Dear Diary,

Sunset is

The therapist said I should

I

"Twilight, wait!"

Twilight didn't wait. She didn't even slow down. Lucky for her, she had gone with flats tonight, while Rarity and Fluttershy were both wearing heels. They wouldn't be able to catch up to her.

She felt disassociated from herself, like she was watching a character in a movie, her body moving on its own. It was probably for the best, considering the heartache rending a hole through her chest.

The fact that she was still tipsy didn't help much either.

She ran faster.

When she couldn't go any farther and collapsed, panting next to a street light, she at least still had the presence of mind to pull out her phone. She had half a dozen missed calls and texts already.

With a choking bitterness, she noticed not a single one was from Sunset.

***

"Hey," Cadance said, pulling up beside her ten minutes later. "I got your message. Rough night?"

Twilight got into the car without saying a word. Her mind was boiling over with so many conflicting emotions that she just felt numb.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Twilight shook her head, then paused. Cadance deserved something better than that. "I... I want to be alone right now. I'll explain everything later, I promise. Keep my friends off my back, please?"

Cadance pursed her lips together, then shook her head and sighed. "I guess I can do that. I can tell when you're hurting inside, Twilight, but gods do you have a scarily good poker face. I'll be here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on, or anything else."

Twilight had friends and family to support her. Although apparently she no longer had a girlfriend who would...

The rest of the short drive home passed in silence, and before Twilight knew it, she was back in her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

Alone. Safe. Miserable.

Less than an hour ago, everything was perfect. The future was bright. And now…

Sunset’s words still echoed in Twilight’s mind, savaging her heart anew. She had been unhappy? For how long? Their entire relationship? And what about...?

"...maybe it’s a good thing the other Sunset is gone."

Twilight’s knees buckled under her, and she barely made it to her desk before collapsing. She covered her ears and tried to crush the thoughts, but they only grew louder.

Sunset was right. This whole time, these past months, for every wonderful moment, Twilight had been in love with a shadow. A ghost. She had talked a big game about them both being separate people to her, but deep down she had always known it was a load of crap.

This whole thing had been Twilight’s fault from the very beginning. Her stupid, one-sided crush had gotten Sunset killed. Her stupid, one-sided crush had been the basis for this stupid relationship. And it had been wonderful—everything Twilight had ever dreamed of—but she had never stopped to think that her dreams weren’t Sunset’s dreams, that they were meant for a different Sunset all together. She never considered that maybe Sunset was only in it for the short run—that to Sunset, Twilight was nothing more than a random teenage fling, not her soulmate.

Marriage? Children? Growing old together? Twilight wasn’t even eighteen yet. The two of them had been together for barely two months. Twilight had become the clingy one, the nightmare girlfriend she always saw on TV.

She laughed her way through another wail. Just how cliched was this drama, anyway? A big fight right before prom? But pointing it out didn’t make it hurt any less.

Sunset wanted to live in Equestria. And how could Twilight blame her? She’d been there. Equestria was magical, literally and figuratively. How could her own mundane little world compete with that? How could some dinky public college compete with that? What kind of future could she offer Sunset here?

Twilight reached up to the desk and grabbed her bottle of antidepressants, hands still shaking. A part of her wanted to go crawling back, to scream, to beg. She could abandon everything for Sunset. Running away had been a mistake. Sunset didn’t mean to make her cry; things had just gotten a bit intense. Twilight would leave her friends and family and future behind if it only meant she could stay by Sunset’s side.

She knew exactly how insane that sounded. A part of her didn’t care.

Again, Sunset was right; Twilight was still just a kid, stuck in the past, trying to glue together the pieces of a shattered childhood into a facsimile that resembled Sunset. She didn’t deserve Sunset. Either of them.

Screaming, Twilight hurled the bottle of pills at her closet door. It bounced away and the cap popped off, spilling pills all over her carpet.

That was stupid of her. If Spike found and ate them, he could get really sick, or worse. She sniffed, wiping at her runny nose with her sleeve, then picked up the pills one by one.

What was she supposed to do now? Every scientific instinct she had told her to approach this as a problem to be solved, but the problem was with herself. She thought she had managed to fix herself over the years, but all the king’s therapists, and all the new friends, and all the interdimensionally identical lovers still weren’t enough to make Twilight Sparkle whole again.

And what would Sunset want to do now? Even Twilight’s wallowing was self-centered. She supposed Sunset must feel terrible about what she had said, even if it was true.

Twilight stretched, reaching for a pill that had fallen behind her desk, and accidentally slammed her head into the top of it. She swore as she heard something fall to the floor.

Growling, she crawled out from underneath to find it was the travel bag she had brought back from Equestria and hadn’t quite finished unpacking. She picked it up and moved to throw it in her closet, but froze, staring at the item that had wound up on top.

It was her diary from when she was just a little girl. How was that even possible?

She slowly picked the book up, trembling, and opened it to a well worn, faded, and tear stained page.

Dear Diary,

Today was my first day at my new school!

She knew every word in here by heart. Every page, every crease, every inkblot and every heart-dotted i. After Sunset had died, she had poured over the diary, over and over, trying to lose herself in the past, trying to catch a hold of those wistful memories.

The last time she had read it had been over three years ago. It was a nasty, self destructive habit that had taken a lot of work to kick.

But here she was. And here it was.

Innocent memories of days long past sprinted through her mind. All the fun of getting to know Sunset, their fast developing friendship, the sights and sounds that couldn’t make it on to the page, the smell of Sunset’s hair, the way she smiled when she was genuinely happy, the look of wonder she would get when Twilight was able to show her something amazing, how quickly Twilight’s mom and dad had treated the lonely girl like one of their own.

Hikes in the woods, a summer spent in pools and lakes. A winter spent huddling together under a blanket by the fire, working on their homework together, reading books. Playing video games, catching frogs, doing science experiments.

Best friends.

Twilight loved her like a sister.

And as a confused lesbian growing up, she had started to think that maybe her feelings were something more.

She reached the final two pages of the diary that had any writing on them. The first was right before Sunset's tenth birthday party. The second was just a handful of started sentences. Her therapist had tried to get her to write new diary entries, to get her feelings on paper. It was supposed to be a form of catharsis.

She hadn't been able to do it.

Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes and picked up a pen.

Dear Diary,

I don't really know what to say. It's been seven years now, almost eight. So much has changed since then. Sunset Shimmer, my best friend, died in an accident. I took her up a dangerous cliff to show her a flower and to tell her that I loved her. She slipped and fell to her death.

That singular moment, that tragedy, that selfishness on my part has haunted me for most of my life. I spent countless hours in therapy and tried half a dozen medications before I finally reached a place where I felt I could move beyond my past. I graduated from high school when I was sixteen, got a full scholarship to Hayvard, and decided to pursue independent research while I waited to turn eighteen.

And then, when visiting my brother in Ponyville, I met a girl named Sunset Shimmer who was apparently a magical talking unicorn from another dimension.

Yeah, it's exactly as crazy as it sounds. I didn't believe it at first either.

But Sunset and her friends were able to show me undeniable proof of what they claimed, and they were willing to help satisfy my thirst for knowledge under one, simple condition.

That I make an earnest effort to befriend them all.

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Sunset Shimmer. Those six girls welcomed me with open arms. I resisted at first, because I was an idiot, but they persisted, and I soon remembered what it was like to have friends again: to smile, to laugh, to let go of all my worries—to just have fun.

Girls; you're all wonderful people, and I'm incredibly lucky to have you all in my life. These past few months have been some of my best, and I love you all.

... and then there's Sunset Shimmer. She's not the same person as the Sunset I used to know, even though she's still pretty similar. I guess the closest analogy would be identical twins separated at birth and raised in different environments.

And also the magical unicorn thing. Did I mention that already?

And then she... and then I fell in love with her. Or at least I think I did. We were friends, she treated me so kindly, and I had all those long bottled and unresolved feelings towards the human Sunset. Love is just a chemical response to various triggers and stimuli. All things considered, it was probably an inevitable result; humans are predictable creatures.

And yet, when I reached out to her in a moment of desperate longing, Sunset accepted me. Her feelings for me, at least so far as I know, are genuine. I love her, and she loves me.

It sure is something, right? My first real romance, and with a girl as amazing and wonderful as Sunset Shimmer. We hung out, went on awkward dates, teased each other, kissed, cuddled. We made love together for the first time under a moonlit waterfall. It wasn't nearly as majestic as I thought it would be, though subsequent performances more than made up for a rocky start. (Like, wow!)

I wanted it to last forever.

And now I

And now we

I don't even know anymore. I can't think straight. My head is a mess. It hurts inside. It's a different kind of heartache than the death of someone you love, I think, but knowing that doesn't seem to numb the pain at all.

I guess when it comes down to it, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Sunset. For everything. I know it's not right for me to keep blaming myself for what happened to you, but I still do.

I'm sorry, Sunset. For

Twilight stopped short. She stared down at the page and took a deep breath. She felt drained. The tears had dried up a while ago.

The question still remained as to what she was supposed to do now. She paused, staring at herself in the mirror. She was an utter wreck, as expected.

A glint of light caught her eye.

Twilight turned around. The vial of rainbow magic still rested on the side of her desk, next to the sand cutie mark souvenirs they had picked up in Equestria.

A dangerous, volatile substance full of potential, of friendship, and love.

The substance that all her friends had been infused with. That Sunset had been born with. But not Twilight. No matter how strong her bond with them had gotten, the magic of friendship hadn’t affected her in any tangible way whatsoever.

Was it her fault? Was this breakdown a sign that she wasn’t worthy to really be considered one of them? That Sunset deserved better than her?

Twilight picked up the vial and unscrewed the cap. She felt like she was in a trance, even as a distant part of her mind screamed at her how stupid and dangerous this was.

But did she even really care any more?

With a snort of resignation, Twilight downed the contents of the vial in one gulp.

She started coughing immediately. Of everything she had expected it to taste like, spicy wasn’t one of them.

As she fanned her tongue and took deep breaths, Twilight’s heart raced. It was probably inert, anyway. There was no reason digesting it would have any effect whatso—

Bright, multicolored light filled her eyes, and Twilight’s entire body went stiff.

Somewhere, in the depths of her vision, she could see her.

"There's something I need to do."

What an absolute joke. And the punchline was Sunset Shimmer, ever the liar and manipulator. She didn't have a plan, she was just running away. The only reason she had said otherwise was because she knew it would stop the others from following.

Sunset rested her hand on the Canterlot High statue, doubling over and panting. She hadn't planned to come here, but the fact that this was where her legs had taken her wasn't surprising in the least.

She sat down, resting her back against the cool stone of the closed portal. It was an all too familiar feeling.

She couldn't count the number of nights she had snuck out here and just hung out by the portal, brooding, thinking, scheming. Being as close as she could get to home had always held at least a minor comfort.

And now it was closed again. She didn't have the diary with her, so she couldn't ask Princess Twilight to open it for her.

Sunset let out a long sigh and buried her head in her knees. "You really fucked things up now.”

That look on Twilight's face…

She loved Twilight. How could she have said that? Just because Twilight wasn't willing to drop everything in her life to run away with Sunset to Equestria? Because Sunset didn’t feel ‘fulfilled?’ Because Twilight had reacted badly to the suggestion? And Sunset had thought it appropriate to lash out like that?

Sunset looked up at the darkened entrance to the school, repaired and intact. She had once destroyed it and tried to kill the people who were now her friends. They had forgiven her.

But this didn't seem like it deserved forgiveness. She had hurt someone she loved. This was betrayal of everything she stood for and everything they had built together. Sunset probably wouldn't forgive Twilight if the situations were reversed. She had crossed a line, and there was no going back.

"I never deserved her," Sunset said to the night sky. She had never deserved any of them. They had all put their faith in Sunset's ability to become a good person, and she had failed them. There was just too much of the evil, vindictive demon left inside of her, waiting, ready to lash out any time Sunset got angry or felt slighted.

Why should her friends have to be around a person like that?

And Twilight...

These past couple months had gone by like a dream. Sunset had never really known what it was like to care about one person so much until now.

And it was all over in an instant.

Sunset threw back her head and laughed, tears streaming down her face. She was already on her way out to Equestria, right? That was the plan all along. Burning all her bridges certainly made the decision easier.

Her phone buzzed, and Sunset pulled it out of her pocket. It was a text message from Applejack.

“We talked to Cadance. Twilight is home safe, but won’t talk to anyone. Look, sugarcube, whatever you’re doing, just know that we’re still your friends, alright? We’re here for you, and I’m sure we just all need to sit down and talk this out.”

Sunset bit her lip, trying to hold back another sob. She banged her head against the stone behind her, shaking. It was all just some sort of big, cosmic joke.

She never deserved any of them.

She—

The portal became permeable behind her. Sunset fell backwards, windmilling her arms and trying to keep her balance, but it was too late. The interdimensional vortex pulled her in.

The world lurched and spun around her, tumbling with a kaleidoscope of colors that made Sunset want to hurl before she was ejected from the other side, rolling in a tangle of pony limbs.

“S-Sunset!?” Princess Twilight said, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. “What the heck are… how are…”

Sunset groaned, then sat up and looked around. She was back in Twilight’s laboratory, just like it was last week. “I thought you were closing the portal.”

Twilight stared at her for several moments before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I did. I just started working on it again, which involved opening it up for some basic energy readings. Isn’t it the middle of the night over there? What’s going on?”

“I was, uh, kind of leaning against it when you opened it, I guess?” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.

“I see.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “That’s not really a place I’d recommend sitting. And I already told you about the dimensional degradation. The portal is not something to be used trivially!”

Sunset lowered her head. “I’m sorry. Look, can I crash here for a while? I, uh, don’t want to upset the portal by going back right away, y’know?”

Twilight blinked, then her features softened. “Sunset… are you alright? Did something happen?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Sunset said, waving a hoof. “It’s just—okay, maybe something did happen. But I’m not really up for talking about it right now, and I think I’d just like to sleep it off. I’ll tell you in the morning, if that’s okay.”

“Sunset…” Twilight glanced from Sunset to the portal, then sighed. “I guess I can respect that. But please, know that I’m here for you if you need anything. There’s a guest room down that hall, first door on the left. What’s mine is yours.”

Sunset grunted in acknowledgement, then turned to follow Twilight’s directions.

Well, she had made it back to Equestria again. It wasn’t the way she had wanted to handle things, but there wasn’t much left to turn back to now.

If nothing else, she could leave everyone a note using the diary. That should be enough, right?

Sunset collapsed into the soft bed, burying her face in the pillows. Dwelling on what happened just made her want to cry, and she did her best to force those thoughts to the back of her mind.

She could deal with it in the morning.

“Hello, Sunset Shimmer. It’s been a while.”

Sunset’s eyes snapped open. She was standing in the midst of a well kept garden, one she knew well. They were located in the heart of Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns, where Sunset had spent a lot of time as a filly frolicking amongst the well worn paths.

And it was, of course, where she had gotten her cutie mark, under the watchful eye of the pony currently looming behind her.

“You’re really here, aren’t you?” Sunset asked, limbs going stiff. “Invading ponies’ dreams without permission is rude, you know.”

“My my, as testy as ever, aren’t we? I borrowed my sister's power to come all the way here, when it’s so clear you’re hurting, and that’s all you have to say to me?”

Sunset didn’t have to look—she didn’t even have to hear a word. Princess Celestia’s aura, her magnificence, the way her eternal eyes bored into one's spine as she silently cast judgement. It was a sensation Sunset was all too familiar with.

Sunset took a step forward, her hooves shaking, refusing to turn her head. "Please, leave me alone. I'm not ready for this. I want to be able to face you on my own terms, with my head held up high, proud of who I am and what I've accomplished. I thought I was getting close to that. That maybe, someday soon... but now I've gone and proven myself a bigger screw up than I ever thought possible."

"Oh my dear, sweet child," Princess Celestia said, a tinge of mirth to her voice that seemed entirely unwarranted. "Fear is a powerful force, one that blinds you even now."

"I'm not—!" Sunset snapped, almost turning to face her dream invader but catching herself at the last second. "Okay, fine. I'm afraid," she said through gritted teeth. "So what?"

"It's good that you can acknowledge this." Celestia moved several steps closer, casting a shadow over Sunset. "But you cannot stop at the process of acknowledging a problem. You must then strive to overcome and fix it. Tell me, Sunset. You have learned much of Friendship. If you were in my place right now, and one of your friends was acting as you are, how would you approach the situation?"

"I..." Sunset gritted her teeth; Celestia had a point. But then—she always had a point.

Sunset whirled on the Princess, her hooves quaking. “Ugh, do you ever stop trying to play the teacher? It's nothing but friendship lessons and bullshit cryptic metaphors with you! Are you just incapable of acting like a real pony? Do you even care? Maybe if you had then I wouldn't have—”

Sunset's breath caught in her throat as she finally looked up and met Celestia's gaze, and she fell back on her haunches, stunned.

Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, the immortal alicorn master of both sun and moon, the cold and distant teacher whose radiance demanded fear and respect and obedience, was crying.

Tears streamed down a face that was twisted with a deep pain, an old longing that dug like cruel barbs into the alicorn's heart. And Sunset knew that she had been crying this entire time, even if her voice had never wavered.

"I'm sorry," Celestia said, her voice barely a whisper. "I failed you, Sunset. I have failed so many ponies in my lifetime. Some, like my sister, found happy endings. Most did not. I wear this mask day in and day out because it is what I must be: the teacher, the ruler. But also because I am weak, and if I did not, I would crumble under the weight.”

Sunset stood, bottom lip trembling. Celestia knelt down and wrapped her forehooves around Sunset’s neck, pulling her into a tight embrace.

“But I’m so glad to say that this is another story with a happy ending. I’m so proud of you Sunset, and I’ve missed you so much. I’m sorry.”

Something inside of of Sunset broke. All of her old anxieties, fears, anger—everything came flooding out. Sunset wailed, burying her face in her old teacher’s neck and bawling as if she was just a little filly again.

Sunset tried to blubber some incoherent apologies of her own, but Celestia just shushed her as they held each other close.

It felt good. Cathartic. Sunset had run away, avoided this moment for so long. But it felt good. It was something she needed to get out of her system.

"Okay," Sunset said, sniffing and wiping at her eyes with her hoof. She had no idea how long they had been like that, but being as this was all a dream, it probably didn't matter. "Now what?"

Celestia nickered, then pulled back to smile at Sunset. She leaned down, touching their horns together with a spark and a jolt of energy, causing them both to shiver. "A good question. As much as I love you, Sunset, as much as we both needed this, our issues aren't why you're here tonight."

Sunset's ears went flat. As great as this was, a tear filled reunion did nothing about the catastrophic mistake she had made earlier that night. "I screwed up," Sunset mumbled, looking away. "Big time."

Celestia let out a long sigh, and nuzzled Sunset once more. “Yes, you did.”

Sunset blinked, then snorted with laughter. "Geez, no need to sugarcoat it."

“Well, what will you do about it, Sunset? I suspect that you’ve hurt Twilight quite badly.”

“And you know this how?”

Celestia’s eyes twinkled, but she said nothing.

Sunset rolled her eyes, and drew her legs up underneath her. “I don’t know. Right now I’m just… running away. It’s the coward's way out, but there’s something to be said for falling back and reevaluating your strategy, isn’t there?”

Celestia grinned. “At least you still bounce back rather quickly. I cannot be the one to guide your heart, but tell me: if Twilight were here in front of you right now, what would you say to her?”

“I’d apologize,” Sunset said immediately. “I really am sorry for what I said. It’s probably one of the worst things I’ve ever done, and that’s a pretty long list. I don’t know how I could ever make it up to her, but I want to.”

“So you still love her, and still want to be with her?”

Sunset touched a hoof to her chest, frowning. “Yeah, I do. It hurts, actually. The idea of no longer being able to see Twilight, it… it hurts.”

Celestia’s horn began to glow, and the sun sunk lower in the sky. “And what of your earlier quarrel?”

“You mean in regards to coming back to Equestria?” Sunset tracked the sun, raising an eyebrow. “Getting all worked up about that was incredibly stupid of me, but… I don’t know. As much as I regret what I did, and how much I want to make it up to her, that doesn’t really change my feelings or what I want to do with my life. Isn’t there any way to make it work?”

“That’s a question the two of you have to answer together,” Celestia said. The sun touched the edge of the horizon, and all around them, flowers bloomed. They shone in radiant reds and oranges and purples.

The Sunburst Rose.

Sunset remembered that moment, so long ago, so proud to show off her magical prowess to Celestia. It was where everything had begun.

“Do you remember what I told you about your special talent?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “How could I forget? I can manipulate light particularly well, but metaphorically ‘I shine a spotlight on others and myself, to help them bring out their greatness.’ I just wish I would have learned the full meaning of that lesson sooner.”

“Mmm.” Celestia’s horn continued to glow, and dozens of roses plucked themselves off of their stems. They floated towards Sunset, circling around her head in several different patterns, spinning faster and faster, glowing with an intense white light before they burst in a blinding beacon of fire.

When Sunset opened her eyes again, a ruby shaped like the sun hung around her neck. Inside of it, as if it had been trapped in amber, lay a tiny Sunburst Rose.

“I… I don’t understand,” Sunset said, her mouth hanging open as she held the necklace in a hoof.

“It will bring you to where you need to go.”

“And that is?”

The gem began to glow, giving off a white hot radiance. “To Twilight, of course. She needs you now more than ever.”

There was a bright flash, and everything went white.

Twilight sat on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the forest below.

It was an all too familiar sight from her dreams, and her breath caught in her throat. She would have thought she’d be used to it by now, but every time she still felt that blind panic.

The knowledge of how she got here certainly didn’t help.

"Hey," said a voice Twilight hadn’t truly heard in seven years. "It's been a long time, Twilight. I've missed you."

Twilight turned to face the ten-year-old Sunset, her eyes wide. This wasn’t the hazed confusion of a dream. She pinched herself, and it hurt. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

Sunset giggled. “Is that really all you have to say to me? I’m disappointed. Considering what you just did, I could actually be the spirit of Sunset, here to give you a sense of closure. Or maybe I’m just a figment of your magic-addled imagination.”

“Magic-addled…” Twilight felt bile rise in the back of her throat. What had she done? She needed to find a way to induce vomiting, and fast. For all that she had been terrified of losing Sunset, she had never once stopped to consider her own mortality. If she could really never see Sunset again…

“Aww,” Sunset said, giving an exaggerated pout. “Your first thought is of her, and not me? That hurts, Twilight.” She took ahold of Twilight’s hand, her small fingers warm and real to the touch. “You’re my best friend, Twilight.”

Twilight took a deep, shuddering breath. Even now, the rational part of her mind receded into darkness once more. “Sunset… you were my best friend too. And something more than that. I fell in love with you, in a childish sort of way. I tried to push my feelings onto you in a way that I thought would be special, and, well… I’m sorry.”

Sunset scooted backwards, away from the edge of the cliff, then stood up, walking out of Twilight’s sight. “I did like you, you know. Like-like you. I only kind of realized it at the time, and like the dumb kid I was, my first thought was about what others would think, rather than you. I probably would have come around eventually, but, well, you know. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Twilight.”

Those words felt like an icy dagger plunged into her heart and twisted. Twilight let out a choking sob, and scrambled to turn around. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! If I had never taken you up here, if I hadn't been so selfish..."

Sunset smiled. She knelt before a large bush of all too familiar orange and gold roses, the fading sunset framing her against the horizon. "Don't be silly. I'm the dumbass who thought dancing on the edge of a cliff was a good idea. It's fine. We had a nice run, and even if it got cut short, I don't regret a thing."

“I do,” Twilight mumbled. She knelt down, throwing her arms around Sunset, pulling her in tight like she never wanted to let go. “It’s not fair. It’s just not. You had your whole life ahead of you and now it’s just nothing.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Sunset said. She wriggled an arm free and plucked a flower from the nearby bush, then reached up to weave it into Twilight’s hair. “You could always say that the life I was able to live mattered because it left an imprint on you, both the good and the bad. You’ve already accomplished so much in your life, you have a bright future ahead of you, and you’ve managed to win the heart of a wonderful woman. What more can you ask for?”

Twilight bit her lip, gripping the back of Sunset’s shirt tightly with her fingers. “But that’s the problem. It was all about you… I never really got over you, and I couldn’t give Sunset what she deserved from me.”

Sunset shook her head, then gently lifted Twilight’s arms off her shoulders. “You’re wrong. I was your friend, Twilight, and, yes, your crush, but what you managed to build with Sunset is different. It’s real. It’s because of who she is, not who you want her to be. And I know that the two of you can come to an understanding. I mean, you’re both adults, right? I’m just a kid; why should I be the voice of reason?”

“But, I…”

“No buts.” Sunset stepped forward, leaned in, and gave Twilight a peck on the cheek. She stepped back, hands clasped behind her back as her grin split her face from ear to ear. The sun behind her dipped below the horizon, the rays of light vanishing as the world around them was plunged into darkness.

“Goodbye, Twilight.”

In the darkness of the dream, a pair of Sunburst Roses, purple and orange, grew in the center of everything, glowing with a soft luminescence.

Twilight and Sunset came to their senses at the same time, gasping for breath as they looked about themselves, eyes wide.

“Sunset…?”

“Twilight…?”

Twilight bit her lip, and wrung her hands together. “Is it really you? I can’t really tell what’s real and what’s a dream right now.”

Sunset let out a sigh and lowered her head, idly dragging one hoof across the ground. “Yeah, it’s me. I could ask you the same question, but it would be kind of a moot point.”

“I…” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut. “I did something really stupid, Sunset. I drank that vial of magic, raw. Reality is falling apart around me and it’s all my fault.”

Sunset took a step back, eyes wide, then let out a short giggle. “I didn’t think you’d turn to hard drugs so quickly, Twilight.”

Twilight blinked. “That’s not funny! I have no idea what’s going to happen to me!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Sunset said, placing a hoof on Twilight’s hip. “I don’t think you’re in any danger, physically. Mentally… I don’t know a lot about the world of dreams, but we share a connection and I suspect we’re being helped along by a pair of meddling princesses. Magic is friendship, after all, and love is just a higher form of that.”

“Love and friendship, huh?” Twilight arched her back, clasping her hands together behind her. “Sunset, we…”

“Oh. Right.”

They stood there for what felt like several minutes, refusing to look at each other.

"Sunset, I—”

“Twilight, I—”

They blushed as they fidgeted back and forth.

Sunset smacked herself in the face with her hoof, then held it out to Twilight. "Please, let me start."

Twilight nodded, then sat down so she was at eye level with the pony. "Okay."

"Right. I..." Sunset faltered, then took a deep breath as she sat on her haunches and trembled. "Twilight, I am so, so, sorry. I know that no apology could ever make up for the horribleness of what I said, but I still want to apologize. I'm sorry. I was angry, and I lashed out at you because I knew it would hurt you. I’m… really good at hurting people. I don’t think it’s a skill I can unlearn. And my impulse control isn’t anything to write home about either.”

Twilight reached out a hand towards Sunset. She flinched, but Twilight just started petting her, rubbing behind her ears as if she were a dog. "You think of yourself as a pony when you dream, don't you?"

"That's not what I'm trying to say here, I'm..." Sunset blinked, then met gazes with Twilight. "I do. Always have. Probably always will."

"I'm sorry," Twilight mumbled. "I never stopped to think that you might not want the same things I want. Even after seeing it for myself, I never realized how much Equestria meant to you. How restless you felt here in our world. If I was a better person, I might have realized it sooner."

Sunset snorted. Her horn began to glow and she pulled Twilight's hand off of her, cupping her hoof over it. "We knew this from the start, didn't we? That we’re both pretty messed up. Somepony getting hurt was inevitable."

Twilight smiled, then wrapped her other hand around Sunset's hoof, squeezing gently. "We're both pretty stubborn and reckless. What you said hurt me a lot, Sunset, but it made me think through a lot of things about myself and how I've been treating you. I love you, Sunset Shimmer. I want us to move past this. Together."

Sunset made a choking sound as her chin quivered. "I was so sure I had ruined everything... I love you too, Twilight. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I want it bad enough that I’ll just accept it anyway."

“You think you don’t deserve me, I think I don’t deserve you… yep, healthy attitudes right there.” Twilight giggled, then leaned forward and kissed Sunset on the nose. “Does it really matter whether we deserve it or not? Maybe we should just focus on what we want, not what we should do.”

“That’s really your answer? Jeez, Twilight.” Sunset grinned, but it didn’t last. “But forgiveness doesn’t change what started this argument in the first place. I want to say that I never should have brought it up, but… I still don’t know what I want to do with my life.”

“Oh. Right.” Twilight sat down next to Sunset and threw her arm over her shoulder, pulling the pony close. “There has to be something we can figure out. I mean, we're both geniuses, right? Together, I'm sure we can accomplish anything."

Sunset leaned into the hug and rested her head on Twilight's shoulder. "I don't know. I feel like I'm finally ready to go back to what I left behind, to make amends with Celestia, to continue my real education, my destiny. But without you... I just don't know. I can't believe I actually thought you'd be willing to give everything up so willingly."

Twilight reached for the glowing purple flower, tenderly cupping its petals. "A part of me wants to, just so I can stay with you. It's the desperate, obsessed part of me that I probably shouldn't listen to. I love my life, my home, my family, and my friends. I don't want to leave them behind."

"Yeah, I know." Sunset let out a long sigh and slumped to the ground, her head resting on Twilight's lap. "Maybe it's for the best if we just—"

"Stop!" Twilight snapped, her fingers tightening in Sunset's mane. "Just, please, before you finish that sentence, let me say something."

Sunset froze, stared at Twilight for several moments, then swallowed and nodded. “Okay.”

Twilight took a deep breath. "Look, I know how much this means to you. I get it. Well, I don't, really, I guess, but I'm doing my best to empathize here. Point being... does it all have to be right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Twilight paused, then leaned back, looking out into the void. "Stay with me. Go to college with me, whether you enroll or we just get an apartment and you get a part-time job or something. I want us to share a life together.”

"I’m not so sure that—"

"Ah!" Twilight put a finger over Sunset's mouth. "I'm not done. Look, your destiny, what you want to do with everything... What I'm trying to say is that, if we stay here for a few years doing the college thing, all that will still be waiting for you when we're done. We're both young, and a lot can happen in a short amount of time. Just look at us."

Sunset bit her lip. "You really think we can just... what, wait and see what happens?"

"Basically. You could come to appreciate our world, or maybe I'll feel up to moving to Equestria after school, or maybe Princess Twilight will fix the portal and we can go back and forth, or maybe we just realize it won't work, break up, and you go back to Equestria anyway. And if that’s the way you end up feeling… I’ll accept that, I promise."

“I—” Sunset stopped and closed her eyes, remaining silent for nearly a minute. “I think I could do that. Starting a life with you, as a human… it’s scary. It feels like I would be giving something up, some major part of myself, and leaving it behind. Abandoning it. Maybe that’s not a feeling I’ll ever be able to get over. Or maybe I will, and maybe I can find something to strive for in your world beyond just friendship and love. But you’re right. This isn’t a question that needs to be answered right now. A few more years here won’t kill me, and waiting will give me… us more options to choose from.”

Twilight flashed her teeth in an elated grin then grabbed Sunset by the ears and kissed her full on the lips. The pair of roses intertwined together, then burst with a radiant light as more flowers sprung up around them, creating a field as far as their eyes could see, surrounding them as the air filled with the haze of sunset.

“Right,” Sunset said, once Twilight let her up for air. “I almost forgot this was a dream. Guess we still have to sort this out in the real world too.”

Twilight giggled, then fell back into the flowers, spreading her arms and waving them about. “This was one hell of a night, huh?”

Sunset grinned, then laid her head down on Twilight’s chest. “I’ve had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. It sucks at the time, but they really do stick, in my experience. You’re still okay with going to prom, right?”

Twilight leaned forward and kissed Sunset once more. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Final chapter is next week.