Author's Notes:

Happy belated New Year! We're back

Now to ruin everything.

Zee gripped the edges of the metal chair hard as sweat poured down her face and back, and her breath came in deep, ragged gasps. Tremors shook through her body as she stared blankly ahead, but thick leather straps around her wrists and biceps kept her arms pinned to the chair. Even so, pain occasionally wracked through her limbs as she swallowed hard to keep from throwing up. Her vision was blurred and unsettled, and everything in front of her swam in a nauseating soup of color as a strong, warm hand came to rest on her head.

“Easy there, sprog,” Storm’s voice said from what seemed like a great distance. “Yer lass is comin’, we’ll get ye right.”

“P-Pops…” Zee said in a harsh, cracking voice. “W-where… wot’s ‘appenin’?”

“The side effect, lass,” Storm replied, his voice still murky, “now try’n keep yer’ead on, aye?”

“Arh… c-cocka,” Zee slurred unsteadily.

She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten into the chair, Zee could barely remember what day it was. Or where she was. But she did remember-

“T-Twilight?” Zee said with a confused tone. “Where’s our lass?”

“She’s comin’,” Storm replied again, sweeping a clean cloth over Zee’s forehead and down her cheeks. “Don’t ye worry, sprog, she’ll be ‘ere in less’n a tick.”

“Aye,” Zee nodded drunkenly, swallowing hard again. “Need’er, Pops… I need’er, ain’t right without’er.”

Storm nodded, and the way his head bobbed in her delirious vision only made the twisting in her stomach worse. Breathing hard, Zee tipped her head back and closed her eyes. She felt feverish like she’d just gotten the worst sort of flu imaginable. It was gripping her insides in a vice, boiling her guts, and ranging her temperature from freezing to scorching every few seconds, or so it felt.

“Wha’s wrong wif me?” Zee mumbled again.

Any answer Storm might have given was disrupted by the sound of feet running down the staircase accompanied by a stream of vicious swearing. A moment later Twilight Sparkle entered the room, still in her school uniform, gasping for air and her face flushed from exertion.

“Got here… as fast… as I could,” Twilight gasped out before snatching up a water bottle from the table and downing it. “Okay… how is she?”

Storm finished sweeping the sweat from Zee’s forehead as he straightened and turned to Twilight.

As imposing as he looked in his blue prison outfit, his casual wear somehow made him more intimidating, not less. Storm wore an unassuming rough linen shirt in an old style with a small collar and a knotted cord at the placket instead of buttons, and thick, canvas trousers. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, displaying weather-tanned arms covered in lightning bolt tattoos, and his thick, wiry white hair was pulled back into a long ponytail.

Tossing the rag aside, Storm nodded towards Zee. “Looks like she’s ‘bout t’gip any moment, lass,” Storm said with a grimace. “These attacks… they're gettin’ worse, savvy? Lucky you’re here t’clean it up.”

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded as she carefully approached Zee, her heart aching at the state of her girlfriend.

Zee looked awful. Her hair hung lank and matted over her head, and her shirt was drenched with sweat. Every so often she would shudder as an electrical current ran through her, her muscles tensing and relaxing wildly. Zee’s face was pallid and she looked deathly ill, and the first time it had happened Twilight had been terrified.

Twilight gave Storm a grateful look as he stepped away and gestured for her to get on with her duty.

“I’m here, baby,” Twilight said softly as she knelt at Zee’s feet and looked up at her.

Zee tried to focus her vision, all she could see was a lavender blob in front of her, but she knew the voice well enough. Just the sound of it drove some of the feelings of sickness away.

“Zat you, our lass?” Zee asked in a weak voice. “Eyes ain’t workin’ right, pet.”

“It’s me,” Twilight assured her as she held up the scanner and started fiddling with it. “Don’t worry, though… I’ll fix you right up, okay?”

“Aye,” Zee said feebly. “Tha’s our lass… fix uz right up…”

“That’s right,” Twilight repeated, twisting the dial on the scanner. “Fix you right up, I just need you to try and relax.”

Closing her eyes, Twilight focused on the scanner and the bell inside and on the tolling, the omnipresent tolling, that was always in the back of her mind. A moment later, the scanner snapped open and a faintly green glow washed out from within and covered Zee in a sickly radiance. Tendrils of Twilight’s will seeped through the scanner and out to latch into Zee. her body was overloading with power… again. The gauntlets had very little in the way of throttle and, apparently, the downside of keeping them in their armband form meant that while they wouldn’t bleed a thunderstorm out everywhere, that energy did have to go somewhere.

That somewhere was directly into Zee.

Twilight grimaced as she felt the power surges cascading uncontrolled through Zee’s nervous system, disrupting her body’s natural homeostasis, causing muscle spasms and nausea. It was lucky she’d been nearby when Storm had called her… these attacks were becoming more frequent and if the energy output was allowed to build too high during any one event it would start destroying her muscles, including her heart.

The thought almost shattered Twilight’s focus, but she kept it sharp as she felt for the unstable coils of energy lashing through Zee’s body.

It only took a moment to find them, but seizing onto them was like trying to keep a grip on an eel. The power wasn’t made to be contained, it writhed and snapped like an angry viper in Twilight’s mental grasp.

Fortunately, Twilight had been getting better.

With an effort of will that Twilight often compared to taking an exceptionally deep breath, she clamped down on the untamed energy and began carefully dragging it out of Zee and into the apparatus. It was slow at first, the power was unwilling to let go of its host so easily and Twilight didn’t dare try and take it faster for fear of hurting Zee more.

Slowly, though, Zee began to relax as Twilight siphoned more and more power from her. Her breathing slowed and evened out, and the color began returning to her face.

Twilight knew she had to be careful, though… if she went too far she risked harming Zee by going the other direction and sapping her of too much energy, and Twilight didn’t want to know what that would result in.

The process took only moments and soon Twilight was able to snap the apparatus shut as Zee finally relaxed, looking healthy again, or at least on the way there. Twilight let out a relieved sigh as Storm set a hand on her shoulder.

“Can allus count on you, can’t I lass?” Storm said with a paternal smile. “We’d be nowt without ye.”

Twilight felt a faint warmth in her chest at the praise. “I just wish it wasn’t necessary… why is it even doing this?”

Storm grimaced. “Arh, can only guess, lass,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll ‘appen it’s ‘cause they weren’t meant t’be left off like tha’. Gotta discharge every now’n then, aye?”

“Like a battery that’s constantly being charged,” Twilight said glancing back at the still-delirious Zee.

“Aye, tha’s as it is, lass,” Storm agreed. “By my studies, prior owners’ve the gauntlets used t’use’em on the regular, tha’s the point of’em arter all, savvy? I’ve seen nowt’a someone just… wearin’em.”

“But we can’t just have her wildly shoot lightning around town,” Twilight groaned. “That’s the opposite of keeping a low profile! Can’t she just take them off?”

Storm shook his head.

“Nah, lass, can’t do that now that they’re awake,” Storm said, scowling. “That’ll just mean there’s nowt t’control the outbursts, aye? One account tells’ve just tha’, an’ it resulted in a storm what wiped a small chain’ve islands off th’map.”

Twilight hung her head. “Then what do we do?”

“What we’ve been doin’, lass,” Storm said with an encouraging smile, turning to put both hands on her shoulders. “Yer a marvel, lass, y’really are. An’ I trust ye with m’bairn’s life… giz uz time… once we’ve got the gate open we’ll have all the power we need to get’er stable, aye?”

Sigh, Twilight nodded.

“Tha’s a good lass,” Storm said, pulling her into a hug before stepping away. “Now, as I recall, ye’ve got a date tonight… best get’er cleaned up.”

Storm patted Twilight on the head lightly before turning to Zee and kneeling. Holding up his hands, he twisted his fingers through a series of odd patterns that terminated in him snapping his fingers. A faint scent of clean wind and the sound of bell chimes echoed through the air, and Zee suddenly blinked like she’d just woken up.

Twilight watched, still fascinated by the easy way he wielded his power. Unlike Zee and herself, Storm seemed to possess the power outside of any trinket or object; when she had asked about it he had just laughed and said something non-committal about just ‘having enough practice’. His powers weren’t particularly spectacular or flashy but, in a way, Twilight envied that. She needed her bulky scanning apparatus to use magic, and Zee needed the gauntlets, and they could only do very particular things.

Storm King, on the other hand, had access to a small array of vastly differing abilities. The one he had used on Zee, the one he had just lifted the effect of, was something he called ‘Delirium’. Whoever he used it on was put into a confused and inattentive fugue state, and Storm had used it on Zee during most of her attacks in order to keep her from thrashing or lashing out. It didn’t really help the negative effects of the attack itself, but it always let Twilight get close enough to alleviate Zee’s episode without risking being struck by lightning for her efforts.

Twilight certainly appreciated that part.

“Pops?” Zee said, her words slurred slightly as she blinked away the after-effects that had put her under. After a moment, she glanced down to see her limbs strapped to the chair and noted the aches in her body. “Ah fuck… it ‘appened again, didn’t it?”

“Aye,” Storm replied. “But y’better now, thanks t’your lass there,” he nodded over at Twilight.

Zee smiled wearily over at Twilight who approached cautiously with a clean rag to begin mopping up the sweat on her face, neck, and shoulders.

“Arh, our lass allus takes care of us,” Zee said warmly, staring up into Twilight’s violet eyes. “Right, pet?”

“Always,” Twilight promised, setting the rag down and leaning in to press her forehead against Zee’s fevered brow for a moment.

Zee chuckled and darted in to steal a kiss, and Twilight giggled lightly before turning to undo the latches and buckles on the straps.

After Zee’s first episode some weeks ago, she and Storm had worked to modify the chair that Zee had initially built; it was sturdier and more stable, and the straps were insulated with vulcanized rubber to keep Zee’s outbursts from searing them off.

They’d learned that one the hard way during her second episode.

“Shower first,” Twilight said with a smile as she pulled helped Zee up, “then kisses.”

“Dunno if my feet’ll take me, lass,” Zee replied cheekily. “Might need ye in there with me.”

“Does it matter t’all that ye pops is standin’ right ‘ere, sprog?” Storm said in a wry voice. “Or were ye jus’ gonna ‘ave at it in front’a me?”

“Ye got th‘ole ‘ouse, Pops,” Zee replied with a cocked eyebrow. “Ain’t gotta be down ‘ere wif uz, do ye?”

“Shameless,” Storm remarked with a cackle. “Can’t say that ain’t my fault, though, an’ tha’s as it is, you go on about what ye doin’, lasses, I’ll be upstairs, savvy?”

“Thanks,” Twilight said warmly, and Storm favored her with another smile.

For all of his crimes and all of her preconcieved notions growing up that told her Storm should be a man to be terrified of, Twilight couldn’t help but warm to the older gentleman. He was polite, respectful, and doting on his daughter. He’d treated her with nothing but kindness over the weeks the three of them had spent together, and he was wonderfully clever to talk to. As Zee had said, he wasn’t as ‘smart’ as she or Zee, but he was, Twilight suspected, far more intelligent. His years of experience giving him perspective and knowledge that she and Zee simply lacked.

Moreover, there was never a single moment that Twilight could recall where she felt like Storm didn’t respect her.

For all the bad blood that had erupted between her and her family, she did love them, even if they didn’t understand how she felt. That being said, Twilight couldn’t deny that she’d spent her entire life feeling… patronized. Her mother and father, and especially her brother, were more likely to just smile and nod if she tried to explain any of her experiments before trying to find a means of politely excusing themselves.

Storm was different, though.

If he didn’t understand something then he asked, and if he didn’t understand something about that? He asked. He always listened to her, and Twilight never felt like he was just humoring her. Quite the opposite, she knew he was genuinely interested. Not since meeting Zee had Twilight found someone so… easy to talk to.

“And stay out of trouble!” Twilight called cheerfully, and the only response from Storm was a harsh, barking, ‘HAH!’ of laughter.

Twilight slid her right arm firmly around Zee’s waist and pulled Zee’s left arm over her shoulder to help her up. For all their joking, Zee was weak as a kitten after her episodes, though the weakness always faded quickly.

“Glad yer warmin’ to’im, pet,” Zee said quietly as they half stumbled towards the basement bathroom.

“He’s your dad,” Twilight replied in a soft voice. “I… I really want him to like me, even if… ugh, it’s so weird to think about him being a ganglord, you know?”

Zee shrugged. “End’a the day, ‘banger’s is just folks, pet,” she said as Twilight nudged the door to the bathroom open with her hip. “They ain’t monsters na demons, savvy? Jus’ folks… life ain’t fair t’us all, some folks gotta go ‘round the back to make ends meet.”

“I guess I never really thought about it,” Twilight admitted. “Crime and gangs and that sort of thing was all just… I don't know, t.v. and movie stuff until recently.”

“Til ye met me, y’mean,” Zee said with a sardonic grin. “S’alright, ‘less y’havin’ regrets ‘bout us.”

The words were spoken with nonchalance but Twilight could hear the insecurity and fear hidden behind Zee’s words. Leaning down to let Zee sit on the closed toilet, Twilight straightened and brushed her hands through Zee’s soft, white hair.

“Never,” Twilight said with an iron certainty that made even Zee blink a little. “I’ll never regret us, okay?”

“Hope ye sure’a that, pet,” Zee replied in a quiet voice. “I ain’t so sure ye won’t… if’m honest.”

Twilight frowned but didn’t argue the point any further. Zee had been like this since they’d opted to stay with Storm and see his plan through to the end: constantly unsure or second-guessing things. Twilight was sure, though… absolutely sure, that she wanted to be present for what was going to happen. She was standing on the event horizon of a new world, a new dimension, and a brand new, never-before-seen branch of science that would make the development of calculus look like child’s play.

Leaning against the bathroom counter as Zee got undressed and stepped into the shower, Twilight watched, smiling warmly as Zee scrubbed herself down.

Months ago she would have been mortified to be sharing the bathroom with anyone, but Twilight acknowledged that who she was today and who she was then probably wouldn’t even recognise one another. Two months ago she was a teenage girl thrilled at the possibility of meeting her online friend. Now she was… a sorcerer?

Twilight wrinkled her nose in distaste as the term came to her.

“Hey Zee, are we magical?” Twilight asked, furrowing her brow in concern.

“Are we wot?” Zee stuck her head out of the shower stall, her white hair plastered wildly across her head.

“Magical,” Twilight said, lifting up her scanner. “I can’t really say this is scientifically sound with any degree of confidence, y’know? I basically just jammed a mysterious bell into this thing and hoped for the best.”

“Why’s it matter, pet?” Zee asked as she returned to the shower, but leaned a little to the side to be able to keep talking and listening without water plugging the requisite holes. “S’not like there’s an authority on the matter, savvy?”

“No, I know,” Twilight replied, shuffling awkwardly. “I guess it just feels weird… you and Storm talk about this stuff like it’s all sorcery and it just… sits wrong with me.”

Zee didn’t reply for a few moments as the shower shut off and she grabbed a towel that was hanging from the wall. Coming around from the stall with one towel around her torso and another being used to pat down her hair, Zee slung an arm over Twilight and pulled her close.

Sighing happily, Twilight nestled against Zee’s shower-warm skin and closed her eyes, letting the humid air and the comfortable contact lull her into ease.

“Dunno what I can tell ye, love,” Zee replied. “S’all magic, basically, or at least that’s what it used t’be called, yeah? An’ who’s t’say it ain’t, hm?”

“No one, I guess,” Twilight replied. “I don’t even know why it bothers me, Zee… It just does.”

“I’ll ‘appen it ain’t ‘zactly ye bag, pet,” Zee admitted before turning to face Twilight with her familiar, cocky smile. “But ye’ll call it what ye like, aye? S’not magic, innit? If it ain’t magic, wot is it?”

Twilight blinked in surprise at the sudden question, but then looked thoughtful for several moments as she ran through what she knew of their work in her mind.

“It’s not strictly science, but that’s only because we don’t understand the science that this energy is based on,” Twilight said after a while. “But just because it’s not our science doesn’t mean it isn’t a science…”

“Aye, tha’s as it is,” Zee agreed. “We’re dealin’ wif arcana ‘ere, as me Pops puts it.”

“Arcana… Arcane… adjective: mysterious, secret, and understood only by a few,” Twilight said quietly, a small smile creeping onto her face. “The Arcane Sciences, then… not magic, just misunderstood.”

Zee chuckled. “An’ you’ll be the first t’understand it, aye?”

“No doubt,” Twilight replied firmly, her previously pensive expression replaced with a determined smile. “And it’s ‘we’, we’ll be the first to understand, Zee. You, me, and your dad, we’ll understand it all.”

“Them’s big plans, our lass,” Zee said. “First thing’s first, though… can’t do nowt til the games anyway… might as well, ‘ave some fun, innit? We got a date t’get to.”

“Right, sorry,” Twilight said with a small laugh. “Don’t want to keep them waiting…”

“Just right,” Zee replied. “Ain’t proper, izzit? An’ I’m not the ‘fashionably late’ type… or the ‘fashionably anything’ type, minding that.”

The flat was filled with the faint sounds of scratching. The lights were off for the most part, and the small kitchenette was illuminated mostly by the natural lighting filtering in through the windows.

Sunset wrinkled her nose as she sat at the kitchen table, hunched over her work. It wasn’t that she disliked winter, she actually quite liked it, even if her many years in the human world facing the bitter cold alone, for the most part, had spoiled it a bit for her. In point of fact, Sunset was starting to rediscover her love of the season after having spent many a cold day and night cuddled up under the covers with Gilda.

Her inability to sleep lately had meant she’d been awake to enjoy every second of it, which Sunset mentally logged as one of the few upsides to her reliance on the Slumbernot rune that was still tied into her hair.

With that said, Sunset wasn’t necessarily regretting the warming temperatures as it meant they’d be able to open up the windows properly and air the flat out a little bit. The small space was frankly starting to get a little musty if she were being honest.

Sighing, Sunset shook her head and focused herself back on her work. Her attention was drifting too often lately, and she knew why. The Slumbernot rune wasn’t perfect, and nothing could stop the mortal body, human or equine, from accruing exhaustion. At least, the rune alone couldn’t do it, but Sunset knew of a few other runes that could alleviate the symptoms and shore up her mental and physical state.

Blinking away the weight on her eyelids, Sunset gripped the small titanium needle in her hand and got back to scratching out the new rune she had been working on for hours. The needle had been a gift from Princess Twilight after Sunset had informed her friend about the usefulness of rune magic in the human world. It was a proper rune-scribing tool, one of a type used by the sigilic artists of the Canterlot College of the Arcane, and invaluable to Sunset in working magic reliably.

Sunset felt a small pang of guilt, though, at the use she was putting the gift to now. A lie by omission is still a lie, after all, and she knew she should probably confide her condition to someone.

Except there wasn’t a cure for her nightmares. If she told someone, especially Gilda or Twilight, then they would make her sleep, and the nightmares would be waiting for her.

She had already tried a Poppystone, a rune meant to encourage dreamless sleep, but it had failed spectacularly. Potions weren’t reliable on this side of the portal, and with the inconstant strength of the ambient field, even in Canterlot, any direct sleep spell would wear off far too quickly to prevent the visions from coming back.

Sunset had explored every feasible option before resorting to the Slumbernot. It wasn’t perfect, and it had its drawbacks, but it wasn’t forever. She just needed it until she could prevent whatever was coming, and her gut told her it wasn’t far off.

“Just a little longer,” Sunset muttered as she scratched away at the stone. “I just need a little more time.”

Fortunately, Gilda had work today, and it had given Sunset a few moments to herself to carve out the new rune after she had gotten out of classes.

Another pang of guilt.

She knew she shouldn’t be hiding this from Gilda but it would just make her worry.

Pursing her lips, Sunset blew lightly across the surface of the new gemstone and held it up to the streaming sunlight to examine it for any imperfections. Carefully, she trailed her eyes over the fine lines of the rune. She couldn’t risk a single error, the rune had to be perfect or it would falter. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it would fail eventually and she couldn’t afford for this one to go inactive at an inopportune time.

After several moments of scrupulous examination, Sunset smiled faintly.

“Oh gods, but I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space,” Sunset quoted with a wry chuckle, “were it not that I have bad dreams…”

The rune was finished.

A Solarus rune, essentially a magical solar panel. Once Sunset finished binding it to herself she could supplement some of her net loss from the Slumbernot rune with literal solar power. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it would allow her to function with greater capability and extend the lifespan of her Slumbernot significantly.

“I know you just want me to take care of myself,” Sunset muttered, thinking of Gilda as she worked the small agate into another hairpin, “and I’m doing my best, but… sometimes we’ve just got bad choices.”

Fixing the rune into the clasp, Sunset carefully tucked the second pin in next to its twin, fixing it in place with a coil of red and gold hair. It would take time for it to attune to her inner wellspring, and yet longer to start refilling it, but no more than a day.

Another day of leaden arms and heavy eyelids.

“I’ve gone through worse,” Sunset chuckled dryly.

Sunset’s phone rang from where ti was lying, plugged in and charging on the bed. Gripping her wheels, Sunset turned and rolled over to the bedside. Her lips turned up in a grin as she saw the name: Celestia Sonen.

Thumbing the ‘answer’ button, she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey Auntie, how’s things?”

//Things are good, Sunset,// Celestia replied with a laugh in her voice. //Better than good, actually, I have a surprise for you!//

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Well, Gilda’s off in an hour, we can come down in a bit if you want.”

//Actually, if it’s alright with you two, we were going to meet you up at your flat,// Celestia replied. //Is that okay?//

“Oh! Uhm, sure,” Sunset answered. “It’s… a little small, but sure, I don’t think Gilda would care either, but I’ll shoot her a text.”

//You do that,// Celestia said warmly. //Either way, we’ll see you soon, dear.//

“See you soon, auntie,” Sunset said with a small smile before hanging up the call.

Sunset let out a sigh as she glanced around the messy flat. There were clothes strewn across the floor, the bed was a mess, and the dishes hadn’t been done in a couple of days. Not that it was that big of a deal… but it did strike Sunset as a little funny how big a mess just two people could make considering they weren’t even home all that often.

Gilda was at work, and Sunset had the distinct feeling she was throwing herself into it to try and distract herself. The taller girl was more comfortable around things she could build or repair than anything else, barring Sunset herself who could always calm Gilda down, and vice versa.

The mess just made her more tired though, and for a moment Sunset considered just taking the Slumbernot rune off and passing out rather than doing anything more that day. Surely whatever Celestia’s surprise was could wait til tomorrow… right?

“Sunset Shimmer doesn’t run away,” Sunset repeated to herself.

Shooting a quick text to Gilda, alerting her to the incoming company, Sunset went to work cleaning up. Flicking a tiny bolt of telekinetic force at the light switch, she turned on the lights and slowly began tidying up. It was a good opportunity to practice her telekinesis anyway.

Small pulses and bursts of force let her push the majority of the dirty clothes into a pile without having to bend and twist in her chair. Satisfied with the tidiness, Sunset turned to retrieve the plastic basket they collected their dirty laundry in and set it down by the pile.

Letting out a slow breath and focusing, Sunset pressed her lips into a hard line as she extended her hands and took a grip on the physical forces of the world around her.

“Alright, c’mon,” Sunset grumbled as she formed the telekinetic sheathe around the pile of dirty clothes. “You only need to go a few feet… c’mon.”

Sweat trickled down Sunset’s forehead. This was hard… much harder than it should be. She had lifted herself back in Las Pegasus and the ambient field there had been much weaker… so why-?

Sunset’s vision suddenly doubled and an ice-pick spear of pain lanced into her skull causing her to cry out. The laundry, which had been halfway up and over, half-fell into the laundry bin while the rest toppled back to the floor. Sunset clutched her head as the pain settled to a dull, fiery throb. Wiping at her mouth, Sunset noted that she could taste copper on her tongue as she pulled away and saw the streak of red on the side of her hand.

“Oh… that’s probably not good,” Sunset said softly.

A notion came back to her, a thought and a memory of Gilda asking her a question months ago.

‘What happens when you don’t have any more magic?’

“I wonder just how much of me is kept intact by magic?” Sunset mused, grimacing as she wiped her hand on her thigh. “And why does it feel like my life just keeps getting worse every time it feels like it’s about to get better?”

Sunset gripped the armrests of her wheelchair and scowled. “And when the hell did I get so whiny?”

Huffing angrily, Sunset rolled towards the pile of laundry and started scooping it, a few articles of clothing at a time, into the basket. She’d been doing everything by hand, ‘the earth pony way’ as her mom had always put it, for almost half a decade… broken back be-damned, she could still do the stupid laundry.

The last piece of clothing went sailing into the laundry basket and Sunset bent over to grab the laundry basket and heave it up into her lap. The twinge in her back kept her mindful that every bit of ergonomic advice said not to bend at the hips.

“Well, I can’t very well bend at the knees, now can I?” Sunset mumbled angrily as she rolled over to the coat rack and pulled on her jacket, gloves, and beanie before tucking the blankets around her legs more securely, grabbing the plastic baggy full of quarters from the kitchen counter, and rolling outside, around the corner and towards the communal laundry room for the flat.

The room was nearly halfway across the complex but it was, at least, a generously sized one with several banks of washers and dryers, meaning if there wasn’t one available, one rarely had to wait long. They even had small lockers for each flat that residents could keep detergent and such in so they didn’t have to tote boxes and jugs from room to room.

All in all, it could have been much worse, Sunset mused. A wry smile etched onto her face as she remembered how difficult it was to wash her own clothes back before she moved in with Gilda.

Sunset was nearly to the laundry room when the blue-red strobe of light of a police cruiser caught her eye. Glancing over she saw several police officers staring up at a wall, one of which was an older, portly man she’d seen multiple times in the area. ‘Rough Beat’, she thought his name was. The local cop for the area, if she had her guess right, and around him was his partner she seemed to recall being called Stopgap, and two other younger cops she didn’t recognise.

“Why are…” Sunset started to ask no one in particular before stopping, glancing around, and realising where she was. “Oh… heh, right…”

Sunset grinned sheepishly to herself as she pulled the jacket closer around her and resumed her journey to the laundry room

Or she tried.

“Excuse me!” A strong, pleasant voice called out. “Miss?”

Sunset sighed and debated the merits of engaging in a high-speed chase in her wheelchair. It would, at least, make for entertaining nightly news. The notion passed though, and Sunset gripped her wheels and rotated herself around to see a police officer with blue hair shot through with a shock of white approaching her.

He was young, not much older than Sunset by her own guess, maybe by four or five years, but there was something… tired about him. Something that looked more worn than his age would suggest.

“Can I help you, officer?” Sunset asked quietly, feeling a faint tension in her limbs as he neared her.

For all that she tried to stay on the right side of the law, growing up a street rat of Canterlot and an orphan meant she was always a little wary of cops.

“Just had a couple of questions, ma’am,” he replied, putting on a friendly smile. “I’m really sorry to stop you in the middle of this, though, so how about I help you out with your laundry, and we can talk for a second?”

Sunset glanced down at the rather large pile of laundry in her basket, then over at the laundry room, and sighed. ‘Well, he could just be grilling me instead of compromising… I guess I can meet him halfway.’

“Sure,” Sunset replied, before narrowing her eyes. “But the laundry room has cameras… and I’m a lot more dangerous than I look, in case you get any ideas.”

The officer looked properly stricken for a moment, and Sunset felt a small pang of guilt. He seemed nice enough and the way he reacted to her small threat assured her that he was exactly who he seemed.

Just a young man trying to do his job.

“I guess… that’s fair, huh?” He said quietly. “Here, let me-” Reaching out, the officer picked up the laundry basket and balanced it against his hip. “Where to?”

“The kinda squat, gray building over there,” Sunset pointed out their destination as she started moving easier, now free of the laundry basket. “And… thanks, sorry if I came off as a bitch.”

“Don’t be,” he replied as he walked beside her, “it’s smart… ladies have it rough, especially if someone… if someone thinks they can take advantage of you.”

Sunset eyed the young officer as she rolled alongside him. There was a pain to his voice that she could almost feel… one that was very near to him, like a fresh wound.

“I’m Officer Armor, by the way,” he said after a moment, “Shining Armor, if you want.”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset said with a small smile. “Nice to meet you.”

As they reached the door to the laundry room, and Sunset drew out her key to unlock it, Shining Armor stopped and looked pensive for a moment. “Shimmer… I know that name.”

Turning the key and releasing the deadbolt, Sunset glanced over her shoulder. “It’s not exactly common, and I’m pretty sure I don’t know you.”

Officer Armor shook his head. “No, I mean I swear it’s crossed my desk.”

“Oh,” Sunset said, feeling a slight shiver go down her spine as she rolled into the laundry room, with Shining Armor following after her. “Weird.”

“I’ll think of it,” Armor said absently, waving his hand as he glanced around for an available washer. “This one fine?” He nodded down to one near the floor.

“Yeah,” Sunset replied as Shining Armor began shoveling armloads of clothes into the washer. “So what did you want to ask?”

“Just a couple of basic questions,” Armor said. “Rough and Stop have put in reports of increased incidents of vandalism lately, all in this area.”

“O-oh?” Sunset felt her mouth go dry suddenly. “I don’t really get out much, honestly… other than to school and the mall, y’know?”

“Yeah, I figured,” Shining said with a small laugh as he stood up, brushing the legs of his slacks as she shot her a charmingly cocked smile. “Uh, no offense.”

“None taken,” Sunset replied with a wry grin.

‘Good thing he seems like he’s actually nice,’ Sunset thought to herself as she retrieved the detergent and passed it over to him. ‘That smile is dangerously disarming.’

“But still, there’s been a lot of graffiti appearing on the walls lately,” Shining said as he tossed the detergent dust into the washer and shut it, then set the cycle and turning it on. “It’s only started happening in the past month, though, so it’s very recent, and I really just need to know if you’ve seen anything that might suggest who’s painting them around here.”

“Uh, ‘fraid not, like I said… I don’t get out much…” Sunset lied smoothly, “so what’s that mean, though?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow. “For us here at the complex, I mean.”

“Probably just that a graffiti artist moved in here or at least very close,” Armor said, taking a moment to stretch out before leaning against a bank of dryers. “My guess is they moved in within the last two months, probably less though… hobbyists and artists tend not to delay.”

“Don’t you mean criminals?” Sunset asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral.

To her surprise, Shining shrugged. “Honestly? Whoever is doing it is genuinely talented… I’ve seen the murals, hell, every cop at the station has. We’ve got a few on the walls and not just for evidence.” Sunset’s eyes widened at that. “And they’re not hurting anyone so, frankly, it’s not very high on our priorities.”

“Then why are you out here?” Sunset asked.

“This complex has a government contract,” Shining said, gesturing around to the place. “Low-income subsidies and state funding keep it running for the most part, and they’re required by law to report this stuff and get it cleaned up or they’ll risk losing their contract, tax exemptions, and funding.”

Sunset felt a hollow pit open up in her stomach. “O-oh… wow, I had no idea.”

“Yeah, it’s one of those rules,” Shining said with a chuckle waving his hand back and forth. “It’s really just to ensure that the apartment maintains a minimum level of safety and cleanliness, ‘broken windows’ and all that.”

“Sure… makes sense…” Sunset agreed in a softer voice.

“Hey, don’t worry too much,” Shining said, drawing a look from Sunset. He was looking down at her with a comforting smile. “It’s a minor infraction at this point, I doubt the city council will even bother with making the complex clean it up… it’s not gratuitous or offensive, so they’ll probably just get a slap on the wrist for letting it happen, no worries about losing your place.”

Sunset couldn’t help but feel guilty at how hard he was trying to comfort her given that it was her fault he was here in the first place. She resolved to keep her nightly painting excursions to the grounds surrounding the complex, rather than the complex itself.

“Y-Yeah… savvy,” Sunset said quietly. “Thanks.”

Shining Armor stared for a moment, blinking curiously, and Sunset raised an eyebrow questioningly at the sudden change in the atmosphere.

“Savvy…” Shining Armor muttered. Suddenly his eyes went wide and he snapped his fingers. “Shimmer! I knew I recognised that name! You were the one in that accident months ago near the docks! The one involving… ugh… what was her name?!”

Sunset backed up in surprise at the sudden outburst, her wheels squeaking against the linoleum tile floor. “Uhm… I…”

Her voice seemed to snap Shining back to reality, and he stared for a moment before grimacing to himself. “Ah… crap, sorry about that… it’s just that I’ve been trying to remember details about that case forever, I was the reporting officer at the hospital.”

“Oh,” Sunset relaxed a little, but still eyed him cautiously. “W-well, can’t you just look it up?”

Shining smiled wearily. “Sure, if I remembered the case number… or the names… but I just handed in the statements and the system is organised by ‘processing date’ not when the crime or accident actually took place so…”

“Aha, that sounds… dumb,” Sunset said with a small laugh. “Like, a really bad system, actually.”

“You’re not wrong,” Shining laughed along with her. “B-but, ugh… what was her name!?”

“Gilda?” Sunset ventured, and Shining snapped his fingers again.

“Grimfeather!” Shining practically shouted, clapping his hands together. “Gilda Grimfeather! That was it!”

Sunset reeled back at his abrupt enthusiasm and was suddenly wondering if she’d made a mistake in filling in the gap of his memory.

“And you’re the girl she flew for,” Shining said, his face practically beaming.

Sunset felt her heart hitch and for the second time that day her mouth went dry as a thick, weighty silence filled the room. Shining’s elated expression faded at the look of horror on Sunset’s face as she backed away from him, her hands shaking as she wheeled away and towards the door.

“Y-you’re… what are you-... that’s crazy!” Sunset laughed a little too loudly as she pulled back.

“Wait, I’m sorry I-!” Shining started Sunset flailed behind her for the door handle. “Please! Please wait! I didn’t mean to scare you! I need your help!”

Sunset stopped for a moment, pushing the panic back and taking a good look at the police officer in front of her. He was young, true, and tired-looked… exhausted really. There was a weight to his limbs that Sunset was all too familiar with.

But his eyes were the most telling.

His eyes were wide and desperate, and she could see him warring with himself between trying to get closer to her and pulling back for fear of chasing her away. He wasn’t lying, she didn’t need an Element of Harmony to tell her that. This man, this officer… everything about him seemed genuine, from his pleas to his desire not to frighten her.

For lack of a better term: he seemed like a good man.

“How did you know?” Sunset asked softly. “About… y’know…”

Shining Armor looked relieved as she pulled her hand from the handle and met his eyes. “About Miss Grimfeather flying? There was a glimpse of her, with wings, touching down in the ER lot at Canterlot General, I happened to see it moments after it happened or I would have thought it was some kind of video doctoring.”

“You were the one who took Gilda’s statement, I guess?”

“Mhm,” Armor nodded, chuckling softly. “It was a weird night, to say the least, and when I told my wife the story about you two, minus the wings, she practically went into diabetic shock, she’s a real romantic.”

“So… why were you trying to remember our case?” Sunset asked, almost afraid of the answer. “Did… did something happen?”

“You could say that,” Shining said in a strained voice; the frost in it sent a chill down Sunset’s spine. “When I spoke to Miss Grimfeather about the wings she talked about them like she was as freaked out as I was… and the way she talked made it seem like they weren’t even from her, but from you.” Shining sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “She said you were ‘special’.”

Sunset grimaced. “Special isn’t the word I’d use… cursed, maybe?”

“I’m starting to believe in that sort of thing, you know,” Shining said, his expression turning thin-lipped as he sighed. “When I saw Miss Grimfeather on that video it was one of those things… those unexplainable things that make the world seem huge but… incredible, I suppose.”

“My guess is that something changed?” Sunset asked quietly.

Shining didn’t respond at first, looking thoughtful as he leaned against the bank of mostly still dryers while the washing machine thumped and groaned away behind him and the cloying scent of detergents filled the air like a thick fog. If Sunset had to guess she would have said he looked… frightened; not in the manner of someone who wants to run away, but more like someone who knows what’s coming, who knows what they’re going to see, and knows just as firmly that they will not be able to avoid it.

“Miss Shimmer?” Shining’s voice was a soft, almost delicate thing. “I’m not going to pretend I know what I saw that night, and even after that I still don’t know if I believe what I saw, so I have to ask: Is magic… is it really real?”

“What do you want me to say, Officer Armor?” Sunset replied gently, “because I guarantee that there’s an answer that will make you feel better and one that won’t.”

“Which one is true?” Shining asked in a wry, weary voice.

Sunset’s grin was as arid as the Badlands of her home dimension. “The one that won’t, as is usually the case I find.”

“My little sister is involved, so I need to know… please,” Shining pleaded. “Please tell me.”

Sighing, Sunset ran her hands through her hair, grimacing as it tangled in the red and gold knots. ‘Memo to me: take a goddamn shower.’

“I have company on the way,” Sunset said after a moment, “so I can’t get into any hours-long deconstructions of the universe and our place in it, savvy?” Shining opened his mouth to protest but Sunset kept speaking through it. “But… if you want to come by tomorrow night… we can talk, okay?”

Shining’s face brightened. “Tomorrow night, I can do that… do you mind if I bring my wife? She’ll want to know and I… well, let’s be honest, I probably won’t be able to explain back to her whatever it is you explain to me.”

‘Gilda probably won’t be super happy but...’ Sunset mulled it over for a moment before shrugging. “Sure, go ahead, I’ll smooth things over with my girlfriend, it’s just… she doesn’t warm up to people easily.”

“Yourself not included?” Shining asked with a small laugh.

“Myself not included,” Sunset agreed with a smile, “but she’s gay as hell and I can pout with the best of’em, so that’s probably not a fair measure.”

“Fair enough,” Shining said, chuckling. “So… tomorrow night, we’ll be there.”

Sunset nodded. “We’re flat fourteen near the entrance lot, bring an open mind because, believe me, this is gonna get weird.”

“It already has,” Shining replied, his face falling. After a moment, though, he gave Sunset a small tip of his police cap. “Have a good rest of your day, then, Miss Shimmer.”

“Stay safe, Officer,” Sunset replied, wheeling out of the way of the door with a grin as she sketched a mock salute with her fingers.

Sunset’s smile faded as Officer Armor passed by her and left the laundry room. She couldn’t let him know how badly he had shaken her; the tail end of that conversation had left Sunset feeling like she was about to vomit. Someone knew about her and her magic… no, not just someone, a police officer. The very real possibility that had always lurked in the back of Sunset’s mind of being discovered by this world’s government agencies and then being dragged out of bed to some underground torture chamber in the night suddenly felt terribly close.

However ‘good’ the young man had seemed at first glance Sunset couldn’t let herself forget what his badge represented. He had doubtless sworn an oath to uphold the laws of this world, just like any Royal Guardspony of Canterlot would uphold theirs, and if he was ordered to take her then…

Sunset bit her lip as she banished the thoughts from her mind. He had come to her for a reason… his sister was wrapped up in some kind of magic and the only thing of any note happening in Canterlot magic-wise was the matter with Storm King which meant one of two things.

One: that Officer Armor’s sister was somehow related to the matter at hand.

Or two: there was a second, entirely separate magical catastrophe on the horizon.

“Ugh…” Sunset groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I hate to say this but I hope his sister is Storm-adjacent because I don’t think my heart can take another stupid magical mess right now.”

Either way, if he needed her help then that meant she was safe for now. In Sunset’s experience, the moral fiber of human beings proved to be very flexible so long as they wanted or needed something from you, and she intended to exploit that as far as she needed to if it meant keeping herself, and Gilda, safe.

Sunset’s hand drifted unconsciously up to the pair of pins in her hair.

She would do anything to keep Gilda safe.

After shooting a quick text to Gilda, updating her on the incoming company for that evening, Sunset turned and rolled out of the laundry room. The washers in their complex weren’t particularly quick and she still had a couple of hours before she would need to swap them out. Besides, Gilda would be back by then and they could make quick work of the matter together.

Sunset found herself blushing inexplicably, unable to ignore the warmth that blossomed in her heart at the simple notion of something as small as sharing little domestic chores with Gilda. Chatting while they swapped laundry, shopping for groceries together, tidying up their shared apartment…

Somehow it made the promises they’d made to one another feel more… substantial. It made them feel more real.

Tugging her jacket closer around her against the chill of the late winter air, Sunset fitted her key to the lock of the flat and let herself back in, humming in delight at the warmth that flooded out to greet her as she rushed in and turned to shut the door quickly. Sunset was, in a word, miserly when it came to warmth.

“Now what…” Sunset muttered to herself before a thought struck her.

Glancing over, Sunset hissed out an oath as she realised she’d left her rune-carving tools just laying out on the table. Thanking her lucky stars Gilda hadn’t come home early, Sunset rolled quickly over, stopping only to snap up her bag and heave it onto her lap as she rolled up to the edge of the table and began picking up after herself.

The carving needle and associated tools went into their places on a roll of fabric that had been part of Twilight’s gift to her; it was a simple roll of leather procured from a Griffon merchant, the hide was soft and pliable, and had been stitched and woven with traditional Griffon designs that, on this world, might have been confused for Coltic. There were small belts and straps that tied everything down, and once it was all in its place, Sunset rolled the whole bundle up, tied it off, and tossed it into the bag as she carefully cleaned the table of gem dust.

Just in time, as it happened, since Sunset had barely managed to toss her duffle bag under the table before the sound of the lock turning reached her ears and the door swung open, carrying a cold wind and the scent of smoke, engine oil, and sweat.

The scent of Gilda.

Even with the stress of her quick cleanup, Sunset couldn’t keep the smile off of her face as she turned, beaming as Gilda knocked the door shut with her heel and smiled back.

“Heya, Sunshine,” Gilda said with a smirk. “How’s the day been?”

“Nope,” Sunset replied, shaking her head and still smiling.

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “Nope?”

“Uh-uh,” Sunset confirmed. “That’s not what you do first.”

Grinning, Gilda tossed her jacket onto the coat rack. “Oh yeah? Well, what should I do first, huh?”

A delicate moue of disappointment curled over Sunset’s features as she glared up at Gilda from where she sat. Gilda grinned down at her for the whole minute that her willpower lasted before she swept forward and wrapped her arms around Sunset.

One arm went around her back and the other went under her as Sunset’s arms curled around Gilda’s neck and shoulders as the taller girl lifted Sunset up. Sunset let out a laugh as Gilda pulled her close, nuzzling her cheek and neck before finding Sunset’s lips with her own and pressing into a warm, insistent kiss.

Sunset found her hands tangling into her favorite grip of Gilda’s hair, letting out a gentle hum of delight as their tongues met and Sunset tasted the familiar spice that was Gilda, which combined with the overwhelmingly comforting scent and the feeling of Gilda’s hands on her to bring Sunset the feeling of peace that always eluded her anywhere else but in Gilda’s arms.

Gilda laughed as she pulled away, and her smile was radiant. Sunset felt her heart hitch and catch in her throat as she saw her favorite sight in the world, the way Gilda’s smile swept up from the curve of her full lips to the bright edges of her golden eyes.

To Sunset it was like they lit up the whole world.

She had about half a second to appreciate the sight before Gilda tossed her unceremoniously onto the bed, earning a strangled squawk of surprise from Sunset as she flailed around for another moment before Gilda joined her, tossing her sweater aside, leaving only her loose, slightly sweaty, white cotton tank-top on as she wrapped herself around Sunset, nuzzling and nipping at the redhead’s neck and shoulders as Sunset cackled, swatting at Gilda whose fingers had found the one infuriatingly ticklish spot on Sunset’s entire body.

“Sto~p!” Sunset cried, gasping for breath as Gilda combined her assault of tickling and kissing. “Gilda~!”

Obeying her girlfriend’s desperate pleas, Gilda levered herself up until she was straddling and looking down at Sunset, her arms like dark pillars on either side of Sunset’s head.

Sunset was practically chewing on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from losing her scrunchy grimace and just grinning idiotically up Gilda.

“Gonna smile for me, Sunflower?” Gilda asked smugly.

“N-No,” Sunset bit the words out, and Gilda’s self-satisfied grin only widened. “Shut up!”

“I didn’t say nothin’,” Gilda replied, biting her lower lip to keep from laughing.

“You were thinking it!” Sunset accused, a slight shake starting to reach her limbs as the effort of keeping her cool pressed down on her.

She would not be the first to lose it. She would not, she would not, she would not, she would-

A tiny snort escaped from Sunset, and Gilda’s eyes widened.

“Oh fuck it,” Sunset croaked before a full wave of laughter, complete with snorts and gasps of air broke from her.

Gilda pumped a fist as she cracked up laughing and flopped onto her side to wrap herself around Sunset who was laughing the silent laugh of the totally breathless. Gilda grinned widely, hugging Sunset close as Sunset wrapped her arms around Gilda, her fingers sliding under the soft cloth of Gilda’s shirt to trail along the definition of her back.

As the giggle-fit subsided, Sunset nestled deeper into Gilda's embrace, feeling the overwhelming warmth of Gilda’s presence fill her.

“I love you to the ends of the earth, Gil” Sunset mumbled, her face still buried against Gilda’s collar, and Gilda glanced down to see Sunset had closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Gilda’s waist. “To the ends of the earth and across the stars… okay?”

Smiling a little uncertainly at Sunset’s suddenly serious tone, Gilda brushed her lips against Sunset’s forehead. “Yeah, I ain’t ever gonna stop lovin’ you either, Sunshine… not in million years.”

“I know,” Sunset replied, her own smile widening as she realised she really meant it. “I just… I wanted to say it… even if it sounds dramatic and dumb I… I just love you so much.”

“If tellin’ me you love me is dramatic’n dumb, Sunflower,” Gilda replied with a chuckle, “then we can be dramatic’n dumb together, savvy?”

“So long as we’re together,” Sunset replied. “I’ll always be happy, Gil.”

“Yeah,” Gilda smiled softly down at Sunset. “Just like we promised, right?”

“Just like we promised,” Sunset agreed, smiling. “Together forever.”

A slow comfortable silence descended over the pair of them as Sunset’s breathing evened out to an easy, almost slumbering cadence. Gilda stroked up and down Sunset’s back in slow motions as she stared down at the most important piece of her entire world.

In the span of a second and without warning Gilda felt something like a vice tighten around her heart as that familiar terror sunk its jaws into her throat again out of nowhere: The fear of losing Sunset. The heart-aching fear of waking up one day and finding the other side of her bed empty of Sunset’s warmth was stabbed through Gilda like a shard of cold metal, fixed and lodged inside her somewhere and suddenly every movement and every breath was agony.

“You okay?” Sunset asked quietly, glancing up at Gilda.

Gilda opened her mouth to answer her. To reassure Sunset that she was fine, that it was nothing, that she was just… fine…

Her throat closed around her words. A grip like iron clasped hard and cruel in Gilda’s gut and it felt like every single one of her muscles was tensing at once, as if someone had fixed an electric current to her entire body. Her whole body began trembling, and Sunset’s eyes widened in horror as Gilda started to choke.

“Gil?!”

Intellectually, Gilda knew she wasn’t… she knew it. There was nothing in her throat, and nothing stopping her from breathing.

She couldn’t breathe.

Terror lit and spread like a fire in Gilda’s body as her vision swam, narrowing and tightening until it was like she was staring through a pinhole. What little air reached her lungs did so in short, staccato bursts.

“Ssh, it’s okay,” Sunset cooed, clambering up until she was holding Gilda’s head to her breast and gently stroking her cheek, “It’s okay… everything’s fine… you’re just fine…”

It wasn’t the words. Sunset could have been reciting the alphabet or quoting slasher flicks for all the words meant. No, it was her tone, Sunset’s calming tone seeped through the walls of panic that had ratcheted in around Gilda’s mind. It wasn’t immediate but as the minutes passed, ticking away as Sunset whispered meaningless calming words and gave gentle touches to remind Gilda of her presence, Gilda began to calm. Slowly, painfully slowly, Gilda began to regain control of her body.

Everything ached.

Everything was sore.

Gilda breathed slowly and heavily, panting as if she’d just finished running a mile uphill. Cold sweat soaked through her clothes as she braced herself against Sunset, taking in the scent of lilacs and cherries.

“Feeling better?” Sunset’s voice cut through the haze as Gilda shakily pushed herself up until she was sitting.

For a moment, Gilda just stared forward and breathed.

“W-What…” Gilda choked out before pressing her hands into her face. “What th’fuck was that?!”

“It was a panic attack,” Sunset replied, sidling over to lean against Gilda’s side. “I… I thought you were under attack at first, like someone was using magic but…”

“A… fuckin’ what?” Gilda stammered, pulling her hands away and staring down at the floor as her body tensed. “That’s a fuckin’ panic attack?!”

“Mhm,” Sunset nodded as she wrapped her arms around Gilda’s waist. “They’re pretty awful, huh? I still get them sometimes, too. And back when Anon-A-Miss was ruining my life and before I’d met you… Tartarus, even afterward for a long while… I’d get them every morning at just the thought of going to school and facing all that abuse for an entire day.” Sighing, Sunset leaned against Gilda. “It’s… it’s not inaccurate to say that the only reason I made it out of the door some mornings was the thought of seeing you, Gil.”

Gilda smiled faintly, her cheeks coloring as she leaned into Sunset’s touch.

“C’mon, Sunshine,” Gilda said with a small laugh, “something like that wasn’t gonna stop ya.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Gil,” Sunset replied, tightening her grip around Gilda’s waist. “There was a little window of time where you… you were the only bright spot in my whole life… without you, it would have all just been dark.”

Frowning, Gilda reached up to stroke her fingers across Sunset’s cheek. “Hey, that ain’t fair… y’better than that.”

“Maybe now,” Sunset said quietly. “But back then? A year ago I wouldn’t have cared about being alone because I was a callous bitch… after the Formal though? After actually learning how good it felt to have people who care about me? Who love me?” Sunset shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. “I can’t even picture it, babe… it’s like going from being in front of a warm fire to the cold streets… yeah maybe I was used to it once but now? Not so much…”

Gilda stared down at Sunset whose eyes had taken on a distant look as she stared at the far end of the apartment. Gilda knew that’s not what she was seeing though, she knew that Sunset was seeing the old her, the person who was perfectly fine ‘being in the cold’ as she had put it.

“So… y’had panic attacks huh?” Gilda asked, quietly changing the subject, earning her a grateful glance from Sunset, who nodded. “Guess I kinda knew that but… I didn’t know what it meant, savvy?”

“It’s not something you can just describe to another person, yeah,” Sunset answered. “I’ve heard a lot of people say it feels like you’re dying… but for me, it was like… being crushed and deafened and overwhelmed all at once and… and…”

“Sunshine?”

“Written’s Quill, Gil, when it got really bad a part of me prayed it would end,” Sunset clenched her eyes shut as Gilda went rigid in her arms, and tears leaked out and down her cheeks.

Gilda pulled away, her hands settling softly on Sunset’s cheeks as she stared into those painfully bright sky-blue eyes she loved so much. “Why… why didn’t you say anything?” Gilda croaked. “I coulda… I’da… I dunno… done something, I just…”

“Because I’m an ass,” Sunset replied tearfully. “Because I didn’t know how to talk about it… I still don’t… I’m just… I’m not good at this stuff, Gil… and I’m not healthy, I know that…”

Leaning in, Gilda slowly pressed her lips to Sunset’s as she brushed her thumb across the soft amber cheek of her girlfriend, wiping away the tears that were still trickling down. Sunset shuddered as she melted into Gilda’s affection and nestled closer to the taller girl.

“I love you, Sunshine,” Gilda whispered as they pulled apart. “And I ain’t ever lettin’ you go, a’right? So just… talk t’me, y’know? I can listen, even if I ain’t much help…”

“I know…” Sunset said quietly as a stone of guilt settled hard in her gut. Suddenly the tiny pins in her hair were like lead weights dragging her head down.

“H-Hey… Gil?” Sunset started in a quiet voice, one hand trailing up to tangle into her hair. “I…”

A knock came at the flat door and both girls jumped. The silence had been so heavy in the room that the simple noise had been almost deafening. After a moment, though, Gilda stood, smiling down at Sunset as she brushed her knuckles gently over Sunset’s lips.

“Hold that thought, Sunflower,” Gilda said with a small laugh as she walked over to the door.

Swinging it wide, and shivering a little at the influx of cold air, Gilda grinned at the two older women who stood on the other side of the threshold.

“Hey aunties,” Gilda said with a smirk, stepping back to let Celestia and Luna both come in out of the cold. Gilda gave both of them a quick hug, still mindful and a bit self-conscious about how sweaty she was. “C’mon in… still gotta tell us what this is all about, yeah?”

“Yes, hopefully we aren’t intruding,” Celestia replied with a smile.

“Never,” Sunset said with a grin as Luna stepped in to wrap Sunset in a tight hug. “How are things, Aunt Luna?”

“Quite good,” Luna replied, smirking as she nudged Celestia. “Though we’re still missing someone who was supposed to be meeting us here.”

Gilda and Sunset both raised an eyebrow as Celestia rolled her eyes. “Hardly missing, sister,” Celestia replied before glancing at the open door. “You’re lurking again. Enough with the dramatics, just come in out of the cold will you?”

A scoff sounded from outside the doorway, drawing Gilda’s eye as a slender, feminine shape seemingly peeled out of the shadows by the door. Gilda let out a low whistle as the dark-skinned woman stopped in front of the door. She was tall, statuesque really, and her skin was the shade of coal, while her hair was a pale, sea-storm green. She wore a simple black jacket and gloves, over dark jeans.

Most curiously, in her right hand, she gripped a solid black cane that she leaned on heavily, and her fluid movements were interrupted by a slight jerk whenever she moved her left leg, which seemed uncommonly stiff.

“Everyone,” Celestia began as she stepped up to the door. “I’d like you to meet my very good friend, Chrysalis.”

“Ex-girlfriend, you mean, and one I could never quite hide from,” Chrysalis said in a voice dripping with wry, acerbic humor. “My door is still open by the way, my dear… as is my bed.”

Celestia flushed crimson and swatted at Chrysalis’s arm. “Stop that, you’re here for a reason, Chryssi.”

“Natch, may I come in?” Chrysalis asked, turning to Gilda and nodding inwards. “The cold does absolutely nothing for my leg.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Gilda stepped out of the way, holding out a hand to help her in.

Chrysalis glanced down at her hand in amusement. “I may walk with a cane but I’m still a special operations agent, I’m not some delicate damsel.”

“More like an unkillable cockroach,” Luna said with a smirk as Chrysalis stepped the rest of the way in, knocking the door closed with the butt of her cane.

“Oh, you wound me, Lunatic,” Chrysalis said with a mock pout. “I know you secretly pine for me, though.”

Luna stuck out her tongue.

“Is that an offer, Lulu?” Chrysalis asked in a low, husky tone, giving her eyebrows an exaggerated wiggle.

Slowly, Luna withdrew her tongue back into her mouth and grimaced. “You’re truly a vile thing, you know that Chryssi?”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Woona,” Chrysalis replied before moving over to Celestia’s side.

All of a sudden the acid and mockery was gone from the dark-skinned woman’s expression and even from her posture as she smiled at Celestia and opened her arms. Without a word, Celestia stepped in to pull Chrysalis close, and Sunset and Gilda could both see their Principal’s hands grip tightly around the mysterious woman.

“I’ve missed you so much, Tia,” Chrysalis whispered softly, though not softly enough to avoid being heard. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“And you, Chryssi, how was Marescow?” Celestia asked, a touch of concern entering her eyes.

“Classified, as you well know,” Chrysalis replied with a small smile. “But I’m touched that you care.”

“I’ll always care, Chryssi,” Celestia said firmly. “Just like I’ll always…”

Chrysalis interrupted Celestia’s words with a single dark finger over her lips. “Later, you were right, I am here for a reason.” Turning to Sunset and Gilda, Chrysalis smiled down at the pair of girls. “Well, Tia was right about one thing; you two are just the most adorable pair.”

Sunset and Gilda both shared a blush as Sunset spoke up. “Uhm, thanks? So… who are you exactly?”

“Chrysalis Hive,” she extended her hand, shaking both Gilda and Sunset’s hands in turn. “Former delinquent, hacker, and reprobate turned white hat, and I’m here to do you both a very big favor.”

“What’s the catch?” Gilda asked, raising an eyebrow as she moved closer to Sunset and fixed a suspicious look on Chrysalis.

The ebon-skinned woman smirked. “Mm, smart girl… no catch this time though, I’m not doing this as a favor wholly to you… I’m doing it for Celestia, so here.”

Chrysalis pulled a thick manila folder from her jacket and passed it over to Sunset, who took it. Opening it up, Sunset pulled out a few of the papers to examine them, and after a moment her eyes widened considerably.

Birth certificate… passport… driver’s license… insurance cards… social security card, and even school records from primary onward.

Sunset felt the breath catch in her throat as she realised that, in her hands, she was holding the proof of her own existence in this world. A moment ago she had been a ghost in the system… an anomaly that, so far as Canterlot was concerned, didn’t exist outside of a few well-forged school identity documents.

These were no cheap forgeries, though. The ink and paper were right… the stamps and even the signatures all bore the look of total authenticity and Sunset had a sneaking suspicion, from how Celestia and Luna had spoken about Miss Hive, that everything she was looking at was real.

“Hey, wouldja lookit that,” Gilda said with a small smile. “Yer a real girl now, Sunshine.”

Sunset’s hands started to shake as she pulled the rest of the papers free and stared down at them and, quite without warning, tears starting trickling down her cheeks.

“H-Hey, what’s wrong?” Gilda asked, her eyes widening at the sudden waterworks.

“I’m real…” Sunset whispered as she turned to Gilda with a radiant smile. “Look! I’m really real!”

Gilda pulled back as Sunset held the papers up to her for all the world like a child who had just gotten their first All-A’s report card.

“I can finally get a job!” Sunset practically sobbed as she pulled back the papers to hug them to her chest. “I can get medicine and therapy, and… and… I can exist! Gilda… we can get married!”

Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis’ eyebrows scooted upwards at that, and Gilda’s jaw dropped slack. The first three were simply surprised, but Gilda…

‘How the fuck didn’t I think’a that?’ Gilda stared into Sunset’s eyes and at that moment realised exactly what those papers really meant to both of them.

Those papers represented more than just the fact that Sunset now existed in some abstract database. The papers in Sunset’s hands meant that now the two of them had a future together.

“Married? That’s quite a step,” Chrysalis said with a grin, “mazel tov.”

“Indeed, congratulations,” Luna said with a warm smile. “I have only the best hopes for the both of you.”

“Agreed,” Celestia chimed in, matching her sister’s grin.

“I rushed them as much as I could,” Chrysalis said with a slightly apologetic grin, “but this isn’t television, these kinds of papers take time if you want them done right, and those will pass any inspection or background check you care to try.”

Sunset shook her head. “No, I couldn’t even imagine complaining… you’ve given me a whole life to look forward to.”

“Yeah well, after Celery here told me about your accident,” Chrysalis gestured to Sunset’s legs with her cane, “I could hardly say no, could I?”

“You in an accident too?” Gilda asked. “Or was it y’work?”

Sunset swatted Gilda on the chest. “Babe! Rude!”

Celestia grimaced as Luna let out a barking laugh and Chrysalis just chuckled. “No, actually, this hobble of mine is entirely thanks to your beloved Principal herself.”

“W-what?” Sunset snapped her eyes away from Gilda to stare at the three women in front of her. “How?!”

“I’d… really rather not-” Celestia began, looking uncomfortable, but Chrysalis just grinned widely and slung an arm around her shoulder.

“Oh don’t be shy, lover!” Chrysalis said, cackling, while Luna looked in obvious glee. “Tell your beloved students how their prim and proper Principal yeeted me into a wall so hard it snapped my leg in three places!”

Sunset and Gilda both stared slack-jawed at Celestia who groaned and covered her face in her hands. Luna busted up laughing as Chrysalis stared hard at Celestia with the worst sort of shit-eating grin on her face. It took several moments of silence, broken up by Luna’s barely controlled giggles before Celestia let out a breath and glanced up to glare at Chrysalis.

“For the last time, Chryssi,” Celestia began, “I did not yeet you into the wall, it was a proper judo shoulder throw, and secondly you had a gun pulled on Luna.”

“Okay wait,” Sunset held up both hands. “First of all what? Second of all WHAT?!”

“Third’ed,” Gilda piped up, raising a hand. “I gotta hear that story.”

Celestia rolled her eyes and gestured to Chrysalis and chuckled and nodded.

“All three of us attended Canterlot University, us two a year ahead of Luna naturally, and back then my preferences in romantic partner weren’t as… accepted as they are today.” Chrysalis began, leaning against the wall and hooking her cane over her shoulder. “So you can imagine I was caught a little off-guard when I discovered I had the attention of the local ten-out-of-ten.”

“Celestia always was the popular one,” Luna remarked wryly.

“We both coped with our family tragedy in different ways, Lu,” Celestia said quietly. “I drowned myself in social interaction, you went the opposite direction.”

“Anyway…” Chrysalis said, reclaiming her place in the conversation. “I made a point of openly flirting with girls in our comp-sci class, mostly to make them uncomfortable because, and I can’t stress this enough, I was kind of a bitch.”

“It was the first time a girl had been so openly obvious with me and…” Celestia blushed heavily.

“And so when I opened up with both barrels on Tia here,” Chrysalis gestured to the Principal, “imagine my surprise she went crimson and started stammering like a schoolgirl in front of her crush instead of acting disgusted.”

“She wouldn’t leave Celestia alone after that,” Luna groaned. “And it only got worse when they started actually dating.”

“Neither of us had been in a relationship before,” Chrysalis admitted, shrugging. “I played the cool, worldly girl, but I was winging it, and Celestia was the first genuine attention I’d ever gotten so…”

“And Chryssi was the first time I’d ever felt… validated,” Celestia said quietly. “I felt whole suddenly, but…”

“Neither of them were healthy,” Luna said, rolling her eyes. “Chrysalis was controlling and stalked Celestia twenty-four-seven, Celestia was a depressed mess anytime she wasn’t with Chrysalis and was going out at all hours to see her… I had just gotten my life back on track, too, so I was trying to get Celestia to see what was happening.”

“It all culminated in Luna and I getting into a fight in their living room…” Chrysalis said, smirking.

“Stay away from my sister.”

Luna stared daggers at Chrysalis who had walked into their home in Whitetail. The young woman was beautiful, even Luna had to acknowledge that, but she was also poison… and she was killing Celestia even if neither of them saw or acknowledged it. Chrysalis had a chokehold on Celestia’s whole life, and Celestia seemed utterly content to leave it like that.

Luna was not of the same opinion.

“Beg pardon?” Chrysalis asked all-too-innocently, her lips curling into a nasty smile that didn’t even enter the same time zone as her eyes.

“You heard me,” Luna hissed, “get out of our house and stay the fuck away from my sister, or I’ll-”

“Or you’ll what?” Chrysalis bit back, taking several steps forward until she was practically nose-to-nose with the younger Sonen sister. “Celestia is my girlfriend, and you can’t give me orders, Woona.”

Luna’s face twisted into an angry snarl. “You’re a monster,” she spat, “and I won’t watch you hurt my sister any more than you already have.”

“How dare you,” Chrysalis said in a low, acidic tone. “I’ve never laid a hand on her.”

“No, of course not,” Luna sneered. “You’ve just hounded her every hour of the day, cut her off from her friends, monopolized all of her time, had her out at all hours to the point that she comes home looking strung out.”

Chrysalis smiled venomously. “I suppose you’d know exactly what that looks like, wouldn’t you, Lunatic? That is what they called you back then, right?”

The color drained from Luna’s face as her body went rigid and eyes widened. Her body trembled, part in memory and part in rage.

“What’s wrong?” Chrysalis simpered. “Didn’t think I had the ability to learn a~ll about you? You’ve got a lot of nerve lecturing me considering how far you dragged Tia down only for her to pull your ass out of your own dumpster fire.”

“That was different,” Luna snarled. “And this time I’m going to protect her.”

Luna’s hand snapped out and the switchblade she’d been concealing snapped out along with it. The gleaming steel blade still shone with polish along with the wood-inlaid mother-of-pearl handle. It was a beautiful tool, but it had clearly also seen use, and the comfortable manner with which Luna gripped the weapon suggested she was more than skilled in that use.

“You’re going to try and take my Sun away from me with a knife?” Chrysalis spat. “Try again.”

Chrysalis swung her hand around her back and pulled out a matte-black Beretta M9. Reliable, sturdy, and loaded, Chrysalis smirked at the sudden look of fear on Luna’s face as she lifted the gun, not quite pointing it at Luna but making the threat all the same.

“Blah, blah, knife to a gunfight, blah,” Chrysalis said mockingly and with obvious relish as she gestured with the pistol. “So, still going to ‘protect her’?”

“Chryssi?”

This time it was Chrysalis’s turn to feel a stab of horror as an icy chill sluiced down her spine. Glancing over Luna’s shoulder, Chrysalis’ eyes widened as Celestia came down the stairs. There were bags under her eyes and her normally vibrant hair hung lank and pale over her sallow skin. For a moment Chrysalis saw it, she saw precisely what it was that Luna was talking about. She saw the beautiful young woman she’d fallen in love with hurting.

Forgetting the lethal firearm in her hand for a moment, Chrysalis started to raise her arm. “C-Cel-”

Celestia’s eyes widened as they fixed on the gun, the gun that was pointed almost directly at her sister who was brandishing her old knife. Instinct took over, and all of that time spent taking self-defense classes both in high school and college roared to the forefront of her mind.

Charging someone with a gun was stupid, everyone knew that and every self-defense course that Celestia had ever taken hammered home that the threat of a gun was not to be treated lightly.

None of that mattered because once again her sister was in danger, the only family that Celestia had left in the world was in danger, and all she could think of was to protect her.

In an instant, Celestia had surged down the stairs, through the archway dividing the living room from the dining room, and had an iron-hard grip on Chrysalis’ arm as she jerked the dark-skinned girl forward, setting her off-balance and wrenching control of her center of gravity away from her. Adrenaline surged through her veins like liquid lightning as she arched and levered Chrysalis ass-over-teakettle-

-less than two feet directly into the wall behind Celestia.

“I hit leg first, unfortunately,” Chrysalis said with a wry smile as she gestured down at the mentioned limb. “And the breaks were not clean, which meant I was in your position, Miss Shimmer, for a good while; stuck in a hospital bed and trying to digest the news that I would never walk properly again, even if my leg healed in the best possible circumstances.”

“I felt awful about it, I barely left her side the whole time,” Celestia said quietly. “The safety on your gun wasn’t even off.”

Chrysalis turned to Celestia and walked up to her, leaning heavily on the cane with one hand and caressing Celestia’s cheek with the other.

“You didn’t know that, Tia, you protected your sister,” Chrysalis said in a soft voice. “I made a crap choice and deserved what I got, I’m just glad I learned my lesson and got to keep you as a friend, if not… you know.”

“Even back then I didn’t think you deserved to be crippled, Chryssi,” Luna insisted, her mocking humor lessened as she put a hand on Chrysalis’ shoulder before turning to her sister. “But yes, I still agree that you reacted appropriately, Tia, as we’ve both said many times.”

“That’s why you acted so off-puttingly the day of my accident,” Sunset said suddenly, looking up at Celestia with wide eyes, “when you called me into your office that afternoon to talk about how I was spending so much time with Gilda!”

“I saw too much of myself in you, Sunset,” Celestia admitted. “And not a little bit of Chrysalis in Gilda… I learned the hard way that infatuation, even real and genuine love, can lead you to a dark place if you don’t keep your head on straight.” Sighing, Celestia turned to Gilda. “But, belated as it is, I do owe you an apology, Gilda. I suspect I was… projecting my own fears onto you two.”

“As near as I can tell,” Chrysalis said, meeting Gilda’s eyes, “Miss Grimfeather is a far better person now than I ever was.”

“Nice of ya t’say,” Gilda remarked, “dunno if I agree, though.”

“Respect your elders, girl,” Chrysalis sneered playfully. “I’ve seen a lot of crap in my life so believe me when I say that you? You’re good people.”

Gilda let a small smile etch slowly over her face.

Luna clapped her hands together as she stepped back. “Now, how about we celebrate! I say we go out and get dinner, on us!”

“On me,” Chrysalis said, gesturing with her cane. “I’ve got a lot of back pay to pick up so I might as well.”

Sunset glanced over at Gilda who was grinning back at her. The pins felt a little less heavy… maybe… maybe they could wait.

“Sounds good to me,” Sunset replied with a smile.

The rumble of the engine in Zee’s E-Type sent a familiar thrum through Twilight’s bones as she leaned against Zee’s shoulder from the passenger seat. It had been far too long since they’d gone on a drive in the car, Zee had been avoiding its use ever since the debacle at Twilight’s parents’ house. The car, she reasoned, was too recognizable, and with Twilight’s brother being a cop it meant that driving it around would be like waving a chequered flag at the local police department.

Now, though, with the report on Twilight closed and all things set into their proper place, legally speaking, Zee was once again free to untarp her ride.

The inline straight six engine rumbled and growled like the vehicle’s namesake, the Jaguar, and the sound of it was quickly becoming synonymous in Twilight’s mind with Zee herself. Even while it was tarped for weeks, Twilight often found Zee underneath it, tinkering away, improving, or fixing bits of it. That meant that the house was oftentimes filled with the sound of the engine going on and off or just running at idle.

One of Twilight’s favorite recent memories was, in fact, the day she had come back from Crystal Prep in an emotional mess after dealing with her sister-in-law, Zee had wrapped Twilight up in her arms and taken her out into the garage. They’d sat there in the car for hours, the engine idling with its comforting grumble, with the garage cracked open to allow the exhaust to filter out and the fresh winter air to filter in as they listened to the classic rock station on the old radio.

Twilight had rested against Zee’s shoulder then, as she did now as they cruised North up the freeway.

A stone of guilt still stuck in Twilight’s gut at the thought of what had happened at school earlier that day, though: the accusations, the shouting, and the anger… it had all felt right at the time, it had all felt justified. It had felt righteous.

And then Twilight had gotten home and everything she had said had fallen on her like a set of hundred-pound weights.

Cadence hadn’t just been her babysitter and she wasn’t just her sister-in-law. Cadence had been the closest thing to a real big sister that Twilight had ever had. It had been Cadence who had taken the time to get to know her, to play with her, to entertain the precocious and sullen child she had been growing up as and was, arguably, one of the only reasons Twilight had any social skills at all.

Twilight’s parents had been at a loss when it came to trying to get her to socialise with other children. Cadence was the one who had pointed out that: maybe she couldn’t socialise with them because she was just too far above them intellectually. It would be like trying to get a teenager to play with a group of nine-year-olds.

There just wasn’t enough mental stimulation.

And Twilight had torn into her like all of that effort in the past had been for nothing…

‘She hurt Zee!’

‘She only wanted you to be safe!’

‘She tried to take Zee away from me!’

‘You and Zee are hurting each other.’

Twilight clenched her eyes shut as that final thought flickered through her mind. Cadence didn’t understand… Zee did her best, and she always learned and she always apologised, and Twilight did, too. Cadence couldn’t understand… how could she? She had a perfect relationship with Twilight’s brother.

Shining Armor was a well-off, well-raised, and gentle creature, and such an irrepressible dork that he was impossible not to love.

Not everyone was that lucky though. Zee wasn’t raised with all the money in the world, she wasn’t raised with every single need met. She didn’t get to go to the best school in the city and never have to want for anything!

She was raised in poverty and, as far as Twilight could tell, Storm had still done his best to raise Zee with all the love in the world. But love couldn’t fill an empty stomach, and it couldn’t keep the heater on, or pay rent, and now… maybe more than she ever thought possible, Twilight understood why he was a criminal, and why Zee had gone along with it.

And why Zee was so loyal to him.

Storm had risked life in prison and a place on death row to keep his little girl safe… that was a man worth being loyal to, and Twilight had never really understood what kind of strength of will and character that would take until she had met the man. He was like a mountain, not in stature but just in the feel of him… being near him was like being in the shadow of something powerful and almost overwhelming.

Twilight understood why Zee treated Storm like he was her hero because, for all of his sins and his crimes and his character flaws, he was a hero to Zee. And to Twilight, for everything he had done for Zee.

But as for Twilight herself?

“Zee?” Twilight asked softly as Zee cranked the wheel, changing lanes towards the exit ramp. “Am I a good person?”

Zee glanced down at Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

“S’bit’ve a loaded question there, our lass,” Zee said with a faint sound of uncertainty in her voice. “Not sure I’m any sort t’judge that manner’a thing, aye?”

Twilight let out a small laugh as she realised she was essentially asking that question of a black hat hacker, borderline cyberterrorist, and daughter of a ganglord, which did make it sound a little silly.

“I know, and maybe it doesn’t matter, but-” Twilight trailed off as Zee slung an arm around her.

“Hey now, I didn’t say owt about it not matterin’,” Zee replied, frowning. “I’ll ‘appen ye’ve got a good reason f’askin’ uz that, aye? Jus’ that I dunno if I got an answer’s all I’m sayin’.”

“I still want to know what you think,” Twilight said with a small smile.

Zee sighed and nodded, leaning back in the car as she shifted down a gear and got onto the slower city streets.

“Guess I’ll ‘appen ye’re a good enough sort of person,” Zee started. “Better’n me, though I’ll grant that’s a bar wot’s damn near subterranean, pet.”

“Don’t say that,” Twilight said crossly, swatting Zee’s arm gently. “You’ve done your best… we grew up in practically two different worlds. Comparing isn’t fair and it’s also just… wrong. You’re… you’re good to me.”

Zee’s expression fell a little at that statement, and Twilight saw her hands grip the steering wheel harder. “Tha’s a matter’ve opinion, pet,” she said softly.

“You are…” Twilight said in a much smaller voice.

“But I-”

“-make me feel safe,” Twilight said, her voice still painfully weak, and Zee glanced over as Twilight buried her face against Zee’s arm. “I know we fight sometimes… and I know what people say about it… but if it helps… I never feel unsafe around you.”

“Ever think maybe ye should?” Zee asked, grimacing as her grip tightened on the wheel again. “Ever think maybe… maybe m’just too far broken, lass?”

Twilight opened her mouth, at first to argue, then closed it as she turned to let out an annoyed sigh and snuggled back up against Zee.

This was their song and dance, the one they performed every few days. The ‘am I worth it’ talk. They always argued the same points, too: Zee would point out her temper and violent streak, Twilight would counter that she had the same problem, Zee would argue that she always started it, Twilight would disagree, and they’d be back where they started.

It was an unbroken loop of self-recrimination, one that led to nothing, endlessly recurring in upon itself like an ouroboros made of frustration.

What Twilight didn’t understand is why it mattered so much to Zee. The two of them had a weird kind of equilibrium, their own personal definition of stability, but it worked, right? Why did it matter how it happened so long as both of them were willing to make the relationship work.

That was what you did when you loved someone after all, you made it work.

Why did she even-

Twilight blinked owlishly as a brainwave struck her. A break in the loop.

“Hey, Zee…?” Twilight said quietly as they turned a corner, Gustave’s appearing in the distance. “Would… would it make a difference if I said I didn’t care?”

Zee furrowed her brow. “Don’t care ‘bout what, pet?”

“That you’re broken,” Twilight said. “So long as… as you don’t care if I am?”

“Ye ain’t fuckin’ broken, our lass, savvy?” Zee hissed.

Twilight smiled softly as she could see Zee’s temper rear its head. She was biting her lip, and a small trickle of red slid down to her chin. Pulling out a small handkerchief, Twilight lifted it up and wiped the droplet from Zee’s face.

“I know you’re angry right now, y’know?” Twilight said, “and y’know what else?”

“Wassat, our lass?” Zee asked, sighing heavily as she angled into the parking spot, threw the gear into park, and rested her head against the vibrating steering wheel.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Twilight replied.

One eye opened, one gold and black orb fixed itself on Twilight who sat across from Zee unflinchingly. Zee’s breaths came slow and deep as she stared at Twilight, feeling a choking mix of anger, frustration, fear, and love just looking at the girl.

“I beat ye lass,” Zee growled, venom dripping from her lips but even Twilight could hear that it wasn’t directed at her. “Ye should be afraid.”

Zee was shaking, her hands gripping the wheel as hot tears slid down her cheeks. All the anger, all the self-hatred, was boiling up to the surface and it felt for all the world like she was about to crack in half from the pressure.

Soft, lavender hands came to settle over her white knuckles, and with an effort of will Zee looked up to meet Twilight’s eyes.

She was smiling.

“But I’m not,” Twilight said, and Zee could only stare.

She was searching for the lie, searching for the flicker in Twilight’s gaze that would tell Zee that Twilight was only humoring her, patronizing her, saying what she wanted to hear just to make her feel better. She searched and scanned and found… nothing.

“Why?” Zee choked out turning to face Twilight with wide tear-streaked eyes, her cheeks stained black with lines of running mascara. “F’love n’guts, our lass, why?”

“Guess that part of me’s broken,” Twilight said with a shrug.

Zee stared, jaw hanging open at the almost painful nonchalance of Twilight’s answer. All the anger seemed to drain out of her as a weak, cracked, and broken laugh bubbled up out of her throat. A moment later Zee was practically howling with laughter, held up only by her seatbelt and the steering wheel she was leaning against. Her rough, husky voice was joined a moment later by Twilight’s own higher, chiming laughter as they leaned against one another.

Several moments of gasping and reclaiming their breath later, Zee was leaning against Twilight, her seatbelt undone and her head resting at the soft crook where Twilight’s neck and shoulder met.

“Ah love you, our lass,” Zee said softly. “More’n life an’ all the fuckin’ magic in it, aye?”

“Arcane Science,” Twilight chided, cuddling against Zee, “and… I love you too.”

“Guess we oughta go in,” Zee said almost grumpily. “Gonna be waitin’ on us.”

“Mm, yeah,” Twilight agreed as they sat up. “Let me fix your makeup first, though, you’re a mess.”

Zee chuckled as Twilight licked the clean side of her handkerchief and went to work wiping up Zee’s streaked makeup.

“Ye’ll allus be there t’clean me up, won’t ye lass?” Zee asked, and there was a note of pleading in her voice.

Twilight stopped at her almost childlike tone and turned to smile at Zee.

“Always.”

“How do you wear that stuff?” Rainbow asked as she leaned back in their booth, kicking her feet in boredom.

Lightning chuckled softly as she leaned against Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and smiled. Her hair was styled, rather than in its usual windswept look, with the rough edges turned to soft curls that hung around her cheeks, framing her face nicely, and wearing a long dress the color of pale cream with a daring slit up one leg that hung off of a single shoulder.

None of that was what Rainbow was referring to, though.

Earlier that night, Lightning had stunned Rainbow to speechlessness when she had stepped out of her apartment with rouged lips and finely applied makeup. Apparently, it was one of her grandmother’s many skills, developed not in the military but in the process of raising a granddaughter who wanted to be ‘pretty’.

“It’s called fashion, thweaty, look it up,” Lightning quoted in a nasal voice, earning a snort of laughter from Rainbow.

For herself, Rainbow had fallen back on the tried and true: a pair of clean black slacks, white and black blazer, and her normally wild hair tamed into something that was very similar to order, and managed to look more stylishly ruffled than her usual ‘birds nest’.

Rainbow had forgone any attempts at makeup.

“I just hate how it feels on my skin,” Rainbow said with a grimace. “It’s like… dusty and greasy at the same time, and lipstick just feels like there’s a layer of wax on my mouth and I keep licking it.”

“You’re not supposed to eat lipstick, Rainbabe,” Lightning said dryly, clearly trying to hold in laughter with only moderate success given the twitching at the edges of her lips.

“But chapstick is flavored!” Rainbow said with a grumpy look. “Why would it be flavored if it wasn’t edible!”

Lightning stared on with a quivering lip, not trusting herself to open her mouth without busting up laughing and getting in trouble with the Maitre D’.

After a few moments of Rainbow sullenly glaring at her, Lightning swallowed and shook her head. “B-babe, just because it’s palatable and doesn’t, like, hurt you, doesn’t mean it’s… supposed to be eaten.”

“Okay well, I still hate how it feels,” Rainbow groaned.

Rainbow Dash’s train of thought was derailed by a low whistle from Lightning, who had turned to stare down towards the entrance. Rainbow followed her gaze and her eyebrows raised at the sight.

Twilight and Zee had just walked into the restaurant and they looked like they’d just stepped out of a movie premiere.

Zee was wearing a black sheath dress, accented in fiery gold matching her eyes, that terminated just above her knees. Though not exactly curvaceous, what curves she did have were accentuated by the dress, but were significantly outweighed by the amount of artwork her dress left on display. The vast majority of her intricate tattoos were clearly visible and while most people Rainbow knew would go to lengths to hide that kind of thing in this sort of restaurant, Zee wore them almost defiantly.

Rainbow and Lightning both couldn’t help but admire that.

On the other hand, Twilight, who was on Zee’s arm, was wearing a much more modest neck-to-toe mermaid gown that covered almost every inch of her and flared out at the bottom. It was an almost startling shade of silver with accents of purple at the collar, wrists, and hemline, and the whole thing was accentuated by a royal purple sash tied around her slender waist.

“Damn,” Lightning said with a grin. “If I weren’t gay already I would be now.”

“Meh,” Rainbow shrugged. “I like Zee’s tats more than her dress.”

“That’s because you’re a philistine, Rainbabe,” Lightning said with a laugh.

Rainbow frowned. “Rarity says that all the time too, and I still don’t know what it means.”

Before the Maitre D’ could say anything, Zee pointed out the two seated girls, speaking in a low voice, before sweeping past him like she owned the place.

“Aye up, lasses,” Zee said with a wide grin as she sidled into the booth, pulling Twilight down to be seated beside her. “Thanks fer ‘oldin’ the seats, didn’t mean t’be late.”

“No sweat,” Lightning said with a shrug. “You know, when you and Twi said ‘double date’, I was thinking, like, a burger joint and a movie, right? This is… swanky.”

“Zee doesn’t do ‘subtle’ very well,” Twilight said with a chuckle, nudging the aforementioned girl with her elbow. “Sorry if it was a lot of trouble.”

“Nah, I always wanted to check this place out,” Rainbow said with a grin. “I’ve never even been inside this place before, too rich for my blood y’know?”

“Aye, speakin’a which,” Zee fished around her dress for a few moments, her brow furrowing in annoyance. “Where t’fuck…”

A small clutch purse was suddenly waggling under her nose, held by Twilight who was smiling mischievously at Zee.

“You left it in the car,” Twilight said with a laugh. “For a genius, you’re a real scatterbrain sometimes.”

Zee frowned for a moment but shrugged as she grabbed at it and popped it open. “Aye well, ‘ad t’lose somethin’ t’be better’n everyone else at everythin’ else, ‘ey, lass?”

“Mhm,” Twilight agreed, leaning in and pecking Zee on the cheek as the waiter came up to the table.

“Good evening, ladies,” he said with a warm smile. “Welcome to Gustave’s, my name is Silver Platter and I’ll be your server,” Platter set out a menu in front of each of the girls as he spoke, moving in smooth, practiced motions as he did so. “Can I get anything started for you?”

“Giz uz a tick, mate,” Zee said with a grin as she drew out a black card from her purse. “But go on’n open a tab on this, we’ll just clear it all at the end’a the night, savvy?”

Zee tapped the card on the table as she handed it to Silver Platter, and the card let out a metal ring as it struck the solid oak table. Zee, Lightning, and even Twilight stared at the black card whose center was embossed with a silver profile of a Roaman soldier. Their surprise, however, was nothing compared to their server’s, though.

Silver Platter’s eyes had gone so wide they looked fit to roll out of his skull.

“U-uhm… M-miss, may I… uh, see some identification for that card?” Silver Platter asked, his throat suddenly parched.

“Natch,” Zee replied with a Cheshire grin, before pulling it out. “Ain’t ‘ad m’stateside ID show up yet, but this’ll do, I’ll ‘appen.”

Zee passed her Braytish ID over along with her passport. Silver Platter took both and thanked Zee profusely, even sketching a short bow before racing off to the Maitre D’s side and speaking to him in a hushed whisper. The older man looked like he was about to have a stroke as he examined the cards and passport that Platter handed him, and slowly more of the waitstaff started drifting over to figure out what all the hubbub was about.

“What is that all about?” Rainbow asked as she watched Silver Platter before turning back to Twilight and Zee.

“Zee… was that a Centurion card?” Twilight asked, in a quiet voice as she turned to regard her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.

“Huh?” Zee looked back at Twilight, leaning on both elbows. “Aye, what of it, pet?”

“Don’t you think that’s a little… high profile?” Twilight whispered, lowering her voice as she leaned next to Zee’s ear. “Considering we’re… y’know…”

Zee chuckled. “Ye’d think that, our lass, but one’a the first things a card like that buys ye is privacy.”

“Sorry, a what card?” Lightning asked, raising an eyebrow. “We can pay our share, it’s okay.”

Silence settled on the table momentarily before Zee let out a small chuckle. “Ah, lass… not t’talk ye down but this place isn’t much less’n a hundred a plate, aye? Ain’t countin’ nowt else like gratuity.”

Lightning and Rainbow’s eyes both widened in shock, and for a moment they were doing a fair impression of Silver Platter, but Zee just waved off their stammering.

“S’on me tonight, loves,” Zee said with a grin, looping an arm around Twilight and pulling her close. “What’s the point’a ‘avin’ loads'a cash if ye got nowt’n no one t’spend it on?”

“To clarify,” Twilight said with a small smile as she snuggled against Zee, “Zee does private contracting for cybersecurity firms and other corporations, so…”

“Makin’ six figures at sixteen,” Zee chimed in with a cocky grin. “Not bad, ey?”

“Holy shit,” Lightning swore, leaning back and looking stunned. “Color me impressed.”

Rainbow didn’t speak, she just stared at Zee curiously for a while before nodding and settling back in the booth seat. Lightning took the opportunity to sidle closer to Rainbow, matching Twilight and Zee as she took Rainbow’s hand and leaned against her while Rainbow settled an arm around Lightning’s waist.

“Wha’s wrong,?” Zee asked, smiling that lopsided grin of hers at Rainbow. “Don’t believe me?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Nah I mean, you’re covering us at this place, right? I figure you’re pretty loaded, cyberstuff just goes way over my head.”

“So why the looks, love?” Zee asked, leaning forward with elbows resting on the table as she met Dash’s gaze.

Dash just shrugged. “I dunno, just… seriously… it’s freakin’ uncanny.”

“What is?” Twilight asked, her curiosity piqued.

“You!” Rainbow gestured at Zee. “We’ve only hung out a few times but…”

“You seriously don’t see it, Dusty?” Rainbow asked, turning to her girlfriend for support who flinched a little and laughed nervously.

“Man, your tact is on point tonight, Rainbabe,” Lightning replied, her laugh turning into a dry chuckle. “Sorry… I guess you kinda do look like this girl at our school, though.”

“Really? That’s a little hard to believe,” Twilight said, one eyebrow raised incredulously. “Zee’s coloration is pretty unique, don’t you think?”

“I’m right ‘ere, loves,” Zee said in a mocking voice that belied the tension that was building in her body.

“R-Right, sorry, look I’m just telling you my…” Rainbow choked, the next word out of her mouth was about to be ‘friend’ but it wouldn’t come, “this… this girl I used to know pretty well, she’s got the same look: dark skin, white hair, and everything see?”

Rainbow lifted her phone and flicked through it several times until finally finding a relatively recent picture of Gilda, one the taller girl didn’t even know Rainbow had; in the still image Gilda was leaning against the school wall in her usual jeans and bomber jacket, a cigarette hanging from her lips as she stared up at the sky with the snow collecting unseen in her white hair and the pale fur rim of her jacket. Rainbow was no photographer but even she had been struck at that moment by a need to record it, even though a part of her felt guilty for it, voyeuristic even.

“Huh, she’s actually kinda pretty in that pic,” Lightning said, leaning in and looking down at the image. “Way different when she isn’t barreling down on you in gym, huh?”

“Incredible,” Twilight stared at the image with widening eyes. “You’re right… she’s so similar I'd swear the two of you were-”

A dull, electric whine filled the air and the metal cutlery began spitting sparks and rattling in place as Zee stared at the picture.

“-sisters.” Twilight finished as her face drained of color as she started up from her seat.

Rainbow and Lightning Dust quickly followed suit as they caught the look on Zee’s face; a twisted rictus that hovered somewhere between pain and rage. The two girls staggered back as Zee rose with deadly slowness from her seat. The muscles in her arms, face, and legs twitched horribly, giving her an appearance not unlike a marionette with tangled strings.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Twilight murmured, her eyes widen and terrified. “You just had an attack this afternoon, how can another one be coming already?!”

“Uh… Twi?” Rainbow said in a panicked voice as she glanced around. “You wanna… uh… take this outside maybe?”

“R-Right, help me!” Twilight got under Zee’s left arm while Rainbow took her right.

Lightning moved ahead of them, ushering people out of the way with an explanation of ‘seizures’. Rainbow felt a surge of both admiration and gratitude towards Lightning as they heaved Zee through the restaurant and out the doors. Every step seemed to make her condition worse, though, and by the time they were out of Gustave’s Rainbow felt like her whole body was buzzing with static as tiny blue-white arcs snapped out from Zee’s body to strike anything metal nearby.

“Someone wanna explain this?” Lightning hissed as she snapped the door to the restaurant shut after assuring the waitstaff that an ambulance was already on its way. “Because this is not normal!”

“I’m so sorry!” Twilight cried. “I’m… I don’t know what to do! These attacks are rare, and they always have days or more between them! She just had one this afternoon so I thought she was safe!”

“Well whaddya normally do?!” Rainbow asked, doing her best to push down her own rising panic.

“Her… her dad knows how to calm her but he can’t get here…” Twilight replied, her hands shaking as she ran them through her hair, tangling the delicate coif into a mess of lavender curls. “He can’t leave the house, and I can’t drive stick!”

Twilight gestured to Zee’s E-Type as she stared imploringly at Rainbow and Lightning. Both of them just shook their heads in response, though.

“I don’t even have my license,” Lightning admitted. “Too poor to afford a car anyway.”

“Only ever drove an automatic,” Rainbow replied, “My dad’s station wagon, but I have it here I can drive us!”

“Fuck no… and stop panickin’,” Zee snarled out through clenched teeth. “Can’t ye teleport us, love?”

Twilight blanched. “NO! What part of ‘I’m holding too much power’ did you miss?!” Zee, Rainbow, and Lightning flinched at Twilight’s tone. “If I try to teleport us we’ll probably end up in orbit!”

“Then just… Get me… somewhere else.”

Twilight’s voice softened as she took Zee’s hand, ignoring the burning sensation and the pain. “If Rainbow can get us home we can-”

“Not enough time, pet,” Zee panted out, pulling her hand away. “I can feel it… s’like a nail in my skull heatin’ t’fuck up.”

“How long?” Twilight asked in a quiet voice.

“Fuckin’... ten minutes… bit more? Bit less? Don’t fuckin’ know, our lass,” Zee replied.

“The Verge,” Lightning said suddenly, drawing every eye to her. Suddenly the center of attention, Lightning Dust shuffled uncomfortably but powered on, driven by the look of agony on Zee’s face. “T-The Everfree Verge, it’s not that far, we’re on the edge of North Canterlot, remember? The ritzy part where lots of rich folks live? There’s tons of forest-y real estate out there if you go in the right direction.”

“Can you take us?” Twilight begged.

Lightning nodded and turned to tell Rainbow to get the car only to be greeted by the sound of the station wagon’s engine revving up and Rainbow pulling out of their parking spot and up next to the three girls.

“Get in!” Rainbow yelled, with the windows cranked all the way down so she could see them. “Lightning up front, I don’t know this part of town!”

Not wanting to waste any time with an argument, Twilight heaved Zee up, supported on the other side by Lightning Dust, and dragged her to the back seat of the old vehicle. As soon as Zee was in, Twilight ran around the other side and stayed near her while Lightning didn’t even bother opening the passenger side door, instead just hooking her fingers onto the roof and going feet-first into the passenger-side window and dropping onto the seat.

“Go out the east exit of the lot and hang a left!” Lightning ordered.

Rainbow didn’t hesitate as she stepped on the gas and tore out of the parking lot. Lightning gave rapid-fire directions while Twilight sat in the back, murmuring softly over Zee’s twitching form as she pulled up her purse and wrenched out the chunky scanner.

“Okay, get on this road and we’ll drive for a few minutes, pretty soon you'll see a place to pull onto the shoulder about a quarter mile out,” Lightning said firmly. “It’s right next to a meadow that leads up to the Verge, will that do?”

Twilight looked up at the question to see Lightning staring at her with Rainbow glancing back every so often, trying her level best to keep her eyes on the road even with her shaking hands.

“Y-Yeah, I hope so,” Twilight replied.

“How are we going to fix this?!” Rainbow shouted over her shoulder. “And what’s wrong with Zee?!”

“I… I haven’t had a chance to discharge the energy I absorbed from her this morning… I don’t know if it’s safe to do it again so soon…” Twilight sobbed, gripping the scanner so hard her knuckles began turning white.

“What are you talking about?!” Rainbow yelled back.

“It’s… it’s hard to explain…” Twilight said, cradling Zee’s head as the prone girl spasmed and jerked in Twilight’s arms. “Do… do you believe in magic?”

For a moment, Rainbow felt her whole body slacken at the question, and a second later she pulled off onto the shoulder next to a wide, open meadow. In the distance, the high, wild trees of the Everfree rose defiantly in the face of the civilization and the borders of Canterlot city.

Letting out a dry, acerbic chuckle as she unsnapped her seatbelt and let her forehead hit the wheel of the station wagon, Rainbow scoffed.

“Twi… you mighta just lucked out harder than ever,” Rainbow replied turning to the lavender-haired girl. “Magic is kind of a Canterlot High thing.”

Kicking open the door, Rainbow got out followed quickly by Lightning Dust. Together, the three of them extracted Zee from the back seat, and Rainbow grimaced at the scorch marks they’d left behind. That would be a tough one to explain to her dad. Putting that aside, pooling their efforts the three girls staggered towards the open field, although Zee was jerking and spasming so badly by that point that they had to spread the job out, with Twilight taking her right arm, Rainbow taking her left, and Lightning doing her best to wrangle Zee’s thrashing legs.

Once they’d gotten far enough into the field that they couldn’t see the road anymore, the carefully lowered Zee to the ground.

Just in time, as the damp grass around Zee blackened and began scorching as she let out surge after surge of electrical current. Rainbow cried out as she was zapped, and staggered back into Lightning Dust’s arms. Twilight stood over Zee, fiddling with her scanner until it popped open.

“Okay… uhm…” Twilight stared down at Zee, then down at the scanner, then over at Rainbow and Lightning. “Uh… here goes nothing?”

Concentrating, Twilight sent her will through the scanner, and she could feel the dense mass of power that was collected within from Zee’s prior attack earlier that day. Twilight prayed to whatever god or spirit might be listening that there was enough room to pull in more.

Anchoring to the scanner, Twilight reached tendrils of her power out towards Zee and sank the ephemeral siphon into the tormented girl’s body.

Some miles away at a diner, Sunset felt her hackles go up, and she suddenly snapped her head up to stare out the window. The conversation around her died as Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis stared at her and Gilda.

Gilda had made the exact same movement at nearly the exact same time.

A second later there was a blinding flash of light in the distance like an almighty stroke of lightning ripping down from the mostly-clear sky to hammer into the earth, and a couple of seconds later a deafening report of thunder rattled the windows of the diner and in the distance all of them heard the shattering of other glass nearer to the impact, and the bleating, blaring horns of car alarms.

“Gilda?” Sunset said in a tone of quiet horror.

“I felt it, babe,” Gilda replied in a low voice.

“Sunset was that-?” Celestia stood and stared out the window with wide eyes as Luna and Chrysalis looked in concern.

Sunset Shimmer nodded. “We have to get out there… that was magic.”