Sunset? I don’t think we have enough time to wait for Twilight, but I have an idea.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that, because I was thinking the same thing! What is it?”

“I’m going to go out, and when its attention is on me, you sneak out. I’ll try to buy enough time for you to get far enough through the trees that it won’t see you.”

“Okay, but what about you? How will you escape?”

“Let me worry about that. Just focus on getting yourself out of here.”

It took Sunset a few seconds to understand the true nature of my plan. When it sank in, her eyes grew big and she gasped. “Wait, I think I know what you’re planning, and ABSOLUTELY NOT, Eric Reed!”

“It’s either you or me, and I care for you too much to let it be you.”

“But I care for you too! You don’t have to be the one to do it because you’re the boyfriend!”

“It’s not just that. Think about it, Sunset: Equestria won’t be in any less danger if I go down here, but the ‘other’ human world needs you to protect it from the still-free Equestrian magic in it.”

“Maybe, but--”

“Look, we don’t have time to argue over this. We can’t both die here and a world needs you, but no world needs me, so it has to be me.”

I hoped that would be enough to make Sunset leave. But all it did was make her form one of the saddest frowns I’ve ever seen, and tears poured from her eyes. “But, I...I can’t just leave you to die, Eric. I’ll never forgive myself if I do, and I...I...I can’t go! I’m sorry!”

Looking in Sunset’s water-ridden eyes, tears still pouring down her cheeks, I knew the mare was not going to budge an inch. She thought all this was her fault. With the additional guilt that she still felt about her past, Sunset Shimmer wouldn’t be able to take someone dying because of her, even if it truly wasn’t her fault. Deep down, I knew she wouldn’t leave. Otherwise, I would have given Sunset my hat to take to my big sisters, little brother, and friends, and asked her to tell them that I love them.

But before I could beg pointlessly for Sunset to save herself, some rocks on the ground caught my eye. An idea popped into my head, and I even formed a little smile.

“Okay, let’s make what I said ‘plan B’ because I have a better idea. I know it’ll be painful for you to use spells, but can you put any of your magic into those rocks beside us?”

“Since it’s not the same as ‘casting’ a spell, I can handle pouring my magic into at least a few. But why?”

“After you do, I’m going to use them and my pitching skills to serve up some fastballs, flavored in magic. If I can hit one of that Cragadile’s eyes, that could get it to turn tail and run.”

“But you’re hurt. If you can’t hit its eyes, you’re done for!”

“...*sigh*...Plan ‘A’ or plan ‘B’, Sunset Shimmer?”

“Plan ‘A’! Plan ‘A’!”

Sunset’s injured horn glowed and a stream of red magic came out of it, towards the rocks on the ground, one by one. She was grimacing, so I knew it was painful, and I hated to ask it of her. But the rocks by themselves might not have been enough, since I was too weak and hurt to throw them hard. Plus, Cragadiles eyes are hard and tough, so even a direct hit in the eye might not get it to run if it packed too little power; I’d just get it mad. The best I could do for Sunset was hold one of her hooves to show I was there. I wanted to kiss her forehead too, but my face would have been in the path of the magic.

After magic entered the third rock, Sunset grunted in pain and her horn stopped glowing.

“That’s…*pant*...the best…*pant*...I can do, Eric. It…*pant*...hurts too much to put magic into more rocks.”

“Three will be enough, and I’m so sorry I asked you to do that.”

“It’s okay. Just be careful.”

We kissed, and I got to my feet and walked out of the bush, holding the three glowing rocks in my right hand. They were weak steps, but at least I could have done that much. The Cragadile spotted me once I was fully out, roared, and came for me. It was ten feet away at this point. My heart pounded harder than ever, but I had to look past my fear. Besides, this thing hurt my girlfriend, and that fact let the blood start boiling.

With the vibrations from its steps under my feet, I gritted my teeth. I locked on to its eyes, trying to avoid looking at the teeth poking out of its mouth.

I grabbed one of the three rocks in my right hand with my left one, and made a throwing motion. But pain from it forced me to drop the rock in my left hand.

Turns out, a muscle was pulled in it, but I didn’t notice till I tried to throw with it. Strike one, and not the “strike” I wanted.

I’m not a “righty”. But, since my right arm felt fine, I moved one of the two rocks in my right hand to my left hand. Then I threw the one still in my right hand.

The rock spun in the air, and hit the Cragadile’s head over the right eye. That did nothing other than making big mouth roar again. Its breath smelt like rotten eggs and I fought to not turn away from both its smell and how loud it was. Strike two.

The upside to the Cragadile being closer to me now, and still coming, was that its eyes looked bigger and were closer, making them easier to hit. Anger over what it did to Sunset helped keep my fear in check. Even if its teeth looked sharper than ever.

I moved the last rock to my right hand. To keep myself from thinking about the last rock being the last one, I threw it as soon as my eyes locked on the Cragadile’s eyes again. I couldn’t “choke” here. If I did, that Cragadile would have human and pony, that it already tenderized, for dinner.

Thank Celestia that my last rock hit its mark! Like I hoped, ‘ol big, green, and ugly turned tail and ran off. I wanted to yell something like “And don’t come back!” as it fled, but decided not to even risk it calling my bluff.

I held my stomach again as Sunset crept from behind the bush with a big ‘ol smile. We were still alive!

“You did it, Eric! That was awesome!”

With a smile of my own, I answered, “Yeah, barely.”

Becoming more aware that we were still in the Everfree Forest, my moment of joy was tempered. Sunset and I weren’t safe yet. Not till we were out of the forest. “Then again, let’s not celebrate too much. In case Twilight’s not on the way, we should try to get out of here before something else finds us or our green ‘friend’ comes back. Are you in good enough shape to walk out of the forest?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Then let’s go.”

With that, after I returned Sunset’s journal to her pack -- it was sitting on the ground in case Twilight wrote something back -- we walked through a gap in the trees. It returned us back to the dirt road in the forest, and followed it to the forest’s exit. As we walked, I looked to the left and Sunset looked to the right. We hoped nothing would jump out and attack us. It was quiet, but that made it even more unnerving. What if something was watching us, but was staying quiet? Our injuries weakened us, so it grew harder to keep going as time went on. We would’ve leaned on each other to make it easier, but we were too hurt for that.

Lucky for us, we had enough energy to eventually reach the exit. It felt so great to be out of that forest!

After walking a little from the forest’s entrance, both Sunset and I carefully sat on the ground to catch our breaths.

I said, “Okay…*pant*...I think we’re safe now. I didn’t think we would have made it without Twilight’s and the others’ help.”

“But we did, and we did it by ourselves.”

“Heh, guess we make a good team, huh, Sunset?”

“Yep, we do, Eric.”

This is normally where a kiss would have happened. But since I knew we were safe, the fact that Sunset and I were nearly eaten alive could now fully sink into my heart. Flashbacks of that Cragadile, and those huge, sharp teeth, close to us flooded my head. My hands shivered, and my breathing sped up, but not from fatigue. This was a time I really needed Twilight and Starlight nearby.

However, I had my awesome girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer, with me. She said nothing, but gently rested a hoof on my hand. Sunset wore possibly the most comforting smile she could that screamed “I’m here”. This helped me calm down a little.

But after my ears picked up a “popping” sound, a familiar voice oozing worry called out, “Eric! Sunset! Are you two all right?! Where's the Cragadile?!”

Sunset and I turned our heads to our rights to where the voice came from. We already knew who it was. Merely hearing it calmed me down some more; it was the voice I needed to hear the most.

It was the voice of Twilight Sparkle. She was far from alone.

Starlight Glimmer, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity were with her. Guess after getting my call for help, big sis Twilight told the others, and they all wanted to help.

"Where is it?! I'll tear it apart!" Rainbow Dash threatened. Gotta love how she has zero problems wanting to fight for her friends.

I was still trying to calm down my breathing as Sunset called out, "Yeah, we're all right, and the Cragadile's gone."

The whole gang surrounded Sunset and me, with big worried frowns.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Starlight asked.

“Because you don't look all right, especially your horn, Sunset, but at leas--" Twilight took notice of my shaking hands and gasped. She's had panic attacks a lot, so Twilight Sparkle of all ponies knew how bad they felt. It forced her into "big sister" mode and she immediately sat down beside me, wrapped her wing around my upper back, and leaned her head to mine. Sunset kept her hoof on my hand with no signs that she planned to let go any time soon, and Starlight lay in front of me, facing me, with big sympathetic eyes. All this further helped me relax, so my breathing was returning to normal and my hands stopped shaking.

"Everything's all right, little bro. We’re here," Twilight whispered, then turned to Sunset. In a more regular but still concerned voice, Twilight asked, "Are you sure you're all right, Sunset?"

"I'm bruised and my horn's hurt, but I'll be all right once we get to a hospital."

After another minute to let me fully recover from my panic attack, we headed to the hospital so Sunset and I could be treated for our injuries.

But soon, something would come along to test my relationship with Sunset Shimmer in a completely different way than the Cragadile did.

Chapter 12: Recovery, nicknames, and a BIG mistake

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Whew, that was way too close. Sunset Shimmer and I were nearly Cragadile-chow.

After a Cragadile attacked us in the Everfree Forest, with no help in sight, I didn’t think I would see another day. But thanks to some teamwork, good aim, and luck, Sunset and I “only” got injured a little.

After finding Sunset and me, hurt, near the entrance of the Everfree Forest, Twilight and the others rushed us to Ponyville’s hospital. She’s seen me hurt worse, but the worrywart that is Twilight Sparkle was in “motherly big sister” mode the whole way to the hospital, saying more than once that we'll be okay and that she won't let anything else attack us. Because it was a spell she and Starlight cast that went haywire is the reason I’m in and stuck in Equestria, Twilight feels that if I get hurt here, it’s ultimately her fault. I’ve tried to get her to not think like that, but I guess she can’t help it. Starlight’s like this too, but I think the guilt is stronger in Twilight.

It’s probably one of the reasons why Twi and Starie eventually took the roles of my Equestrian big sisters. Guess those two thought that, if they couldn’t return me to my old world and family, they would try to fill the roles that my two human big sisters had. That, and because we were growing close when it started happening.

And if me being hurt wasn’t enough for Twilight; Sunset, because of her hurt horn, looked to be more injured than she really was. This made Twi (and the others for that matter) more worried about Sunset too.

At the hospital, both Sunset and I were checked and treated for our injuries. Sunset was sore and her body had bruises, but wasn't seriously hurt. I was hurt the worst in my belly, but it wasn’t anything too serious.

Twilight asked the rest of the ex-Shipping Seven if they wanted to come to Equestria to visit Sunset. She used the same journal I write in to “talk” to the girls with to reach them, since Sci-Twi was at that moment holding on to the one magically linked to it. But since Sunset’s injuries were minor and she would be out soon, and Sunset herself assured them she was fine, they chose to stay in their world, but they talked to Sunset in the journals. If somepony saw a second Pinkie Pie, we might have been able to pass it off as “she’s being Pinkie Pie”. But that excuse wouldn’t work for explaining a second Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, etc.

Especially if Sci-Twi wouldn’t be an Alicorn in pony form but a Unicorn. Though she seemed to have “Alicorn” wings when she “ponied up”.

A week later, Sunset was ready to leave the hospital.

I was lying in my hospital bed chatting with Applejack, who stopped by to visit a half-hour ago. She stood halfway between me and the half-open door to the room, but wasn't blocking my view of the doorway. I was reading before she came, so I had a book beside me on my bed. I wasn’t cold, but I still had a white bedsheet covering me.

Applejack and I were debating on if Starlight could hold her own against a Cragadile by herself if she got mad enough. I was thinking Starie might be able to do it, but Ms. Honest Horse had doubts.

“I don’t know, Eric. Sure, Starlight’s powerful, but takin’ on a Cragadile all by herself?”

“Why not? She’s strong enough to travel through time, so why can’t she take a Cragadile?”

“Twilight can travel through time too, but even she had to run from one!” Applejack countered.

“Yeah, but Twi didn’t try to fight it but panicked and ran, right? She even forgot she could teleport!"

I still don’t get how a smart pony like Twilight Sparkle seems to sometimes forget she can teleport during times when it would be really useful. Even she doesn’t know why she didn’t teleport when a Hydra chased after her and the others. I once asked, and Twi told me that she has no idea why using teleportation didn’t cross her mind.

“Well, I got nothin’ to explain why that pony forgot she could teleport, but why do ya think she tried to run?”

“Uh, because Twi panicked so bad she forgot how strong she is?”

Applejack said nothing. She instead did one of her signature moves: she raised an eyebrow.

I got the message, and I facepalmed. “Okay, that’s a dumb reason, but still--”

Before our debate could continue, Sunset peeked her head in the room. “Hey, can I come in?”

Applejack greeted, “Oh, hey, Sunset.”

“And of course you can come in.” I saw that Sunset had the strap of her pack around her, with the pack itself on her side. Her horn was mostly healed and just had a scar on it, so there was no bandage on it. “Since you have your pack, I take it you’re ready to go?”

“Yep.”

“Ha, lucky you. I got another two or so weeks to go.”

“Well, I’ll come back and visit every day, and maybe that’ll make things speed up for you.”

“Yeah. Time always pass by fast when I’m with you.”

Applejack chuckled. “Well, I'm not one for mushy stuff like this and I got chores to do at the farm, so I'm goin’ to go. See ya guys later.”

I said, “Okay, and see you, Applejack.”

Sunset echoed, “Bye, Applejack.”

Applejack left the room, and Sunset walked to the side of my bed. But the smile on Sunset’s face turned into a frown. It was definitely strange for her to do it. “Eric? There is something I didn’t say that I should have told you already.”

“What is it?”

“Thank you so much for saving my life in the Everfree Forest. You were so brave against that Cragadile,” Sunset answered and smiled as she said it. That explains the previous frown; it was one of those you might give before you give a big heartfelt thanks, apology, or something like that.

“Thanks, Sunset, but it wasn’t like I did it all by myself.”

Sunset rubbed her cheek in bashful fashion. Of course she’d not want to take any credit for what she did in that forest. “Well, maybe I put some magic in those rocks, but you hit that Cragadile’s eye with them, and while you were hurt.”

“Yeah, but I think you forgot something important, if you really think I deserve that much credit.”

Those big eyes of Sunset’s grew a bit wider and she asked, “What?”

“Who blinded the Cragadile’s eyes when it almost got us the first time and who's first thought was getting me to safety after we were hit? Here’s a hint: she’s a beautiful gold Unicorn.”

Heh, I wasn’t sure if it was the beautiful part, or the fact that I pointed out how she saved us first, or both. But Sunset waved her hoof, her cheeks turned red, and she gave a particularly cute smile. She even looked away, further adding to the bashfulness she was showing. “Well, that little flash of light wasn--”

“Aw, no, don’t you try to be Ms. Modest. If you hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t have made it. So, thank you for saving my life, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset turned her head back to me, and the bashfulness seemed to be gone and was replaced with confidence. “Well, you’re welcome, Eric Reed. But, you can thank me with a kiss?”

“I thought you’d never ask. Come here.”

With a big ‘ol smile, Sunset leaned her head forward, and we had us a big kiss.

“I didn’t think it was possible, Eric, but I’m enjoying our kisses more and more.”

“You read my mind, because that’s what I was thinking.”

“And when you’re out of the hospital, maybe we could have a little...make-out session? We haven’t had any of them yet,” Sunset suggested in a very friendly voice, then she lightly bit her lip. This made her smile into a type of smile she had yet to show me: not a happy one, but a seductive one. Hello! Both of her eyelids lowered, further adding to that smile. Hello again!

I felt myself giving a big fat smile. My girlfriend wouldn’t need to talk me into trying her idea. “Hee hee, I can hardly wait.”

After she gave me another kiss as a “preview” -- best preview ever -- Sunset left my journal beside me; she used it to tell Sci-Twi that she was about to go back before she came to my room. After that, she left the hospital to pass through the portal, leaving me alone. This was by far the longest Sunset’s been away from the rest of the ex-Shipping Seven since she met them, so they needed to spend time together.

In the human world, Sunset Shimmer emerged from the portal. Her friends, including Spike, were already informed of her return, so they waited by the portal. They all smiled when Sunset stepped out from the portal.

Twilight greeted, “Welcome back, Sunset.”

“We missed you!” Pinkie sped to and hugged Sunset in a tight hug, forcing a grunt from Sunset.

Despite the tight grip of Pinkie’s hug, Sunset forced a chuckle. “I’ve missed you too, Pinkie.”

Rarity asked, “How do you feel?”

Pinkie released Sunset from her grip. With a bigger smile, Sunset answered, “I’ve never been better.”

“Oh, that’s great. Your injuries have healed well I take it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, but I’m not talking about how I feel physically.”

Rarity’s lips became a mischievous grin. “Oh, I get it. You love having a boyfriend, huh, Sunset?”

“It’s not only that. Sure Eric and I get along great, but when I’m with him, I feel...special.”

Spike asked, “What do you mean?”

“I never thought of myself as ‘useless’, but Eric was willing to let himself be killed, just so I could make it.” Sunset placed her hands over her heart. “I...I don’t know what to say.”

Applejack commented, “It shows how far ya come, Sunset, that Eric cares that much about ya. He didn’t fall for ya just because he thought yer cute.”

Rainbow said, “And he’s an even better guy than I thought. Maybe I should have went to Equestria and asked him out before you did it, Sunset.”

Twilight pointed out, “Well, Eric might be taken, but there’s always Flash Sentry. He’s a good guy.”

“Well, we’ll see.”

Pinkie suggested, “But, it’s been a week since we have all been together. Let’s go have some fun! Whoo-whoo!”

The friends all agreed, and went on to enjoy the rest of the day together.

It’s been a week since Sunset got out of the hospital, but with me still in there she was back to visit me. Like she said, she returned to Equestria to visit me every day. We often played board games and other games during her visits. One of them sat on a table near my bed, Equestria’s version of “Battleship”, and I sometimes played it with Twilight, Starlight, or Rainbow during their visits.

However, at this moment, Sunset and I were just talking. She was telling me about a prank the human Rainbow Dash did on the human Applejack. I got a big laugh out of it, and Sunset was laughing too as she was telling me. My belly was healed enough for the laughing to be painless, but I was still lying in my hospital bed.

Wiping the tears from my eyes due to my laughing, I said, “Wow! That is too good! Just wish I could have seen it! Ha ha!”

Sunset wiped her own eyes because she was “crying” from laughter too. “I know, right? Ha ha! When Applejack found out her apple pie tasted awful because of Rainbow’s ‘secret’ ingredient, she chased her halfway across town!”

“Ha! And let me guess: at one point, Rainbow let Applejack get close then turned on the super-speed to escape, with Applejack yelling her head off, right?”

“Yeah! How did you know? Oh, I forgot you know some stuff about us thanks to that ‘cartoon’.”

I explained, “Partly. But I’ve hung out with the Equestrian Rainbow plenty, so I thought the Rainbow in ‘your’ world would do that. Same goes for guessing how Applejack would react to it.”

“Good point. Oh, speaking of that cartoon, there’s something I meant to ask.”

“Sure. Ask away.”

Sunset looked down, lightly tapped the floor with a hoof on one of her forelegs, and lifted her head to me again. “How do others in your world feel about me?”

“Well, out of everyone, or everypony, you’re one of the most popular ones.”

Sunset formed a cute smile and rubbed the back of her head. “I am? You’re not just saying that to make me happy, are you?”

“Nope, I’m not, I promise. I would give a Pinkie Promise if we had a cupcake nearby.”

Sunset giggled, and it was as cute as ever. “If you’d go that far, you must be telling the truth. But you said that ‘Sci-Twi’ is a nickname you and others in your world like calling the Twilight in ‘my’ world. What about nicknames for others?”

“The others? Well, one for Pinkie is 'Ponka', one for Starlight is 'Glimglam' even if I call her 'Starie', and one for Princess Twilight that’s one of my favorites is ‘Bookhorse’.”

“Ha ha, ‘Bookhorse’. That’s funny and she does love reading. Though, why isn’t she called ‘bookpony’?”

“To be honest, I have no idea, but it’s a name that just ‘stuck’. But I do know that, unlike Sci-Twi, who loves her nickname, ‘Bookhorse’ doesn’t like hers.”

“Really? Even if she’s not a ‘horse’ I thought she’d like it.” Sunset took some steps closer to my bed with a shy smile. “Are there any nicknames for me?”

“Nicknames for you, huh? Two I know of are ‘Baconmane’ and ‘Shimmysham’.”

Sunset grimaced and said, “Uh...I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say ‘Baconmane’. But I like ‘Shimmysham.”

I wrote a mental note to never call Sunset Shimmer “Baconmane” again.

“Well, at least you like one of my old world’s names for you. There are probably more nicknames for you that I’m not aware of or can’t remember, but I’ll never know for sure.”

Despite saying what I did in a cheerful tone, Sunset frowned and her ears drooped.

“Sunset? What’s wrong?”

Sunset walked to me and laid the side of her head on my chest. “I wish I had magic strong enough to return you back to your old world, Eric, even for a little while. I still remember how sad you got when Princess Twilight told you that she could never get you back.”

This must be a sign of how close the two of us have gotten. It’s not like Sunset’s never cared that I couldn’t go back to my old world. But with our bond now, I guess it bothers her more than it used to.

I stroked Sunset’s mane and explained, “Well, Sunset, even if you could surpass Alicorns in magic, it likely wouldn’t matter. Twi and Starie are two of the strongest ponies in Equestria, and even together they couldn’t find a way to do it.”

“Maybe, but it’s not right that you can’t go back to the world you were born in. I know you miss it, and I just wish I could do something about it.”

“I know you do. Still, it won’t help either of us if we keep feeling so bad about it, and I can talk to my family at least. I’m even making a life for myself here and I’m proud to call Equestria my home, so it’s not like I’m somewhere I don’t want to be.” I gave Sunset a kiss on her forehead to cheer her up.

After my kiss, Sunset lifted her head and she wore a smile. “Well, if you put it like that, I guess I shouldn’t feel so bad for you if you’re not. Sorry for ruining the mood.”

“It's all right. What you said just further shows how much you care about me, so thanks, Sunset.”

“You’re welcome, Eric.”

“But, let’s move on. You said that once a misunderstanding made Pinkie bake thirty cakes for someone who only wanted three, right?”

Sunset’s smile grew bigger and became fully cheered up. “Oh, yeah! Then Pinkie lost it when she learned some were thrown away.”

“Oh, no! Ha ha! Someone threw away Pinkie Pie’s cakes? How bad did that girl lose it?”

“Ha! Oh, Eric, when Pinkie found out, she…”

We would talk about more stories, laughing at them, for a while before Sunset left. Somehow, it felt like we became even closer. It also felt like something was...different.

Another week later, and now a month after Sunset and I became a couple, I recovered and left the hospital.

I was taking a jog throughout Ponyville. In our journal, Sunset told me she had a ton of homework, so she wouldn’t be able to visit today. But, when she could come, we were finally going to have that “make-out session”. I couldn’t wait for it!

But while still jogging, on a bench by a tree, I spotted a pony that I haven’t seen in a while.

She was a light-green Pegasus. She had a dark-red mane, which split and ran down the sides of her face, down to the level of her chest, and each half ended in a curl. It always reminded me of Fluttershy’s mane whenever I saw it. Her Cutie Mark was of three blue hearts.

Who was this mare? She was the same mare I tried to ask out about six weeks ago. Diane Heart.

Her head was down. I wondered about leaving Diane alone, but then thought that maybe I could do something to help. I didn’t forget that she thought I looked odd, which hurt. But since I only learned it from eavesdropping, it was my own fault, so I couldn’t get or stay mad about it. Plus, she wasn’t a “mean” or “bad” pony anyway.

“Hey, Diane? Is something wrong?”

Diane lifted her head to me, and her face wore a frown. Her green eyes were watery. “Oh, hi, Eric. And yes, something’s wrong, but I don’t want to trouble you.”

“No, it’s no trouble, and maybe I can help.”

“Well, I don’t know if you can help, but I might feel better if I talk about it.”

I sat beside Diane on the bench. “Okay. What’s wrong?”

Diane told me that a day ago, she lost a blue gem that belonged to her younger sister that passed away six months ago. It was the only thing left of her that Diane had. She searched all of Ponyville for it, but couldn’t find it, and it tugged on my heartstrings. I talked to Diane for a bit, and she eventually felt a bit better.

“You know, Eric? You are a really good guy.”

I rubbed my head. I couldn’t resist feeling a bit bashful. “T-Thanks. I try.”

“In fact, when you asked me out, maybe I should have said ‘yes’.”

“Oh, well, I’m flattered, but--”

Diane looked me in the eyes. Or at least it felt like she started to, since her head was already facing me. “Maybe it's not too late. Would you still like to go out with me?”

My heart skipped a beat. Now that I was off the market, Diane wanted to go on a date with me! I admit, she’s as cute as ever, but I couldn’t get any ideas. It would crush poor Sunset’s heart! “Oh, uh, I’m sorry, Diane, but I have a girlfriend now, Sunset Shimmer.”

“Sunset Shimmer? Oh, is she the Unicorn that asked me out ‘for you’? I thought you two were just friends?”

“We were just friends back then, but we started dating a month ago.”

Diane frowned, and it felt bad turning her down. “Well, I can tell you really like her. But you sure you don’t want to at least think about it?”

Uh-oh. This is where I should’ve hightailed out of there. But like an idiot, I stayed on the bench and answered, “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Well, since you liked me first, maybe this could help you change your mind?”

Oh, this was getting out of hand! Diane leaned her head forward and actually kissed me. On the lips! Yeah, when I wanted her to do this, she was thinking I looked weird! Guess she doesn’t now.

I was so stunned by her moving into me, and then by her soft lips, I failed to immediately pull away from this mare like I should have. It wasn’t till half a second passed before I did. This was not right, and I was already feeling ashamed that I didn’t take off already. I was horrified of how Sunset would have felt if she saw this, and thought I was...cheating on her.

But before I could say something or leave, from behind, I heard a gasp. Then a whimper. I knew who the gasp and whimper belonged to, and my heart sank.

I spun around to where the sound came from, and the Unicorn standing there had one of the most heartbroken frowns ever. Tears poured from her eyes.

Yep, she was Sunset Shimmer, my girlfriend. Guess she found the time to come to Equestria despite that “ton" of homework.

Oh, buck.

Chapter 13: One chance

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Oh, I really bucked up this time.

Diane Heart, in a moment of weakness, kissed me on the lips! It was meant to “coax” me into going out with her.

Then the reason I said “no” showed up: my girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer. The look on her face and tears from her eyes broke my heart.

“Sunset? I-I know what you’re thinking, but it’s n-not what it looks like!”

The fact that I was stuttering made it look even worse. With another sob and whimper, Sunset ran off toward Twilight’s castle.

What have I done?

I jumped off the bench Diane and I were on, and bolted after Sunset, calling her name and begging for her to stop to talk to me.

Of course, she didn’t, and if anything, my calls made her run faster and she was pulling away. I hoped I could make up the ground after she was in the castle, and I obviously hoped she wouldn’t go through the portal before I caught up. Didn’t even think about Twilight, Starlight, or Spike possibly being in the castle and hearing Sunset’s side of the story first.

I finally reached the castle, sped through its front doors, and then through the doors to the library. There I found Sunset lying face-down on a purple couch. Her forelegs covered her head, and she was crying her eyes out. Part of me was relieved that she didn’t run through the portal yet. But it killed me to see her crying. How could I have let this happen?

After I panted a little to catch my breath, I walked closer and started, “Sunset? I can--”

Sunset lifted her head off the couch and glared at me. Her eyes were watery and tears ran down her cheeks. She wore a type of frown that’s only worn by someone who had their heart broken. No, shattered. “How could you, Eric?”

“But I didn’t--”

“You know, I really cared about you! I thought we had something special! I thought you felt that I was special!”

“And I really care about you too, and you are special! That was--”

“A kiss that you gave another mare?” Sunset asked in a more sarcastic voice, not an angry one.

Now comes the part where I act like an idiot. “No, well, yeah, but I--”

In a low voice, Sunset ordered, “Don’t talk to me.”

“But I--”

“I said ‘don’t talk to me’!” Sunset’s horn glowed and I gasped, looked away, and braced myself. But instead of a red beam of magic, Sunset threw a pillow, with her magic, from the couch at me. It got me in one of my arms.

I didn’t know what to say next. The last thing I wanted was to make this mess worse.

After three uncomfortable seconds, Sunset simply said, “I’m leaving.”

Sunset hopped off the couch and walked toward the portal. She was too upset to listen. We were growing so close, she trusted me so much, and Sunset told me how special she felt after we got together. I didn’t know how I made her feel more special than she did before, but it felt great knowing I did. It even made me feel more special. It was still a little hard to believe that I had a pony as great as Sunset Shimmer as a girlfriend.

Then she saw me in a kiss with another mare, and it wasn’t like I resisted immediately. I assumed Sunset got to us after I told Diane that I couldn’t go out with her because I was dating Sunset. At this moment, emphasis on “was”.

The evidence wasn’t exactly in my favor. I knew how some boyfriends that did cheat on their girlfriends might say anything in this kind of spot, and Sunset knew it too. I didn’t see her geode, so saying that she could read my mind to learn the truth was out. I wasn’t even sure if her mind-reading powers worked in Equestria; something I never asked.

There wasn’t anything I could say to get Sunset to calm down and listen.

Or was there?

There was one thing I could say. It would have definitely grabbed Sunset’s attention, despite her being so hurt and mad. But it would be risky, maybe even dangerous. Saying it could get her to calm down and give me a chance to clear this up.

Or, it might backfire and make her not only madder, but more volatile, or even snap. I was unusually aware that Sunset Shimmer is a Unicorn, and a strong one. If Sunset snapped, I had next to no defenses against magic, and Twilight and Starlight weren’t around to step in.

Still, I needed to take the chance. If Sunset left before I could explain, I might not have gotten another chance. Maybe it’s the Starlight Glimmer in me that made me willing to roll the dice and take a chance. Wouldn't be surprised if someday, if you look up "risk" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Starlight's face.

I clenched my fists, mentally crossed my fingers, and asked, “Sunset, do you remember ‘Anon-a-miss’?”

Sunset stopped in her tracks in front of the glowing portal, but didn’t turn around.

“Remember how bad it looked for you, even though you were innocent?”

Sunset stayed motionless. Could I have gotten through to her? Or was she thinking of what to yell at me, or even which spells to use?

“Remember how bad it got when the girls turned on you?”

Still nothing from Sunset. I felt that I really needed to pick my next words carefully.

“Listen, if Princess Twilight and the others learn what happened and think I cheated on you, I don’t know what might happen. As horrible as things got for you because of Anon-a-miss, at the very, very least, you had the option to return to Equestria if you didn’t get the girls to believe you, or if you never forgave them for turning their backs on you. Princess Twilight believed you, so I'm sure she would have took you in if you wanted to leave that world for good. But I will have nowhere to go if the others here turn on me. I can’t go back to my old world.”

Sunset stayed put. Still had no idea what the pony was thinking. I gave it one more try, and hoped I’d get a response. And not one that would hurt. I was tempted to get on my knees.

“Please, Sunset Shimmer, please, I’m begging you. All I ask is for one chance, just one. Let me take you to Diane, so you can hear her side of the story. If what she says isn’t good enough, I’ll never try to talk to you again. So please?”

I was out of more to say, so I shut up and waited for Sunset to make a move. If nothing I said worked, I would have no choice but to let Sunset go, and expect her to hate me from this point on. The best I could hope for then would be that she’d stop hating me at some point to maybe want to be my friend again, albeit with less trust in me than before.

And hope things wouldn’t get worse, since I was sure Sunset would have later told Twi what happened in their journals. I really didn’t think Twilight would get upset enough to kick me out of the castle or otherwise turn on me, or even automatically believe Sunset’s version of the story over mine. Even so, my stupid paranoia was trying to mess with my head again.

Sunset finally made a movement by turning her head down, but otherwise stayed still. My eyes stayed on her and my ears listened for any sounds.

After what felt like forever, she lifted her head and slowly turned to me. I tensed up, and my attention immediately went to her horn. It didn’t start glowing. Good sign.

Once she turned around enough to face me, Sunset said, “Fine. One chance.”

We left the castle to head to where Diane and I were when...that happened.

Not surprisingly, Sunset wasn’t in the mood to talk, so we were silent as we went. It never felt so awkward walking with someone/somepony before.

We got to where Diane and I “kissed” and she was still on the bench. The thought that she might have left by this point didn’t even cross my mind. Good thing, because Sunset might not have had enough patience to track down Diane with me if she already left.

I called out, “Hey, Diane, I‘m glad you’re here. Can you tell Sunset it wasn’t how it looked?”

Diane looked to me and responded, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean, could you tell her that there’s nothing going on between you and me? She saw us 'kissing', thinks we are having a thing, and is furious at me.”

Diane’s eyes got big, and she gasped. “Oh, no, no! Sunset, There’s nothing going on with Eric and me, and I kissed him.”

I was a little worried Sunset wouldn’t believe it. But her angry frown softened and her ears drooped at Diane’s words. “Wait, really?”

Diane nodded her head. “Really.”

Part of me wanted to say “You see?” to Sunset, but I was too glad that she believed Diane to even do it.

“Oh...well in that case, why did you kiss him? Didn’t he tell you that he and I are together?”

“He did, and I’m sorry, Sunset. I asked him if he wanted to try to go on a date with me and he said no. Then I kissed him, hoping to...change his mind.”

“Okay.” Sunset’s calmer look grew back into an angry one. “But I thought you were better than that, Diane Heart! How could you make a move on a guy that you knew had a girlfriend?!”

Diane's ears dropped. “I’m so sorry. I usually never do things like that, but I’m just going through a hard time, so I wasn’t thinking straight. I know I was out-of-line, and I will understand if you two hate me now.”

At this point, I was too relieved to think of being mad at Diane, much less hate her. “Well, I can’t speak for Sunset because she was hurt the most by it, but I don’t hate you.”

I turned to Sunset, and I didn’t know if she would either calm down her scowl or intensify it. Diane tried to “steal” me from her, so I wouldn’t have said anything if she didn’t want to forgive Diane. I wouldn’t have blamed her.

But I got my answer: Sunset’s scowl vanished, but was still frowning. “And I don’t hate you either. I don’t like how you kissed my boyfriend after he said he has a girlfriend, and I even thought he was cheating on me. But...I know what it’s like to go through a hard time, and I’ve made my fair share of mistakes.”

“You do?”

Sunset nodded her head. “Yeah.”

“She really does, and I have too,” I chimed in.

“Well, is there anything I can do to make it up to you two?”

“No, you don’t have to do anything. Just don’t kiss him again and I better not catch you calling him ‘weird’. But, you said something’s wrong. What is it?”

I was a little surprised by Sunset’s change in mood. Then again, she’s not one to stay mad at someone after whatever happened that upset her got resolved. Didn’t take her long to forgive Juniper Montage for trapping her and the others in a mirror.

“Oh, well, I lost a gem that belonged to my late little sister. It’s all I have left of her, and I just can’t find it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t have any idea where it could be?”

“No, and I looked everywhere.”

The fact that it was a gem suddenly registered in my noggin and I facepalmed. Couldn’t believe I didn’t think of this idea sooner! "Wait, you said it’s a gem, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. My friend Rarity’s special talent is finding gems, so she might be able to find it. I can try to find her and ask her for help.”

A big ‘ol smile formed on Diane’s face. ”Oh, that would be so great! You really don’t mind after what I did?”

“I don’t mind, and I don’t think Rarity will mind helping either. I’ll go get her.”

Earlier, Rarity said she was going to rest at home today, so I knew where she was. When I found her, she said to wait for her where Diane and Sunset still were, after I told her where we would be and that the gem was blue.

At first, Rarity was hesitant to help. She was still a little mad at Diane, because of how hard I took it when I learned Diane thought I looked weird several weeks ago. But I was able to persuade Rarity to do it.

About twenty minutes after I returned to where Diane and Sunset was, Rarity walked to us. She had her purse but wore a frown. Uh-oh.

I asked, “What’s wrong?”

With a frown full of disappointment, Diane asked, “You couldn’t find it?”

Rarity lowered her horn before her horn glowed. A blue gem levitated from her purse. She lifted her head, now with a smile, and asked, “Is this the gem?”

Heh, guess Rarity was just messing with us with that frown. Maybe she took lessons from Trollestia. Or maybe I should start calling her “Raritroll” or something; she's done stuff like this before.

Diane gave one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen and answered, “Yes! It is! Thank you so much! I don’t know how I can ever repay you!”

Rarity waved a hoof. “Oh, it’s no problem at all.”

I suggested, “But you could make it up to us by not losing that gem again.”

“Oh, I will never lose it again! Again, thank you so much, and I’ll pay you all back someday!”

Rarity levitated Diane’s gem to her. Carrying the gem in a foreleg, Diane flew off.

After Diane was out of sight, I said, “Well, thanks for the help, Rarity. I wasn’t sure if you were going to help.”

“Well, if you’re not mad at her, Eric, I guess I shouldn’t be. Anyway, I’ll see you two later.”

Rarity trotted off, leaving Sunset and me by ourselves.

I was ready to put that mess behind me, and was already wondering what Sunset and I could do. Games? Get a bite to eat? Bowling? Walk around and talk? Or have that make-out session that we both wanted to have after I got out of the hospital? Wanna take any bets on what I wanted to do the most?

”Whew! I’m glad that’s over, Sunset, and everything’s all right. I was worried that I lost you as my girlfriend or even as my friend. But what happened to all that homework you had?”

In a voice with some sadness, Sunset asked, “Hey, Eric? Can we go back to the castle?”

Something about that voice wasn’t right. But I answered, “Yeah, we can.”

I started to walk toward the castle, but Sunset’s horn glowed, and the next thing I knew, we were in the castle’s library, near the purple couch she was crying on before. After the Cragadile attack, Sunset’s done some re-training to get fully used to her Unicorn magic again, without forgetting how magic works in the human world. Thanks to this, she can teleport more than just herself now.

I turned to Sunset, who had her head down. Was she still mad at me?

“Sunset? Is something wrong?”

Sunset lifted her head to me with a frown. I thought she forgave me, and we would move past it. But her next words were not anything I thought she’d want to say now.

“Yes. Everything is not ‘all right’ and I think we should break up.”

Chapter 14: Worthy

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I couldn’t believe my ears.

Even after she learned the truth about the “kiss” I had with Diane Heart, Sunset Shimmer wanted to break up with me. It was like a blow to the gut and my hands were close to shaking. What did I do to make Sunset still not want to be with me?

It was a struggle to hide my shock when I asked, “You...you want to break up?”

“Yeah.”

“But, why? I thought we cleared up what happened with Diane.”

“We did.”

“So what’s wrong?”

Sunset sighed. She was already looking at me, but it felt like she was staring at me in the eyes now. “It’s because you don’t deserve me, Eric.”

Well, I was still thinking that, but it nevertheless hurt hearing it and I looked away from her. I thought I would have to fight the tears from flowing.

And yet, there were no tears to fight. Instead, I thought about the last month. I truly didn’t think that she thought that I wasn’t good enough for her. But hearing Sunset say it point-blank, I felt some sadness, but mostly anger. At least I tried to be a good boyfriend, so did it mean nothing to her? I wondered if I should have let her leave.

Or if I should have even tried to date her. If things ended like this, not only would I have to deal with my own heartbreak, but I knew Starlight would think it was her fault, for asking Sunset to visit Equestria “for me”. Twilight might have felt a similar way. This fact filled me with more anger.

I growled and swung my head back to Sunset. “Okay, Sunset, I know I sometimes get things wrong, but I thought I did some good as your boyfriend. If that means nothing to you, then fine, we can--”

Sunset gasped, and her eyes widened and screamed both sympathy and guilt. ’’N-No! Eric, I didn’t mean it like that!”

My new rush of anger made her words barely calm me down. “Okay, then how did you mean it, if you’re not saying that I don’t deserve you?”

The frown on Sunset’s face grew into a sad one and her ears drooped. Her eyes became watery, but no tears came out of them. “I meant that you deserve better than me.”

Now that took out the anger in me and it was replaced with...nothing. I was stunned. Sunset thought I was too good for her? Saying I was “thrown for a loop” would be an understatement.

“Wait, you think I’m too good for you?”

Sunset nodded her head.

“But what makes you think that?”

“When I saw you with Diane, I thought you were cheating on me.”

If anything, that “answer” made me more puzzled, and I rubbed my neck. “Well, yeah, you did. But I still don’t get it.”

Sunset sighed again, and this was sadder than the last one. “Think about it. The two of us have had so much fun, worked together to scare off a Cragadile, and you were willing to die for me in the Everfree Forest.”

I was starting to “get it”. Sunset’s frown deepened to an even sadder one. I wanted to say something, but my mouth was fresh out of words. Though, I could tell Sunset wasn’t done, so even if I could have come up with some words, I would have stayed quiet anyway.

“And yet, when I saw you ‘kissing’ Diane, I didn’t even think that maybe there was more to it, and you had to beg me to hear the truth from Diane, which you shouldn’t have had to do. I, of all people, or ponies, should know how awful that feels. I threw a pillow at you, and I bet you were even worried that I wanted to cast spells on you, weren’t you?!”

Oh, boy. My heart sank, and I was between a rock and a hard place. When Sunset’s horn glowed when she used her magic to throw a pillow at me, for a brief moment, I didn’t know what she was about to do. My stupid paranoia struck again.

I couldn’t lie. But if I told Sunset I felt some actual fear, it would have crushed her.

Sometimes I wonder how Applejack makes telling the truth look so easy and simple.

“Well...uh...maybe I was just a biiiiit--”

That was all Sunset needed to hear. With a whimper, her mouth quivered and tears finally flowed from her eyes. The guilt in her heart must have been immense, because my own heart felt it. “There, you see?! I didn’t just get mad at you, I made you think I wanted to hurt you with my magic! I’ve been mad at others before, but I...*sniff*...never treated anyone like I did to you or made them scared of me since I was...was…I...*sniff*...I haven’t changed at all!”

Somehow, even more tears poured from Sunset’s eyes. She fell to the floor, buried her head in her forelegs and cried. Man, it was a heartbreaking scene.

As I watched Sunset cry, the true reason why she was this upset became crystal clear. She’s worked hard to change from how she used to be, gained confidence in herself, and when it comes to wanting to help others, Sunset’s at the level of Princess Twilight, the Princess of Friendship. Even so, when Sunset threw the pillow at me, a bit of her old self resurfaced. She wasn’t aware of it at first, but now she was, and it killed her heart.

This would not be easy to fix, but I had to try. Since Sunset was lying down, I went to one knee and set a hand on her back.

“Come on, Sunset. Please don’t--”

But Sunset used a foreleg to force my hand off her. “No, Eric. I don’t deserve your kindness.”

“But--”

“Or to have anything to do with you after how I acted. You...*sniff*...deserve far better than me.”

Well, this was getting nowhere fast. This was the second time in the last two hours that Sunset refused to listen to me, but for a different reason. Hearing Sunset talk so bad about herself wasn’t just breaking my heart, it was getting me mad. It was time to give my girlfriend some tough love.

Still on my knee, I took a deep breath and yelled, “Sunset Shimmer, will you bucking knock it off and listen to me?!”

My shout worked. Sunset calmed down and immediately turned her head to me. With tears still running out of them, Sunset’s turquoise eyes looked at me in the eyes, so I didn’t have to ask, or tell, her to look me in the eyes. It even felt like she didn’t think she could say anything, till I said she could. Maybe I overdid it.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you, but you were getting hysterical. First, you did jump the gun, and yeah, you got a bit carried away when you threw a pillow at me. I won’t lie to you: I felt some fear when I saw your horn light up before you threw that pillow. Even so, you saw me in a kiss with another mare, so what else could you have thought? That Diane was giving me kissing lessons or I was giving her lessons? I understand why you got so mad and for thinking what you thought, because you were hurt. I might have thought the same thing if it were the other way around.”

Sunset stayed still and kept looking into my eyes. The stream of tears flowing from her eyes was weakening. I set my hand on her back again. What I needed to say next made it feel particularly appropriate.

“It’s time I tell you something that I was going to tell you soon. Since we started dating, the occasional worries I had about if some ponies thought I looked weird has been in my head less and less. I think I’m finally getting over being picked on about my burns in second grade. Not even my two Equestrian big sisters, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, have been able to help me do that.”

Sunset sniffed, wiped her eyes, and the waterworks stopped. My words were working, but I was far from done.

“And even if you mess up sometimes, it won’t take away from what you have done since you started learning friendship. I saw how you made up for your mistakes, rose from your past, and I even think it’s a big reason why I started having feelings for you, but it took time. Now, thanks to you, I’m finally becoming able to rise from my past too, and you never knew you were helping me do it.”

A small smile formed on Sunset’s face. She might have really needed to hear that, and it never felt so good to see her smile. I thought it could help even more if I gave her a hug, so I did, and smelt what smelled like citrus.

“So, Sunset Shimmer, thank you, and don’t think that you don’t deserve or aren't worthy of me, and definitely don’t think that you haven’t changed! If you really didn’t change, you wouldn’t be feeling so bad right now, and you might have even tried to hurt me earlier. You are amazing, and I mean that, and I love you, Sunset!”

I gasped, and so did Sunset. Did I just say I love her? Over the last week, I wondered if I was starting to not like but love Sunset, but thought it was too soon for me to feel love toward her, even though we had dated for a month. I was speaking from the heart, so if it slipped out, it must have been true. Wow.

I had more to say, so after I shook off the shock of what came out of my mouth, I continued, “But, I can’t make you be my girlfriend. If you really want us to break up, we can, and we can go back to being good friends, and I’ll be okay with that. So, what do you want to do?”

Done spilling my guts, I released my grip, stood to my feet and waited. Sunset’s eyes were bigger than usual; probably from hearing the “L” word.

"Did you really mean all that, Eric?"

I nodded my head. "Yep. I meant every word."

After a few seconds, Sunset sprang to her hooves and wrapped her forelegs around me. Her grip was among the tightest she’s ever used on me, and I returned the hug.

“In that case, I want to keep being your girlfriend, Eric.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I’m so, so sorry for how I treated you, and it won’t happen again. Like I said on our first date, I’ll never try to hurt you, and anything that does will have to deal with me.”

“It’s okay, Sunset. I will never try to hurt you either and if something tries, they’ll have to answer to me and my baseball bat. And I’m not scared of you; I was just surprised, but I know you’re not a Unicorn I should fear. And I’m sorry for not getting away from Diane before she had the chance to kiss me, or you wouldn’t have been hurt. I said that I’d never do anything to hurt you, and then I do it. I won’t do it again, so can you forgive me?”

“Of course I do, Eric, and I love you too.”

My eyes grew big, but Sunset couldn’t see it since we were still in a hug. Pure happiness flowed through my body. Sunset told me that she loved me! “Wait, you love me too? You’re not just saying that because I did, are you?”

Sunset “answered” my question by first leaning her head back so I could see her face, but kept her forelegs wrapped around me. Then came a lip-lock. It was the longest one yet. Ha, I guess that was a “yes”.

After we were done, I chuckled. “You make a convincing argument, Sunset. But, even though we love each other, there’s still something that we haven’t done yet.”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot? Remember what we talked about doing after I got out of the hospital? It was even your idea.”

“Oh…hee hee, I remember now. That was the reason I told you I had a ‘lot’ of homework: I wanted to come and surprise you and then--”

I didn’t need to hear more. I let Sunset go and forced the grip of her forelegs to weaken enough to crouch down. Then, I wrapped my arms around Sunset again and picked her up as she let out a “Whoa!” in the process! That smell of citrus seemed stronger, and I guess Sunset thought wearing perfume might entice her man. She wasn’t wrong!

“W-What are you doing, Eric?”

“Taking you to my room before you get any ideas about breaking up with me again.”

“Ha ha, I won’t, I promise. But I can walk to your room, so you don’t have to carry me.”

“Sorry, but you’re getting a ride there, baby! I’ve waited two weeks for our make-out session, and I ain’t taking the chance of you running away!”

Sunset got the message, chuckled, and wrapped her forelegs around my neck. She wasn’t going to protest anymore.

Now comes an embarrassing moment. Once I got to one of the library’s doors, since my hands were...full, I couldn’t open the door.

“Though, you could use your magic to open the door if you want.”

Sunset giggled, used her magic to open the door, and I got back to carrying my girlfriend out of the library. It was a bit tiring carrying her to my room, but I didn’t give a buck.

In my room, I laid a smiling Sunset on my bed on her back. But before we could get...busy, there was something else that needed to be taken care of first. I pulled out a sign I hid behind my dresser against one of the walls. It was there for this moment.

“What’s that, Eric?”

“It’s a 'Do Not Disturb!' sign. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike are gone, but they could come back to the castle soon. This sign will keep them from bugging us.”

“Wow. You have prepared for this, huh, Eric?”

“Yep!” I hung the string of the sign around the door’s doorknob and closed it. After that, I took off my hat, laid it on my dresser, then in as seductive a voice as I could, I added, “Now that I took care of that, we can get started.”

“Wait, hold on.”

Before I could ask what Sunset meant, her horn glowed. The pictures I had on the walls and my dresser of Twilight and the others, some with me and others with just them, were all turned around. The partly closed curtains were no longer “partly closed". Lastly, with her magic, she untied the strap of her pack from around herself and levitated it to my baseball hat in the corner of my room, setting it beside the bat.

“Okay, now I’m ready.”

Surprised I didn’t think of any of that. But with my girlfriend ready, I hopped on my bed and wrapped my arms around Sunset. She did the same with her forelegs, and we laid ourselves on our sides. Our lips locked, Sunset let out a giggle, and her lips never felt so soft. Neither had her coat felt so soft against me, and the smell of citrus from Sunset’s perfume became even more noticeable. I stroked her mane while looking into her eyes, which seemed to be shimmering, even more than they did the first time we kissed after our date, before they closed during the kissing.

Suddenly, during our lip-lock, I felt tongue. I knew Sunset would slip her tongue in my mouth, so it didn’t even surprise me. I liked our little tongue battle even more than I thought. As we kept our first-ever make-out session going, Sunset continued to let out giggles; guess she was enjoying it too!

Our fun went on for a while. A goooood while.

And no, we weren’t going to do that yet! I wasn’t sure if it would even be possible.

Though, I bet Twilight/Momlight would freeze in place for a week if Sunset and I did "it", and we told her we did.

Soon after Eric Reed took Sunset Shimmer to his room, walking through the hallways of Twilight’s castle; Twilight, Spike, and Starlight were on their way to Eric’s room.

Twilight said, “Well, we asked the others if they want to go, so the only one left to ask is Eric.”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since we all went together to the Crystal Empire,” Starlight commented.

“And I’ve improved my disguise since the last time we went.”

Twilight chuckled. “Spike, you still think you’ll need a disguise?”

“Yep! After I stood up for Thorax, I’m even more loved there, so I need my disguise more than ever.”

“Ha ha, whatever you say, Spike,” Starlight said. She knew Spike well enough to know to humor him in times like this.

Once the three friends approached one of the doors, the one to Eric’s bedroom, they heard quiet sounds coming from the other side.

“Wait, do you guys hear that?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, and it’s coming from Eric’s room.” Spike pointed to the sign Eric hung on his door. “And he has a ‘Do Not Disturb!’ sign on his door.”

“Guess that means Sunset’s in there too. And those sounds...oh!” Starlight, understanding what was happening in Eric’s room, giggled.

Spike teasingly pointed out, “Yep. It sounds like our brother’s busy in his room!”

“Yeah he is. We promised that we’d give them privacy, so let’s go and--huh?”

Spike and Starlight turned to where Twilight was, but the pony herself was gone.

“Huh? Where Twilight go?” Starlight asked.

“I don’t know. You have an idea of where she went?”

“No idea, Spike. Maybe she wanted to make more checklists or something. But let’s go before Eric or Sunset come out and think we’re trying to listen in on them again.”

With more chuckles, Spike and Starlight turned around and walked in the direction where they came from.

However, Starlight Glimmer’s theory about why Twilight Sparkle abruptly left would be quite inaccurate. It was for a very different reason.

Chapter 15: Gifts, Pinkie Trollie Pie, and the book

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Still in my bedroom, Sunset and I had just finished our make-out session; it was amazing! In my bed, I was lying on my back and she lay on her side, facing me. My bed’s blanket, a blue one, covered us, but our heads and the upper part of our chests wasn’t covered in them.

I said, “Well, that was fun.”

“It was. You got some good moves, Eric.”

“So do you. Well worth the wait of two weeks.”

Sunset giggled. “Or one month.”

“One month? And here I thought you weren’t ready for a full-blown make-out session back then, or I would have asked you to have it after our first date.”

“Oh, so you wanted to do it then too?”

“Of course! You’re the hottest mare ever and one of the nicest!”

Sunset blushed and her lips curled into a cute as buck smile. “Oh, you’re just saying that, Eric.”

“I’m not. I would prove it by having another make-out session, but you tired me out.”

“Ha ha, okay, I believe you. But, there’s something I want to ask.”

“What’s that? Ask me anything.”

“How long have you had feelings for me?”

“How long?” I pulled a hand from under the covers to set a finger on my cheek. “Hmm...I think they started a few days after you tried to help me ask out Diane.”

My answer made Sunset form a puzzled frown. “But I got your heart broke, so how did that make you get a crush on me?”

“I don’t know. I’ve always thought you were amazing, or at least the reformed you were. Maybe, deep down, I’ve had a crush on you for longer, but when you felt so bad after the Diane thing, it showed that you cared about me even more than I thought. I guess that was the last push for me to ‘notice’ you.”

“Really?”

“Yep!” I answered. “Now, I’m about to say something that I think will make you happy.”

“Or happier. And what is it?”

“You said that you’d make up for my heart getting broken, and I think you have more than made up for it by helping me heal from my past and becoming my girlfriend. But now I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“How long have you had feelings for me?”

Sunset gave a nervous smile and seemed like she was close to looking away. “Oh, you don’t want to hear that.”

“But I do! Come on, Sunset, tell me. I told you when I felt feelings for you.”

“Well…”

“If you don’t, I’ll have to give you something.”

“What?”

“This!” I put my left hand on Sunset’s belly and scratched it, making her burst out in laughter and started to roll away. But before she got anywhere, I rolled to my side and wrapped my right arm around her, held on to her tight, and we were still under the covers. My left arm was pinned between us, but my fingers were free enough to keep the “tickle torture” going. She couldn't focus hard enough to free herself with her magic, so this mare was going to start talking!

“Ha ha! I thought you were 'tired'!"

"Well, I caught my second wind! Now, tell me when you felt feelings for me!" I ordered with a big ‘ol smile on my face. I was enjoying this!

"No! Ha ha! You don’t wanna hear!”

Well, Sunset still wasn't going to talk, so I wriggled my fingers faster and she laughed even harder. She had never looked so adorable.

“Eric, stop it! Ha ha! Let me go!”

“Not till you fess up! I can do this all day because you are looking so cute right now!”

“Ha ha! Okay, okay, I’ll tell you!”

I let Sunset go and rolled back to where I was before I tickled her, and she panted to catch her breath. As she did, I couldn’t resist chuckling over what I did to her. Something I’ll be doing again if she gives me an opportunity!

After Sunset’s breathing was back to normal, she admitted, “All right, but just don’t get mad. It was after I heard you tell Twilight that you liked me.”

“Wait, what? When? And how?”

“It was when you were talking to her in your room, on the day I came to hang out with you.”

“You did? But...oh.” I chuckled. I figured out how she found out, the big sneak. “When I was telling Twilight about my feelings, you were listening behind my door, weren’t you?”

“Maybe?” Sunset answered in a cute voice and gave just as cute a smile. Guess I’m not the only one that Twilight’s rubbed off on.

“Ha, you sound like Twilight when she let it slip that she and the others were watching us when we were hanging out.”

“But I wasn't trying to be nosey or anything, Eric, I promise. I was just worried, and I knew something was on your mind that day and I wanted to help.”

“It's okay, and I’m not mad. Did that have something to do with you leaving and then coming back?”

“Yep. When I heard, I didn’t know what to think, so I asked the other girls for help and advice. At first, I thought I felt no feelings toward you and even tried to come up with a way to tell you without breaking your heart.”

“You did?” I asked.

“Yeah. But then I thought about the fun we had that day, how alike we are, and how you thought you didn’t ‘deserve’ me. I had never felt so...special, and I think that made me start having feelings towards you.”

“Hmm. So we started liking each other around the same time. But I want to say something else, and it’s important.”

With bigger eyes than usual, Sunset asked, “What?”

In a serious voice, I said, “Don’t ever think that you haven’t changed or that you don’t deserve me or anyone again. Okay, Sunset?”

“Okay, as long as you don’t think that you’re still the selfish kid you used to be or that you’re not worthy of me or anyone. Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good.” Sunset’s horn glowed, and a feather materialized in midair, which she held in her magic.

“What’s that for?”

A smirk appeared on Sunset’s face. “To show what I’ll do if you break your promise.”

Next thing I knew, my muscles froze. Sunset, with a big ‘ol grin, used her magic to move the covers off us. At the same time, with her magic, she lifted my shirt to expose my belly, then the feather that she materialized moved to my belly and made contact with it. The tickling was unbearable and I burst out in laughter. Because I can’t break a Unicorn’s magical grip on me, I wasn’t going anywhere till Sunset Shimmer lets me.

“Ha! You get the point, Eric? I could keep doing this all day because you are looking so cute right now!”

“Ha ha! Okay, I get it, I get it! Let me go!”

“I will, but first, who’s the prettiest pony in Equestria?”

“It’s you! It’s you! Ha ha!”

“Not good enough! I want to hear you say her name!”

“Ha ha! Okay, her name is ‘Sunset Shimmer’! And she’s the cutest being in the whole Multiverse! Now stop it!”

Sunset stopped with the tickle torture and I could move again, but still needed to catch my breath. As I did, Sunset was giggling, similar to how I did it after I stopped my tickle torture on her.

Once my breathing was back to its usual rate, Sunset said, “I thought you would have yelled ‘Sunset’ first, not my full name right away.”

“If not for Twilight doing something like that once to mess with me, I probably would have. She even made me say ‘Princess Twilight Sparkle’ before she stopped with the ‘big surprise’ as she called it.”

If you’re wondering what that “big surprise” was, one time, when I was still bite-sized, Twilight put me in a VERY tight hug with one of her forelegs. Twi wouldn’t break her “hug” till I said that I liked being on her head the most at that size, which I do.

“She did? I didn’t know she had such a playful side to her.”

“Me neither, till she showed it. Anyway, what do you want to do now?”

“Oh! I forgot that a movie that the others and I want to see starts soon. I should go back in another fifteen minutes, but you want to just talk before I go?”

“Sure.”

As Eric and Sunset chatted, Twilight Sparkle paced in her room. After overhearing Eric’s and Sunset’s “make-out session”, she felt that she couldn’t keep waiting. There was something that she had wanted to do for a while, but she kept delaying it out of worry about how Eric might react.

“Okay, Twilight, it’s time. Eric needs to know. Besides, it’s not like he’ll get mad if you do it.”

Twilight stopped pacing and looked down at a “special” book lying on a dresser in her room. She usually keeps her books in her library. However, she didn’t wish for anypony but her or Eric to see this book. She also didn’t want Eric to stumble across it before she could give it to him proper.

But nervousness forced Twilight to pace again. “Or should I? I want him to know, but I don’t want to risk making him uncomfortable, so maybe I shouldn’t. But if I don’t give it to him...”

Twilight continued to pace, debating with herself if giving Eric the book was the right choice.

In front of the portal in the library, Sunset was preparing to leave. I was standing beside her.

I said, “Well, guess this is bye, for now.”

“‘For now’ is right. But I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Well, till then. Wait, where’s your pack?”

Sunset gasped and looked to her sides. There was no pack there nor the strap that she wore around herself that had the pack attached to it. “Oh, I think it's still in your room, and I almost forgot to give you your ‘one-month anniversary’ gift!”

My eyes got big, because I forgot about something big! “Oh, you uh, did?”

“Yep! I’ll be right back!” Sunset sped out of the library.

And oops! This day marked the “one-month anniversary” of our first date, and I forgot to have somepony get something for Sunset while I was laid up in the hospital! Oh, no!

I was sweating on what to do. But suddenly, pink sparks ran down the portal’s cords, making me jump back from it. It couldn’t be Twilight or Starlight, so what the buck was going on?!

But what came out of the portal was a necklace, with a gemstone in the shape and color of Sunset’s Cutie Mark. Immediately afterward, a piece of paper flew out.

I picked up the paper and read what it said.

Give this to Sunset for your one-month anniversary. You can thank me later and think of this as your early birthday present, so don't worry about paying me back.

The sound of Sunset’s hoofsteps was coming, so I didn’t question how I got this reprieve. I just picked up the necklace, and hid it behind my back.

Sunset ran through the doorway with a big smile, levitating in her magic a necklace with a green geode. “Here it is! Happy one-month anniversary!”

“Wow, thanks, Sunset! That geode on that necklace looks a little like your geode, but green.”

“Well, maybe I can’t make you an Element of Harmony like Princess Twilight, but think of this as your ‘honorary’ Element, which I will call ‘selflessness’.” Sunset wrapped my new necklace around my neck.

“Wow, I’m...touched. Thanks so much, Sunset!” I gave my amazing girlfriend a kiss. She made me promise never to think she was too good for me, but I couldn’t help it this time.

“You’re welcome, Eric, and I’m glad you like my gift!”

“I don’t just like it, I love it! And here’s your gift!” I showed my hidden hand to Sunset with the necklace.

“Oh, Eric, it’s beautiful!” With a big grin, Sunset picked up the necklace with her magic and wrapped it around her neck.

I commented, “And now it has a beautiful owner.”

“Oh! I know you told me to never think it, but you are too good to me, Eric.”

Thinking about how I forgot our one-month anniversary, I admitted, “I’m really not.”

“Heh heh, still modest as ever. But I will wear this necklace every time I come to Equestria. But I better go before the movie the others and I want to watch starts.”

“Okay, and I’ll wear my new necklace all the time from now on. See you, Sunset, and I love you.”

“See you, and I love you too, Eric.”

After our usual goodbye kiss, Sunset walked through the portal with it glowing pink as she walked through it.

After the portal stopped glowing, I wiped my head. I got bailed out of forgetting to get Sunset a gift! Wasn’t going to do that again!

“I don’t know how it happened, but whoever or whatever did it, thank you!”

The portal glowed again, and another piece of paper flew out. I picked it up and read it.

You’re welcome!!

Signed, the human Pinkie Pie

Well, that explained why that necklace came through the portal. But I had another question. How did the human Pinkie Pie know what was going on?!

As if “answering” my question, the portal glowed yet again, and more paper came out.

As you would say, it’s because I’m Pinkie Pie, Eric-berry!

Signed, the human Pinkie Pie

Of course that’s how she knew: human or pony, Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie, and both versions have random moments of omniscience.

But, wait, “Eric-berry”? Hold the phone. Could the Pinkie that called me those names had been the human Pinkie in pony form?!

Now another piece of paper flew out of the portal.

Wouldn’t you like to know, Eric-cherry?

Signed, the human Pinkie

Okay, now she’s just using her “Pinkie Pie” powers to mess with me!

I decided to stop asking those mental questions and was about to leave the library.

Then another piece of paper came out.

Good idea, Eric-merry.

Signed, you-know-who

Yeah, I just ran out of the library before Pinkie Trollie Pie could troll me again.

But once in the hallway, I ran into Twilight, literally, and we both hit the floor with a grunt. Oops! She was carrying a book in her magic, but dropped it when I crashed into her.

I got to my feet. "Oh, I am so sorry, Twi. You all right?” I reached out my hand to help Twi up.

But Twilight sprung to her hooves on her own. “Oh, uh, y-yeah, I’m all right. Yep, yep, I’m a-all right.”

“Okay, what’s wrong? I know you, big sis: anytime you stutter like that, you’re not ‘all right’.”

“But I am! I just wanted to, uh...give you this book.” Twilight levitated her book off the floor towards me.

“Oh, well, thanks.” I reached out to pick up the book Twilight wanted to give me.

When my hand got close to the book, Twilight grimaced and pulled the book back to her. “T-Then again, maybe I should give this to you later.”

“But why would you want to give me it later and not now?”

Before Twilight could answer, Starlight called out, “Hey, Twilight, Buggie.”

“Eep!” Twilight jumped, dropped her book again and turned to Starlight with a nervous grin. What was making her so jumpy? Figuratively and literally?

“Twilight? What’s wrong?” Starlight asked.

“Oh, I remembered that I, uh, got to...make a list, yeah, that’s it, so I'll be back, bye guys!” Twilight sprinted down the hallway and I could have sworn I heard her mutter, “What was I thinking?”

Both Starlight and I stared at Twilight as she ran off, then back to each other. Sometimes I don't understand that mare.

“Okay...Starie, do you have any idea what’s up with the Princess of Weirdness? Did she lose a checklist or stressing out about something again?”

“No idea.” Starlight formed a smirk on her lips. “But where did your favorite Unicorn go? She left?”

“What do you mean? She didn’t leave.”

“Huh?” Starlight turned her head back and forth. “But I don’t see Sunset anywhere.”

“Well, sure Sunset’s gone, but you asked where did my favorite Unicorn go, remember? That’s you, big sis!” I poked Starlight with my elbow and made her chuckle. Even if I now love Sunset Shimmer, she could never take Starlight Glimmer’s place as my favorite Unicorn. Or favorite Alicorn/princess if Sunset ever ascended to Alicorn status.

“Aw, thanks, little bro." Starlight wrapped a foreleg around me with a smile. "And you’re my favorite human.”

“Thanks, but it’s not like you know many other humans.”

“But you’re still my favorite, and you always will be. But, I’m going to go look for Trixie to train her in some spells.”

“Okay. See you, Starie.”

Starlight moved her foreleg off me and walked down the hallway. As for me, I planned to go to my room -- I wanted to stay away from that portal for a while so Pinkie Trollie Pie couldn't troll me again. But the book that Twilight wanted(?) to give me was still on the floor and it caught my eye.

I picked up the book to take a look at it. Maybe this could explain why she was acting so weird.

“‘Secrets to Intimacy’. What?”

I opened it to see what this book was about.

“Setting the mood…how mares like it the most...positions...WHAT?!”

I dropped that book and stared in the direction that Twilight ran off in.

When and where did that pony get these kinds of books?! And why was she trying to give it to me?! No wonder she was acting so nervous!

I stood there, wondering if I truly knew Princess Twilight Sparkle. Then I wondered if she thought that I might want to...get intimate with Sunset sooner or later, and figured the book would make sure I knew how to “do it right” or something.

Big sister of the year people.

Now, if only the Princess of Romance could figure out how to let me pass through the portal so I could hang out with Sunset in “her” world.

But, there was something else I had wanted to do since Sunset became my girlfriend, but hadn’t been able to do it. Two days from now, Twilight and Starlight were going to use a special spell they mastered that lets me talk to a member of my family in my old world. When I did, I was going to talk to Erica, one of my two human big sisters.

I planned to ask Sunset if she could come along so I could "introduce" her to Erica. If not for being laid up in the hospital for three weeks, I would have told my human family about Sunset by now. I would have introduced her to my dad when I talked to him during the first week Sunset and I were a couple, but she was too busy to come with me on the day I talked to him. I wanted Sunset Shimmer by my side when I told him, or any member of my family, that I have a girlfriend in Equestria.

Chapter 16: Meeting Erica

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It’s now been two days since Sunset and I said we loved each other.

We were deep in the woods (where Fluttershy likes to spend time with some of her animal friends) with Twilight and Starlight. This is where I first woke up in Equestria, where Twilight later found me, and is the only place where a special spell that lets me talk to someone from my world once a week works. It was time for Sunset Shimmer to “meet” one of my human big sisters: Erica Reed.

In front of one of several trees surrounding us, Twilight and Starlight were standing side by side. Sunset was close to them, and I stood opposite them. The grass was up to my ankles. As I told Sunset I would, I wore my new necklace with my "honorary" Element, and Sunset had her new necklace around her neck. Of course, I also wore my hat with my sisters' and friends' Cutie Marks.

Twilight asked, “Okay, Buggie. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

“In that case, Starlight and I will prepare the spell. As usual, stay still, and when the smoke surrounds you, call out Erica's name.”

“Oh, wait, hold on.” I looked directly to Sunset. “Can you come stand beside me, Sunset?”

Sunset replied, “I can, but I thought I would be able to hear your sister’s voice from here?”

“You can, but I want you by my side when you ‘meet’ Erica.”

Sunset grinned, ran to me, and offered me her hoof: she knew I wanted to hold it for this.

Starlight smiled and said, “Aww, that’s sweet, Buggie!”

“Thanks, Starie. I got the idea from reading a book.” With a smirk, I looked to Twilight when I said “book”. I’ve had fun with that pony about “the book” a few times already, and Starlight and Sunset know about it now too. They laughed their heads off when they found out and were giggling here too.

Of course, Twi was not amused and she rolled her eyes. “Ugh! Eric, how many times are you going to bring that up? I feel awkward about it as it is!”

“Till it stops being funny, Princess of Romance. With how close you and I are, I was a bit worried that you might get jealous about me dating Sunset. But I was oh so wrong! Ha ha!”

“Okay, did you come out here to talk to Erica or pick on me?”

I started feeling bad, so it was time to lay off Twilight and I stopped my laughing, and Starlight and Sunset did too. “Okay, okay, I’ll knock it off. Sorry, Twi.”

With a smile, Twilight said, “It’s okay, Buggie. You wouldn’t be you if you never mess with me, and you put up with my...not-so-great habits.”

Starlight asked, “Like when you wanted to make Eric’s outfit ‘perfect’ for his first date and wouldn’t let him leave his room until you were done?”

“Wait, she did that to you, Eric? I thought it was only me that went through something like that before our date.”

“Wow, so you went through that too before our date, huh? I didn’t think Sci-Twi would do that,” I confessed.

Twilight frowned when I said “Sci-Twi”, but said nothing. She couldn’t actually be jealous of me using a nickname for “another” Twilight Sparkle, could she? Or maybe she just didn’t like that nickname either.

Sunset told me, “It wasn’t ‘Sci-Twi’; it was the Rarity in my world that did it.” Sunset formed an almost giddy grin. “But I can’t wait to finally talk to one of your sisters in your world, so let’s do it.”

Twilight’s and Starlight’s horns glowed, and a green smoke leaked from them. It circled Sunset and me, feeling like a light warm breeze, and formed itself into a ball.

After the smoke had stopped whirling and settled but remained in a spherical shape, I called out, “Erica? Can you hear me?”

Yeah, I can hear you, Eric. Twilight told dad that you got hurt three weeks ago. Are you all right now?

“Yeah, I’m all right. It wasn’t anything too bad.”

Usually, Twilight and/or Starlight cast the spell so I can talk to my family, but it’s possible for them to talk to someone from my world even without me. While I was still in the hospital, Twilight used the spell to tell my dad the situation. She also apologized for not being there to prevent it from happening, and I even tried to tell Twi that she didn’t need to do that last part when she was about to talk to my dad. Still, she felt that it needed to be done. Wish Twilight could finally forgive herself for accidentally bringing me to Equestria, as well as for being unable to get me back to my old world.

Anyway, this day was picked as the next day I talk to someone. I chose Erica to be the one this time, so she was ready to hear my voice.

That’s great. So, what’s new, little bro?

“A lot, because I have somepony with me that I want you to meet, big sis.”

I will never get used to you saying “somepony”, but who is it?

I motioned my free hand to Sunset, signaling to her “you’re up”.

“Oh, uh, hi, Erica. My name is Sunset Shimmer and, uh...how are you doing?”

I’m good. Are you a new friend of Eric’s?

“You...could say that,” Sunset answered, looked down and lightly, with the hoof on the foreleg I wasn’t holding, patted the ground.

Sunset got hit with the “shyness stick”, so I said, “Sunset’s not just my friend: she’s my girlfriend.”

Wait, what?! She’s your “girlfriend” Eric?!

I answered proudly, “Yep.”

Sunset recovered from the shyness stick, stopped giving the ground a “massage”, and said, “A-And I understand that a pony and a human dating might sound weird, but we get along so well and our time together when we started dating has been magical. And I’m a Unicorn, so I know magic.”

Wow. Well, if Eric’s okay with it, then so am I, and I know the rest of our family will be. But I have a question for you, uh, “Sunset Shimmer” you said your name is?

“Yeah, and you can just call me ‘Sunset’ if you like.”

Okay then, Sunset. I want to know: if you’re dating my brother, what bet did you lose to get stuck with that bonehead?

That jab at me made Twilight and Starlight giggle, but Sunset was just confused, rubbed her neck, and she asked, “Huh?”

“Oh, ha, ha, very funny, Erica! Sunset’s not dating me because she lost a bet!”

“I guess Erica likes to mess with you?” Sunset asked.

“‘Likes to mess with me’ is putting it mildly. She can be even worse than Trixie.”

But it’s not like you never did it either, Eric. I still haven’t forgotten when you put a fake mustache on my face when I was asleep!

“Ha ha, oh yeah, that was a good one, and you were so mad, big sis! But let’s get back to Sunset. Anything else you want to ask her?”

Yeah.

“What is it? Ask me anything.”

Really, what bet did you lose to have to date Eric?

This time, Sunset joined Twilight and Starlight in giggling.

“You know, Ms. Comedy, one thing I never picked on you about was when Derek asked you out! I even pulled out the stops to make you look good, remember?”

Ha ha, okay, I’m sorry, Eric. I’ll stop.

After another chuckle, Twilight said, “I think I see where you got it from, Buggie.”

“Where I got what from?”

Starlight answered, “Why you like to make jokes.”

Oh, so that bonehead messes with you guys, uh, ponies, too?

“Oh, he does, and he was messing with me about...something, before Starlight and I cast the spell to let us talk. But ponies say ‘guys’ the same way that humans do, so you were okay.”

I’ll remember that. But seriously, little bro, I’m happy that you have a girlfriend. In fact, something about your voice sounds different, like you’re happier than you were the last time we talked.

“I do?”

Yeah. But is Sunset still there?

“I am. Do you want to ask me something else?”

Not really ask, but I just want to say be good to my little brother. That bonehead can be a pain sometimes, but he has a heart of gold and I love him to death.

“I know, and trust me, Erica: no one will love him more than I will.”

I’m glad to hear it. So, tell me some things about yourself, Sunset. If you’re going to be dating Eric, we should get to know each other too.

“Okay. What would you like to know about me?”

Well, first…

Sunset and Erica would do most of the talking for a while. Sunset told Erica about how she’s a magical prodigy -- in a humble way -- how she lives in a “human” world different from the one I’m from, and some other things about herself. Though, she left out the part about her she-demon “phase”, how she was before she reformed, and for that matter how she even needed to reform. Don’t blame her.

Erica also told Sunset some stuff about herself: she’s a manager at a Wal-Mart, married, and loves sports like I do. She was even a star pitcher for the girls’ high school baseball team for our school before she graduated.

Oh, and she just had to bring up when her baseball team played my team for fun. It was the last time I played baseball in my old world.

...And that’s how my team beat Eric’s team before he “left” to Equestria. He was so mad when I struck him out!

“I still say your ‘Erica curveball’ was a ‘ball’ not a ’strike’ so you didn’t really ‘strike’ me out’!”

Sure it--

Twilight said, “Guys? I’m sorry to interrupt, but the spell’s about to end.”

Oh. Well, Eric, who do you want to talk to next week?

“I’ll talk to Jenny next, but don’t tell her about Sunset: I want to be the one to tell her.”

Okay, my lips are sealed. But it’s too bad you and Sunset won’t be able to...uh...you know, because you’re different species.

“Who said we couldn’t?”

Wait, WHAT?! You two mi--

The smoke vanished, so whatever Erica said -- or yelled -- after that couldn’t be heard by us. Heh, now that was more like how I thought Twilight Sparkle would react at the thought of Sunset and me possibly “doing it”. Not try to help.

“I guess Erica wouldn’t approve of...that, Eric?” Sunset asked with a frown.

“I doubt it’s that she doesn’t ‘approve’. She was just surprised.”

Twilight asked, “Uh, guys? How about we leave and...talk about something else?”

“Not that this is...boring,” Starlight chimed in.

“Okay. My shift at the spa starts in another two hours, so I want to eat something before I go.”

“I’m hungry too, so you mind if we get something to eat together before I go back through the portal?”

“Of course not!” I answered. “Let’s go!”

Twilight, Starlight, Sunset, and I left the woods.

What Erica said about me seeming happier was unexpected to say the least. But as I thought about it, I think I figured out what she meant. It was some time after I was picked on as a kid about my burns that I started cracking jokes and gained a sense of humor. Yet, I guess it was partly as an attempt to get over the bullying, and it “stuck”.

But now, I’m finally over it, so the jokes don’t have that slight sadness in them anymore, which I really wasn’t aware of. As close as I have become with Twilight and Starlight, I still haven’t known them for a full year, so they failed to pick this up or even suspected it. Erica Reed, on the other hand, has known me since I was born, so she was able to tell.

In the dining room of the castle, Sunset and I had just finished eating. She had a carrot dog and I had a salad; the bowl I ate it from was now empty, save for a few pieces of lettuce. We each sat in a chair -- beside each other, of course.

When Sunset took the last bite of her carrot dog, she looked to me. Something about her frown and eyes was different. She wasn’t mad, yet her face showed that she was serious about something.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I was thinking. Remember when you said that I got over my past, and it helped you do it too?”

“Yep.”

“Well, the part about how I got over my past isn’t quite accurate.”

I rubbed the back of my head. I really had no idea where Sunset was going with this. “Uh...I’m confused, because you have overcome your past and fears by completely changing from how you used to be and you’re not looking back...right?”

Sunset looked to the hooves on her forelegs and rubbed them as she answered, “Sure, I changed, but unlike you, Eric, there’s something about my past that still haunts me. I want to face it now, but I’m going to need both your and Princess Twilight’s help to do it.”

“Really?” I was about to ask what Sunset meant, then it hit me and I gasped. I immediately understood why her eyes had that spark of determination. Even if the rubbing of her hooves showed nervousness, Sunset Shimmer was finally ready.

“From your smile, I guess you know what I’m thinking, don’t you?” Sunset asked.

“Yep. And I’ll do what I can to help, and I’m sure Twi will too. But are you sure?”

Sunset nodded her head and stopped rubbing her hooves. “Yes. I’m ready to face Princess Celestia.”

Chapter 17: Sunset's resolve, part 1

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Two days after Sunset Shimmer "met" one of Eric Reed’s human sisters for the very first time…

In the “human” world, in her apartment, Sunset was steeling herself to reconcile with her former teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia. Inspired by the will Eric showed to heal from his past, Sunset wished to do it herself by mending her relationship with Celestia.

Yet it did little to calm Sunset’s worries of what Celestia might think of her, or if she would even want to see her. Sunset’s heart pumped at twice its normal rate as she paced in circles in the middle of her room.

Twilight Sparkle was also present near the room’s door, but wasn’t leaning against it. She stopped by to visit on her own accord, and was now just trying to assist in any way she could to ease her friend's worries.

“Well, Sunset, I have to say that I’m proud of you for doing this. You always wanted to reunite with Princess Celestia again, but you were too worried about what she’d say.”

Continuing to pace, Sunset said, “Yeah, and I’m still worried. I broke her heart, and I don’t know what will happen when she sees me. It’s taking all I have to not back out of this.”

“Wait, if you’re that nervous, then why are you forcing yourself to face her?”

Sunset stopped pacing and turned to Twilight. After a sigh, she tapped the floor lightly with a foot and rubbed her arm as she confessed, “It’s...if I don’t, I will feel like I’m a fraud.”

Twilight gasped and asked, “What?! A fraud? Why?”

“Remember how Eric said that I got over my past and it helped him do it?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, after he told me he did, I thought about it, and I realized that I really haven’t. Not yet.”

“Oh. You mean because you never made up with Princess Celestia?”

Sunset nodded her head. “Yeah. If I keep putting this off, it will feel like I lied to him, or that he fell in love with a Sunset Shimmer that’s not me. I need to make up with her and prove to myself that I have truly overcome my past, just like my boyfriend did.”

“I understand. Still, are you sure you can do this? You know Eric will blame himself and feel horrible if you panic or something, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s why I want him and Princess Twilight with me so I won’t. Last month, Eric was scared of me possibly thinking he looked weird because of what happened to him as a kid, but he still wanted to face his fear and ask me out. If he can do it, then I, his girlfriend, should be able to do the same by facing my fear of what Princess Celestia thinks of me.”

Twilight smiled at the resolve Sunset was displaying. “Wow. I have never seen this kind of strength from you before, Sunset. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” Sunset rubbed her hands and took a deep breath. “I just need to believe that I have truly changed, and Princess Celestia will be happy to see me...I hope.”

Twilight walked to and set a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “I have an idea. Maybe I could come along to be there for you too? After all, you were by my side when I was afraid of becoming Midnight Sparkle again, and I always wanted to meet Eric face-to-face.” And I still have a lot of questions I want to ask him.

Sunset pondered the idea. It could help, but also understood that having two Twilights together could inadvertently create issues. Especially if Twilight wouldn’t be in Alicorn form in Equestria to potentially pass herself off as Princess Twilight, if the Princess of Friendship would even allow it. “Thanks, Twi, but I think it’ll be okay if you stay. But you can walk me to the portal at least.”

“Sure, and before you go to Equestria, we can see our friends first so they can give you a pep talk too,” Twilight suggested with a comforting smile.

“Yeah, and I could use it.”

Twilight removed her hand from Sunset’s shoulder, and the two girls departed Sunset’s apartment. The worries Sunset felt were stronger than she imagined they would be, yet she refused to allow her resolve to relent to them. She was driven to face Princess Celestia, the final step in completely overcoming her past, if it was the last thing she did.

In Twilight’s castle, by the portal, Twilight, Starlight, Spike, and I were waiting for Sunset to come through it. Twi was frowning a little, and I figured she was worried about how Sunset might be feeling.

I said, “I can’t believe Sunset’s finally going to make up with Princess Celestia after all this time. I’m proud of her.”

Twilight stuttered, “Y-yeah, me t-too.”

I turned to Twilight, and that stuttering wasn’t normal. She only does that when she’s either hiding something or is more nervous than she tries to let on. “You sound like you’re nervous too, Twi. I can see Sunset being nervous, but not you, so what’s wrong?”

“Well...”

Pink sparks ran through the portal’s cords, the portal itself glowed, and Sunset came walking out. Not surprisingly, she had a nervous frown, as well as her necklace and pack.

“Hey, Sunset. Uh, remember how you used to fly through that portal whenever you came to visit and once used me as a ‘landing pad’?” I asked with a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood.

Sunset giggled. “Yeah.”

It worked.

“So, Sunset? Er, are you excited about seeing Princess Celestia again?” Starlight asked.

Sunset tapped the floor with a hoof. “Yeah, but mostly nervous. Still, I think I’ll be all right.”

Twilight chuckled and commented, “The way you said that, you reminded me of Eric when he’s nervous, Sunset.”

Sunset and I looked at each other, then chuckled in almost the same way. Should I be worried?

Spike wanted to join the fun, so he teased, “Heh, maybe you two have spent too much time together.”

Starlight remarked, “And next thing you know, Sunset, you’re going to be making plays on Twilight’s princess title. Isn’t that right, Prince of Jokes?”

We all giggled. I’m a little surprised Sunset never did that to be honest. But, to keep from letting the idea that I spent too much time with Sunset sink in, I said, “Uh, anyway, I know it’s scary for you to face Princess Celestia again, Sunset, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“You sure, Eric?” Sunset asked in a more hopeful voice.

“Yeah. I mean, she’s all about friendship and getting along, so I really don’t see her still holding a grudge against you.”

Spike agreed, “Yeah! I’m with Eric: she won’t be mad at you when she sees you. You’ll probably make her day by coming to visit her because I’m sure she’s missed you.”

Here’s where I thought Twilight would say the same. But nope, she instead frowned and made circles on the floor with a hoof. Yep, there’s something she’s not telling us, but she still formed a smile and assured, “And no matter what happens, you will have us by your side, Sunset.”

Sunset in turn smiled and told us, “Thanks, guys. I needed that. Let’s go to Canterlot.”

With that, Twilight, Starlight, Spike, Sunset, and I left the castle, then boarded a train to Canterlot. Once there, we made a beeline to Canterlot castle. I was getting nervous too, but tried to hide it.

Now inside Canterlot castle, I noticed that the walls and windows were decorated with little purple flowers. Fifty bits say the Princess of the Night hung them there. Some of the paths in the hallways we walked down were blocked by one or two of the Royal Guards, all wearing gold-colored armor on their backs. At this point, Sunset had a foreleg curled around my right hand. As usual, when she did this, my hand wound up completely in the foreleg, so I couldn’t hold it back.

Some of the guards were staring at Sunset as we walked. Whether it’s because they recognized her and knew about her “history” with Celestia, or something else, I had no idea. What I did know was that Sunset’s grip on my hand tightened as we went, but she wasn’t hurting it.

Finally, we reached some light-purple double doors, with two guards beside them. The throne room and Princess Celestia were on the other side. We all stood, in order from left to right: Starlight, me, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike.

Twilight sighed and said, “Well, this is it. Remember, we are by your side, Sunset.”

Sunset was still holding my hand, and her grip on my hand tightened as she stared at the door, though her grip wasn’t painful. For this reason, I skipped asking if she still felt nervous and reminded instead, “But like I said, Sunset, Princess Celestia isn’t the type to hold grudges. In fact, I bet she’s even excited to see you again and is waiting for you with a big ‘ol smile! Right, Twilight?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head and put on one of her nervous grins. “Uh...funny story. I thought it would be a good idea to have Sunset come as a surprise, so Princess Celestia doesn’t know she’s here.”

I wasn’t laughing at that “funny” story. Still, that explains why Twi was acting odd, though I thought something worse was on her mind. But either way, there was no turning back now.

Despite the fear in Sunset’s eyes, a fire burned that I’ve never seen in them before. Not even when she stared down the Sirens back in the “battle of the bands” when the pressure was on her. Something was different about Sunset Shimmer today, but I couldn’t figure out where her new strength came from, or why it was there. Maybe she just really wanted to see Celestia, even with her fear.

I said, “Oh. Well, in that case, Princess Celestia is about to have the surprise of the year! Right?”

“R-Right.” Sunset’s grip on my hand tightened even more. This time, it hurt, and her now-vice grip was still growing stronger!

From the pain, I waved the hand in her foreleg and begged, “Ow, ow, ow, stop it, Sunset! Let me go! Ow!”

Sunset gasped and immediately uncurled her foreleg from my hand before bones could crack. Man did that hurt!

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Eric! I didn’t mean to squeeze that tight! Your hand’s not hurt, is it?!”

“Yeah, are you all right?” Spike echoed.

I rubbed my hand, but it wasn’t hurt. “It’s all right, and I sometimes forget how strong ponies are, even Unicorns and Pegasi. How about I hold your hoof when we go in instead of you holding my hand?”

That pain ended up being worth it: all that made Sunset chuckle, offered me her hoof, and I grabbed it, slowly, with my hand still stinging. Then Twilight asked the guards if we could go in, and the doors to the throne room opened. We all couldn't go in at the same time, so Twilight and Spike went in first, followed by Sunset and me, and Starlight went last. Sunset’s breathing picked up as she gritted her teeth, and she might have been fighting the urge to shake.

I found myself instinctively reaching for Sunset's hoof with my left hand, so I held it with both hands and tightened my grip. When Sunset turned her head to me, I motioned my head in Twilight's and Spike’s direction, then Starlight's, and Sunset nodded her head; she got the message.

Once inside the throne room, Starlight, Sunset, and I caught up to Twilight and Spike. All five of us made our positions to each other the same as it was before we went in: Starlight was furthest to the left and Spike furthest to the right. The room had several pillars near the walls to our left and right. Across from us, on the other side of the room, were two guards. They stood near who we came to see: Princess Celestia, standing in front of her throne.

Partly to calm myself down, I thought that if this was on TV, the bronies were losing it. Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia were reuniting!

Unfortunately, there was one little thing that kept me from chuckling at that thought. It also made Sunset gulp, droop her ears, and slid closer to me with an even more fearful frown than before. What it was made my heart sink.

What was that “thing”? More like who it was.

Instead of a big ‘ol smile, a frown was on Celestia’s face. She spread her wings out, and her scowling eyes were on us. Or, to be more accurate, on Sunset. Uh-oh.

Either Trollestia was at it again, or I was oh so wrong when I told Sunset that she’s not the type to hold grudges.

Chapter 18: Sunset's resolve, part 2

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Well, this escalated quickly.

Twilight, Starlight, Spike, Sunset, and I were in the throne room in Canterlot Castle. Sunset was finally ready to make up with Princess Celestia.

Unfortunately, Celestia, with her wings spread out, was staring daggers at Sunset, and I held one of Sunset’s hooves with both hands. I was so hoping that Celestia entered “Trollestia mode” and was just messing with us, and we would soon get a “gotcha”.

But there was no “gotcha”. The Princess of the Day didn’t appear to be trolling us this time.

My siblings, girlfriend, and I looked at each other, silently asking who wanted to say something first.

Big sis Twilight “agreed” to be the one. With one of her big nervous grins, Twi looked to Celestia and greeted, “Uh, hi, Princess Celestia. Beautiful day, isn’t it? Not that any other day is bad because it’s not like you ever mess up raising the Sun, right? Ha, ha, ha?”

Celestia’s face didn’t change one bit. Guess she was immune to Twilight’s adorkableness today.

“But guess...*gulp*...who came to visit you, Princess Celestia? I’m sure you remember Sunset Shimmer, right?” Starlight asked. That was obviously a dumb question, but nerves can do that to you.

I said, “Yep! She finally wanted to see you again! It’s been a while, right?”

Spike reminded, “And sure, she once rejected your lessons, ran off, and came back to steal Twilight’s crown, but that’s water under the bridge, right?”

Not one of Spike’s better efforts to ease a tense situation. I facepalmed with my left hand, but kept the right one on Sunset’s hoof. Way to make Sunset look good Spike.

This was going nowhere fast. No, not even that well.

I turned my head to Sunset. She had her head down, and the hoof I still held shook slightly. That was it: I had to suck it up and say something that could actually help. Knowing Twilight, she was about to give it another go but this time, I wasn’t going to wait for her.

“B-But Sunset wants to make up with you, Princess Celestia, and she’s not how she used to be, I promise.” I put my left hand back on Sunset’s hoof, rubbed it with both hands, and whispered, “Okay, Sunset, you’re up. Remember, we are all here for you.”

Sunset’s hoof stopped shaking. She raised her head to me, nodded, and turned to Celestia, wearing a more determined frown. “Princess Celestia, I-I know how horrible I was to you. You took me under your wing, tried to help me grow into the best pony I could be, but my impatience, arrogance, and thirst for power blinded me. But, with the help of Princess Twilight and my friends in the world on the other side of the portal, I have learned the errors of my ways. I have done my best to change, make up for my mistakes and to help others, like you and Princess Twilight do. I learned the magic of friendship, made wonderful friends, and I even have an amazing boyfriend in Eric Reed, who I love with all my heart.”

I couldn’t resist smiling at the part about me. Even had to fight the urge to kiss my girlfriend. Not to mention I was proud of her to boot.

“Now, I have come to mend our relationship, and hope that we can start over. I am so sorry for all the wrongs I have committed, but I know a simple apology can’t fix how I broke your heart.” Tears formed in Sunset’s eyes. With her voice breaking, she begged, “Still, please, Princess Celestia, give me…*sniff*...another chance to be your faithful student, I beg of you. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? That’s all I want right now.”

Princess Celestia’s scowl weakened. Was she forgiving Sunset, or would she refuse to forgive somepony that’s sorry for once? Or was she merely milking it to mess with our heads?

I wasn’t taking any chances, so I said, “Yes, Princess Celestia. Even when I was in my world, I saw Sunset atone and grow into not a good, or great, but an amazing pony, or person. She even gave me the strength to heal from my own past, never wanted anything in return, and I'd do anything for her.”

Twilight chimed in, “And I will vouch for Sunset too, Princess Celestia, and once, she taught me a friendship lesson. If I had to pass my title of Princess of Friendship to somepony, Sunset Shimmer would be one of my first choices.”

Starlight and Spike nodded their heads in agreement.

Celestia still said nothing, but folded her wings and walked toward us, or to Sunset. I felt my heart rate speed up, and I know Sunset’s heart did too. I instinctively pulled my girlfriend closer and tightened my hands’ grip on her hoof. Not that I could do a thing against Celestia if it came down to it.

After about five seconds, Celestia towered over Sunset. Since I was so close to Sunset, she towered over me too. When we’re both standing, I come up to Celestia’s chest, so Sunset and I had to look up at her face. It still had a serious frown, though less intense than before. Even so, Princess Celestia had never felt so powerful and intimidating, and I even needed to mentally remind myself that she’s a benevolent pony.

I looked to Twilight and Spike, then Starlight, and all three were biting a hoof/claw.

Sunset looked down and sadly suggested, “Or, I can leave and never come back?”

Please say “gotcha” please say “gotcha”.

After a tense as buck couple of seconds, Celestia’s frown flipped into a smile. She slowly moved her wing to Sunset’s right cheek, making her lift her face again.

In a gentle voice, Celestia said, “I have waited so long to hear those words, Sunset Shimmer, and of course I forgive you. Welcome back, and I have missed you so much.”

It wasn’t a “gotcha” but I would have definitely taken it! I let Sunset’s hoof go and took a few steps back, knowing what was coming.

Sunset whimpered, “I’ve missed you too, Princess Celestia. I’m sorry. I’m so--”

Celestia slid the wing on Sunset’s cheek to her mouth, like a mother would, then wrapped a foreleg around her in an embrace. Sunset returned the hug with both forelegs, and tears flowed from both mares' eyes. Saying it was a heartwarming scene would be a colossal understatement, and I had to fight back tears. Sunset and Princess Celestia had finally made up!

However, something ended the moment: A thud from my right. We all looked to see what it was.

Lying on the floor was an unconscious purple Alicorn. I took it that said Alicorn was more nervous than I thought she was, and the relief she felt made her faint.

Spike remarked, “I’m surprised she lasted this long before fainting. I’d say she’ll wake up in ten minutes."

Starlight chuckled and said to Sunset and Celestia, “Maybe you two should have hugged sooner.”

“And I knew we should have brought a pillow so Twi would have had something soft to land on,” I joked, forcing chuckles from all of us.

Celestia commented, “And I know Twilight’s rubbed off on you, Eric, but I would guess that your sense of humor didn’t come from her.”

After we had more chuckles, Sunset and Princess Celestia talked for a while. The rest of us thought it best to leave and go into the main hall of the castle, so those two could be alone; they had some catching up to do. Twilight was still out cold, so Starlight carried her out of the throne room with her magic. If I had a pin, I would have been tempted to draw a mustache on Twi’s face.

After around a half-hour after Sunset’s and Princess Celestia’s long-awaited reunion -- and about twenty minutes after the Princess of Fainting woke up -- we were in the main hall of the castle, sitting in chairs by one of six tables in the room. Five ponies, all Unicorns, walked around some of the tables that were covered with a white table cover.

A door opened, and a giggling Sunset and Celestia walked through it and down some stairs in front of the door. The smile on Sunset’s face was unlike any I’ve seen from her. If she wasn’t at peace and kept it to herself before, she sure was now.

Twilight called out, “Are you two all caught up now?”

Sunset and Celestia walked up to us and Celestia answered, “Not completely. A lot has happened since she left Equestria, but we’ll get there.”

“And thank you all for coming to be there for me. I could not have done it without you.”

“Ha, we didn’t do much, and it was your choice to come, so you should take all of the credit, Sunset,” Twilight said.

“And I’m just glad you two are friends again,” I said.

Sunset giggled and looked to Celestia. “See, Princess Celestia? I told you they would say something like that.”

“And you know how stubborn they can be, so let them think they don’t deserve any credit,” Spike said.

Twilight and I chuckled. That was a bull’s-eye, and we all knew it.

“If you insist. But, Eric, I must say from what Sunset told me, in her words, you are an amazing boyfriend. And you know, in some ways, I think of Sunset not as a student or even a friend, but a daughter. I think that was the reason it hurt so much when she left.”

Sunset frowned and looked down. “Yeah, and I’m so--”

Celestia set a wing over Sunset’s mouth to hush her and again looked like a mother, complete with a motherly smile. This time, I felt a wave of nostalgia because it made me think about my mom doing it to me. In fact, Twilight did this to me a couple of times in her “Momlight” moments.

“Oh, Sunset, you don’t have to apologize anymore. It’s all in the past, so we should look forward. Besides, if I could have been a better teacher and been there for you better, maybe you wouldn't have gone down the dark path you did or was driven to leave.”

Sunset nodded her head, and Celestia moved her wing off Sunset’s mouth.

Celestia looked to me. “Anyway, as I was saying, Eric, Sunset is like a daughter to me. That means someday, you might have to call me mom,” Celestia said with a wink.

Both Sunset and I knew what that meant, and we both rubbed our necks and she blushed. Guess I did too because my cheeks warmed up.

The others giggled, and I should be glad Celestia didn't joke about wanting grandfoals. If she did, I might have pulled a Twilight and fainted!

But before we did or said something else, a yellow Unicorn mare in the hall said something, but we barely made it out.

“I still don’t know why the Princesses are so nice to that whatever he called himself. Pink Heart of Courage or not, I wouldn’t let that weird-looking thing come anywhere near my mansion.”

Guess she was one of those particularly snobbish Unicorns, and even Rarity can’t stand them. One thing Diane Heart never did was think of me as a “thing”, but just “looked weird”.

Twilight, Spike, and Sunset gasped, surrounded me and put a comforting hoof/claw on me. Starlight glared at the mare and growled. Even Princess Celestia gave a sympathetic frown.

But, this time, while hearing somepony call me a “thing” hurt, it only hurt a little. Something I can more than handle after all the stuff I’ve been through, and looking “weird” didn’t stop me from getting a girlfriend and an amazing one at that. If I still needed it, this proved I was over my past. I even let out a chuckle.

“You know what? Let that snob think that. I have not just a Pink Heart of Courage, but three of the most amazing mares ever as either my girlfriend or big sister, one’s even a princess, five of my friends are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and the best Dragon ever as a little brother. If she thinks there’s something wrong with me, that says something about her.”

“You promise?” Twilight asked in a soft voice. “Of all ponies, I know how you try to hide it when you’re hurt.”

“Not this time, Twi. I promise.”

Twilight smiled and said, “Wow, I’m proud of you, little bro. You have grown in the last month.”

Starlight stared more daggers at the snob, then looked back to us. “But I still hate that a pony would think that about you. You're not a 'thing', and it makes me so mad hearing somepony talk that way about you.”

I was about to tell Starlight that it was okay, but before my mouth opened, Celestia said, “Uh, I’m afraid I must take my leave, but I’m happy to have seen you all.”

The rest of us said, “Okay, Princess Celestia.”

“And, Sunset, you can come to see me anytime you need me, or just want to, okay?”

“I will, Princess Celestia,” Sunset responded.

After Celestia went through a door to do whatever she needed to do, we left the castle through a different door, with me holding Sunset’s hoof.

Though, right after we walked out of the castle, Twilight said she needed to go back inside for a minute, and sped back in. After doing something, she ran out with an almost smug smile, but told us that she was thinking about something funny.

Before we got far from the castle, that mare that said I looked weird screamed, then yelled that whatever she bit into was hot. No idea what was going on, but it made Twilight chuckle. Heh, guess she was more mad at that mare than she was putting on to do that.

We had some time before it was time to go to the train station, so we walked around Canterlot for a while. I’ve hardly been out here in Canterlot, and Sunset hasn’t been back in years, so we both wanted to explore it. Once it was time, we boarded the train and returned to Ponyville.

When Twilight ran back into the castle, she levitated a bottle of hot sauce that sat on one of the tables. With a mischievous smile, she poured some into a half-eaten hayburger the mare that called Eric strange was eating. All the ponies in the room were facing in another direction, making them all unaware of Twilight’s actions. With a satisfied smile, the Princess trotted out of the castle once again. The big sister in Twilight Sparkle overrode how she should act as the Princess of Friendship.

That will teach her to call my little brother “weird” or a “thing”.

After Twilight left, Princess Celestia secretly returned to the room, holding a bottle of extra spicy hot sauce in her magic. She repeated what Twilight did with the “normal” hot sauce, also unseen. With her “job” done, with a chuckle, Celestia left the room in earnest with a content smile.

Even out of the room, Princess Celestia heard the snobbish Unicorn scream from her burning mouth and tongue.

“Gotcha,” Celestia quietly said to herself with a giggle.

Back in Ponyville, in the library in Twilight’s castle, Sunset and I were sitting beside each other on a couch. Twilight was in her room and she said she needed to rest, Spike felt like going to visit Thorax, and Starlight decided to hang out with Maud for a while. Bet you thought it would be Trixie that Starlight went to, didn’t you?

“So, Sunset, this was a day for you to remember, I’d say.”

“Yes, it is. After all these years, I still can’t believe Princess Celestia and I have made peace. It’s almost like I’m dreaming.”

“Well, you could try pinching yourself, uh, wait, you can’t really do that with hooves. Maybe bite a hoof instead?”

Sunset actually did it, yelped, and said, “That hurt, so this is real.”

“Well, now you know for sure this isn’t a dream.”

Sunset leaned into me and wrapped her forelegs around me. Her grip was tighter than usual. Before I could ask why, she told me, “Eric? Thank you. You inspired me to make up with Princess Celestia by getting over your past. If not for you, I might not have ever faced her.”

“I did? But...oh, I think I get it. Till now, you didn’t think you totally got over your past, and is that why you suddenly wanted to go to Princess Celestia?”

“Yeah. I’ve always wanted to see her, but when you said you got over your past, and Erica said you sounded different, it made me realize that I didn’t truly do it. If I didn’t meet Princess Celestia and prove to myself otherwise, I would have felt like a fraud.”

I was surprised, but I also felt pride, knowing how I helped Sunset reunite with Princess Celestia without even knowing, and I wrapped my arms around her to return the hug. But when we broke it up, her necklace caught my eye. I felt some shame and it made me rub my hands in disappointment in myself. It was time to fess up.

“Wait, I have a confession myself. I didn’t actually get you that necklace.”

Sunset looked to her necklace, then to me with a puzzled frown. “Huh? If it didn’t come from you, where did it come from?”

“From Pinkie Pie, or the Pinkie in your world and don’t ask how she knew to help, because I don’t either. I...forgot to have somepony get you something for me when I was in the hospital, but I didn’t want you to think that I thought our one-month anniversary wasn’t important. But I’m going to get you something else to make up for it later, I promise!”

I thought -- or hoped -- Sunset would say it was okay and she wasn’t mad. But instead of saying something, she full-on laughed. I was confused, but not enough to fail to see how cute she looked.

“What? What’s so funny?”

Sunset calmed down the laughing and explained, “That. How you can do something for me but don’t see how important it is. And before you ask, I meant that you already made up for it by being by my side when I faced Princess Celestia.”

I wanted to say it wasn’t too big a deal, but I knew Sunset wouldn’t buy it, so I simply kissed her.

“You’re getting too good at shooting down my arguments, you know that?”

“Yep,” Sunset answered in a cute, playful voice.

“But from what you said earlier, we helped each other without knowing it. And like I said before: we make a good team.”

“No. We make a great team, Eric.”

A voice commented, “Yeah, you two are. I'm almost jealous.”

Sunset and I turned our heads to one of the library’s doors. Twilight was walking in, wearing a pride-filled smile.

“Oh, hey, Twi. What’s up?” I asked.

“I just wanted to say how proud I am of you two.”

Sunset asked, “What do you mean?”

“First, Sunset, you have wanted to see Princess Celestia for a while, but couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Now, you finally have, and you went to her on your own accord. And, Buggie, you took charge and stood up for Sunset, and I couldn’t have said what you did any better. You two have grown more than you know.”

Even though Twilight Sparkle does not hesitate to give her friendship speeches or praise, she doesn’t just “give” them. There’s meaning to them, so hearing it made a warm feeling go through me. Sunset formed a bashful smile.

“Thanks,” Sunset and I both said at the same time. Yep, we’re still doing stuff like that.

“In fact, if I knew you two had grown so much, I would have let you go in Princess Celestia's throne room on your own, but I thought you would need me. Especially because Celestia was still a little mad at you, Sunset, but it--”

I gasped. This just got more interesting. “Wait, hold it! Go back to that last part, Twilight.”

“What part?”

“The part where you said that Celestia was still mad at Sunset.”

Twilight gasped and formed one of her nervous grins again. This time, I was immune to her adorkableness. “Oh, that? Well, y-you see--”

I interrupted, “In fact, was that why you were so nervous before we went?”

Twilight rubbed her neck as she stuttered, “Uh, well, I-I thought that m-maybe if s-she saw Sunset, she would have--” Twilight looked at the side of her hoof “--oh, look at the time! I--”

“Twilight? That trick won’t work, because you never wear watches,” I pointed out in a serious voice.

“I-In that case, bye!” Twilight fled out of the library at a speed she hardly uses, and it even had an audible zip. I couldn’t believe she didn't tell us that! Then again, maybe she thought that if she did, Sunset wouldn’t have tried to go, but thought everything would work out. I guess.

“Well, that happened,” I remarked.

“It might have been for the best that she didn’t tell me before we went. And, there’s one more thing I should tell you.”

“Okay. What is it?”

Sunset frowned and rubbed her hooves as she said, “You told me that you thought I was amazing even before you left your old world. Now, I can’t believe I missed seeing just how amazing you really are sooner, Eric. I’m sorry I did.”

“It’s all right. I’m just glad you think that at all. Oh, and aren’t you glad now that I never took your and the other girls’ suggestion to try and ask out Princess Twilight?”

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, and I’m glad you kept refusing to listen to us. And...the next time I’m back in Equestria, maybe we could finally…?” Sunset blushed and made circles on the couch with a hoof. It reminded me of how she did it when she wanted to ask if she could spend the night after our date. Just like back then, I knew what she was thinking, but I wasn’t shy about what she wanted to do this time.

“Oh! So you’re ready. In that case, when you come back, I will definitely have that ‘Do Not Disturb!’ sign on my door for it!”

Sunset grinned, and we leaned in to kiss as a small preview of what was coming. I couldn’t wait for when Sunset came back, and it was going to be a magical time. Not even two months ago, thinking of simply kissing a mare on the lips felt weird as buck, let alone...that. Guess I’ve changed more than I thought over the last couple of months.

And yep, according to “the book”, it is possible after all.

But that aside, I could only wonder what would happen next in my relationship with Sunset Shimmer, even if I’m more of an “in the now” kind of guy. However, there were a couple of things I knew.

One is that, with me finally over my past, I’ve never felt so much at peace. Not that I wasn’t already, but still. And two, when dating a Sunset Shimmer, or the Sunset Shimmer, things are great.

Unless I do something to screw this up!

And, maybe I should ask Twilight if she’s hiding anything else from Sunset or me.

When Dating a Sunset...

by ThePinkedWonder

Chapter 1: Denying feelings

Chapter 2: Accepting feelings

Chapter 3: Deciding what to do

Chapter 4: The pseudo-date, part 1

Chapter 5: The pseudo-date, part 2

Chapter 6: Sunset's question

Chapter 7: Preparations, and two warnings

Chapter 8: The REAL date

Chapter 9: The payback

Chapter 10: Sunset & Eric Vs. Startrix

Chapter 11: Sunset & Eric Vs. the Cragadile

Chapter 12: Recovery, nicknames, and a BIG mistake

Chapter 13: One chance

Chapter 14: Worthy

Chapter 15: Gifts, Pinkie Trollie Pie, and the book

Chapter 16: Meeting Erica

Chapter 17: Sunset's resolve, part 1

Chapter 18: Sunset's resolve, part 2