Gilda sighed as she walked the familiar stone path upwards towards the north end of the Cemetery. Gilda had told Sunset she was leaving to take care of something though she hadn’t said what, and thankfully Sunset hadn’t asked.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want Sunset to know what she was doing… she just didn’t know how to talk about it.

“Really got t'get better at that shit,” Gilda mused quietly as she ascended a set of steps.

It had been a year or so since she’d come up to visit her parents’ graves. Unlike some people Gilda didn’t feel the need to visit every year or on any particular anniversary. Honestly, a part of it was simply that the place made her uncomfortable; being surrounded by so much death all in one place wasn’t much to Gilda’s liking.

Today was different, though. Gilda had been thinking about visiting for a while, ever since New Years in fact, and this morning the feeling had been particularly strong. Like something had called her there.

Sighing again, Gilda slowed her walk as her eyes passed over the grim scenery. The rolling hills of Beauchavel were dotted with perfectly lined slabs of gray stone. Each one a mother, father, daughter, son, or any number of other things.

Each one either a soldier, or family to one.

The skies were a pale gray, overcast blanket of clouds that only vaguely threatened to snow. Something about the place always tasted different to Gilda, the air was stale and static, as if the world didn’t quite move at the same pace within the walls of the Beaucheval Military Cemetery as it did outside.

Maybe it didn’t.

Gilda walked past row upon row of gravestones, some looked to have been recently visited; flowers or other small offerings left by the stones that would eventually be cleaned up by the custodians once they had wilted. Gilda hadn’t brought anything, her mother had been allergic to flowers and her father had never really been a ‘nature’ kind of guy, so it didn’t quite feel right.

Stopping at the familiar row, Gilda looked down it towards where she knew her parents were resting and her eyes narrowed as she spied something.

“The hell?” Gilda mumbled as she walked down the row, feeling a faint burn of unease in her chest. “Someone must’a mixed up their stones,” Gilda muttered as she stopped in front of her parent’s graves.

Laying before the two gravestones was a bouquet of fresh flowers. Very fresh flowers, in fact.

“Nah, probably one’a dad’s old air force buddies,” Gilda muttered, smiling a little wanly as she remembered her teacher. “Bet it was Mister Cranky, actually… who knew dad had a bunch’a friends?”

Of course, it seemed obvious in retrospect. Gilda didn’t have a lot of friends but her father had always been a likeable person; she remembered, vaguely, all the people who knew him by name, who would greet him and her mother when they were out. The fact that she had never given it any thought until Cranky had talked to her about his own friendship with her father made Gilda feel a little stupid.

“Not stupid,” Gilda quietly chided herself. “I ain’t stupid.”

Kneeling at the graves, Gilda reached out and traced her fingers along the cold stone. Everything felt so different now that she was with Sunset. Now that her life had begun moving again after years of inertia.

“Hey ma,” Gilda said softly, pressing her palm to the smooth marble headstone that read simply: Drusella Grimfeather. “It’s… been awhile, I know,” reaching over Gilda pressed her palm to her father’s grave. “Hey dad, turns out one’a your old buddies is my math teacher, funny ain’t it? Never knew til a few days ago.”

A part of Gilda waited for a response she knew would never come. It never did, and it was one of the reasons that she avoided coming to visit. Intellectually she knew her parents were gone, but when she was near their graves it felt… less real somehow. Like they were so close and maybe, just maybe if she listened hard enough she would hear their voices one more time.

She never did.

“So… I know it’s gonna sound nuts but… I’m engaged,” Gilda said, settling down on the soft grass in front of the gravestones. “Got myself a crazy pretty girlfriend, her name’s Sunset Shimmer, she’s crazy smart too, just like… well, yeah… a-anyways… wish you guys coulda met her, she’s kinda crazy in general.”

Sighing, Gilda crossed her legs and leaned forward, staring at the headstones and feeling an emptiness in her chest, the same emptiness that she’d felt for so long… ever since Zee died.

“I… I know I’m a fuckup,” Gilda said quietly. “I can’t seem t’get much right, but… I think I can get this right, savvy? Like, I know she’s too good f’me but… I love her so much, I think… I think it’s like how you two were y’know?” Gilda clenched her eyes shut, feeling the faint burn of tears build up.

After a moment she just swore angrily and let them flow.

“Dunno what I’d ever do if I ever lost’er like I did you, ma, or you dad…” Gilda sobbed, hanging her head low as tears dripped from her cheeks to stain her jeans. Above Gilda, snow began to slowly drift down. “If I got left alone again I… I dunno if I’d live through it and I’m fuckin’ terrified’a that.”

Never in her whole life had Gilda consciously wished her parents were by her side to comfort her more than in that moment, as the whole world felt like it was buckling around her.

“If she ever went like you two did? Or Zee?” Gilda choked out, wiping at her cheeks with her sleeve. “It’d fuckin’ kill me, ma… sometimes… sometimes I think y’lucky that ya both went at the same time, y’know? I think’a what it woulda been like if only one’a you’d gone and… then I think’a Sunshine and… fuck!”

For several moments, Gilda just hung her head and wept, letting her sorrow and her grief well up and bubble out of her. A soft ding from her pocket interrupted Gilda’s mood, and she pulled out her phone.

//Sunshine: Hey Gil, I love you, I’ll be busking at the mall again but come home soon so you can kiss me, k?//

Gilda choked on a sob as she gripped the phone tight and then dropped it from her shaking hand.

“Swear t’God she always fuckin’ knows when I’m feelin’ like shit,” Gilda muttered as she rubbed at her face and sighed, drying her tears with her bare hands. “A-Anyways, yeah… I asked her t’marry me on New Years… we were on this rooftop, watchin’ that ritzy fireworks show ‘cross the bay and… and she said yes.”

Picking up her phone again Gilda texted Sunset back.

//Gilda: rabid fuckin’ wolves couldn’t stop me, Sunflower, I love you too//

Tucking her phone away, Gilda looked back up at her parent’s headstones and smiled. “I did good mom, dad… I think I did real good…” Sighing, Gilda laid back and stared up at the snowy skies. “I found my one’n only, and I’m gonna make sure I can give’er the world… got me a job, a place t’live, good friends… heh…” Sitting up, Gilda looked over at her mother’s headstone. “Look ma, I’m a real girl now.”

Looking down at the bouquet that was still lying between the graves, Gilda smiled.

“Wonder who left ya here,” Gilda asked quietly as she reached out and picked them up.

Holding them up, Gilda’s eyes narrowed as she examined them. They were a strange, and almost visually loud array of flowers. Orange lilies, a weird cream-white and clustered flower with green leaves, and yellow carnations, which she only recognized because the school sold carnations every year.

Only they always sold red ones, not yellow.

Taking out her phone, Gilda took a picture of the bouquet. It was a pretty weird mix of colors and a part of Gilda wondered if Sunset would be able to parse any meaning from it.

“Probably just overthinkin’ shit,” Gilda muttered as she set the bouquet back down.

“Wish ya could see me now, ma,” Gilda said softly as she settled back down on the grass, brushing away the snow that was collecting on her shoulders. “Swear t’God y’wouldn’t recognize me since the last time I was by.”

Letting out another shaky breath, Gilda thought back a few days, where Sunset, the sirens, and herself were talking about what to do and among them the revelation that Sunset had dumped on her, or at least… her suspicion of it. Reaching around behind her, Gilda retrieved her gauntlet and held it up in front of her, tracing what she had thought was just faint scarring on the back of the hand. It wasn’t just damage, though, it was an outline of a very specific shape that Gilda could make out if she examined it.

A spear and a split sun enclosed by a pair of feathered wings.

“I’m magic now,” Gilda said softly. “Or, somethin’ like it, I guess. I know that sounds crazy… feels crazy t’me too. Feel like my whole world is spinnin’ and I got no clue where I’m gonna land.” Locking the gauntlet back in place around her back, Gilda stared at the headstones, mentally scratching for an answer. “It doesn’t feel real… but I know it is, y’know? My girl, she’s not from around here… she’s magic too, born that way though, savvy?”

Gilda stopped to laugh a little as she tried to imagine what her very practical father would have said. It probably would’ve left him in conniptions for a week. Her mom was a lot more open-minded, a little new age-y, and definitely more spiritual.

“Dunno if it really matters to me but… it matters t’Sunshine, y’know?” Gilda said after a few moments. “She was born magic, like I said… gettin’ it back is a pretty big deal for her. Me, though… dunno, bein’ honest… it kinda scares me… a lot.” dragging her hands down her face, Gilda let out a slow breath. “I ain’t got the best handle on my temper, and that’s when I’m just throwin’ hands, y’know? Now I gotta wonder if the next time I lose it I’m gonna throw fuckin’ lightning bolts.”

Gilda waited, silently pleading for an answer from the cold stones and knowing there was none forthcoming; only the quiet stillness of the cemetery and the faint drifting tickle of snow on the wind brushing by her.

“I miss you guys,” Gilda said, her voice cracking slightly. “I wish you were still around, I wish I coulda been normal…” Gilda’s voice cracked into a quiet sob. “I hate bein’ angry all the time… I hate bein’ on a hair fuckin’ trigger with my goddamn temper, I hate feelin’ like a fuckin’ monster everytime I start t’get pissed off…”

Sobbing violently, Gilda buried her face in her hands completely as she cried, fear and grief biting hard into her heart as she tried to get control of herself and failed. Several minutes passed before the tears subsided and Gilda looked up at the headstones again with reddened eyes.

“Sorry… guess none’a this matters t’you anymore,” Gilda said softly. “After all, y’dead, what d’you care anymore?” Standing up Gilda rubbed at her eyes with her sleeve and took a deep breath. “I’m gonna be the best I can be f’Sunshine, though… I’ll keep my head on straight and… dunno, hope for the best, savvy?”

Sighing, Gilda knelt slightly to put a hand on each headstone.

“Miss you guys, and I love you,” Gilda said softly. “I know you two were trusting me last time and I fucked it up, but I won’t fuck up this time… I promise.”

Standing tall, Gilda pulled her phone out and started walking towards the exit, thumbing her way past her meager list of contacts until she found the one she wanted. Gilda had very few friends to ask the questions she wanted to ask, and in fairness she had never needed to ask this specific question before.

Thumbing the call button, Gilda held the phone up to her ear as she took the steps down to the lower rise two at a time.

//Morning Gilda! How’re you doing, love?//

“Hey ‘Tavi, I uh… I need some help,” Gilda said hesitantly.

//Is everything alright?//

“Y-yeah!” Gilda assured her. “Everything’s fine! Just… I wanted to take Sunshine on a date tonight… surprise her, y’know? And uh, I don’t really got anything too nice t’wear, savvy?”

//Oh my god, this is going to be fun, come over immediately.//

Sighing, Gilda got the distinct feeling she was about to regret her decision, but nodded nonetheless. “Fuckit, why’s it feel like I'm gonna regret this… ugh, I’ll be over in a bit.”

Quiet was the usual order of the morning; as an editor for such august personages as A.K. Yearling, Twilight Velvet spent the lion’s share of her time on her laptop in her office or in the living room, while Night Light, her husband, was a computer programmer who wrote medical software for Canterlot General. Their son had moved into an apartment with his fiancee, now wife, and their daughter was a recluse who spent all of her time in her garage laboratory.

At around eleven in the morning it became ear-splittingly obvious that it would not be a usual one.

“MOM, DAD, I NEED A RIDE TO THE MALL!” Twilight shrieked as she tore out of the garage at high speed, racing for her room as she was acutely aware she hadn’t showered in about two days.

“What?” Twilight Velvet poked her head out of her office, brushing her white and purple two-tone hair from her eyes as Twilight bolted past and slammed the door to her room. Following her frantic daughter, Velvet knocked on Twilight’s door. “Twilight, honey, what’s wrong? Did one of your computer’s catch fire again?”

“No, mom! And that only happened twice!” Twilight shouted from inside her room before ripping the door open, half dressed with a semi-random assortment of clothes slung over her shoulder. “I need to take a shower!”

Speeding past her mother, Twilight dove into the bathroom and immediately Velvet heard the hot water start running.

Twilight Velvet had what she thought to be a relatively decent amount of experience raising children. True, she only had two, but she and her husband had raised a fine young son who had entered the field of law enforcement straight out of high school with plans to get his bachelors and eventually make detective. Likewise he was already married to a lovely woman.

Velvet’s namesake daughter had been an exceptionally different sort of experience, however.

To say that Twilight Sparkle was ‘intelligent’ was a dramatic understatement. Twilight Sparkle was more than just a prodigy however, she was a savant. There was almost no discipline of the sciences that Twilight had any difficulty picking up; whether it was learning programming from her father, mathematics and physics from her professors, or even the violin from a tutor who stuck around only long enough to realise he had very little to teach a seven year old girl who learned to read sheet music in under a week and then performed a passable Nocturne in C Sharp Minor within a month and a half of instruction.

However, Twilight’s social skills were… for lack of a better term, lacking. Insofar as Velvet knew, Twilight had no friends. Even her multiplayer online games which her husband Night Light had gotten the idea to get her into, seemingly failed to spur any major social interaction.

Or so she had thought.

“Süsse, did I just hear that correctly?” Night Light stepped out of the office behind Velvet, scratching his head. “Did our daughter just proclaim a need for personal hygiene out loud?”

“You did, dear,” Velvet answered before walking up to the bathroom door and knocking on it. “Twilight, honey, you’re going to have to give me a better reason if I’m going to drop everything to take you to the mall! I’m in the middle of editing a chapter and you know how Miss Yearling gets about her deadlines and-”

“I HAVE A DATE!” Twilight screamed from inside the shower, followed by the sound of vigorous scrubbing.

Velvet and Night Light stared at the door before sharing an incredulous glance and cleaning out their ears.

“Honey are you… are you serious?” Velvet shouted from the hallway.

“DO I SOUND NOT SERIOUS TO YOU?!”

“I think our prayers have been answered, meine Liebe,” Night Light whispered into his wife’s ear as he pulled her off to the side. “We’ve been hoping our daughter would open up and she’s finally going out on her own!”

“But we don’t even know who she’s meeting!” Velvet countered in a slightly panicked voice. “She’s never even shown interest in anyone!”

“She’s just going to the mall,” Night Light chided. “It’s a very public place and our daughter knows how to stay safe, remember she gave us a three hour long presentation on it two years ago.”

“I do recall,” Velvet replied dryly, “believe me it was harrowing… when I had children I was under the impression that they were supposed to be mortified of talks with me.”

“Well, our little Spark has never been what you call the ‘usual child’, meine Liebe,” Night Light reminded his wife with a laugh. “Give me a moment, Bitte.”

Night Light walked up to the bathroom door and rapped his knuckles on it a few times. “Wenigfunke, if you need a ride to the mall I would be happy to assist.”

“THANK YOU!” Twilight screamed from inside the bathroom as the water shut off.

Night Light chuckled and shook his head as he retreated back to the office to get his shoes, car keys, and other sundry items he’d need to take his daughter to the mall.

For cutting such a stern, straight laced figure, Night Light was a surprisingly jovial soul. Tall, narrow of body and face, with high, sharp cheekbones and bright amber eyes; his appearance suggested an exceptionally stern demeanor.

A suggestion that was almost immediately dispelled the moment he opened his mouth to say literally anything.

“Nighty, what if something goes wrong?” Velvet said in a worried tone as she followed him into the office. “What if this person is lying to her, what if they’re playing with her heart?”

“Then she will learn the same lesson every person in the world who finds the courage to put their heart in someone else’s hands eventually learns,” Night Light replied with a melancholic smile as he sat in his office chair and started pulling on his shoes. “Our little Spark is beautiful and brave and incredible, and perhaps she will be hurt, but that’s life, ja? Or perhaps she will find something incredible. Or maybe both! And what kind of parents would we be to deny her that opportunity?

“I… I know you’re right, Nighty,” Velvet said softly, heaving a sigh of her own as she leaned out of the office to see the bathroom door clatter open and a half-dressed Twilight sprint to her room in a panic. “She’s just… she’s my baby girl, and…”

Standing, Night Light pulled his wife into his arms, kissing her forehead softly.

“It is our prerogative as parents to worry,” Night said quietly. “But it is also our duty to prepare them for the rest of their lives. Life, love, pain… it’s all a beautiful, terrible whole, meine Liebe. We can’t teach them of one and ignore the other because it is distasteful…”

“Twilight doesn’t know anything about, well, people, Nighty,” Velvet insisted. “I know that sounds awful, but honestly, she’s completely unprepared!”

Night Light shrugged as he pulled his crisp, midnight blue jacket from the coat rack and pulled it on. “So were we all at that age, we just didn’t know it.”

“Ugh, I know, I know, I’m being unreasonable,” Velvet groaned as crashing sounds emitted from Twilight’s bedroom.

“You’re not,” Night Light insisted. “You’re just being her mother. Now, please go to our daughter and ensure she is dressed in something that will not blind her date, all joking aside she has the fashion sense of a blind and noseless raccoon.”

“That makes no sense, dear,” Velvet said, laughing as she patted his chest and leaned up to peck him on the lips. “But you’re not wrong.”

Twilight Velvet walked out into the hallway of her home and down to her daughter’s room from which a disturbing amount of noise was issuing. Furrowing her brow, Velvet tried not to imagine the slow motion train wreck she was about to walk into as she knocked on the door.

“WHAT?!” Twilight screamed from inside her room, followed by a loud clattering and yelp of panic.

“Twilight, sweetie, control your volume please,” Velvet admonished. “I’m coming in and we’re going to get you dressed properly, because from out here it sounds more like you’re reenacting the Blitz of Brayton with an army of purse-wielding spinsters.”

“I just want to look good and I don’t think it’s working!” Twilight shouted tearfully, her voice barely muffled by the door. A moment later it cracked open and a flushed and panicked Twilight peeked out. “Help?”

Velvet nodded, smiling as she pushed the door open and walked in to a tempest of scattered clothing. Grimacing, she turned to regard her daughter and winced.

“Oh dear,” Velvet muttered weakly.

Twilight Velvet loved her daughter dearly, but they had checked her four times for color-blindness for a very good reason. As it turned out her eyes were fine, aside from being somewhat nearsighted, she simply had no talent for coordinating colors.

Or fabrics.

Or anything else that would suggest something pleasing to the eye.

In short, Twilight Sparkle’s very unique sense of aesthetics had resulted in the unfortunate pairing of a pair of loose denim jorts (where she got them Velvet had no idea), a pastel yellow sweater, and black knee socks.

“R~ight…” Velvet said quietly before shuffling her daughter into the middle of the room and disappearing into her small walking closet. “Let’s go for something a little less… bad.”

“I’m not good at this,” Twilight moaned, dropping onto the ground and glaring at the mess on the floor as she ran her fingers through her damp hair. “I hate it when I’m not good at stuff! Matching colors isn’t hard, I shouldn’t be this crap at it!”

“Language,” Velvet admonished as she emerged with a pleated, knee-length skirt with an argyle pattern and few layers for the top consisting of white silk blouse, and a fitted black blazer. “Here, try these on for size, sweetie, assuming you’re not going to be traipsing about outside I don’t imagine you’ll need many layers, but keep the socks, they’re cute.”

Twilight nodded as she got up and undressed, pulling on her mother’s choices of clothing and setting her glasses in place before turning to face herself in the mirror. Twilight’s eyes widened as she stared at the girl that stood in front of her; she barely recognized herself,

“I… I like the skirt,” Twilight said shyly, running her hands over the soft fabric. “I didn’t even know I could look…”

“Good?”

“Pretty,” Twilight said, turning to smile at her mother.

“Hasn’t this boy ever told you how pretty you are, sweetie?” Velvet asked, concern coloring her voice. “Seems like an awful oversight.”

“Oh, well… uhm,” Twilight shuffled her feet nervously as she tried to find the words. “S-see, I’ve never actually met them in person… we’ve been friends for a few years, but only online and uhm…” Twilight swallowed. “I… she’s a girl, we were raid partners in that game you got me and talked a lot in voice chat… like… a lot.”

“Oh!” Velvet said softly, before letting her face fall to a gentle smile. “Darling… you know that no matter what, we love you, right?” she asked, placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Whoever you like or love, all your father and I have ever wanted is for you to be happy.”

“She’s smart, mom,” Twilight said bashfully, her finger trailing up to tug on a loose lock of hair that always fell in front of her face. “Like, really smart… I think she might be smarter than me.”

Velvet’s eyebrow scooted upwards at that admission. Twilight wasn’t what one would call humble about her intelligence; not that she was cocky or a braggart, but Twilight Sparkle simply didn’t know how to not be smart. She made people both feel and look stupid in casual conversation because saying something that was incorrect meant that it had to be corrected.

For her to consider someone else to be smarter?

“I… I really like her, mom,” Twilight admitted, blushing furiously. “She’s so smart! She codes mods for our games, she got her general ed degree when she was twelve, she has the cutest Braytish accent too… oh, and she’s funny!”

Velvet couldn’t help but smile as her daughter went on and on about the girl; in truth she had never in her life seen Twilight as animated as she was right then.

“Oh? Learn any good jokes?” Velvet asked as she started picking up from the hurricane of fabric that had torn through.

“Only the best!” Twilight cheered. “She told me one that had me in stitches for days!”

“Well let’s hear it,” Velvet replied with a chuckle.

Twilight snorted in laughter as she remembered the joke, taking a moment to breathe so she didn’t laugh her way through it.

“Alright, here goes,” Twilight said with a grin. “-and the bartender says, ‘Sorry, we don’t serve particles that move faster than the speed of light’!”

Velvet raised an eyebrow, trying to find the punchline, and just as she opened her mouth to ask…

“So a tachyon walks into a bar-!” Twilight finished with a wide grin, and then doubled over laughing so hard that tears appeared at the corners of her eyes.

Sighing, Velvet just nodded and smiled back. “Well, she’s definitely the girl for you, sweetie.”

After several moments of trying to catch her breath, Twilight blushed furiously as she sat down on her bed, still nervously playing with her hair.

“I’ve… I’ve never felt like this about anyone, mom,” Twilight admitted, still unable to keep the smile off of her face. “Every time I think about her my mood jumps, it’s like just acknowledging her existence is one big hit of dopamine out of nowhere and suddenly I can’t stop smiling.”

“It’s called a crush, honey,” Velvet said wistfully from the closet as she was putting the clothes away. “Believe me I felt the same way about your father.”

“Same as I felt for your mother, meine Wenigfunke,” Night Light said from the doorway as he opened it. “Romance is truly a wonderful thing, and it’s one of the things that makes this world so very bright!”

“But, remember to keep your head on straight, sweetie,” Velvet said in a soft voice, walking over to take a seat by her daughter. “When you’re young, everything is so bright and big, and it’s easy to get lost when you’re crushing on someone.”

“I trust her, mom,” Twilight insisted. “S-She’s… I know she’s my only friend, really… but she’s my best friend. I’ve never known anyone I could talk to like Pawnee.”

“Pawnee? That’s an odd name,” Velvet said before catching herself. “O-oh, not that it’s bad or anything…”

“No, it’s not her name, well, not her real name,” Twilight corrected, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. “It’s her screen name, sorry, it’s an online thing. When you talk through text and you see the same name over and over again you just think of that as ‘their name’, y’know?”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Night Light agreed. “So what is her name?”

“I… Uh… I… don’t know…” Twilight admitted, her cheeks coloring further as her parents stared. “L-Look, it’s not that weird, okay? It’s a cybersecurity thing! She doesn’t know my name either, I mean… I’m sure she would’ve told me if I asked but I’ve always just known her as ‘Pawnee’ just like she knows me as ‘Labrat’!”

“Well, I suppose I can’t blame you for keeping to the online security measures that I taught you,” Night Light said in a dry voice. “And it’s good to know you’re careful when you’re online.”

“Sweetie…” Velvet began in a careful voice. “Do you even know what she looks like?”

Twilight ducked her head slightly and blushed again.

“N-no…” Twilight said quietly. “B-but I know how to find her! She’s going to be at the Crystal Emporium and she sent me coordinates, she should be right by the hedges near the east entrance, there won’t be many people so I’m sure I’ll know her!”

Sighing, Velvet just nodded. “Alright well, I can’t say I understand how kids do dates these days and all of this online socialising goes a bit over my head… but I trust you’ve got some kind of system just like we did when we were your age.”

“Do be careful though, dear,” Night Light said, patting his daughter’s head. “Now, I suppose we should probably get going or else your lady will be kept waiting, and we can’t have that!”

Twilight nodded emphatically, hopping up to her feet from her bedside. “Thanks so much mom!” Twilight said, leaning down to hug Velvet before moving to her father’s side. “I’ll let you know how it goes, okay?”

“Please do,” Velvet said as she stood and walked her daughter and husband down the hall and out to the car. “And… I know this is probably just me being a worrywart, but don’t leave the mall, alright? Just for today, so I know where you are?”

Twilight shuffled her feet a little, she and Pawnee hadn’t actually agreed on what they were going to want to do on their date, they’d only really agreed to meet up at the mall and as far as Twilight knew they were making it up from there. Normally having a total lack of an itinerary would have put Twilight into a state of semi-panic, but at the moment she was too enamoured of the idea of seeing Pawnee in person to let it get to her. Still, Twilight wasn’t certain Pawnee would want to stay at the mall.

“I’ll… I’ll try,” Twilight said, not wanting to lie. “But we only really agreed to meet at the mall, and I really want to have a good time with Pawnee, mom.”

“Just try to keep to public places and let us know where you’re going if you do leave the mall,” Night Light put in, “I think that much is fair, ja?”

Velvet looked like she was about to argue the point but Night Light reached out to give her hand a squeeze, and shot her a pleading look; one that said ‘please let our daughter have this’.

“Fine,” Velvet said, throwing her hands in the air. “But I reserve the right to say I told you so if things go poorly.”

“Thank you!” Twilight cheered, dashing up and hugging her mother tightly, earning a playfully weary laugh from Velvet before Twilight ran back and excitedly hopped in the passenger side of their little family sedan.

Waving goodbye to her father, Twilight wrapped her arms around herself as she walked towards the mall. She’d been dropped off right near the east entrance but coordinates weren’t exact, all Twilight had was a general area. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh a little as she imagined this as one of her and Pawnee’s in-game fetch quests.

“Quest Log: Find Girlfriend, zero out of one,” Twilight said to herself with a small laugh.

The sight of the sheer number of people moving around the mall gave Twilight severe pause, though, as she approached. There were hundreds of people just going in and out of the mall, walking around it, talking, and other random sundry things that planted a seed of panic deep in Twilight’s chest as she pulled her blazer tighter around herself. Idly messing with her bun of hair to make sure it was straight, even though she knew it was, Twilight made her way to the east entrance.

The number of times she’d actually gone to the mall on her own were a fantastically terrible zero, and even with her parents it was a terribly small number. Twilight had always taken any opportunity to stay home, and the only real times she had gone to the mall willingly was to pick up some piece of electronics; a task that hadn’t needed to happen in a long while since the school had started supporting her efforts.

As it was, Twilight barely knew where anything was beyond which doors went where and which big department stores were still open mostly because their names were emblazoned in large print on the outer walls.

“Okay… now where are you?” Twilight mumbled softly, looking around as she rounded the corner towards the east part of the wall. “Maybe… eep!”

Several people stood near the hedges, sitting or in some cases leaning on the low wall that surrounded the hedges, smoking. The smell of cigarette smoke hung around the entire side of the mall and wind blowing the wisps of smoke towards Twilight didn’t help.

Grimacing, Twilight kept her head down. None of the people looked particularly pleasant to talk to; there was a youngish looking man with dark skin in a worn brown jacket with tattoos along his chin talking to a short, equally tattooed girl of eastern descent with long black hair and a sardonic expression, a white-haired woman in a brown leather duster with her back to Twilight, a tall, thickly built and boorish looking man with short, curly blonde hair, an unpleasant smile, and cap on backwards, among a few others that Twilight stopped trying to identify.

“Just ignore them, Twi,” Twilight said to herself, “keep your head down and walk past and they’ll ignore you too.”

Staring down at the pavement, Twilight walked forward as she pulled her blazer tighter around herself.

“Don’t make eye contact, keep your head down, don’t make eye contact, keep your head down,” Twilight repeated the words like a mantra as she pushed the rest of the world out of her perception and focused on moving past the group.

Sadly, the world is physical and lack of perception does not mean lack of collision.

“Oof! Fuckin’ ‘ell, watch it!” a high, and vaguely familiar, accented voice snarled.

Twilight staggered back in terror as the woman in the duster whirled on her. With her head down Twilight hadn’t seen her turn and move slightly, putting her directly in Twilight’s path. Twilight only had a moment to realise it wasn’t a woman but a girl around her own age before the girl’s gaze nailed her in place with what felt like spine-locking levels of fear and through it all only a single thought flickered through Twilight’s mind.

Her eyes are gold.

Neither Twilight nor the girl were particularly tall, she had maybe four or five inches over Twilight’s paltry five and one, but something in her presence seemed to press down on Twilight like a physical force. Never before in her life had Twilight believed in the concept of an ‘aura’ as strongly as she did right then.

The girl had her lips curled in an unpleasant snarl and her otherwise pretty face was marred by the twisted and angry expression. She wore a black ball cap emblazoned with a five-petaled white rose on the front, her head was shaven all along the sides and back and her long, snow-white hair was worn in a wild sidecut that obscured the left half of her face and contrasted harshly against her dark skin. Aside from her expression, though, she was beautiful; with high cheekbones, sharp and gleaming gold eyes, and full lips. Tattoos traced from her neck up to her chin, terminating in an inked cigarette aligned with her lower jaw on the right side that neatly matched the real one in her hand.

On her feet were thick black foundry boots, slightly obscured by the cuffs of her worn jeans, and she was wearing a white button down shirt and black vest whose professional look was badly warped by the motley array of ceramic pins on it, and the loose hanging silver and black checkerboard necktie she wore.

Everything about her screamed ‘thug’; from the three steel lip studs to the network of fine scars on her hands. Twilight backed away carefully, stammering incoherently as she did.

“You deaf, or somethin’?” She asked, advancing on Twilight as she flicked ash from the tip of her cigarette. “Or you just the kinda posh brat what walks ‘round blind and stupid all the time?”

She stopped directly in front of Twilight, staring down at her face to face.

“Hey, I’m pretty sure it was an accident,” the young man started to say as he began walking over to the pair.

Twilight heard a sharp snap, and her eyes widened as the girl pulled a gleaming steel butterfly knife from her pocket and pointed it at the young man without turning away from Twilight.

“An’ I’m pretty sure I didn’t ask y’fuckin’ opinion on the matter, ya wazzock,” the girl snarled. “So ‘ow bout you fuck off, savvy?”

The young man just raised his hands and nodded, looking spooked as he retreated back to his friend’s side, and the girl snapped the blade back down and tucked it away.

“I’m s-sorry, p-please don’t hurt me,” Twilight squeaked, holding her hands up and clenching her eyes shut, all while praying that she didn’t just break down and start blubbering. That would be an awful way to go, “I s-swear it was an accident.”

“Eh?” the girl’s voice drifted from anger to confusion. “Say that again.”

Twilight opened her eyes slightly to see the nasty expression on the girls face gone, replaced with a softer one. “Uhm… I’m sorry?”

Cocking her head to the side slightly, the girl seemed to examine Twilight critically for a few moments before leaning in very close. Close enough that Twilight could smell the cigarette smoke on her breath. Still, she didn’t dare move for fear of angering the volatile girl further.

Not that it would have mattered.

“Labrat? That you, pet?”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock at the girls words. The girl was leaning back now, smiling as she tucked her cigarette back in between her lips.

Swallowing thickly, Twilight licked her lip. “P-Pawnee?”

“Hah!” The girl barked as she snapped her arms out and spat her cigarette to the ground. “Just right! Giz uz a hug, our lass!”

“Pawnee!”

All fear forgotten, Twilight surged forward, launching herself into her friend’s embrace as Pawnee wrapped her arms around Twilight and hugged her tight, and Twilight was a little surprised at the sheer strength in Pawnee’s arms as she was lifted from her feet and spun around. Twilight laughed lightly as Pawnee lowered her back to the ground.

“Damn, but I was right,” Pawnee said with a laugh, her hands settling lightly on Twilight’s hips, drawing a small blush from the shorter girl. “You are adorkable, Lab.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you saw the first draft of my outfit today…” Twilight replied nervously. “It was awful, apparently… I can’t really tell.”

“Colorblind?” Pawnee asked playfully.

Twilight’s face turned down in a delicate moue. “Everyone always asks that…”

“Fashion-blind then, we’ll call it,” Pawnee said, grinning cockily as she brought up a hand to trace her slim fingers across Twilight’s face, sending a delighted shiver through the girl before gesturing down to herself. “So, how about me then? Disappointed?”

“N-No!” Twilight practically yelled. “I… I mean, you’re… uhm…”

Twilight’s final reply came out in an undecipherable mumble, prompting Pawnee to lean in with an impish grin. “Wot’s that? C’mon, give us your honest, pet.”

Swallowing her panic, Twilight finally spoke up. “Y-You’re really pretty.”

Leaning back, Pawnee grinned widely. “Been called a lotta things, pet, but pretty’s ‘ardly one of’em, look’et me,” she gestured down at herself. “Got tits like a washboard and an arse like Haylor Swift back ‘ere. Could practically pass for a boy,” as she said that last part she wiggled her eyebrows at Twilight. “Unless you’re into that sorta thing, eh?”

“W-what? I…” Twilight stammered as she backpedaled, blushing furiously. “No! I’m being honest, you’re really, really pretty! I.. I…”

Pawnee laughed uproariously as Twilight sputtered helplessly. “Ah’m jus’ fuckin’ with ye, pet!” Pawnee said after a moment. “I know I cut a bit’uv an androgynous figure, though. But I got all th’brains in the family t’make up for it.”

“Not fair, Pawnee,” Twilight grumbled as Pawnee slung an arm over her shoulder. “You’re not supposed to tease me on our date.”

“Love, if I ain’t teasin’ you then that’s when you should really worry ‘bout us, savvy?” Pawnee shot back with a smile, pulling Twilight into a sideways hug. “Besides, I torture all my friends, s’how I show love, and we’re more’n jus’ friends, oreyt?”

“I… I think so,” Twilight said quietly, feeling her cheeks warm as she leaned against Pawnee. “I’d definitely like to be.”

“Well, let’s get on wit’ it then, pet!” Pawnee crowed as she pulled Twilight along towards one of the entrances. “Now show us around a’bit, our lass, Ah missed breakfast an’ I been smellin’ food since I got’ere, so how ‘bout we get some dinner and call it a date! My treat.”

“Uhm, it’s not even noon,” Twilight said as she was towed along. “You mean lunch?”

“Lunch is f’posh folks,” Pawnee replied with a smirk. “We got Breakfast, Dinner, n’Tea, that’s how it works, savvy?”

“What happened to lunch?” Twilight asked as they made their way into the warmer confines of the mall.

Pawnee shrugged and chuckled. “Reckon the posh folks ate it, innit? That’s as it is, s’let’s get some dinner.”

The mall was bustling, as usual, with the post Christmas crowd milling about returning unwanted gifts or spending the money given from relatives they likely barely spoke to outside of that one lone time of year. Twilight walked alongside Pawnee, practically hiding under her duster as she tried her best not to be seen. Through it all, Pawnee hadn’t taken her arm from around Twilight’s shoulders, keeping her tucked in close.

Although unused to the sudden overflowing physical affection Pawnee was showing, Twilight had a hard time complaining. Leaning in, Twilight buried her face against Pawnee’s narrow chest and let out a small, happy sigh.

“Did you know that a hug that lasts twenty seconds or more releases oxytocin into the brain?” Twilight said in a soft voice. “The love chemical, that’s what neurologists nicknamed it, it’s that fuzzy happy sensation you get when you’re being held.”

“Yeah, s’bullshit’s what that is, pet,” Pawnee answered, drawing an annoyed look from Twilight.

“It’s empirical,” Twilight retorted, “not b-bullshit.”

“Sure it is,” Pawnee replied with a smirk. “You ever feel like gettin’ hugged on by some rando in the street?”

Twilight’s face contorted in disgust. “No!”

“Cor, me neither, ‘cept if it’s all chemicals why’s it fuckin’ matter, eh?” Pawnee said, grinning down at Twilight. “See, way I figure it, yeah it’s a chemical, sure, but if it ain’t a situation what’s reproducible on a general population scale, say, top’o the bell curve as a sample size on a multicultural demographic t’control f’cultural more, then we gotta be missin’ somethin’, oreyt?”

“They’ve done studies with people hugging strangers and found the reaction was the same though!” Twilight argued.

Pawnee shook her head, sending her pale hair skating over her eyes. “Well that ain’t really a logical comparison, pet. Those folks’re goin’ into it knowin’ the stakes, but if ye go out with nothing but a slab’a paper, pen, and a lab coat and ask two perfect fuckin’ strangers t’hug what’ll ya think’ll happen?”

“ Well, I-”

“Even if ye explain the experiment,” Pawnee continued over Twilight’s protest, “even if ye tell’em the facts, more like’n not they’ll fuck right off, and well they should.”

Sighing, Twilight shrugged. “So what do you think it is?”

“Oxytocin? It’s a fuckin’ chemical, pet,” Pawnee replied with a cackle. “But ye ain’t askin’ about oxy-fuckin-tocin, are ye?”

“W-what do you mean?” Twilight felt the heat rise in her cheeks as Pawnee grinned down at her in an almost predatory fashion.

“S’obvious, savvy?” Pawnee said, “you’re askin’ if I feel as warm’n fuzzy when I’m holdin’ onto ye as you do, tha’reyt?”

Twilight choked on her own spit. Coughing and hacking in the middle of the mall thoroughfare, to clear her airway, Twilight was keenly aware of all the eyes on her, but the mortification of that was slightly overshadowed by a nearer embarrassment from Pawnee laughing her non-existent ass off.

“That… that wasn’t fair,” Twilight said in a cracked voice as she regained her breath, “I… I wasn’t… I mean…”

“C’mon, pet,” Pawnee jeered, poking Twilight lightly in the side, “we’ve been banterin’ on’n off for two years, savvy? You really think I can’t tell when you’re askin’ me a question all sideways?”

“I… I didn’t know how to…” Twilight replied in a soft voice. “I’m sorry…”

Pawnee’s face fell slightly for the first time since she’d started talking to Twilight and after a moment she reached out and set a single, slender finger under Twilight’s chin to bring their gazes to meet. Twilight flinched slightly as Pawnee’s intense golden eyes met hers, but she didn’t look away.

“Hey now, c’mon Lab… was only kiddin’, and besides, s’not fair f’ya t’get all teary when I ain’t even given ya an answer,” Pawnee said, lowering her boisterous volume to something almost gentle.

As gently as possible, Pawnee pulled Twilight out of the middle of the thoroughfare and off to the side and into the shadow of a pillar that supported the upper level.

“An answer?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The warm fuzzies, yeah?” Pawnee said, bringing her hand up to rest it lightly on Twilight’s cheek. “Didn’t say I didn’t get’em, did I?”

“N-no…” Twilight answered shyly, her cheeks regaining their blush as she looked down at the floor, shuffling her feet nervously. “I… I guess you didn’t.”

“Just right I didn’t,” Pawnee said with a grin, bringing her hands down to settle on Twilight’s hips again and thoroughly enjoying the beet red color of Twilight’s face as she did so. “Would’a made me a liar if I did, an’ my pops didn’t raise no liar, least not with me he didn’t.”

Letting out a nervous, high pitched, and slightly awkward giggle, Twilight nodded, covering her face as she tried desperately to banish the flaming red blush and failing terribly.

“Hey now,” Pawnee said in mock protest, “don’t go coverin’ up like that,” she pulled Twilight’s hands from her face and gently pushed her glasses back into place. “I like lookin’atcha.”

“Mm… uhm… I, uh, I like looking at you, too?” Twilight replied, her voice cracking a little as she tried to keep her eyes on Pawnee but couldn’t help letting them dart around as Pawnee’s intense stare frayed her nerves.

Pawnee’s finger on her chin guided Twilight’s face back in line with Pawnee’s who was smirking down at her. “Oh yeah? Know what I think you’ll like more than lookin’ at me, pet?”

Twilight felt the blood rocket to her face, among other places, as she swallowed thickly. “W-what?”

Silently, Pawnee took Twilight’s arms and set them around her neck, then brought her left hand down to the small of Twilight’s back while her right hand trailed up Twilight’s spine to tangle into her hair.

“Kissing me,” Pawnee said in a soft, husky voice.

Twilight’s eyes were wide as saucers by this point as Pawnee leaned in until their noses were nearly touching.

“Do ye wanna kiss me, pet?” Pawnee asked, and Twilight knew she wouldn’t have been able to look away from Pawnee even if she had wanted to.

There was something behind those eyes, those burning gold eyes. Hunger, fire, passion… two bands of molten gold wrapped around cores of flint-knapped iron held Twilight transfixed. Slowly, Twilight licked her lips and nodded.

“Tha’s our lass,” Pawnee said softly, before leaning in.

Pawnee took the lead, pressing the full curve of her lips against Twilight’s who froze rigidly against the sudden warmth of the kiss. Trailing her fingers down Twilight’s neck, Twilight shuddered and relaxed against the taller girl whose practiced hands pulled her close, fitting Twilight snugly against her.

Twilight clung to Pawnee almost by reflex, pulling herself up to meet Pawnee’s kiss with a sudden hunger and fervor that surprised both of them. For Twilight, it was like a fire had suddenly been lit in her chest and it was spreading throughout her body with abandon. She clung to Pawnee with desperate strength, and moaned softly against the silver-haired girl’s lips.

Pawnee couldn’t help but smile at the sudden passion. Sliding her hand under the fabric of her blazer and blouse, she felt Twilight shudder as fingers came in contact with the soft, bare skin of her back.

The kiss could have lasted hours or moments, but Twilight wasn’t counting. Finally, though, she had to surface for air as she pulled reluctantly away from Pawnee; both of their faces flushed, eyes lidded, and lips red as they both panted.

“Wow,” Twilight mumbled as she leaned against Pawnee’s chest. “That was, uh… really nice.”

“Never been kissed before, pet?” Pawnee asked in a quiet voice, looking down at Twilight. “Wouldn’t ‘ardly know it from that display, savvy?”

Twilight licked her lips and giggled. “It’s crazy… we’ve only just met in person but…” Twilight leaned up and pressed her lips to Pawnee’s again, and the same fire and hunger lit brightly in her chest before she pulled away. “When I kiss you… it’s like I’ve been underwater all this time and suddenly I’m out and breathing!”

A knuckle touched gently against the underside of Twilight’s chin and lifted her face up a few inches to align with Pawnee’s grinning expression.

“S’not so bad, eh?” Pawnee said with a smirk. “Love’s all about goin’ mad f’the right sorta person, innit? So what say we go mad together then, Lab?”

“Wow,” A caustic voice from the side broke through the moment. “Apparently I have to stop calling you Twilight Dorkle, and start calling you Twilight Dykle.”

Pawnee’s head turned at a glacial pace to the side and glared at the three girls looking at them as Twilight squeaked in horror and began trying to burrow into Pawnee’s coat. The one who had spoken brushed a strand of mulberry hair from her face; her skin was a faint shade of turquoise with a vaguely acidic smirk on her face spoiling her otherwise pleasant features. The girl to her left had silver hair in pigtails and bluish gray skin, and wore the same bored, taciturn expression she always did whether she was answering questions or tearing someone down. The third wore her hair, that was a varying riot of greens, down her waist, and the expression on her face was slightly distant as her head bobbed to the music in her headset.

“S-Sunny? Lemon? Sugarcoat?” Twilight stammered, staring red-faced at the three girls from her school. “W-w-w-what are you doing here?”

“It’s Saturday,” Sugarcoat said dryly. “Where else would we be in this miserable town?”

Lemon Zest pulled her headset off of one ear, blowing a bubblegum bubble as she stared at Pawnee and Twilight. “Wow, I gotta say, gay as a pride parade or not I did not peg Twilight Sparkle as someone who’d get some before you did Sunny.”

“Shut up, Lemon,” Sunny Flare said with a grimace before advancing on the pair of girls and leaning past Pawnee to stare at Twilight with a nasty smirk. “Hey Twilight, just curious, you done with that assignment of mine yet?”

“I… I’m not… I’ve been b-busy,” Twilight stuttered, retreating further.

“We can see that,” Sugarcoat replied, gesturing to Pawnee whose eyes were settling on Sunny with a most unpleasant gleam in them.

“Twilight Dorkle, gettin’ some action,” Lemon sang mockingly. “Well, her girlfriend is pretty butch so I guess it fits.”

Pawnee narrowed her eyes, but rather than lash out, turned and looped her arm around Twilight and walked around the other side of the pillar, dragging the stammering girl with her. Sunny scowled as she was dismissed and stomped after them.

“Hey! Don’t you walk a-”

As soon as she was behind the pillar a dark hand struck out, seizing her by her collar and dragging her forward as Pawnee snapped her head down to impact Sunny’s face with a sickening crunch. Sunny yelped as she was released only to be seized by the side her face and pressed hard against the pillar. She was about to cry out when the feeling of something cold, sharp, and metallic pressed against her cheek.

Sunny Flare’s eyes flicked down to see her terror neatly reflected in the polished steel of a thin blade.

“Listen up, hen, and listen well,” Pawnee hissed from inches away behind Sunny. “Ye eva’ threaten, piss off, intimidate, or otherwise look askance at our lass again, you’ll get such a brayin’ they’ll hafta I.D. ye by whatever I leave’a yer fuckin’ teeth, savvy?”

Pulling away, Pawnee let up the pressure on Sunny, letting the girl slump to the ground shaking as she raised a hand up to her face to feel where the blade had been pressed only to hiss in pain as her fingers came away with a touch of red.

“Ah recommend ye tell others ye tripped into a doorknob, hen,” Pawnee said from above Sunny, who looked up and flinched at the cold murder in Pawnee’s eyes. “Wouldn’t want t’have any unpleasant conversations down the line on account’a loose lips, oreyt?”

Turning to regard Sunny’s friends with a wide and deeply unpleasant grin, Pawnee gestured wide with her arms.

“Tha’s that, then,” Pawnee said with a smile, draping her arm over Twilight again. “Now we’re all friends, oreyt? I like ‘avin’ friends, don’t you lot?”

Sugarcoat and Lemon nodded emphatically.

“Arh cocka, then we’ll be goin’,” Pawnee pulled Twilight close, patting Sunny’s head with her other hand as she walked past making the shaking girl flinch. “So, ‘ow bout that dinner then, pet?”

Twilight nodded silently as she walked alongside Pawnee, casting a glance over her shoulder at Sunny who was still sitting on the ground staring blankly ahead, her nose bent slightly and blood down her lips and front.

A few minutes of walking later, Twilight couldn’t help herself. “P-Pawnee? Did you have to do that?”

Instead of answering, Pawnee shrugged. “How long they been doin’ that, pet?”

Twilight hung her head at Pawnee’s question considering how to answer it without sounding like a complete wimp before coming to the conclusion that that outcome probably wasn’t possible.

“A couple of years,” Twilight admitted in a quiet voice. “Sunny Flare is the Principal’s daughter so… she can pretty much do what she wants.”

“And tha’s why I did it, pet,” Pawnee said in a low voice. “Some folks know where th’line is, other folks gotta get their ‘eads shoved up against it at knifepoint t’learn, oreyt?”

“But you hurt her,” Twilight protested, “badly.”

“An’ she’s been ‘urtin’ ye f’bout as long as we’ve been friends, tha’reyt?” Pawnee asked rhetorically, though Twilight nodded anyway. “Didja want me t’just ignore that shit she was talkin’ ‘bout ye?”

“We could’ve just walked away,” Twilight replied evenly. “Just ignored her.”

“That what you do?” Pawnee asked, and Twilight nodded. “Cor, so how’s that homework assignment o’hers comin’ along then?”

Twilight flinched at the jab, and they walked in silence for a few minutes ascending the stairs until they reached the upper level where the food court sprawled out before them.

“That… that was mean,” Twilight said finally.

“Yeah, an’ so’s she, but ye ain’t gonna fix nothin’ if ye just ignore it, love,” Pawnee said with a smirk. “So don’t ask me not t’defend ye, pet, because if some hen wif more brass na brains comes along peckin’ at ye I’ll pluckin’ her naked and toss’er over the fence, savvy?”

“I don’t want you to hurt people for me, Pawnee,” Twilight insisted.

“Tha’s not really a factor, pet,” Pawnee replied. “Pain’s the only language some’a these nob’eads can fuckin’ understand, and besides,” Pawnee turned and stroke Twilights cheek as she grinned down at the shorter girl, “you really gonna ask me not to defend the girl ah’m in love with?”

Twilight blushed furiously at Pawnee’s words, starting to protest before being silenced by Pawnee’s soft lips. Whatever argument Twilight had dissolved into gooey warmth as she leaned in to Pawnee’s embrace.

Pulling away, Twilight licked her lips and leaned against Pawnee again as they began walking into the food court proper. “I… I guess you’re right, it’s not fair to ask you to just ignore it… but I don’t want you to hurt people.”

“Rather ‘urt people than watch people ‘urt you, pet,” Pawnee said simply. “Can’t convince me otherwise on that’n.”

“Why?” Twilight asked quietly. “Why am I worth hurting other people?”

“Because I’m mad f’you, remember?” Pawnee said, grinning down at Twilight and pulling her into a line for thai food. “Fuckin’ barmy, off my rocker, crazy as ‘ell, ‘owever you wanna say it.”

“Is that… good?” Twilight asked quietly.

“Feels good t’me,” Pawnee replied easily before turning to Twilight. “I’m in love w’you, Lab, Twilight, whatever you wanna be called, an’ I think it’s good, savvy?”

“Twilight is fine…” Twilight said in a soft voice. “It’s not… not how I was hoping to introduce myself, though.”

“I think you introduced y’self just fine when we was leanin’ against that pillar havin’ a snog,” Pawnee said with a laugh as they reached the front register and made their order.

Pawnee ordered and paid for the both of them as Twilight was busy sputtering in embarrassment. Taking their food, the two girls walked to an empty table and settled down. Twilight picked nervously at her pad thai while Pawnee messily devoured the large combo plate she’d ordered.

“You’re good with those,” Twilight said after a moment, nodding to Pawnee’s chopsticks. “I never learned how to use them.”

“Me pops taught me,” Pawnee said after swallowing, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “S’not all that hard, I’ll teach ye sometime, pet.”

They ate in relative silence, with Pawnee enjoying spending much of the meal distracting Twilight by playing footsy underneath the table with her, leaving her constantly red-faced as she tried to eat her lunch. Dumping the remains in the bin, they started walking through the mall again, scanning the shops and chatting.

“So you used to live in Las Pegasus?” Twilight asked, “I’d never have known from your accent.”

“Yeah well, me pops was from Brayton, northeasterly, just aside from Steelton, savvy?” Pawnee explained. “Raised by’im and picked it up, like ye do, then I went t’live with some relatives up there about four years back, spend enough time surrounded by the local slang and it tends t’stick.”

“Guess that makes sense,” Twilight admitted as they passed into the arcades. “So, I guess you must’ve been fifteen or sixteen when you moved?”

Pawnee raised an eyebrow. “Uh, pet? How old d’ya think I am, outta professional curiosity?”

“T-twenty? Maybe nineteen?” Twilight answered hesitantly. “Am I wrong?”

“Bit off, our lass,” Pawnee said with a laugh. “I’m sixteen.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped and she froze in place. “W-wait, you’re younger than me?”

“Guess I am,” Pawnee replied with a smirk. “Y’what? Seventeen? Eighteen?”

“Seventeen,” Twilight answered in a dull voice. “M-my mom didn’t want me to skip a grade, she was afraid I’d get bullied for being younger.”

“Hah! Fat lotta good that did,” Pawnee’s voice was a harsh, barking laugh as she clapped Twilight on the back. “Ah well, y’got me now, pet. Guaran-fuckin’-tee no one’ll bully ye now.”

“I don’t want you to hurt people, Pawnee!” Twilight reiterated as they walked along. “Seriously!”

“I got other methods, love,” Pawnee replied. “Y’know what they say, ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but identity theft leaves lasting financial ruin, oreyt?”

“Not funny!” Twilight replied, laughing in spite of her protest as she smacked Pawnee on the side of the arm. Sighing happily, Twilight nestled deeper into Pawnee’s embrace as they walked. “Thank you… I guess I never said it but, thank you for standing up for me, even if I don’t like how you did it… no one’s ever done that for me before.”

“I’ll allus stick up for you, pet,” Pawnee remarked. “Never doubt that’n for a second.”

They continued their walk, Pawnee holding Twilight tight and feeling an unfamiliar warmth in her chest at Twilight’s touch. It was strange, to be so close to someone after so long. As much as Pawnee wanted to obey her natural suspicions and trustless instincts, there was something so painfully naive and guileless about Twilight that she just… couldn’t.

Well, not as it matters, Pawnee thought vaguely as music began drifting past them from one of the small communal areas of the arcades. We need’er whether I like it as not, so I may as well like it. ‘Sides, s’not so bad goin’ mad once in a while, innit?

“You hear that?” Twilight asked suddenly, perking up from Pawnee’s side. “Someone’s playing music.”

“S’called buskin’, pet,” Pawnee said with a grin. “Got’em in big cities and the like, poor folks’ll busk f’money, or sometimes just folks what like music’ll play on a corner for love, savvy?”

“Even after all this time talking to you I can barely understand what you’re saying sometimes,” Twilight said with a laugh. “But yeah, I guess I get it, let’s go listen!”

Pawnee rolled her eyes but went along with Twilight’s suggestion. It was a little too twangy and poppy sounding for her taste but there was no harm in swinging by. A crowd had gathered around one of the arcades and near a corner they spied the players. One was a girl with flaming red hair streaked with gold who sat in a wheelchair, her guitar case was laid out in front of her and her fingers fairly danced across the strings. Another girl stood behind her with pink hair tied back in a ponytail and a wide grin on her pale blue face as she picked out the beat on a bass guitar.

“They’re not ‘alf-bad, I guess,” Pawnee said, knowing it was a bit of an understatement. The song wasn’t to her liking but the skill on display was undeniable.

The two girls would dance between one another’s music, shifting as easily as breathing between a thrumming bass solo that rumbled through the hearts of the audience, only to sidle back to let the guitar flow into a lighter melody.

“They’re so good,” Twilight said quietly, not wanting to disturb the music. “I wonder if they’re in a band together or something?”

“More like as not, pet,” Pawnee replied, “look at’em, they play like professionals, got that feelin’ where they know ‘xactly how t’other’ll play n’matter what they do.”

Twilight nodded, bobbing her head to the beat of the song with a smile. The tune trailed off eventually and as the two girls turned to leave, Pawnee’s eye caught the red-head’s eye. Pawnee furrowed her brow in concern as the wheelchair bound girl’s eyes widened in what looked like delight, and for a moment she looked as if she was about to say something before the expression turned to shock.

“S’queer az’folk, as me pop says,” Pawnee muttered as she turned her back on the crowd to walk with Twilight.

As they made their way out of the arcades, Twilight laughed softly and turned to look up at Pawnee. “Hey, I just realised something.”

“Aye, wha’zat, our lass?” Pawnee asked with a smirk.

“Well, thanks to those girls you know my real name, but I never asked you for yours,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Huh, ‘appen ye didn’t, tha’s fair’nuff,” Pawnee replied.

Turning around to face Twilight, Pawnee set her hands on Twilight’s shoulders and smiled. “Alright then, since we chuffed up the order’a things, let’s do it properly, what say?”

Twilight giggled and nodded, stepping back to hold out a hand. “Sure… so, hi… uhm, my name is Twilight Sparkle.”

Taking Twilight’s hand in a firm grip, Pawnee smiled and doffed her cap, letting her white hair fall freely.

“Good t’meetcha, the name’s Grizelda King… call me Zee.”

Sunset bid Penny farewell as she left the bus, waving as it pulled away from the Commons station. Pulling her phone out, she sent Gilda a quick text letting her know she was home before pulling her gloves on tight and gripping her wheels and rolling towards the flat. Fortunately the snowfall had been incredibly sparse for the past week, and by the time the weekend had rolled around the roads were entirely clear along with the sidewalks. Only the damnably persistent, and disgusting, globs of parking lot snow remained, black and taunting in their clumps.

Flexing her arms a little, Sunset admired the results of working up a sweat every morning doing basic workouts; simple stretches and crunches to start with mostly. Gilda had eventually shown Sunset something called ‘decline pushups’ where she could partially crawl off of the bed until her legs were just barely supported by the bed itself and then do push ups from there.

Sunset smirked as she wondered why she hadn’t thought of it before. In that form, the push ups were actually harder to lift up because gravity was pulling on more of her weight. It was simple physics, which Gilda hadn’t really grasped at first, she just knew it was a good way to work out because her father had done it. Sure enough, between constantly moving herself on wheels and the workouts, Sunset had begun to see a little bit of muscle definition happening around her arms and shoulders.

“One step at a time,” Sunset murmured to herself as she pulled her key from her pocket and unlocked the door to the flat.

The phrase had started to become her mantra ever since she stopped going to school. She’d spoken to Principal Celestia on a few occasions, mostly to sign a few papers that permitted an extended medical leave of absence, for which Doctor Tourniquet had been more than happy to provide the note. Gilda went half days, she had gotten a similar note of permission to act as Sunset’s caretaker, which irked Sunset a little bit despite knowing that it was necessary.

The fact was there were certain things she just couldn’t do, and Gilda couldn’t afford to quit her job at the garage to help her during those hours.

All in all it meant that she had been seeing quite a lot less of Gilda than she liked, which would be all of the time if she had her way but that wasn’t really fair to anyone.

True, she had Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, though she only really regularly spoke to Adagio at length. Aria was busy punching people for a living as she called it, and Sonata was a dear but she was also very much a homebody. There was Penny and Helden, although Helden apparently had a very rigorous schedule to keep for his operatic performances, so Penny and Sunset ended up spending a lot of their free time chatting or hanging out. Vinyl had been making a point to stop by on her way to school, occasionally with Octavia in tow, to say hi since she apparently didn’t live very far from their flat, she was just very consistently busy creating new music.

Sunset understood that entirely, Vinyl’s passion was her life. The fact that she was taking time out of that to come check in on Sunset, to make sure she was doing alright and had everything she needed spoke volumes of her depth of compassion and kindness.

“I’m home,” Sunset said softly, knowing there wouldn’t be anyone to answer.

It still felt nice to say it in an unironic fashion, though, as opposed to how she had spoken as she entered her old warehouse office home.

Doffing her orange beanie and jacket, she hung them up on the little coat rack she shared with Gilda before rolling over to the bed. Gripping the handle by the headboard, Sunset made the mechanical motion to swing herself onto the mattress in a way that was starting to become muscle memory and began the laborious process of removing her shoes, socks, and pants.

Never before had she hated pants as much as after she lost the use of her legs.

Running her hands through her hair, Sunset briefly considered cutting it a little shorter. Long hair was such a hassle and hassles had recently doubled in her life since the accident.

“How much is this stupid accident going to take from me,” Sunset stated more than asked as she reached for her brush and began a hundred strokes.

The boredom was starting to get to her, there was only so much she could do in a day without school. She couldn’t get work easily, what with her sparse paperwork and disability.

“Equal opportunity employers, my dock,” Sunset mumbled in annoyance.

Her irritation quickly turned on its head as her phone let out a soft ding, Gilda had messaged her back.

//Gilda: Uh, hey Sunshine? You got anything like… snazzy t’wear?//

//Sunset: not really, why?//

//Gilda: Well… I’m kinda over at Tavi’s place because of… reasons. And I just wanted to know?//

Sunset scrunched up her face in confusion. Over at Octavia’s? In the Heights? Gilda avoided that place like the plague.

//Sunset: o...kay? Give her my love. Is me not having something fancy a problem?//

//Gilda: it's no prob, I’ll be home in a few hours okay babe?//

//Sunset: Counting the minutes, I love you.//

“Like I have anything else to do,” Sunset said, smirking quietly Gilda replied. Looking down at the response, Sunset felt her heart kick up a notch and butterflies take flight in her stomach.

//Gilda: I love you too, always, y’know? I love you more than anything in the world, Sunflower.//

“Gilda you silly romantic,” Sunset said softly, wiping at her eyes.

Setting the phone down Sunset leaned back and groaned. There was really nothing to do at the moment, and she really didn’t idle all that well. After a moment of musing, Sunset found herself looking over at the parcel that was leaning against the wall. It was right where she had left it when she and Gilda had gotten back from spending Christmas with the Sonen sisters, their honorary ‘aunts’ as they liked to be called,

Slapping her palms against her face, Sunset let out a sharp breath. “Fuck it, nothing’s going to change if I don’t do something… what’s the worst that can happen?”

Reaching past the nightstand, Sunset grabbed the parcel and pulled it into her lap. Running her hands over the blue speckled wrapped paper, Sunset felt her heart hitch as she considered everything this gift represented.

All of the broken promises, the soured memories, the glares and hateful stares and venomous words thrown in her direction by her old ‘friends’.

Gritting her teeth, Sunset tore the wrapping paper off and threw it to the ground. The scent of leather binding drifted up to fill her nostrils and Sunset scowled as she pulled the object free of where it had been resting for the past week and a half.

“A photo album,” Sunset muttered dryly. “I wonder what the chances are I won’t just roll this out back and have a smoke while I burn it.”

Running her hands over the surface, Sunset clenched her eyes shut, feeling the weight of tears building up. The stitching was hand-done, only Rarity had that kind of skill. Plus, the leather wasn’t some simple store bought cut of hide, it was soft and had that real feel to it… Applejack, no doubt. Sunset knew her family went hunting in the Fall.

Opening her eyes again Sunset traced the delicate engraving that was done along the surface showing a familiar set of symbols. Along the edges were a diamond, a butterfly, a stylized lightning bolt, a trio of balloons, and an apple. All of which were surrounding a symbol that Sunset had to do a double take to recognize.

A divided sun backed by feathered wings that seemed to be in the process of gently enfolding it.

The wings were familiar, and they would be... after all, they were the wings of the Air Force. They were the same wings that adorned the back shoulders of Gilda’s bomber jacket that she wore everywhere.

Swallowing thickly, Sunset felt a surge of emotions grip her by the throat. The cover practically said it all. Gilda was closest of all of them to her now, and that would never change but the symbolism was even more telling.

It was almost like the wings were shielding the sun from the other symbols. The same way Gilda had protected her as best she could during those awful weeks when Anon-A-Miss had been systematically destroying her life.

The message was clear: “We’re so sorry we hurt you, and we’re so glad you’ve found happiness.”

“Okay, let’s see what you idiots really have to say,” Sunset said in a raw voice.

Swallowing hard, she fitted her fingers under the cover and took a deep breath.

“Come on you coward,” Sunset muttered angrily to herself. “It’s a stupid book… just open it!”

Practically biting her lip, Sunset flipped the front cover open. On the other side was soft, high quality sepia stationary with a dedication written in Rarity’s gorgeous calligraphy.

Shaking, Sunset turned the page to find two full pages of the stationary filled end to end with names all crammed in together. Hundreds and hundreds of names, the name of every student at Canterlot High was written in pencil, marker, pen, colored pencil, and even crayon in one spot.

At the very top we’re five familiar names: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity.

Turning the page, Sunset sniffled; tears fell from her cheeks as she stared at the empty page, lovingly crafted with empty inserts for photographs and a little spot below each for a note or title.

Warm tears streaked her face, and Sunset couldn’t find the strength to wipe them dry. Her hands turned the pages automatically, knowing that each page would be just as empty as the last until finally she reached the back cover.

Sunset worked her jaw several times before finding her voice as she spoke the words that were etched into the leather.

“May each and every memory contained within these pages be one of honest laughter, kind loyalty, and generous love,” Sunset choked out through tears.

Shutting the album closed, Sunset clutched it to her chest as she shook until finally she opened her mouth and let out a sobbing, tearful wail of grief.

Tears fell like summer rain onto her legs as Sunset leaned in and clutched the album, bereft of all but hope, and she sobbed as she grieved for every friendship she’d lost. She grieved for the conversation and wit she loved sharing with Rarity, she grieved for the warm fall weekends she spent on Sweet Apple Acres hauling apples, for all of the little parties Pinkie had thrown and laughter they’d shared. Sunset grieved for the scent of the soccer fields that she ripped up alongside Rainbow Dash, and for the gentle hands of Fluttershy that patched them up every time they overextended themselves to the tune of scraped knees and elbows.

Sunset Shimmer curled up on the bed she shared with the girl she loved most in all the world, clutched the empty album, and, for the first time since her world crumbled, permitted herself the small luxury of grieving for the people she once loved.

I’m falling.

Thunder and lightning crash through the sky as electric pain runs rampant through my body. The wind tears at my limbs and whips my clothes around my body and all about me is the sound of coursing lightning, it sparks and snaps like the bite of an angry dog nipping at my heels as I flee.

I’m falling.

All I can smell is smoke and ash and the unpleasant, acrid tang of ozone. The world is spiraling madly around me as I fall through the air and my body barely obeys my commands. It feels as though bands of iron are wrapped tight around me, and my limbs rebel everytime I try to move them even a little.

I look down and the ground is rushing to meet me and as the earth careens towards me I hear laughter, unpleasant and wicked, split the air. It’s as if the storm itself is cackling at my pain.

I look up and away from the ground as it approaches inexorably, and I see it, the lightning bolt that always chases me. I see a flash of something else within the light.

I see-

Sunny? Sunny wa-

“-ke up!”

Sunset snapped awake, blinking away the salt crust of spent tears from her eyes as she gasped for breath; remnant wraiths of the nightmare still hovering at the edges of her vision. Chest heaving, Sunset gulped down air as if she’d been drowning, and a moment later the familiar scent of leather and engine oil accompanied by the comforting strength of Gilda’s arms went around her, pulling her close.

“Hey, you alright Sunshine?” Gilda asked softly, her hands going up to gently stroke Sunset’s back as her girlfriend nuzzled against her. “I came back and y’were fuckin’ thrashin’ around; night terrors again?”

“Dunno,” Sunset answered truthfully. “I think it was that dream again except… it was different… further along maybe? I can barely remember… I remember falling, and the lightning chasing me was laughing.”

“Weird ass dream, babe,” Gilda said with a dry chuckle as she pulled away slightly, only to lean in and press her lips to Sunset’s.

Sunset gave a soft hum of delight as she leaned into the kiss, bringing her hands up to loop around Gilda’s neck and tangle into her soft hair. Gilda’s hands traced little lines of pleasure down Sunset’s sides until they came to rest on her hips and pulled her a little closer.

Pulling away, Gilda grinned, flashing those slightly-too-sharp teeth that Sunset loved. “Hey there pretty lady.”

“Hey there your… self?” Sunset said with a smile that trailed off into confusion as her sleep-addled brain finally registered what Gilda was wearing.

It was a full three piece tuxedo with a long coat jacket that trailed down past her thighs, a clean button down white shirt that looked reasonably starched, silver vest, and a smart black bowtie. On her feet were neat black dress shoes, polished to a shine.

Sunset felt her jaw drop open slightly as she tried to reconcile the Gilda that was kneeling in front of her with the Gilda she lived with; the perennial slob whose idea of a nice outfit was jeans and a sweater that had seen a recent wash.

“So uh… how do I look?” Gilda asked sheepishly, standing up to her full height.

The coat jacket fell to her knees, and hugged her generous figure nicely, and the pale cream shirt contrasted perfectly with her dark skin. All in all, Sunset was busy trying to find a word that was classy enough to strike the right chord but all her brain kept giving her was-

“Tasty.”

Gilda blinked in surprise, and Sunset clapped a hand over her mouth.

“I swear I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” Sunset said, her voice muffled behind her hand.

Snorting, Gilda bent over double as laughter struck her like a hammerblow, and Sunset’s face slowly turned redder with embarrassment as the minutes passed and Gilda’s mirth failed to subside.

“Okay, yes I get it,” Sunset grumbled. “The useless lesbian over here would like an explanation now, please and thanks.”

Taking several deep breaths, Gilda stood up and ran her hands through her hair, pulling it back to a rakish, ruffled look.

“Well, I wanted t’take ya on a proper date, so I figured I’d go all out tonight, savvy?” Gilda explained as she turned to picked up a bundle that had been laid out on the table. “See, friend’a Crank’s is a line cook down at Gustave’s and got us a table so-”

“Gustave’s?!” Sunset practically shouted. “That place is crazy expensive, though!”

Gilda just smiled softly. “Yeah and? The fuck else am I gonna spend money on but you, Sunshine? Dunno if y’noticed, but I ain’t exactly… uh…”

“Materialistic?”

“That’s the word,” Gilda chimed before blushing and giving a nervous chuckle, “but yeah… turns out auto-work pays okay, and my first paycheck cleared so… yeah, I uh… y’wanna go out with me t’night, babe?”

“I… Gilda… you asked me to marry you and you’re getting more flustered asking me out on a date,” Sunset replied with a laugh. “Yes, yes I will go out with you; I say to my fiancee who asked me to marry her with a ring of magic ice under a fireworks display.”

“Hey… I was caught up in the moment, a’right?” Gilda replied sullenly, kicking at nothing in particular. “I was runnin’ on adrenaline, it’s a lot harder to ask this shit when it’s all normal and you’re still all stupid-pretty, savvy?”

“Gilda, honey… my love, look at me,” Sunset began, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she gestured at herself. “I cried myself to sleep, my hair is a hot mess, my cold sweat nightmare left me vaguely sticky everywhere, and I think I forgot to brush my teeth this morning. ‘Pretty’ I am not.”

“Bullshit,” Gilda shot back with a smile. “Y’always pretty, Sunshine. Y’just get prettier when ya try, y’know? S’like how car engines gotta idle at a certain rev count to keep runnin’, you idle at ‘stupid-pretty’ and just go up from there.”

Sunset opened her mouth to argue but no words came to her, and after a moment she shook her head and sighed. “That’s not fair, y’know? Saying stuff like that to me,” Sunset raised her arms up towards Gilda. “I’m already in love with you, Gil… I already promised to marry you… you don’t have to keep charming me.”

Wrapping her arms around Sunset, Gilda lifted the lighter girl up and into her embrace; holding her in a princess carry as she walked Sunset to the bathroom to wash up.

“Where’s the fun in stoppin’, huh?” Gilda said, looking warmly down at the smiling redhead in her arms. “I’m still gonna be tellin’ you how sexy you are when we’re old’n gray, Sunshine.”

Sunset leaned her head against Gilda’s shoulder and let out a heartfelt and happy sigh.

“Y’know what, Gil?” Sunset asked quietly, drawing a quizzical look from her girlfriend. “I really believe you.”

Smiling, Gilda set Sunset down on the seat lid of the toilet and reached in to pull the stool closer to Sunset before turning on the shower.

“We got a couple hours, Sunflower,” Gilda said as she pulled her arm out, shaking a few stray droplets from her arm. “I’ll go get y’dress.”

“Dress?” Sunset asked in a slightly bewildered voice. “And speaking of that, where the hell did you get a tux?”

“Borrowed it from Mister Melody, had t’swap out one’a Missus Melody’s tops though, on account’a th’girls,” Gilda replied with a bark of a laugh from the living room. “And Tavi gave ya one’a her dresses; said she never wears most of’em and I believe’r, ya shoulda seen the size’a her closet, Sunny.”

“Octavia…” Sunset mumbled, sighing and smiling a little. “You’re too much…”

“She said every girl oughta have a nice dress,” Gilda continued as she walked back in with a wrapped bundle. “Dunno if I agree, I think I cut a pretty good figure in a tux, savvy?”

“Gil? ‘good’ is an understatement,” Sunset replied with a smoky grin. “Because right now the only thing I’m thinking that tux would look better on would be the ground.”

Gilda's cheeks warmed to a red blush and she chuckled nervously. “Wow, uh… maybe I oughta get dressed t’the nines more often, huh?”

“Mhm,” Sunset replied, nodding as she started peeling off layers and throwing them to the side. “So how’re we getting to Gustave’s?”

Closing the bathroom door, Gilda leaned against the sink counter as she shamelessly watched her girlfriend undress and get into the shower.

“The roads are clearer now,” Gilda answered, “figured I’d untarp my ride and take’er for a spin, savvy?”

Sunset sighed in relief as the hot water cascaded over her, washing away the stain of sweat from her hair and skin. “I kept meaning to ask, but what is your ride?”

“My pride’n joy, Sunshine,” Gilda replied. “An old eighty-nine Harley softail, nice and comfy… plenty’a faster hogs on the road, but this one is mine.”

“Why am I not surprised you have a motorcycle?” Sunset said with a small laugh from the shower. “You’re the bad girl stereotype to a ‘T’, Gilda Grimfeather.”

“An’ don’t you f’get it, Sunflower,” Gilda shot back, standing up from where she seated herself. “Anyways, I’m gonna get my road leathers on, I’ll bring y’chair ‘round, savvy?”

“Sounds good…” Sunset said. “And Gil?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you… for always loving me,” Sunset said quietly, her cheeks turning a little red. “I know it’s not easy all the time, and I know I’m a hassle, but… I love you so much, and you make me so happy, so… thank you.”

“S’not even gotta be said, Sunshine,” Gilda replied, tugging her coat jacket straighter. “And easy or not, I know how I’m spendin’ the rest’a my life and it looks real pretty from where I’m standin’.”

“You’re only saying that because I’m naked,” Sunset remarked blithely, a laugh hiding behind her arid tone.

Gilda laughed loudly as her only response before walking out of the bathroom. True to her word, by the time Sunset emerged clean and refreshed from her shower, her chair was sitting at the ready for her along with a clean towel. Drying herself off and pulling on her undergarments, Sunset went to work slowly drying her hair, then combing it back to a glossy sheen before reaching for the mysterious dress that Octavia had been so generous with.

“I’m probably gonna need some help getting this on!” Sunset called from the bathroom.

Pulling apart the soft wrapping paper, Sunset pulled the dress free and gasped softly as it tumbled into her arms. It was a daring, shoulderless number that bore a gorgeous shade of purple which trailed to black near the bottom that would certainly have complimented Octavia’s eyes and hair nicely, but even Sunset could see why the musician gave it up to her. The color was just the right shade to match the dusk sky, and Sunset’s fiery red hair would bring a whole new flare to it.

Gilda opened the door and leaned in, looking down at Sunset and smiled. “Sure thing, babe, here lemme have it.”

Taking the dress, Sunset watched as Gilda’s long, dark fingers dexterously shook out the dress until it fell straight before rolling it up slightly and nodding for Sunset to raise her arms. Sunset obliged, and Gilda slipped the dress over her arms and down until the contours of the dress hugged to Sunset’s form. Her strapless bra left her amber shoulders free as Gilda stepped around to pull the dress straight until it fell in a lavender waterfall down over Sunset’s legs.

Standing, Gilda took a moment; her breath catching in her throat as Sunset smiled up at her radiantly.

“So?” Sunset gestured to herself. “How do I look, Gil?”

Swallowing hard, Gilda returned the smile, feeling a faint grip in her chest as she looked down at Sunset. The soft, beautiful features of the face Gilda had come to know almost as well as her own framed by that gorgeous scarlet and gold cascade of hair, her graceful amber shoulders that showed just the slightest definition, proof of her hard work. Sunset’s slender figure that lit a flame in Gilda’s heart, but so much more than that…

Her smile.

Gilda grinned as she reached out, caressing Sunset’s cheek and trailing her thumb over Sunset’s lips who playfully kissed the digit as it passed; Gilda knew the truth now more than ever:

She would do anything for that smile.

“Prettiest girl in the world, Sunshine,” Gilda said softly. She’d said it before and she planned to spend the rest of her life saying it if she had her way.

Moving Sunset out of the bathroom, finished pulling on her riding jacket and pads, trying to be careful not to scuff up Mister Melody’s suit too much. Of course, if she got in an accident without the leathers there’d be a load more damage. As she did, Gilda spied the album on the bed that she overlooked while comforting Sunset.

“So… guess ya opened the gift, huh?” Gilda said after a minute, and Sunset stopped, frozen in indecision before she silently nodded. “Know what ya gonna do with it?”

“Not really,” Sunset said quietly, sighing as she leaned back into her chair. “When I saw it I half-expected it to be full of pictures of the six of us, happy memories, reminders of why I should go back to being their friend… y’know?”

“Yeah? What’s in it?” Gilda asked, admitting to herself that she had thought the same thing.

“Nothing,” Sunset answered. “It’s empty, except for some signatures and a dedication that hopes I’ll fill it with new memories; better ones…”

Gilda grimaced as she turned back to the bed and lifted the album, flipping it open to look over it. Sure enough, it was empty save for what Sunset had said.

‘I think it would’ve been easier if it had just been a shallow attempt to tug my heartstrings back in their direction,” Sunset admitted. “I could’ve just set the stupid thing on fire and been done with it.”

“Could still do,” Gilda replied with a wry grin.

Shrugging, Sunset sighed heavily. “That’s the thing… I don’t want to.”

Gilda looked down at the album again, even she had to admit it was beautifully made. There was a lot of love put into the gift she was holding and, as much as she hated to admit it, a part of Gilda agreed with Sunset.

“What does it mean if I think they really learned their lesson?” Sunset asked quietly. “Does it mean I forgive them?”

Heaving her own sigh, Gilda shut the album and set it down. “Couldn’t tell ya, Sunflower… that’s the thing; end’a the day there’s no one that can tell ya how t’feel about’em except you, savvy?”

“Is it selfish to wish there was just an easy answer?” Sunset replied with a small, arid smile.

“There is,” Gilda said, “cut’em outta your life, throw away all their shit and baggage, never think about’em again, and move on. That’s the easy way ‘cause it’s basically just, y’know, not thinking about it. Believe me, I got a lotta practice in that shit.”

“I don’t know if that is what I want, though!” Sunset protested as Gilda walked over to the table and hefted a second heavy riding jacket. Rolling past her, Sunset picked up the album and opened it. “I want… ugh, I don’t know what I want and that’s so annoying!”

“Set it off t’the side then, ain't like there's a time limit,” Gilda said, nodding to the album “we’ll figure it out later, savvy?”

Taking a deep breath, Sunset nodded. “Yeah, that… that sounds like a good idea, actually,” Sunset replied, tucking the album away. “Hey… Gilda?”

“What’s up, Sunshine?”

“Thank you… for dealing with me when I’m like this,” Sunset said, blushing a little. “When I’m difficult, or wishy-washy, or just a big mess, so just… thanks.”

Walking over to Sunset, Gilda passed the riding jacket to her before kneeling down and taking Sunset’s right hand in hers. Carefully, she ran her fingers along Sunset’s palm, tracing the soft lines, up to the delicate fingers, stopping only to circle the little copper band. Lifting Sunset’s hand to her lips, Gilda kissed the knuckles softly.

“Babe, I’ll say it as many times as I gotta,” Gilda started, smiling up at Sunset who was looking down at her with shining eyes. “I’m gonna marry you, savvy? Dealin’ with ya when you’re a mess? That’s fine by me… ain’t always easy, ain’t meant t’be, y’know? But I wouldn’t trade a second of it f’the world.”

Sunset sniffled a little, wiping at her eyes before the tears that were threatening to spill over made good.

“Why couldn’t I have met you earlier, Gil?” Sunset said, more than asked, in a soft voice. “Why couldn’t you have been the first person I met stepping out of that portal? I know we’ve got our whole lives ahead of us, that we’re young and all that, but… why does it feel like it’s still not enough?”

“Babe?” Gilda said in a querying tone, as she reached up and cradled Sunset’s face gently. “A thousand fuckin’ years wouldn’t be enough time with you f’me, savvy?”

Leaning in, Gilda pressed her lips to Sunset’s, savoring the softness, the nearness, and the familiar scent of cherry and lilacs that always seemed to settle around Sunset. Sunset, for her part, leaned in as well, wrapping her arms around Gilda’s neck and pulling her close, shivering in delight as she felt Gilda’s hands run through her hair, careful not to tangle it.

Pulling away, Sunset wiped at her eyes again.

“I’m so glad I came through that portal, Gil,” Sunset said, her voice thick but happy. “I’m so glad I got in that fight with Princess Celestia… I’m so glad I didn’t become an Alicorn like her.”

Gilda blinked in surprise at that. “Why d’ya say that?”

“Because they’re facets of reality! Sun, Moon, Magic… they’re immortal, Gil,” Sunset said tearily. “And I want to grow old with you… not… not…”

“Outlive me?”

Unable to say it for herself, Sunset just nodded silently. On the list of things to not think about for Sunset Shimmer, that was definitely near if not at the top.

“Well, guess we gotta take what we got, huh?” Gilda said after a moment of silence. “May not be a thousand years like I want, but I ain’t gonna get greedy.”

“If I was still an evil megalomaniac I’d be plotting how to steal the world’s magic to make us immortal right now,” Sunset said with a teary laugh.

“Y’mean you’re not?” Gilda asked sharing the laugh as she stood up and started helping Sunset put the jacket on.

“Eh… maybe a little,” Sunset replied, her smirk starting to gain strength. “I mean… I’m pretty sure necromancy isn’t technically outlawed on this side of the portal.”

“Gotta be honest, not sure how I feel about bein’ a zombie, babe,” Gilda said.

Sunset scoffed. “Please, zombies are so last century; I’m pretty sure I could rebuild the Shadow King’s ‘Undying Knighthood’ ritual,” she said with a grin. “How d’ya feel about being a deathless juggernaut?”

“Depends on if I’m gonna be serving a sexy evil overlord for all of eternity,” Gilda replied.

Pulling the slightly-too-big jacket more firmly onto her shoulders, Sunset shot Gilda a grin. “Well, obviously, the only problem is that I look awful in all black; I’m more of an Autumnal complexion, and you just can’t be an evil overlord wearing warm earthy tones, y’know?”

“Well shit, suppose that settles it,” Gilda laughed. “Guess we gotta stay human.”

“Shame, that,” Sunset said, sharing her girlfriend’s laugh.

The tension faded with both girls smiling, Gilda grabbed a pair of helmets from the closet and set one in Sunset’s lap, tucking the other under her arm before pushing the flat door open and pushing Sunset outside before turning and locking up. Walking around the edge of the parking lot towards the small rental garages, Sunset following just behind, Gilda pulled her keyring out and unlocked one of them, raising the garage door to show a lumpen, tarped shape within.

Reaching up, Gilda pulled the small cord that flicked on the faded light inside the garage before taking a strong grip on the tarp and pulling it off. Sunset felt her breath catch at what lay underneath.

It was a sleek black-and-chrome beast with a snarling griffon painted onto the fuel tank. The handlebars were raised slightly higher than Sunset was used to seeing, and the seat had a raised passenger seat with a cushioned backrest behind it. Every inch of it shone with care and polish, save for a bit of dust from having been tarped for the season, and Sunset could see the love and care that Gilda put into maintaining it.

“So wha’dya think?” Gilda asked, smiling down at Sunset who grinned back up at her.

“It looks awesome,” Sunset replied, “But uh, how’re we taking my wheelchair?”

“Gonna lash it to the back,” Gilda said, pointing towards the rear of the passenger seat before walking in and grabbing a few cords from the shelf beside the motorcycle. “It’ll be a little awkward, since it ain’t made f’nothin’ that big, but I’ll just go a little slower, savvy? ‘Sides, Harley’s ain’t that fast t’begin with.”

Sunset shrugged. “So long as it’s safe, I’ll take your word for it.”

Gilda lifted Sunset from her wheelchair and set her on the passenger seat, carefully helping her into position so she didn’t tip over, before collapsing the wheelchair and securing it to the back. Sunset watched Gilda as she went about the small job, her quick, steady hands easily finding the places to tie the chair down. Sunset always did like watching Gilda work; In those moments there was no hint of the insecurity over her intelligence that Gilda so often showed, just confidence and surety.

Carefully moving about the motorcycle, Gilda checked every part of it for any kind of wear or damage that might have happened over the season. Apparently satisfied that all was well, Gilda slowly rolled the motorcycle out with Sunset seated on it while smiling at her girlfriend, before she mounted the cycle and turned the ignition.

Sunset nearly leapt from her seat as the motorcycle roared to life.

Being near a motorcycle, or seeing them on the road or drive past her was one thing. Sitting on top of one when it abruptly came to life was a completely different experience.

“Helmet on, babe!” Gilda shouted over the roar before fitting her own helmet. Nodding, Sunset pulled the helmet on as well before leaning in and wrapping her arms around Gilda’s middle.

Grinning wildly, Gilda gave the cycle some gas and Sunset felt her heart leap slightly as they accelerated. Riding in a car and riding on a motorcycle, Sunset decided, had absolutely nothing to do with each other. In a car there was a degree of separation from the world you were driving through, but on a motorcycle there was nothing between you and the wind and the roar of the engine.

Rolling out of the parking lot, Gilda hit the road, settled back, and opened up the throttle. As the buildings and city lights began idly drifting past with all the sounds of the world masked by the rumble of the engine and howl of the wind whipping by, Sunset closed her eyes and took a breath, tightening her grip on Gilda’s middle as a smile traced over her face.

Sunset’s heart was beating so loudly in her ears, and her only regret was that she couldn’t kiss Gilda right there. At least, not without getting them into a serious accident. Something about seeing the world from the back of a motorcycle, even if she wasn’t the one driving, made everything seem different, brighter… So much of her life lately had been lived in slow motion because of her disability that moving so fast while constrained by so little was… freeing.

The ride was over too soon, in Sunset’s opinion, as Gustave’s appeared to their right and Gilda pulled into the lot and found a space to park.

“I still can’t believe you got a table here,” Sunset said as she pulled the helmet off, pulling a small comb to fix her hair as she did so. “It’s supposed to be a week’s wait at minimum.”

“Well, y’know what they say, Sunshine,” Gilda said, doffing her own helmet. “Pays t’have friends in low places, savvy?”

It was the work of a moment to set up Sunset’s wheelchair before Gilda turned to pick up her girlfriend and lower her into the seat. Gilda pulled off her leathers, smoothing out her tuxedo as she did, and stowed them in side-pouch of the chair before getting behind to start pushing Sunset torwards the entrance.

“Come to think of it,” Sunset mused, a wry smile appearing on her face. “Have we ever actually gone on a date?”

“Uh… I mean, we went t’Cuppa’s that one time,” Gilda said a little nervously. “And uh, well, c’mon, a date doesn’t hafta be goin’ out right? We watched movies’n shit t’gether, I figure that counts.”

“I guess so,” Sunset said with a laugh. “Still kind of weird to think we’ve been dating for so long and this is our first real ‘date’ date.”

“Y-yeah… sorry,” Gilda said, her voice falling a little.

Sunset frowned, reaching her hand up to hold GIlda’s where it was gripping the handle of her chair. “Hey, I… I didn’t mean it like that, savvy?”

“Yeah, savvy,” Gilda said, still sounding a little morose. “Guess I just… I wanna give ya all the romance’n shit in the world, y’know? I wanna be… worth it.”

Grimacing, Sunset reached down and threw the brake on her chair, bringing her and Gilda to a sudden, ratcheting stop as Gilda staggered at the resistance. Turning her head, Sunset scowled up at Gilda.

“Gilda Grimfeather, you listen to me,” Sunset said, her voice full of fire. “You’ve given me the world. You didn’t just save my life, you let me start living one… you didn’t just give me a place to live, you gave me a home.”

Pulling back the brake, Sunset gripped her wheels and turned to face Gilda.

“Because of you, I… I feel more loved than I’ve ever felt in my life,” Sunset stated, her voice brooking no argument. “Even after I was adopted I was still the student of the Princess, and she kept the distance that propriety required… I’ve never had someone love me as plainly, as blatantly, and as honestly as you do, okay?”

“How could I not love ya, Sunshine?” Gilda asked softly, reaching out to run the backs of her fingers over Sunset’s cheek. “I’d swear t’whatever god ya wanted me to that lovin’ you is easier than breathin’ for me.”

“I know,” Sunset whispered softly, leaning into Gilda’s touch. “It probably seems silly but… being able to say ‘I know’ like that? And really mean it? That’s a little bit of a miracle.”

“Magic’a friendship?” Gilda asked with a small smirk.

“Or something like it,” Sunset replied. “Now let’s eat, I’m starving.”

Gilda grinned, nodding as she took the handles to Sunset’s chair again and pushed her towards the entrance.

It was warm inside and there was a vague scent of firewood and pinesmoke in the air. Gustave’s was renown in Canterlot for being a place of both class and welcome; not the most expensive restaurant in the city, but it was certainly on the higher end of things. Not quite Restaurant Row material, or so many food critics said, but even the most rigid of them admitted the food was well made and the atmosphere was one that inspired comfort.

The Maître D', an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and a chartreuse complexion, led them to their assigned table, a small booth in the corner with what appeared to be a nook carved out of it. It only took Sunset a moment to realise that it had been specially designed with someone wheelchair-bound in mind.

Fitting herself in, Sunset gratefully accepted the short menu and glanced at it, feeling a slight hitch in her throat as she realised the prices weren’t listed.

That generally only meant one thing.

“Gilda… are you sure about this?” Sunset asked nervously, licking her lips as she tried not to think about how much money this single meal was going to cost.

Gilda chuckled a little nervously. “Pretty sure… or at least I hope so since I kinda already paid for everything…”

Sunset’s eyes widened at Gilda’s admission. “W-what?!”

“Hey, c’mon,” Gilda said soothingly, setting her own menu down. “I, uh… it was the only way I could get the table at that short’a notice, savvy? ‘Sides, not like we ain’t gonna eat the food, y’know?”

Sunset slumped slightly in her seat, looking down at her menu. “Do… do I even want to know…?”

“Uh… no,” Gilda replied, a sheepish grin on her face.

“Ugh… fine,” Sunset sighed as she picked up her menu and examined it. “I’m going to pay you back for tonight somehow… okay?”

“S’long as you keep plannin’ on marryin’ me, Sunshine, I don’t think I need anythin’ else,” Gilda replied with a chuckle.

“That’s the plan, babe,” Sunset said, co-opting yet another of Gilda’s favorite lines. “So… any idea what you’re gonna get? There’s only like five choices so…”

“Uhm… n-not yet…” Gilda replied uneasily.

Sunset felt a pang of worry and, on a hunch, turned back to her menu. Her eyes narrowed as she examined it; the print was small and done in delicate, smooth-lined cursive. The few selections were spaced widely and, like most higher class restaurants, had no pictures.

“Gilda?” Sunset asked softly, peeking past her menu to see Gilda, who was glaring at the menu and visibly making an effort not to clench her hands into fists.

Reaching out, Sunset set a hand over Gilda’s, prompting the taller girl to glance up suddenly at Sunset before turning her face away with an embarrassed flush crossing her cheeks. Without waiting, Sunset put a hand on the raised top of Gilda’s menu and lowered it to the table.

“It’s okay, remember?” Sunset said, smiling gently as she took Gilda’s hand, locking their fingers together.

“I… I know,” Gilda said in a subdued voice.

“I want to hear you say it…” Sunset said, a touch of iron entering her voice.

Taking a deep breath, Gilda clenched her eyes shut and nodded.

“I… I ain’t stupid.”

Sunset smiled radiantly. “No, you’re not,” Sunset affirmed before picking up her menu. “So… how do you feel about pot roast?”

“Uh… not really feelin’ red meat, y’know?” Gilda replied. “Heh, I eat a lotta beef stew.”

“Yeah, fair enough,” Sunset remarked with a small chuckle. “Fish?”

That got Gilda’s attention. “There’s seafood on there?” Reflexively, she glanced down at her own menu before scowling and pushing it away and looked back up at Sunset, licking her lips. “Is there, uh… any shellfish? Like crab or somethin’?”

Scanning the menu, Sunset’s eyes lit up.

“How do you feel about lobster?”

Sunset sipped at her ice tea as she pushed her emptied plate away from her. She still didn’t know how much the meal had cost but she had a sneaking suspicion it was even more than she had initially feared with how good that salmon was. Gilda had a look of total satisfaction on her face as she sat in front of a plate that was covered in the gruesome remains of a whole boiled lobster. Sunset had actually been surprised to see how quickly and easily Gilda cracked the shell, it was like she knew exactly where to hit it to break off the biggest bit of the exoskeleton, and Sunset’s mind was suddenly filled with the image of an avian raptor dropping its prey on a rock to crack the shell.

Without warning, a loud slap filled the air as Sunset’s palm met her face, drawing a look of alarm from a few other tables and one of confusion from Gilda.

“Uh… you okay there, Sunflower?” Gilda asked, leaning forward.

“I’m an idiot,” Sunset said dryly, dragging her hand down her face. “I can’t believe I thought you might be a pegasus on the other side of the portal, I must be fucking blind, as well as crippled.”

“W-what?” Gilda asked, chuckling a little. “Why a pegasus?”

“Your stormcasting,” Sunset explained, laughing slightly. “It’s a common pegasus pony talent… the number of pegasi with weather-related cutie marks of some kind make up a little over sixty percent of the population of most pegasi dominant settlements, so I just assumed.”

“Okay… but I ain’t one?” Gilda asked. “Then what am I? On the other side’a the portal I mean?”

“Well, let’s go over the facts,” Sunset replied with a dry chuckle before starting to tick her fingers in a count off, “you’ve got golden eyes, you love seafood, specifically shellfish, you’re aggressive, plus there’s your name.”

“Huh?”

“Gilda the Griffon,” Sunset said dryly. “You’re a griffon, because no shit of course you are…”

“Wait,” Gilda said with a laugh. “Y’tellin’ me there’s griffons over there? Like, bird-cats?”

“And dragons, and hydras, and sea serpents…” Sunset replied. “Lots of creatures humans consider to be mythical. Ugh… still can’t believe it took me this long, even if you didn’t have the name, I should’ve known by how you treat me.”

Gilda’s brow furrowed at that. “What’s that suppose’ta mean, Sunshine? I treat ya good, right?”

“Oh! Yes!” Sunset said, reaching out to grab both of Gilda’s hands. “You do, I didn’t mean it like that I just… Griffons… their uhm, mating habits? Griffons pair off young, and not just that… they mate for life.”

A blush crossed Gilda’s features as Sunset smiled.

“With how protective you are of me, and how worked up you get any time you feel like I’m in any kind of danger?” Sunset pulled one of Gilda’s hands over to her lips to press a soft kiss to her knuckles. “It’s just a little embarrassing that I didn’t realise it sooner, y’know? Some genius I am.”

“Eh, truth is? I never liked that name, savvy?” Gilda said, leaning against the cushioned back of the booth. “My pops gave me the nickname and it stuck, got around t’all of his associates, even Crank’n Gear. He said it was supposed t’make me sound dangerous.”

“Ended up prophetic, huh?” Sunset said, settling back into her chair. “Funny how fate works like that.”

Gilda[‘s face fell as she nodded. “Yeah… funny.”

Feeling the mood tilt downward, Sunset fished for something else to say.

“S-so… do you mind if I ask where you went this morning?”

Gilda’s visage darkened further and Sunset felt her heart sink. Clearly that was the wrong question. Her mind raced as she sought anything that would help her dislodge the foot she was managing to firmly plant down her own throat.

“I went t’visit my folks,” Gilda said after a minute, her voice quiet. “Guess there ain’t any reason t’keep it secret it’s just… hard t’talk about, savvy?”

“O-oh… a cemetery?” Sunset asked, flinching as the words left her mouth. Of course it was a cemetery, where else would she have been? She thought in annoyance.

“Yeah,” Gilda replied, ignoring the awkward gaffe, she knew Sunset didn’t mean anything by it. It was the whole reason she hadn’t wanted to mention it. “Beaucheval, up north’a Canterlot… I guess… I’ve changed a lot since I last visited’em, y’know?”

“We both have,” Sunset said, tangling her fingers with Gilda’s, gently tracing the lines of Gilda’s palms with her fingers. “For the better, I think, don’t you?”

Gilda nodded. “Guess I just wish my ma could see, my dad too, y’know? You’da liked’em, and they’da loved you…”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Sunset replied.

After a moment, Gilda’s brow furrowed, and Sunset crooked an eyebrow in confusion as Gilda started digging through her pockets before pulling out her phone, thumbed it open, and started sweeping her finger over the touchscreen. Not wanting to interrupt whatever it was that had distracted Gilda, Sunset sat for a moment before Gilda finally seemed to find what she was looking for.

“Hey, Sunshine?” Gilda said. “When I was up there I found a weird bouquet someone’d left at my folks’ graves, didn’t look like any one I’d ever seen before, see?”

Turning the phone, she showed Sunset the odd bouquet.

“Those’re lilies right? The orange ones?” Gilda asked, pointing them out. “And I know the yellow ones are carnations… what’s up with the white ones?”

“Meadowsweet…” Sunset said, feeling a shallow burn in her heart. “You said someone left these on your parents’ graves?”

“Y-yeah?” Gilda replied, lowering her phone at the sound of anger in Sunset’s voice. “What’s up, Sunshine?”

“Gil, do you… do you know anything about the language of flowers?” Sunset asked, grimacing a little. “Like, what different flowers mean or represent?”

Gilda raised an eyebrow in response. “Uh… wha’dyou think, Sunflower?”

Sunset chuckled dryly. “Fair enough… so, uh… Yellow Carnations, Meadowsweet, and Orange Lilies… wow.”

“What is it?” Gilda asked, scowling. “You gonna spill?”

“Well, if I remember right, and I usually do,” Sunset said, before pointing at the Carnations. “The yellow ones mean disappointment, the meadowsweet means uselessness or useless, and the orange lilies… those mean hatred.”

Gilda blinked in shock before turning the phone back to her and examining the bouquet closely. “What the fuck?”

“Couldn’t tell ya,” Sunset said, “But that’s a pretty strongly worded message, for certain definitions of the word. None of those flowers are traditional bouquet material either, so I can’t imagine anyone putting that together on accident.”

“Fuckin’ weird, ” Gilda hissed, scowling at her phone before tucking it away and grabbing her water glass to take a drink.

Sunset chuckled. “Oh, speaking of weird, I don’t suppose you have a twin sister wandering around town?”

The sound of shattering glass filled the small corner of the restaurant.

Sunset’s eyes went wide as Gilda gripped the splintered glass in her hand. Fragments of the shattered vessel and pieces of ice fell onto her side of the table as Gilda’s eyes gave Sunset a look of harrowed shock. Whatever Sunset had been expecting from Gilda, that wasn’t it, and she stuttered as she tried to ask Gilda what had happened and why she’d reacted that way. Gilda beat her to the punch, though.

“S-Sunset… why would you ask me that?” Gilda asked in a hollow voice, setting the glass down, completely ignoring the blood trickling from the scratches on her hand.

“I… I… just…” Sunset stammered, “Gilda your hand!”

“Fuck my hand,” Gilda hissed, her voice low and deadly. “Why the fuck did you ask me that?”

“It was nothing! It was a joke!” Sunset said, scrabbling for a clean napkin and grabbing for Gilda’s hand.

Gilda pulled her hand away with a snarl. “Well it wasn’t fucking funny, Shimmer!”

Sunset rocked back in her chair like she’d been cut.

Never, in all the time they’d known each other, had Gilda ever spoken to her with that kind of venom. It was like getting a scorching hot brand to the heart.

“G-Gilda? What did I do?” Sunset asked, tears starting to fill her eyes. “P-please talk to me.”

By this point everyone within earshot was doing their level best to appear as if they weren’t listening to what sounded like a relationship meltdown of epic proportions. A waiter came by and his eyes shot wide at the state of Gilda’s hand and he stammered apologies as he dropped several clean napkins and raced off to find the Maître D'.

“I’ll talk when you tell me why you asked me that fuckin’ question?” Gilda said, her voice harsh. “Why the fuck’d you ask that?”

“Because I saw a girl who looked like you!” Sunset said in a choked voice. “That was it! I swear! It was just weird, okay? I got finished with playing a song with Penny at the mall and looked up and could’ve sworn I saw you!”

Gilda felt her heart drop from her throat to her gut at Sunset’s words.

“Not fuckin’ possible,” Gilda whispered. “What did she look like?”

“Like you!” Sunset gestured to Gilda.

Gilda pounded the table in anger. “Not what I fuckin’ meant.”

“White hair, gold eyes, dark skin,” Sunset listed off. “What do you want from me? She was skinny, and she wore a black ballcap with a-”

“-white rose on it…” Gilda finished, her voice a whisper and her eyes wide and haunted.

Sunset started as Gilda finished her sentence. “Y-yeah… and a tattoo on her chin of-”

“-a smoking cigarette?” Gilda asked, and Sunset could almost hear her pleading for her to say no.

Sunset couldn’t lie to Gilda, though.

“Yeah…” Sunset replied softly. “Gilda? Who is she?”

Gilda didn’t answer, she just stood before carefully pulling her wallet from her pocket and tossing a few bills on the table for the waiter before walking in a daze towards the exit.

Staring down at her hand, Gilda picked at the glass shards idly, gathering them in her hand as she made her way towards the exit. Sunset glanced around worriedly before reaching down and wrenching the brake off and turning to pursue Gilda as best she could but her progress was slow as she maneuvered around the tables and worried-looking wait staff.

“Miss, are you alright?”

Sunset turned to look at the genuinely concerned features of the Maître D' who was walking towards her. He waved a hand, clearing the wait staff from her path with the simple motion.

“I… I don’t know,” Sunset answered tearfully.

Author's Notes:

Wow, what a ride up til this point, huh? So as far as I know, no one guessed Pawnee's true identity, although I'm a little surprised because I'd actually been worrying that I was being too overt about it.

My girlfriend who prereads for me informed me this was not the case. That not even she guess it, so who knows?

For those of you who might feel it's contrived, all I can do is beg your patience; just like with Sunset and the Portal I promise that all will be revealed in time. Trust me that there is a very good reason for Pawnee's identity and why she is doing what she's doing. For those who might be disappointed about Pawnee's identity, I'd like to note that I dug deep for this. Her character is actually a scrapped design that never made it into the show, Lauren Faust even went so far as to do concept art of her, which led to me finding a piece of fanart someone did and having this idea.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy this long chapter (even by my standards this one was kind of a monster.)