Twilight Sparkle could taste bile in her throat.

Or at least that’s how she would describe the ugly, burning sensation within her to an onlooker if she’d had to; it was a phrase she remembered reading in novels for when a character was in a situation like this. But the more she thought about it, she realised that it had to be in her mouth she was tasting it—for you couldn’t taste things in your throat. Writers, she lamented.

Of course, she wouldn’t even be thinking about this at all but it was much better than the alternative—facing what had just happened. Which she knew she’d have to do sooner or later, but while standing—shivering—in the cold by the parking lot outside Sunset’s apartment complex wasn’t exactly the right time or place.

Twilight bit her lip. She didn’t know what to do, though. She didn’t want to call her parents, who she’d been planning on picking her up. But she knew that if her mom or dad came by then and there, she’d break down, and tell them all about it, and they’d probably never let her see Sunset Shimmer ever again. Or, worse, they’d demand to go in there. She shuddered—and not just because of the cold.

Without thinking, Twilight had been walking southwards along the block, and she came across a bus stop which, thankfully, was empty. She could take the bus… but the idea freaked her out a little. It’s not that she was afraid to do something like that on her own (which she wasn’t—she was in high school, that would be ridiculous) but more that she didn’t know where she would go. Home? Her brother’s? The library? She didn’t know any of the bus routes, either, though she could probably figure them out…

But instead she kept walking. Or, rather, at least from how she saw it, her feet carried her forward, down the block, across the street, to the next block. There was something a little freeing to the motion. It just felt like the right way to go, and she was just following that whim—something Twilight was honestly quite unaccustomed to doing.

Half a dozen blocks later, she realised where she had been walking. Across the street was a distinctive diner, one she’d been by once or twice before—including earlier that afternoon, when Rarity had dropped Pinkie Pie off for work. “Sweet Snacks Café” read the sign above the building, and it grew closer as Twilight approached from the crosswalk. From the sidewalk, she glanced through the window—but the place looked fairly empty. A bit odd, since it was—she checked her phone—five o’clock, just in time for an early dinner.

Shrugging, Twilight stepped up to the door and pushed it open—or she would have, had it budged. Grumbling, she looked down to see the embossed metal “PULL” on the handle, and, with a sigh, she did just that.

Immediately she was met with a rush of warm air from inside the diner, and she was glad to feel the door close behind her, sealing the cold out. She let out a final shiver as she looked around the diner’s interior.

It was decked out to look like the ’50s, or at least what she thought the ’50s looked like from movies her parents had made her watch when she was younger. In the centre, the countertop and stools flanked the kitchen; across the aisle, there was a row of electric blue vinyl booths. A jukebox at the opposite end of the room was plugged into the diner’s stereo system, cracking away at an upbeat, jaunty little number.

“Helloooo!” called a familiar chipper voice. “Feel free to take a seat at the counter or an open booth, and I will be right with youuuuu!”

Twilight laughed—a short, dry laugh, but a laugh all the same. It was funny… Pinkie Pie could always make her laugh. No matter how sad she felt, no matter how hurt, or broken, or depressed she was, Pinkie could always find something to smile about. It was admirable.

Stepping out of the way of the entrance, Twilight walked over to the corner booth over by the jukebox. She’d never been much a fan of the counter—she preferred to have her own space—and she always enjoyed the view the corner afforded. When she got to the booth, she took her backpack off, sliding it down the bench before sitting down next to it. Laying her hands out on the table, Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes, and breathed easy.

“Oh, hey, Twilight!” Pinkie’s voice called, rapidly approaching. Twilight opened her eyes to see a blur of poofy pink hair speed towards her on roller skates. “Fancy seeing you again, mmm?”

Twilight laughed once more. “Love the dress,” she quipped—though really, the pale blue thing looked great on her friend. Pinkie looked right at home working there at the diner. “How’s business?”

“Eh, a bit slow.” Pinkie looked around, brow furrowed, before looking back to her friend at the booth. “But that’s no excuse for me to be! Hee hee! Can I get you anything?”

“Oh, um…” Twilight bit her lip. “What… would you recommend?”

Pinkie put her hand to her chin, nodding slowly. “Well, I could getcha the classic milkshake,” she finally said. “Unless you want, like, some actual food.”

Twilight, despite herself, mock-gasped. “You don’t consider a milkshake ‘actual food’? Who are you and what have you done with Pinkie?”

Pinkie just winked. “Come on, Twilight, I’m trying to be profressional.” She did a twirl on her roller skates. “But for realsies, milkshake or no?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Twilight replied. “Chocolate, if you’ve got it.”

Pinkie gave her a lighthearted scoff. “But the vanilla’s waaaay better!”

Twilight just shrugged. “‘The customer is always right’? Isn’t that what they always say?”

“If you insist!” In another blink of an eye, she sped away—leaving Twilight sitting there alone at the booth once more. The song on the jukebox had changed to one that sounded a little more modern and electronic, but still with that retro style. Though it was a fairly slow ballad, its melody was no less infectious than the last—and Twilight could feel herself humming along after only a few seconds. She glanced over to the jukebox, leaning out of her seat on the booth so she could make out the name… but to no avail, as the song’s name card was written in an illegible cursive scrawl.

Sighing, Twilight scooted back into the booth, but her eyes stuck to that wall behind her. Above the jukebox, adorning the space from head-height to ceiling were old vinyl records from a day gone by, nailed up by their centre hole. She could catch a few of the names of these, but none she recognised. Music, sadly, had never been a major interest of hers… but she could listen to Sunset go on and on about it when the girl got excited about some song or band. She wondered whether Sunset would have recognised any of these artists, would have maybe had some anecdote to tell about the first time she heard about them or how they were somehow connected to a plethora of other musicians.

Groaning, Twilight flopped her face onto the table. She didn’t want to think about Sunset, not now. She tried to focus on the thought of Pinkie skating back and forth between customers and the kitchen, twirling around and never losing her balance—but the girl’s thoughts kept coming back to Sunset. To what had just happened. And to what Sunset could possibly be doing at that moment.

“Helloooo? Earth to Twilight Sparkle?” The girl in question could hear a clink of a glass on the table by her head, and she looked up. Pinkie’s smile was warm as ever—though perhaps a little less in-her-face. “Oh, there you are! For a second, I thought we lost you… on the dark side of the moooon…!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m here. Thanks, Pinkie.” She looked down to the milkshake on the table, which had a beautiful dollop of whipped cream on top and one of those red-and-white striped straws, just like in the movies. It was picture-perfect. “This looks really good.”

Pinkie just smiled wider. “Anything for a friend!” Then, suddenly as she stood there, the pink girl began to jitter. Not flailing her limbs or anything, but just a subtle vibration—kind of like a phone. “Oh, goodness, who could that be…?” she mused aloud as she reached into her dress pocket. Twilight watched Pinkie’s expression transform rapidly, from curiosity to excitement to… lips pursed? Concerned?

“Oh, hum…” Pinkie rested her chin on a hand, tapping her cheek with her fingers for a few moments as she gazed off into space. Then, she looked down to Twilight.

“What’s up?” Twilight asked. Milkshake in hand, the purple girl had already taken a couple sips.

“Well,” Pinkie started, “um, after school, I kinda-maybe-sorta told AJ and Dashie that they could come by the diner after soccer practice and I’d treat them to dinner and we could just hang out… and I sorta-kinda-maybe forgot aaaall about that until right now.” She flashed Twilight a sheepish grin. “But don’t worry!” she continued, seeing the uncertainty in Twilight’s expression. “I could say I’m too busy, and we can reschedule!”

Twilight took another sip of her milkshake, and then used the straw to plop a stray blob of whipped cream in her mouth. “No, no, that’s fine.” She paused. “So long as I’m not, like, a bother or anything?”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “Oh not at all! I just know they’ll love to see you here! Ooh, and I can leave it a surprise!” Her thumbs were quickly a blur, tapping frantically at the phone and trying to keep up with whatever Pinkie was thinking. “Aaaalright! Well then! I will be back in a jiffy, I’ve just got a couple orders to fill.” She started to skate off, slowly gliding across the floor. “They’ll be here in like five minutes, okay? Just call ’em over and ask about how soccer went.”

“Will do, Pinkie,” Twilight replied, smiling weakly.

“And remember that they don’t use touchdowns!” she heard the girl call, even after she was out of sight. Twilight just rolled her eyes, and took another sip.

...She’d have to make a mental note of that one, though.

“Hi AJ! Hi Dashie!”

The two girls had only stepped through the front door of the diner just moments before, and already they were greeted by the chipper voice of Pinkie Pie. “Hey, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, grinning as she watched the apron-clad girl skate by. “How’re you doing?”

“Pretty swell!” Pinkie smiled. “I’ve got a little more work stuff, but then I’ll be right with you, m’kay?”

“Sounds good to me,” Applejack said.

“But don’t make it too long,” Rainbow added. “I’m dying of hunger.”

Even from the other side of the diner, Twilight Sparkle could see Applejack rolling her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll survive another few minutes so Pinkie can keep doin’ her job.” The girl turned to the right, only just then noticing her friend at the far table. “Oh, hey Twilight!”

“Twilight’s here?” Rainbow asked with interest. Twilight waved, and her friends started to walk up.

“Hey, girls,” Twilight said, trying to settle into something normal. She was still feeling anxious over what happened earlier... but hopefully this would help her take her mind off it. “How was soccer practice?”

“Pretty good,” Rainbow said, sliding into the seat across the table. “Or at least it woulda been if AJ weren’t such a cheating jerk!”

Applejack just rolled her eyes once more and, even though she had just sat down next to Rainbow Dash at the booth, she stood back up and slid onto the bench next to Twilight. “Apologies for Dash, she just ain’t used to gettin’ beat fair and square, so she’s a bit of a sore loser.”

Rainbow just frowned, crossing her arms. “I saw what you—”

“Rainbow!” Applejack cut her off, raising her voice. “We already spent the whole ride over talkin’ ’bout this, you ain’t gotta keep goin’ off about it!”

“Fiiiine,” Rainbow groaned, flopping her face down onto the table. “But I swear, next practice you are going to get it.”

Twilight, who was sipping away at her milkshake, smiled. “I didn’t realise you were on the soccer team, Applejack.”

“Well, I wasn’t, not until a couple weeks ago. Not until Rainbow needled me into it.” Applejack leaned her face on her hand. “And I’m not, like, on the team yet or anything. Just been doin’ practice and the like while the coach figures out whether I should stick to the JV team or what.”

Rainbow chuckled. “You’re probably gonna make onto varsity, if I’m being honest.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said I was a cheatin’ varmint?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I mean, yeah. But even if you’re cheating, you’re a whole lot better than the rest of the team. Seriously, I carry like half the weight!”

“Uh-huh.” Applejack turned to Twilight. “So, what’re you doin’ ’round here? I thought you lived out east, with all the fancy-schmancy big houses.”

Twilight gulped. “I, uh, had an appointment in the area and decided to stop by and say hi to Pinkie before I went home.”

Applejack gave a knowing nod. “Ah, yeah, I can’t blame ya. She does make a damned good milkshake.”

“Speaking of whiiiiich!” called out their friend’s excited voice, approaching at high velocity. There was a loud clink as Pinkie Pie set two glasses down on either side of the table simultaneously, one for Rainbow Dash and one for Applejack. “Damned good milkshakes for the lot of ya!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “What are you, British?”

“What she means is thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Applejack retorted, glaring daggers across the table. “Seriously, Rainbow, what’s gotten into you?”

“Mmmf.” Rainbow glanced out the window, into the darkness. “Probably just hungry.”

“Well, that’s something I can fix!” Pinkie Pie interjected, seemingly unfazed by the exchange. “Can I getcha anything?”

Rainbow didn’t look up from the window. “A burger and fries.” She paused. “Please.”

“Comin’ right up!” Pinkie Pie sped away.

Twilight held her breath, sliding further into the corner. She looked from Applejack’s frown to Rainbow’s blank expression. She couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh, but if either of her friends heard her, they didn’t acknowledge it. She didn’t like to see her friends argue, but at least it was better than dwelling on...

Shuddering, Twilight took another sip of her milkshake. Applejack followed suit, leaning back into the bench. And Rainbow finally looked back towards them, picked up her milkshake, and gave it an unceremonious sip.

“Pretty good,” she remarked.

Applejack just chuckled. “Only pretty good? That girl’s milkshakes are always somethin’ special.”

“Take what you can get, farmer girl.” Rainbow took another sip before setting the glass on the table. “Ugh, I’m sorry. Really, I’m just in a bad mood.”

“Ain’t no thing, sugarcube,” Applejack assured her. “I know you’re stressed ’n’ stuff, but ya really don’t gotta take it out on me.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow let out a dreary sigh. “If only there were some way to relax...”

Twilight could tell her friend was hinting at something, but she wasn’t sure what. Applejack, for her part, just stared at Rainbow Dash. “On a school night?”

Rainbow laughed. “Why not?

Applejack moved her milkshake around with her straw, and then shrugged. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea...”

“Why not?” Rainbow leaned across the table, stretching her arms out towards Applejack and making what Twilight assumed was her best effort at a puppy-dog face. “You know you want to...”

“What are you girls even talking about?” Twilight finally asked. Her two friends suddenly both looked at her bewildered expression.

“Knowing these two, probably just hotboxing in the barn attic!” came Pinkie’s voice from behind them, and all three of them watched as the pink girl sped up, plate held up high. As she reached the booth, she slowed to a stop, and set the plate down by Rainbow Dash’s head—which was still on the table. Rainbow’s eyes had settled on the burger on top, staring hungrily.

“Thanks, Pinkie.”

“Of course! And scoot over!” Pinkie was already sitting down next to Rainbow Dash, pushing the other girl into the corner of the booth. “So what’s up?”

Applejack shrugged. “I dunno. Practice was good. I’m not sure if the coach likes me, though.”

“Eh, she wasn’t that much of a dick to you,” Rainbow said between bites. “She’s just more of the tough love type.”

“Mmm.” Applejack sipped her milkshake.

Suddenly, Pinkie turned to Twilight. “Yo, what’s up, sugar booger?”

Twilight, who had been deep in thought, shook to attention. “Hm? Oh, sorry, I just was confused. What’s... hotboxing?”

Applejack snorted; Rainbow Dash burst into laughter. Pinkie Pie just smiled, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

“What?” Twilight asked, defensively. “Is this some weird sex thing?”

“Ha, no,” Rainbow said, wiping away a tear as she stopped laughing. “Outta the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, this goes squarely in numero dos.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Y’ain’t need to be all silly about it. Me an’ Dash are just gonna—”

“Get really high?” Pinkie Pie cut in.

“Hell yeah!” Rainbow said with a smirk and a nod. “I just got an eighth from Flutters’ cousin, and she says it’s the real good stuff.”

Applejack facepalmed. “She always says it’s the real good stuff, ya durn stoner.”

“Yeah but I have a good feeling about this one.” Rainbow waggled her eyebrows.

“Uh-huh.”

Twilight bit the inside of her cheek. “So wait, let me get this straight... you guys, uh, smoke cannabis?”

Rainbow let out another guffaw. “Of course you would call it that.” Even the silent-’til-now Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but let out a snicker, and Twilight bit further into her cheek.

Applejack, though, seeing Twilight recoil, let out a sigh. “Oh, don’t beat up on the girl, it ain’t her fault she’s a bit... sheltered.” She turned. “Yeah, Twilight, we do. And if that’s a surprise or makes ya uncomfortable, I’m real sorry for that and we don’t have to talk about it anymore if ya don’t want.”

Pinkie quickly composed herself. “Yeah, I’m really sorry for bringing it up.”

Twilight Sparkle gulped. “Erm... y-yeah, I think I’d prefer that. Sorry.”

“Meh, no big deal,” Rainbow said. She was already chomping down on the last bite of her burger, having swiftly demolished the thing. “Plenty of other fish in the sea to talk about.”

“That... I don’t think that’s how the saying goes,” Applejack remarked.

“Like hell it doesn’t!” Rainbow wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “So! About that lit paper...”

As Rainbow Dash launched a barrage of questions at Applejack (with occasional chiming in from Pinkie Pie, who was also in their World Lit class), Twilight Sparkle let herself zone out. She didn’t stare out the window, nor did she dwell on the events of earlier that evening. She just finished off her milkshake and... for the first time that day, she chilled. Although she wasn’t actively engaged in the conversation or anything, just the company felt nice.

It wasn’t ’til nearly an hour later that Twilight thought to check the time. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and—

“Oh, crap!” Then: “Ah, pardon my language.”

Rainbow snickered of course. Rolling her eyes, Applejack asked, “What’s up?”

“I gotta call my parents about a ride home!” Twilight explained. “Dad was gonna pick me up from—er...”

“I can wait with you!” Pinkie offered. “I don’t live that far from here, and I was just gonna skate anyway.”

“Oh, yeah, we should probably head out too,” Applejack said, after a glance at her own phone. “’Specially if Dash here wants to...” She paused. “...come over ’n’ hang out.”

“You know I do, babe,” Rainbow Dash shot back in a dumb, husky croon—earning laughs all around, even from Twilight. Rainbow coughed, her face red. “Er, um, yeah. Yup. Let’s skedaddle.”

The four girls slid out from the booth and stood up. Pinkie Pie, of course, quickly hugged both Rainbow Dash and Applejack—and Twilight for good measure—bidding them goodbye as she skated across the diner to bring their glasses and Rainbow’s plate back to the kitchen.

“We’ll see ya tomorrow, Twilight,” Rainbow said, patting her friend on the shoulder. “You’ll be at lunch, right?”

“Yeah, should be,” Twilight said. “Hope you two have a good night.”

“So do I,” Applejack countered, exhaling sharply, hand on her hips. “Seeya, Twi.”

And with that, the pair walked off and out the double doors of the diner, leaving Twilight once more alone by the booth. She took this opportunity to call her dad, and, upon receiving confirmation that he could come pick her up at the diner, she thanked him and stowed her phone away back in her pocket.

...But for only a moment. It felt like only seconds later that Pinkie Pie reappeared and rolled up, no longer wearing her apron but still on roller skates, of course. “D’ja call your parents?”

“Yeah, my dad should be here in like fifteen minutes,” Twilight replied. “You sure you want to wait with me? Really, I’ll be fine...”

“Nah, I’m happy to keep you company!” Pinkie said cheerily. “You wanna sit down, ooooor...?”

“Yeah, sure.” Twilight led the way, stepping over to an empty booth right by the door with a clear view of the street in front. “I gave Dad the address, but I’ll need to keep an eye out to see if I need to flag him down.”

“Hee hee,” Pinkie giggled. “Is he bad at directions?”

“A little bit.” Twilight paused. “Or a lot, if you ask my mom. But he’s not that bad.”

“Mmm,” Pinkie hummed. A short silence fell between them. Twilight thought Pinkie looked oddly uncomfortable, like she wanted to say something but for some reason was holding off.

So Twilight Sparkle asked a question of her own. Even if she didn’t really want to... it was eating at her.

“Say, Pinkie...”

“Hmm?” Pinkie tilted her head. “Yeeees?”

“Not to go back to our conversation earlier, but... uh...” Twilight grimaced.

Thankfully, Pinkie seemed to get the message, smiling softly. “Oh, yeah, I guess I kinda figured you might ask about that. No, I don’t smoke weed.”

Twilight blinked. “Really? W-wait, no, I don’t mean to imply—”

Pinkie giggled. “No, no, it’s fine. Yeah... I don’t. Not that I haven’t tried it,” she added, “once or twice, a couple years ago. But it’s just not really my thing, y’know?”

“Er... I don’t,” Twilight replied, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

“Oh yeah. Heh. I dunno. Like, I’m wacky and stuff, but I got even more jumbledy and kinda paranoid.”

Twilight just shrugged. “Good to know... I guess.”

Pinkie’s lips were pursed. “Any reason in particular why you’re asking? I guess I am a little surprised that you’re coming back to it even though it was making you uncomfortable before...”

“Well...” Twilight hesitated. “It kinda still is... but really, I wouldn’t have brought it up again if I couldn’t handle it,” she said, adding the last part at a flash of worry on Pinkie Pie’s features. “I just... I dunno. Curiosity kills the cat.”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Silly Twilight, that isn’t true! Opal’s been suuuper curious, and she’s still alive!”

“Opal?” Twilight said, confused. “Is that a cat?”

“Oooh, yeah. Opalescence is Rarity’s cat,” Pinkie explained. “I forgot that you don’t know her yet! I’ll hafta drag you over for a meet ’n’ greet.”

Twilight nodded slowly, and then felt the buzz of her phone in her pocket. She glanced out the window. “Oh, my dad’s here. Thanks again, Pinkie. For the milkshake, and letting me hang out with you guys, and—”

Pinkie blew a raspberry, cutting her off. “Sillier and sillier! You don’t need to thank me, I just like to do nice things for my friends! Now c’mon, let’s get outta here.” The pink girl leapt up from the bench, rolled over to the doors, and thrust both of them open in front of her.

Laughing, Twilight Sparkle stood up and followed her outside.

It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. You can fix this. I know you can fix this you just have to talk to her, you just have to say sorry, you can—

But she knows, oh she knows, oh Celestia what if she tells somepo—body, but... what can we do about that now? The air pulls into your lungs, inflates them, you’re full of the world until have to let go, rinse and repeat, etc.

A weight pulls down like ice on a rickety roof and you feel prone to collapse. It’s night-time.

What time is it? It’s ten thirty. Sunset Shimmer rolls over in bed, stretches her arm out, moves it from side to side and watches the blur wash away the icky icky wrongness. She’s got to move, she can’t stay still; to stay still is to succumb. She sits up, throws blankets aside, and starts to shiver standing. Socks... where are the socks? Her feet clumsily work their way through the carpet and first to the dresser, though of course they’re not in the dresser, they’re under the bed. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why can’t you ever put away your laundry the day it gets done, when it’s so freshly warm you want to wrap it into a ball and hold it in your arms and pretend it’s companionship and love and affection and you really fucked it up with Twilight, didn’t you? Lost the plot and paid the price—make sure to file away that phrase for a song or something, lol. Where’s a pen? Sunset Shimmer steps over to where she assumes her desk is.

Lost the plot and paid the price. Lost the plot and paid the price. Lots the pot and paid the p—thirsty. Water? Did Sunset Shimmer get water? You can’t remember. Her mouth is so dry, cottonmouth, tongue big and desiccated—tessellated, succor—in her mouth. Mouth.

Something something paid the price. Something—okay, now Sunset Shimmer is reaching around in her desk drawer, looking for a pen. Paid the—oh, no, it’s gone. Not even worth trying to remember. Sunset Shimmer lets out a sigh and closes the desk drawer. Whatever.

But as her hand moves over the desktop (ha ha get it, not computer but actual top of the desk, aren’t we so hilarious), her fingers brush her phone. Her phone! She’s got to apologise to Twilight.

Twilight Spa—lost the plot and paid the price! Aha! She reaches back in the desk for a pen, and—lost the plot and p—shit, what was it again? Ugh, this isn’t worth it at all...

Her phone. Sunset Shimmer picks up our phone and even through the daze the light of the screen is almost sobering, drawing up the dregs of herself like moths to a flame. Contacts, Twilight Sparkle, tap tap tap tap tap. The last thing she sent you was a photo of some piece of homework but the letters are too blurry right now so whatever. Sunset Shimmer tap-tippety-taps out an apology: Hey Twilight, I’m really sorry about earlier, I’m probably not going to be at school tomorrow but maybe we can talk after school?

Of course she doesn’t want to talk after school but there’s no other real way out of it, no way to hand wave—Twilight will know what Twilight saw. Oh, the irony. Sweet motherbuckin’ irony. Don’t think about it too much and press send. Toss the phone back onto the bed—er, it was on the desk, but whatever—and then shuffle further into the carpet. It’s water time, baby. And then maybe some songs before bed.

Something like that.

Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU9yMN1MCfY