Dear Diary,

Sunset got kicked out of the Girl Scouts.

It was on the third day of our camping trip. Sunset was really good at all the material, but she just couldn’t get along with the other girls, Sugarcoat in particular. She said a few mean things about me, and Mom always tells me to turn the other cheek, but it got Sunset really mad, and they got into a shouting match. Sunset said some really nasty stuff that she shouldn’t have about how Sugarcoat’s parents were getting a divorce, which I didn’t even know she was going through that, and the counselor overheard.

She might have gotten away with a warning, but Sunset started saying really nasty stuff to the counselor too, so she got kicked out.

This sucks. I was really looking forward to doing this all with Sunset. I like her so much, but she can be really stubborn sometimes. I’ve only got two more days left of camp, then I can go home. She’s not returning my texts, though.

☹

-Twilight Sparkle

Twilight yawned, stretching as she walked from her adjoining bathroom into the bedroom, then plopped down in front of the dresser and checked herself out in the mirror. “Hey, Sunset, could you grab my hairbrush for me? It should be in my bag.”

Sunset peeked up from the book she was reading, then placed a bookmark in it and set it aside. “Sure.”

The long day of sun and saltwater had left Twilight’s skin feeling stretched taut, but the shower had definitely helped with that. Since they still had almost a week of vacation to go, she had a sneaking suspicion everyone was going to be walking away from the trip with either severe sunburns or killer tans.

“Uh, Twilight?” Sunset asked, looking up and making a face like she had just swallowed a bug.

“Hmm?” Twilight replied, pushing her chair off the floor slightly and balancing on two legs.

“Why do you have like, thirty condoms in your bag?”

“That’s not—” Twilight shouted and tried to sit up straight, but she ended up losing her balance and falling backwards instead.

Sunset giggled, holding up the ribbon of rubbers. “I take it someone was hoping to get lucky tonight? You know, I may have gotten a D in anatomy class, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how this whole thing is supposed to work.”

Twilight sat up, fuming. “It wasn’t me! My brother and father apparently thought it would be a hilarious practical joke. I should have just thrown those out.”

“Ah, so that’s what that was,” Sunset said as she placed them back and tossed Twilight her hairbrush.

Twilight caught the brush, righted herself and her chair, and tried to stop blushing.

Sunset went back to reading while Twilight continued to get ready for bed. After maybe fifteen minutes, Twilight shuffled over and flopped onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

“Mmm. I’m exhausted,” Twilight mumbled, snuggling deeper. She ached all over. The bed was like heaven, and Sunset being next to her made everything all the sweeter.

Sunset smiled, then put her book on the nightstand and turned off the light. She curled up under the covers and kissed Twilight’s cheek. “I had a lot of fun today, Twilight. Thanks for taking us all on this trip. It was a great idea.”

Twilight could already feel sleep calling to her, but her heart fluttered at those words all the same. “Thanks for being with me today, and for pushing me past my boundaries a little. I think I needed that.”

“Mhm. No problem.”

A thought occurred to her, and she struggled to work it into a coherent request before her mind failed her. “Sunset? Can I ask you a favor?”

“Anything.”

“When we get back… I wanna visit her grave. The other Sunset’s. She… I dunno. I just want to talk to her, and stuff. I know it’s stupid and weird, but I’d like it if you came with me when I do. Something about closure.”

The room went silent for a few moments, and just as Twilight began to regret asking, Sunset nodded. “Okay, yeah. I’ll do it.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks. Good night, Sunset.”

“Good night, Twilight.”

Sunset woke up in the middle of the night.

She groaned and rubbed her eyes as her senses sparked to life. It was still dark, and she could hear the crickets making their usual racket outside. A chill washed over her, and she realized that Twilight wasn’t in bed with her.

Yawning, she stretched and stood up. The bathroom light was off, so Twilight probably wasn’t in there. Maybe she was off on a late night snack run—something that Sunset’s stomach liked the sound of.

It didn’t take long to find Twilight. Moving past the open kitchen into the living room, she saw Twilight standing out on the balcony and staring off into space, moonlight shining on her blank face.

“Hey,” Sunset called out, stopping near the door. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Twilight didn’t move. “Just thinking about stuff.”

“Such as?”

Twilight shrugged. “Life. Love. The big questions. Why are we here, why do things happen? How much do we really matter in all this grand immensity? You know, standard navel gazing.”

“Cool.” Sunset moved forward to stand next to Twilight, sharing in her view. “Mind if I join you?”

“Existentialism loves company.”

Sunset leaned forward, resting her elbows on the balcony. The humidity clung to her skin, but a nice cool breeze came in off of the ocean. She looked down at the beach below. “Being up here doesn’t bother you?”

Twilight glanced down over the railing, flinched, then shook her head. “Not really. Not a lot, anyway. It’s fine when there’s a railing, and I’m mostly looking up rather than down.”

"Fair enough."

They stood together in silence for several minutes before Twilight finally spoke up again.

"Do you ever stop and think about how messed up this whole thing is?" Twilight turned, gesturing towards Sunset. "You. Me. Us. Just—everything that's happened since I came to Ponyville is completely outside the bounds of human experience."

Sunset grinned. "It's crossed my mind, but I think my definition of ‘weird’ is a little different than yours. Besides, does it really matter?"

Twilight sighed and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "That's just it. I feel like it should matter, but it doesn't. I'm having so much fun, with everyone, with you. This is like a dream come true. And yet... a part of me is scared that I really am just dreaming."

Sunset’s smile disappeared. She grabbed Twilight’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Twilight. You need to wake up."

Twilight stiffened, all the color draining from her face.

A quiet moment passed.

Sunset sniggered.

"You..." Twilight blinked a few times, and then scowled, shoving Sunset away from her. "Oh my gods! You unbelievable ass!"

"I'm sorry!" Sunset wheezed, laughing even harder. "The setup was just too perfect!"

Twilight stomped her foot, balling up her fists. "It's not funny! I was trying to be serious here!"

Sunset practically choked, doubling over to her knees as she continued to shake. “I know! That’s why it’s so funny!”

Twilight growled, then stomped off back into the house, muttering to herself.

“Hey, wait, hold up!” Sunset called, trying her best to stop laughing as she stood back up, and mostly failing. “I’m sorry, okay?”

Twilight didn’t answer, and Sunset took a minute to get herself under control, taking several deep breaths before heading into the house after her. She found Twilight sitting on the couch, arms wrapped tight around a pillow.

“I’m sorry,” Sunset said again, stopping at the edge of the couch.

“No, you’re not,” Twilight mumbled into the pillow. “You just don’t want me to be mad at you.”

Sunset thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “Okay, I guess that’s mostly true. But come on, you gotta admit it was kind of funny.”

Twilight sighed. “I was trying to have a moment there, and you ruined it. I wanted to segue that conversation into... something else.”

“Really? Like what?” Sunset asked, leaning forward.

Twilight’s mouth hung open for a few seconds before she frowned again and turned her nose into the air. “Nope. Too late, you don’t get to know.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “The world isn’t made of perfect moments, Twilight. It’s full of flubbed words, near misses, awkward silences, and idiotic mistakes. That’s just life, you know? If what you wanted to say or do was worth it, than it’s worth it no matter what kind of build up it has.”

“Yeah, right.” Twilight pouted, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “I bet you wouldn’t be acting all wise and noble if the tables were turned.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Sunset said, giggling. She flopped onto the couch, stretching her legs across Twilight’s lap. “But if something like that does happen, feel free to rub it in my face all you want.”

“Alright, fine,” Twilight said, standing up and shoving Sunset’s legs off of her roughly. “Grab your shoes, let’s go.”

Sunset sat up, cocking her head. “Just my shoes? If we’re going outside, shouldn’t I change out of my pajamas?”

“Pajamas are fine,” Twilight said, walking out of the room. As she disappeared from sight, Sunset just barely heard her mutter, “You won’t need them for very long.”

“Where are we going?” Sunset asked as Twilight led her down the darkened path.

“You’ll see,” Twilight said, turning back to flash Sunset a shaky grin. “We’re almost there.”

Though they had stopped to grab flashlights just in case, the moon and the stars were bright enough that they weren’t necessary. This particular woodland path was far from treacherous, and Sunset had no worries about getting caught on errant tree roots or running into low hanging branches.

“Tada!” Twilight proclaimed, gesturing grandly as she pushed aside a particularly large leaf.

Sunset stepped forward into the clearing. Or perhaps a grotto would be a better term for it. It was a small rocky pond, fed by a waterfall from above. The whole thing shone with a pale luminescence, and Sunset couldn’t help but give a low whistle.

“Wow, this place is beautiful, Twilight. I’m surprised we didn’t come here earlier.”

“It’s better at night,” Twilight said. Eyes darting around, she leaned forward and folded her hands behind her back. “Besides, I wanted to come swim here with, y’know... you. Alone.”

Sunset raised a finger, frowning. “We’re going swimming? Shouldn’t we have grabbed our swimsuits, then?”

“No.” Twilight walked to the edge of the pool and took a deep breath. “I mean, it’s not like you actually need clothes to swim. Skinny dipping is... is a thing.”

Skinny dipping? Sunset had heard the term before, but it was only as she watched Twilight unbutton her top that the definition came back to her. She kept her eyes trained on Twilight’s descending fingers. “Don’t you guys have a, uh, nudity taboo?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said. She trembled as she slipped out of her top and put it to the side, keeping her back to Sunset. “Breaking it is what’s supposed to make skinny dipping fun. Besides, it’s with you, so it’s okay.”

Sunset smiled, then quickly shed her own pajamas. Clothes always seemed a bit silly to her, but they were the custom here—a custom enforced both socially and legally—so she wasn’t about to argue. “If it’s okay with you, Twilight. I’ll take your word for it.”

Now completely naked, Twilight kept her back turned to Sunset for a few moments more before gritting her teeth and turning around. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was hunched forward. Her entire face had gone crimson, and every limb shook.

But as she met Sunset’s gaze, and two of them studied each other’s naked bodies, Twilight’s jaw went loose. She swallowed. “You... you’re beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Sunset felt her own cheeks heat up. She was never quite sure how she was supposed to take compliments to her human form, but it seemed to matter to the shy and awkward girl baring it all to her.

Sunset strode forward, toes squishing in the mud. She reached out a hand and caressed Twilight’s cheek, causing the younger girl to gasp, before Twilight reached up and grabbed her hand tightly.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” Sunset asked. “You don’t have to do anything to impress me, you know. I just—”

Twilight kissed Sunset.

“I love you,” Twilight whispered as she pulled away.

Sunset’s breath caught in her throat. Those words—even in an alternate dimension, they held just as much power. Three little words, able to shake nations and topple kingdoms. Able to bring so much joy, so much pain. Sunset knew the standard response. Knew what she was supposed to say.

But all she could do was stare.

Did she love Twilight? They had only known each other for a month, and had been dating for even less. Yet Twilight was sweet, and clever, and fun to be around, and made her heart skip with joy, and she found her thoughts occupied by the slip of a girl more and more every day.

Love at its ultimate meant sharing your life with another person. As much as Sunset had begun to worry about her future and where she wanted to go with her life, the thought of facing the world with Twilight by her side seemed a lot more palatable.

She had to face it. She had fallen for this girl hard.

Sunset knew the standard response. Knew what she was supposed to say.

But just as she opened her mouth, an odd thought came to her: a memory of their first sleepover, and the movie they had watched. Sunset grinned. Twilight would probably appreciate this answer.

“I know.”

Twilight blinked, then burst out laughing.

Sunset smiled and laughed along.

“Come on,” Twilight stammered, her voice halfway between a fit of giggles and a shriek of terror. She took both of Sunset’s hands and stepped backwards slowly. “I still want to swim and... and stuff.”

Sunset nodded and allowed herself to be led into the water, up until the point where her feet actually touched the water. She jumped back, cursing. “That’s cold!”

Twilight blinked, then rolled her eyes. “It’s not that bad, don’t be such a baby.” She let go of Sunset and backed into the water further, until she was mostly submerged. “You’ll get used to it fast, I promise.”

“Ugh.” Sunset sighed, then made her way deeper into the pond, shivering as she watched her steps. Twilight’s swimming lessons earlier had helped a bit, even if she wasn’t able to make much progress in the ocean. Fortunately, it seemed that swimming in an ocean wasn’t too different from swimming in a pond.

“Huh,” Twilight said as she swam to the side, looking Sunset up and down. “I didn’t realize you had a tattoo.”

Sunset furrowed her brows. She followed Twilight’s gaze to her thigh, then nodded. “Oh, right, my cutie mark. I mentioned those to you, didn’t I?”

Twilight frowned, tapping her chin. “Something about a particular icon that appears on your ass when you discover what your destiny is, right?”

“Yeah, that’s about the gist of it, I guess.”

“Interesting.” Twilight swam to the middle of the pond, where her head was just bobbing above the water. “You know, there’s an old religious practice in our world, where as a coming of age ceremony children would get a particular bit of iconography tattooed on their butts—usually something the child felt spoke to them on a personal level. It’s long since fallen out of practice, but has recently made a bit of a comeback amongst younger kids. Though they usually use patches on their clothes instead of getting tattoos.”

“Really? Huh. I just thought that was normal.”

“Yep. So what does your sun-thingy mean?”

Sunset frowned as she climbed up onto a nearby outcropping. She sat down and kicked her legs through the water. “It’s kind of silly, really. You sure you want to hear it?”

Twilight rested her hands on her chin, which she quickly realized was an untenable position while treading water. “Sure,” she sputtered. “I’d love to.”

“Where to start…” Sunset idly traced her fingers across skin of her legs, biting her lip. “There’s a
particular flower in Equestria, called a Sunburst Rose. It only blooms in the brief window while the sun touches the horizon. Most ponies are unaware of it, and those who do know don’t really care, because who cares about something that can shine for a few minutes at most?”

“I see.” Twilight’s face fell into a frown. It had become a familiar one—one that Sunset knew meant that Twilight was thinking of the other Sunset.

Twilight caught sight of Sunset’s worried eyes and forced on a smile.

Sunset paused for a moment before continuing her story, her mind’s eye flooding with old memories. “My dorm room at Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns overlooked the garden, and there was a small bush of the roses growing there. I watched them bloom, then fade away every night before I went to bed.”

Twilight swam over to where Sunset was sitting and pulled herself up, sliding in next to her and leaning in close.

“Princess Celestia herself occasionally tended to the garden during the day. It was a spot for her to be alone and think, I imagine. I’d see her down there, tending to all of the plants, but she never seemed to pay much attention to the roses. Because she was always in her palace when she moved the sun from day to night, she never got to see them bloom.

“It didn’t feel right to me. Why should this flower, clearly more beautiful and more special than all the others, get overlooked just because it didn’t shine at the right time? I started doing research, studying the flower, the properties of light and magic, and developed a spell of my own. One day, I hid in the garden and waited for Celestia. Using my spell, I bent the light around the flowers to the right wavelength, and tricked them into thinking it was sunset. They bloomed, Celestia was delighted and impressed, and I got my cutie mark. She later took me in as her personal pupil.”

Twilight nodded, then shivered. She leaned closer to Sunset, their bodies warm in the cool nighttime air. “So it’s a flower, then?”

Sunset shivered at the touch. “Not exactly. If you want to be metaphorical about it, you could say it represents me shining light on something to help it realize its full potential. Tragically, I thought the pony it was meant to shine on was me, and me alone, but, well, you know that story already.”

“I think it suits you perfectly,” Twilight said, leaning closer and kissing her cheek. She paused, then screwed up her face into a twisted smile and whispered, “You can shine your light on me any day.”

“Pfft,” Sunset snorted, turning to Twilight. “What is that even supposed to mean?”

Twilight pursed her lips together, then stood up, making her way carefully over to the waterfall. Sitting down in front of it, she turned back to Sunset, meeting her eyes. She raised her hands above her head, pushing up hair slightly and thrusting her chest forward.

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“Ugh.” Twilight sighed, blushing slightly. “I’m trying to seduce you, stupid.”

“Oh.”

Twilight sagged, her face falling. “Sunset… do you find me sexy at all?”

Sunset thought about her response carefully, then moved across the pond, grabbed Twilight’s chin, and kissed her.

“I think you’re beautiful, Twilight,” Sunset said, looking deeply into her eyes. “And I meant what I said earlier. But sexiness? Like, pure, physical lust? I don’t think humans will ever do it for me like that.”

Twilight winced. “I see.” She wrung her hands together, head hanging, then whispered, “So I guess we can never…?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say that. You’re you, and I’d be happy to share myself with you. Just don’t expect the Victoria’s Secret catalogue to drive me wild.”

Twilight pursed her lips, then after a few moments shook her head and took a deep breath. “I guess it’ll have to do,” she muttered, then kissed Sunset again, pushing her to the ground.

Twilight shuffled into the living room, groaning in agony as she shielded her eyes against the morning sun.

Rarity was already in the kitchen working on breakfast with the assistance of Fluttershy, and when she saw Twilight she waved, calling, “Good morning, Twilight! I must have slept like an angel last night! These beds are great, and the ocean air is just so rejuvenating! Only way I think I could have it beat is if this was a spa trip instead.” As Twilight drew nearer, she tapped her chin and said, “Hmm, but you don’t look so hot yourself. Something troubling you?”

“Nnnnngh,” Twilight replied elegantly as she slumped over the counter, making futile grasping motions towards the coffee pot.

“I see,” Rarity said as she set about making coffee. “Well, I’ll do what I can for you. What made last night so rough for you, anyway?”

“It turns out,” Twilight muttered, pushing herself up slightly and wiping the drool off of her lips, “that sex in a moonlit waterfall-grotto is nowhere near as magical as it looks in the movies. It’s actually kind of gross and uncomfortable. My everything hurts.”

“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked, dropping a plate which shattered on the floor.

Twilight blinked, looked between Rarity and Fluttershy, then covered her mouth with her hands when she realized what she had just said.

“My, my,” Rarity said, raising a finger to her lips. She glanced down the hallway to their bedroom door, where Sunset was still sleeping. “For that, I guess I’d recommend a nice hot bath.”

“Yo, is the food ready yet? I’m starving here!” Rainbow Dash called from the living room.

Rarity sighed, passed the mug of coffee over to Twilight, then turned her attention back to the scrambled eggs. “Soon! And I think the cinnamon rolls are almost done, Fluttershy.”

Twilight took a quick sip, then forced herself to get up and help Fluttershy pick up the broken plate.

Even considering the state she was in at the moment, she didn’t regret last night at all.

The rest of the week passed by in an instant.

They frolicked in the sun and swam. They constructed mighty sand castles, then watched Pinkie Pie tear them all down, Godzilla-style. They built a bonfire on the beach. Applejack brought out her old acoustic guitar, and they all sang together. After much needling and cajoling, Twilight joined them and proved that her singing was in fact, terrible. It took an hour of practice just to teach her how to keep a tune. Either way, it was still a lot of fun, though she didn’t get any pony ears out of the deal.

On one of the days, a vicious storm blew through, so they spent the whole day inside. They played card games, board games, pool. At, surprisingly, Fluttershy’s suggestion, they ended up acting out a murder-mystery dinner theater. Applejack ended up being the culprit, and nobody suspected a thing until it was too late.

A week of seemingly endless fun and games, in a near utopia. Through it all, Twilight grew closer to her friends, and closer to the woman she loved. It could easily be described as the perfect vacation.

But all vacations have to end sometime, and by the time they were all packing up for the drive back to Twilight’s house, it hardly seemed like any time had passed at all.

But the memories they made would last for a lifetime.

I, um, hope that wasn't too l-lewd for you guys.

Other stories!

If you haven't read it yet, my story How Sunset Rose covers the events of Sunset's cutie mark story she told in this chapter. This chapter was written first, and I later expanded it into a standalone thing.

Last week, I released a new story, Some Trade-Offs Mean More Than Others. It's a cute christmas yarn about Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash trying to buy presents for the CMC. I actually wrote it way back in February, but decided to wait for the appropriate season to publish it.

And just earlier today I released Why Can't I Be Your Rara?, a short fic in which Rarity is jealous of the deep and lasting bond shared by Applejack and Coloratura.

Actual ponies! Not this human trash! You should go read all of them.