The bus from the inner city had been traveling at the maximum allowed speed through the city limits, eventually coming around to Twilight’s home district. She had forgotten how big Canterlot City was. When she was a child, she seldom saw most of the city, due to living such an isolated life with little social interaction, but now that she was nineteen approaching twenty, she was starting to realize how big the world was outside of the books she had her head always in. She spent so much time reading that she often missed out on what was going on in the real world.

Her eyes traveled to the window as she watched the buildings speed by while the bus moved them. She recognized the area, her home was only a good mile or so away, the place where she’d be staying now that it was Summer vacation. Naturally, she had already gotten her Summer assignments finished before vacation had even begun, and of course she was already in the top ten at the Institute.

Twilight’s studious nature continued well into college, and she hoped that this meant she could acquire scholarships for even higher education in the future. A part of her dreamed of being on magazine covers for her scientific discoveries, being recognized for her work, and being able to meet some of her idols.

Truthfully though, her mind was not on school at the moment and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t finish her work early so that she’d have more time to catch up with her friends, but one in particular.

Sunset Shimmer.

It had been too long. Twilight tried to stay in contact with her, but it became increasingly difficult when she got wrapped up with school work. Then when she’d finish it was always late.

The worst of it, however, was the awkwardness in the air. Sunset would always give little short answers in text and when she did answer the phone she had little to say. In the past semester though, Twilight and she hadn’t messaged each other a single time. Twilight had considered breaking the silence between the two, but school had her so exhausted that she often just went right to bed when she was done studying.

There was another reason though, one she had been dreading, her feelings for Sunset. Twilight had tried to surprise them, she had tried to ignore them and even move on, but no matter what, she always found herself thinking about the girl with the red hair that always looked out for her, that came to her rescue when things went south, and that she was always ready to jump off the edge for when Sunset had gone and gotten herself in too deep.

Her crush on the complex alternative girl had left her in an awkward state throughout college. So many nights she would wake up panting from a wet dream where Sunset was the primary focus. Twilight had become more aroused in general, her body finally seeming to catch up with her mind. She wasn’t a late bloomer but when it came to sexual urges, they hadn’t really started until she started developing feelings for Sunset.

She had thought about Timber naked once or twice, but it was more of a causal thought, more of a “what if” scenario to amuse herself. She seldom thought much of it. However, when she thought of Sunset, her mind often trailed off to dirty, unthinkable places. How many times she had undressed Sunset with her mind? She had lost count.

The change was troublesome, and lead her to become more active in pleasuring herself. Prior to this year, she had only recalled touching herself once or twice, but now she found it to be a weekly ritual, one that at first was awkward and unnatural feeling, but had become routine for her now. Just like everything else in her life, she had developed a system and so long as she stuck to it, it kept things from getting too strange.

Porn had been added to her list of activities she would partake in on the weekends, and while it surprised herself at first, she had grown so accustomed to it that she didn’t even think about it anymore. She recalled Sunset had told her that she watched porn all the time, and Twilight was curious what kind. It had never even occurred to her that she wasn’t even sure if Sunset was that into girls or not. It was a subject that always remained mysterious and up in the air. She had mentioned she was into girls before, but Twilight wasn't sure if she was just pulling her leg or if she was being serious, she also never mentioned to what degree. Would she go for someone like Twilight?

Twilight’s mind was made up though, this Summer she was free of schoolwork, free of responsibility and she would be back in town; she had set her mind on finally telling Sunset how she felt. No more excuses, no more holding back and no more trying to avoid it. She knew that if she didn’t say something soon, she was going to explode. She couldn’t carry this crush forever and do nothing about it, she needed to take the chance. For a long time she told herself that Sunset would never be interested in a girl like her, that she would not be good enough, but after weeks of pep talking herself, she knew she could at least approach her and ask. She just needed the right opportunity.

She knew the odds weren’t in her favor, but she was at least determined to try. She had passed the point where she was thinking about rejection, but now she was at the point of the nervousness of how to broach the subject.

A part of her wondered if maybe she could ask Applejack and Rarity when she got off the bus.

That was where she was heading, to meet up with Applejack and Rarity at the ice cream parlor that they frequented throughout high school. It was hard to imagine that they had all grown so much, that high school was over and Twilight was now in a prestigious college, Applejack was starting her own farm down the road from her family, and Rarity and she had been married. Twilight giggled internally at the thought. She knew that Rarity was a hopeless romantic, and when the two got together they all joked that they’d rush to get married, and they ended up being right. At the young age of nineteen, they were wedded.

To everyone’s surprise, they had opted for a small ceremony (perhaps a little of Applejack was rubbing off on Rarity), but it was likely due to Applejack insisting on paying for the wedding and coming from modest money that didn’t mean much. Twilight remember attending it and watching Rarity and Applejack smash cake in each other’s faces. She recalled Applejack having more fun than she should have, the one time where she could get away with rubbing food into Rarity’s hair and makeup and not get in trouble for it, and damned if she didn’t abuse that privilege.

It was an adorable ceremony, and Twilight even recalled Sunset attending, though she didn’t say much, and Twilight remembered trying to initiate conversation with her only to give up a few times. Her dress, however, was gorgeous. Sunset had gone slightly more gothic and alternative since Shimmer and she met. Sunset always had a little alternative flair, but it had certainly increased in such a short time, but somehow it suited her. Twilight never originally imagined herself being much into someone like that, but now she couldn’t imagine herself being with anyone else. Her mother always told her that opposites attract, after all, and Twilight was starting to firmly believe that.

She remembered being so happy for Applejack and Rarity though. They weren’t wasting any time chasing their dreams, and Twilight found that endearing. They would go far, and she knew it.

The bus finally came up to her stop, and Twilight shuffled through a crowd to try and get to the front to exit. After some navigating, she managed to escape and step onto the sidewalk of familiarity. Her memory kicked in and she remembered virtually every crack and imperfection on this sidewalk. A few steps and she found herself standing in front of her high school hang out, and there with a wide smile on her face was Rarity, accompanied by her wife, Applejack.

Rarity opened her arms draped in her shoulder-less top made of light material as she pulled Twilight into a tight embrace. “Twilight Sparkle! It’s been too long!”

“A few months anyway, but yes it's definitely been far too long…” Twilight managed to get out after getting some air. Rarity always gave tight hugs, but she was nothing compared to what Pinkie could do. Pinkie could kill a man with her one of embraces; Twilight imagined even bodybuilders would die if hugged too hard by Pinkie Pie.

Applejack came in when Twilight was released and brought her into a hug as well, though much softer ironically. Applejack tended to be more careful since she didn’t know her own strength.

Stepping back, Twilight noted that Applejack was sporting what seemed to be a silk button up and what appeared to be skinny jeans. She guessed that Rarity was now choosing her wardrobe or at the very least had influence over it. She still had on a pair of cowboy boots, but it all worked together somehow.

Rarity gestured Twilight to come inside with them. “Come come!”

Twilight nodded and followed into the building. Rarity and Applejack had already reserved a table for them, and Applejack pulled out a chair for Rarity who sat down gracefully and looked up at her wife with a smile and eyes that looked like they were about to cry. Applejack being romantic and sweet was definitely new, but despite their spats, Applejack and Rarity clearly were deeply in love.

“Thank you, darling…” Rarity batted her eyes.

Applejack took the girl’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Don’t mention it…”

“Are you trying to flirt with me, Miss Apple?” Rarity giggled.

“Is it workin’?” Applejack smirked.

“Maybe you’ll find out later…” Rarity winked.

Twilight rolled her eyes and sat down across from them when Applejack took her seat next to her wife.

“So, it’s been a while… How have things been over here?” Twilight asked.

“Well, Applejack started her own farm, and I moved in with her,” Rarity began.

“Really? I never pegged you for a farm life, doesn’t that get in the way of doing your fashion stuff?” Twilight blinked.

Rarity gave a hand gesture that suggested it was no big deal. “The shop is only a short drive away, and I have a few assistants now. Coco Pommel does a fantastic job and she’s an excellent listener, she’s like a little me almost… That and I actually have a workshop at the house too, so I can get a lot done from home.”

Twilight giggled for a moment thinking about Rarity doing fashion from a farmhouse. Stranger things had happened, but it still was amusing.

“I heard you two went on a honeymoon to Hawaii?” Twilight asked.

Rarity beamed up and nodded. “Oh, it was fantastic, darling! The beaches were astounding, though I doubt Applejack remembers most of them…” Rarity smirked as she glanced over at her wife.

Applejack looked away, a bit flustered but said nothing.

“Why’s that?” Twilight’s brow rose.

A content giggle escaped Rarity as she answered. “She spent the majority of her time staring at me in a bikini…”

Applejack coughed, trying to see if they could change the subject, but Twilight and Rarity both broke out into laughter at Applejack’s expense.

When the laughter subsided, Twilight adjusted her glasses and decided it was best to ask about how the others were doing.

“So… What about everyone else? How are they doing?” Twilight asked.

“Well, Rainbow spent some time in college, but found out it wasn’t fer’ her…” Applejack rubbed her neck. “She an’ Fluttershy ended up gettin’ together and they sort of uh… eloped…”

Twilight blinked. “W-what? Really? How come? I didn’t even know they were a thing…”

“Oh those two have had tension for a while, but when they actually started dating they got married eight months later…” Rarity smiled.

“Why though? What was the rush?” Twilight asked.

“They had to if they wanted to stay together…” Applejack said quietly.

“Why’s that?” Twilight was more confused than before.

“Rainbow Dash joined the army… She finished basic training and I think she went into some kind of specialist training after that… I’m not entirely certain, the details escape me. They both were moved to Japan a month or so ago, Rainbow couldn’t say much about it, but they both seemed very happy together, sorry you missed it, but they didn’t want to make a big deal about it…” Rarity frowned.

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Rainbow Dash had joined the military and four of her friends were married already.

“What about Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

Applejack and Rarity both shrugged. “She went off to college and she’s been extremely busy. With our work schedule too, we haven’t had time to catch up…” Rarity admitted.

Twilight tried to imagine Pinkie at college, and the thought of a college party and putting alcohol into Pinkie intrigued her. To see such a bubbly and energetic girl get turned up to the extreme would definitely be entertaining to see.

“Well, it sounds like everyone is doing great at least…” Twilight smiled.

“Yeah… For the most part…” Applejack said quietly.

Twilight knew that everyone, including herself, was waiting for her to ask about a specific person. Someone she tried to avoid asking about before she got the formalities out of the way. Not that she wasn’t interested in what her friends were doing, but her mind couldn’t get off of Sunset. She fidgeted her fingers under the table as she tried to think of how to broach the subject.

“So… What about… Sunset? How’s she doing?” Twilight asked.

It had been a whole year since Adagio’s death, and closer to a year and a half since Shimmer died.

Rarity frowned and looked down at the table. “Sunset has been… Somewhat distant to say the least…”

“Really?” Twilight asked though she had already guessed that part.

Applejack nodded. “She said that she hoped seein’ Adagio die would bring her peace, but instead she just felt empty after it all…”

“She has been struggling with trying to pick herself back up… I think she had bet everything on Adagio dying, hoping that would fix everything and when it didn’t she just… Shut down… She’s been held up in her estate for months now, we haven’t seen or heard from her in a good few months ourselves… I think she’s extremely depressed…” Rarity frowned.

Depression was a natural stage of grieving, but Shimmer had died so long ago at this point that Sunset should have moved on by now, however she did have to deal with the distraction of finding Adagio, so perhaps she never gave herself the time to properly grieve. Either way, it sounded like she needed a friend now more than ever.

Princess Twilight was busy in her chamber at the Canterlot castle filling out paperwork for the execution the next day. Most of the records of the ceremony would be classified, but she still believed in keeping proper documentation of everything she did as a princess. She hoped to set examples for those who came after her.

She had been at it for an hour. The trial had just ended and she had already calmed the nerves of her human counterpart when a knock came at her door. She looked up from her stack of papers and called to the door. “Come in.”

Gently pushing the door open, a timid looking girl stood there awkwardly. She appeared to be having trouble adjusting to walking on hooves, and her mane was a slavish mess amaranth. The Princess recognized her as Moondancer. She had come with the other humans to see the trial, Princess Twilight recalled that Shimmer and she were a couple at one point prior to her death. Moondancer and she had met before.

“Ah, Moondancer, come on in.” Princess Twilight gestured with her hoof.

A gentle nod came from Moondancer as she stepped into the room awkwardly and stood a good foot or two from Twilight. She paused for eight seconds before speaking. “Princess Twilight…”

“Must be strange to see each other in my world this time, huh?” Twilight asked.

Moondancer shrugged, unsure of what to make of all of this. Equestria was definitely different, but she didn’t know if that was a bad thing or not. Magic was fascinating, but she remembered that magic was the reason that Shimmer was killed. Adagio’s thirst for more of it had driven her to become a killer, still, Moondancer recognized it had its uses.

“That was… Some trial today…” Moondancer changed the subject.

Curious to see what direction this was heading, Twilight merely nodded as she continued to levitate a pen to scribble away some more notes.

“So… You guys are really going to use magic to end Adagio, huh?” Moondancer continued.

“At this point, it is the best scenario. Rehabilitation has failed on her in the past, and it’s clear to me that she poses a legitimate threat… I try not to be so… practical when it comes to things like this, but I’m confident that I’m making the right decision here…” Twilight answered.

“Do you think… Magic could… Be used to do… The opposite?” Moondancer asked.

Twilight paused and put her pen down. She turned her head to Moondancer and raised a brow. “What’re you suggesting?”

“Do you think Magic could… Bring someone back to life?” Moondancer asked plainly as if it was a child asking a very simple question.

Twilight sighed and stepped away from her desk. She approached Moondancer carefully and placed a hoof on her shoulder, pushing gently to signal to the girl to sit down. When she did, Twilight too fell back on her haunches and met Moondancer’s innocent eyes with her own.

“Moondancer, I’m going to tell you an important story about a pony named Clockwork… He was a unicorn that built clocks and other mechanisms by trade…” Twilight began.

“What does this-“ Moondancer attempted to ask, but Twilight shushed her.

“Just listen, I promise it’ll make sense…” Twilight said. When Moondancer nodded, she continued. “He fell in love one day with a beautiful mare, gorgeous, beyond his wildest imagination. He never thought he had a chance with her, but to his surprise when he asked her to be with him, she said yes…”

Twilight took a breath before continuing. “The two were very happy together and had a son, Gear Turn. One day, however, Clockwork’s wife became very ill, she died and he was devastated… He then turned his mind onto trying to find a way to bring her back… He spent his entire life looking for a way to return the dead to the living, but on his deathbed, he realized that he had neglected his son, and turned away from his family… The irony… He wasn’t a step closer than the day he began. He had traded his entire life to chase something that was… Impossible…”

Moondancer choked a little as she heard those words. She was hoping this story would shed some light on how to make such a thing possible.

“Many have attempted to use magic to bring the dead back to life, but it has never worked. Even if a corpse is reanimated the owner of the body is not in there anymore… Death is…” Twilight frowned and shook her head. “Death is forever, Moondancer. Once the consciousness leaves this world… It doesn’t come back… Many ponies have wasted their lives trying but all have failed… Do not become involved in such a mad quest…”

“So Shimmer is…” Moondancer struggled to get the words out, not wanting to admit out loud what she feared was true. She had spent a little time leading up to this point considering the possibility of magic being used to return Shimmer to the world of the living, clinging to that as a final hope.

The Princess nodded. “She’s gone, Moondancer. The best thing for you to do is to move on and honor her memory by being happy. Death cannot be changed, but that is why it’s so important for all of us to treat life preciously.”

“It… It’s not fair…” Moondancer closed her eyes and tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Twilight sighed and lifted the girl’s glasses off her face with her magic and began to wipe her tears with a tissue from her desk. When she made Moondancer compose herself she placed both hooves on the girl’s shoulders. “Moondancer, death may be forever, but so are your memories. What you felt for her… Nothing can take that from you, you’ll carry that forever. Your memories of her are going to always be with you as well.”

Sniffling, Moondancer nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. “Will I… Ever see her again…?”

Twilight sighed and closed her eyes, unsure of how to handle that subject. “It’s… Difficult to say… There are many theories about what happens to ponies when they die here in Equestria. I’m not familiar with how humans see it but…”

Moondancer nodded for the Princess to continue.

“In Equestria, it is believed that when a pony dies their consciousness crosses to another plane of existence, a place of no return. A place we refer to as ‘Yul’, it’s old ponish for ‘Other’, the final resting place of all ponies…” Twilight explained.

“How does it work…?” Moondancer raised a brow.

“When you die, you simply go there…” Twilight shrugged.

“Where do bad ponies go?” Moondancer asked.

“The same place… Regardless of what kind of pony you were in life, all ponies supposedly go to the same place… Death doesn’t really care much about what kind of pony you were, history and the living are what will remember that…” Twilight explained.

Moondancer frowned. “So… You think… Adagio will be in the same place as Shimmer come tomorrow…?”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “I… I don’t know. To be honest with you, I don’t know much about the afterlife, or if I even believe one exists at all… I try not to spend any amount of time thinking about what happens when I or anypony I care about dies.” Twilight paused and then met Moondancer’s eyes with her own. “Know this though, most believe that death cleanses us all, so even if Adagio and Shimmer end up in the same place, it’ll be after all the misdeeds that Adagio has done are washed away, she’ll be a different person, maybe the two of them could even be friends… Death is an odd thing…”

Twilight rubbed her neck with her hoof, unsure if she was helping, truthfully she had never had to console someone before about death.

“I understand… Thank you though… At least I feel somewhat better knowing that Shimmer may at least be in a place where she’ll have plenty of friends…” Moondancer smiled.

Twilight smiled back and nodded. “I’m sure she will never forget about you, wherever she is.”

Twilight had been hurrying to get to her locker to change into her regular school clothing. Gym class was always an awkward time for her, being someone who didn’t like changing in front of other people for various reasons, so she always waited until class was well over and everyone had cleared out. It ran the risk of being late to her next class, but that was why Twilight always prepared by making sure her next class was a study hall where her tardiness didn’t matter. It was difficult accepting being tardy to any school function, but sometimes it couldn’t be avoided.

Once she was sure that the gym had cleared out, Twilight snuck in and began to lift her shirt when she heard a voice echo through the locker room. “So, the Crystal Prep loser finally shows up…”

She blinked and pulled her shirt back down while her eyes traveled to the origin of the voice. There standing next to a locker was a taller girl with white silky short cut hair, and next to her was a blonde with wild curls. Twilight had met them before, their names were Vanilla and Spice; they had given Twilight a hard time before and regularly showed up to harass her.

“Oh… Hey girls… I thought no one else was in here…” Twilight spoke quietly, hoping that her non-threatening tone would convince them to leave her be.

“Exactly, no one here but us…” Vanilla smirked, her friend Spice added to her smirk with one of her own.

Twilight didn’t like where this was going.

“I… I don’t want any trouble…” Twilight took a step back.

“Maybe you should have stayed at Crystal Prep then? You can’t just come here like Little Miss Perfect, become top of every class and expect people to not notice… You don’t belong here, why not go back to Crystal Prep with the other losers?” Vanilla stepped forward and crossed her arms.

Twilight didn’t know what to say or do, she felt small. She felt powerless, however, her heart almost skipped a beat when another voice filled the room.

“What’s wrong Vanilla, your mom forget to pack you a lunch today?”

Vanilla turned around and standing there was Sunset Shimmer, arms crossed and a big grin plastered on her face. “Drunks tend to do that…” She added.

“Fuck off, Sunset. This isn’t your business…” Vanilla hissed.

“Like hell it isn’t, that’s my friend. So why not back off or I’ll give you something to really be upset about…” Sunset continued grinning, clearly not even remotely intimidated by Vanilla or her grunt, Spice.

“Make one more crack about my mom… I dare you…” Vanilla growled.

“Or you’ll do what?” Sunset laughed.

“I bet your mom is a worthless whore…” Vanilla retorted.

Sunset shrugged. “Maybe, dunno. Never thought about it. She could be anything really.”

Frustrated, Vanilla threw her arms up and stepped past Sunset along with Spice. When it was clear that Sunset wasn’t going to be intimidated the two realized that a confrontation with her wasn’t going to end well. Sunset and she had been in a fight or two before, and Sunset was always far stronger than she looked; not to mention Vanilla was well aware that the girl knew martial arts.

When the two were gone, Sunset stepped forward and reached her hand out to Twilight. Whimpering, Twilight took her friend’s hand and let a smile creep up on her face.

“It feels like… You’re always coming to my rescue…” Twilight admitted bashfully.

Sunset shrugged as she pulled her friend in closer. “That’s what friends do, right? I help you out of a jam because I knew if I ever need you to come and rescue me, you’ll be there…”

“What could possibly put Sunset Shimmer in danger…?” Twilight asked. Up to this point, she thought her friend to be near invincible. Nothing seemed to scare Sunset, and her ability to overcome seemed limitless. Twilight couldn’t imagine many scenarios where Sunset would count on her.

Sunset winked. “Stick around, maybe you’ll find out. I’m far from invincible, Twilight.”

“Doesn’t seem like it…” Twilight squeaked out.

Sunset giggled and shook her head. “Well, when I am in trouble, I’ll be counting on you to come and bail me out, okay?”

Twilight nodded and decided she would meet the challenge. If there was ever a time when her friend needed her help, she would drop everything and be there for her, regardless of the circumstances. That was her promise. If Sunset Shimmer needed someone to come up to bat for her, Twilight Sparkle would be the first person in line and that was a promise.

After coming home to her family, Twilight was poking disinterestedly at her dinner. Her parents had barraged her with questions about school, finals and any new friends she had made, but Twilight was so unfocused she couldn’t think of anything besides Sunset and the situation the both of them were in.

She wanted to tell Sunset how she felt, but at the same time, she didn’t think the time was right with her being in such a depressive state. She needed to find a way to break the ice again and make an excuse to come and cheer her up somehow.

Twilight’s mother sensed something was amiss in the air and cleared her throat after swallowing a bite of food. “So… Twilight… Something bothering you?”

“It’s just… Sunset…” Twilight frowned, surprised that she admitted it so openly to her mother.

“Ah, your friend that you have a crush on right?” Her father chimed in.

Twilight blushed and looked up at him. She quickly became flustered. “W-wha!? No! She’s just a friend, honest!”

Her father laughed and took a sip from a cup in front of him. “Alright, alright… I’m only teasing… What’s bothering you about her?”

Twilight frowned. “She apparently has been pretty distant with our other friends while I was gone, she locked herself away in her house and hasn’t come out very often. I heard that she’s really depressed right now, and I was kind of thinking that I wanted to try and use this break to cheer her up… I have two months off from school, and I was hoping that I could make her feel better…”

Twilight’s mother smiled and looked over at her father who smiled back at his doting wife, clearly seeing the young love in their daughter that reminded them so much of themselves. Finally, her mother looked back at Twilight and spoke. “I think that’s a swell idea, she’s welcome here any time.”

“The hard part now… is how do I break the ice? I let silence between us remain for so long now that it’s kind of awkward…” Twilight placed her chin on the table in defeat.

“Hello, usually works.” Her mother winked.

“Oh come on, I can’t just go from total radio silence to ‘hey, how’s it going?’, it’d look weird,” Twilight groaned.

“Always worked for me…” Twilight’s mother winked.

Twilight wanted to argue it, but she knew her mother was probably right. Sometimes the best solution was, in fact, the simplest of ones, Occam’s razor and all. The scientist in her had to agree with that, it was the basis of all problem solving, that often the simplest solution was the correct one, and then you worked from there. She had forgotten how logical her mother was at times.

Mulling it over, it made sense, she could start small by simply saying hello, asking to catch up and then proceed from there. After all, she was making assumptions about Sunset’s state based upon things said by their mutual friends, for all she knew they could be far off.

Thinking about that actually cheered Twilight up a little, the possibility that things were better than they seemed definitely lifted a bit of weight off of her shoulders, and made contacting Sunset not seem like such a daunting challenge.

“You know what… You’re right, mother… I guess I really was just overthinking it…” Twilight admitted sheepishly.

Her mother nodded and raised a glass to her lips, taking a gentle sip. “You tend to do that, dear. That’s why we’re here if someone wasn’t there to balance you, you’d be a wreck.”

“Hey! That’s not true!” Twilight pouted, crossing her arms.

“It kind of is,” her father agreed with her, a bit too enthusiastically for Twilight's liking..

“Not you too, dad!” Twilight moaned.

“Sorry sweetie, but I’m always inclined to agree with your mother.” He winked.

The entire table broke into a laughter, Twilight included. Despite what the future brought and despite what trying to talk to Sunset would do, at that moment she was at least thankful to be home, surrounded by the loving parents. It was going to be a strange Summer vacation for sure, but Twilight hoped it would be an eventful one.

With Sunset being so reclusive, she had her challenges ahead of her, she only wondered what was going on over at the Shimmer estate. Only time would tell.

Twilight had finished showering after dinner and had changed into a set of pajamas early as she sat in her room. She was typing away on her computer when she noticed a loose string on the shirt of her pajamas. Gripping one side so as to not unravel the entire top, she tugged the string until it broke off and tossed it aside.

Her eyes were drawn to a mirror on her bathroom door where she could see herself sitting in her chair. She rolled it out and approached the mirror to examine herself. Wet hair draped down that she left untied to dry quicker. She turned slightly to get a better look at her own features and frowned at what was in the mirror. Twilight was by no means an unattractive girl, but she definitely had features she wished were better.

She had always felt like her legs weren’t much to look at, but she knew she at least had a nice behind. She reached up and grabbed her breasts and held them gently as she stared in the mirror, wishing she could get up to a C-cup at least. She was glad she was at least a B, but she was jealous of Applejack and Sunset who sported well into the D and double D range. Pinkie was easily a D herself, and the only ones she felt like she was either on par with or even surpassing were Rainbow and Fluttershy.

Fluttershy may have been lacking in bust like Twilight, but she had so many other desirable features going for her, nice legs, nearly perfect skin, silky gorgeous hair, an hourglass figure that Twilight wished she had.

Noting her pajamas Twilight sighed mostly at the fact that she was realizing that she didn’t dress quite that daring. Sunset had a far better sense of fashion than she did and clearly was able to go bold when needed. Twilight, on the other hand, had simple sweatpants and a rather boring T-shirt. Sunset probably could rock some attractive nighties with no effort.

Twilight contemplated what she’d look like in some lacy lingerie. Briefly, the thought of what would Sunset think about that came to her mind. She dismissed the idea quickly knowing that she didn’t have the courage to wear something like that. Twilight knew she’d be too shy just trying to buy it, let alone put it on and model it in front of another person. Just thinking about it turned her cheeks red.

Rarity made it look so easy to be brave and show off so much skin. Twilight still had a hard time adjusting to short skirts. She felt pathetic in a way.

Twilight nearly jumped as she heard a gentle tap on the open bedroom door. When she turned she noticed her mother standing there smiling as she stood next to the door. “What’re you up to, sweetie?”

Twilight blushed and composed herself, hoping her mother didn’t just witness her checking herself out.

“Oh… Just… Writing up some emails… Getting in touch with people…” Twilight half-lied.

Her mother seemed to already see through the pathetic attempt. Twilight was probably the second worst liar she knew in her group, Applejack being the only one worse at it than herself. A lie by Applejack was almost painful to watch.

“Does your mirror have an email function now? I might have to get one of those…” Her mother asked with a raised brow and a smirk on her face.

Twilight sighed, realizing that she had already failed and decided to come clean. “Mom…” Twilight bit her lip for a brief second. “This is… Awkward to ask but…”

Twilight’s mother remained silent, allowing Twilight to finish.

“Do you think I’m… Sexy? Like… Would someone else think I was desirable…? Not that I’m planning on having sex or anything like that!” Twilight waved her hands frantically in front of herself as she realized what she was saying and who she was saying it to.

Her mother instead of getting awkward about it all though just stepped forward and placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. Twilight looked over at the hand and then met her mother’s sincere eyes. “Twilight Sparkle, you’re a very pretty girl. You don’t always think it, but you are. Hell, you’re cuter than I was when I was your age…”

“R-really?” Twilight blinked, a bit surprised to hear that. She had heard stories from her father about how her mother was way out of his league and he had no business even talking to a girl as cute as her. In her middle-age, one could still see that beauty quite well. She dressed more modest now and didn’t wear a tremendous amount of makeup, but there was no mistaking that Twilight’s mother was a beautiful woman. That or she just knew how to present herself better than Twilight did.

Her mother nodded. “Anyone would be lucky to have a girl as cute as you even give them the time of day. How can you possibly feel insecure? You had that boyfriend only about two years ago…”

Looking away, Twilight blushed. “Yeah but… Sunset is…”

Her mother sighed. “So you’re admitting you like her now?”

Taking in a breath, Twilight nodded. “Just… Don’t tell dad I admitted it… I don’t want him to rub it in…”

“It’s safe with me.” Her mother winked. “Now, go on…”

Twilight released the breath she had taken in and closed her eyes. “It’s just… Sunset is like… Gorgeous… Insanely naturally beautiful, she has everything… The butt, the boobs, the figure, and I’m just…”

Her mother squeezed her shoulder, causing her to look up at her. “Twilight Sparkle, do you think that Sunset thinks everything about herself is flawless? It’s pretty likely she doesn’t think she is as good looking as she wishes she could be too. We’re all our own greatest critics and the only way that you will look flawless is through someone else’s eyes.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. Her mother had a point, she was a biased source since she had a huge crush on Sunset. Naturally, she thought she was a perfect ten.

“I guess that makes sense… Thanks, mom…” Twilight smiled, trying to make light of the situation, despite how awkward it was.

The older woman nudged Twilight’s cheek affectionately. “Hey, we’ll get you some cute underwear to impress her alright? I’m thinking purple or black will work well with you…”

Twilight’s entire face turned cherry red. “M-mom… It’s not like that… I mean… I doubt we’ll be… Doing anything to where she’d see them any time soon…”

For a brief second her mind turned to a dream she had had about Sunset and her where they both were in some attractive underwear. She shook her head to dismiss the idea, however, not wanting to get so worked up with her mother in the room.

Her mother chuckled and nodded. “Yes, yes, but it’s not just for that. I always felt more confident when I was wearing something sexy, maybe it’ll help you too.”

“I would be too nervous to buy anything like that…” Twilight frowned. Once she attempted to walk into a lingerie store only to freeze at the entrance and stand there awkwardly before leaving without even going inside. She had attracted a lot of awkward stares that day.

The matriarch of the house winked and gave a thumbs up. “I’ll get them for you, don’t worry I will get some help from Cadence, she’ll keep it between us. The last thing I want is your brother Shiny getting all defensive and thinking his baby sister is getting sexy lingerie for someone.”

Twilight blushed at the thought and nodded. “Yeah… Thanks for that, mom… I appreciate how supportive you’re being…” She knew she could trust Cadence to keep it between the three of them, she loved to gossip, but she also kept secrets quite well. She still never told anyone about Twilight’s first kiss with Timber Spruce. If Cadence said her lips were sealed, you’d need a crowbar to pry them open.

Her mother gave one last thumbs up before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Twilight sighed as she made her way over to her bed and laid down on her back. Spike awoke from his slumber and approached his master, licking her cheek. “So, you gonna finally tell Sunset how you feel?”

“I… I’m going to try at least… First I need to make an excuse for us to hang out or something though…” Twilight said.

Spike shrugged. “You could just say you want to catch up? I mean that’s a normal thing that people do when they haven’t seen each other for a long time, right?”

It was simplistic, but somehow Spike always seemed to wield the best advice despite how simple it was. She lamented in how dogs truly were man’s best friend and felt blessed that hers was able to give advice and talk. Twilight wondered how she got on without his companionship.

“You know what… You’re right… I’ll try giving her a call, if she doesn’t answer, I’ll just leave a message telling her I want to get together!” Twilight said as she scrambled to reach for her phone on the end table.

With the phone in hand, she speedily located Sunset’s contact card and pressed the call button. Patiently she waited for the ringing tones to stop before being met with voice mail. She let out a sigh but decided it wasn’t going to deter her. She took a deep breath and waited for the answering machine message to end.

At the sound of the beep, Twilight spoke. “Hey, Sunset… It’s Twilight. I’m sorry for not trying to get a hold of you sooner, school has been hectic. I’m calling though because I have Summer break right now and I’d love to get together and catch up and maybe hang out. Call me back as soon as you get this message. Talk to you soon!”

Twilight hung up her phone and sighed, hoping she didn’t sound too pushy or eager, but only time would tell now. Despite the anticipation eating away at her, Twilight couldn’t help but go to bed with a smile on her face. She knew she’d likely have more dreams about Sunset, but at that moment she welcomed them; things seemed just too hopeful.

Twilight, you naughty girl, looking at porn.

Also I think this is one of the first chapters in a while where Sunset does not appear in present form at all. Also, I'm pretty sure you all wanted to see Rarity and AJ's wedding. I know these things.