Dear Diary,

I spent a lot of time with Cadance today. She was getting ready to go on a date with my brother.

Sunset's birthday is coming up, and I want to do something really special for her. Cadance let me look through her jewelry, and I found a beautiful pair of emerald earrings that match Sunset's eyes perfectly.

Cadance said I could have them to give to her! But then she asked why it mattered so much, because Sunset is my best friend already, and she said that fancy gifts won’t change anything either way.

I couldn't really give her a good answer about how much I wanted Sunset to know I cared, so then she asked if I had a crush on Sunset.

I thought about it for a long time. It made sense. I've read a lot of books where there's romance, though it's usually a girl crushing on a boy, or vice versa. I've never felt like that about a boy, or anyone else, really, but with Sunset...

Just the thought of being together with Sunset like that makes my stomach twist into knots and my heart start beating really quick. That's how the people in stories always talk about love...

I told Cadance that maybe she was right, and she got really excited, and started yelling about how cute we would be together.

If I really am in love with Sunset, I have to do something really amazing for her to let her know.

And I think I know just what to do.

-Twilight Sparkle

“Hey guys,” Sunset said as she sat down at the lunch table.

Fluttershy looked up from her plate and smiled. “Welcome back.”

It was good to have Sunset and Twilight back, even if they had only been gone for a weekend. A part of Fluttershy was actually kind of jealous. She’d always wondered what the Equestria Sunset so often talked about was like, and she especially wondered about its animals. Of course, she would love to actually see Princess Twilight again—not that the other Twilight wasn’t nice, too.

"So how'd it go?" Applejack asked. "Normally I’d just look on your MyStable page or something, but considering where you went... we're feeling a little left out here."

Sunset giggled. "You're probably right, but I'm afraid you'll just have to deal. Besides," she said as she reached into her backpack, pulled out a box, and set it on the table, "we got you some souvenirs."

"Some couples prefer to maintain radio silence when they go on vacation, you know," Rarity said as she idly filed her nails. A small smile flashed over her lips. "Especially if it's something like a honeymoon."

Sunset grimaced. "Hey, that's not—!"

Fluttershy felt her cheeks heat up. She ducked behind her hair and shoveled a bite of spaghetti into her mouth so she wouldn't have to say anything.

Sunset and Twilight really had built up something amazing, and now Fluttershy had the privilege of being able to watch such a beautiful romance unfold in real time.

"Holy crap, these are awesome!" Rainbow Dash said, holding something up to the light. "Here, Shy, I think this one is yours."

Rainbow Dash placed something in her hand and Fluttershy snapped back to reality. She looked down to see a small glass vial filled with what appeared to be pale yellow sand, with pink sand forming three butterflies in the center. It felt warm to the touch, and, defying sense, the butterflies seemed to orient towards her as she tilted it back and forth, so they were visible from any angle.

"Wow..." she breathed. It was beautiful and, she suspected, magical in some way. A gift like this was just...

"No problem," Sunset said in response to the various thank yous Fluttershy had been too spaced out to hear. "Princess Twilight sends her love too."

Fluttershy reached out and placed her bottle on the table with all the others, and the five pieces of artwork seemed to hum with energy, like they belonged together.

"Did, um, you and Twilight get some of these too?"

"Huh?"

Fluttershy blinked, then squeaked and sunk into her chair when she realized everyone was suddenly paying attention to her. "Just that, um, these are all really beautiful, but there should be ones for Sunset and Twilight too. It should be all seven of us together."

"Oh, right, of course. Doi," Sunset said, crossing her eyes briefly and flicking herself in the forehead. "No, these were custom made by a… a friend, but we got them for ourselves too. I left mine with Twilight, but they could be together, I guess."

"D'awww," Rarity cooed, her eyes sparkling. "You really are quite the sweetheart, Sunset Shimmer."

Fluttershy frowned. It was a sweet gesture, but something didn't quite sit right with her.

The five of them were together. Sunset and Twilight were together, but apart from the group. They would all be going to prom together as friends, but Sunset and Twilight would be going together as a couple. The five of them would be going to college together, but Sunset and Twilight...

Fluttershy thought back to the conversation she had had with Sunset on the beach. Sunset had been worried about where she was going to go, and what she was going to do.

She wondered if Sunset had found the answer she was looking for.

Parties were important.

Like, super important!

“Ooh, this should be good! And some of these. And take this! Ooh, and you can’t have a party without these little guys! None of that though, eugh.”

Maud Pie dumped all of the items Pinkie had been stuffing into her arms into the shopping cart. “Are you sure this is enough?”

“You’re right—going to need some of these too!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and grabbed a handful of snacks from the top shelf. “I’ve thrown a lot of parties before, Sis, but these are going to be like, the most important ones I’ve ever thrown!”

“Really?”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Of course! I’m like, graduating! I mean, I know the party I threw for you when you graduated was a lot of fun, too.”

“It was nice.”

“But now it’s me and all of my bestest friends in the whole world graduating all at once! Well, except Twilight, she already graduated early because she’s super smart and stuff. But I also gotta throw an after-prom party, especially for our big soon-to-be Prom Queens! And before that I have to throw a pre-prom party for everyone, too!”

Maud stared at her for several moments, before she finally grabbed a box of energy bars off of the shelf and put it in the cart. “You might need these.”

“Good thinking! Hmm….”

Pinkie Pie skipped towards the party supplies section, her sister following diligently behind. Stuff from various aisles kept catching her eye, and she only made a few detours for the stuff that would definitely make the party something special for all her friends.

After the fourth or fifth detour, she was starting to really think it was time to focus and actually get to the party section. Naturally, she was distracted yet again by what looked to be a long leftover Valentine’s display, full of red ribbons and lots of chocolate and oversized hearts.

She stopped in front of the display, rubbing at her chin. “Sis, we should do something special for Twilight and Sunset too, right? They’re way in love and stuff, so we should celebrate before they become Prom Queens!”

Maud picked up one of the giant heart chocolate boxes and looked it over. “I don’t think they’d like it.”

Pinkie jumped into the air. “What!? But there’s all these hearts, and who doesn’t love chocolate? Wars have been fought over both of those things, you know!”

“I don’t know your friends very well, Pinkie,” Maud said, setting the heart back down, “but you do.”

“Yeah, but…” Pinkie Pie raised a finger in the air, but she paused as she gave it some real thought. “I guess they’re not really fans of cheesy stuff like that, huh?”

Maud shrugged.

“Maaaaybe,” Pinkie drawled, her eyes sparkling, “they’d be a fan of something a little more bitter?”

Maud blinked, then tracked Pinkie's gaze to a case of beer. "You're not old enough to drink, Pinkie."

"I knoooow," Pinkie cooed, sidling up close to Maud. "But I'm really close! And what is graduation if not a celebration of adulthood? So it makes sense to have adult drinks, right? It's not like there’s much of a difference between seventeen and eighteen, anyway."

“Hmm. I don’t know if you can handle it.”

Pinkie grinned. “We’ll be responsible, I promise! When have you ever known me to irresponsible, Sis? Well, except for that one time. And that other time. And that other other time. Okay, so maybe a lot. But, like, half of my friends are pretty responsible, and they’ll all be there, so it’ll be cool!”

Maud stared at her for a long time, and Pinkie Pie put on her widest smile and begged, “Pleeease?”

“Fine, you win,” Maud said, letting out a long sigh. “Just be careful.”

Pinkie Pie whooped and hollered, drawing the attention of more than a few passers-by.

“You rock, Sis!”

For the seventy-eighth time in a row, Rainbow Dash threw a tennis ball at her bedroom wall and caught it.

“This suuuuuuucks,” Rainbow growled at the ceiling. “I’m so bored!”

The ceiling didn’t answer.

Rainbow Dash caught the ball again and held it, electing instead to pull out her phone and check her messages.

Fluttershy was helping Rarity and Sunset get dress stuff ready. Pinkie Pie was busy getting everything ready for the party. And Applejack was stuck babysitting for the squirts.

She shuddered. Even as bored as she was, she wanted to stay far away from that trio of nightmares.

She scrolled further down her contacts list. The rest of the names were more acquaintances and teammates rather than friends, and she didn't generally spend time with them outside of school, but maybe she could make an exception.

Rainbow Dash stopped when she reached Twilight's name. She shrugged and made the call.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle speaking."

Rainbow Dash snorted. "Of course that's how you answer the phone. Listen up lard-butt, I’m bored, let’s go do something.”

“‘Lard-butt?’” Twilight asked. “I’ll have you know that my BMI is on the lower end of average. If anything, I’m a bit too scrawny.”

“Whatever,” Rainbow Dash said, bouncing the ball again. “Your girlfriend is ripped compared to you because she takes care of herself, and we go running together all the time. You want to be able to keep up with her, don’t you?”

“Hmph. Sunset likes me fine just the way I am.”

“She told me that she thinks you’d be way hotter with some abs.”

There was a long pause on the other end. “I… she really said that?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I’m just messing with you. Come on, you know Sunset better than that. She’s not the kind of person who would ask anyone to change for her.” She chuckled. “Though you totally would be.”

"Uh-huh. Look, did you want something? I'm a little busy working on my paper right now."

Rainbow Dash squeezed the ball tightly. "Come on, that can wait, can't it? Look, everyone else is busy, and I'm super bored. Let's go for a run or something."

"So I'm your last choice, am I?" Twilight asked, snickering. "If you're that desperate, how come we have to do stuff you want to do? I could always use a good lab assistant, especially since Sunset's busy."

"Because the whole point is to make me less bored, not more," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "Look, I know you don't have much stamina anyway, so we'll push it to your limit, then I'll help with your stupid science or whatever."

“It’s not stupid,” Twilight snapped. “But fine. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get a little more exercise. I’ve got a lot of free time, but I lack the motivation to really do it.”

“Sweet!” Rainbow Dash yelled, pumping her fist. “I’ll be right over. Man, I could use a new exercise buddy. With a little bit of effort you can join me and Sunset when we run. She’ll love it. Just don’t go turning legit exercise into an excuse to make out.”

“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself there, Rainbow,” Twilight said, sighing. “I agreed to go running with you today, not every day. Besides, as much as you harp on about our relationship, I bet that’s exactly what you want to happen. I know that we’re ‘hot lesbians’ and all, but you don’t have to stare all the time.”

“Uhh…”

Twilight giggled. “I’ll see you soon, Rainbow Dash. I’ve got to go get changed.”

Rainbow Dash stared at her phone as the call ended, her cheeks burning up.

Dammit, Twilight had gotten the last word in.

She’d just have to make the girl work extra hard to get back at her.

“Welcome to Pinkie Pie’s Perfect Pre-Prom Party! Prom isn’t till tomorrow night, but party tonight like prom is tonight!”

Rarity glanced over at Applejack, then back to Pinkie Pie. “Are we the first ones to arrive?”

“Seems like it,” Applejack, making her way inside and setting the crate of cider near the counter. “You really sure about this, Pinkie? This stuff ain’t exactly, uh, weak.”

Pinkie Pie grinned as she opened the box and started hauling bottles of cider into the fridge. “This is perfect, Applejack, thanks! I’ve also got some from Maud. It took me a bit of convincing, but how can anyone say no to this face?”

Rarity made her way through the empty booths of Sugarcube Corner, stopping in front of the table where Pinkie Pie had set out various bottles of alcohol. She spotted a cheap bottle of wine and picked it up, reading the label. “Are you sure about this, darling? It’s fine for me, but not all of us are eighteen yet, you know.”

“Eh, what’s the worst that could happen?” Pinkie Pie said, giving an exaggerated shrug. “But seriously, I wanted this party to be something special, and it’s only a couple months for the rest of us, so no biggie! I’m definitely not going to serve any alcohol to the rest of the school at the after-prom party. But with just us? Totally fine.”

Rarity shrugged, then started looking for a corkscrew. “You make a sound argument, oddly enough. Just watch yourself, okay? I’d like to think we’re all reasonable people who know when enough is enough.”

Pinkie Pie stood straight up and saluted. “Aye aye, Rarity! I already Pinkie Promised my sister I wouldn’t go get too crazy, so no worries! Oh, I’d better get back to the baking, be right back!”

“Welp, you heard the girl,” Applejack said, cracking open a bottle of cider. “Ready to get completely wasted? Bet I could drink you under the table.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow as she poured her glass of wine. “You cannot be serious. Why, there are so many reasons I wouldn’t do such a thing that—”

Applejack threw back her head and laughed. “I’m just joshin ya, sug. Gettin’ drunk like that ain’t really my style. A light buzz is nice I guess, too much more, and well. Not really a fan of losing control, y’know?”

“I suppose I see your point, Rarity said with a sigh. “Very well then. A toast, to ladies who don’t plan to get all that drunk.”

Applejack clinked her bottle to Rarity’s wineglass. “I’ll drink to that.”

They both sipped at their drinks, made faces, looked at each other, then burst into a fit of giggles.

“You really like that fruity stuff, Rar? Or do you just prefer it because of how fancy it is?”

“Of course I like it. Wine is an elegant and…”

Applejack’s raised brow cut deep.

Rarity sighed. She wanted to like wine. It was just the type of class she dreamed of being associated with—but she had yet to really acquire the taste. “Do you really like that swill you call cider?”

“Nope,” Applejack said, taking a long drink. “Loses a lot of flavor when you ferment it.”

“Mmm.” Rarity made her way to the back door, and stepped out onto the back patio. The sky above was awash with oranges and scarlets, with sunset right around the corner.

Applejack followed after her, hiking a leg up on a nearby chair. “Sure is all happening fast, huh?”

Rarity shrugged. “What? Prom being tomorrow? Graduation being next week? Summer vacation? College?”

“Yeah, all of that, I guess,” Applejack said, her eyes distant. “Life.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to it,” Rarity said, swirling her wine. “High school is a bit out of fashion at this point, if you ask me. I’m ready for something new. Besides, this is the only senior prom we’ll ever get. What’s not to like?”

Applejack snorted, then sat down on the chair, resting her legs on a separate chair. “Only senior prom, and all of us but Sunset and Twilight are going stag. I mean, it doesn’t really bother me none, but I’m surprised you ain’t griping a lot more. I mean, you’re the one who’s always reading all those romance novels.”

Rarity grimaced, but tried to hide it with a sip of her wine. “There’s nobody in this high school that’s worthy of my affections. Besides, High School romance is little more than a passing fancy, born out of hormones and proximity. Kids playing with each other before they grow up and move on. College is the time where people start to form real connections with each other.”

“Uh-huh.” Applejack took another swig of her cider. “You wanna tell that to Twilight and Sunset, or should I?”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes. “Of course I didn’t mean them. What they have doesn’t really count anyway. Twilight’s technically already graduated, and Sunset is, well, an alien. It’s worlds apart.”

“So you think they have what it takes to make it?”

Rarity pursed her lips, and ran her finger along the edge of her glass. “They seem to be doing well enough, don’t you think? Even if the basis of the relationship is still a little weird, I think they’re happy together.”

“Yeah, but that’s just it, ain’t it?” Applejack crossed her arms and adjusted the brim of her hat. “I mean, think about it. Imagine if my parents were still alive on the other side of that portal, and I was able to go meet them. Sure, I’d give anything to see them one last time, but to actually spend time with them, actually try and be their daughter… just ain’t right.”

Applejack pulled her hat even further down her face and mumbled, “And for the record, I already asked. My pony-parents are dead, too.”

Rarity set her glass down and walked over to Applejack, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder and squeezing. “I thought we agreed to support them. To trust them.”

“Yeah yeah, I know,” Applejack said with a trembling sigh. She placed her hand on Rarity’s and squeezed back. “They’re a cute couple. But dang, I mean—what’s the future gonna be like? The paths they’re taking, well. They’re good friends and all, but out of the seven of us, they’re on the outskirts of everything. Seems like they might just break off and float away to do their own thing.”

Rarity smirked, then flicked Applejack in the ear. “Do you always get this maudlin when you’ve had only half a bottle of cider?”

Applejack stood up, growling. She grabbed her bottle, lifted it into the air and chugged the rest of it, staring Rarity in the eyes the entire time. “There, now do I have an excuse?”

Rarity giggled, then walked back over to her glass of wine and matched Applejack’s feat. “And now we’re even,” she said as she finished with a rather unladylike belch.

Applejack grinned, and then turned as they both heard the sound of a rambunctious and loud Rainbow Dash.

It looked like the others were arriving.

“Guess we should get back to the party,” Applejack said as she tossed her empty bottle into the recycling.

“I guess so.”

As they made their way back into Sugarcube Corner, Rarity leaned over and whispered, “Also, can you just imagine how adorable it would be if those two had kids someday? I bet you’ve always wanted to be Auntie Applejack.”

“They’re both girls, Rare.”

Rarity huffed and walked on. “So maudlin.”

It occurred to me when editing that Marble Pie would logically be graduating at the same time as Pinkie, and should probably be someone who Pinkie is making significant considerations for in her plans.

Of course, when I wrote the chapter, Hearth Breaker's hadn't aired yet, so fuck it.