A good eighty minutes had passed on Twilight’s watch since she arrived at the mall with her elder brother, Shining. The two had spent some time window shopping with Shining half heartedly trying to pick something out for his wife Cadence and their new child, Flurry. It had been an interesting thing to see her brother as a father, but Shining was exceptionally affectionate to his new daughter. In a way, he fit every single lame father stereotype that existed, much to Twilight’s delight as she got to pick on him for it, though he hardly seemed to mind.

Shining had always talked about starting a family and getting married, but when they were kids, Twilight never really took him too seriously, given that he was about as dorky as she was and when they were growing up, it wasn’t exactly something that made one popular. Shining was on the chess team, and eventually in the Dungeons and Dragons club, where he quickly became the president. She recalled playing a few games with him back in their childhood.

Times had changed though, being a geek or a nerd had become the “in” thing and suddenly it was socially acceptable to enjoy Lord of the Rings and partake in nerdy board games. Twilight certainly had an easier time in high school than Shining did, though it was clear that as he grew up, he turned out to be far more masculine than she ever gave him credit for.

In his youth, he was a pretty boy (a geeky one at that), and he still was to a small extent, but as he got older he started to gain things in his life that forced him to change. His job made him more concerned about his body and how much in shape he was, so he had become a regular at the gym and filled out quite nicely. His shoulders broadened out and he often sported a five o’ clock shadow, but that was mostly unintentional. Too many nights of staying up late for work would do that to him. Most of the time though he was clean shaken, he just grew facial hair very quickly (something Cadence had commented on once or twice about being very sexy).

Shining after having his daughter though, Shining became much more careful at work and started taking time off more often. He still took on a few cases where he worked in the field, but he tried not to get too involved into anything serious. Chasing serial killers wasn’t in his best interests. His attitude however changed when there was a child murderer involved to where he found himself unable to stay away. The father in him had taken over and become a large part of who he was.

It was different to see him in casual clothing, for this reason, most of the time he was in a suit and tie for work, but today he was in a pair of cargo shorts and a tank top that showed off his impressive muscles. It had the markings of New York City where he and his wife had visited not that long ago while they took a small vacation. The two of them loved to travel when they both weren’t working and had already visited eight different countries. Twilight wasn’t much of a world traveler, but she wouldn’t mind seeing a few different places for sure.

Shining’s casual look had unsurprisingly gotten a few younger girls to look his way, Twilight even caught a comment or two from a few teenagers walking by commenting on the “sexy guy” walking next to her. She giggled internally at how much of a lady magnet her brother had become compared to the dorky teenager he once was. If only those girls knew what a loser he was sometimes, they might sing a different tune. She wondered if they would have found high school age Shining as attractive.

Shining poked his head into a window of a shop they were walking past and eyed up the wares. He was staring at a lavish looking dress, bright red in color and Twilight already guessed he was wondering what it would look like on Cadence as he rubbed his stubbly chin. “Hmmm…” He pondered aloud. “Think Cadence would look good in red?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Shiny, you know Cadence looks good in everything.”

He chuckled and nodded. “That’s true, she could wear a few post-it notes and people would ask where she got her outfit. Meanwhile, if I don’t groom every morning I look like a hobo.”

“You look like one anyway,” Twilight teased.

“Yeah well hanging out with you does that to me, it takes so much energy putting up with you that by the end of the day I look tired,” He joked as he made fake jabs at his little sister who giggled uncontrollably at the horse play. It felt just like old times for Twilight; Shining would say something and she’d take subtle jabs at him and he’d do it right back. The dynamic of their relationship never changed even after all the years they had been through together.

“So how has college been? I know we haven’t talked in some time, both of us have been busy after all, me with Flurry and work and you with school…” He rubbed his neck.

Twilight nodded as she came back in step beside him while the two explored the mall. “It’s been pretty good actually, I’m learning a lot and excelling at my classes.”

“I’d expect no less.” Shining winked, clearly already knowing the answer to his own question, which made Twilight wonder why he even bothered asking.

Twilight rolled her eyes and adjusted her glasses. “How has work been?”

He shrugged. “Well, I’d say good but it’s hardly ever good when you are dealing with killers is it? We caught a guy we’d been tracking down for years a few days ago, pretty big sicko, killed eight kids after her sexually abused them… I’m just glad a scumbag like that is finally behind bars where he belongs… Sadly there are going to be more like him… A police officer’s work is never truly finished.”

“It really bothers you when people hurt kids doesn’t it…?” Twilight asked curiously.

He nodded. “I think of Flurry and of you whenever I see that stuff… So it gets difficult to not make it personal, you know?”

“I’m not a kid anymore!” Twilight protested.

He chuckled and rubbed her head affectionately as the two came to a stop. “No matter what you do, you’ll always be that little Twily I’ve come to know, love and sometimes am annoyed by.”

“Gee, thanks. You’ll always be that loser oaf of a brother of mine.” Twilight stuck her tongue out teasingly.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, so how about we get a bite to eat? I’m starving.” He pointed to the food court not that far from them.

Twilight nodded after feeling a gurgle in her stomach. She had not eaten all day, and food did sound good at that exact moment, especially if she wasn’t paying for it. She knew how much Shining could eat, and she’d go bankrupt trying to feed him. When they were kids he always went for seconds, sometimes thirds even. He met every stereotype of a “growing boy”.

He gestured for her to follow as the two went to go stand in line. While standing there, Twilight grew quiet until Shining broke the silence, “So… How’s your friend Sunset doing?”

Twilight blinked, a bit surprised by the inquiry, but part of her knew it was on his mind. Ever since Shining found out his little sister had a crush, he was horrendously interested. When she had a boyfriend, she recalled him giving Timber the shakedown of a lifetime. He had taken him to play mini-golf and she recalled Timber returning a bit intimidated by Shining. Twilight wished he would stop being so protective.

“She’s… Well ever since the Adagio incident she’s been…” Twilight began but Shining cut her off.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that…” Shining spoke quietly, clearly a bit cautious about the subject, trying to figure out the best way to approach it.

“About what?” Twilight tilted her head confused.

“Adagio…” Shining answered plainly.

“What about her? You and I both saw it, she was put to death by the Princess, case closed, right?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, but… I sort of… Met her before all of that…” Shining admitted.

“What!? When!?” Twilight exclaimed, causing a few of the other guests in line to look in their direction.

Shining gestured for her to settle down and rubbed his ear before speaking again. “It was a while back, I want to say about a year or so before you and Sunset met. At the time I thought she was just a kid down on her luck, selling small time drugs to get by… I never imagined she was capable of…” He paused and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, it just strikes me as odd is all… The girl I met back then… I didn’t really see murderous intent in her, she was a reserved girl, sure, angry even but she seemed lost. Something changed in her during that time to turn her into the murderer we saw…”

Twilight wondered why he would have kept something like that from her, or why Adagio would pretend she didn't know Shining, then again she didn’t even really know who Adagio was until she met her herself either. She had heard from her friends about the Battle of the Bands where they defeated the sirens but they never really went into detail about them. She didn’t even bother to ask their names because she thought it wasn’t important. She assumed it was old news and nothing she should concern herself over.

She wanted to tell Shining that he had been deceived, but he was seldom wrong about his impression of people. Part of his job was knowing if someone has it in them to kill, and if he said Adagio didn’t previously, Twilight was inclined to believe him, even if it didn’t make sense. Could Shining have been right? Could something really have changed in Adagio?

“What do you think changed in her… In Adagio that is?” Twilight asked.

Twilight already had a good idea, something that the other two sirens mentioned to her, that thing called “Siren’s Curse” no doubt was the culprit. Sadly she had no idea what it was or how it would cause such a change and the other two sirens were not interested in giving up that information. There was no doubt in her mind though that the Siren’s Curse had something to do with all of this.

Shining shrugged as he averted his attention forward toward the front of the line they were standing in. “Not sure, she didn’t talk much, so I didn’t know much about her. I helped her out a few times, tried to steer her onto the right path…”

“You’re a cop though, you’re supposed to apprehend drug dealers… Aren’t you?” Twilight asked curiously.

A smirk appeared on Shining’s face. “You think I agree wholeheartedly with the system?”

“Well, I just thought…” Twilight paused, unsure of how to finish.

“I believe in the system, sure but sometimes I think it has the wrong idea. I don’t always think prison is the best place for someone who breaks the law. When I saw her, I just saw a teenager trying to get by, small-time criminal. A criminal out of necessity… I think throwing someone like that in prison only makes them worse; I think showing them compassion may benefit them a lot more…” Shining said. “I became an officer because I wanted to change the system from the inside, not just to stop the bad people on the streets, but the bad people in the system itself… I wanted to prevent crime before it happened…”

Twilight smiled. “Well, I’d say that’s admirable…”

“Too bad I was wrong this time around… My attempt to be admirable as you put it got a girl killed...” He frowned.

“Don’t blame yourself… Sometimes people just can’t be changed, you know? You tried to do the right thing…” Twilight reached forward and rubbed her brother’s back, trying to calm him.

A sigh escaped him, but he finally nodded in agreement.

“Did you know anything else about her?” Twilight asked.

He shook his head. “Other than that, I just knew where she lived at the time, but the place has been abandoned for some time. After we found out it was her and sent her to the Princess, I came back and checked her place, there wasn’t anything of value there. Just a bunch of clothes and stuff, nothing incriminating or offering any kind of insight into what kind of person she was, outside of having expensive tastes in clothing and jewelry. She was a mysterious girl to say the least… She didn’t open up much and clearly wasn’t interested in making friends… I tried to be an adult role model in her life, but I guess she wouldn’t have me…”

Twilight frowned, she was hoping there would have been more answers, because she couldn’t help but feel Adagio wasn’t lying when she told them that they wouldn’t understand her reasoning. A part of her wondered if it was truly over just because Adagio was dead.

For a brief moment she felt sorry for her brother. Twilight knew that he didn’t like to see young people fall into a life of crime, especially if he could help it. It was clear that he had gone out of his way to try and help Adagio in the hopes that he could prevent her from becoming what she was now, and his failure likely hurt more than Twilight knew.

“Well, to be fair she ended up not being what you thought she was… I mean from what I was told she’s thousands of years old… In her eyes you’re the child,” Twilight pointed out.

“Guess so… Sometimes people end up not being who you thought they were… A damn shame…” Shining spoke.

There was a brief silence between the two.

Shining changed the subject again. “So back on the subject of your friend, Sunset…”

Gulping, Twilight nodded. “W-what about her?”

“Mom told me you were worried about her… Something about her being all held up in her house, not going out to see anyone or answering messages? Sound about right?” Shining asked.

Twilight looked at the floor and nodded despite him not facing her to see. “Y-yeah… I’m fairly concerned to say the least… I think she might be depressed…”

“I’d bet money on that, that’s usually what happens when someone close to someone is murdered. Even after you catch the murderer that doesn’t mean the pain goes away. I wouldn’t worry too much though, eventually she’ll come out and in time she’ll be back to her old self…” Shining reassured.

Twilight hoped he was right.

Twilight held her fingers still while Rarity held her hand firmly in her own, allowing Twilight’s fingers to drape over her palm graciously so she could bring a small brush to the scientist’s nails. Allowing Rarity to paint her nails was a regular activity for Twilight when they were in high school, and it seemed as though Rarity hadn’t lost her love for it, or her edge. Her work on nails was as immaculate as always, Twilight wished she had the time and patience to master such a skill, but so long as she had Rarity for a friend she’d never need to.

Blowing gently on a freshly pained nail, Rarity smiled at her work and began to work on the one next to it. “I really think black would do you wonders, Twilight. A bold look for a bold new you, no?”

Twilight grimaced at the thought. She knew she was attracted to an alternative looking girl and it was true that the look excited her, but she didn’t have the courage to pull such a look off. Starting to paint her nails black was just a step in that direction in her mind.

“Purple is fine for now…” Twilight stated.

Rarity’s eyes were focused through glasses that she wore while working. Her eyes glued to Twilight’s nails as she perfected her craft. “Yes, well I’m sure Sunset would notice a more gothic Twilight, wouldn’t you?”

Twilight bit her lip. “M-maybe… I don’t know though… I don’t feel comfortable trying to be something I’m not just to impress her…”

Rarity nodded as she finished up on yet another nail with precision. She moved on to Twilight’s ring finger as she worked delicately. “I understand, trust me as brutish and rude as she is sometimes, I wouldn’t change Applejack for the world. Even when she’s annoying the living daylights out of me, I always look back and have a small laugh…”

A pause came from Rarity as she looked up from Twilight’s nails and her eyes became serious for a moment. “Don’t tell her, I said that…”

“Don’t worry, wasn’t planning on it…” Twilight blinked.

A sigh escaped Rarity along with a nod as she returned her focus to Twilight’s nails. “Good… If she finds out I actually laugh at some of her immature jokes, I’ll wake up to them every morning… Did you know she once got me in the bathroom by replacing my shampoo with whipped cream? I smelt like it all day after that…”

“You didn’t notice the bottles were different…?” Twilight asked with her head tilted.

“It was early, I hadn’t had my coffee yet. She took advantage of my early morning grogginess… The devil…” Rarity huffed.

Twilight found herself giggling, covering her mouth with her free hand. Rarity finished up the remaining fingers on that hand and gestured for Twilight to give her the other one. Doing as instructed, Twilight switched hands and allowed Rarity to take her unpainted hand into her grip. Rarity reached down and dipped her brush again into some fresh nail polish and got right back to work.

“You should join me at the spa, Twilight…” Rarity suggested.

Twilight shrugged. “Not my kind of place…”

“Oh, so getting pampered isn’t your style, darling?” Rarity teased.

“It’s just… There’s a lot of taking your clothes off there…” Twilight admitted with a blush.

“Afraid of a little nudity?” Rarity winked.

Twilight bit her lip, unsure of where to go with that question. It was true she was shy about her naked body and the bodies of others, but there was more to it than that.

“Sure… Let’s go with that…” Twilight said quietly.

Switching to the next nail, Rarity let out a sigh. “You’re nineteen years old, turning twenty soon and you’re afraid of nudity… How do you propose you’re going to ask Sunset out like that?”

Blushing, Twilight looked away. “W-what do you mean…?”

“Well… Surely you must have figured out that eventually, that means that Sunset and you would have sex if she said yes, and naturally that means you’ll both be naked…” Rarity smirked.

There was silence which allowed Rarity to continue. “Your bodies will intertwine, your hearts will touch, and you’ll feel the kind of connection that only true love can bring… It’ll be magical, to say the least…”

Twilight’s entire face heated up at just the mentioning of such a thing. She knew that was what ultimately would happen if she someone convinced Sunset to say yes, but even thinking about it still made her blush more than a tomato. She could imagine Sunset doing things like that, but she could never imagine herself having the courage to actually make it that far.

“I-I… That is…” Twilight stuttered, causing Rarity only to giggle more.

“Someone’s still a shy virgin, I see…” Rarity teased affectionately.

Twilight closed her eyes and composed herself. She knew Rarity wouldn’t discuss their conversation with anyone, and since the subject was in the air, she decided now was as good a time as any to ask about things she was curious about.

“Hey… Rarity…” Twilight managed to get out.

“Hm?” Rarity tilted her head and looked up at Twilight, her eyes filled with innocence but intrigue as well.

“I mean stupid question since you two are married, but do you and Applejack… Um… Well…” Twilight rubbed her neck and broke eye contact, realizing that asking her friend about her married sex life was more than a little awkward.

“Have sex?” Rarity asked.

Twilight coughed and nodded. “Not a very lady-like way of putting it, but yeah…”

Rarity shrugged. “There’s nothing unlady-like about having sex or discussing it with close friends. Why I’d be remised if I didn’t offer my wisdom to another lady so that she may not disappoint in the bedroom so to speak…”

The conversation didn’t seem to get less awkward, but Twilight trudged through. “I take that as a yes then…?”

Rolling her eyes, Rarity nodded. “Yes, Applejack and I are intimate. It’d be strange to be married and not be. Admittedly we were together… Once before we were married…”

“W-what!? You two slept together before you got married!?” Twilight almost yelled before covering her own mouth.

Rarity chuckled and nodded. “I convinced her, and she was adamantly against the idea. She is such an old-fashioned woman, insisting to wait until marriage, but… I caught her on a night where her willpower was weaker than usual and then something happened…”

“What was that?” Twilight blinked.

A smirk came to Rarity’s face along with a blush. “She got down on one knee and asked me to marry her…”

“Wow…” Twilight spoke in awe, part of her could actually see the image of Applejack on a knee asking Rarity to marry her.

“I told her that if she wanted me to say yes, she’d have to take me to bed and convince me…” Rarity winked.

“Judging by the outcome… I’d say that went well?” Twilight smiled.

Rarity nodded, her blush only growing. “She clearly had done some reading beforehand…”

“That’s a sweet story…” Twilight nodded.

Rarity returned her attention to Twilight’s nails. “Isn’t it though?”

“So… Have you ever been with anyone before Applejack…?” Twilight asked.

Rarity nodded. “Twice, two men.”

“How did you manage to get the courage… Like… Didn’t you feel insecure about your body?” Twilight leaned in with interest.

Rarity stopped and looked back up at Twilight, her face very serious. “We all feel insecure in the moment, it’s difficult to overcome, but if you’re with the right person then you forget all about every little imperfection you have and just let yourself go. If it was meant to be with Sunset and you, then it will happen without a hitch. I’m not saying your first time would be flawless, but you’ll feel at ease.”

Twilight blinked and nodded, feeling much better after Rarity’s words. “Thanks, Rarity… That helps more than you know… Truthfully though, I doubt anything will happen between Sunset and myself… I first need the courage to even tell her how I feel…”

“You’ll find it, it took Applejack a good eight years…” Rarity smirked.

Twilight blinked. She knew that Applejack and Rarity knew each other for a long time, but she had no idea that Applejack’s crush had gone on for so long unnoticed by the rest of them, or rather maybe she was the oblivious one, as she only joined their group in the past few years.

“So you mentioned that the others are off doing their own things?” Twilight changed the subject.

Rarity nodded. “Yes, Pinkie has been really busy with college, no idea what’s going on with that, but you know her. I’m sure we’ll all get a big Christmas card about how great things are going over there. No doubt in my mind that she’s the life of the party over there…”

Twilight smiled at the thought of how much fun her friend must be having. Pinkie was practically born for the college life, though Twilight worried what adding alcohol to the dangerous cocktail that was Pinkie Pie might do.

“And Applejack said that Rainbow joined the army?” Twilight asked.

Another nod came from Rarity. “Yes, she was quite proud of it too. I guess we’re all a little proud of her, she’s showing a great deal of bravery… Fluttershy is managing to put on a strong face as well, but love has a way of helping you overcome difficult things, I suppose…”

Twilight frowned. “But not much word from Sunset then?”

Rarity sighed and shook her head. “Sunset has certainly been the most enigmatic, for sure. It’s always been hard to get a read on her, but lately, she has become more and more reclusive as I mentioned before. I mean she did this before right after Shimmer died and we all came to find out she was preparing to find Adagio herself… Now that Adagio’s dead though… I imagine she’s just having a difficult time accepting that it’s all over… All of us might be to blame too…”

“What do you mean?” Twilight leaned in.

“Shortly after Adagio’s execution she did reach out to some of us, but we all were too busy with life to tend to her… I feel terrible knowing that I may have contributed to her current state…” Rarity frowned and stopped painting for a moment.

“Don’t blame yourself, you have to keep moving forward with your own life. Sometimes that means you won’t be available, that’s just how things go, right?” Twilight smiled, trying to cheer Rarity up.

Nodding, Rarity returned to her work. “Yes, well I am hoping that maybe you can correct my mistake… Sunset cares about you, maybe you can break through her barrier and cheer her up.”

Twilight nodded. “Y-yeah… Maybe… If I stop being so nervous anyway…”

“Twilight Sparkle, there is nothing to be nervous about, Sunset misses you, she’s going to be ecstatic to see you, I know it. There’s no reason to doubt yourself!” Rarity huffed.

Twilight didn’t answer, instead, she sat in silence looking at the ceiling thinking it all over. What could Sunset possibly be going through right now? Could just seeing her old friend be enough to bring Sunset out of whatever she was in? More importantly, what had her so upset in the first place. Twilight had a number of theories, but none of them seemed more likely than the others.

She knew she was only stalling, trying to delay having to muster up the courage to go visit Sunset herself.

Rarity released Twilight’s hand and smiled as she admired her own work. “There we are! Excellent as always, but I’m sure you expected no less from myself.” Rarity winked.

Twilight presented her hand in front of herself and admired Rarity’s immaculate work. The precision of the paint job was remarkable. Not even a drop out of place, so precise that one would think a machine did it for her. Rarity truly was talented when it came to art and fashion.

“Well, don’t leave me waiting, darling! Tell me what you think!” Rarity fluttered her eyes a few times at Twilight, eagerly awaiting a reply. She was an artist always awaiting critique it seemed. Everything Rarity did was art.

A smile came to Twilight’s face as she nodded. “They’re perfect, Rarity.”

“I knew you’d love them.” Rarity winked.

A Few Weeks Ago

Applejack’s old truck wheezed and bellowed through the air as she came to a stop in front of a large steel gate. She cursed and hated admitting it, but Rarity was right, it was time to put the old thing out to pasture. She had become so reliant on the old vehicle and even named it. Gary was a reliable old machine, but it was clear that his years were starting to show. Applejack would be lying if she said she hadn’t been looking at the dealership in town with envy. A nice big new red pick up did sound appealing.

She swore at herself for allowing Rarity to be right but shrugged it off as she turned the vehicle off. Rarity was right more often than not anyway, as much as it pained Applejack to admit. Her wife had a knack for being in the right position to say “I told you so.” What was worse is that she also loved being able to say it, and seldom missed an opportunity.

Ignoring it, Applejack stepped out of the truck and came to the gate. She rang the bell trying to get the resident’s attention. There was no answer, so she rang it again and stuffed her hands into her pants pockets. The farmer craned her neck and looked up at the lettering that decorated the top of the gate. The word “Shimmer” was made with amazing metal craftsmanship. Applejack wondered how much a gate like this would run someone. She recalled hearing that the Shimmer estate was worth somewhere over 300 million dollars, but she had a hard time wrapping her head around that kind of cash.

Applejack had never really been rich, but she knew how to save money. The concept of never having to worry about money again for the rest of one’s life was foreign to her. In a way, she imagined it would be nice, but she questioned if it would destroy her work ethic to never be required to lift a finger. While she was sure that Rarity wouldn’t mind being pampered every eight seconds, she couldn’t imagine herself in that lifestyle. However, the thought of being able to provide for Rarity without much worry was a comforting one.

She was still amazed at herself for making the house the two of them had happen. At the young age of nineteen Applejack had saved money for years to get her own place, and with hard work and getting a job during the day, Applejack was able to make that happen.

During high school in her final years, Applejack had taken a few shop classes and eventually mechanic courses. She began attending trade school during the night so she’d have a backup plan in case her farm didn’t take off right away. By the time she was nineteen, she was an apprentice mechanic. During the day she would head down to the shop and work on cars, and in the morning she would tend to their small farm. It provided her with enough money to afford her and Rarity a decent life, even if Rarity kept saying she worked too hard.

Applejack looked back into her truck, spotting her mechanic jumpsuit sitting on the seat, covered in stains. She then looked back at the door and sighed. It was clear no one was going to answer the bell, so she decided to try the intercom.

Pressing down on the button, Applejack cleared her throat and spoke. “Sunset? It’s me, Applejack…”

Applejack was greeted by silence, much to her frustration.

Letting out a sigh, she shook her head. “Are y’all in there? Listen, ‘Ah came by because we’ve been worried ‘bout ya’. No one’s seen ya’ fer’ weeks…”

Still nothing.

Applejack grumbled annoyedly. “Well… If yer’ listen’, give me a call sometime, alright? Don’t be a stranger…”

She was hoping to get something out of her, but of course, silence continued to remain in the air. Defeated, Applejack sighed and made her way back into her truck. Strapping herself in, she couldn’t help but worry about what their friend must be going through. Adagio’s death clearly wasn’t the end of negative feelings for Sunset, not by a long shot.

Applejack started her truck back up and pulled out, hoping to try again later, or at the very least to get a phone call from Sunset.

Poking at her dinner, Twilight let out a sigh. She wanted to attempt to hide her obvious concern, but she knew that at this point, it was pointless. Her entire family knew she was still worried about how to approach Sunset, and while she was optimistic earlier, the fear of actually having to break the ice after a long silence between her and Sunset was starting to sink in. Twilight wasn’t the best at social situations in general, but awkward ones were even more difficult for her to figure out.

She poked her fork at some broccoli and let out another sigh. Her brother caught it and decided to speak up. “Hey, Twily… Maybe I can take you to Sunset’s place? Who knows, maybe she’ll let you in and you two can catch up?”

Twilight blinked and looked up to see her brother smiling but she shook her head. “Nah, that’d be too awkward… I think the best thing to do is to see if she starts answering my texts first. I don’t want to be all weird and trying to go to her house unannounced when she might have been trying to avoid me or something.”

“Aren’t you overthinking it a little…?” The voice of Cadence came to her from across the table. The woman planted a bite of food into her mouth after speaking.

She knew that Cadence was likely correct, but at that moment, Twilight wasn’t really listening to reason, but instead the little worry wart that had planted itself firmly in her brain. In her mind she wanted everything to be perfect for when the two finally met again.

“I just want to make this as non-awkward as possible, you know?” Twilight stated.

“I think you’re making it more awkward yourself by making it such a big deal…” Shining teased.

He had a point, but Twilight would be damned if she acknowledged it.

“Why not tell us about your other friends, what are they up to?” Cadence butted back in, clearly sensing that Twilight was getting a little anxious from the previous conversation. Cadence was a master at clearing the air and putting everyone at ease it seemed. Twilight almost regretted leaving Crystal Prep simply because she would have loved to have Cadence as a principal.

“Well, Applejack and Rarity got married…” Twilight began.

Twilight’s mother blinked. “You mean the two that were always bickering? That farm girl and the one who wanted to be a seamstress?”

Twilight nodded. “Yup, them.”

“Opposites do attract,” Twilight’s father said.

“Then explain you two?” Shining smirked as he looked over at his parents with a wide grin.

Their father chuckled and shrugged. “What can I say? We were destined to be together.”

“Ain’t that the truth…” Shining whispered to Twilight, causing a giggle to escape the girl.

“That’s fantastic news though, I bet those two make a cute couple.” Twilight’s mother stated, clasping her hands together with a big smile on her face.

Twilight rolled her eyes. Part of the reason that Cadence got along so well with her parents was because her mother and Cadence had so much in common. Both of them were hopeless romantics that were instantly obsessed with every cute thing they saw. If the two were in the same room, and one squealed excitedly about something, you could bet that the other would do the same.

“When’re you going to get married, sweetie?” Twilight’s father asked.

Shining chuckled and shook his head. “Perhaps a bit too early for that…”

A bit of his protective older brother persona slipped out, though he seemed to drop it slightly for Sunset. It was strange, prior to Sunset, no one was good enough for his baby sister, but he seemed to be showing cracks in his resilience.

“True, but don’t make us wait too long for grandchildren! I’m sure Flurry would love a cousin.” Twilight’s mother winked as she sipped from her cup.

Twilight thought for a brief moment what it would be like for her to be a mother, the thought of being pregnant however was enough to stop that train of thought. She didn’t even want to consider what that might have felt like. Still, she definitely wanted to pass on what she knew to a younger generation.

“Maybe someday, mother…” Twilight rolled her eyes.

Twilight began to actually consume her dinner. With the awkwardness that she was trying to avoid talking about now being openly discussed, she somehow felt calmer. Her mind was still focused on how she could possibly approach Sunset, but now she felt positive about it again. She hated how she switched from being optimistic to pessimistic so easily, but such was her nature. She was known for being a go-getter right until the moment of truth where suddenly she chickened out and assumed the worst was about to happen. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Still, she was improving, ever so slowly, but she wished she could gain more confidence quickly. Some of her friends made it look so easy, hell even her brother Shining made it look easy. For a man who was at one point perhaps the biggest nerd in the school, he somehow still thought he what it took to chase the leader of the cheerleading squad, what was more baffling is that he somehow succeeded.

The rest of the evening went a bit less eventful. Regular dinner conversation ensued and Twilight mostly listened and threw in the occasional comment here and there. Shining spent half the night bragging about how adorable and smart his new baby girl was, and the rest of the table seemed to only pet his ego.

After dinner, Cadence offered to clean up, giving Twilight the chance to take a shower that she so desperately needed. As she stood in the warm soothing water, she closed her eyes and thought out loud. “Okay… So I’ll just try and lead it into conversation… We’ll hang out a little, catch up, wait for the right moment and I’ll tell her… Easy… I hope…” Twilight said.

She scrubbed some shampoo into her scalp and continued to think it over out loud. “What will she say though…? What if I ruin our friendship over this…?”

That thought had occurred to her before, but not as prominent as now. There was a chance that Sunset would feel too awkward after such a confession to proceed with being friends. Twilight gulped and shook her head, trying to dispel negative thoughts after she just psyched herself up to go through with this.

“No, that won’t happen… Besides, I will probe first, see if it’s safe… If not then just abort the mission, right?” Twilight justified to herself. If she made sure not to reveal too much, then she would be fine, right?

The plan was sound, she would cautiously approach the subject and see if she could determine Sunset’s feelings on the matter before revealing too much. If things seemed too dangerous, she would back out before any damage was done. It was the perfect plan.

Turning the knob to stop the water, Twilight took in a deep breath and stepped out into the cold bathroom, quickly grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself. She only had to endure the feeling of the cool air hitting her moist skin for a few seconds as she was quick in covering herself.

Taking a second towel and wrapping her hair up, Twilight sighed contently before stepping out of the bathroom, Spike already running up to her with a ball in his mouth. She giggled and grabbed it from him and tossed it. The small dog rushed after it and caught it, bringing it back and sitting in front of her with his tail wagging.

“Not now, Spike I need to put pajamas on.” Twilight rolled her eyes before reaching down and giving him a gentle pat on the head.

“Well hurry up!” The dog commanded as he eagerly waited while Twilight made her way behind the screen set up in her room for changing. She wasn’t sure why but she still wasn’t comfortable changing in front of her dog, the fact that he could talk probably didn’t help; it made him seem even more human than before.

Twilight slipped into her usual pajamas and sighed contently at the feeling of the soft cotton fabric against her skin. There was something refreshing about fresh pajamas after a shower, more so in the winter time and they just came out of the dryer.

Stepping out from behind the screen, she stretched and yawned as she tossed her towels into the hamper in her bedroom. Unlike most teens, Twilight refused to leave clothes lying around, she was insistent on making sure everything was put away and in its place.

Approaching her desk, Twilight sat down and eyed the PlayStation in the room. She considered getting a few matches of Overwatch in before bed but decided it could wait until after she checked her messages. She was eager to start placement matches for the new season, but she knew she had plenty of time over the Summer break to do that.

The teen wiggled her mouse in front of her computer and brought the screen to life. She quickly typed in her password and logged in to check her Facebook. Sure enough, the paint job done on her nails was already all over Rarity’s feed, as the fashionista bragged up a storm about how excellent her work was. Twilight rolled her eyes and decided not to leave a comment and instead allow Rarity to bask in the glory she had set up for herself.

Spike had returned with his ball, and Twilight took it from him and gave it another lazy toss across the room, sure enough, the canine chased after it and fumbled as he tried to grab it. With a little effort, he managed to retrieve it and bring it back to her, ready for another throw right away.

Twilight was about to take it from him when her eyes were then drawn to a post by Sunset made only fifty-eight minutes ago.

Haven’t been on here, sorry. Gonna try and fix that, been crazy for a few weeks.

Twilight nearly forgot to breathe for a moment as she read over the post. Sunset was actually communicating with the outside world for a change. It was a step in the right direction for sure. Sunset was at least coming out of her shell again and reaching out to the outside world. Twilight was already formulating how she could respond to the post, trying not to come off as too try-hard.

At that moment before Twilight could respond her phone sitting on the desk vibrated. She lifted it and unlocked it to see a reply to her previous message to Sunset, and there on the screen as a simple “Hey.”

More of an "informational" chapter than anything else. Sort of setting up for future stuff. Sorry if it comes off as a "filler". Next chapter shit will start moving again, promise! There's a lot of incoming info that sort of needed to be addressed to get things moving due to plot points that are coming later. You'll see what I mean in a few chapters.