A bell letting Sunset escape from English class finally began to ring through the halls of the school. She had only narrowly avoided passing out into a deep slumber as their monotone teacher finished her incredibly boring lecture. Sunset wondered why they would choose someone who was very uninteresting to listen to in a class focused on reading, telling stories and trying to paint pictures with words. Perhaps there was a charm she wasn’t seeing, but English was certainly her least favorite class this year, almost hands down. Then again she was never found of languages to begin with.

Study hall was next on her list, and she was eager to get to it so she could check her texts and possibly actually take Twilight’s advice and perhaps get a little studying in for the upcoming midterms. Sunset had quickly become a straight-A student since her debacle where she almost destroyed the school; after all she was a star student of Celestia at one point, and quite a fast learner, so studying was never really necessary for her, but she had learned to prepare for anything regardless thanks to Twilight.

Speaking of Twilight, Sunset poked her head out of the classroom to see Twilight standing across from the doorway in front of a locker. Her hand clutched around a messenger bag she had gotten this year. She stood somewhat awkwardly as always, Sunset had noticed before that Twilight had long legs and it seemed to make her walk awkwardly sometimes. With Winter coming in a few weeks, she had opted to wear leggings under her pink skirt, which really only attracted more attention to her legs.

Sunset wondered if Twilight knew she had attractive legs as she had never really seen the girl in a longer skirt that concealed them. She had definitely heard a few of the boys in her class comment about them, calling Twilight a “sexy librarian” type behind her back.

Must be a bitch finding jeans in her size, Sunset thought to herself.

Twilight grew a genuine grin as she saw Sunset step out of the classroom and into the open hallway which was now filling up with other teens quickly. She gestured for Sunset to come closer to the lockers.

Obliging, Sunset leaned up against the locker next to her for a moment with a smirk. “Ay girl, waiting to come and sweep me off my feet?” She joked.

Playing along, Twilight rolled her eyes and placed her hands upon her chest and gave a mocking tone as she did a very poor acting routine, likely intentional, but possibly showing the actual extent of Twilight’s acting capabilities.

“Why Ms. Shimmer… I’ve come to ask your hand in marriage!” Twilight made sure to lay the theatrics on thick.

“Why Ms. Sparkle, we are both ladies! What would our fathers think!?” Sunset kept the act going, feigning shock.

Returning to her normal demeanor, Twilight shrugged. “Truthfully, my dad would probably just think it’s fitting that something else about me is abnormal.”

“You are abnormal, that’s for sure,” Sunset teased.

“You’re an alien unicorn magician from another universe parallel to this one,” Twilight reminded.

“Touché,” Sunset replied, unsure of how to make a proper comeback to such a fact.

Taking a few steps towards their shared study hall, Twilight adjusted her skirt and looked over to Sunset to catch a smile on her friend’s face, igniting one on her own. “You’re in a good mood,” Twilight commented.

Sunset shrugged.

“What can I say? I’ve been in a pretty good mood lately. I guess I just feel a lot better having a sister; I never really had a family for my whole life so it’s nice for a change… Then again your parents treat me like family too…” Sunset said.

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t give them ideas; my mom might actually adopt you. She’s weird like that…”

“She seems to like kids…” Sunset replied.

Twilight nodded, Sunset had no idea. Twilight’s mother couldn’t wait to be a grandmother and always joked about having more children much to her father’s dismay. The moment Shining got married, she was on him about getting grandchildren for her. She couldn’t even let the ink dry on his marriage certificate before she began badgering him.

The conversation was interrupted by a text message tone on Sunset’s phone. Retrieving the object from her pocket and looking at the screen she could see a message from Shimmer.

Hey! Don’t forget to bring a change of clothes with you! You promised to stay the night! I already bought like fifteen movies off of iTunes; we are going to have an awesome time! I have the whole night planned out! This is going to be legendary!

Sunset giggled at her sister’s enthusiasm and typed up a reply quickly.

Yeah, I won’t forget. Though I could really use a shower before we get started, Gym class had us running and I totally didn’t get a chance to take a shower after. I also was running late this morning and didn’t take one before school… basically, I stink is what I’m saying.

Shimmer could reply to texts apparently at lightning speed and delivered a response within 30 seconds of her and Twilight walking in silence.

Say no more! I shall prepare a bath for us!

Sunset rolled her eyes and responded.

You and baths…

Shimmer’s response was predictable as they had had this conversation before.

Baths are superior!

Twilight took notice of the texting and surmised it was Shimmer she was talking to before commenting, “you two sure are close now.”

Catching Sunset’s attention, she turned to Twilight and nodded. “Yeah, she’s pretty needy though.”

Twilight placed a hand upon Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset looked at the hand resting on her shoulder and then to Twilight’s sincere expression. “I’m glad that you have someone in your life like that… I worry about you sometimes, Sunset.”

“You shouldn’t worry about me…” Sunset blushed and looked away bashfully. She still had a difficult time accepting being the center of attention.

Twilight shook her head. “Before Shimmer was in the picture you spent a lot of time alone… I should know, that’s how I was before you girls came into the picture.”

Sunset nodded and offered the girl a hug which Twilight took gladly. Sunset always noticed that out of all of her friends, Twilight gave the best hugs, even better than Pinkie Pie, who was always game to hug. Twilight always had a tenderness to her embrace, and a strong sense of real compassion exuded from her when she took you in her arms.

“You’re my best friend for a reason, you know that?” Sunset whispered to Twilight.

Twilight giggled and nodded.

Notebooks upon notebooks sat in front of Shimmer as she clacked away at her keyboard, looking over various scribbles jotted down on the lined pages. Sticky notes stuck out of several of them, literally creating notes upon her notes. She definitely housed a method for note-taking that didn’t make sense to anyone but herself.

Picking up the most recently filled composition notebook, she flipped to the last few pages and examined her most recent findings, trying to make sense of it all.

“It just doesn’t add up…” She thought out loud before leaning back in her seat, the old office chair creaking as she did so.

After a moment of pondering, Shimmer decided it might be best to send off what she had for someone else to decipher, realizing it was drawing dangerously close to the time that she had agreed to meet up with Sunset for their get-together that night; she didn't want to be tardy to an event that she herself had set up, after all.

Pulling a keyboard closer to herself, Shimmer leaned into the glow of the monitor and hesitated for a moment, unsure of herself before she allowed her recently polishing and painted nails to type up an email.

It’s me again.

Listen, I’ve been looking over my notes left and right, and nothing makes sense. I can’t quite piece this together. I know I mentioned a lot before, and I told you that I don’t trust authorities regarding this matter, and ordinarily, I wouldn’t involve anyone else, but you’re the only one I know that seems to not be skeptical about this kind of thing.

When it comes to magic, I think it’s best to keep this all on the down low. I’m going to let you in on a secret though… It’s not just Sunset and her friends, it's me as well. We all seem to be capable of using it. I know this sounds crazy, but that’s exactly why I have to keep this as much under wraps as I can.

The point is, I am worried that things might get out of hand, and while I understand you may be objected to helping me, I needed someone I could trust even slightly on this matter, and I don’t want to worry anyone.

There’s something going on that I can’t quite pinpoint, and I am pretty confident that someone is trying to steal my research on magic that I have been conducting for years. I believe it has some connection to Sunset and I uniting. I am keeping magic usage to a minimum to avoid suspicion, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could look into this for me. Again, I know you have no reason to help me, but the situation has forced my hand.

Sincerely,

Sunset Shimmer

Yawning, she hit the send key and had the email sent from her private email. It wasn’t set up on any other computer in the house but this one, to ensure security.

Looking at the close she could see the time was close to 2 PM, Sunset would be arriving soon, so she needed to get herself more presentable for company. Her hair was a mess, as she had rolled out of bed this morning and went to work right away in this room.

The dark area was illuminated only by various computer screens, as no windows allowed in any natural light and the door sealed light from the outside out almost perfectly. To those unfamiliar with the house, this room couldn’t be seen from the hallway as it appeared to look just like the wall on the outside.

Only through knowing where to push down a light on the wall and a key combination hidden behind a painting on the wall opposite of the door could one get inside.

Her father had originally had the room built as a panic room, but through the years, Sunset had converted it into a sort of archive for her work to be saved somewhere where no one could find it.

It also served as yet another place of solitude for her when she needed some deeper thinking to get done.

Her mind was beginning to focus on her night with Sunset until a pinging noise from her computer startled her. Fumbling with her glasses left on the table, she managed to get the spectacles onto her face and give her eyes a second to adjust. She was a bit surprised to see she had a reply to her email so quickly, what were the odds that they were available at the same time she had sent it?

Shimmer almost held her breath as she read the reply she received.

Sunset,

Trust me, I know all about not trusting the authorities. However I believe you in regards to magic, you have no reason to lie after all. It’s not fitting for you to lie anyways. In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve always been genuine, even when it was not beneficial to you. So I am obligated to take what you say as serious and at face value, so you can trust me when I say that I will assist you in this endeavor without question.

Technically I still owe you for not ratting me out in the past, but after this, I hope you will consider us even. If I help you here, I expect this to conclude our communications from here on. I got your last email about someone trying to hack your server, and given that they were targeting only your lab server, I’d say you’re probably in the right in that they are looking for your research on magic. You were wise to move all your data to either physical notebooks or your non-internet connected server.

However if you want me to be able to help, you will need to send me everything you have so I can understand what you’re working with. There’s a good chance that the answer lays within what you already have. I need some time to look it over and figure it out. You will need to trust me completely if you want this to work.

I know that’s asking a lot, but given the circumstances, I don’t think you have a choice in the matter. I'm not one for bullshitting around and I think you know that.

Only communicate using this email, never contact each other through any other means. I’ve made sure this connection is encrypted and thoroughly monitored. Don’t mention anything to anyone for security’s sake.

If you can send me all of your files, I’ll begin looking them over. If you accept my help, then just send the files and I’ll know you want my assistance.

Also as a further safety precaution we both should destroy any evidence of these emails after reading them. Commit everything to memory, and that should ensure these communications remain between you and me.

Shimmer read everything slowly, and it took every bit of her brainpower to consider this offer in full. However, it didn’t matter, as they were right; she didn’t have anyone else to turn to. Getting the others involved was simply out of the question, especially Sunset or her friends. At this time it was a minor problem anyway, no reason to kick up a bigger fuss than it warranted, right?

Standing up, Shimmer picked up a cable sticking out of the server in the back of the room and ran it over to the computer she was working on, and plugged the cable in.

Sitting back down, Shimmer grabbed the zip file version of all her documents from the server and dragged it into the email. Pressing a button, she sent the data on its way to her contact. Waiting for the confirmation that it had finished uploading and sent, she unplugged the cable and stood up yet again, making her leave from the darkroom on her way to prepare for Sunset’s arrival. The rest was in their hands now.

Standing atop of pedestal, Sunset had a roll of measuring tape wrapped around her waist by a perfectionist fashionista. She tried to hold as still as possible while Rarity took a measurement and then quickly jotted it down in a notebook. Sunset had promised she would come directly to Rarity’s boutique after class and before she went to go spend the night at Shimmer’s and before she knew it, she had Rarity’s hands all over her, and even trying to tear her clothes off (met with ample and successful resistance, however).

With her mind focused on just letting Rarity get her measurements and then peeling out as quickly as she could, Sunset tried to keep the conversation brief, but that was always a challenge with a girl like Rarity who was quite the conversationalist.

With her hair tied back into a bun, Rarity looked the part of a hardworking seamstress. This was perhaps the purest form of Rarity that one would ever witness.

Sunset finally let out a groan of annoyance after standing there for what felt like an eternity, followed by her complaint, “Are we done yet?”

Looking up from her notebook, Rarity reached up and tapped Sunset’s nose with her pen before giving her an annoyed look. “We would have been able to go a lot faster if you weren’t so shy about taking your clothes off. It’s harder to get accurate measurements when you’re fully dressed.”

Rubbing her neck, Sunset apologized hoping to avoid that subject any further; she didn’t really feel like discussing the scar on her back with Rarity, “sorry… A little shy I guess…”

Rarity raised a brow in suspicion. “Didn’t you say in your world you don’t normally wear clothing?”

Sunset coughed and decided to try and change the subject. “So… you have my measurements updated, now what?”

Falling for Sunset’s subject change, Rarity perked up and smiled brightly as she looked down at her notebook to compare old measurements with the current ones. “Well, the good news is that you’ve filled out a lot better. I suppose Shimmer has been making sure you eat better. You actually have quite an impressive figure.”

Her face felt hot as she stepped off of the pedestal and shrugged before leaning up against the wall. “Yeah well… Whatever…”

Rarity rolled her eyes and lifted her glasses off of her face and placed them atop her head as she examined Sunset’s expression, clearly sensing how uncomfortable she was. Setting her notebook down, Rarity approached and sat down in the chair nearby looking towards Sunset with curiosity. “You really are that uncomfortable with nudity aren’t you?”

“No, it’s not like that… I just… Nevermind…” Sunset sighed, hoping Rarity would finally just give up on this subject, however she wasn’t that lucky.

“Are you afraid of a lady gazing upon you?” Rarity’s brow rose, trying to decipher this mystery.

Sunset wasn’t entirely sure what she was implying, but she tilted her head in confusion as she looked to Rarity. “I beg your pardon?”

With a sigh, Rarity realized she would have to spell it out. She nearly whispered so as to not offend. “Meaning… Are you perhaps… A tad homophobic? I mean I won’t judge you if you are…”

Sunset shook her head. “Not at all, I mean I mockingly flirt with Twilight all the time, though to be fair that’s just to get under her skin. Besides homosexuality is super common in Equestria, we sort of have a very large ratio of females to males there, so it’s almost mandatory.”

“You know… You have never told us what your preference is…” Rarity commented, clearly curious now. It was obvious that a gossip magnet like Rarity had been dying to know such information for a while now.

Sunset shrugged. “I never gave it much thought. Remember I spent the first half of my life basically avoiding other ponies and people. I also wasn’t the most desirable person to be around, so my sexuality is really still being discovered I guess… I mean I had a relationship with Flash Sentry but we never like… Did anything.”

Leaning in so she could speak quieter, Rarity nearly whispered the next words. “So you’re a… Virgin?” Rarity asked.

Sunset nodded a bit embarrassed by the fact, as she was approaching nineteen and had never even had a kiss before.

Rarity frowned and leaned back, clearly content with this new information. “I suppose you feel me making you a prom dress is rather pointless, right darling?”

Sunset looked at the floor, not wanting to disappoint Rarity, but wanting to be honest at the same time. “S-sort of… I mean prom isn’t for months anyway, but I know I’m going to have to go alone if I even want to go.”

“Well I’m sure all of our friends won’t have dates, so it’s not as though you’ll be alone darling,” Rarity reminded as she wagged her finger.

“True, still…” Sunset frowned.

“Sunset, I’ve known you for a little over a year now, and I know you’ll find someone one day. You’re a catch and you don’t even realize it. I won’t have any more of this self-doubt talk in my boutique, darling. You’re a beautiful woman and someday some man or woman is going to see that,” Rarity reassured as she stood up placing a hand on Sunset’s shoulder in comfort.

“How can you be so sure?” Sunset asked.

Rarity seemed to instantly become offended as she destroyed that line of thinking as quickly as she could. She gently nudged Sunset in a gruff manner before scolding her once again. “Do not even doubt me on this. I know this for a fact. Do you not trust me?”

Sunset felt a blush cross her face as she nodded. “T-thanks Rarity… I think I needed to hear that right now.”

“It’s alright, though if you don’t mind me asking for the same of my nosiness, have you ever thought about being with a girl before?” Rarity leaned against the wall with her, her expression turning more serious as she looked directly forward.

Sunset looked over at her with confusion; her face was contorted into a look of doubt and contemplation. Clearly, something was on Rarity’s mind, but the chances of her revealing what she was thinking were probably slim to none.

Looking forward with her friend, Sunset focused her eyes on a painting of some flowers on the wall as she answered. “Well… I guess I notice girls sometimes…”

“Oh?” Rarity didn’t even look at her as she replied.

Sunset smirked and nodded. “Yeah, like I noticed you have a really cute butt.”

Rarity’s entire face turned red as her hands dropped to her side and then tried to cover her rear in her tight leggings. “R-really?”

Sunset snorted and gently nudged Rarity’s shoulder. “Gotcha!”

“You clearly have spent too much time with Rainbow Dash!” Rarity protested her face still completely red.

Chuckling Sunset nodded, unable to argue with that, though Shimmer actually had quite a perverted side to her when you were least expecting it and that likely contributed. “Nonetheless, I guess the idea of a girl would be pretty cool, so long as it was the right girl, right?” Sunset attempted to bring it back to her question.

Rarity blinked and nodded. “I-I suppose… That makes sense…”

Sunset could tell she had a lot on her mind, but it was obvious that she wouldn’t reveal anymore simply by asking.

“Hurry up! Come on! I have like ten movies for us to watch! You’re soooooo slow!” Shimmer complained as she poked her head back in the bathroom at her elder sister who was still wrapped in a towel and straining her hair of excess water. Still soaked, Sunset rolled her eyes at the girl rushing her.

“Give me a few minutes, damn. I like to be completely dry before I put on Pajamas you know?” Sunset sighed and shook her head.

Shimmer gave a pouty face with her lip sticking out before rolling her eyes. “Well I got you some new PJs, they’re sitting on the bench out here, I know I shouldn’t have but I did anyway. You can thank me later.”

With a wink, Shimmer practically bounced away leaving Sunset by herself. Stepping out of the humid bathroom she couldn’t help but giggle at how enthusiastic Shimmer always was. It seemed like she lit right up and shined brightest when Sunset was around, it was a vast improvement over when they met months ago. Shimmer had grown into a much happier girl.

Sunset reached down and lifted the top of the pajamas to see a black open-neck T-shirt with her recognizable emblem (or cutie mark back in Equestria) upon it. Chuckling she tossed her towel to the side and slipped it over her head. Slipping on a pair of orange panties with the collection, she pulled up the form-fitting booty shorts that came with it and looked in the nearby mirror in the hallway.

Not half bad.

She had to admit; Shimmer had good taste and knew how to pick out wardrobes that complimented Sunset’s form. There was perhaps more Rarity in her than Sunset liked to admit sometimes. Sunset couldn’t deny though that she felt cute, though it was a pity there was no one there to truly admire it.

Finally making her way down the grand staircase, she began to navigate to the living room. The house was so gigantic that it had taken her weeks to start to learn her way around, but as Shimmer had put it, there were plenty of rooms that she had not been in for years, so she was only helpful in teaching her how to navigate a section of the house. The entire east wing was almost left unexplored for years. Shimmer mentioned at one point she was pretty sure there was an art studio over there somewhere but had not been over there since her mother died. Shimmer likely avoided tons of places that brought back painful memories and as a result, many of the rooms of the mansion likely were covered in dust at this point.

Finding the room, Sunset stepped inside to see Shimmer already on the extravagant couch with her feet up on a footrest. A bowl of popcorn sat atop of her lap and Sunset noticed her phone and backpack next to the couch where she had left it upon coming over in the first place. Shimmer patted the spot next to herself and beckoned Sunset to move quickly. “Hurry up, slowpoke!”

Rolling her eyes, Sunset propped herself down next to her younger sister and yawned before giving a large stretch and focusing her eyes on the TV. Shimmer offered her a sample of the popcorn which she took gently and savored it. She wasn’t much for popcorn, but it was a nice treat to have with the occasional movie, even if she hadn’t seen a lot of movies in her time. Shimmer owned an impressive collection of them though; all sectioned on shelves upon shelves in her home theater. There were titles that Sunset was pretty confident weren’t the kind of movies you’d normally see in a home collection, and probably every major release since 1970 in that room.

Shimmer quickly scooted closer to her older sister and snuggled up to her with a content smile. Sunset reached over and petted the girl’s head affectionately, which generated a response of Shimmer leaning into the petting and the smile on her face growing to obnoxious size. Sunset didn’t think it was possible for a girl to have such a big smile, but Shimmer somehow broke that belief, despite having a very small mouth.

Before she knew it, the two were enthralled in hours upon hours of various films. Shimmer seemed more excited about them than Sunset who mostly couldn’t tell what was going on in half of them, however, she kept quiet about it so as to not inspire a lecture about the plots from Shimmer; Sunset had learned her lesson by watching movies with Twilight.

After about the fourth or fifth film, Shimmer has completely fallen asleep. Sunset looked at her lap to see the girl peacefully resting, not a single snore came out of her, just gentle and delicate breathing. Sunset reached down and gently ran the backside of her fingers along the girl’s cheek, feeling a smile come to her own face as she did so.

Sunset leaned back in her seat to look to the side of the couch, seeing her bag was emitting a gentle glow. She already could guess what it was. Reaching inside, she retrieved her journal that she used to talk to Princess Twilight, and sure enough, she had a message from the princess.

Dear Sunset,

I hope I’m not intruding or writing to you at a bad time, but I just wanted to check up on you. I’m glad things with you and Shimmer are going so well, and I’m ecstatic to see you’ve not only made a new friend but someone you can call a sister. It’s truly an amazing thing, and family can bring one a ton of joy in their life. As a sort of mentor to you, it fills me with pride as a teacher, but also as a friend to know things are going so well for you. I’m sure you’re making a fine sister. Sisterhood can be very rewarding, I would know from personal experience after all!

Anyways, I’m not writing just to stroke your ego, well okay maybe a little, but I’m also writing because I wanted to talk to you about something that has been on my mind for a while now and I feel now would be the best time to bring it up.

It’s been many years, and you’ve grown and changed so much in said years that I think now is an excellent time for you to come visit Equestria and meet with Celestia. It would only be temporary of course, but I am certain she would love to hear from you and see how far you’ve come along in your friendship lessons. As your former mentor, it would likely bring you both some closure to see each other.

I understand this might be a very difficult choice to make, given that the past while forgiven still exists, but I think you can trust Celestia. She was my mentor too, and she is a very kind and forgiving soul, she will not hold your past against you. I truly believe this is an important part of your friendship lessons, to face the past and be ready to conquer your future.

Please consider it. Get back to me as soon as you can.

Sincerely,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Sunset winced just at the thought of meeting with Celestia. Sure it was true that she had changed quite a bit since initially trying to take over all of Equestria when she was fueled by anger and hatred, but part of her still had a hard time thinking what her former mentor might think of her. Celestia was forgiving, but Sunset still had a difficult time facing the disappointment that Celestia likely felt over her.

Carefully, she scribbled in the book to write back to Twilight.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I wish it were that simple. Celestia and I haven’t spoken for over five years now. I can’t just walk back into her castle like nothing happened. Yes, she may forgive me, but I don’t feel I’m ready to face the disappointment she will feel. Even if she gets over it, it’s still hard for me to think about meeting her again. I’ve only really been reformed for over a year now, I think I need more time to prove myself before such a meeting between the two of us can occur.

I appreciate you looking out for me, but please understand that I need to do this on my own terms. If it’s going to happen, I need to control how and when it’ll happen. Likely I will want you there for such a meeting, actually, I definitely will want you there, but not until I’m ready.

When I finally do face her it will be because I’ve completely forgiven myself for what I was. While it’s definitely happening, it’s not a quick process.

I’ll think it over though, and consider when I am ready to do this. Thank you, Twilight, for caring and just being there for me when I need someone. You’re the princess of friendship for a reason for sure!

Love,

Sunset Shimmer

Content with her response, Sunset placed the book on the coffee table, causing the light-sleeping Shimmer to stir and finally wake. She looked up at Sunset with a gentle yawn as she continued to lay in her lap.

“What was that all about?” She asked.

Sunset shook her head and petted the girl’s head just above her ear. Stroking her soft hair, Sunset whispered to her as she tried to lull her back to sleep. “Just Princess Twilight, she wanted to know how I was doing.”

Shimmer nodded and yawned. “What’d you tell her?”

Sunset leaned down and kissed her sister’s forehead gently, causing her to blush. “That I’m having a great time with my little sister.”

Shimmer giggled, knowing she was likely lying, but she allowed it to pass. “I love you, big sis…”

Sunset paused but nodded as she spoke the words back. “I love you too, little sis.”

It felt so natural, so fluent; it felt like this place was home.

Home.

It had a nice ring to it.

Wow first time ever drawing Rarity for the story so far! Crazy. I also have been going back and editing older chapters to fix mistakes or errors. Always trying to improve the story. Thanks to Applety again for the amazing drawings every week!

Behind the scenes: I actually really enjoy writing Rarity but sadly the story up to this point hadn't given me many chances to make dialogue for her.