Summoning Twilight

by Webdog177

First published 26th of May, 2018

Sunset Shimmer accidentally summons an attractive, purple pony-princess to help exact revenge on the jerks in her life. Awkward romance ensues.

What would you do if a mystical being promised to help you make all your problems go away?

Sunset Shimmer never expected to worry about anything other than trying to survive college, keep her job, and fend off the unwelcome advances of jerks who couldn't see past her three sizes. She finally decides that enough is enough, and a moment of reckless desperation puts Twilight smack dab in her apartment. The petite, purple-skinned princess from another world is not what she expected with revenge in mind, but the promise of easy and sweet relief from her problems is too good to pass up.

But everything is not as it seems with Twilight. Who is she really? Why does she appear to seemingly help solve all of Sunset’s problems? And why does she have an unhealthy obsession with cartoons?!?!

A Sunlight story with a touch of everything.

Edited by TheTownCrier. Any mistakes made are mine and not theirs. And thanks to Demous_Abyss for soundboarding my inane ideas. Also, possible spoilers in the comments section; there is now a blog for that .

Featured on 5/23/2018! Thanks everypony!!!

Prologue: This Is My Life...

There are very few things that can turn even the most even-tempered, studious, fun-loving girl into a raging bitchmonster.

I know that sounds like a loaded statement. You know it, I know it; there’s no mystery there. And I’m kind of setting it up like ‘Oh, I’m totally the victim here. I never did anything wrong, and I deserve all the sympathy.’ Well, I guess you could say I didn’t, and I do. And, if all goes well, by the end of this story, you’ll be on my side and totally agree with me.

Okay... some background here. Let’s say, hypothetically, you’ve been going through your life with everything going for you. You’re the personal assistant of the head honcho where you work. You’re a little bit of a nerd, but that works for you. You don’t have any friends, but you got a sweet-ass assistant who knows all your quirks, and can basically do your job for you if they weren’t such a lovable pushover. So now that you’re well situated, what’s the natural next step? You secure your future and move up the ladder, right? That’s the dream.

But along the way the boss-lady slaps a glass ceiling over you and says ‘Hey, you work too much. Go make some friends’.

Alright. Cool. Let’s go do that.

But I’m not happy about it!

Anyway, you obey the boss-lady and make some friends, who actually turn out not too bad, and what happens? Shit hits the fan. A long-lost sister of the boss-lady swoops in and tries to take the company out from underneath her because she's harbored a grudge for a really, really long time. A weirdo with a penchant for chocolate milk who attempts to take over the company through sheer chicanery. Another company tries to take over (that happens a lot around here) the company by dressing her employees up as our own and committing industrial espionage.

That almost worked, too, sadly enough. But I digress.

It’s just one thing after another. And for some really weird reason, you’re always the one tapped to handle these problems; you and your friends. You’re never quite sure why — surely the company has dedicated individuals for these issues, right? That’s what you think, anyway. But you also thinking that maybe, just maybe, if you help out enough and be a good assistant, you’ll eventually get that promotion you want to executive assistant. Or better yet, your own team. Not that you think you’d be any good at being a manager or anything, but hell, it’d look great on a resume, right?

And better yet, your friends are with you every step of the way, sticking with you through thick and thin. Life is good, your future is looking up, and you wouldn’t trade it for anything.

And then shit hits the fan again.

Remember? That happens a lot around here.

I won’t go into details, but suffice to say things get bad. Worse that ever before. You still have your job. Better yet, you got that promotion you always wanted. But the victory is bitter and turns to ash in your mouth. After all, what good is victory when the taste of failure tastes so much worse?

Not only that, but with your new promotion comes a whole slew of new responsibilities. You could call yourself a department head, with a side order of bitch duty. You basically have the responsibilities of a boss, but are regularly outsourced to handle even the most menial tasks that others need help with; from actual, legitimate work all the way down to wiping someone’s ass.

No, seriously. Sometimes I hate people.

And what’s worse — it’s for a completely different company… in a different country! And if you don’t do your job to the letter, you don’t just get fired, but your company goes under, and you get quietly bumped off, too

That's a nicer way to say you get killed, by the way.

How’s that for employee recognition?

At least you still have cartoons to keep a smile on your face. Cartoons make everything better.

So here you are, living day to day, stuck in a job you hate, doing something you hate even more. Until you eventually screw up and all goes to hell.

And that’s it. That’s the story… more or less.

So by now, I bet you’re thinking, ‘There’s no way all that’s all true. There’s no company on the planet that would treat its employees like that.' Or, 'it’s just not possible to have all that crap happen to a single person.’

I know, right? Pretty unbelievable. But that’s what happened — again, more or less — a long time ago. And that’s why I’m here right now, complaining to you fine people.

You see, I’m pretty famous where I’m from. I have a reputation. I’m kind of a self-styled loner. Everyone respects me — I mean, I practically run my own company (a subsidiary to the head company, but still… it's the principal of the thing) and I’m a good boss. Or, at least, I’d like to think I am. And I have a lot of power over my employees, and the employees of my colleagues. My sister’s employees and my niece’s, too. But the term ‘laundry bitch’ also works pretty well, offensive as that is. Most days it’s not too bad, but if I’m really honest with you, being here at all to tell you about how things went down is what really chaps my ass.

So I’ve kind of made it my business over the years to look out for people with stories like mine, you know? No one else is really doing it. I mean, the real tough luck cases, people that get handed the shit stick, the hated or pitied. People like me that are lauded in public, but once eyes are turned away we’re laughed at, or pitied, like I said.

It’s unacceptable. It’s time for us poor saps to rise up and become awesome again!

If only it was that easy, right? It rarely is, but… you know what? Fuck it. It’s inspirational, and I’m keeping it.

Anyway, I bet you’re wondering who I am and where I’m from. Well, trust me when I tell you that it’s a very… very weird story, and it’s a harder one to swallow than the one above — which you’ve probably already figured out is one, big, fat metaphor.

So instead, let’s start with someone else’s story. And you’d better pay attention, because she’s the only person in the multiverse (yeah, you read that right) that I care about more than anything else. And, while we didn’t have the most conventional friendship at first, we quickly learned that we both needed each other more than either of us could have expected.

Shut up, I know that sounds gay. Get over it.

Chapter 1: Worst. Week. Ever.

The week had already been pretty underwhelming for Sunset Shimmer by the time she found herself being pushed too far. Which began the way most of her other underwhelming weeks did: a conversation with her mother.

“Why can’t you stop messing around with these entry-level classes?” the woman scolded over the din of the bar patrons on Monday afternoon. “None of these are going to get you anywhere in life! You need to apply yourself now or all that tuition money will be wasted on a bunch of ass-sitting and — and sexting!”

“Mom!” Sunset burst out, her eyes flying wide and glancing around the room. Two of the guys who had already been watching since before the word ‘sexting’, and now the other two were also brimming with interest following her seemingly-random outburst. Gritting her teeth, she leaned in over the bar and hissed, “I do not ‘sext’! How do you even know that word?”

“I heard it on TV! They say a lot of kids in class are distracted with sexting each other — and with your grades, I’m sure that has to be part of the problem! So don’t kid me, Sunny. Be honest!”

Groaning softly and pinching her fingers over the bridge of her nose, she shook her head. “Nope. Sorry, but I’m not even going to admit to sexting just to get out of this dumb conversation. My grades are up in the nineties again, and you know that. So why do you always have to crack the whip whenever I come by for a visit?”

“If you’d come by to visit me more, maybe we wouldn’t have to waste our conversations on me motivating you?” the woman goaded.

“Motivate my ass,” Sunset grumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Anyway, yeah, because this makes me want to come by all oh so often! It totally make sense! You know what, mom? Sometimes—”

“Sometimes what? You wish you’d never been born? I’ve heard that before.”

“No, I wish you’d never been born!”

The older woman blinked and threw her hands up in the hair, ruffling her shoulder-length dyed blonde hair. “Then you would never be born either! That makes no sense!”

“Yeah? I hear they’re doing some pretty cool things with test tubes these days! DNA, stem cells and stuff!”

Waving her hand at Sunset in annoyance, her mother turned back to the nearest counter and picked up a knife she had abandoned during their brief discourse. She started slicing pieces of fruit again. “Fine, then I’m sorry you couldn't have been a test tube baby! Sorry that my genes aren’t good enough for you!”

“Ugh! This is pointless — forget it!” Sunset’s converse squeaked as she whirled away to walk out the back door.

“Wait!” Sunset hesitated without turning around. “Take the food there.”

“Mom…”

“I don’t care if you’re angry. But I do care if you starve. Take it.”

Sighing, she stopped and reached over to pick up the three boxes of various foods — sandwiches, fried chicken and a sizable salad — that had been intentionally stacked there for her anticipated arrival. When she got to the back door, she heard a muttered, “You’re welcome,” before the sounds of the street drowned out anything else. Rolling her eyes as hard and impressively as possible, she stalked out into the parking lot.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Things did not improve for Sunset after she got back to her apartment and stuffed all the containers of free food into her refrigerator. She only got more irritated… with Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash was her current best friend, or what passed for one at any rate. They had a class together, lived in the same building one floor apart, and had the same part-time job. So, really, they were more BFFBDs — Best Friends Forever By Default. It wasn’t so much that they liked or disliked each other, because they got along fine. They just didn’t have a lot in common, and their personalities didn’t mesh well in that way that true kindred spirits usually wallowed in. The drastic amount of overlap in their lives simply made their tenuous friendship necessary.

However, the one thing Rainbow did that most often got on Sunset’s nerves was involve her in drama. And that drama almost always included somebody whom she truly could not stand: Rainbow’s childhood friend and current roommate, Fluttershy.

“Hey, you got a sec?” Rainbow grunted as she stuck her head in the door. They had traded keys almost a year ago, mostly in case one of them needed the other to grab something in case they had forgotten.

“Yeah,” Sunset sighed. “What did she do this time?”

“Who?”

“You know who.”

Frowning, she finished walking in and let the door swing shut behind her as Sunset leaned back against the counter. “Fine, fine, you got me — but I honestly don’t know how to ask her to stop.”

“What is it this time? The chants? Oh, wait, wait — she replaced all your soda with green tea?”

Rainbow’s lips curled into a sneer. “That wouldn’t be nearly so bad; that shits full of antioxidants and junk. It’s good for you, even if it tastes like a cat’s asshole.” Running her hand through her multicolored hair, she sucked in a breath. “She’s… yoga-ing again.”

“So?”

“In the living room.”

Sunset stared at her friend blankly, plainly telling the girl that more information would need to be provided until she could understand the issue, and Rainbow ducked her head, grumbling, “In just a tank top and a thong.”

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” Sunset sighed, squeezing her eyes shut. “Yeah. No. I don’t need that mental image.”

“I don’t need that actual image! Which I got in full 3D, like, ten fucking minutes ago! I mean, yeah, she’s like my best friend. And yeah, she’s nice as hell. But seriously, how do you up and tell somebody, “Hey, can you quit stretching out and downward-dogging or whatever in a way that flashes your vag at me? It’s kinda ruining my pop-tart!’ I can’t just tell her that!”

“Well, you managed fine just now. Just take that and try it out on her.”

Squirming, Rainbow leaned in and whispered, “I don’t want to hurt her feelings. She’s always been so sensitive, and I hate making her feel bad. Living with somebody is a lot different than just being buddies. This is like the perfect storm, and I’m no storm-chaser, okay?”

Sunset leveled a stare at the shorter woman. “Really? So, you want me to go in there and stare at Fluttershy’s bits while I ask her to stop being such an exhibitionist?”

“Please and thank you.”

Sunset’s expression was unamused.

“Okay, okay! I’ll buy you a pizza!” Rainbow relented, throwing her arms up in the air.

Smiling against her will, Sunset grunted, “Sorry, I just got a fridge full of Mom, so…”

“Then I’ll buy the pizza later in the week, when her food runs out! Please? Pretty please?” By the time she had made it down to one knee, Sunset was already sighing and nodding tiredly, so Rainbow popped back up and grabbed her by the elbow. “Thanks a bunch! You’re the coolest! Well, not as much as me, but pretty damn close!”

The conversation went by fairly quickly. There were a few quiet protestations from Fluttershy to the tune of “Oh… well… I didn’t think anybody would be bothered…” and “Our bodies are natural and Rainbow shouldn’t be offended by a little nudity” but those were quickly shot down with “Yeah, but thongs aren’t so natural, and you don’t have to wear one in the living room.”

Reluctantly, the free spirit that was Fluttershy agreed to at least wear shorts if she put her mat down in front of their plasma screen, and Sunset nodded vigorously as her hand remained in just the right location to block all sight of her from the waist down.

Thankfully, work at her university bookstore went a lot smoother. For one thing, because there were no crunchy granola hipsters working there — well, other than Wally, but he did a lot less to push his worldview on other people than Fluttershy did. And for another, there was Flash.

If you asked anyone other than Sunset about Flash Sentry, they would have told you that he was a hard-working stocker with a pleasant attitude. Nobody had a problem with him, and he had a smile and a wave for most of his fellow employees. Perfect attendance record. If you asked Sunset what she thought about him, she would stutter, drop whatever merchandise she was ringing up, and comment that he “seemed okay” before hurriedly changing the subject.

And Flash had a habit of taking his lunch break at the same time she did. Therefore, it made her quite a lot more irate than usual when a random customer asked for a complex return right before she was suppose to go on break.

“No, you only get the price you paid in the return, ma’am,” she patiently explained for the second time.

“But that is the current price!” she snapped exasperatedly. “If I want to get something else of equal value from your store, doesn’t it make sense that I get that much in return?”

“Not if you bought it when it was twenty-five percent off. Now if you find anything else that’s that price—”

“I want to speak to a manager.”

Narrowing her eyes at the middle-aged woman — who even had that swooshy, badly-dyed, bastardised pixie haircut to match her entitled attitude — she flagged down her shift lead, who came over to help out the fuming, delusional customer. A quick tap on the shoulder and a whispered word, and she was off on break; it wasn’t as if Sunset would be needed any longer.

Alas, it was not soon enough. As she reached the door to the break room, Flash was just leaving, balling up a sandwich wrapper between his palms. His smooth, supple palms…

Whoa... down, girl.

“Oh! Hey, Sunny, what’s up?”

“Hey.” Her mind blanked like that whenever he called her ‘Sunny’.

“Yeah… hey.”

Nodding, she said, “Yep,” then instantly wished she had said something else. What was she agreeing to? There had been no direct question other than “What’s up?”, which was not one that lent itself to a yes-no answer. “I mean, um… not much. You?”

“Food,” he said, raising the balled-up wrapper with an awkward grin. “Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Literally.”

Her laugh was too loud, and too long, and she inwardly kicked herself. Why was she colossally bad at talking to him? Reigning it in as much as she could manage by this point, she cleared her throat and did the thing she had been promising she would do for well over seven months.

“S-so listen… um, there’s this watching party thing going on in the anime club this weekend, and I thought I remember you saying you were a fan of Cowboy Bebop. So I was thinking, if you wanna go…”

“Oh yeah? This weekend?” He thought for a moment. Sunset watched very intently, hoping to catch a sign that he was actually excited or disgusted at the prospect of spending time with her outside work. After a moment he frowned apologetically. “Nah, I think I got a thing. Sorry, if you’d asked me a couple weeks ago…”

“I didn't even know about it a couple weeks ago,” she laughed awkwardly. Gutted. She was good about not wearing her emotions on her sleeve, especially compared with how bad she used to be in that respect. But it didn’t make the rejection sting any less. “No biggie, sorry.”

“What are you sorry about? I’m the one who’s gonna miss it. Spike Spiegel is, like, my hero.” Then he tossed the wrapper into a nearby trash bin, and patted her all-too-briefly on the shoulder. “Next time?”

Nodding, she watched wistfully as he jogged down the steps to the main sales floor. That was all the time she was given before another voice behind her asked, “What do you see in a guy like that, anyway?”

Sunset turned around, blinking as she took in her unwelcome company. “Can… can I help you?” she asked evenly.

“Just saying,” the tall, blond man said with a shrug. He was of a size that made her think he might be at least twenty-three, maybe twenty-five, but then again, looks could be deceiving. His clean-shaven face also gave little to no indication of age. “He’s kind of a wimp. You and me could have a lot more fun than you could with that guy.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said with a mildly-amused expression. “But, see, I have to go eat now, so—”

“Great! So you’re on your lunch. Let me take you to the student union, buy you a sub.”

“No, thank you.”

Blinking in surprise, he asked, “What? Not good enough for you? Do you only go for the wimpy type, or what?”

That was when her jaw began to clench. It had been a while since she’d fielded one of these, but she remembered the steps like and old dance. “Flash is my friend. I invited him to a friendly activity. You are a stranger. I do not invite strangers out to friendly activities.”

“Doesn’t have to stay that way.”

Sunset glared at him. “Pretty sure it does. Now, can I please eat my lunch before my break is over?”

“Hold up,” he said with what he obviously believed to be an endearing smile. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name's Blueblood, what’s yours?”

Blueblood? Seriously? What kind of fucking name is that? Well… it wasn’t the worst she’d ever heard…

“Sunset. It’s on my nametag.”

“Oh, yeah,” he laughed — way too hard, and way too long. Sunset cringed inwardly; was that how she sounded when talking to Flash? “Didn’t expect a girl like you to have a name like that.”

She felt her eyebrows going up, even if she couldn’t remember asking them to do such a thing. “And what kind of girl am I?”

Blueblood shrugged again. “I don’t know. Just… didn’t expect that. That’s cool, though.”

“Wow,” she said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as much as possible. It was difficult. “Your approval means… so, so much to me.”

“No problem at all. Listen…” Leaning in with his arm against the wall, she tried to ignore the faint whiff of pastrami she could pick up from his breath. “I mean, I do want to let you get lunch, but just… I’ll give you my number. No expectations, no strings.”

Pouting, she continued in the same barely-not-snarky tone, “Aww, why don’t I get any strings? Maybe strings are my thing. Maybe I have a string thing.”

“Hey, strings are great! I don’t know anybody who has a hate-on for them!”

“Guess I don’t either.”

Nodding, he finally seemed to sign in defeat. “Alright, you’re not into me. Must be not wimpy enough or something. I can accept that. But I’ll see you around campus, right? Maybe, if we talk a little more?”

“Then I’ll let you put a string around me?” Smirking slightly, she brushed past him. “Gotcha. I’ll keep an eye out for you. Don’t worry.”

Completely missing how she meant the last part, he said, “Great! Thanks, that’s… that’ll be fine!”

Then she reached the safety of the break room and shut the door behind her, leaning against it heavily. She was always fielding these kinds of passes from random customers, but some days, she could actually go home without feeling like a walking meat locker. Not today, it seemed.

A solid week of avoiding random come-ons from strangers, down the shitter.

Tuesday was thankfully less annoying. Her literature and culture class proved to be somewhat interesting; being that it was now October, they were getting into some material that the professor had clearly been waiting to approach from the very start of the term.

“... and the crystal ball is optional,” Professor Shine concluded at the end of her brief lecture, sweeping a strand of silvery hair behind her ear and smiling up at the room. “Now then, are there any questions? Concerns?

A boy in the front row immediately echoed “Concerns?” as if surprised by the word.

“Yes, concerns — and thank you for waiting until you were called on, Mr. Dusk. I often find that when we begin exploring the more… well, lets just call it, the more skeptical aspects of literature — such as magic and superstition — in class, there are always a few students who are a bit uncomfortable with the topic. It’s hardly surprising.” She spotted another hand up and pointed. “Question or concern?”

“Concern.” It was Rarity, of course. One of the many reasons she and Sunset no longer spent as much time together as they did in elementary school was Rarity’s inability to ‘live and let live’; she couldn’t seem to resist critiquing other beliefs. She was usually such a sweet and generous girl — or at least, she used to be. “Aren’t you worried about exposing our impressionable young minds to this nonsense? I mean, even just discussing it academically.”

The older woman’s eyebrows hiked up past her horn-rimmed glasses. “Really? Nonsense? Impressionable young minds? Those are a lot of presumptions, Miss Belle.” Turning her gaze around the room, she followed up with, “Do any of the rest of you feel as if I’m encouraging you to actively study magic? To actively participate in some sort of summoning ritual? Am I normalizing the practice? Proselytizing at you? Pulling the wool over your ignorant eyes and infesting you with darkness and blasphemy?”

There was a lot of silence. Rarity’s had went up again, and she got a nod to continue. “Professor, I honestly wasn’t saying you were trying to ‘convert’ us or whatever, just that… well, if you put these things out there, eventually somebody’s going to try them. Like, if you leave a bunch of unmarked pills on the table, somebody’s going to walk past and steal one, just to see what will happen. Don’t we have some responsibility not to spread possibly dangerous ideas that might lead to something harmful?”

“Ah.” Nodding sagely, the professor’s sensible brown shoes clacked against the floor as she crossed in front of the rows of seats. “What you’re talking about is censorship; the right to close down all discussion of ideals that don’t fit with yours, due to the chance that they might be harmful. And I understand the impulse; we want to protect ourselves as much as each other. That’s very noble, even if it is a baser instinct. You might think things like this are dangerous, but on the other hand, to some cultures and belief structures, such like Paganism, it is all that is sacred. So as you can see, it’s all subjective.”

She continued, “You stating that these practices are ‘nonsense’ tells me that you have grown up around the mindset that magic and spirit-summoning and ‘devil-worshipping’ are bunk, all because some people tell you as much.”

“Well… it does,” Rarity said flatly, overly-glossed lips set in a pout. “I could cite multiple sources that say to avoid such things, and to help others do the same.”

“Very true. Then again, that whole mindset supposes that your way is the only way.”

“It is, according to many beliefs.” Rarity argued simply.

“And it’s that unyielding tenet that led to hundreds, thousands of wars throughout history.” Waving a hand, she cut off further argument by adding, “Either way, my goal is merely to explore a fascinating and rich culture, not to try and ‘convert’ anyone. No one is asking you to compromise your beliefs by simply studying another from a historical standpoint. So, in the lay vernacular… suck it up, Miss Belle.”

Most of the rest of the class laughed when she added that. Rarity, however, did not. She plopped herself down in her chair and flipped her coiffed, perfect hair, folding her arms tightly over her chest. In her mind, Sunset knew, Rarity thought she was being marginalized, not realizing that was actually what she was trying to do to the material.

By that point, Sunset couldn’t even remember when she had started being disappointed in her oldest friend, but her dislike was reaffirmed nearly every time they saw each other. Probably around the time she started liking boys. Oh well; they both had their versions of like that were fulfilling from their own perspectives. They just weren’t meant to be friends forever.

Wednesday held no other incident besides Rainbow once again asking for Sunset’s help with Fluttershy. This time, it was excessive use of 'natural' fragrance oils, which played havoc with Rainbow’s allergies. The threat of having to pay for a new stock of Claritin made Fluttershy agree not to spread said oils out of her room — or whenever all the doors and windows were open.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Thursday. Two more guys hit on her while she was working the register, and while they were nowhere near as persistently douchetastic as the one who caught her outside the break room — seriously, what kind of fucking name is Blueblood? — there was a higher level of discomfort because she had to be nice to them, as customers. Working within the framework of a ‘polite and helpful employee’ maked it a lot more challenging to use such phrases as “Why don’t you fuck completely off, now?”

This, however, was nothing compared to the whipped cream topping of the shit sundae that was her Thursday. That would have come later in the evening, when her father called.

“How’s my little Sunshine?”

Sunset wanted to badly to snipe back, “I don’t know? Which little Sunshine are you talking about today? Because I’m twenty and definitely not a little girl anymore!” and very nearly did. But, knowing it would accomplish next to nothing, she deferred, “Not bad. How about you?”

“Great, great. Just back from a convention abroad and ready to crash for a week. I brought you something.”

“Really?” Sunset intoned dryly. “Like what? A pony?”

There came the laugh, the same one he always used. Forced, contrived. Unsure of how to handle to daughter he hadn’t hugged since she was eight. “Funny, funny! I didn’t realize I was paying for you to go to clown college!”

“Good one, Dad,” she laughed, equally as forced. “Anyway, glad you’re back safe and sound. I heard there were storms out there.”

“Same, but no groundings. I got lucky. Oh, hey — that’s my associate with our dinner. I gotta go. I’ll catch up with you later, alright?”

No surprises there. They only ever exchanged a few words — token niceties because they were family and they were meant to, and then he hung up while she was still in the middle of the word “Goodbye”.

The man honestly did not have the slightest clue of the damage he caused with such simple conversations, or how often they had sent Sunset digging through her freezer for her last half-empty carton of Neapolitan ice cream she kept there for just such an occasion. He would have been better off never calling her in the first place.

Over and over, both Sunset herself and her mother tried to convince her than he was simply selfish and absent minded. That they were both glad that he wasn’t an integral part of their lives, since he didn’t have it in him to be part of their family anymore. However, those words were only true coming from her mother. Sunset missed her father terribly, even when she hated the way he acted. When we was around, and behaving like an actual father rather than a stranger who spent the night inside their house once every few months, things were wonderful.

But that small shred of good wasn’t nearly enough to justify him coming back. For anyone involved.

Apparently, the week has just one last “fuck you” to send Sunset’s way. On Friday, she came so very close to reaching the relative safety of her beat up old coupe. Her keys were in hand, within inches of the lock. Then it all was ruined when a voice called out to her.

“Hey! Blondie!”

Both eyelids slid down and she groaned tiredly, her breathing coming slow and steady. All she could think of was, ‘Really? Blondie? That’s the best this asshat could come up with?’ Her hair was even more red than blonde...

The voice was louder when it spoke again. “Hey! I’m so glad I caught you… man, I don’t know what I was gonna do!”

When she finally found the willpower within her — somehow — to open her eyes, they flicked up to see a somewhat familiar face. He was part of the anime club, even though she didn’t think they’d spoken to each other directly more than twice. A sort of tall, gangly-looking guy, a touch underweight and with the beginnings of a patchy beard that he’d been desperately attempting to cultivate into maturity, he was also wearing a ratty black jacket, black jeans, a black hat over his sandy hair and, oddly enough, today we was sporting an orange Naruto shirt.

Well, his choice in anime aside, at least there was some variety of color.

“Gonna do about what?” Sunset asked flatly. She could manage to be polite for now. After all, he had no way of knowing what kind of week it had been for her. The “Blondie” thing was unfortunate, but he was probably just a dick who didn’t know any better, like her father. Benefit of the doubt and whatnot.

“Work,” he laughed weakly, a thin sheen of sweat already breaking out below the rim of his cap. “My car broke down and I need to be there in half an hour… I was gonna call a tow truck and all that but, well, how am I supposed to pay for it if I lose my job?”

“Where do you work?”

“The Subway on fifth.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sort of going in that direction, but not re—”

“I’ll give you five bucks spot. For the trouble. Seriously, I’m kinda screwed here. I could wait for the bus to show up, but…”

Nodding, Sunset thought it over. The five dollars would more than cover the gas between the parking garage on campus and his work, even including her drive home after. It wasn’t all that far. On the other hand, her little yellow car was going to be awfully cramped with the two of them, and she didn’t know the guy all that well.

“Let’s see the cash.”

“What?” But when she didn’t repeat herself, he shrugged and tugged out his wallet — on a chain, of course. A second later, the bill was in his hand. When she still didn’t move, he handed it over, and she slipped it into her jeans pocket.

“Alright, fine, but I’ll have to let you in from the inside. No automatic locks. You got a phone to call about your car?”

“Totally.” His smile was a lot easier now that she had accepted. “And thanks, seriously. You’re saving my bacon!”

As they left the parking lot and he called up the tow company, Sunset did her best to shake the earlier irritation. This wasn’t so bad; she made a couple bucks, and had done her good deed for the day. A positive note on which to end the craptastic week before she spend the entire weekend as a shut-in, doing nothing but watching Netflix in her underwear.

“So,” he began when he finished the call about his car — which, hilariously enough, was much nicer and newer than her own. “You seem sort of familiar to me for some reason. And I really mean it, not like in a pick-up like way.”

“Anime club,” she grunted.

“Oh. Oh, yeah! That blonde chick who came and brought in Trigun!”

Her eyebrow twitched at the “blonde” comment, but decided to ignore it. “So it seems, yeah.”

“That was pretty cool, yeah.” Then he seemed to notice he’d echoed her “yeah” and pushed ahead. “I mean, uh, I didn’t wanna bug you about anything like that, but since you are into anime and all, I wanted to ask you about the stuff you like.”

“Most of the stuff you show is good,” she admitted as they waited at a stoplight. “I mean, I’m not the hugest Dragonball fan — too much action and not enough story, especially by the Z years. Super was more of the same, but still pretty good.”

“What about GT?” he asked, blinking.

“What about GT?” Sunset shot back, her eyebrow cocked.

“Touché,” he grinned.

“But… yeah, the rest had been great. I might stop by for Cowboy Bebop.”

But she knew she was lying through her teeth; Flash turning her down had taken out all the appeal in attending. Now she would rather just watch it by herself with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

“Sick! It’s hard to get some people interested in the older stuff, unless it’s DBZ or Sailor Moon or something. We thought the Irresponsible Captain Tylor marathon was going to be a bust.”

Finally, Sunset smiled. “No way, that shit is classic. You should always hook some of the older fans up with something like that or Evangelion. Then more of the recent stuff for the younger weebos; Sword Art Online or Kill La Kill or something. Then there’s classic Card Captor Sakura for the girls and… some of the guys who have a ‘thing’ I guess.”

“Totally, totally.” The conversation lulled for a few seconds as they turned down a sidestreet, hoping to keep their conversation short and sweet by getting him to work as fast as possible. “I’m Snails.”

“Yeah, I know. You told everyone before you started Resurrection ‘F’.”

“I guess I did,” he laughed a little loudly. “What’s your name?”

“Sunset.”

“Cool, cool,” he said, and then the conversation decidedly petered out.

Within a few more minutes they were parking out front of the establishment. She put the car in park and turned to almost-smile at him. “Well, this is your stop, sir.”

“Thanks a bunch,” he laughed again, unbuckling his seatbelt and turning to look at her more properly. “Like I said, I really can’t thank you enough.”

“You already did,” she rolled her eyes. “With the money, and by saying ‘thanks’ about ten times.”

“Yup, yup. So, like, I guess I’ll see you around, at the club and stuff?”

“Sure thing.”

For a few seconds, he was nodding along with her, as if he would get out of the car at any moment and they would both get on with their lives. Then, instead of that rational — and absolutely acceptable — action, he leaned in and pressed his face in towards hers.

“Hey!” she yelled, hands pushed against his front. “What’s-- what the hell? What are you doing?!”

“I’m making my move!”

“Hey-- stop!”

“Just give me a chance!” he grunted, still trying to search out her mouth with his, hands pawing at her shoulders and upper arms as they struggled. Even when her nails began to dig in through fabric, it wasn’t enough of a deterrent. Finally, she was left with no choice but to lift one hand up and deliver the same self-manicured treatment to his face.

“Ow--ow!”

When they broke apart, he was clutching at his face, eyes wide in disbelief as his chest heaved with effort to supplying his body with oxygen. They both were; Sunset was pressed up against her car door, one leg up and her heel propped up against the seat cushion to provide an extra layer of protection should he lose his mind and go in for attempt number two.

“You… you didn’t have to— holy shit, I’m bleeding!” It was true; there were a couple of thin red lines on his face when his hand came away. “You scratched me!”

Numbly, she heard her voice say, “You tried to kiss me!”

“What the hell! Aren’t you sorry?” he flung back angrily. “I can’t believe you’d scratch me for just responding to your signals, I mean… how obvious can you get?”

“My... wait. Wait, what signals?”

“You know — offering to give me a ride? Saying we’d see each other at the club? Plus you got this whole, like, sexy blonde chick thing going on.”

“I’ve got—” she sputtered indignantly. “Y-you mean my old jeans and this crappy Blue’s Clues shirt? This is ‘sexy’ to you?!”

He still look surprised and angry, but finally a touch of uncertainty was started to creep in. “Well, alright… but maybe it’s just that it looks sexy on you.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Sunset shouted. “You beg me for a favor, crawl all over me without asking me, or showing even the tiniest bit of interest in anime, and then your trying to blame it on a little cartoon dog?!”

“Hey, I call bullshit! Why else would you be using a sexy voice?”

“I... what… I can’t even— what is a ‘sexy voice’? What the fuck are you talking about?” Then she lifted her hand and rubbed at her face, hoping to avoid the headache that was already coming on. “You know what? I don’t care anymore. Get out of my car.”

“No.”

Sunset blinked, looking up. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” When she stared blankly at him, he folded his arms over his thin chest, his chin lifting. “I’m not leaving until you apologize.”

They both sat there in her car for ten solid seconds before she repeated herself. “Excuse me? You want me to… apologize? For what? For you trying to shove your crazy ass tongue down my throat?”

“For putting out all those signals and then changing your mind. And then making excuses for why you assaulted me!”

Both of Sunset’s eyes widened. “Wait. No, no. no. No Siree, you do not get to— I can’t even… just— get out! Get out of my car!”

“You seriously hurt my face. It’s bleeding!”

“I don’t care! I should have cut off your junk and shoved it down your throat for what you just pulled, you fucking doucheface! Be grateful it’s just a couple of scratches! Go get a band-aid and some bactine and leave me the fuck alone!”

Snails rolled his eyes. “Typical. This is so damn typical. Just because I’m not your type — not a jock that you usually date — makes me not good enough? Don’t meet your standards?”

Sunset’s mouth popped open in shock. She distinctly recalled another man earlier that week — Blueblood, ironically — that said something very similar about her taste in men and not meeting her standards. But with the blood rushing in her ears forced her to snarl back, “Do you even hear yourself? Meet my standards? Yeah, I have these crazy-ass expectations — like a guy asking before he slobbers all over me being one of them! A guy who ignores it when I tell him to stop is not. This— I just…”

Then she took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car, hearing him say, “Wait, where are you going?” behind her. A second later, the passenger door opened and shut again. “Hey! Sunset, wait!”

“I can walk home from here!” she snapped over her shoulder. “I’ll come back and get the car later!”

“Wait, wait!” he jogged to catch up with her, his hand snaking around her forearm. “We’re not done yet!”

Oh. That did it. Even though they had already been arguing, and she had technically hurt him, she just wanted the situation to end. Manhandling her for the second time in a ten-minute period went way over her bullshit threshold.

“No, we really are,” she growled quietly, staring directly up into his eyes. “I’m going to walk back to my car, and I’m going to get in it, and I’m going to regret that I ever let you into my car in the first place. You, on the other hand, will remember this as the day you ruined a potential friendship just because you couldn’t understand that, for some fucking insane reason, I didn’t want to randomly make out with a stranger in front of Subway!”

“So, what? I’m friendzoned forever? Just for this one thing? God, what a bitch! What, are you on your period, or something? Fuck!”

Leaning in further, Sunset hissed, “Maybe I am. So, what? Now let my arm go, or you’re going to regret that, too.”

“Oh, yeah?” His voice was shaking his rage, and he tugged on her slightly. “What are you gonna do, huh? I’m holding onto you until we finish this conversation!”

They both locked eyes for a few long seconds, and she never blinked. The pounding of her heart and the sound of blood rushing in her ears was too loud for her to speak. Finally, he blinked first, and then looked away as he let her go.

“I’m sorry,” he said very softly. “You just… you hurt my face, and you didn’t have to do that. I don’t know why you got so bent over nothing, but I—”

“No,” she cut him off as she stepped back towards her car. “Sorry isn’t fucking good enough.” Then she got in and slammed the door, driving off before he could say or do anything further.

These were all situations that worked together to push Sunset beyond her breaking point — her comfort zone. That, and the unpleasant shift she felt downstairs a few seconds later, when she was still swearing and pounding the steering wheel. Not that she wanted to admit it… especially after the clichéd asshole line Snails had thrown at her. It was the only thing that could have made her week just a little bit worse worse.

“Fuck me… I really am on my period.”

Chapter 2: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble.

The next morning, poor Sunset tried to let everything go; to put her first world problems in perspective and move on with her life. Unfortunately, doing that proved a lot more difficult in practice than planning to do it. Every time she thought about Snails, or the bros at the bookstore, her blood boiled and her temples started throbbing — though then again, that was probably her cycle rearing its ugly head. She couldn’t even keep her breakfast down, which was nothing more than a plain bagel with cream cheese. Her period couldn’t have possibly come at a worse time.

Which was usually how it went. Given that she was on birth control, and had been for a couple of years, she usually enjoyed a few months of uninterrupted bliss. No muss, no fuss. Then it would hit with the force of a bucking bronco. That was always the case. Even though she really did prefer things this way, it still didn’t make her quarterly visitor any less horrible.

She was still trying to summon the desire to actually get up and do anything when she got a text from Rainbow. This time, it wasn’t Fluttershy-related; she just wanted to go over class notes.

‘Nopesorryfeellikecrap’, she replied. Within two minutes, there was a knock at her door.

“Hey! Sunset? You in there?”

“Blarghlgha,” she managed to groan. The key turned in the lock. “Oh, God… why? Just… just go and play outside or something. Be anywhere but here.”

“Nope,” Rainbow said as she loped inside, then winced as she took in Sunset’s appearance. “Whoa, dude. You’re looking… um, very rustic.”

“Thanks. I feel pretty rustic. More like a trash bag, actually.”

Plopping down next to her on the couch, Rainbow reached for the carton of cookies that Sunset was already halfway through. “You don’t have to go in today. Boss-lady switch schedules around; you’re back on Sunday, so at least there’s that.”

“Bitchin’. But… ugh, what if I’m still all achy tomorrow? It’s not enough time.”

“Well, call it in tomorrow and hope for the best today.” She cocked her head to the side and shoved an entire cookie into her mouth, chewing slowly. “This isn’t just period shit, though. What’s up with you?”

“Everything.”

“Vague that up a little more for me.”

A sigh turned into a groan as she rolled onto one side and pulled her favorite fluffy blanket around her shoulders. Patterned with the various Disney princesses, it was a remnant of her childhood which she kept around for only the worst of times, when she needed just a little extra Disney-level comfort.

And then she told Rainbow about everything that had happened that week. She vented about all the guys hitting on her, her dad letting her down again, and her mom being her usual sparkle-and-shiny self. Worst of all, she told her about the little ‘incident’ with Sir Snails of Douchebaggery.

“Wow,” Rainbow sighed as Sunset buried her face in one of her pillows to muffle another groan of agony. “Seriously, I’m really sorry. I had no idea all that shit had been going on.”

“S’no big deal,” Sunset mumbled through her pillow.

“It is! Aren’t you going to press charges?”

Another sigh. Sunset could already tell this was going to be a frequent thing over the weekend. “About what? He stopped when he finally got the message. Yeah, he acted like a giant dicksplash, but he didn’t do anything worse that to try and kiss me.”

“But what if you hadn’t scratch him?”

Sunset winced. “I’d… rather not think about that.”

“Sunset…”

“Look, dude,” she admitted, her voice so tight she thought it might snap. She suddenly wanted to cry, but didn’t feel like she would be allowed to. “I get what you’re saying. And normally, I would totally agree with you. But I honestly think he’s never even been within kissing distance of a girl before, and just kinda messed it up. Obscenely, yeah, but he didn’t do it on purpose. So I think the scratches were punishment enough, as long as he remembers what I said.”

Rainbow’s nod was slow, as if she didn’t really want to agree with this. But what she ended up saying was, “Well, it’s your life, Sunset. Just, well, if a guy tried that on me, I’d kick him so hard in the junk he’d cough up his own balls.”

Sunset snorted. “Don’t say that. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”

“I know, I know.” Then she rubbed her hand along Sunset’s arm through the blanket, soothing her as best she could. “But hey, if you want me to beat up this Snails buttwipe, the offer is on the table.

Sunset chuckled, “Thanks. I owe you for being so cool right now.”

“Hey, like I said, I’m just a cool person.” she patted Sunset’s thigh. “I have to get to work in an hour. But if there’s anything else you need before I go, let me know, okay? Just, Netflix and unwind. Let your body betray you and just get it over with.”

“Thanks, Dash. You’re a great friend.”

And that small sliver of compassion did more than Sunset ever expected. She even managed to go over the notes for class; it was to a lesser degree than she was normally capable of, but still a non-zero number of hours dedicated to higher learning. Rainbow cheered her up just enough to not start crying or raging again, and continue functioning like a normal human being.

But already at the end of her week, there was something churning in the back of her mind. The root of her problems were growing more and more pronounced that it had ever been before in her life.

Men.

All through her numerous gender and sexuality courses, she had been fighting against those radical feminist point of views that spout “All men are the scum of the earth!”, arguing with her classmates and professors, having long and tiring conversations trying to establish that that all humans were equal.

Equality is superior to feminism, right?

This week, however, she felt herself slowly leaning over to the dark side after so many repeated slights by the not-so-fairer sex. It was true that there were women who irritated her; her mother, Fluttershy, her old friend Rarity… but they didn’t do it purely because they had a uterus. There was a difference, and it was a stark different that Sunset was beginning to utterly dislike.

Part of her various piles of coursework included an essay on ‘Pagan’ rituals and how they compared to their counterparts within the more mainstream religions. The more she went over things, the more she began to think she didn’t have enough resources. The internet proved to be a surprisingly underwhelming font for references, and the campus library did nothing to help her quickly building stress. Sighing, she decided on to check in her professor happened to still be in her office.

As it turned out, she was.

“Hey!” Professor Shine gasped when she looked up to see Sunset in her doorway. “Sorry — you surprised me! Come in, come in. You aren’t really interrupting anything; just cleaning up before heading off.”

“I didn’t mean to bother you,” Sunset muttered hesitantly, fingering the hem of her jacket. “I just… yeah, I was hoping you could help me with some sources for the paganistic rituals assignment?”

“I think I can help you, yeah. Have a seat Miss Shimmer.” As Sunset sat, the woman continued to sort through a box of junk, muttering softly to herself as she tried to turn up whatever it was she was looking for. Sunset was surprised to find the usually conservatively-dressed woman had shed her coat — which she was never seen without — and wore simple beige slacks and a cornflower blue blouse. “Now, what seems to be the problem.”

“I was just wondering— I mean, tell me if I’m off the mark here, but you seem to know a lot of about this whole ‘magic rituals’ and nature stuff. So I was thinking you had something I could use; a book or something… not like the crappy— I mean, the usual stuff we have in the bookstore or library.”

In that moment, she wasn’t sure that to think of the twinkle in the professor’s eyes, but she attributed it to gratification that one of her students was genuinely interested in their assignment. That was the kind of thing teachers lived for, wasn’t it?

“I sure do. Just a second, I’ll go and see if I have something for you.”

Five minutes later, she returned from her storage room with an old, leather-bound book. That surprised Sunset; she had simply been expecting a more thorough resources than the ones in the bookstore. But this book looked like it had been around for centuries. The smooth, worn binding was faded and dingy, and didn’t have any markings other than a few shapes on the cover. Something was written on the spine, but it was in a language she couldn’t read, so she quickly gave up.

“Here we go,” she signed as she placed in on an empty spot on her desk. “Picked that up abroad a few decades ago. Between the… crap… you find in the library and this, I think you should be able to manage a pretty good assignment.

“Thank you so much,” Sunset breathed as she took the book, pulling in closer. She had half-expected it to shock her, or to suddenly start hearing voiceless chanting in her head, but there was nothing. It was just a book.

“No problem. I must say, though… I’m a bit surprised.”

“Huh?” Sunset blinked. “At what?”

With a shrug, the older woman leaned back in her chair, folding her hands around her middle. “That you care enough about this one assignment to look for deeply into the subject. I mean, this is something of a favorite subject of mine, but it’s not really critical to your grade.”

Sunset winced inwardly. “Well. okay. I screwed up a little last semester.” She shifted in her seat, letting her eyes wander around the room. “My grades weren’t bad, but they weren’t perfect either. My mom was constantly on my case, and I was kinda stressed, and I just… I don’t know. You don’t have to listen to this.”

“No, no, it’s perfectly fine. Being a teacher, I’m no stranger to academic pressure. I won’t judge you.”

Sunset sighed heavily. “Thank you. Anyway, that’s why I’m trying to keep on track this year — to make up for the last one.”

Nodding, her professor glanced down at the book between them. From the way she regarded it, it was clearly one of her favorites. All of the minute creases and water stains were from decades ago, not just a couple years. “It’s shown in your work this semester. Top marks so far.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said with another sigh. “In most of my classes, anyway. I hope I can keep it up, even though I have no idea what I’m going to do when I leave.”

“Oh? Directionless? Well, I can’t help you there. Even if I tried, you’d still have to be the one who makes the final decision. But I trust it will be all right when the time comes.”

“I know. I’ll figure something out.” Picking up the took, she wobbled slightly from the weight; it was heavier than she expected. “Whew! I mean, um, thank you!”

“Anytime. And if you have any more questions about what you find in there, my door is always open.” Then she tilted her head to the side, considering. “Well, actually, no it isn’t. But that’s what email is for.”

“I’ll remember that.” Sunset laughed, waving as she took her leave, trying her best to balance the book while she slid it carefully into her bookbag. It took a while, but she finally succeeded.

The book was an enormous help, even if it was a chore to make heads or tales out of most of the text. By itself, Sunset would have failed miserably, but combined with the other books she had checked out from the library, she was finally able to get through her essay.

Including a break to the local pizza joint with Rainbow — during which, the scruffy-looking guy at the register kept staring at her chest the entire time — she was able to get a rough draft finished a little before midnight. All in all, she felt motivated and accomplished; better than she felt since last Monday morning.

The material was interesting, which helped a lot to keep the assignment from being a chore. There were dozens of actual ‘spells’ listed, of both the good and evil varieties, and they were detailed painstakingly, the original author's words — all in some obtuse, wierd language — crossed out and written over by the book's current owners over the years, each providing their suppositions about what motivation might be behind crafting such spells in the first place. As obtuse as the text itself could be, she did feel like she had a better understanding of what the hell she was writing about.

However, there was a minor setback in her finally going to bed. After changing into pajamas and brushing her teeth, she was extremely displeased to find that her box of tampons was empty. No pads, either. Haven't there been at least two or three left? No better results from the bottom of her purse, or the outside pocket of her backpack.

“Fucking shit on a shingle,” she growled as she texted Rainbow. Then called her. No answer to both; either she was out, her phone was dead like it was half the time, or she was just passed out from pizza overdose. There wasn’t anyone else she knew enough nearly to make it worth asking — other than old Mrs. Cake, who had already been through ‘the change’ and wouldn’t bother stocking such supplies — and she really didn’t feel like sneaking into Rainbow’s apartment to raid her tampons.

Not after the last time, when Fluttershy threw a lamp at her because she thought Sunset was a burglar. She had stuttered an embarrassed apology afterwards, but Sunset still remembered nursing that goose egg for the entire week.

Bleary-eyed, Sunset pulled on her shoes and a bleach-stained hoodie and set out, wallet, keys and phone in the hoodie pockets. There was no sense even getting in her car with the corner store about two blocks away, even though she didn't feel like walking. She felt like driving even less.

Her stomach lurched strangely as she approached the counter, and the cramps set in with twice their usual intensity. She was glad she wasn’t just getting tampons, but Midol as well; anything to take the edge off, at least for a little while. If she had been a few months older, she would have put a bottle of whiskey up there, too.

“Wow,” the young man behind the counter said as she turned back around from whatever her had been restocking. Cigarettes, maybe. His name tag read ‘Snips’, and even if Sunset felt the need to comment on the name, any humor she felt died when he followed up with, “You look pretty awful.”

“Thanks,” she deadpanned as he reached for the tampons and medicine. When he cocked a wry smile, she lifted an eyebrow and said, “What?”

“That would explain it,” he remarked, his inflection twangy and clearly not local. He shook the pill bottle briefly before scanning it.

Sunset’s expression darkened slightly. “Yup.”

“Hang on… these aren’t ringing up.” It was the tampons; he’d already bagged the Midol. Still incredibly amused for whatever reason, he grabbed the microphone and, before she could even stop him, announced to the rest of the store, “Al, price check on Tampons! Price check on tampons! Kotex?!”

“Sweet Jesus!” she hissed, one of her hands clamped over her ear as the other clung to the counter. “Try again, dude! I don’t think they heard you on freaking Mars!”

“Why?” he laughed, his pockmarked face completely innocent-looking, but his smile anything but. “You ashamed of Satan’s little cotton fingers?”

“No, I’m not exactly— it’s just— you didn’t have to… what the… ugh!”

“Hey, quiet your riot, babe. You’ll get your corks just as soon as I confirm the price.”

A few seconds later, ‘Al’ came out of the back. He didn’t have a name tag, but was a lot more groomed than his fellow employee, and had to be the manager, if Sunset was going to guess.

“What, Snips?”

“Tampons aren’t ringing up,” he said flatly, sending a glance over in Sunset’s direction. By now, there were two or three other people waiting in line behind her, all of them also looking on at the proceedings.

“I’m so sorry I picked the wrong brand,” she snapped at both of them.

“Are you serious?” Al asked, one eyebrow raised. “You called me up here to do that?”

That seemed to take some of the wind out of Snips’ sails. “They… they didn’t ring up, and I have other customers. Aren’t we supposed to—”

“Here.” A few seconds later, the other man had grabbed the box and swiped them across the scanner. The price came up immediately. “Snips, we talked about this. You can’t just do this to get a rise out of the customers. That’s not what we do.”

“It wasn’t that!” he protested, though he had started to look a little guilty. “Seriously, she watched me scan them — didn’t it say ‘item not found’?”

“Hey, what do I now?” Sunset sneered. “I’m just a girl on her period!”

Everyone went silent and still when she shouted that. After a few seconds, Al smiled as disarmingly pleasant as he could manage. “Ma’am, we—”

“No, don’t ‘ma’am’ me!” Sunset snapped, slapping her hands on the counter. “I’ve just been through the worst fucking week of the semester, and then, at the end of it, I’m fielding heavy flow. My insides are shredding themselves to shit, and I’m leaking fluids and chunks like a motherfucker. So no, It’s not funny when Miss Sassy Sass-a-lot over here starts fucking with me because he’s a dick, and I’m a chick! I’m never shopping here again for the rest of my life.”

“Big deal,” Snips bit out. “Good luck finding your precious tampons somewhere else this late.”

‘“My precious— are you… are you shitting me? Are you shitting me right now?! Do you have any fucking idea—”

“Ma’am, ma’am!” Al laughed genially, his eyes flicking around the room. She didn’t have it in her to turn to face all the other customers -- not with her cheek burning red and her eyes watery, it was too embarrassing a prospect — but his reaction indicated that at least one of them was on her side and equally furious about the situation. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience — in fact, your entire purchase is on us! Free of charge, to make up for the trouble!”

Snips was shocked beyond all reason. “Hey, wait! Are you serious? Just because she threw a hissy fi—”

“You will shut up right now if you want to keep working here,” Al hissed sharply. Snips promptly shut up. And then to Sunset, “Would that be acceptable?”

Sunset thought it over. Normally she would just nod, let them ring up her two items, and then leave. But she had been pushed too much too many times, and she was beyond pissed.

“Yes,” she said evenly. “If… you throw this in.” Acting hastily, she snatched a pack of gum and tossed it on the counter.

“Deal.”

“And these.” Two handfuls of candy bars joined them. “And one of these.” A stick of beef jerky.

“Absolutely,” Al sighed, looking a little regretful of his promise.

“Do you have any lottery tickets?’

Al swallowed. “Now that we can’t do. It’s a state law, I’m afraid.”

Nodding deeply, she accepted that and said, “Just the stuff on the counter, then.” He rang her up and punched in some code that nullified her need to pay for anything. Snips sulked while he bagged them up and handed them over. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. And come again!”

“I doubt it!” she called back over her shoulder as the door slid shut behind her.

Of course, as Sunset walked home with her free swag, the tiniest seedling of regret began to sprout in her mind. Al hadn’t wronged her in any way; he had been really helpful and courteous. The only point against him was that he hadn’t given Snips more hell for the way he treated her, but then again, she could reasonably assume he would be doing that in private, like any decent manager would.

She had a feeling he would catch part of the blame for this incident, and didn’t want that on his record… but as long as Snips bore the bulk of the punishment, she supposed it would have to do.

“The nerve of that guy,” she muttered to herself, kicking a rock off the sidewalk and watching it skitter across the gravel. “Fucking… he actually did ring that up wrong just to mess with me. Unbelievable. Completely fucking unbelievable. Here I am, walking around at midnight to buy something I don’t even want, and he fucking thinks…”

By the time she got back home, she was beginning to feel like collapsing. Between the horrors her body was putting her through and the ones coming from the universe at large, she really didn’t know if she could handle anything more. But she had to at least get herself inside and lock the door, which she barely managed.

“No big deal,” she grumbled under her breath as she tossed the plastic back onto the kitchen counter, ripping a tampon from the box. “Just my whole life, sucking more than Kirby. Getting progressively worse as I get older. Fine. Just… totally… fucking fine.”

Then, once she was inside the bathroom, she was staring at her reflection in the mirror and started hating that too. Hating that she just lets this kind of shit happen over and over, that the world was that unjust. That she hadn’t hauled off and decked every single one of those guys who had slighted her, who had had her feel like she wasn’t worth being treated with respect and dignity.

“Publicly shame me… you’ll see. You’ll all see!”

But… who was she kidding? There was no way to actually follow through on such an empty and vague threat. She was just frustrated, and crampy, and tired. And so very much done.

As she moved to sit down, prepared for the inevitable gush of blood that she might have to clean up off the seat if any of it missed, her elbow bumped the book her professor had loaned her. Handsome in its leather, innocent enough on its own.

Had she left it there in the bathroom? Right next to the toilet? It was almost as if…

And before she could stop herself, before reason and sense could stop her thoughts… a plan began to shape in her mind. A wild and reckless plan — one that she would probably think differently about when the morning came. But she was through thinking about things. She was so over being sensible, through living up to everyone's expectations. Toeing the line. Instead, just this once, she wanted to simply do whatever she wanted, and damn the consequences.

She wanted to push back a little.

It took a few seconds to find the page she had stared at in alarm when writing her essay, and only a few more minutes to gather the necessary materials, light a few candles she already had in bathroom, and then transcribe the words of the ‘spell’ into her own handwriting on a sheet of paper. Not only was the spell especially ambiguous in its design; she had no idea if it was dangerous at all — but it required a sacrifice of blood to complete — probably form an animal sacrifice or something, but any blood would do. The a few others had added a few notes about how blood was common in rituals like this, and went on about how it was actually the life force that fueled the spell being cast.

“Well,” Sunset murmured dryly as she drew the seemingly random pictographs on the bathroom floor — a few diamond-shaped figures, some oblong circles, what looked suspiciously like apples and butterflies, among others — with an eyeliner pencil, of all things. “It’s not like I’m in short supply of blood at the moment.”

As she read over the words on the paper, feeling a fresh wave of cramping that only served to push her onward, she sat down on the toilet. The tampon switch was made, and before her usual procedure — to wrap it in toilet paper and toss it in the garbage — she first held it over the star-like symbol in the center of the magic circle. Just long enough for a few drops of blood to fall, to fulfill the requirements. Then it was in the trash and she was washing her hands as she read aloud from the notebook paper she had lain atop the opened book.

“Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty and Magic; I call upon the elements here and now.”

Nausea washed over her and the candles flickered. She was almost done. There was no stopping now — even though the initial blaze of anger was burning itself out and she was beginning to feel a little stupid. Here she was, a grown woman reading a spell from a leather-bound book in her bathroom. She had done sillier things, but this was pretty far up there.

“Friendship ties everything together, and makes it all complete. I call upon the magic of Twilight, to come to me tonight!”

Whatever the magic of ‘Twilight’ was, Sunset hoped it would be what she wanted. She had gotten the distinct feeling that the spell was inherently benign; only forming to the nature of the caster in its effects. If the caster was evil, then the result would be something dangerous. If they were good and just, then something good would happen. Sunset, however, just wanted to be treated equally. She wanted others to feel her pain, and to get a taste of their own medicine. She wanted revenge.

That wasn’t evil… right?

“Element of magic, you are bound to me, to do my bidding until thy work is done! Come to me!”

And then it wasn’t so stupid anymore.

The thing that made her jump in surprise was the bathroom mirror cracking right down the middle; it was so loud and unexpected that half of her candles blowing out didn’t even occur to her. The towels and toilet paper flapped in a breeze that shouldn’t have been there. Sparks formed from nothingness, blinding her for a few seconds — especially with the light bulbs winking out. The air pressure was high, and her ears threatened to pop, which hadn’t happened in years; the last time was when she had dived into the deep end of her friends pool in middle school.

“Um,” she found herself saying aloud. It wasn’t much, but it was all she had. Was this seriously happening right now? Maybe it was some sort of freak occurrence — like an earthquake or a tornado. Those things happened, right? And most certainly didn’t have anything to do with reading from a dusty old book.

Denial because a lot less applicable when she heard a large ‘whump’, and even less feasible when she opened her eyes to see a purple haze of smoke surrounding what definitely looked like a humanoid figure in the dim light of the room.

She was no longer alone.

“Poor… unfortunate souls…”

“H-huh?” Sunset whispered, hearing her own voice as though it came from far away. Meanwhile, the new voice in the room sounded like gravel grinding together at the bottom of a well. Dark, dank, and evil.

Holy fuck, she was going to die.

“Poor unfortunate souls… in pain, in need…” the shape crooned, its words echoing in the tiny bathroom. “This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl. And do I help them? Yes, indeed. Those poor… unfortunate… souls…”

Glowing red eyes turned toward her, peering out from the midst of a shaggy, dark mane. Below a single, wickedly sharp-looking horn jutting out from the center of its forehead, a slice of white appeared as the figure smiled, teeth glistening menacingly. What could only be wings grew out of its back, stretching up and out so far they filled all the remaining space in the room.

“So sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron, crying, ‘Spells, Ursula, please!’ And I help them… yes, I do…”

It was then that something began to feel off to Sunset. Even though she still felt like she might be about to soil herself, both of her eyebrows drew together in the middle. Though she couldn’t believe she was about to say what she was to some kind of—of… monster who had just appeared in her apartment, she could blame it on the shock.

“Are you… are you quoting The Little Mermaid at me? That was Pour Unfortunate Souls... right?”

Dark, rich laughter bubbled up from a semi-visible throat as ghostly hands lifted to rest on hips, and Sunset knew instinctively that she was dead.

And then it spoke again. In a distinctly feminine voice.

“Oh thank Celestia you got the reference! Took you long enough. I was starting to think I’d be stuck with another boring old woman who just wants to off her ex-husband. Those are the worst, you know? It really gets old after a few hundred years.”

The smoke started to dissipate and the figure became clearer, and Sunset blinked rapidly as she took in the thing — the girl — that she thought had been a demon sent to kill her.

“You’re… you’re purple…”

That was the last thing Sunset thought before she lost consciousness.

Chapter 3: Bow Before Your Pony Goddess!

The sensation of floating on clouds was not one that was terribly alien to Sunset. Nearly every time she woke up, it was there, teasing her subconscious awake from slumber. Things had always been that way for her; she had never in her life been ‘jolted’ awake. It was just a quirk that was nothing worth worrying about.

What was more than a little unusual to her was the feeling of a hand slapping her cheek during the floating-ness. Rousing much faster than she usually did, she looked up — and found herself staring into a pair of large, purple eyes.

“Hey, you awake? I don’t think you have a concussion or anything, but you did hit the floor pretty hard, and I’m not exactly a doctor or anything.”

“Ahhhhhh!!!!”

In an instant, she was scrambling back against the headboard of her bed — but much more important was the fact that the dark shape was now across the room and crouching atop her dresser like some kind of gargoyle, knocking her makeup and jewelry and random knick-knacks to the rug below.

Only at that point did she finally realize that she was in her bed. How did she get there? Was she dreaming? She blinked; the creature on her dresser seemed to prove that theory decidedly false.

“Dude, chill out,” the voice mumbled gravelly. “Be mellow. You called me here, so don’t get all spazzy.”

Incredibly, she felt herself getting angry. Maybe it was the disorientation of being awoken like that, but she actually snapped back, “Why can’t I be all spazzy?! There’s a fucking demon standing on my furniture, talking to me! And it’s probably gonna eat me!” Then she regretted her words and pressed her hand to her mouth. That was certainly not the way you treated something who was a clear and present danger to your life.

“Wait, wait.” The voice was softer. Confusion? “You’re new at this, aren’t you?” When Sunset didn’t react, other than to press herself further against her headboard and hold her hand out in front of her, her nails bared like claws, the dark head nodded, its wicked-looking horn bobbing with the motion. “Alright. Alright, calm down a notch. Just… give me a minute. Transformation was never my specialty, but I’m not too shabby at it either. Hang on…”

Then she was watching as the thing slowly, careful stepped down from the dresser. As it did, something unbelievable happened. Before, the creature had been nothing but darkness and shadow and purple smoke; parts of it solid and very real, like the horn and wings. But now…

The change only took a handful of seconds, and by the time the transformation was through, a girl stood in her room. Just… a girl. Or, at least, what appeared like a girl. Holding the dresser for support as she regained her balance, she stood just over five feet tall. Her skin was light purple tone, and absolutely blemish-free. Her hair — a dark shade of blue, almost indigo, though with bright pink streaks running through it — fell down in glossy waves past her shoulders to her waist, and her striking, large purple eyes glittered like polished amethyst.

The horn remained — jutting out of her forehead like some kind of hood ornament from a fancy car — as did her wings. And now that she wasn’t all smokey and dark.

And finally, perhaps the most bizarre aspect of her new form, she wore what looked to be sneakers, pink-and-purple striped knee socks, a poodle-skirt, and a crisp, white blouse. A little purple bow tie around her neck completed the… ensemble. Though that used the term loosely.

“Um…” Sunset mumbled, unsure of what she could possibly say to make sense of the situation.

“There,” the creature-turned-girl sighed, patting down the front of her puffy skirt. “Dressed for success.”

“I… you just… what’s…”

“No good?” she asked, blinking her large eyes up at Sunset. “I could go back to the other form if you--”

“No!” Clearing her throat, Sunset allowed herself to sink down onto her sheets. The demon — monster, whatever it was — had not tucked her into bed, but merely moved her atop it from the bathroom floor. That was… okay. She could deal. “I mean… no, this is fine. This it totally fine. I’m totally fine.”

Then a smile split the creature’s face — and it was like the entire room lit up. Even though Sunset had registered that her face was much more pleasant to look at after it had changed to its girl-form, she hadn’t really thought of it as 'pretty' until that moment. That was impossible to ignore now; the small button-nose, the unnaturally white teeth behind pouty lips -- even though one of the bottom incisors was a tad crooked, that only seemed to give her smile more character rather that distract from its beauty.

“Good. Great. So… are you okay now? Can I come closer?”

“Stay there!” Sunset warned with a wave of her hand. The girl did, placing both hands on her hips. “You… what are you doing in my apartment?”

“Being polite,” she answered, her eyebrows knitting together slowly. “I mean, you called me, you supplied the life force — it woulda been pretty rude of me to ignore all that, wouldn't it? So not friendly.”

Then the summoning all came back in a rush. Perhaps because the immediate through of a possible death was right in front of her, she had forgotten all about it up until now. “Yeah… I did. You mean, it—it worked? You’re really… a demon?

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not a demon. My actual title is the Goddess of Friendship. I’m also the Element of Magic.” She paused thoughtfully. “And… I guess technically I’m a princess… the successor to an immortal sun-goddess… and a handful of other minor titles…” She shrugged minutely. “But that’s not really important. What is important, is that I’m a goddess — not a demon.” She frowned cutely. “Those guys are total jerks.”

“You’re a… what?!”

“Yeah,” she sighed as she leaned back against the dresser. It seemed that so long as she wasn’t allowed to come any closer, she would at least rest somehow. “I know, it’s kind of wordy and all, but hey, that’s what you get for being ‘politically correct’.”

“I… okay. Okay.” Taking a deep breath that didn’t really help any, she finally rubbed at both of her eyes furiously. She wasn’t a demon. That was good. That was very good. A goddess seemed a lot let likely to eat her and violate her corpse in horrible ways. Also good. When she lowered her hands, the strangely dressed girl was still there, holding up a bottle of nail polish curiously.

“‘Sand of a Beach.’ I don’t get it — is that supposed to be a pun?”

“You’re really here, aren’t you? I’m… I’m not dreaming, am I? Or you’d be gone by now.”

“You felt me trying to wake you up, didn’t you? You know you can’t feel physical sensations in dreams.” She paused again. “Well… not from me, anyway.”

“I… guess not.” Looking around, she sighed. “How did you get here? I mean, do you come from somewhere specific? Or did you just… appear? Did you exist before I cast the spell?”

Both of her dark eyebrows lifted. “Did I— are you being serious right now? What, you think that one little magic circle and a drop or two of menses is enough to create me from nothing? Especially when you're new at this? Wow, somebody has a serious chip on her shoulder.”

Menses? That thought distracted her pretty thoroughly. “How… how did you know what I used?”

“Oh,” she sighed with a petite shrug. “You’d be surprised how many times I get called by girls going through the cycle; source of life force readily available and all that. Mainly they found some random magic spell on the internet and are looking to vent a little. I’m usually the one who gets those summons. Well, me or Cadence, but trust me, Cadence wouldn’t answer a newbie unless I was busy.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’m being insulted?” Sunset deadpanned.

“Because you are,” she laughed, sticking out her tongue. Sunset half-expected that to be purple, too. But it was a normal pinkish hue. “Well, not really. But you can’t expect to get somepony like the Goddess of Love on your first try, anyway. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just explaining.”

Thinking that over, Sunset could feel her heart beating faster against after slowing. “Alright. I, um, I guess that’s fine. But… I don’t really want a demon — g-goddess,” she amended quickly at the girl’s sharp glare. “A goddess in my apartment. I was just—”

“You were just experimenting? Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Then her expression grew serious. “But you do really want me here.”

“What? Hey, didn’t I just say—”

“Yeah, I heard you. And you’re lying.” Standing upright, her arms folded over her chest — and just like that, the difference was like night and day. Even though she didn't actually say anything harshly, or ‘transform’ again, it was almost like an entirely different being was talking to her. Sunset felt about two inches tall standing before a giant, a being of immeasurable power. A Goddess.

“Intent is much more important than the actual steps involved in magic. Whether or not you want to admit it, you have a task for me to perform. And somewhere, deep inside yourself, you already know what you want me to do.”

“No,” Sunset breathed, her teeth chattering in fear. “No, I don't… it was j-just an experiment, l-like you said. I w-was just trying to let off some steam.”

“If that were true, then I would not be here.”

“What do you mean?” Again, the girl started to approach, but Sunset threw up her hands. “No, stay back!”

Sighing, the girl rolled her eyes and planted her hands on her hips. “Seriously? Look, have I done anything to give you so much as a rash since I got here? Let alone done anything to hurt you?”

“Well…”

“Have I?”

Squirming, Sunset lowered her eyes. Those purple eyes were too intense and vivid to continue staring at. “Okay… fine, you haven’t. I’m just… kind of freaking out a bit here!”

“Fine.” Instead of approaching, the goddess made her way to the bedroom door. “I’m going to go and sit on your couch. When you’re done laying a brick, come out and we’ll talk like a couple of civilized beings. That way, you can think a little bit in private.” And with that, she walked out, leaving the door open a crack.

After a few deep breaths, Sunset finally moved, swinging her legs to the side of the bed. Her chest was heaving and her skin was clammy — all of that in combination with her usual period symptoms, which were promptly shoved to her shit-to-worry-about-later list since there was an actually demon-goddess in her apartment.

Gods and demons. They were real. There was an actual goddess in her living room, waiting on her couch to talk to her. This wasn’t a dream, but it could be a hallucination — after all, there was so little chance it could actually be real. She’d never had a friend tell her, “Oh, yeah, the other day I summoned a god and we had a nice chat, some tea and cookies.” That kind of shit just didn’t happen in real life!

But now, it actually had. Pinching herself, she looked around the room. All of the things on her dresser had already been knocked off; the only bottle upright was the Sand of a Beach one, set down gently after her 'guest' had looked at it. She could not convince herself without great effort that it had never happened. Therefore…

Little Sunset Shimmer, a nobody from nowhere who made little to no recognizable contributions to society, had drawn some graffiti on the floor with a makeup pencil and summoned a goddess. With her tampon.

Her hand twitched toward her pocket. At first, she didn’t even know what she was going to do with her hand, but when it came back up with her phone, she wasn’t the least bit surprised. She could call someone — or text them. That had to be her next step… to get help. She had to let somebody know somehow!

No sooner had she unlocked the screen when she heard, “No point, girlfriend. I’ll just vanish until they leave.”

“Hey!” she shouted back. “No fair! You can’t read my thoughts!”

“I didn’t! But I have good hearing, and I can hear the sound of you unlocking your phone from here!”

Mouthing obscenities to herself, she shoved the phone back in her pocket and stood. She might as well get this over with.

“All done spazzing?” To her credit, the goddess had waited until Sunset was in the living room to speak. Even though her tone was still drier than a desert.

“So what’s… okay, you know what? Do I really have to call you goddess, or something, all the time?”

“Well, you could try my name, if that makes you feel better.”

“You could give it to me.”

“You could have asked.” There was a definite petulance to her tone as she lounged on the end of her couch, pouting.

“Fine, fine,” Sunset sighed, running her hand through her hair. She had heard once that giving out your name was something akin to giving someone power over you. She wasn’t sure if this was true or not, or even extended to something like a goddess, but she thought it best to keep it simple. “I’m Sunset. What’s your name?”

“I’m Twilight.” When she got a raised eyebrow in return, she shrugged lightly. “You aren’t giving me your full name, either.”

“Yeah, yeah… I guess not. Okay, Twilight. First off: why are you purple?”

Twilight snorted. “That’s the first question you ask? Why I’m purple?”

Shrugging, Sunset sat down at the other end of the couch. “Well, I could ask about the horn, or the wings, but I figure I’d prioritize.” She was trying not to be sarcastic, but it was proving to be incredibly difficult.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight leaned back, flexing her aforementioned wings so they stretched out behind the couch stretching back into the empty space of the room. “Well, they are all part of the same explanation, really. I’m purple for the same reasons I have a horn, or that I have wings. They're from my natural form.”

“And what is your natural form? Sunset asked carefully. “That… dark, smokey… um, thing from earlier?”

“Nah. That was just because it was funny to see you nearly soil yourself.”

“Thanks,” she grunted. “So what, are you some kind of… of an angel, or something? I mean, you are a goddess, right?”

Shaking her head, Twilight answered, “For one thing, forget all about your human religions and stuff. I mean, there may be something to that and all, but I’m not from this world. So, in my case, the rules are a little different.”

The phrase ‘not from this world’ stuck out to Sunset, and she gaped, “Y-you’re an… alien?!”

Laughing now, Twilight grinned, “Not exactly. I’m from another world, yes, but not actually another physical world. More like… another dimension. Does that make sense?”

“About as much as everything else. Hell, you're purple and have wings. I’m willing to go out on a limb here.”

“Good, good,” the goddess from another world nodded. “Now, to answer your question, I’m purple because my natural form has purple fur, wings and a horn.”

“Okay…” Sunset paused, her fingers working at the hem of her shirt. “What… what is your natural form? Can I… see it?”

Slowly, Twilight turned to fully face her. Her face darkened as she whispered, “I’m afraid my natural form, if you were to gaze upon it, is so unnatural and grotesque that it would cause your eyes to bleed, your blood to boil, and your mind to break, leaving you an insane, desiccated shell of your former self.”

Her blood freezing in her veins, Sunset exhaled sharply, all air in her lungs escaping without her telling it to. “R-really?”

Twilight snorted. “Heck no. I’m just messing with you. It’s actually kind of embarrassing.”

“Oh, you have to tell me now.” Sunset demanded.

“Nah, you don’t want to hear it.”

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Tell me!”

“No.”

“Tell me,” Sunset stressed, leaning forward. When Twilight didn’t answer, she growled, “Damn it, I summoned you. That means you have to do what I tell you, right? I order you to tell me what your natural form is!”

The goddess was silent for another moment, and then she mumbled something unintelligible.

“What was that?”

“I said I’m a pony!” she said, her cheeks a dark plum as she pursed her lips. “A pony, okay? I come from a world of talking ponies.”

Sunset blinked a few times, her mouth snapping shut. After a few seconds, “Bullshit.”

“No. Really,” Twilight insisted. “My world is populated by ponies. I’m a pony.”

“Ponies. Like… clop, cloppity clop-clop-clop?”

Snorting, she nodded. “Clop cloppity clop.”

“Ponies don’t have wings. Or horns.” Sunset pointed out helpfully.

Sighing, Twilight gestured with her hand to her solitary horn. “I’m an alicorn,” she said, as if that explained it.

“I… literally have no idea what that is.”

Blinking, Twilight looked at her. “A… unicorn and a pegasus? The wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn?” At the blank stare she got in return she scoffed, her tone turning sardonic, “You do know what a unicorn is, don’t you?”

“Are we talking about the same things, here?” Sunset asked slowly.

“Sweet Celestia! I thought everypony here wanted to see a unicorn! What kind of little girl were you, Sunset? Do you even have a soul?”

“I— what...” she gaped, unsure of even how to respond. “Okay. So, an alicorn. Wings and a horn. Fine, I’ll buy that. So then, what are you doing here?”

Sighing heavily, Twilight frowned. “Whatever you wanted me here for. I mean, after we past this awkward introduction.” Under her breath, she added, “Such a newbie.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, but a more experienced magical practitioner would already be prepared to ask for their intended favor, whatever it is — more power, more money… or even revenge. Then here’s you, asking what my stupid name is and never even went looking for unicorns as a girl. Stop me if I’m being too blunt.”

“Are you trying to tell me I’m supposed to know this shit beforehand? Like, what, pick some magical pony goddess’ name out of a rolodex?!” When Twilight only looked at her like she was a dunce, she burst out, “That’s insane! There wasn’t any kind of list of names in that book!”

“Yeah, I saw your book. One of Starswirl the Bearded’s... not a bad one, either. Way better than some of the others newbies get their hooves on. I’m not even sure how it got here. I was pretty sure all of his books had been accounted for. It’s really comprehensive and thorough, though; I’ve only seen one or two others like it. You did really well for your first time.”

“Thanks so much,” she growled sardonically. “Now you can go. Get out of my apartment. I… I don’t need some kind of magical horse goddess here, and I don’t need your help.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Don’t tell me how I feel!” she snapped.

“Why not? Somepony has to, if you won’t. Lying to yourself isn’t going to get you anywhere, Sunset. Well, except disappointment land.”

It was true, though she hated to admit it. There was something that she’d had her mind on when she was performing the summoning. But now that it actually was happening…

‘“No… I couldn’t.”

“You'd be surprised what you could actually do. What pon—people request when they think nobody is looking.” Twilight’s voice dipped lower, becoming almost sensual in its tone — persuasive. “The depths of which humanity will sink is much, much lower than the average person would be willing to admit, even if they see it on the daily news, and in the people around them. Your species has a remarkable ability to draw the wool over their own eyes and do horrible things with with a song in their heart and a spring in their step.”

“But… but they’re not bad people,” Sunset mumbled in response, feeling as if Twilight were leaning over her even though she was on the other side of the couch. “They just—”

“They forgot to treat you like an equal. Forgot to think about anyone other than themselves when they opened their big, fat mouths.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “How did you know about that?”

“Because you were thinking about it when you called me.” Gauging Sunset’s expression, Twilight sighed and leaned back, resting one arm on the back of the couch. “Listen, it’s like when you fill in a survey, okay?”

“I—what?”

“You fill out the entire thing, and then, in the miscellaneous comments box, you put in anything on your mind. Like, how they did, or things they need to improve on. In your case, it was your emotions, and using the menses as ink. Then, you fill in the rest of the form with your specific complaints — which, for you, is all the bullshit you’ve been putting up with the entire week. And then, you speak the words, mailing off said survey.”

It was all too much; a pony goddess talking to her about filling out surveys. “I… did all that?”

“Basically. And that’s what I received: a very clear picture of a woman who had been pushed way too far, too often. One who, while she didn’t hate men on principal, she hated what they were doing to her, and wanted to get some payback.” When Sunset remained unsure, she leaned in slightly and crossed her legs in the opposite direction — her poodle skirt poofing absurdly around her knees. “Even though for me it was all packed into a single instant, instead of stretched over six days, I lived through every moment you lived through. I know who they are, what they did, and I know how they made you feel.”

“You said you couldn’t read my mind,” Sunset breathed, her mouth bone-dry.

“I can’t. Not now, anyway. And not without your permission. But you telegraphed me all the information when you cast the spell.”

Shaking her head, Sunset pulled her knees up under her chin. “No. There’s something you’re not telling me. I didn’t— that wasn’t in the book. It didn’t say you got all that when I said the words.”

“Like Starswirl would even know,” Twilight scoffed. “First of all, not even he knew everything when he wrote that book. He was a mortal pony — a clever one, but still mortal. He didn’t have nearly the amount of power or lifespan necessary to put everything to theorized into practice. Not only that, but most of the books he actually published and distributed weren’t entirely accurate.”

“Why’s that?”

Pulling a face, Twilight waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, a number of reasons. But the important ones are basically because, at the time, he was unwilling to delve too deeply into the more esoteric aspects of magic. Dark magic, blood rituals, things like that. And a good amount of the spells he came up with used the darker aspects of magic as a base. And, of course, since he was unwilling to go that far…”

“But you are?” Sunset hedged. When Twilight simply shrugged, she asked, “Does… does that mean you’re evil? Because I gotta say…”

“I don’t seem evil?” When Sunset shrugged, the goddess laughed — and it wasn’t a dark, mocking laughter, or one that spoke of eons of torture and death. It was just a laugh. And kind of a cute one, at that. “You get out of magic what you put into it. Magic isn’t inherently evil, it’s just a tool. And dark is just that: dark. Starswirl was just a touch superstitious, and refused to even try.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “So I’ve heard, anyway. I never met the pony. Dressed up like him a few times, though. Barely anypony got the reference. Anyway, the spell you used isn’t good or evil; you get what you give. And you, my little newbie, are not evil. Not one, tiny, bit.”

“Oh yeah? What if I am?” Sunset lifted her chin and cocked an eyebrow. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Twilight grinned.

“You were thinking it; thinking I’m not evil because I’m such a pushover and let those guys get to me.”

Twilight’s smile fell. “Are you kidding? You’re definitely no pushover. Far from it, from what I saw of your awful week.”

“Stop it. I let them walk all over me.”

“Not the guy in your car. You drew blood.” Her smile darkened slightly. “Luna would approve.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Sunset grunted, wondering who this ‘Luna’ was. Finally curious enough, she lowered over of her legs to the floor. “Um, what… what kind of services do you offer?”

“Well, we have a five-year plan,” Twilight responded in what Sunset recognized as a lecturer’s tone. She folded her hands neatly on top of her knees, her back straight. “You can pay in monthly installments. And if you have any overages, they are priced on a sliding scale.”

“W-what?”

Snorting, Twilight rolled her eyes and said, “Kidding! I’m kidding, Nervous Nelly! You have to tell me what you want, not the other way around! You tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”

Sunset still wasn’t sure how to take a goddess cracking wise with her, so she decided not to think about the powerful being’s odd quirks just yet. “Right. Yeah. Um… I really don’t understand this stuff. I mean, I’ve never done this before. What are the options? Do you... like, hurt people?”

“I can, but it’s not all I can do.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth -- one much less dark than before. “You’d probably think I’m lying about this, and I usually don’t disclose my other jobs, but I’ll tell you anyway. Once, I was summoned for no other reason than to help find a lost cat.”

“Shut up, you were not.”

“I totally was! It was a summoner who had called me once before -- but that time had been for something far less pleasant,” she hesitated, squirming in her seat. “Anyway, when she called me again, she was much older, and unfortunately all alone in her life. All she had left was this little birman, and her memories. So, I went out with her, and helped find her cat. I didn’t really know where it was — I’m not omniscient in the sense I can see everything everywhere or anything — but I knew what it looked like from her memories.”

“Did… did you find the cat?” Sunset asked, drawn into the story.

Twilight blinked slowly, and turned away. “I wish I could say we found it in a better condition.”

“It was dead,” she said softly.

“Yeah.” Shrugging, she shifted on the couch and cleared her throat. “So I stayed with her for a while and helped her bury it. I overstayed my time frame a bit, but it was worth it. I even helped her go to the shelter and get a new cat. Then I left, when she was ready.”

Against her own will, tears sprung to Sunset’s eyes. She fought them down, sighed, and pawed at her face. “So, what, you told me that story to get me to trust you?”

"Yes.”

“You’re not supposed to admit that. It just sort of ruins everything.”

“Does it?” When Sunset didn’t answer, Twilight sat back. “Look, I get it. You’re in a very new situation. But I haven’t once lied to you. Maybe I could have, but I don’t work that way. You know nothing about the kind of thing you just tripped into other than what I’ve told you, and what little you’ve read. So you really only have two choices.

Ignoring the bit Twilight mentioned about friendship, she retorted with, “Yeah? And just what are those choices?”

“Either trust me, or don’t.”

She was right, of course. It galled her, made her clench both hands into fists, but she had no way of refuting the things the goddess told her.

“How will it work if you kill them? Because I’m… really, really not sure it that’s what I want.”

“Tell you what, I’ll give you a little hint. Death has a very high price, Sunny.”

Sunset blinked. “What?”

Twilight blinked as well. “Did… you not want me to call you that?”

Blushing slightly, she lowered her eyes and mumbled, “S’okay. You can call me that. What kind of price do you mean?”

Nodding, Twilight’s face became impassive as she continued, “Nothing you want to be made aware of unless it’s actually going to happen.” Then she brightened and looked up, smiling. “So! That’s just put that on the backburner and get on with what you do want to do. So, what sounds good to you? Blackmail? Want me to lay down claim on anypony’s firstborn? I can do that, you know. Divine privileges, and all that.”

“What? Are you crazy? No, I don’t! Hell, I’m not even sure I want my own, let alone some random asshole’s kids!”

“Alright, alright, so you don’t want to go in for that kind of revenge. Then what is it you want?”

“It’s not that I want them to die, or lose a limb or anything,” Sunset sighed heavily. She ran a hand through her messy hair. “I just… I want them to understand. I want them to know how they made me feel.”

“Right, right,” Twilight nodded, leaning forward and propping her chin up on her knee. “You want them to suffer enough so they they’ll never do it again; to you or anypony else. So! Let’s discuss some possibilities.”

“Sure. I mean, I’m new at this, so I guess let’s do whatever.”

The smile that sliced across Twilight’s face was equal measures of beautiful and slightly unnerving; like the look of a child who’s planning to prank her parents for the first time.

“Good. Now, let’s start with the small fries,” she chuckled darkly. “Tell me what do you know about Mr. Blueblood...”

Chapter 4: Goin' My Way?

Blueblood’s life was, he would readily admit, a pretty charmed one, as lives go. The son of an incredibly well-off pair of executives, he made it into college on his looks and his last name. Of course, Blueblood wasn’t his legal name — a self-fashioned moniker that carried a certain weight with it — but then again, his real name was also just as impressive as his nickname. Unfortunately, his money and prestige was not quite enough to get him further than a few states away from home, but at least he was nearly guaranteed to graduate with a solid degree in any subject he wanted, to ease gently into the life of a businessman without such pesky things as skill or a personality to hold him back.

With that out of the way, he was free to spend most of his days and nights simply hanging around his frat house with his brothers, shooting pool, drinking and playing Xbox until the sun came up the next morning. He was there for his brothers, and not there for pretty much anything else life had to offer.

One overly entitled blonde girl who worked at the campus bookstore was less than nothing to him. Of course, if he had been able to turn her into his latest conquest, it would have been worth some serious bragging rights — she was somewhat famous around his frat house for her looks, if not her waspish personality — but her turning him down only mildly bruised his ego. Besides, there was another girl he had his sights on.

Rarity Belle. She was the most eligible hottie around, and even though her split with his frat brother was recent, she had always been in Blueblood’s sights. Out of respect for his friend, he had stayed away. That was no longer a deterrent, and with Rarity being on the market again, he was willing to wait a week or two for the dust to settle before making his move.

That is, before she had just texted him well past midnight, asking if her ex was saying anything about her behind her back. He was, of course, but this was a useful catalyst for Blueblood to acquire that which made his showers with the other guys awkward once; which he had to blame on not being able to get an attractive model out of his mind before they would stop accusing him of being a fag or something. After all, he just couldn’t come right out and say “Sorry, dude, but your girlfriend gets me hard.”

There are some things dudes just don’t say to other dudes.

But now the time had arrived. He was on his way to Rarity’s sorority with his sports car’s radio blasting and a condom in his pocket. Things were finally looking up, and going just the way he wanted them to.

That is… until he spotted the lone girl in a dress stranded on the side of the road.

There was no other car nearby, but that didn’t mean anything to him. His first thought was ‘easy pickings’, but he suppressed that impulse. Rarity was waiting for him. Should he really stop for some random chick when the woman of his dreams was anxiously awaiting him to be a shoulder to cry on?

In the end, his conscience did tug at him a little — but only because the closer he got, the more attractive she looked. Long, dark hair that shined in the reflection of his headlights, and a face that looked like it belonged on a model. She was a little thin, true. And at first glance her tits left something to be desired… but those legs. Now those he would love to feel wrapped around his waist.

His decision made, he began slowing down. She waved even harder for a second before gathering up the bottom of her dress and jogging closer.

“Need a lift, beautiful?”

“Yeah,” she laughed nervously. “I’m so sorry, I just… this must all look really weird and cliché, but if you could help me get to a gas station or something, I’d really appreciate it… so much.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet you would,” he said — more under his breath than to her. Thumbing the button on his door to unlock the passenger side, he said, “Hop in, I can help you.”

Grinning in a way that made her natural beauty light up like the sun, she gushed, “Thank you! You’re saving my freaking life, here!”

Blueblood noticed the way her smooth legs and shapely calves peeked out through the slit in her dark purple dress as she climbed into the car. If he was lucky, maybe he could score her number on the way to Rarity’s. It never hurt to have a backup plan, after all.

“You look nice,” he commented, flicking his eyes back up to hers as she shut the door and turned to look up at him. “What happened? Get stood up?”

Shaking her head, she settled back against the seat, her little handbag squeezed tightly between shaking fingers. “Oh my gosh… do you have time for a story?”

“I got a little bit,” he chuckled as he shifted into drive and pulled away from the shoulder of the road. “I’m Blueblood, by the way.”

“Wow, cool name,” she said, grinning widely. “I’m Twily.”

Over the next couple of miles, Twily spun a tragic tale of a girl whose boyfriend had been so wrapped up in partying that he didn’t even notice his best friend hitting on her until she had to break a punch bowl over his head to get him to leave her alone. The party ended with her being completely ostracized, leaving in tears and hating the world.

“I’m really sorry,” he said, in a voice that very nearly sounded earnest. “I didn’t even see your mascara in the dark… if I’d noticed, I’d tell you that I have some tissues in the glove compartment.”

“Oh, thanks,” she said shakily as she opened it and took one, dabbing at her cheeks to remove the dark stains — which hadn’t actually been there before she mentioned them. Not that he would have noticed. “So, um… do you do this a lot? Pick up stray girls on the side of the road?”

Shrugging, he guided them around the corner towards the city skyline, which was slowly becoming brighter as they approached. “Not all that often, but this isn’t the first time. It’s a college town; parties happen, shit goes bad. You know the drill.”

“Yeah, I do know,” she snorted and then blew her nose before tucking the used napkin into her clutch. “I’m sorry if I ruined your night.” Then, turning the full intensity of her bright purple eyes — they had to be contacts lenses — on him, she asked, “So where were you off to before I rudely interrupted you?”

“Nowhere, really,” he found himself saying. “Just, uh, helping another friend. But that can wait a couple extra minutes to get you to this gas station, right?”

“I guess it can,” she said quietly as they rolled up to the pump. The gas station was more or less deserted, being one on the outskirts of town, and at the moment there was only one other car filling up. “Helping your friends is important… helping strangers is moreso,” her voice was almost a whisper. Blueblood was about to ask what she meant when she followed up with, “I, um, I don’t have any cash on me… sorry, I didn’t think I’d be going anywhere that I needed it, but if you give me your number, I can try and get you some later.”

Anybody would have seen his hands flex in anticipation on the steering wheel. “Sounds great.” He waited until she took her phone out her clutch, then told her the numbers. “And hey, seriously, I’d take dinner with you over cash for the gas.”

“What?” She blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering.

“I mean, if you’d be interested,” he backpedaled, but only the tiniest bit. “I know you just got out of a nasty thing and all, but I’m just saying… I’m kind of into you.”

Her eyebrows drew together slightly as she processed what he was suggesting. “Are… are you making a pass at me, even though I just kind of got dumped for not letting a guy force himself on me?”

Blueblood forced himself to look a little chagrined. “Well, when you put it like that…”

“No, no,” she breathed, her smile changing to something else altogether. Before it had been innocent, embarrassed, maybe even a little shameful. Now, it was… “You, uh, you really do have some brass ones, don’t you? Picking up hitchhikers, making plays for girls who are technically taken…”

He squirmed. “Yeah, okay, yeah. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to let you leave without at least telling you I kind of dig what you got.”

“That’s cool. You’re… not so bad yourself.”

“Really?” It was time. If he didn’t press this advantage, he couldn’t be sure that she would be as receptive if-or-when they had that dinner date. Leaning in slightly, his hand grazed the skin of her upper arm — just one finger, for now. “Not so bad enough to call me about hanging out soon?”

Her breath caught, but she didn’t move otherwise, blinking as her mouth popped open slightly. “Aren’t… you going to be late to help your friend?”

“I’m helping one right now,” he murmured, leaning in slightly as she pinched her bottom lip between white teeth, looking coyly up at him as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her little purple-and-gold, star-shaped earrings were the perfect accent, and complimented her dress astoundingly.

“Blueblood…”

The kiss was rich and so full of everything he had been seeking from his other relationships that he found himself forgetting all about Rarity, about the girl at the bookstore… every other girl he’d been with, or had turned him down. None of them mattered compared to Twily. At least, not at the moment, they didn't. Maybe afterwards…

After a few seconds, as her hands smoothed over the collar of his polo shift, one of his began to inch south, gathering up her dress from the hem until he could feel her calf against his knuckles.

“Hey, w-wait a second, I—”

“Shhh,” he shushed, ignoring the trembling coming from her body. “You had a bad night. I just want to make it better.” And he continued his slow progress. Slowly, almost agonizingly slowly, but quick enough that he didn’t lose his mind, he began to skim his hand up her thigh. When it got closer to her hip, he slid inward.

And then met resistance. Hard resistance.

“Wait, what the f—”

“What’s wrong?” she breathed, still in that flustered tone that made him not sure what to think. Did she know, or was she legitimately confused? “Blueblood, are you okay?”

“I… I just— something is— do… do you have a concealed carry permit, or something?”

“A concealed…” her brow furrowed, concerned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But by now he didn’t even need to ask. It was warm and soft, exactly like flesh — not the cold metal of a gun, which he suddenly found himself wishing it was more than he cared to admit.

“Uh… hey, listen,” he began to laugh nervously. “I don’t know what’s going on down there, but I, um, I wasn’t really expecting to find…”

“Find what?” Then she inhaled sharply, as if just now understanding the problem. “Oh! Oh, you mean my ‘Little Twily’?”

Nodding slowly, he glanced between where his hand was and her face, and back down again, confusion and dawning horror keeping him from pulling his hand away. From outside, there was no indicator that anything other than a dress was there. How the hell could he have known? But now, he was in an incredibly awkward situation in which he could only ascertain that he was touching someone else’s penis.

This… was Blueblood’s worst nightmare, in a perfectly literal sense. He had spent nearly every waking moment since that locker room debacle feeling obscenely paranoid that everyone would think he was gay — and even worse, they might also be gay and assume he wanted to fuck them. That just couldn’t happen. The world had to go on just not assuming, but knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was straight as a freeway.

But now, here we was, touching something that most definitely wasn’t a female body part. And although he didn’t want to examine everything in detail, he also knew he was decidedly turned on. Maybe not by the thing itself, just from the previous passions a minute ago… or maybe both? Everything felt so mixed up and confused that he couldn’t discern his fears from the reality of the situation. He didn't want to like it, didn’t want to even think about liking it. This wasn’t acceptable. His entire life would be simply thrown into chaos.

“Blueblood, you’re scaring me,” Twily whispered, and he felt it twitch. Oh, god, it twitched! “Talk to me, okay? What’s the matter?”

“Sorry... s-sorry, I…” No, this wasn’t what he signed up for. He was abandoning ship. “Look… I’m sure you’re a great person and all, and I was happy to help you, but this isn’t… I mean I’m not a…”

“Not a what?”

Grimacing, he forced his voice to drop an octave — even though the gas station was empty. How long had it been empty? The lights were off, except for the ones on the pump indicating that it was in service. “You know… I just, I’m not into guys. You understand.”

“Oh. Well, I mean… I understand.” Her voice sounded a little hurt, but as she went on, it began to pick up a little. “You don’t want to be with a guy. That’s cool. No problem, since I’m not one, right?”

“Whatever,” he grunted as he began to back away. “The point is, I’m not buying whatever it is you’re selling, so—”

“Wait! Don’t go just yet.”

And then he found he couldn't. At first, he thought she had reached a hand down and grabbed his wrist — but both of her hands here still on his chest. How the hell did that happen?!

But a second later, when he jerked away from inside of her dress, his hand came free as if nothing had happened. Staring blankly at her lap, he began to wonder if he had imagined everything — all of it, from the point at which he first felt the dick until now.

“What’s— how the… sorry,” he sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe… maybe I should let you get back to, um, that thing you were going to do.”

“But I don’t want to leave yet.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but you have to.”

“No.”

Both of his eyebrows lifted. “What?”

‘“I said I’m not going anywhere,” she said stubbornly. “Not until I’ve finish what you started.”

Then she moved. It was with force and certainty, and with her leg slithering over his, her hips moving inwards as she deftly leaned over him to recline the seat back as far as it would go. His voice sputtered in his ears, and he felt her hands press down onto his shoulders, pinning him down into the seat.

“Wait— you— what are you doing? You can’t do this!”

“Of course I can,” she whispered, leaning down to bite his bottom lip — hard. As her hips came down to press directly against his, there was no mistaking what he had thought he felt before. It was even larger than his own, and he found himself whimpering. “Shh… I’m just helping you,” she soothed, her tone doing nothing to placate the heart pounding in his chest. “You’ve had a bad night. I just want to make it better.”

“Why?!” he gaped up at her as she loomed over him. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because this is what I do to misogynistic, transphobic, sleazy womanizers!” she suddenly hissed — in a voice that was steadily growing darker, deeper. One hand moved down to begin fumbling with his jeans and, incredibly, he couldn’t throw her off. How could one woman who looked to weigh no more than one-twenty possibly keep him from sitting up with only a single arm?!

No!” he shouted weakly. “Stop, this is… what are you doing?”

“Taking you as my own.” Her eyes, once purple and sparkled like jewels, now blazed with a crimson light as she unzipped him, shifting backwards to position herself. “Making you a woman. Making you my woman.”

“What?! Don’t— you’re crazy! This is— wait…” and then he shoved his hand down the front of his pants to try to stop her, and felt his breath freeze in his lungs. Something wasn’t right. A very important something wasn’t there. Oh God, where did it go?!

“Hold on!” Her grin was all teeth as he felt something poke the back of his hand. “I like to ride ‘em rough and bareback!”

Both of his eyes squeezed shut as he turned his face aside, tears leaking down his cheeks. “Stop! Please! You can’t do this, I—I don’t want it, I don’t! This can’t be happening! Stop!!!”

Her mouth grazed his ear, her teeth pinching his lobe, and she whispered, “I will if you will…”

And then… nothing. After a few seconds, he opened both his eyes.

And found that he was on the side of the road. Exactly where he had picked up the hitchhiker in the first place -- and there was no sign of her anywhere. When he finally thought to check his pants, they were properly fastened, and all the contents were present and accounted for. Nothing had happened to permanently alter his life, to make him into something he wasn’t.

“Oh.” he laughed weakly, still soaked in sweat. “It was a dream… just—just a dream. She’s… right, yeah. I’m so fucking stupid.”

However, as he reached for the keys in the ignition to continue his drive toward Rarity and his original goal, he noticed something that caught the light of his stereo’s LED display. Reaching toward the passenger seat with a shaky hand, he plucked two tiny objects from the leather.

Purple-and-gold, star-shaped earrings. No girl he knew of wore them — not one of them, except…

His scream echoed as his tires squealed, kicking up dust and dirt and scaring more than a handful of wildlife as he drove off into the night.

“Oh, man!” Sunset cackled madly, completely beside herself after having heard the play-by-play retelling of the entire encounter. “You have no idea how much I wish I could have seen that!”

Grinning smugly, somewhat in pure jubilance, Twilight handed the phone back to her from inside her clutch. “Then you should check your phone; a few of the more… interesting shots are on there now. Plus his contact info, if you wanted it.”

More excited than she perhaps should have been, Sunset did a flip through the camera roll. There were plenty of shots of a shocked Blueblood, one of Twilight on top of him, and even a short video clip of him frantically searching for a dick that had gone temporarily missing. She had no idea how Twilight had managed to get such great shots while doing all this to the guy, but she certainly wasn’t complaining. Howling with laughter, she fell back on the couch and kicked her legs in the air, delighted.

“So you approve?”

“Totally!” she finished breathlessly. “I… wow, I am so sorry I ever doubted you! And you even included the part about him being a misogynist?”

“Absolutely — and I even threw in transphobic, since he was having kittens when he found out I was packing.”

As her laughter subsided, she looked a bit more keenly at the goddess. Her wings and horn had returned, she was back in her seemingly random assortment of clothing — her sleek, purple dress had gone when she re-appeared in her living room, looking no worse for the wear — and her skin was purple again. But, aside from the obvious, she simply looked like a very appealing human woman. Not in the otherworldly sense, and not even ‘supermodel’ level by normal standards. Just… pretty.

“You know, you’re pretty progressive for a magical pony god from another world,” she said instead.

“Yeah, well, us ponies are pretty up-to-date, too, you know. But that wasn’t what you were going to say.”

“How do you do that?!” When Twilight only laughed, Sunset blushed a little before blurting out, “You’re pretty.”

The thing that surprised her the most, aside from Twilight’s first appearance in her bathroom, was that the goddess actually lowered her head bashfully. It might have been an affectation designed to make her appear more human, of course — and she had insisted that she never once lied to her. So if it wasn’t, then that was not a display of modesty she had thought to see from some kind of god-pony-girl.

“Thanks. I mean, um, I usually don’t hear that kind of thing anymore. Everypony is usually to focused on the whole ‘Wow, she’s an immortal goddess’ thing.”

“Oh.” Clearing her throat, Sunset tried to push past the moment for Twilight’s sake, since she seemed to be genuinely embarrassed. “What I meant was, you can transform into anything you want, apparently. I guess what I’m trying to say is, why do you choose to look like this? Why keep your skin purple when you can clearly change it to something more normal? I get why you'd probably wanna keep your wings; they're clutch as fuck, but what about your horn?” She shook her phone for emphasis, referring to the pictures of her and Blueblood; she had changed her entire skin tone to that of a girl far fairer than her usual purple complexion for the job. Likewise, her wings and horn were nowhere to be seen and her hair was a simple, elegant shade of black. “Like, you’re really pretty, but you could be anyone. Like, supermodel-grade or like, an actress or something. So…”

Nodding in understanding, Twilight took a seat beside Sunset on the couch. “You’re wondering why I ‘settled’ for this form instead of something more outstanding. That’s fine.” She held up a hand to wave off any apologies. “You have a point. But… well, I guess you wouldn’t really believe me.”

“There’s a magical pony princess in my living room,” Sunset deadpanned. “Try me.”

Twilight considered, but shook her head. “A story for another time. Let’s just say it's the form I feel the most comfortable in — besides my own — and leave it at that.” Then she tilted her head slightly. “So you’re happy with the results? No second thoughts or take-backsies?”

“Well, yeah. I mean no. I mean, you didn’t really hurt him, just woke his ass up a little. I’m cool with that.”

“Are you sure?”

Sunset frowned. “You kinda make it sound like I shouldn’t be.”

“I’m just making sure. Because after tonight, there are no take-backsies. The consequences of this action will keep rippling into the future.”

“I don’t… what do you mean? Like… a butterfly effect? How could you stop the consequences? You already scared the fuck out of him. That’s kind of over and done with.”

Twilight folded her legs underneath her, her poodle skirt fluffing up around her knees. Her wings stretched out behind the couch, ruffling a little as they flexed, and and she frowned thoughtfully, considering how to best explain. “Let’s just say… with divinity comes certain privileges. And as they relate to my power with humans on your world, and the jobs I do, I guess you can say I have an ‘undo’ button. I can’t change how we handled the situation in any way, but, before my time is up, I could remove it; reset everything back to how it was before we intervened. Young Blueblood’s night would continue on as if he never met me on the side of the road. That would very well mean that he makes poor Rarity’s night even worse than it already was, since that was his original plan, whether or not he understood the implications — or cared about them.”

“But, then again,” she shrugged. “All actions have consequences.”

Sunset frowned, decidedly unsettled about what she'd heard about her former friend during Twilight's retelling of her encounter with Blueblood, but at the same time unwilling to look too deeply into it. Rarity was a big girl; she could handle her own affairs, and seemed perfectly willing to do so.

Still, she considered Twilight's explanation. “I think I get it,” she nodded, beginning to understand now. “And you said only for the jobs you do. Which means that you can’t really alter time in ways other than that.”

“You got it.” Then Twilight grinned. “You’re actually pretty clever… you know, for a newbie.” Sunset grumbled, but she laughed. “So, you’re happy with the results?”

“Yeah. Nobody died, nobody even got hurt. He just had to put up with being made to feel like we feel all the time because of assholes like him. And that’s a good thing.”

Nodding, Twilight neither agreed nor disagreed with her as she stood and patted down her skirt. “Then I guess my work here is done. And I could use a nap.”

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Sunset also shot to her feet, taking a small step forward. “I thought you said we could start with Blueblood. He’s not the only one I really wanted to—”

“Patience,” Twilight assured her, lifting her hand to touch her index finger to Sunset’s lips. It was a lot warmer than she had been expecting, and not an altogether unpleasant warmth. “We’re just getting started.” Then she drew back quickly. “Oh… sorry. I forgot that you’re kinda skittish.”

“It’s fine,” Sunset grunted, waving it aside. She didn’t care as much about that anymore, now that the goddess had proven she was no threat to her personally. As far as that could be proven, anyway. “So, will you be back tomorrow?”

“I might. Call me — I’m in the book.”

Snorting at the joke, Sunset followed her to the bathroom. “Alright. Is there… I mean, if there are any rules to calling you, I’d rather know them now than later.”

“Summoning circles only work for a short time; basically, the magic can usually only sustain us for a matter of hours. Also, a general rule of hoof is that you can’t summon more than once in the same time period. There are exceptions, of course, but those are really rare.”

“And… if I want to make sure I get you, and not another random pony-goddess?”

Twilight chuckled, “Well, there aren’t many alicorns available to answer summons, but… just name me. Name me and concentrate on who I am to you. Your request will reach me.” Then she stood on the spot where she had appeared, where the markings and shapes remained on the floor. “Sleep well, Sunset. See ya.”

“Okay, I’ll see y—ah!”

The blinding flash and pop was enough to cut her off, and she threw her arm across her eyes just a moment too late. By the time the spot in her eyes were gone, she was alone.

Chapter 5: Do I Dare?

It took Sunset more than an hour to fall asleep after Twilight had left, despite how late it was and how exhausted she felt. So many things in her life had suddenly ceased to make sense, and she had to parse and dissect each and every one of them in an attempt to settle her racing brain.

Gods were real. Or… ‘little g’ gods, at any rate. And if there were gods, that meant demons and other stuff was real, too. The supernatural was a thing, and not just books and movies and something in the overactive imaginations of those people who played tabletop games. Apparently, if the way Twilight described things was of any inclination, there was a small network of paranormality playing out behind the scenes of the ‘mortal’ world, and only a select few humans were privy to it.

That was a whole lot easier for her to accept than the possibility that she could possibly interact with another world. She could remember thinking, a long time ago when she was a little girl, that if magic and spirits were real, they probably couldn’t be seen because they belonged to their own separate world. Like the moon could never touch the sun; both in the sky, but eternally apart. A magical goddess showing up in the middle of her bathroom decidedly threw a wrench into that whole worldview.

But it did happen.

When she woke up in the morning, groggy and in a stupor, the markings were still on her bathroom floor. Much more importantly, the blood was gone; it had been ‘used up’ in the summoning, she assumed. There had been something in the book about that, hadn’t there? And sure, she could choose to believe everything was a dream if she ignored that.

But... there were pictures on her phone. True, none of them showed Twilight’s actual face, but there were a few that included a glimpse of her body. As far as concrete evidence went, pictures were right up there with Twilight hanging around in her apartment.

As she got ready for her shift, more on autopilot than anything, she kept stopping to pick up her phone and check the pictures again. Sure enough, Blueblood always showed up, accompanied by a knee or an elbow of her so-called ‘Goddess of Friendship’. It was both comforting and unsettling at the same time, even though those two feelings were not very compatible with each other.

“Hey,” Rainbow said as she breezed into the apartment without so much as a knock. “Sorry I’m late, stupid Fluttershy had me up all night with her nature-friendly therapy bullshit, and by the time I convinced her that nobody else was interested in listening to… to—hey, are you okay?”

“What?” Sunset blurted in reply as she hastily laced up her converse. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, um, for one thing, your shirt is on backwards.”

Glancing down, Sunset was mortified to see that the other was absolutely correct. “Damn it.” Putting down her bag, she pulled both arms in through the sleeves, then did her best to turn her polo shirt the right way without taking it all the way off. With a tug or two from Rainbow, she succeeded. “There. Thanks, that woulda been stupid.”

“Back to my question -- you okay? Because your eyes look kind of, like… wild.”

“Totally fine.” Sunset frowned. “I just slept in later than I thought I would, and not I’m trying not to be late for work.” She opened the fridge to check for more of her mom’s leftovers, but they were all gone by then. “Shit.” Admitting defeat, her next move was to jerk open another cabinet and make a grab for one of her emergency kits: a microwavable container, a plastic fork, and a pack of instant noodles.

“This isn’t like you, though.” Swiping at her multicolored hair, she leaned closer as if Sunset wasn’t hearing her. “Normally, you’re up way before me, and just waiting for me to get here by the time I do. Or you’re getting back from seeing your mom. Did you really sleep in?”

“No, I just decided to lie about sleeping in because I thought it would be hilarious. Sure, Rainbow, that makes perfect sense.”

The girl frowned, and it wasn’t pleasant on her face. “Hey, you don’t need to be a bitch about it. I’m just asking a simple question.”

Finally, Sunset stopped and sighed. Then she took a deep breath — in through her nose, and out through her mouth, just like her mother had always taught her. It didn’t help every single time, but it usually at least gave her a few seconds to straighten out her thoughts. A useful tactic.

“You’re right. I’m sorry for being a bitch. My fuckup, not yours. Let’s just… go to work, okay?”

“Wait, whoa, hold up.” Two firm hands were holding Sunset’s upper arms, and her rose-colored eyes were staring hard into her own. “Something’s different, and I’m not sure it’s a good different.”

“Hey, let me go, okay? Do you want a ride to work or not?”

That did seem to snap Rainbow out of her focus upon her neighbor’s emotional state enough for them to get going. However, the frown remained firmly in place until they reached the bookstore.

Throughout her workday, Sunset found herself spacing out, thinking back on the wild conversations she and the person who invaded her living room had enjoyed — if, indeed, a magical pony goddess counted as a person. There was so much more she wanted to know, so much she wanted to get done with her, if she could. So many assholes, so little time to sic her new goddess on them.

Her wandering mind went back and forth on how she saw Twilight. Most of the time, it was as a business partner; they had made some sort of quasi-contract, and her partner merrily carried out her wishes, then asked her to ‘sign on the dotted line’ by stating that she was satisfied with the results. A few times, she saw her as a new friend… but that was somewhat more of a stretch, despite her having a title as ambiguous as the 'Goddess of Friendship’. Whatever that meant. The fact of the matter was that Sunset knew next to nothing about said goddess, but she was so friendly and accommodating — if a bit snarky — that is was hard to think of her purely as a business contact.

And then there was the inclination to think of her as a trained attack dog, one that Sunset was trying hard to suppress. That wasn’t fair to her, even if she was some kind of wish-granting, all-powerful goddess. Especially since she was an all-powerful goddess. Clearly, Twilight had been nothing but nice to her, so thinking of her as beneath her, or anything less than equal, just didn’t sit right.

Over and over, her eyes raked over her copied pages before and after the spell itself, double-checking to make sure anything other than her blood was not listed as the price for summoning something like Twilight. She knew that demons and such, at least in theory, sometimes took your soul in exchange for their work. She didn’t think Twilight would do such a thing, but it would behoove her to at least know what she was getting herself into.

“Do they come in banana?”

“Huh?” she asked, snapping back to reality. “Does what comes in banana?”

“These candies,” an elderly man asked, holding up some multi-colored candy. It was the cheap stuff you can get for a dollar a bag from the supermarket checkout, but with her college label on it the cost nearly doubled.

“Oh. I’m sorry, sir, they don’t. Just what you see at the checkout.”

“Fine, then I’ll take some of these.” His tone was a little grumpy, but resigned.

“Okay. With the shirt, that comes to twenty-three dollars and forty-seven cents.”

Shaking his head and muttering something about ‘highway robbery’, he paid, and she bagged the items up and sent him on his way. She spaced out again until her shift lead came to relieve her for lunch.

This time, Flash was still eating as she heated up her noodles. They smiled and nodded at each other, but he didn’t initiate a dialogue, and she was too nervous to do it herself. The spinning of the microwave gave her just enough time to work up some tiny sliver of courage, so that when she removed it and added the flavored powder, she was able to make herself go and sit down across the table from him.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hey, Sunny.” Internally, she was squealing 'Oh, gosh I love it when he calls me Sunny eeeeeeeeeee!!!’ so loud that she nearly missed him asking, “What’s up?”

“Oh, you know.” Somehow, she had a feeling that telling him about the goddess she had summoned wouldn’t be the best conversation topic. It would be interesting, but it would also probably make him think she was insane. “This and that. What’s new with you?”

“Not much,” he signed as he wiped a tiny smudge of mustard from his mouth with a napkin from his finished sandwich. “Just got the Hellsing box set. Pretty sweet, I can’t wait to rip into it tonight.”

“Nice, nice. Alucard is a badass, hands down. But Alexander is also right up there. You know, for a Paladin.”

“Naturally.” They both laughed, and it took a lot of willpower for Sunset not to squeal with delight. Then he pushed his chair back and stood, brushing a couple of crumbs from his shirt. “Damn, I gotta get back… really don’t want to, though. We’re just conditioning the merchandise, which is just tedious.”

“Hey, um… would you maybe want to watch it together?” Immediately, she began to kick herself internally. Why had she asked it that badly? There had to be something she could do to salvage this impending trainwreck! “Hellsing, I mean. You know, I never did see the end of it.” Much better. Well, a little better, anyway.

“Oh… damn, I guess I didn’t say that it’s the manga I just got.” Shifting awkwardly, he smiled and tried to turn it into a joke. “Unless you want to read over my shoulder, that is.”

Definitely would, she thought. “No… that’s okay. But hey, if you ever wanna rewatch the anime…”

“You’ll be the first one I call,” he chuckled as he balled up his paper and shot it toward the nearest trash can. “Well… guess I’ll see you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, have fun.”

The moment the door had swung shut, she let her head thud against the table, groaning, “Have fun?” Of all the things for her to wish for him, it was to have fun turning pages? She must have sounded like a complete moron. No wonder he didn’t want to suffer through her company if all she wanted to do was to ‘watch’ a manga together and enjoy a rousing game of Adjust The Bookshelf.

That was her state of mind when she reached her mom’s bar. Her mood was a curious one; mostly, she felt dread about talking to her mother again paired with the depression from Flash’s rejection. However, this time, there was something different.

It was only when she put her car into park that it dawned on her: the difference was Twilight. If not for her recent adventure in summoning, she would be in the absolute worst mood ever. Apparently, getting revenge on a jerk who annoyed you — and even better, the promise of even more opportunities just on the horizon — was the best medicine for a period-exacerbated craptastic mood.

“You didn’t come by this morning,” was the first thing the woman said to her when Sunset entered, though she did tap one of the other workers to man the bar as she went into the kitchen as usual. Sunset followed her through the door. “I started to worry about you. You sleep in again?”

“Maybe,” she allowed as she rubbed her face. When her hand lowered, she saw her mother’s face a few inches from her own. “Wha— hey, what are you doing?”

“Huh. Your period came.”

Blinking, she processed that irritating level of maternal perceptiveness for a minute before bursting out, “Mom, I hate it when you do that! Makes me feel like you have me under surveillance or something!”

“I don’t trust birth control,” she grunted as she began pacing around the kitchen, checking on a few things and picking up a few others. “It’s your decision to use it and regulate your hormone levels, to be responsible, yadda yadda. All those chemicals can’t be good for you, though.”

“Those chemicals keep me from experiencing this hell twelve times a year, okay? Totally worth it to me.”

“Hopefully you’re right and there’s no downside.” Then she walked back, pushing a stack of lidded containers into her hands. “There, that should do it.”

Sighing, she lifted the lid of the topmost box, already knowing what she would see. “Damn it, not salmon!”

“It’s good for you at this time of the month!” Then she rolled her eyes before adding, “Or this time of the three months, whatever it is. I also suggest you get some yogurt and bananas. Those are good, too. And you should make sure to heat up the food every time; it’s bad for your system to be cold right now. Come back to me for some beet soup when your flow stops.”

“But this isn’t--”

“Take it.” Her mother’s face was hard. She didn't budge. “It’s good for you.”

“I know, I know…” Sunset grimaced. “I just don’t like this stuff.”

“You always criticize my cooking. Totally ungrateful — and here I am spending all my time making sure you get some decent food in you!”

Frowning, Sunset took the food but growled, “It’s not that you made it, mom, you know that! But, I mean… salmon? Beet soup?” She took a look inside another container. “Plus, you know I hate beans!”

There was tense silence for a few moments, as the other employees watched them stare at each other. Sunset shifted awkwardly with the containers in her hands, thinking she was about to get a very stern lecture, or just thrown out of the kitchen entirely. It wouldn’t be the first time. Then a thumb and index finger darted up and snatched her earlobe — barely missing a teardrop earring — and dragged her from the main kitchen to her mother’s tiny, cramped office in back.

“Ow! Hey, what’s the—”

“Something else is bothering you,” her mother said, her eyes searching Sunset’s. “Bigger than just a period.”

Suppressing the urge to groan, she did her best not to betray anything with her face as she rubbed at her ear. This had always been completely pointless around her mother; the woman might not be the smartest or nicest, but she one was of the most perceptive people she had ever met.

“I’m… it’s nothing. I just had a shitty week.”

“Don’t swear,” the older woman hissed, but there was no real anger in her tone. “This is more than your usual school problems, too.”

“Why do you say it like that? Like I’m in the third grade, being bullied or something.”

“Talk to me about it. You can talk to me about anything.” The minute Sunset rolled her eyes, she snapped, “Spill it Sunset Shimmer, we aren’t getting any younger and I won’t have you suffering in silence! I’m your mother, you can tell me what’s wrong!”

Oh, boy. She’d whipped out the last name, which still shot dread through her body, despite nearly being old enough to drink. However, she wasn’t the tiny little girl who would hide in her room when she heard it spoken with authority anymore. “It’s not your place to tell me what to do, or demand that I give you every single detail of my life! I’m an adult now, you have to let m—”

“Bullshit!” Apparently, she was not tethered by her own orders about swearing. “You’re my daughter, and the only thing in this life that I care about anymore. So you will tell me what’s wrong so we can work on it together.”

It was a lot harder to maintain her stony front after hearing something like that. They fought so often sometimes Sunset forgot that it was because they did love each other so much, not because they actually disliked each other. “Fine… not that it’ll change anything.”

So she told her all about her recent troubles. Her mother tittered like a teenager when she brought up Flash, but otherwise maintained a disapproving glare through the story. She was able to keep herself from mentioning her recent experiment with magic or summoning, but only just barely. If she was going to actually tell anyone if her life about that, it would probably be Rainbow… but even that was going to be a hard sell.

“And you didn’t call the police?”

“He didn’t really do anything,” she sighed. “I scratched his face, and he didn’t leave any marks on me. All he had to do was tell the cops that I ‘went crazy’ and I would look like the bad guy instead of him. So… so I figured a warning would look better than filing a report that goes nowhere.”

“Well… you’re probably right, unfortunately. The police don’t really protect women as much as they should. Disgraceful.” Pulling her daughter in for a brief hug, she said, “Men see you, and they see the beautiful, strong young lady I see. The problem is, they don’t know how to treat her as she deserves .They think they can own you and push you around, force you to be what they want you to be. It makes them weak, not you.”

“I know that, thanks to you,” Sunset added very quietly.

Shrugging, her mother leaned back on her cluttered desk and sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead and smoothing her hair. “I wish you would stop taking things slow with this Flash, though; as much as I like you to stand up for yourself, it would be easier if you could threaten to send your boyfriend after them.”

That made Sunset smile. “I thought you wanted me to handle this all on my own. Superhero style.”

“This isn’t a comic book or a cartoon, it’s real life. Again, unfortunately.” Then her hand cupped Sunset’s cheek, and she tried not to recoil from how much it smelled like cooked fish and citrus. “You’re a gift to this world, Sunny. It just hurts me to think you’re trying to fight all your battles on your own, because that sort of thing takes the life out of a person. It stops them from realizing their true potential.”

Nodding, she thought back to the symbols she still had drawn on her floor; the blobs that looked like clouds, or balloons… the butterflies and the apples. She thought of her ‘magic helper’ and their unfinished work. Her mother did have a point; she needed to trust someone else to watch her back. She needed a friend. She just wasn’t sure it needed to be another one from this world…

“Yeah… yeah, mom. You know what? You’re right.”

“What? I am?” The woman looked completely stunned, which was comical on her face — especially since Sunset was so used to seeing it looking stern or disapproving.

“Yeah, definitely. I’m… I’m gonna go home and talk to a friend of mine. Get some advice.” Hefting the normal food, plus the additionally ‘menstrual meals’ that she would end up tossing or giving to Fluttershy, she said, “Thanks for the pep talk.”

“Okay,” her mom replied as she followed Sunset to the back door. “And talk to Flash! I don’t want to see you again next week and hear you don’t have a date!”

“Whatever!” she shouted over her shoulder, ducking her head. Was it really necessary for her to announce to the entire neighbourhood at large that she couldn’t even muster up the courage to ask one stupid guy out for dinner and a movie? That was a level of shame she didn’t really need in her already-stressful life.

When she got to her front door about half an hour later, Rainbow was already waiting for the spoils of war. Soon thereafter, they were digging through the containers, Rainbow more than happily eating the stuff that Sunset didn’t like.

“At least have some of the fish,” she was telling her. “I mean, your mom’s right; fish has a bunch of stuff that’s good for you during PMS, right?”

“I’m not PMSing, though. Just the M part.” Still, she did eat a few forkfuls of fish between bites of salad and turkey sandwich. “God, I’m just ready for a hysterectomy already. How many more years of this shit do I have to go through? Thirty? I’m so done.”

“At least your parents let you use birth control. Mine refuse. They say I don’t need it since I’m not dating or anything. So yeah, still have monthly visits from Aunt Flo… y’know, monthly.”

Smirking, Sunset passed the container of salmon back. “Sure you won’t need this before I do?”

“Yeah, I think I can get more by then,” she laughed. “I’m serious, though… maybe your mom is right about this stuff. Obviously she’s been through a few more periods than we have, right? Has to know something about something, and she wouldn’t be telling you if she didn’t think it was gonna help.”

“I know, I know. Just… that’s always her thing, she always knows better than I do. And I’m not okay with that. Even if she might be right sometimes, she’s not right all the time, so her attitude of superiority just… really grinds my gears!”

That time, Rainbow only nodded and kept eating. It was clear she only partially agreed, but didn’t want to say anything to the contrary. So they finished their food in silence.

Following that was an hour or so of Netflix, and then Rainbow made her way home — with a sizable bean salad for Fluttershy. Sunset was left alone with her thoughts. And her thoughts went straight to summoning magical beings from another world.

Should she or shouldn't she? Her head said no; it told her that she should just clean up the mess on her bathroom floor, return the book to her professor and suffer out the rest of her period in silence. She shouldn’t mettle with forces beyond her, no matter how nice the idea of sweet revenge seemed to her. She should just give it up, and return to the normal, boring, everyday life of a college student.

However, she had gotten a single taste; an appetizer of the magical life... something that made her special and unique. Could she really turn back after just little taste?

“Oh, my!” she said in a theatrically dramatic voice as she got to her feet and padded to the bathroom. “Would you look at that? Time to change my tampon!”

Chapter 6: Wet n' Wild

“You’re getting more ambitious.”

Again in awe of the dark-haired beauty in front of her, Sunset breathed, “I am?”

“Yes.” Already making her way out of the bathroom and Sunset’s bedroom, Twilight took a moment to drag her fingertip along a row of books that populated her sizable bookshelf. She ‘hummed’ softly as she took in the various titles that Sunset saw fit to stock. Finally, the freshly-summon goddess entered to her living room and perched on the nearest arm of the couch. “I felt a lot more blood tying me to the spell this time. What, did you squeeze?”

Just at that moment, Sunset had gone to the kitchen and leaned over the sink to wash her hands, and paused. When Twilight only smirked over her shoulder, she went ahead with cleaning her hands. “Maybe I did. So what?”

“Nothing. But it’s more… how should I put this?” Turning, she slid straight down the arm of the couch, not teetering or hesitating in the slightest. “Imagine walking through a rusty screen door that smacks you on the ass on your way through. That was my welcome last time, due to the amount of life force that fuelled the summoning. Now, imagine walking through motorized sliding double doors at a supermarket, with that air conditioning over the doorway blasting down on you all like, ‘Ahhh, it’s soooo gooooood.’ Better, right?”

“Uh, I guess,” Sunset half-laughed as she joined Twilight in the living room.

“Either way, I still make it here. But it is nice for the trip to be smoother. More comfortable. You get the idea.” Then she grinned lazily. “So… I take it you’re still up for some mischief?”

“Potentially.” After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped closer. “Do you mind if I…?”

“Touch me? Is it reality-check-o’clock, already? Sure; I was waiting for this to come up anyway.”

Holding out both arms, Twilight sighed slightly and sat there, patiently waiting for Sunset to do what she was going to do. As it turned out, her plan was to raise one index finger and run it along the inside of her forearm. It felt almost exactly like regular human flesh — only just a tad warmer, as her fingertip had been before. When she reached the crook of her elbow, she wrapped her entire hand around the circumference of the arm and slid it back down to her wrist.

“Mmm,” Twilight breathed quietly. “You have soft hands, and a gentle touch. Flash sure is missing out.”

Sunset felt her eyes widen. “What? Um… thanks? I think.”

Smirking up at her, she then raised a dark purple eyebrow. “Satisfied yet? I mean, you can fondle other parts of my body all night if you want, but…” When Sunset’s hand was snatched back, she snickered. “Very well, then. To business!”

“Right,” Sunset muttered, her cheeks warming. “So, um, are we still getting the small fry out of the way first, and then working our way up to the bigger assholes?” If Twilight was polite enough to ignore her sudden discomfort that the situation caused her, she had no impetus to acknowledge it, either.

“If that’s what you want. And if so, you have one or two names to pick from. Pick your poison and we’ll get started.”

“Pizza is my poison,” Sunset breathed as she stepped closer to Twilight again. “Let’s go after that jerkface who couldn’t seem to figure out where my eyes are.”

Twilight’s grin was devious, and held no shortage of excitement. “Sunny, darling… do you have an old t-shirt I can use that you wouldn’t mind losing forever?”

There wasn’t a whole lot you could say about Noteworthy. Even if you were Noteworthy; he thought he was great, exactly as his name implied, but that didn’t mean he was a complicated man.

For the past six years since he graduated high school, he had schlepped for the local pizza joint. Trying all the different combinations of shirts eventually landed him in the evening slot, where he could more or less avoid the lunch rush and the more manageable dinner rush didn’t tax him overly. Then, cleaning and locking up gave him the solitude that was in such short supply when the restaurant was more crowded. A simple, uncomplicated life that gave him plenty of time for more… leisurely pursuits.

One of which was the weekly wet t-shirt contest at the local bar. There was nothing terribly unique about his chosen watering hole, other than the fact that is was always full to capacity during every season but summer. There simply weren’t enough bars in town, and this was one of the two that catered to a younger clientele whereas the rest were where old men went to drink and die.

Tonight was no different from the last week. After stacking chairs on tables, mopping the floor, wiping down the counters and hanging up his apron, Noteworthy made his way a few blocks down to the bar and took his place at his usual stool. Sometimes, if he was lucky, one of the girls participating would be wearing a skirt and fail to realize the implications of standing on a countertop where men were seated underneath. That was an extra little thrill when it happened.

He had been there about fifteen minutes and downed three beers when the bartender clapped his hands and said, “Alright, let’s get this party started!!!”

The crowd cheered and the barback went to the stereo in the corner and kicked off some bass-laden dubstep, and a machine started flashing colored strobe lights around the room. Men and women cheered. Noteworthy often found himself wondering if the women who cheered were at least a little queer, or if they just thought the spectacle was amusing.

Maybe both.

“Today, we have five — count ‘em, five — contestants! Some are returning favorites, and there are even a couple new faces here for you!” He paused for comedic effect. “But then again, it’s probably not their faces you’re all interested in!”

More bawdy laughter as the barback ducked out of the bar, then placed a step stool at one end of it. The women’s restroom at the far end opened, and five women in white tees — whom Noteworthy would all rate between a six and a nine on a ten-point scale of hotness — began to walk toward the stool. Indeed, he already knew that Roseluck was back from her sorority, and Cloud Kicker and Sea Swirl always entered. One sad night, Sea Swirl had actually one first prize because the competition was so pathetic.

Then there were two new entries. One, a dark haired girl that looked to be about as old as Roseluck, and was talking to her as they approached the bar. The other wore a dusty, well worn-looking cowboy hat, her blonde hair spilling out in waves from underneath the brim. She was a little wider around the waist than the other four, but her curves were flawless — and her face was hands down the most attractive out of the five, even if it wasn’t ‘model perfect’.

“And give it up for Sea Swirl, back again!” The crowd was clapping. Noteworthy had been so curious about the blonde that he hadn’t even heard Cloud Kicker’s introduction this time. Alas, none of the girls were wearing skirts; it was getting a bit late in the year to hope for that. However, as Roseluck prepared to take the stage, he saw that her cutoffs were pretty short. A small consolation prize.

“Next, a new recruit that Roseluck ran out and got for us — and she looks like she might be stiff competition!” The crowd ‘oooeh’ on cue. “Give it up for, Rarity!!!”

As Rarity smiled and waved at the crowd, her smile both nervous and pained, Noteworthy took the opportunity to drink in her curves. She was a little thin for his taste, almost too thin, but that didn’t make her any less beautiful to his eyes. Of course, her hair was probably faked with dyes and extensions, and she wore too much jewelry. But that didn’t matter; none of it would once the games were underway.

“...Roseluck!” As she pranced around and waved, blowing kisses, Noteworthy’s eyes slid over to the other newbie. She didn’t look nervous in the slightest, but she was scanning the crowd, and checking out her competition on the bar. “And our last new recruit for our weekly wet t-shirt contest is an out-of-towner!” There were some half-hearted boos, but the bartender called for them to settle back down. “Now, now, don’t be like that — her tits are as welcome here as anyone else’s! We don’t discriminate here!” Now they were laughing again, and he grinned through his thick beard and said, “Let’s hear a warm welcome for… Twiiiiiii!”

The crowd cheered as much for as as for Rarity, but she didn’t wave back, didn’t pander to them. All she did was walk up onto the bar and strike a pose with a hand on one hip, tapping the rim of her hat with the other. It irritated Noteworthy that she wasn’t working the crowd the way the other four were, but there was also a part of him deep down that was impressed with her nonchalant confidence.

“Alright ladies, you know the rules; no touching the guys, and no taking off your clothes. We’re not zoned for that — unfortunately!” Laughter poisoned with groans rang out, and Sea Swirl shrugged as if to say she would have been absolutely fine with stripping if it would get her a win. Hell, she’d tried before. “When you’re all soaked, you have thirty seconds to strut your stuff for the fine ladies and gentlemen! When time’s up, the music will stop, and then we’ll put it to a vote! Alright, are you ready to be sprayed?!”

As everybody cheered, Noteworthy leaned forward slightly, gripping the lower half of his pint. This was it, the moment he waited all week for. Maybe that was a little pathetic, but what did it matter? Regardless, he was about to enjoy some voyeuristic entertainment without having to drive outside of town to the strip clubs.

The barback paused the music and continued to fiddle with the stereo which the bartender took careful aim with his tap. “Alright — here we go, ladies, lean in together! The audience doesn’t get a free drink, now! Okay; three, two, one!”

A stream of beer shot out from the tap and began to coat the five chests that were pressed up against each other. By now, the man was a deadshot; Noteworthy could still remember his first few contests in which he would start the nozzle with it aimed either too high, shooting Cloud Kicker in the face, or too low and it ended up pooling in the bottom of the girls’ shoes. Now he was able to keep from ‘wasting’ a single drop, in a relative sense. Whether or not any of this counted as wasting beer was all a matter of perspective.

“Alright, I’ll start the clock!” Raising his wrist, he took a careful look as his wristwatch and raised the other hand in the stereo’s direction. “Your thirty seconds starts… now! Go, go, go!”

The music blared, pounding into Noteworthy’s ears as the five women spun in place. Of course, he gave his casual glance to Cloud Kicker and Sea Swirl first, purely out of loyalty, but then he turned to look at the other three more properly while keeping the regulars in his peripheral vision — just in case they pulled out any interesting moves. Though he’d only seen Roseluck dance a few other times, she still had a way of moving that almost made him laugh, but that fact that she never seemed to care very nearly balanced the whole thing out. He watched her for a few seconds, nodded, and then moved on to Rarity.

And he winced. The dumb girl had no idea what she was doing up there. Though she was easily the most conventionally attractive girl, edging out Sea Swirl and Roseluck by a very narrow margin, she also clearly didn’t spend a lot of time dancing or otherwise performing in front of a crowd. Even her back was arched the wrong way, as if trying to minimize how much her tits were visible through the wet shirt. He would almost feel bad for her if this weren’t a voluntary contest; she shouldn’t have agreed to get up there if she wasn’t going to really strut her stuff. Still, he could see her pulling the sympathy vote — and the vote of those who chose based purely on how attractive the girl was, disregarding how they performed. Noteworthy hated those people. There was no point in having contestants get up and dance if they could just as easily submit a photo, in his opinion.

Sighing into his fourth beer, he turned to look at Twi, not expecting much. After all, she had seemed almost disinterested in the whole proceedings. That kind of attitude usually led to some half-hearted dance moves that didn’t impress anyone. He’d seen it a million times. Maybe she would end up taking her top off in a last-ditch effort to win the competition, even though it was against the rules.

However, he found himself decidedly blown away. Shaking her shoulders, flipping lightly-moistened hair, dropping to both knees with her hand landing on the bar between them and popping back up as if nothing had happened… she was either some kind of ringer, or just a naturally gifted performer. All the while, her breasts — which weren’t as large as some of the others, but large enough to matter unbound by a bra as they were — bounced and jiggled as she moved and undulated like a pro. Noteworthy couldn’t even find it in him to feign disinterest. He leaned forward without it being a conscious action, hoping to see more.

And he did. Spotting his sudden interest, the vixen stared right into his eyes for a second, winked a single bright purple — purple! — eye, and ran her hands over her breasts along the outside of her sopping shirt. It was a glorious sight, and he set his beer down so enthusiastically that it actually broke off in his hand.

Her hat never once fell from her head all the while.

“And time is up!” the bartender shouted, and the barback turned off the music before rushing over to clean up Noteworthy’s accidental mess, and to ask if he was okay. “Alright, those were some great moves out there, ladies — way to show off your, uh, assets!” More hoots and hollers. “Let’s start the voting!”

As he was given a fresh beer, Noteworthy sized up the contestants. Now, there were all more or less standing around the bar and waiting to see what would happen. Cloud Kicker and Sea Swirl were chatting together, and Roseluck was trying to comfort a distraught-looking Rarity. However, Twi was simply standing there, one hand on her hip and the other fiddling with the brim of her cowboy hat, chest thrust outwards as if awaiting inspection.

The decision was a bit easier than anyone expected. Cloud Kicker and Sea Swirl got their usual votes, and Roseluck did reasonably well for not having tried dancing in a while. Rarity was not given any more clapping than was due for a newbie who had performed in such a lackluster fashion; that, at least, satisfied Noteworthy’s sense of fair play. Then, of course, Twi got thunderous applause for utilising her strong points and doing it to the extreme.

“Winner by a landslide — the rambunctious Twi, everybody!” Both her arms went up and she waved her hands vigorously, both celebrating her well-earned victory and giving those who made it possible an extra after-show. “She gets all she can drink tonight, and a twenty dollar gift card to our local pizza joint! Give it up one last time!”

More cheers as the other four girls waved and descended from the stage. Rarity looked put out, but the others were only too happy to pat her on the back and tell her ‘there’s always next time’. Noteworthy wondered if there would be a next time, or if she would feel too discouraged to try again. Part of him wanted her to come back; she was beautiful, despite being a bit gunshy.

As the excitement began to wind down, Twi finally climbed down from the bar, where she began to get offers of phone numbers, or more blatant solicitations, which she politely declined. By the time she made her way to Noteworthy, he didn’t see any point in asking her; he never did. He was content to commit the women to memory and think of them later that night, when he was alone in his place.

But then something different happened. Her lips parted and she said with a heavy southern twang, “Hey, Sugarcube.”

“Me?” Mentally kicking himself, he cleared his throat and tried again. “Uh, yeah. Hey.”

“Y’all sure were watchin’ me awful close there. Care to get a girl a gee-and-tee?”

Nodding vigorously, he flagged down the bartender and put in an order, which was filled quickly enough; it was an even easier decision since he didn’t have to pay for the winner’s drinks, anyway. “You were, uh, pretty good up there. Really good for a new girl.”

“Well, thanky kindly,” she giggled, leaning against the bar and tipping the brim of her hat. Her chest was still damp, and he couldn't help glancing down at it every few seconds, drawn in by the chance to see even the outline of her shapely peaks close up. “Y’all come here often?”

“Sort of,” he admitted. “I mean, I always come here after work for a beer. This is just… a bonus once a week, I guess.”

“You guess. Well, Ahm happy to oblige.” When he didn’t answer, she eventually laughed and folded her arms over her chest. “Sure do aim to get a lot of the show than jus’ a little ‘bonus’.”

“Sorry,” he chuckled as he finally looked up into her face. He once again noticed her purple eyes, and now that the light was at the right angle, he spotted a few freckles dotting her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. “Just… yeah, they’re nice.”

“They sure are.” He raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes as the bartender left her gin and tonic on a thin napkin. “Ah mean, mama didn’t raise no fool; Ah know what Ah got and what Ah don’t. Might as well use what Ah can, right?”

He nodded, and she kept staring at him, as if searching through his eyes to find something in particular. When he couldn’t stand the lull in the conversation anymore, he said, “I, uh, I hope we see you in here again. Especially if you keep dancing the way you do.”

“Well, Ah don’t plan on dancin’ any other way, seein’ as Ah won this time!” They both laughed, and she leaned in and patted his cheek. “You’re sweet. What’s your name, Sugarcube?”

“Noteworthy.”

“Mm, worth rememberin’.” She grinned at her joke and took a sip of her drink, tracing her finger along the collar of his uniform. “You know, you’re the only one who ain’t offered to give me a ride home, or your phone number — and that cuss in the blue hat offered me somethin’ Ah won’t repeat,” she added in an undertone.

“Oh, yeah, well… he does that,” he signed, mildly annoyed. “You don’t get anything better out of him than that, really. Big cocksucker.”

One of her eyebrows went up. “Ooh, Ah didn’t think he swung that way! Ahm joshin’, Ahm joshin’.” Another gulp of her drink. “But you are sweet, especially… compared with those other boys.”

He was nodding, but then he began to notice she was leaning against him a little. “Yeah, I, uh… yeah. Hey, are you okay?”

“Hm? No, fine, I just… whoo-ee, is it hot in here or is it just… me?” Clearing her throat, she managed to set the drink down without knocking it over, then pressed her lips against his ear and slurred, “Can y—you get me outta here? Ah think I need some air.”

How could he resist that kind of request from such an attractive woman? Tossing a twenty dollar bill onto the counter, Noteworthy made a much earlier exit than usual after telling his darts buddy their rematch would have to be postponed.

The night air was crisp and cool, just enough to wake him up a tad and remove the slight buzz that the beers had brought. Also useful in this respect was the warm body pressed up against his side as he helped her along, trying to keep up with the way she occasionally staggered.

“Don’t… don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she giggled, fanning herself with her hat and keeping a firm hold on Noteworthy with her other hand. “Normally Ah c—can hold mah liquor, Ah swear, Ah just… tonight ain’t mah night. Well, other than this.” She waved the gift card around , and it blew out of her fingers. The strength of the wind shouldn’t have been able to do that, so it must have just meant her grip wasn’t tight enough. “Whoops! Oh well — easy come, easy go…”

“I’ll get it!” Leaning her against his own car, he went back to pick up the card. A quick swipe across his jeans and it was good as new, and he delicately stuffed it into her jeans pocket for her before he fumbled open the car door. “Okay, um… I don’t think you should be driving, and I don’t know where you’re parked… Where are you staying?”

“Around,” she sighed heavily, sagging against him. Eventually, he managed to wrangle her into the passenger seat, trying not to let his gaze linger too long on the peaks of her nipples straining against her still-damp t-shirt. But he did get her strapped in, and then climbed in himself and pulled the door closed.

“Seriously,” he prompted gently. “Where do you live? Are you in a hotel, or what?”

“Downtown,” she laughed. When he didn’t respond, she frowned at him. “Aww, you don’t have to bother with me. I’ll be… fine. Boy howdy, I’m hotter than two cats in a fur coat!”

And then, unbelievably, she flicked her hat off and started to pull her top all the way up.

Noteworthy felt his heart leap into his throat. This wasn’t possible. Nothing like this had ever happened to him — well, other than the time he walked in on one of his distant cousins changing clothes, and that had earned him a black eye and a long, long lecture. This time, Twi knew he was there and was still removing her clothing. Maybe she wasn’t sober enough to be fully conscious of her actions, but she was doing it anyway, and he was there to bear witness.

Just a few more inches…

Then then he stopped himself. She was drunk. He wanted to see this more than he wanted to find a better job and get out of this stupid ass town, but she didn’t know what she was doing. If he let it happen, he would pretty much be scum — even if temporarily-happy scum.

“Hey, y-you shouldn’t do that,” he managed to stutter.

“Do what?” she asked as she paused. When she noticed where his eyes were glued, she chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder with one hand while the other bunched her shirt up. “Awww, shucks, Ah didn’t know you was shy! Wouldn’t think it with your eyeballs glued to me in the bar before!”

“Yeah, but…” She did have a point, but it was different. How could he put this? “In there, it was part of the show. You were supposed to get wet, and not take anything off. Out here…”

Then she did take the shirt off, and he saw everything. They were perfect, everything he had ever dreamed they would be. Smooth and pert. Not the biggest he’d ever seen, but just large enough to fit comfortably in his hands… at least, he imagined they would be. They weren’t too-perfect like those ones made of artificial material, but fully authentic and breathtaking.

“Yeah,” she breathed, voice slurring but not as much as before.”You like mah girls. Know ya do.”

“Yeah,” he managed to croak somehow.

“What do you wanna do with ‘em?”

That made Noteworthy pause, and he found himself dumbfounded. He didn’t know. All his life, he’d ogled them and dreamed about them, but never actually had the opportunity to interact with a pair of actual breasts before. What should his first move be?

“Just… touch them.”

“Go right ahead, then,” she said with a tiny grin, laying back and placing her hat back on her head, tilting it forward so that it covered her eyes; almost as if she was napping. “All yours, Sugarcube. Just don’t hurt me or nothin’.”

His hand got about halfway there before her last words sank in. Don’t hurt her. Yes, he knew that she was mostly joking, and even then she meant not to literally cause her any hard. Still…

“I… I can’t.”

“You gay?”

“What?!”

She reached up and flicked the brim of her hat back so she could peer down at him. “Well, you said you can’t. If you don’t like boobs, you might be gay. Nothin’ wrong with that, o’ course.”

“I’m not gay,” he grunted in mild irritation. “I just… this doesn’t feel right with you about ten seconds from passing out. Sorry.”

“Ah am not,” she grunted right back.

Rolling his eyes, he picked up her shirt and gently placed it over her bare chest. “Sure you are.”

“What do you care, anyhow?” She broke eye contact with him to look out of the window. “Just a pair o’ boobs to you in the firs’ place.”

“That’s… not true.”

“You come in here every week to watch us get wet an’ wild,” she went on -- and while her words were harsh, her tone was more factual, as if she was simply giving a lecture instead of trying to convince him to fondle her. “Can’t wait to watch all them tiddies floppin’ around, deciding which ones is nicest. Hold one girl up as sexier, like she’s worth more’n the others ‘cuz of her tits. And now you’re actin’ like you care whether or not I’m sober enough to let you touch mine?”

Frowning, he turned forward with his hands on the wheel. She had a point. She wasn’t completely right, but of course she was right about the wet t-shirt contest being a less-than-stellar moral decision on his part. He just didn’t appreciate it being thrown back in his face when he was trying to do the right thing.

“Yeah,” she finally murmured. When he glanced at her, he saw that she was staring right back at him, like she had been for hours, eyes clear as polished amethyst. “Don’t get me wrong, you done a good thing jus’ now. Ah was… outta mah head for a second, and you tried to let me keep my dignity. But…”

“But I shouldn’t come to these kinds of things.” Chuckling harshly, Noteworthy leaned back against his seat and shut his eyes for a moment. “Maybe you’re right, but it sure does sound like bullshit coming from you, who just entered. I mean, all of you did.”

“Ah guess we did.” She paused for a moment. “Do you know why we did?”

“Well… Cloud Kicker and Sea Swirl do because they like being the regulars. How should I know why you would?”

By the time he looked back at Twi, she had pulled her shirt back on and was currently tugging her hair out of the neckhole. “Poor li’l Sea Swirl does it because her husband makes her feel about as sexy as a hunk a’ meatloaf, and she wants more. Married young, y’see, ‘cuz her daddy made her. Cloud Kicker misses her days as homecomin’ queen, and this makes her feel jus’ a li’l bit pretty. Roseluck just wants the free booze, and don’t mind using her body to get it… because she’s been taught by her mama that women gotta use the gifts God gave ‘em.”

Trying to get around the fact that, somehow, she knew all those things about the other girls, he found himself asking, “And… and Rarity?”

Only now did she frown at him sadly. “That there’s a girl with a broken heart. She feels so awful about herself right now that she’d do just about anythin’ to feel a li’l bit better. And now she feels even worse, because nopony voted for her — and Roseluck doesn’t even see the damage she did by bringing her here. Breaks mah heart to see a friend like this.”

Before he could bring himself to ask how Twi managed to call a girl she probably only met that night her friend, her smile came back, bitter instead of sweet. “But hey, them’s the breaks, right? They knew what they were signin’ up for. Just a harmless contest. Just another way to show girls they’re jus’ slabs o’ meat for men to drool over, and if they ain’t tender enough?” Her thumb jerked out of the window toward a nearby dumpster. “Well, we all know where bad meat ends up, don’t we?”

“Don’t give me all that,” he said, but his tone lacking conviction. “It’s just a stupid contest.”

“Sure it is.” When he didn’t budge again, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “But just because the world ain’t fair doesn’t mean Ah forgot what you tried to do for me. Did do, Ah guess.”

Now he didn’t know how to react. A moment ago, she had been twisting the knife in him about even coming to see the contest, and now she was thanking him for being ‘gentlemanly’. He was so confused that he bypassed all that, putting it on the backburner to think about later.

“You… are you sure you’re okay now?” he asked.

“Reckon Ah will be. Take care of mahself pretty good, most of the time.” Patting his knee, she turned and opened the passenger door. “You got an honest heart, Noteworthy... an’ that’s a good thing. ‘Lotta people look for that inna friend, includin’ me. And if you keep treatin’ ladies like you did me jus’ now, instead of how those other boys did in the bar... you might stand a better chance, Sugarcube.”

She had just about shut the door when he said “Wait!” As she blinked at him, he tossed his spare work shirt from the back seat of his car. “You’re, uh, not dressed for this kind of weather.”

“Cold don’t bother me none,” she said with a small smile, but pulled it on all the same. “But it’s much appreciated. You take care now.” Then she was walking through the lot and down the sidewalk, holding the mostly-clean, but warm, shirt tightly around herself.

“...Oh.”

“Yeah, sorry this story has such a boring ending.” Twilight sighed as she placed the gift card for pizza in Sunset’s hand. “Probably not the results you were anticipating, but I assure you, they will have the desired effect.”

“He… really did that? Turned down the chance to… you know, test the fruit for ripeness?”

As Twilight nodded in firm confirmation, the goddess walked toward the couch — and as she did, her cowboy boots rippled and transformed into sneakers and pink-and-purple knee socks again, the jeans and Sunset’s tee above them into her usual poodle skirt and blouse with the little purple bowtie. The cowboy hat remained on her head, even though her hair shimmered back to her normal indigo shade with the pink stripe running through it.

Flopping back against the couch, she sighed and tipped the hat down over her eyes.

“You might be resistant to the idea, and I don’t blame you, but I gave him every opportunity to prove himself a complete scumbucket… and he didn’t. Maybe he’s not a perfect gentleman, but he’s at least tolerable. The ‘full treatment’ I gave Mr. Blueblood wasn’t needed for this one.”

Tossing the gift card onto her coffee table, Sunset couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of full treatment would you have given him? If he didn’t hold back like he did?”

“Well…” Again, that smile was back, with just enough of a hint of mischief that it made Sunset’s flesh break out into goosebumbs. “If I dropped the phrase ‘mammary dentata’, would that be enough?”

“Okay. Forget I asked.”

Nodding, Twilight frowned. “I’m really sorry if these results aren’t satisfactory. Do you want a do-over?”

“Nah. I mean, like you said, you gave him something to think about in the ‘breasts aren’t there for you to gawk at’ department. That’s something.”

“It is something. You know…” Then Twilight shrugged and fell silent.

“What?”

“Just wondering why you summoned me again. Though you did seem to have unfinished business, you also freaked out a lot when I first arrived. So you were kind of a toss-up; I wasn’t sure whether or not you would actually call again.”

“Hey,” Sunset began awkwardly. “This is kind of the only exciting thing that’s ever happened in my life. You really think I’d just be like ‘Okay, that was fun, now let’s never do it again’?”

Twilight’s musical laughter filled the living room as she threw her head back and clapped. “This is your idea of fun?” she finally managed to cackle. “Tormenting… oh, what’s that human term? We used to say ‘chauvinist stallion’ but that’s not even in style back home anymore…”

“Fuckboy?”

“Right, that!” Twilight nodded gleefully. “It’s hard to keep track of trends on Earth when you spend a lot of your time on another plane of existence.”

Smirking, Sunset sat down on the other end of the couch and leaned back, trying not to laugh at the goddess. It seemed unwise. “Oh, it’s always fun to fuck with a fuckboy. Nice to be able to turn that around around for a change, right?”

“Mmm.”

“That was pretty, uh… non-committal, there.”

“Was it?” Heading off Sunset’s exasperated sigh, Twilight poked her in the leg with her foot and said, “Lighten up. I’m just trying to make sure you’re getting what you want out of this little arrangement. On my end, it’s all hayfries and catsup as long as you're happy.”

It took a few seconds before Twilight’s words made contact with Sunset’s brain, and when they did, she glared hard at the goddess. “Oh, no you didn’t.”

Twilight blinked. “I didn’t what?”

“You did not just say ‘catsup’,” Sunset sneered, her eyes narrowed to slits. “Every person worth their salt says ‘ketchup’.”

The surprise in Twilight’s face shifted to bemusement, and she shot back, “Oh, yeah? Says who?”

“Says me, that’s who.”

Chuckling, Twilight shrugged. “Says the girl who probably pronounces tomato like to-mah-to.”

“Ooh!” she shivered dramatically, giving her hands a shake to add to the effect of disgust. “Don’t ever compare me to those people. Monsters.” Twilight laughed, and after a moment Sunset joined in. After they quieted, she asked the question that had been bothering her ever since Twilight returned from her ‘errand’. “By the way… what’s with that hat?”

Blinking, the goddess reached up and touched the brim of her hat with a finger. “My hat? What about it?”

“It’s just… it looks old, is all.”

“Because it is old,” Twilight said dryly. “Well spotted.”

“No, I mean… why bother creating a hat from nothing and make it look like it’s been through a dozen wars and then some? Why not make it new, like your boots and jeans?”

For a moment, Twilight looked uncomfortable, and Sunset didn’t think she would answer her. Eventually, though, she said, “Because I didn’t create if from nothing. It’s mine.”

“It’s yours?” Sunset peered at the hat. It was old, true, and the rim and corners were a bit frayed; but it was clear the hat had been cared for greatly, however… “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything… but you don’t seem the type to whip out a Stetson whenever you want.”

Slowly, Twilight plucked the hat from her head and held it to her chest, fingering the brim with slow movements. “That’s because it… actually belonged to a friend of mine. One of my best friends. A long time ago.”

“Oh.” Sunset shifted uncomfortably at her end of the couch, unsure of what to add to that. The subject of friends and ‘friendship’ seemed important to Twilight — that much Sunset gathered from their previous interactions — and she wasn’t sure just how to breach a subject like that. Seriously, how do you talk to the Goddess of Friendship about her friends? Does she make friends everywhere she goes? Or did she have to make a quota; like she had to keep making friends to stay a goddess? Or did her title just make her extra friendly? Sunset didn’t know. But what she did know was...

“She... sounds like she was a good friend.” Sunset paused, raising her hands. “Um, she was a girl, right?”

Twilight giggled. “Something like that. Girl ponies are called ‘mares’, by the way.”

“Oh. Stallions and mares, right?” When the goddess nodded, Sunset mirrored the motion. “Makes sense. Maybe you can tell me about your friends sometime?”

“I… maybe.” Twilight murmured, unsure. She chewed on her lip for a moment, and then shook her head. “Another time. For the moment, as long as you're satisfied, my work here is done.” She put the hat back on her head and grinned widely at Sunset’s thoughtful expression. “Hey, lighten up, Sugarcube!” she drawled with a rather convincing twang. “Didn’t Ah tell you? You look more depressed than ever. Anythin’ wrong?”

And there it was again; that sense of unease. The thought that something was off, or that there was something big that Twilight wasn’t telling her. Nothing bad, of course. She didn’t know how exactly, but deep down inside, Sunset could feel that Twilight would never hurt her. After all, what kind of princess and friendship goddess hurt people?

But then again, what kind of friendship goddess had no qualms about offering to hurt, or even kill, people on her behalf? She’d certainly never heard of something like that before. It was an interesting, and quite frankly confusing, puzzle that Sunset had no idea how to even begin to solve.

More on that, what would Twilight think of Sunset if they merely met in one of her classes? Would they be actual friends? Or would they not interact at all? It was impossible to know. That situation could never exist; even though she liked her and the goddess was nothing but friendly, they would always be the summoner and summoned.

Shaking her head vigorously, all Sunset said was, “Nothing, sorry. Just an overactive brain.”

Chapter 7: Did somepony say slumber party?!

Concentrating in class was almost impossible. Mostly because Twilight had told her about seeing Rarity at the bar, all Sunset could do was watch her during their lecture instead of take notes. Her former best-friend’s normally entitled comments were conspicuously absent today, and her eyes looked dark and slightly puffy — which, no surprise there, she had used makeup to lessen the obvious. Even her hair looked droopier than usual.

Was Sunset’s interference with what might have happened between her and Blueblood to blame? Or would she have been in even worse shape now if she hadn’t done anything? There was no way of knowing. At the root of things, her and her breakup up was the actual problem, and all that happened afterward merely the fallout. Still, Sunset did feel a slight pang of guilt for not doing anything to help.

By the time the professor had finished her lecture, Rarity looked worse than ever. Not that it was going to be easy or fun, but Sunset decided that she couldn’t stand it anymore and walked over to her.

“Hey, Rarity?”

“Huh? What do you want?” Her former friend’s eyes were flinty. Guarded.

Ignoring the pointed nature of such a response for the time being, she pressed on. “You, um… I was wondering if you wanted to get some lunch.”

“Oh yes, because then we’d have such a blast.” Sunset didn’t budge. “What, are you serious?”

“Maybe I am.”

Flashing a tight and clearly sardonic smile, the girl began to gather up her things. “You’ve made it crystal clear that you and I have nothing to talk about anymore, Sunset Shimmer. So what’s the point in trying to be besties again now?”

“What?” She was honestly shocked by that statement. “What are you talking about? When did I do that?”

“Wow. You have no idea, do you?” When there was no response save for a blank stare, Rarity grunted in disgust, grabbed her flashy-looking messenger bag and stood. “Nevermind. I should have known you didn’t care enough to remember.”

“Wait, but if I don’t remem—”

“Later, darling.” The endearment, while it may have been sweet when they were still friends, wasn’t nearly as kind this time around. But there was no use in pushing; Rarity was already at the door. Just when Sunset began to decide if she should call out to her, to try again, she heard another voice behind her.

“Oh, Miss Shimmer — I wondered if I might have a moment?” her professor called out.

Conceding temporary defeat, Sunset walked toward the front of the room instead of the back. The woman didn’t wait, but merely entered her office and left the door open.

“What is it, Professor?”

“I just wanted to know if you have that book with you,” she said as she settled herself behind the desk, sighing at the weariness in her own bones. “Now that your essay has been turned in — and congratulations on that, by the way, top marks — I should like to return it to my collection.”

“Oh, the book. Well…” How would it sound if she simply told the older woman that she was still ‘using’ it to regularly contact a pony-goddess from another world? Maybe she could get by on part of the truth. “It’s not with me at the moment, sorry.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed very slightly behind her thick glasses. “Surely you’re not still reading that dusty old thing, are you? It’s not exactly exciting bedtime material.”

“Well, I’ve been glancing through it.” That much was true; since she left it in her bathroom, she had started paging through it whenever she was there. Besides the summoning spell, there were tons of other interesting stuff within its pages, though she was afraid to try most of them. However, summoning Twilight was more or less one of the only really complicated ones. Mostly there were little spells to enhance your mood, or to bring about a bountiful harvest of apples, oddly enough.

“Really? I must say, you didn’t seem the type to be interested in this sort of thing.” She shrugged. “But, then again, neither was I at your age. I was more into the natural sciences instead of the occult and paranormal. I’m glad you’re getting something from it, at any rate.”

Nodding gratefully, Sunset leaned against the door frame, trying to appear at ease. “Thanks for loaning it to me. I’ll bring it back next time, if you need it.”

“Take your time. So long as I have it before finals, that should be just dandy.”

There was a pause. It wasn’t a long pause — not really. But it felt like it stretched on for months, with both of them watching each other carefully, sizing the other up as if they were somehow opponents instead of teacher and pupil. Then, the elder woman spoke again.

“You aren’t… doing anything silly like trying out any of these spells… are you?”

Swallowing, Sunset whispered, “What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” she said with a wave of her hand as she looked down at her day planner. “Silly, idle thought, is all. Never mind me. That’ll be all, Miss Shimmer.”

Though Sunset did make her way to the door, she couldn’t help but wonder why she even bothered to ask that last question. It was almost as if she had a more personal attachment to the book. As if… she had used it herself.

Ridiculous. Even though the woman was a little bit eccentric, she just seemed like an old academic-for-life who had a passion for history and literature. Nowhere in the book were there notes in the margins or anything that might have indicated it had been used in recent memory — well, used as anything other than an academic resource. It was just a book, wasn’t it?

Then again, it was just a book that happened to be written by a real person… er, pony… and contained an actual working spell. Perhaps dozens more. That was slightly less commonplace. It had to be. Otherwise, there would be people wandering around casting spells willy-nilly, every moment of the day.

But what if there were? After Twilight’s initial appearance, she had used a ‘glamour’ — a spell to hide her true appearance — and looked like any other human being from that point forward. At least, with other people. With Sunset, she still made concessions in the form of her hair, skin, wings and horn. There could be others among society — other beings from Twilight’s world, or even different worlds — watching, tricking them, tampering with the natural order of things.

Just like I did, she couldn’t help thinking.

By the time she reached the hallway, she was already trying to shove all that out of her conscious mind and focus on her new assignment. In fact, she saw Rainbow waiting impatiently for her so they could make their way to the student union, where they typically went over their class loads and compared notes. Of course, they could easily do that at home, and often did, but sometimes it was good to trap themselves there where they were free of the distractions that TV and too-comfortable couches provided.

Also, they could order food.

“So it’s actually only a couple hundred years older than the alternative religion, even though they’re from generally the same region and base culture,” Rainbow remarked sardonically with a pencil between her teeth half an hour later. “Wow, that’s so interesting. People love to act like they got the market cornered as far as religion is concerned, but yeah, no, not really.”

Nodding absentmindedly, Sunset’s next comment had nothing to do with her friend’s. “We need to get down something about these two different schools of thought. What do you have?”

“Hang on, we sh—hey!”

When Sunset put down her book to see what had happened, she saw a football bounce off the table and fly past her shoulder. Apparently, its first stop had been the side of Rainbow’s head, and now it was bound for parts unknown.

“Sorry about that!” said the young man who jogged past them, an easy smile displaying that he actually didn’t care in the slightest about Rainbow’s irritation other than to spout out an obligatory apology and then move on to what he actually wanted to do: get back to his pointless game of catch that shouldn’t be indoors in the first place.

“Oh, yeah!” she shouted back at him, rubbing her head where the ball had hit. “No problem, it’s only my head! Not like I don’t have others lying around, or anything!”

Looking around, Sunset noticed Blueblood getting ready to catch it. So he had been the culprit behind the throw. However, the usual spring was gone from his step; he looked like he hadn’t been sleeping. A brief pang of guilt shot through her when she thought about how much she had probably contributed to that particular situation. Obviously he was a jerk, but was he a big enough jerk to deserve permanent mental trauma?

“Hello, Earth to Sunset?”

“What? I mean, yeah?”

Sighing, Rainbow flipped her textbook shut. “Whatever. Let’s bounce. Footballs flying through the air ain’t gonna help anybody learn anything except for how to dodge. Besides, we have some decent food from your mom waiting for us.”

“Yeah,” she sighed heavily. “Great, decent. The same old stuff.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she told Sunset gently as they packed their books away and got ready to leave. “You know your mom’s a bomb ass cook. You just get burnt out on it, since you have it every week.”

“True. And you can have plenty of it, as long as you get me some decent substitutes.”

‘“Mac and cheese? Or are we busting out the microwavable burritos?”

Making a face, Sunset began to explain to her friend just how much money it would take for her to start consuming microwave burritos on a regular basis as they walked through the double doors and through the quad.

This time, Sunset almost found herself wishing for nighttime. For Rainbow to leave so she could summon Twilight again, even it if meant sentencing her friend to an hours-long incarceration in her other friend-slash-roommate's company.

Yes, it still filled her with a sense of unease and fear knowing what was about to happen when she shed blood to bridge their two worlds, but the whole experience was so exhilarating that she was willing to overlook those feelings. But even moreso than the experience itself, than what she would get out of their partnership.

Twilight understood her. Maybe it was part of her abilities as the Goddess of Friendship, or whatever she called herself: that innate knowledge of a person’s nature, or their hopes and fears, their motivations. A little creepy, but there was also something comforting there; that she didn't have to hide anything from her, because hiding it would be futile. She could be herself. It was very freeing, even as it was the scariest thing she’d ever encountered.

So she did summon her again; welcomed a divine, mystical being into her home. She smiled when she saw her standing in her bathroom — and at how she now arrived in that silly poodle skirt, knee socks and blouse combo instead of that ghastly form she had first appeared as. She knew Sunset’s preference and ‘dressed’ accordingly. It was more flattering than she cared to admit, having someone pay her that level of attention.

Maybe she shouldn’t feel so readily pleased about it, given this was probably the status quo for Twilight. She might even be doing it to lower Sunset’s guard, and actually be angling to steal her soul, or something along those lines. However, Twilight had never done anything to hurt her or steer her wrong so far, and she had no reason to believe that she was going to change in the immediate future.

“You’re smiling,” the goddess commented.

“What? I am not.” The world’s most feeble lie had just been created.

“You are,” she laughed. “Did something good happen? Maybe with Flash?”

That made Sunset blink. “Oh… no, not really. But I thought you would already know that.”

“Remember, I only know what’s on your mind during the summoning. The rest is just intuition. Though this time… all you were thinking about when you summoned me was…”

Then she fell silent.

“Was what?”

“...was the summoning,” Twilight finished, as if it were going to be her answer all along. Sunset suspected she had a different one on the tip of her tongue and changed her mind at the last second. “So honestly, I shouldn’t assume why you’re so chipper today. But hey, this is a good thing!”

“You think so?” This time, she was first to exit the bathroom, so as to give her an excuse to hide her weird grin. What was wrong with her? Was she really so dissatisfied with her small circle of friends that a magical pony goddess paying attention to her was this gratifying? “I mean, I guess compared to how pissy I was that first time…”

“Compared to that, yes.” Then the voice was a little close to her ear as it whispered, “I’m glad, though.”

Whipping around, Sunset backed up a step when she noticed Twilight was only inches away — and she also pulled back slightly, though she didn’t move from the spot. “O-oh, you are? I mean, why would it matter to you? I thought I was just a job… or something. Aren’t I?”

That came out wrong. She didn't mean to so blatantly accuse Twilight of merely ‘using’ her, or vice versa, even though it may or may not be true. However, Twilight didn’t seem offended.

“In a sense. We get summoned for ‘jobs’, as you say, and there’s a purpose behind those. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like you.” Sunset’s shocked expression made her laugh. “Seriously, you never sometimes like one of your customers even though it’s your job to get them what they need? I can compartmentalize, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she admitted with a chagrined expression. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“You’re fine, you’re fine. But you didn’t call me here for just a chat. What’s next on the agenda — or, should I say, whom?”

For a second, she was all set to switch gears, to get back to business. To start discussing one of the other assholes who deserved a taste of divine justice. Maybe it was her earnest feelings, or pure curiosity. Or maybe she just felt cocky enough to say something to the contrary of Twilight’s assumptions about the reason for this particular summoning.

“What if I did call you here just to chat?”

“Hmm?” Both of her dark eyebrows knitted together in the center. “Well… I suppose we could do that, if you wanted. Seems like a waste of a summoning to me, though. Are…” Then she stepped forward slightly, cocking her head to one side as she examined Sunset’s face. “No… you are. You’re serious. I’ll be damned.”

Now Sunset could feel her face heating up in embarrassment. She really was pathetic, to a degree she didn’t think was possible. “S-sorry. You don’t have to, um, we can—”

“No! No, please don’t feel bad!” Twilight said hastily, waving her hands back and forth as if to ward off embarrassment. “It’s— I’m really, very honored, seriously! I mean, this isn’t the first time it’s happened, but I can count the occasions on one hoof… hand.” She frowned slightly. “Well… the times it wasn’t men who desired my ‘company’ in an entirely different way.”

“Really? And, um… what do you do then?” Sunset wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

“More like ‘did’,” the goddess grunted shortly. “And I did what you think I did, to a lesser degree. However, shortly thereafter I let my teacher know that just because I’m a goddess and can be summoned for tasks to fulfill doesn’t mean I’m a prostitute.” Her expression softened somewhat. “Luckily, despite what it looks like, she does care for my well-being, and I was released from my obligations in that regard.”

“That’s good,” Sunset sighed in relief. “I mean, It sucks that you have to do all this stuff, so I’m glad you’re not required to… yeah. Ick.”

Laughing, Twilight tossed her hair over her shoulders as she took her spot on the couch, picking up one of Sunset’s manga from the coffee table and opened it. “Don't worry. It was a while ago; that kind of thing with summoners, or on their behalf, has been strictly at my discretion for a long time.”

“How long is a ‘long time’?” Slapping her own forehead, Sunset took one of the chairs instead of the couch this time, hoping it would give Twilight the freedom to stretch out if she wanted to. “Sorry, that’s kind of personal, isn’t it?”

“Kind of.” But a second later, she shrugged as she flipped through the pages. “Well, I honestly don’t know how you’ll react if I answer, that’s all.”

“Go for it. What am I gonna do, judge you? When you’re from another dimension or something, it’s kinda hard to, you know?”

“It’s not so much another dimension, as a… reflection of this world. But that’s irrelevant.” Sunset didn’t reply, so after shooting a brief glance over into the chair, she flipped through more pages and said, “It’s actually kind of hard to pin down since time works differently between worlds. A year or so on this world seems to be longer back home.”

“So you’re a lot older than me? I guessed as much. Ballpark it?”

Twilight ‘hummed’ thoughtfully. “Well, would it help if I told you that one time I was summoned to help establish the Library of Alexandria?”

Sunset considered that, trying to remember what she knew about that particular library. “Wasn’t that… built in, like, Egypt way back when?”

“Third century B.C., to be more precise,” Twilight amended. “It might surprise you, but I was a librarian back before I was a goddess. So I was more than thrilled to help with that.” Then her face darkened, her eyes narrowing to slits and she all-but growled, “Imagine my surprise, then, when I was summoned later only to find out that what was essentially my library on Earth had been burned to the ground. I did what I could to keep it running for a time — as much as I could, anyway — but it was never the same after that.”

“Oh…” Sunset did the math; that would have made Twilight well over two thousand years old... and that was just in human years. If time ran slower on her world than on Earth… there was no telling how old Twilight really was, and she wasn’t sure asking would even get anywhere.

The smile that Twilight shot towards her was both amused and guarded. “Thought you weren’t going to judge.”

“Who said I am?”

“You do, with your tone and body language. You’re more tense, less comfortable than you were a minute ago. Me being older than you makes you feel less open with me.” Her face suddenly turned mock serious. “It’s ageism, that’s what it is!”

“Oh, shut up,” Sunset laughed, still uneasy but trying to shake it off. “Wow, though, you… you’ve seen all of modern civilization being built, countries born… bellbottoms. Everything.”

“I’ve seen bits and pieces, and remember most of what I have. But you aren’t allowed to use me as a history book, don’t be fooled,” Twilight teased, pointing at her. “You still have to stay in school and read your books, young lady!”

“God, don’t do that. You’re supposed to be my cool older friend who’ll buy me beer, not be my grandma.”

“Yeah, technically I could do that, if you asked me to.” she giggled. “Again, a misuse of a summoning; you could pay some grad student twenty bucks instead of shedding some blood over cutie marks. Not to mention you’d still have to give me the money to buy the beer!”

Sunset blinked, thinking she misheard Twilight for a moment when she said ‘cutie marks’, but shook her head, smirking. “What, don’t you carry around human money in case you need it?”

“Why would I? It would vanish when I got back home.”

“It would?”

“Haven’t you ever heard the phrase, ‘you can’t take it with you’? Pretty accurate in my case.” Sunset nodded thoughtfully, so then she closed the manga — with her finger pressed between the pages, holding her place. “Why, what is it?”

“Well, you’d think I’m dumb.”

“Never have yet. Spill it, Sunny.”

“Fine. I was wondering if I could, like, give you a cell phone, and if it might still work when you reached the other side.” She couldn’t meet Twilight’s eyes. The notion seemed ludicrous now, even if it had been exciting when she first thought of it.

“That’s… don’t worry. What would I do with one, anyway? It’s not like I could call anyone here, I don’t have any contacts.”

“You’d have mine. We could get in touch that way, maybe decide when we’re summoning… I don’t know. I told you it was stupid.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Once it became unbearable, Sunset glanced up — and saw that Twilight’s eyes were watering. Maybe it was an illusion, maybe she was just doing it to convey what might be expected of her. There was no way of knowing for sure if they were genuine feelings of an affectation, as she had previously debated. Either way, Sunset felt a flash of guilt for bringing the entire thing up.

“It’s not stupid,” Twilight said softly. “No, the plan wouldn’t work, but the thought you gave it? That you… no, it isn’t stupid in the slightest, and I don’t think you are, either.”

“I thought I could give a magical pony princess a phone to call me from her world. Sounds pretty lame to me.”

By the time she felt a hand on her shoulder, she really did almost feel like crying. It was the stupidest reaction over nothing she had ever felt, and she was completely bewildered. The phone idea wasn’t even one she had been all that serious about, and she certainly shouldn’t care once it turned out to be impossible, rather than something in which Twilight had no interest. So why was she reacting so strongly?

“I’m sorry,” the goddess whispered as Sunset shivered. “It’s... I should have pieced it together when I was first summoned from the flashes in your memory. You’re… pretty lonely, aren’t you?”

“No,” she protested, hating how strained her voice sounded, how weak she was. “I mean, that’s just it — I’m not. I have some friends, and my mom is here, and… there’s no good reason for me to be lonely.”

“That means nothing. We both know that no matter generous Rarity was to you before, she isn’t your friend now — though that status isn’t permanent. And Rainbow is a good friend, but you don’t have that… connection you really want from a true, loyal friend. That will form with time, or maybe not. And Fluttershy… sometimes kindness needs to come from both directions to truly form a friendship from it.”

She paused significantly, as if letting the weight of her words settle on Sunset’s shoulders before continuing. “There are other important elements to friendship… but let’s save those for another time. As if stands now, though, yeah, you’re not as comfortable in your circle of friends as you would like.”

All Sunset could do was nod as tears streamed down her cheeks. It hurt to admit these things; tore at her inside. She avoided thinking about it as much as she could, pretending that she was happy. And it was a lie. She just lied to herself to feel less depressed, even though it didn’t work.

“Celestia... please, don’t cry,” Twilight whispered, petting her messy hair and gripping her shoulder even tighter. “I’m sorry, this wasn’t what I -- you were supposed to feel better, and I said everything wrong. I made you feel even worse. I’m so bad at that. What I meant was, I’m sorry you’re so lonely, and that things will get better, okay? Not that… not this, damn, I’m so stupid!”

For some reason, that last exclamation cut through Sunset’s fog of sadness and self-loathing. “What? How does that make you stupid?”

“Because I didn’t think before I spoke. You’d think being the Goddess of Friendship means you always know what to say, but even after a few thousand years, I still mess up at the important times. You’re so… I was just trying to help, and I made everything worse! I’m so out of touch…”

Before she could stop herself, Sunset rolled over in her chair and buried her face in Twilight’s neck — and she couldn’t even summon her usual misgivings about getting that close to the goddess, about what might happen. She just cried, let it all pour out of her and into the long, silky-soft hair of a being far, far older than she was. Life didn’t make any sense. Then again, maybe it didn't have to all the time.

And she was warm, and comforting. Too warm to be human, as she’d already known, but otherwise she felt soft and real. Her arms wrapped around Twilight’s neck, grabbing feebly at hair and skin and the soft feathers of her wings. If she had had the presence of mind to notice, Sunset would have realized that this was also the first time she had actually felt the goddess’ wings. But with her bawling her eyes out, she hardly noticed. Eventually her sobs slowed and, towards the end, all she was doing was breathing in the heady incense of Twilight and finding comfort in the closeness, letting her own body wind down from the emotional peak it had hit.

Once she was a bit more calm, she began to notice the hand petting her back gently through her hoodie, could hear a steady stream of “Shhh, you’re okay. It’s okay,” from overhead in barely a whisper. It had likely been lulling her back to a state of calm even before her ears had focused on the sound.

“I’m really sorry about this,” she finally managed to mutter against the crisp, white blouse. “You… just came to… and this isn’t against the rules or anything, is it? I’m messing it up, and you’re going to go away, I—”

“Shhh. Don’t think like that. I’ve got you.” But after a second, Twilight pushed her shoulders and petted her damp cheek. “You’re right that I’m going to go away when the time is up; that’s how this works. I just don’t want you to think that it’s because I don’t like you or anything, okay? Nothing of the kind.”

Shaking her head, Sunset winced slightly as a pang shot through her belly. “No, I didn’t think that. You’re… pretty damn awesome. Just wish you were, like, somebody in my class instead of some kind of magical princess from another world. Would be a lot easier to figure out how to be friends with you.”

Twilight looked at her oddly, as if wanted to say something, but then frowned slightly. “Hey, are you okay? That looked like actual pain, not just sad pain.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said halfheartedly. “Cramps. No biggie.”

“Ohhhh. Hey, that’s something I can fix.”

Then, without warning, she pressed her hand against the lower part of Sunset’s stomach. Before she could even squeak out a “What the hell are you doing?!” or otherwise protest, a glow began to emanate from the very tip of her horn, and then from her hand. The light form her hand seemed to sink right down into her body, and pure heat rippled out from her belly. But it was more than just heat; it was something powerful that seemed to come from inside Twilight straight into Sunset.

“Are you… ooh,” she sighed, sniffling as she fluttered her eyes shut. “That… feels nice. What are you doing? Some kind of spell?”

“Yeah. Something like that.” The hand moved in a slow circle, and Sunset smiled gently. “It’s a basic heating charm. Haven’t you ever used a hot water bottle during your period?”

“No,” she sighed again. “Do people even use hot water bottles anymore?”

“Maybe not. That’s right, you have electric heating pads now. Duh!”

After a few seconds, Sunset put her hand over Twilight’s. It was very warm — just shy of hot — and reminded her of the temperature she preferred her showers at. If her hand were directly on her skin of her stomach, it would probably have been too hot for comfort. But maybe not; magic was weird like that.

“I bet this comes in handy during your time of the month, huh?”

“Oh, it wouldn’t,” Twilight half-laughed. “We don’t get periods.”

“Really? Wow, lucky. Because you’re immortal, or something?” She was super jelly.

“No, because ponies don’t menstruate. We have estrus instead.”

Sunset frowned in confusion. “And that is…?”

“We go into heat,” the goddess explained patiently. “Kind of the opposite, as far as treating with magic like this is concerned. Doesn’t happen monthly, but can get just as irritating.”

“What, does going into heat hurt, or something?”

At that, Twilight laughed. Her hand moved slightly against the outside of her shirt, but not too much as to cause the magic to cease. “We actually get super, mega horny. Seriously, most mares can’t think about anything but sex. Like I said, pretty irritating for those of us who work all the time.”

“Yeah… I’ll bet,” Sunset mumbled, feeling her cheeks warm along with her belly. The idea of Twilight, a magical pony princess-slash-goddess, super horny and on the prowl for booty… she didn’t know what to think about that.

“But, I have been practicing this lame little parlor trick for a few centuries. Useful when called on by human girls who need to vent a little.”

“It’s not lame. Nothing about you is. Like, I don’t know if you can tell how much cooler you are than regular humans… but yeah, a lot.”

The hand stopped moving, but she didn’t turn off the heat as she looked over at Sunset again, meeting her eyes. “You really think that? You think that I’m superior because I’m immortal, can do magic, or can be summoned to other realities?”

“I… aren’t you?” Then she kind of debated internally for a second, nodding. “Okay, you have to come here and do whatever I ask when I summon you. That’s a little annoying. But hey, at least your job takes you places, right? And then you get to live forever! What’s that like?”

Pursing her lips, Twilight leaned in and spoke in a low voice, as if someone might actually be listening in — which, to be fair, was a distinct possibility. “Honey, you want to define ‘dead end job’, look no further. This is it. Yes, I’m a princess and the successor to an immortal sun goddess. But seriously; an immortal sun goddess. Immortal, as in, she’ll never die. Or retire. Ever. I’m stuck in limbo being her apprentice forever, until the end of time.”

“But… you’re a princess, too.” Sunset stammered, feeling like she was called out on the carpet for not doing her homework. “Don’t you have… like, your own kingdom, or something?”

Twilight’s expression was flatter than an airport. “I oversee a small city-state. That’s it. Not a full kingdom like my teacher, my sister, or even her daughter does. And even then, my little ponies do pretty much whatever they want to; I’ve never been much of a ruler.” She paused, looking somewhere over Sunlight’s shoulder. “Not only that, but it hasn’t been the same since all my friends were there with me.”

“I… I see,” she murmured. “Well… damn.”

“Pretty much. Anyway, this is my life until the end of time.”

“Damn,” Sunset repeated. “That’s heavy. Guess it’s not all butterflies and rainbows, huh?”

Snorting, Twilight rolled her eyes. “Sunny, you have no idea.”

Sunset smiled then, already feeling tons better from Twilight’s levity combined with the heat easing her cramps. “And, um… thanks for getting me through that crappy moment just now. Didn’t mean to fall apart the way I did.”

“Hey. You’re only human.”

“Wow! Wow, that was bad, and you should feel bad.”

“Yeah, but it got you to say something mean to me again,” Twilight said with a grin. “Sounds a lot more like the Sunset who’s my part-time supervisor. Welcome back.”

“Hey! I do not say mean things. I’m a good person!”

“Good people can say mean things, and mean people can say good things in this crazy, mixed-up world. Someday, you’ll understand that.”

Narrowing her eyes, she grumbled, “Don’t you Casablanca me. I might be young, but I’m not culturally starved.”

“You know your classics! There’s hope for you yet.” Standing and stretching — which Sunset was sure wasn’t strictly necessary — Twilight sat on the arm of the couch and declared, “So! We can either stick it to another of those ‘fuckboys’ you’ve come across, or we can just hang out a few more hours. Your blood, your pick.”

“I already shed my blood. I thought we discussed this.”

“Doesn’t matter either way; the rules are pretty clear. You didn’t even have to use your blood. Any source of life force will do. But the spell has a habit of going walleyed if you don’t, especially if you’re a newbie… crossed wires at the interdimensional gate, that kind of thing. So yeah, safe bet. Anyway, what do you wanna do?”

“Well…” If she were really honest with herself, she did sort of want to ask if Twilight wouldn’t mind just finding something on Netflix and settling in under a blanket. Especially knowing how much warmth she could get out of it. But that seemed so selfish; she had brought a goddess — one that technically ruled over an entire city-state, even though she said she let them do what they want — into an entirely different world. Wasn’t it wasteful to do anything other than her original task?

“Say it,” she urged as she sat up straighter. “Whatever’s on your mind, right now — three, two, one, go!”

“I want to watch a movie!”

Laughing and clapping her hands, Twilight said, “Alright! You actually did it! I figured you’d tell me to ‘fuck off’ or whatever they say these days!”

“No, we still say that,” Sunset said, only slightly sheepish but grateful she was being laughed with instead of at. “You… really don’t mind?”

“I don’t. Of course, my teacher might roll her eyes at both of us, but she likes it when I have some fun. If your request is ‘watch a movie’, and I fulfill it, then I have done my job and had fun while doing it!”

“True, but I mean… are you sure you want to?”

“Sure!” Then, in response to Sunset’s skeptical look, she shrugged and added, “Well, it’s not like I have a choice; if you decide to, I’m watching a movie. Done and done. But! Even outside of my job description, I honestly have nothing against some couch potato time. If you’d have asked me a couple thousand years ago, I might have spazzed a little. But the older you get, the more you appreciate the time to you get to lay back and do nothing. Movies are a lot of fun, and there’s plenty here that I haven’t seen yet — especially ones from the past decade or so.”

“You sure you’re not just saying that?”

“Hey, I haven’t lied to you yet and I’m not going to start now. Let’s watch — what are you in the mood for?”

Picking up her remote awkwardly, she turned on the blu-ray player and said, “Well, um… I dunno. You’re the guest.”

“Guest, hired hoof, whatever. Something fun, right? Unless you have a craving for a tear-jerker.”

“Not even,” Sunset grunted.

“Good. Oh, and I need to look the part. Here.”

As she stood up from the arm of the couch, Twilight’s skirt and blouse melted and was replaced by a slightly oversized pink t-shirt and comfortable-looking short shorts with books patterned across them. The look was completed with fuzzy bunny slippers. She held out both arms out to the sides as she modeled her new look, pirouetting like a professional dancer. Her wings flared slightly during the turn, blowing Sunset across the front with a gentle gust of wind. Her shirt was also complete with holes for her wings to poke through.

And it was only during this impressive move that Sunset noticed something. Marring each of her upper thighs, just below the hem of her shorts, was a pair of markings — a darker purple than her skin tone, mixed with shades of lavender and bright pink. But what really drew her attention to them wasn’t the fact that they were there. What really caused her to notice them were the pattern of nasty-looking scars that was splashed across both of them — shiny and raw, as if they were fresh wounds instead of thousands of years old. They worked across the markings like a spider’s web of tiny scars, or like splinters in a broken mirror. Easy enough to miss since she always wore that knee-length poodle skirt, but she only saw them at this point because of the brief ballet display drawing her eyes downward to the bare skin of her thighs.

“Too much?”

“Huh?” Then Sunset drew her eyes back up to the goddess’ face. “Oh, yeah, I can’t believe…” She couldn’t help laughing, and Twilight weathered it with a good-natured grin, hands on hips and lips pursed. “And you still look the same, just with jammies on!”

“Well, I did tell you this was my favorite form, didn’t I? Except for my original one.”

“Yeah, I guess you did.” That didn’t make any sense, though. If she had the power to make herself into any form she wanted, why would she purposefully create such a disfiguring mark? What would be the purpose?

After a second, her guest tilted her head to the side. “I could change, if you want — to something else, or just somepony else.”

“No, it’s you. I don’t want you to change.” Then Twilight was smiling that quiet little smile that would be bashful if she weren’t far too old to be embarrassed by things anymore. For some reason it hurt Sunset, but she couldn’t figure out why. Therefore, she pushed ahead. “Okay, since you like Disney so much, have you seen any of their recent stuff? Ratatouille? WALL-E? Toy Story? What about Brave?”

“No, yes, only the first one, and totally!”

Grinning at the emphatic response, Sunset weighed her options. “Alright, avoiding repeats, um… we’ll start with Ratatouille and move onto Toy Story if we have time afterward, but we probably will. Or we’ll just start the second one and finish up next time.”

“Sounds groovy!” While Sunset snickered at the use of ‘groovy’, Twilight turned to bounce toward the kitchen. “Got any snacks? Or you could send me on that previously-requested beer run…”

“We’ll probably survive without alcohol, but not popcorn. Or chocolate.”

“Oh, chocolate for sure — and we don’t have Doritos back home. That stuff is like crack.” Then she grinned and held up her hands, wiggling her fingers towards Sunset. “And if you wanna see another cool trick, give me a bag of popcorn.”

‘“What? Why would— oh. Oh! Seriously, you can do that?!”

Again, that eerie little smile seemed to hold all the secrets of the universe. And maybe it did.

Chapter 8: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Twilight wgah'nagl fhtagn

Author's Notes:

A/N: As before, there is a relatively short, squicky scene in this chapter. Nothing too horrific, but I thought I'd drop a disclaimer, just in case.

OP Twilight is OP.

“Seriously, are you okay?”

Sunset’s head shot up and her eyelashes fluttered blearily. What day was it? Who was talking to her? Rainbow Dash, as it turned out. And she was in breakroom at work, slumped against the table.

“Oh… oh, hey,” she mumbled as she pawed at the sleep in her face. “‘Sup?”

“You are, now," her friend grunted, her arms crossed over her chest. "But you were totally passed out, and you should have been back at work like, twenty minutes ago.”

“What?! Oh shit, I— Ughhh, how the fuck did I let that happen? Boss is gonna hate me, or fire me. And if she doesn’t then— ”

“Hey, relax,” Rainbow sighed as she sank into the chair beside her. “I told the boss-lady that you’re on your period still and you need some time.”

“Oh.” Then she grimaced, rubbing at her temples. “Except that’s getting lighter now. So it’s not completely true. Damn, I feel guilty as hell right now.”

Shrugging, Rainbow pulled Sunset’s half-emptied styrofoam container closer and began to pick pieces of chicken out of it. “Don’t. I mean, I’ve noticed how tired you are these past few days; I figured it was just… y’know, mother nature kicking you in the uterus.”

“Well, she did, but I also haven’t been sleeping very well. You didn’t have to cover for me… is she mad?”

“Nah, she gets it.” Licking her lips, she leaned in another inch or so. “But you really do look rough. Like, you have been actually sleeping, right?”

“Huh?” Rainbow didn’t waver, so Sunset shrugged noncommittally. “Yeah, I have. Just not as much as I used to. But that’ll change. I mean, the weekend’s coming up, right?”

“Is there anything I can do? I mean, if it’s your assignments, I can maybe do a few of them for both of us, but you shouldn’t have t--”

“No, I… no. I can’t have you doing that.” Clearing her throat, she stared down into her water bottle before taking a huge swig. “I’ll be fine. Seriously. You go ahead and, uh, finish my food. I’ll get back to work.”

“Alright. But you swear to me right now that you’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, okay? We’re not just friends, we’re comrades in arms. Fighting the good fight, n’all.”

Sighing, she nodded her acknowledgement of the offer. She lowered her voice and saluted, intoning, “Talk later, comrade.”

On her way back through the building to the front, Sunset tried to shake off the last vestiges of sleep. Nothing worked; though she knew the real reason she was so tired.

Over the past several nights, Sunset had been spending as much time as possible hanging out with Twilight. Not doing work, and not being involved in the actual point of summoning her and the initial draw of sweet vengeance. They had discussed doing that again, of course, and their past ‘strikes’ against the entitled pricks of her fair city, but so far, no real progress had been made.

Instead, they watched movies and played video games, swapped stories and were generally silly. Most of Twilight’s tales were about past clients and jobs she’d done rather than her own life outside of her current ‘occupation’. That seemed to be off-limits to her, and Sunset was resistant to pushing that boundary.

Still, they had a great time together. Once, toward the end of the evening, they had been playing Borderlands split-screen — with Twilight making remarks about her last experience gaming being the first Sonic the Hedgehog title — when Sunset fell asleep, slumped in the corner of the couch. By the time she woke up in the morning, one of her controllers was partially melted, and the purple goddess was gone. As it turned out, Twilight was very competitive at video games, and not immune to the frustrations that came with losing. Some careful testing would be in order to see if the controller would still be usable. However, she did notice that her Siren character was three levels higher than she remembered.

The hardest thing about keeping up that kind of relationship — other than the inconvenient time constraints, since Sunset’s daytime schedule only made nighttime interaction with Twilight viable — was that she still had no definite answer about whether or not Twilight was actually enjoying or even looking forward to these evenings. Yes, she seemed to be, and yes, she never complained… not even once. But anything she was asked if she liked this or that, or what she wanted to do, it would get turned around on Sunset.

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“If that’s something you like, then I’ll give it a shot.”

“Hey, I’m game for anything.”

Each response was designed to give the impression that Twilight wanted to do things, but if you examined them more closely, she was really just being open to Sunset’s suggestions.

They did have fun; Sunset believed that with all her heart. After all, nobody could weather so many nights of inane activities like binge-watching full seasons of The Legend of Korra if they purely hated it without saying something, even if they were some kind of magical being under a summoning contract. However, what she really wanted was to be told exactly what her new friend actually truly desired — with no external influence, no wishes overriding her own. Pure, unfiltered, unedited Twilight.

And that would never happen. The only way to get her there was to summon her, and the summoning ritual clearly put her under some kind of restriction. Something that couldn’t be worked around. She went over it again and again in the book, trying to find some small loophole or an alternate spell. That was it; the one and only spell, and only that way to cast it.

But she had a plan. And later that night, she was going to try it.

“Gonna try what?”

Blinking, she looked up to see Flash standing in front of her, eyebrows raised attractively. “Gonna… what?” she repeated blankly.

“You said you’re gonna try it.” Then he shrugged bashfully, a lock of dark hair falling into his eyes. “Whatever ‘it’ is, anyway.”

“Oh. My. God,” she groaned in complete mortification. She had been talking out loud. She had been walking through the store, talking out loud, about her watching cartoons with a goddess. “How… much did you hear?”

“Just that you’re gonna try something. Anything fun?” Then his expression grew mock serious. “It’s not drugs, is it, young lady? Your mother and I have warned you about this kind of thing!”

“Okay, but you and my mom have a lot of explaining to do, since you’re actually a few months younger than me.”

Laughing, he put his hands in his pockets and walked with her to the register. “Touché, touché. Anyway, I gotta ask if you’re okay. You might not want me butting in or anything, but…”

“Oh, no, it’s cool,” she smiled widely. Flash, of all people, was paying enough attention to her notice that she was losing her grip on reality? Not that she was hiding it very well if she was walking around muttering to herself like someone off their medication…

Well, she’d take what she could get.

“But, um, thanks for checking in. What time is it? I need to be getti— oop!”

The sound of the phone she had fumbled out of her pocket hitting the floor was as loud as it was grating, but Flash was able to swoop down and snatch it after its first bounce so it didn't make things any worse. They both looked at it, relieved to find the screen crack-free.

“Nice, glad it didn’t break,” he sighed gratefully. “Hey… who’s that?”

“Who’s what?” Glancing down at the phone, she saw that her lock screen wasn’t what she been expecting — which was an old shot of Doctor Who and TARDIS, as it had been for more than a year. How had she gone all morning without noticing the change?

Much worse, however, was whom had replaced the Doctor: Twilight.

Her usual pretty, just-shy-of-perfect self, doing her best imitation of a ‘selfie’ as they had been explained to her a day or two before. She didn’t quite achieve full-on duckface status, but that was a good thing in her opinion. Slightly less good was the fact that she was there for all the world to see as the image that first came up when her screen was activated. As luck had it, though, she had glamoured her horn away and her skin to a slightly-more normal shade for the photo.

“Uh… oh, that? She’s, um…”

“Hey, no judgement,” Flash’s laugh was slightly nervous as he handed the phone back. “Somebody pretty special, right? Good for you.”

“No, I’m not one of— I mean, that would be no big deal, right? If I were! But that’s not— I’m not—”

“Hey, you don’t need to explain to me!” Flash’s grin returned, this time fully sincere. “I’m just glad you found somebody. Lucky.” Then he patted her on the shoulder in an all-too-fraternal way. “Back to stocking fun. Talk later?”

And then Flash was gone, and she could feel the weight of rumors already building. No... anything but that! Anything but the one rumor that would actually make her chances with him worse than they actually were. There had to be something she could do to fix this!

But there wasn't. Not right away, at least. Not when she was already late getting back from lunch. Shoulders drooping as if they had barbells sitting on them, she schlepped back to the register.

“Fuuuuuuuuuck.”

As soon as her shift was over, Sunset checked her phone more thoroughly. The home screen wallpaper was the same: the entire cast of Sailor Moon, right where she left them. So why had only her lock screen changed?

Once she got into the camera roll, she couldn’t help but snort in amusement. There were at least thirty pictures of Twilight in there, in various poses and expressions. Also, a few of Twilight’s finger poking Sunset’s own sleeping nose or otherwise tormenting her because she had fallen asleep. Seemed a lot of fun was had in her living room without her being conscious for any of it.

This did answer the question, though, she had ever since the whole Blueblood incident: she could indeed by fully photographed. Of course, there was no telling if it would work when she was in her whole ‘I’m a Smoky, Scary, Shadowy Thing’ or whatever, but that the very least her image could be captured with a digital device when looking somewhat human. Part of Sunset was really glad. Soon, she would have to get a selfie with both of them — maybe a snapchat with ‘BFFs’ underneath, and a few sparkly emojis for good measure.

Or she could stop being a total loser. Might be a way better plan.

Having already finished her most recent assignments — even though they still weren’t up to her usual standards of excellence — she took a nap from then until dinnertime. Luckily, she was actually able to sleep, but it probably had more to do with her complete and utter exhaustion than anything else. Then, immediately after she made herself a grilled cheese sandwich and wolfed it down, she went into the bathroom for what had become her normal routine.

This was perhaps the first time in the history of women that one was displeased to see a dry tampon. Well, not quite dry, but there would be no using it to summon Twilight tonight, that was for certain. Frustrated, she tossed it at the summoning circle and leaned against the counter with one hand.

She had known this was coming. Though she couldn’t bring herself to actually discuss it with the goddess herself, it had been in the back of her mind for a few days. What was she going to do now that she wouldn’t be getting her period again for a few months? Give Twilight up for Lent, or something? It was so unfair that the only good thing that had ever come from menstruation was now being taken from her.

“God — Celestia, whatever your name is — you are seriously cramping my style, here!” she shouted at the ceiling as she pulled her leggings back up. She’d heard Twilight make a reference to ‘Celestia’ as Sunset would ‘God’, and she was willing to bet this being was the head honcho on the other side. “Can’t you just… give me this one?! We both know I don’t have a lot going on in my life, so seriously, I… I don't want to go without being able to summon her for that long! I can’t!”

And then, without warning, the air pressure grew thicker, energy crackling. The lamp overhead flickered. Then everything stilled — but Twilight had still not arrived.

“What the… is that enough?” She glanced at the tampon is disbelief.

There was only one way to find out. Quickly, she lit a few candles and read the words from her paper. Again, the atmosphere shifted — more wildly, more forcefully. Her heart beat in her throat as she waited, wishing that her hopes weren’t burning so bright just for this one thing.

And in a bright flash of light and pop of displaced air, she was there.

“Whoa, that was one rough ride,” Twilight said in a shaky voice, her hair slightly disheveled as she pushed herself to standing from the floor. “You… I mean, what’s wrong?”

But all Sunset could do was throw her arms around Twilight, clutching at her tightly. “I can’t believe you made it… I’m so happy!”

A quiet laugh disguised as a sigh floated behind Sunset as they embraced, one hand gliding up and down her back in reassurance. “Yeah, I’m here. It’s okay.” A few seconds later, she pulled back and patted her cheek. “What, did you run out of ‘ingredients’, or something?”

“Had to happen eventually. Just… after I saw it, I didn’t think it would work this time.”

“Almost didn’t. You did a failed summoning, and then one that worked?”

“Huh? No, I… I don’t think so.” But then she thought back and remembered her outcry. “Well, I was kind of in a mood that you wouldn’t be coming and… I might have… asked Celestia to send you. Is that stupid, or what?”

That made Twilight grow very quiet and still. For several seconds, they simply stood like that, staring at each other as the purple eyes darted between her face and nothing at all. Thinking.

“What? Did I screw up somehow? I’m sorry, it was just desperation, you were g--”

“No, you’re fine. It’s… not a problem.” Then she turned to walk to the living room. “It’s just... Celestia would have the power to do something like that, if she were…” She trailed off, turning on the spot and staring at Sunset. She opened her mouth to so say something, thought better of it, and then sighed, turning around. “But... I’ve never known her to just arbitrarily answer the calls of humans. That’s more Luna’s thing. Or Flurry Heart, if she’s in a ‘mood’. She’s always been kinda quirky.” She paused at the couch, looking thoughtful again. After a few seconds, she shrugged, turning back to Sunset in the doorway. “Oh well, that’s something to deal with back home. For you and me, it won’t really make much difference, I don’t think.”

“You don’t think?! You have to let me know if something happens, okay? I don’t want to get you into trouble — that would kill me!”

“Nopony’s getting into trouble. Relax,” she laughed as she sat down.

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. Hadn’t had something like this happen before so, if anything, there’ll just be a short inquiry. No biggie.”

“But…” Sighing, Sunset rubbed at her face. “Okay. If you say so.”

“I do say so. Hakuna Mataka a little, girlfriend.” Then she sat up straighter and crossed her legs. “Now then, what’s on the agenda tonight? We gonna watch Wreck-It-Ralph, or are you finally taking me to a bar?”

Smiling slightly at the memory, she thought about that for a few seconds. Twilight kept herself busy by leafing through a volume of Love Hina that Sunset planted on her coffee table — Twilight had been steadily making her way through the series, much to her amusement. Then she said something she had been wanting to for a while now.

“Tonight, I want to do what you want to do.”

“Nice try,” Twilight half-laughed as she examined a full-page illustration of a half-naked Makoto nailing Keitaro with her bouken.

“I’m serious.”

“You always try that one way or another,” Twilight told her patiently. “And I always let you know that it doesn’t work that way.”

“This time, it does. My wish, my job for you, is to do whatever you want. What you would ask for if you were the one doing the summoning. Name it, and we’re there.”

The room was very quiet for a few seconds. Too quiet. Frustratingly quiet. Sunset folded her arms over her chest, mostly to make it obvious that she wasn’t going to conveniently ‘forget’ and move onto the next topic. She would wait until Twilight was ready.

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can! This is what I want.”

“No, I can’t,” the goddess repeated in a tight voice. “It’s part of the rules of the summoning; while I’m here on your world, my entire purpose is to serve my summoner — the one who ties me here with their life-force. Now, I do get a bit of leeway with how I can do that; wiggle room so I can be more effective. But if I abuse that wiggle room, I get…well, there’s problems that can happen. But that has to be a pretty gross misuse of free— of leeway.” Sunset caught the slip, but didn’t react save for the tightening in her features. Twilight continued, “It’s not completely unfair, but I can’t actually do things I want to do just because I want to — even if it’s what you want me to do for you. Not while I’m here under your summons. There’s no ‘Genie, I wish you free’ kind of thing.”

That clinched it in Sunset’s mind: Twilight was a slave. Well, maybe not a full, one-hundred percent slave-slave… but some kind of indentured servant, at the very least. She clearly had freedom to do what she wanted to back home regardless of her royal status, but the fact of the matter was she was forced to answer summons from random people on Earth at their whim, do whatever they told her to do — with certain limitations, apparently — without question, only to go back home to wait for next time. She could not decide to do anything on her own during her time here, whether it be to use the restroom, or even eat if she wanted; she could only do what she was told.

Most societies would call that slavery. Sunset would call that ‘Grade-A Bullshit’. But… even though it killed her, there was little she could do about it at this time.

A pained smile ghosted across Sunset’s face. “I figured you’d make a movie reference in there somewhere.”

“It’s one of Disney’s best.” When Twilight caught Sunset’s eyes again, her own were bright. Sincere. “But… don’t think that I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do. It means the world to me.”

“But it doesn't change anything.”

“Don’t be so sure.” Pulling her knees up to her chin, she said very softly. “Now, can you pick something for us to do so I don’t burst into tears like the most pathetic immortal goddess ever?”

Snorting, Sunset sat next to her on the couch. “Sure. I mean, it’s kinda jank that I won’t see you for a few months, but… maybe we should take care of Snips and Snails tonight.”

“Sorry,” Twilight sighed. “Can’t give you a two-for-the-price-of-one deal, either. Rules are rules.” Then she whispered, “But I wonder why you think…”

The sentence simply died. After a few more seconds, Sunset prompted her, “What? What do I think?”

“Nothing. Nevermind. Anyway, wanna know what I have in store for Snips?”

“Yeah, I guess that’ll do,” she said, trying to reconcile herself to this being potentially their last hurrah for a while. Sir Snails of Doesn’t-Know-How-To-Take-‘No’-For-An-Answer would have to wait until next time.

“Okay. First, We’ll need to get some supplies…”

If there was anything Snips hated, it was mouthy women. Nobody ever asked for their opinions, yet they always seemed to want to spew them forth, unsolicited. Men didn’t do that; they knew that if they didn’t have any opinion on a subject, they should just keep their damn mouths shut.

Why couldn’t women learn their place the same way he had?

Of course, he hadn’t learned it the simplest way. His dad had been free and liberal with the discipline, both with his brothers and his mother. Any of them got out of line, he’d backhand them across the face. Only when they started to get older and the bruises started showing did he start attempting to talk through their problems instead of getting physical first. It was a learning curve for the old man; he came from stock that believed in using fists and direct confrontation. Good old boys. The new, softer world grated on his nerves, but several threats from child services made it clear he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

But their marriage was somehow even more broken when he tried to debut the ‘kinder and gentler’ Daddy. Both of them just argued louder and more irrationally — and she would always start it by demanding more money from his paycheck, or by telling him that he ought to be more ambitious at work, or pay more attention to the kids. Nothing was ever good enough for her. It served her right when he died of a heart attack and left her to raise the boys all on her own, and even moreso when she swerved into oncoming traffic by falling asleep at the wheel a few years later.

Snips’ elder brothers did a fine job of raising him, though, and he made it out into the world just fine. All without some meddling, hen-pecking woman breathing down his neck and making his life a living hell. They really did think they had all the answers.

Just like the woman with the bun in the oven who wouldn’t stop pacing up and down the liquor aisle. She was stupid enough to drink while pregnant, so she deserved it if she ended up with fetal alcohol syndrome or something. To his trained eye, he definitely saw her as the type to think she could do nothing wrong, that any opinion a man offered was obviously not good enough for her. Even though she was about to poison her own baby.

She probably smoked, too.

When she finally brought a six pack of lager up to the counter and set it down, he noticed that she was wearing large sunglasses — probably designer, though he couldn’t be sure. He never paid attention to that kind of stuff. Her actions were nervous, though. Furtive. A scarf held her wavy, light-colored hair down and back, and the shirt that stretched over her stomach said ‘Bundle of Joy’ in yellow print. Yellow, huh? Probably didn’t even ask the doctor what the gender was; she wasn’t using blue or pink. One of those new-age, hippie parents.

He rang her up, and was about to tell her the total when she interrupted, very softly, “And… um, a… a p-pack of cigarettes, too. Please. Um, Pall Malls, if you have them.”

Scoffing under his breath, he reached back for the cigarettes and slapped them on the counter a bit harder than was necessary. Then he rang those up, too, and rattled off the total.

And then waited. She made no move toward her purse, no movement at all. Finally, he had enough of her attitude and grunted, “Ma’am, if you can’t afford your purchase, you’ll have to put something back.”

There was a long pause, and then she finally answered, “... why are you so presumptuous?”

“What?”

“Well,” she went on, still in her same mousy tone that made a vein in his forehead throb, “first you... thought I was a bad person for buying alcohol and cigarettes. And then you assumed that I’m not paying because I didn't have the money.”

He frowned at her. “If that’s not the reason, when why aren’t you paying?”

Her face twitched, her lips drawing a thin line across her face. She seemed to shrink in on herself for a moment, until she straightened again. “Because I’m waiting for an apology.”

Both of Snips’ eyebrows shot up. “An apology for what? I haven’t said anything that I need to apologize for, far as I can tell.”

“You... “ she faltered, but took a fortifying breath. “You sighed about the cigarettes. Admit it.”

“Fine, I will.” Glancing towards the back to make sure Al wasn’t in earshot, he leaned in a spoke his mind. He didn't want to get fired over this — not after what happened a few days ago with that girl on the rag — but the video cameras didn't record audio, and he had enough of her attitude to last him all night. She had earned a little talking-to.

“You walk in here like your the princess of the store, and you’re buying not one, but two things proven to harm that baby you’re carrying. Pretty irresponsible, and pretty disgusting. So yeah, I’m not thrilled about it, but hey, it’s your life and your choices. It just sucks that you’re not thinking about anybody but yourself.”

Nodding slowly, the woman worked her jaw for a moment, and he could see her pale complexion flushing a deeper red as she chewed on his words. He had her now, he thought; maybe this would be the thing that would wake her up and keep her from being a selfish bitch for a change.

“Really?” she finally asked, the first bit of fire in her tone since she first said anything to him. “And it never occurred to you that these things might not be for me?”

Or… not. “Well, not really. You don’t have anybody else with you.”

“That’s true, but I’m also not opening any of this beer and drinking it right in front of you. But you put that assumption on me.”

“Then why the hell are you buying it?” he snapped back, feeling his own cheeks flush. “If you’re not drinking or smoking, have your husband buy his own cigarettes and beer. I mean, you have to realize how this looks.”

“My husband, huh? Good guess.” She nodded again. “I have to buy them for him, because this store is on the way home from work so it’s easier for me, and he doesn’t like it when I forget them.”

Throwing up both his hands, Snips groaned, “Big deal! Not my problem, so don’t blame me for calling things like I see them! You don’t wanna buy this shit, then fine! Don’t buy it!”

“If I don’t buy it,” she responded coolly, her expression impassive from behind her sunglasses. “I don’t sleep very well.”

“Oh, boo-fucking-hoo. You’re so upset that you didn’t do what he wanted that it keeps you awake. You’re not exactly selling your case here, sweetheart.”

“Not because I’m upset — because I’m scared!” She suddenly shouted, ripping off her sunglasses and throwing them at him. And there, hidden underneath her long bangs and her pale complexion, was a large, dark bruise over a brilliant, purple eye. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? You’ve never been a woman. You’ve never been scared of a man in you’ve entire life, have you?!”

Snips was beyond shocked. This was… impossible. The face that stared back at him, filled with loathing and fear, wasn’t the face of the woman who had been standing in front of him for the past few minutes. Instead, somehow, he was staring directly into the face of his mother; the one that had shouted at him so many times when she had just weathered another beating from the old man, had screamed at him to shape up, to keep studying, to stop being such a waste of potential. The one he had shoved out of his was every time he stormed out of the house, ignoring the pleas for him to come back and not end up like his father.

The same face that was supposed to be six feet under the ground in a cemetery across town.

“So you can think what you want about me buying cigarettes and beer for him, because you don’t have to live in that situation!” she went on, her bad eye looking even less ghastly than her good one — that one stared at him with unmitigated hatred. “You never have, and you never will, because you don’t have to go through what we to every day!”

Rubbing his eyes, he looked again — and it wasn’t his mother. She did look like her the tiniest bit, but not enough to matter. It had thrown him a lot, but now he was taking exception.

“Now who’s judging who?” he snarled right back, slamming both hands on the counter. “You think I don’t know what that’s like, huh? My dad used to smack me around, too. You know what I did? I fought back! I got tough! That’s what you do, take it and get tougher for it — not complain to total strangers and ask for sympathy!”

It was her turn to look shocked. “You… you’re standing there, telling me that just because you’re a victim that… you totally understand my situation, and I’m just… what, just weak? Is that it? That’s your answer? To ‘toughen up’ and stop being such a pushover?”

“That’s life, lady! So suck it up!”

Tears were swimming in her eyes. She looked like she was on the verge of sobbing outright, but then she swayed, looking quite unlike she did a moment ago — and the color that had been steadily gathering in her cheeks drained away to a dirty gray. “Oh… oh, I don’t feel well. I—I think I need to use your bathroom.”

“Bathrooms are for paying customers only,” Snips said coldly. She was faking, she had to be. Now that he had shot her arguments to hell, showed her that he wasn’t just some idiot she could pull that ‘battered wife syndrome’ crap and get out of everything, she was going for the sympathy card. It wasn’t going to happen.

“You… you really th—” her face contorted in a pained grimace. “Nnng! Fine!” Slapping a twenty on the counter, she started hobbling toward the back. “Take the damn money! Keep it! I just… I need to… I— Ahh!”

Before, he had felt fear when he thought it was his mother back from the dead — even though it seemed ridiculous to him now. But seeing a pregnant woman go down hard on her ass was a different matter entirely. Swearing under his breath, he shot out from behind the counter and leaned over her.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hissed.

“My—my water broke!” she sobbed, eyes wide and disbelieving. “This… I can’t b-believe… not here, not in some store! I didn’t—”

“God damn it, now I have to get you out of here!” Eyes flashing all around, trying to alight on something, anything, that would get him out of this jam, he finally just turned to shout down at her, “Just hold that baby in there! I don’t know shit about delivering babies, and I don’t plan on learning today!”

That was when he noticed something odd. Well, odder than a woman bearing down to deliver her baby right then and there in the middle of the store. His knees were tingling where the amniotic fluid had splashed him — and at first, he just felt nauseated at the idea of what was soaking into his shoes and khakis.

But then it began to burn. As it soaked up into the material, it began to feel like he was on fire, itching like crazy but also burning every inch of skin it touched. And the burning climbed up past the soaking areas, spreading all over him. What was going on?

“What the fuck?!” he burst out, limbs going weak. He tried to push up and run away, but found that he couldn't move. He wanted to, needing to try and find a way to rinse it off, but for some reason his body had chosen now to become disobedient. “M-make it stop!”

He looked up, only to see the full weight of her stare boring deep into him, pinning him in place like an insect on a cork board. He shivered, his breath locking in his throat as he fought the urge to throw up all over himself.

“Don’t you want to help deliver this baby?” she demanded quietly, her face a mask of dark rage. “Make sure it grows up right? That it knows anyone weaker than itself is just a piece of shit — that women are weak, and deserve to be mocked, subjugated? To be put in their place?!”

“No,” he stammered, but she was already rolling up her shirt to reveal her round baby bump — only now it wasn’t a baby bump. As he stared, his mouth open in shock, six long, black tentacles peeled out from between her legs and went straight for him, wrapping around his arms and neck, constricting securely. Where there would normally be suction cups in the undersides of the tentacles were claws, razor-sharp and gouging into his flash, slipping under his skin and burrowing like living things, wriggling and piercing.

“Yes, Snips! This is what you think of us — that we’re all monsters! But it’s you who makes us so, you who hurt us until we have no choice but to become them! Isn’t it!?”

“No!”

“Say it!” she snarled, violet eyes flashing a dark crimson.

“Yes!” he screamed back, his voice higher than it had ever been. “I’m absolute shit! I--I do this to women! I abuse them and hurt them! Is that what you want me to say?!”

Forcing himself to stand, the writhing mass of black tentacles pinned him against the wall next to the entrance to the bathrooms.

“It’s not enough! Look at what you’ve turned me into… what you turn all of us into every time you belittle us, curse us, throw us to the ground, take advantage of our bodies because you’ve decided we are weaker than you! You leave us no choice but to prove that we aren’t!”

“Y-you’re not w-weaker!” he rasped, tears finally spilling from his eyes as the burning reached them. “I’m… I’m weaker, aren’t I?”

And he was. Ugly hatred for himself welled up when he thought about how he treated his mother — that yes, she had been a henpecking old nag, but he had pushed her down, called her names that no one should ever call another person, and all the while she had weathered it with unconditional love for her son. And he threw it all away. His father and brothers threw it away, too. He wanted to keep believing that women brought it upon themselves — and maybe they did, a least partly. Or maybe not. But it wasn’t a sign of strength to exert dominance over someone who trusts you, who isn’t trying to exert that dominance back. It’s picking on easy prey.

It was not kindness.

“No… no, I hate you!” he screamed, not sure anymore who he was talking to -- his mother or women in general. “I hate you! You have it so easy, you… you don’t know--”

“Don’t we? Don’t we know what it’s like to be in a position of power?” When he looked back at her, that stare seemed to look directly through him, and at the same time, his mother shook her head sadly as he weeped, and no amount of blinking could make her go away.

“No! Don’t! Don’t be her! Anybody but her — you don’t have the right!”

“I could have snapped your neck, you know,” his mother’s face with that stare told him as she scuttled closer, her arms and legs bent unnaturally as she moved across the linoleum like some kind of horrific, monstrous insect. Her head twitched and lilted as she moved in close. “You were a baby and I could have done anything I wanted to you — dropped you into a few inches of water and you would have drowned... let you swallow medicine until you poisoned yourself. Or just let you scream and cry until you finally stopped. But did I? Did I take advantage of your weakness? Of course not. Because that’s not how you are supposed to treat others.”

She sneered, her bright purple eyes burning into his. “But you did that to me the moment you were old enough to, isn’t that right? You felt entitled to treat me as less than you, even after I spend years — years! — protecting you from the world as much as I could!”

His voice was a reedy whisper and his vision blurred. “No… I didn’t, mom. I didn’t want— you pushed me, I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t. I couldn’t—”

“You couldn’t be a man,” she concluded coldly. “And now, you never will be.”

One of the tentacles lifted to wiggle in front of him, and the bladed suction cups lengthened, sharpened. It began to lower past the others, brushing up against his thigh.

“No, wait, that’s not— Stop! You can’t do this!!!”

“Time to correct my mistake.” Her breath felt like a chill wind against his neck and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Then there was crushing silence. His heart was hammering in his throat, made all the more painful from the lingering sensation of squeezing around his windpipe. He waited a few more seconds, anticipating the disfiguring cut, but it never came.

Slowly, he pried open his eye to see that the store was empty. He was back against the door to the bathroom, but nothing was wrapped around him, no burning dampness clung to his legs. The floor was dry, as well. Maybe he had been hallucinating. The beer and cigarettes were gone, too.

Yeah, maybe he had imagined it all, after all, including the woman herself.

“Fucking hell,” he groaned, wiping at his mouth. “I gotta quit smoking weed with the guys.”

Unfortunately, when he got back behind the counter he spotted two things that shouldn’t be there. A pair of large sunglasses, and a twenty dollar bill. Swallowing, he gently picked up the money and turned it over. On its back, there were large, black letter printed across it, with jagged, writhing swirls in each corner then reminded him far too much of tentacles.

The message was just as unsettling, and he choked down a scream as he read it:

‘Raise it well.’

Chapter 9: Charisma Check Success!

“Ewwww! What the actual fuck?!”

Nodding with a wry smile, Twilight handed her borrowed purse back to Sunset. “Yeah, I thought the tentacles might push you past your tolerance. But I think it did the same for him, which was the entire idea, right?”

“I guess so,” she sighed as she took the purse over to her desk, which more often than not served as a catch-all than an actual desk. The beer and cigarettes were in the kitchen, and though she would keep the beer in her fridge, she wasn’t actually sure what to do with the cigarettes. Keep them on hand in case one of her friends smoked? “So, uh… did he look okay when you finished?”

The look Twilight sent back at her was confused. “How do you mean? ‘Okay’ in what sense?”

“In the sense that he wouldn’t go completely insane from the experience.” Twilight’s expression shifted to something more guarded, so Sunset shrugged and muttered, “Never mind.”

“Buyer’s remorse already? It’s only been three jobs.” But the goddess walked closer and nudged elbow with elbow as she went to put the beer in the fridge. “Don't worry, he’ll be fine. Nightmares for a few weeks, probably. Maybe see a therapist — but, given his past, I’m fairly certain he could use one. Could I have this?” She held up a small apple from a bag on the counter.

Sunset nodded in assent. “I’ve been wondering about that, actually. You always seem to know exactly what will get to each guy we go after, but… you told me you couldn’t read minds, right?”

“Not unless it’s something I absolutely need as a part of the job,” Twilight amended. “If you hadn’t sent me after Snips in particular, I wouldn’t know a single thing about the microscopic little thoughts he has. But since you did… I got what I needed to hit him right where it hurts.”

Curling her lip, Sunset plopped down on the couch and put her bare feet on the coffee table. “That sounds so much less ominous.”

“Sorry,” Twilight laughed as she returned, biting into the apple. “But it’s how I get things done."

Sunset waved a hand, sighing,“I know, I know. This is kinda hard; I’m trying not to judge you since I don’t have to do what you do, but parts of it are… are really…” She trailed off as she noticed Twilight’s confused and disgusted expression. “Um, Twilight?”

“What is wrong with this apple? It has, like, no flavor at all.”

“That’s... because it’s a potato.”

Blinking, she looked up at her summoner for a second. “What? No, it’s red. Potatoes are brown.”

“They’re new potatoes,” Sunset deadpanned, trying so very hard not to giggle but failing miserably.

“They have new potatoes?!” Twilight was incredulous, staring down in disbelief and turning the thing over in her hands. “Why don’t people tell me the important things?! I mean, do they still make the brown kind, or are they out of style now?”

Not that there wasn’t going to be much help forthcoming. After watching Sunset laugh hysterically for a few more seconds, Twilight finally tossed the potato casually so that it thudded against Sunset’s stomach on its downward arch, which only served to elicit more peals of laughter out of the human.

“That’s just… just a classification!” Wiping her eyes, she sat up and put it on the table. “They were on sale. My mom says they make better mashed potatoes than the brown ones, and I had a massive craving last week. I didn’t think… that you’d just pick one up and… I can't even!”

“Stop laughing at me,” Twilight grumbled, plopping down next to her as she reverted back to her poodle skirt-and-blouse 'uniform'. “Wow, so I didn't know about developments in human root vegetable technology — sue me already.”

“Hey,” Sunset gasped as she realized something. “You… you threw that at me.”

“Not all that hard,” Twilight huffed, her lips flapping as she exhaled loudly.

“No, I know — I’m not saying you did. But I didn’t think you could throw something at me; like, when I brought up pillow fights, you said that you hadn’t ever had one here because you couldn’t cause any possible harm to your summoner.”

Blinking, Twilight seemed to consider that. “Oh. Well… huh.”

“Huh?”

“You’re right. That’s kind of strange.” Pressing her fingers into her mouth, she thought for a few seconds before speaking again. “Normally, if I actually tried to throw something at you, I’d feel a compulsion not to do it. Kind of. I mean, it’s more like an alarm going off in my head.”

“Uh huh.”

“But… I didn’t this time. Maybe it’s because I knew there was no way the potato would harm you, but… that also usually doesn’t make any difference, because any remote act of violence against a contractor is forbidden.” Her eyes were round, wide with remorse. “I didn’t mean it, I… are you okay? Did it hurt you?”

“Nah,” Sunset half-laughed, though her brow was furrowed at how deep Twilight’s concern was. “A potato isn’t enough to bring down this chick, okay? Not even for a second. It just made my belly spasm. I’m totally fine.”

“Okay. But that was stupid of me. I’m so damn stupid!”

“Not even,” she reassured the goddess softly, snaking an arm around her back — above her wings — and pulling her close. “Come on, you’re the greatest — you knocked tonight’s job out of the park! Don’t be so down on yourself.”

“The thing is, it’s more like… I’m worried about why I didn’t get a warning. That isn’t just weird, it’s just not possible; it’s part of the magic. The only way that would fail is if…” she trailed off, her eyes unfocused.

Swallowing, Sunset rubbed Twilight’s arm a little more vigorously, trying to distract her. “Please don’t panic, okay? I mean, nothing bad happened. If your boss or teacher or whatever is mad you threw a stupid vegetable at me, wouldn’t she do something about it? So, um… no biggie, right?”

For a few seconds, Twilight only nodded, still giving the carpet her best thousand-yard stare. Then she seemed to slowly come out of it, turning to nuzzle under Sunset’s chin. “You’re a good friend. Thanks for the pep talk, Sunny; it’s kinda dumb that you had to give me one this time around, but I appreciate it so, so much.”

“No big deal,” she whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head.

The reaction was instantaneous. Twilight jerked away, her eyes wide. They were both blinking at each other in surprise until she finally asked, “What was that?”

“Oh, the kiss on your head?” Now Sunset felt stupid. Her head ducked down and she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, partly to hide her face with her hand. “Um, ponies aren’t really the touchy-feely types, are they? Sorry.”

“Well, we… we sort of are, but... It’s me who should apologize, I wasn’t— that was silly of me. And in no way did I mean to suggest that I didn’t enjoy you showing me affection in that way — I mean, that’s fine! Totally fine! It’s just… been a while.”

Squinting her eyes at the goddess, Sunset asked, “In what way? I mean, how did you take what I did just now? Because if you’re thinking anything besides--”

“I wasn’t!” Her hand came up in an imitation of something vaguely like a Boy Scouts salute. “I swear!”

“Alright,” she snorted. “But I won’t do it again if it bothers you, it just… came naturally because you were upset, or something. I dunno.”

Nodding, Twilight took a minute to weigh her feelings before finally making a decision. “No, it’s not a problem. I overreacted because I was, well… just surprised.” She debated again, and then laughed. “I feel like saying ‘thank you’ makes it even weirder, am I right?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Sunset said with a laugh of her own, petting her hand along Twilight’s back, between the wing joints. “I’m sorry for catching you off guard.”

“Let’s not waste any of the rest of our time with that,” Twilight said with a grin, slowly easing away from Sunset’s hand on her back. “Even though technically, I should report in now that the job is done… I can hold off my ‘are you satisfied?’ question until after a round of Spelunky? Or maybe three? Or ten?”

Grinning from ear to ear, Sunset leaned in and growled, “Oh... It. Is. On!”

The next day was harder on Sunset without having a ‘summoning sleepover’ she could look forward to. Bizarre though it was to admit to herself, evenings with Twilight had become the highlight of an otherwise drab week. Now it was back to business as usual.

At least old Mrs. Cake brightened her morning with a few fresh baked muffins. Her free time was seemingly endless now that she was retired, so she spent a lot of time baking for local school bake sales or other charities, like the Red Cross or whatever. Lately, the woman seemed to be on a baking spree and often had a surplus to share with some of the neighbors; Sunset had heard about a family friend living with her now and was helping out in her impressive kitchen. Good for her — the lonely woman needed some company. And the blueberry with crumblies on top did help take the edge off missing Sunset's princess playmate and got her through the rest of the day with fewer hunger pains.

When the weekend came, Sunset decided to let off some steam at the mall. Her grant covered most of her tuition — the rest her father generously covered — and her mother picked up the tab for her books, so all of her earnings from her job covered the bare necessities and spending money. Clothes weren’t all that important to her, other than shielding her from the elements, but there was always the video game or comic book store in which to waste her life.

Her mind switched tracks when she was walking past a trendy clothing store and spotted Rarity on her phone out in front, a bag from a popular lingerie store dangling next to her purse. Her steps slowed when she noticed Rarity turn on her heel, and she caught the last few sentences of the conversation.

“... doesn’t mean that I—” She paused to listen. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe you just said that to me. Are you serious?” This pause was longer, and her purple high heel clicked against the floor as she tapped it impatiently. “You know what? I don’t have time for this. I don’t have time for you anymore, and I think it would be better if you just don’t call me anymore. And tell your friend Blueblood to leave me the fuck alone. I’m done with you all forever!”

Then she hung up, jabbing her finger against the screen harder than she needed to, and reared her hand back to throw the phone across the mall. Acting before she could think, Sunset dashed up behind her and snatched it away.

“What! Hey, who’s—” When she whipped around, her ponytail hit Sunset in the face, sending her stumbling back a step. “You!” she snarled. “What are you doing?! That’s my phone!”

“You were gonna throw it at that guy in the wheelchair!” Sunset snapped back, rubbing at her nose. “And I thought I’d save you a trip to the repair shop!”

Rarity glanced over her shoulder at the wheelchair-bound man, then flushed scarlet as it dawned on her where she had aimed her phone. “Well… fine, but who said it was any of your business? I thought we covered this before. We’re are not friends anymore!”

“No, you covered it — and didn’t give me a chance to respond! Besides, it sounds like you’re not talking to many people lately, right?”

Rarity lifted her chin definitely. “Wrong. I have my sorority sisters — and they have my back.”

“Then where are they right now, while you're having a hissy fit in the mall?”

“Back at the house! Just because they aren’t glued to my person doesn’t mean they won’t stand with me when I need them! But you wouldn’t know what that’s like, would you? To have people you can actually count on, or to be one of them yourself?”

That crashed over Sunset with the force of a tsunami. Now that she thought about it, she did have a bad track record with friendships in the past. But now there was Rainbow, and… well, and someone else she couldn’t really mention, because then it would become an entirely different conversation if she did. Little by little, she was changing; growing up. Becoming less of an isolationist. Making friends. Maybe she could salvage this relationship, and keep everything on an upward trajectory.

“Okay. You’re right, I’m not the best at that. Or even any good. But… I dunno, maybe you can stop freaking out and tell me what I did to make you hate me.”

“It's not worth it. You don’t see it, and even if I told you what it is, you’d just deny it.” After a few seconds of glaring, she held out her hand. “My phone?”

So Rarity was still going to keep up the silent treatment. Fine. Time to play hardball.

“No.”

“Excuse me? That is my personal property, you cunt!”

“I might be a cunt, but I’m the cunt with your phone,” Sunset goaded, jiggling the device in her hand. “The one that you almost destroyed, anyway; I’m just keeping it safe. And I’ll give this back when you calm down a notch and tell me what I did to piss you off so much.”

“You don’t get it, do you? That hurts even more that you need me to tell you — that you didn’t pick up on it yourself. Like a friend would.”

“Yup, keep twisting the knife, Rares,” Sunset said, trying to ignore the squeezing of her heart. “Still not going to reunite you with your snapchat feed.”

Her glossy lips pursed hard, her violet eyes glaring daggers at her as the girl mulled that over. Manicured nails came up in claws, as if she was going to wrap them around her neck and squeeze until she had no choice but to drop the phone or suffocate. After a few seconds. They dropped back to her hips, perching there as she huffed.

“You recall the party when I first joined my sorority? You were really pissed at me for not being there to hang out with you instead.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Wait… yeah, I remember now. We were supposed to have a movie night and I was mad that you bailed.”

“It wasn’t just that. But yeah, that was shitty of you. Joining my sorority was important to me. It was my mother’s house, remember?” Running a hand through her hair, she shifted her weight from one leg to another. “And from the very beginning, all I got from you was a bunch of ‘Oh, that’s stupid. Sororities are stupid. You’re stupid for wanting to join one.’ It was incredibly unsupportive.”

“Pretty sure I never said you were stupid,” Sunset protested.

“You did. You said, and I quote, ‘I don’t know what happened to your brain to make you want to be one of them, Rares.’ Those were your literal exact words, Sunset.”

Frowning in thought, she tried to remember saying that — and it did sort of sound like her — but she couldn't. “Okay… maybe I did, but… you didn’t take that seriously, did you? I mean, I was just giving you hell. We used to do that all the time. Joke around.”

“I wasn’t laughing.” Rarity replied simply. “It really hurt, having this thing that was important to me, my mother, and hopefully someday Sweetie, and you doing nothing but telling me it was stupid, and useless, and that I wasn’t using my time right. Like I had to choose between following my mother’s footsteps and your respect.” Her lips thinned as she stared hard at Sunset. “I would have given you the clothes off my back, Sunset. I did give you anything you asked for, and then some. But when the time came for you to do something for me, to give me a little bit of generosity, you weren’t there for me.” Her voice then dropped so low that Sunset almost couldn’t catch the last bit. “Which is a pretty horrible thing for a friend to do.”

There was nothing she could say. It was true that Sunset probably said a lot of those things back then, but she had tried to say them in a tone that made it clear she was joking. Even if she wasn’t entirely. Yes, there had been reasons for her to hold those opinions, but the thought she was only teasing good-naturedly — not literally poking holes in her best friend’s confidence and self-esteem.

“Rarity… I—”

“No,” the girl snapped harshly. “You still don’t even remember what you did, do you? Since you don’t remember any of this, which makes me feel so special to you. Well, let me refresh your memory.”

Stepping forward, she folded her arms over the top of her tank top and cardigan, utilizing every inch of her small height advantage. “You didn’t come to the initiation ceremony. By then, we weren’t speaking as much already, but I still told you that you were invited, and I hoped you would come. I put your name down as one of my guests. I was even the one who read the sorority charter -- did you know that? My mother did when she joined, too. My big day, and you couldn’t be bothered to join. No, it was beneath Princess Sunset Shimmer, who has better things to do that hang out with a dumb sorority chick, wasn’t it?”

“Wait,” Sunset breathed, lowering the hand with the phone. “Is that was this is all about? Me not coming to your stupid—” She stopped, checked herself, shut her eyes, and tried again. “It’s not stupid. I didn’t mean that.”

“I think you did.”

“No, I swear to Cel— God, it just… would be a stupid reason for us to stop being friends. That’s what I meant.”

“Not to me. It was one of the most important events in my whole life — the one thing that I wanted you to share with me -- and you blew it off. That’s not a stupid reason.”

“You’re wrong, though. You really are.”

Sighing heavily, Rarity rolled her eyes. “I knew it. I knew if I stopped, and told you this, it wouldn’t change anything. Why do I keep falling for this? From you, from Blueblood… I’m so fucking stupid. Well, not anymore. I’m done listening. I’m done giving second cha—”

“Stop, don’t say that just yet,” Sunset said urgently. “There’s something you don’t know about that night.”

“I know enough. Goodbye Sunset.” And then she turned to walk into the store.

“Wait! I still have your phone!”

“Keep it!” she called over her shoulder. “If you can’t let go of that the way you can’t let go of being a bitch, then that seems about right!”

Nearly forty-five minutes dragged by before Rarity exited the store again. When she did, she blinked in complete shock when she saw Sunset sitting on a bench across from the storefront.

“You…” But then she shook her head, steeling her resolve, and marched right past.

“Not this time,” Sunset grunted as she shot to her feet and jogged to catch up with the speed-walking girl. “You are gonna hear me out this time.”

“This is entrapment, or something! I’m in heels and you’re in sneakers! There’s no way I can outrun you!”

“You could take the heels off. That’s at least a plus-two to your movement speed.”

That got her a confused stare and three rapid blinks. “A… to my what?! You know what, I don’t even care — and I am not trashy enough to run through the mall barefoot, no matter what you think of me!”

“I don’t think you’re trashy! And I don’t hate you, and I never wanted to stop being your friend! I screwed up, okay? But not the party!”

“You weren’t there!” Finally, she stopped by the water fountain, trembling with distress. By the shallowness of her breathing and her entire bearing, Sunset guessed she has used the entire forty-five minutes in the story to get over their conversation. And here she was, bringing it up again. “You… my God, how else to I have to spell it out for you? The only guests I had to invite outside of Sweetie were you, and my mother, and… and she couldn’t make it because—”

“Because of the mastectomy,” Sunset sighed. “I remember.”

Nodding, Rarity turned and sat down hard on the rim of the fountain. “Sweetie couldn’t come because she is too young, so I counted on you. Then you didn’t come, either. Nobody wanted to see my big moment. It didn’t even register as anything in the world to you, and…”

“You’re wrong. I wanted to come. I tried to.”

“What?” Then she rolled her eyes. “Stop lying to me. It’s not going to work.”

Finally sinking down next to her friend, Sunset tried to sound as reasonable as she could. “Hey, have I ever been a liar? Maybe I was a shitty friend, but was I a liar?”

“Maybe you’ve changed,” Rarity sneered. “How should I know what kind of person you are now?” But a few seconds later, she shrugged one shoulder. “Fine. What do you mean, you tried?”

“They wouldn’t let me in, Rarity. I wasn’t dressed for the occasion.” Nodding slightly, she sighed, “And okay, I was just wearing my only skirt and a really simple blouse, and I guess that didn’t qualify as ‘formal wear’... but that’s pretty damn formal for me, right? I still only have like, that one damn skirt. Then they were standing there with their thousand-dollar dresses and corsages, telling me I wasn’t fancy enough, and they were looking at me like I was pathetic for showing up at all, and… and I don't know. After everything had already been so strained between us, I just gave up. They weren’t going to let me in and I didn’t have the energy to keep arguing with them.”

For a second, Rarity didn’t reply at all. She simply stared down at her feet, weighing this new information in mind against her own memory of the event. Then she hissed, “You could have called me.”

“Your phone was turned off.”

“Oh.” Turning, she looked at Sunset more directly. “You didn’t ask to have them come get me?”

“They refused. They said they had to guard the door against people who weren’t wearing enough carats.”

Rarity’s expression darkened. “This is what got us arguing in the first place. We aren’t all like that — in fact, most of us aren’t even close.”

“But they were, and they were that night. Directly to me. Whether or not you want to believe it, they were looking at me like I was trash that blew in from off the street.” Shrugging, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her knees. “They didn’t say anything mean, or tell me I was wrong for coming, or anything like that. It was all the attitude; they were acting like I was deluded for thinking I could get in dressed like I was.”

“You were told formal attire, Sunny. I know you don’t have any of that, and it’s not your style, but… if you’d have asked, I would have given you some. Hell, I would have made you anything you liked if I thought you were serious about coming. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know, I just… didn’t think about that part.” Digging the heel of her hand into her eye, she added, “Maybe I was on the fence right up until two hours before the ceremony. You invited me, but I wasn’t sure you wanted me there for real. Because we’d been fighting so much.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about any of this? You really didn’t think to come find me afterward and tell me what happened? That it might have something to do with why I stopped talking to you?”

“Well, I tried. Two days later, I saw you on campus with a couple of your new sisters, and I tried to say something… but you just walked away.” Shrugging, she began to pick at one of her cuticles, distracting herself with that little flaw. “God, I didn’t put it together, that final straw was the party. Since I didn’t even get into the party, right? I just thought it was all the arguments, and you just reached a point where you were done talking about everything. Like, yeah, it shocked me that you suddenly gave up, and confused me…”

Nodding, Rarity looked away. “So you just gave up, then? I mean, yes, I started snubbing you. I was hurt too many times to keep going back for more, but… you could have tried harder.”

“I guess I could have. Just didn’t know if I should have. You always looked so mad at me…”

“Don’t try to say I had no right to be mad. Based on what I thought? Yes, I did. Very much.”

“No, I agree. Well, I do now, anyway. Before, I thought you were being a bit uppity like those chicks at the door, and ignoring me for no good reason, but… yeah, now that I know your perspective, I get it.” Then she shrugged. “But between them not letting me into the ceremony, and you ignoring me, I just… I figured you thought you were too good for me. No amount of asking questions would change if that were true.”

“Well, it wasn’t. You assumed way too much, and I thought you knew me better than that.”

“I thought you knew me better that to believe I really thought you were stupid for wanting to join a sorority. I’m not saying nobody fucked up, or that it wasn’t mostly me, but… that hurts, too.”

Turning slightly towards Sunset, she also tucked her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, though in a far more polished fashion. “So what do we do now, then? Is this the part where we hug it out and become best friends again? Go to the food court and get a smoothie? Sorry, dear, but I’m just not up for that yet. You’re never going to truly know how you made me feel, even if it was an accident.”

“You’re right. I can’t possibly know.” Her words sounded so pathetic. Sunset felt her heart pounding in her chest, her pulse was higher than it had ever been. The entire conversation had been brutal, but even after they reached a point of understanding there was still no resolution. Rarity just wanted her to leave her alone. “But… I’ll start by apologizing. I’m sorry, Rarity. I’m sorry for being so negative, and… for not trying hard enough to fix things between us. And I’m sorry I left you thinking that I didn’t care about you.”

“Okay. I heard you.” She thought for a moment. There was a careful sort of consideration on her face, not just a dismissive sigh or an eye roll. Then she held out her hand. “Give me my phone, please.”

Sunset handed it over without hesitation. “And I didn’t go through it or anything.”

“Good.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “It’s thumbprint locked anyway, but I’m glad you didn’t try, all the same.”

“Oh, right. Mine doesn’t have that feature.”

“Alright, then.” Then she stood up and shouldered her bags. Sunset followed suit. “I have to go, there’s a thing at the house tonight. Can’t be late.”

“Okay. Um… I’m really glad I ran into you today and… uh, stole your phone?” She tried levity, not sure if it’d work quite yet.

“Really?” Rarity barked a laugh. “Because this was a party and a half, right?”

“It was better than the last time we talked.”

Rarity was a little stunned by that bald confession, but she recovered quickly and shrugged as she began clicking her way toward the nearest exit. “That masochism sounds like a personal problem, but you’re not wrong. Au revoir, darling.”

Twenty minutes later, Sunset was gnawing her way through a soft pretzel and perusing the discount games she might be able to show Twilight sometime when her phone chirped “Hey! Listen!” in a high-pitched voice. When she pulled it out and checked the screen, she had a single text from an unknown number.

I did miss you, though. I’ll see you in class. R.

The store employee had to ask her if something was wrong when she started crying on a copy of Mario Kart.

Chapter 10: A Goddess is Coming to Dinner?!

“Before you go, there’s something else you need to know.”

So close. Sunset was within inches of the back door when her mother’s words hit her hard in the stomach. So close to sweet freedom!

“What else do I need to know?” she asked wearily.

“Your father will be having dinner with us tonight,” the woman said as she tossed the skillet’s contents, looking at Sunset out of the corner of her eye. “And you will be there.”

“What…? He—what?!”

The disapproving glare was exactly where it normally was on her mom’s face. However, she spoke in the exact same tone of voice as before, setting the skillet down to give her daughter her full attention. “Yes, I know it’s last minute, but we both know how often he… ‘forgets’ about these dinners, or cancels them because he’s in some other country. I didn’t even bother telling you until now because I expected him to ‘forget’ again.”

A small part of her was amused by her mother’s finger-quotes, but most of her was outraged at this sudden and violent change of plans. The day had been going at least reasonably well until this news hit her like a freight train.

“I have work, I can’t make it.”

“Dinner won’t be until eight. Your shift is over by then, isn’t it?”

“Damn it,” Sunset breathed.

“Don’t swear. You think your old mother is pretty oblivious, don’t you?”

“Not even for a minute.” Sighing, Sunset ran both hands all the way down her face to her neck. She considered briefly what would happen if she strangled herself… but realized not even that would get her out of family dinner. Her mother would simply drag her corpse there -- and complain about it the whole way. “Fine. Fine, I’ll come, but I’m not dressing up or anything — and I’m bringing a friend.”

Her mother’s eyebrows lifted. “A friend? That Flash you’re so fond of?”

“No… or maybe.” Why not? Stranger things have happened. Goddess-related things, even. “I’ll ask him, but either way, I’m bringing someone I can talk to while Dad tries to impress everybody with his super awesome, jet-setting lifestyle.”

“Hah!” her mother genuinely laughed. “Glad to hear neither of us are impressed with it. You like to think you’re nothing like the old woman who shot you out of her loins, but you are.”

“Mom! God! Seriously, can you not?!” But her protests were drowned out by mad laughter. The woman did have a tentative grip on reality.

Which was how Sunset found herself in a real tight spot. Yes, she had said she would scare up a wingman for this completely unwanted dinner with her estranged progenitor, but she didn’t know how well that would go over. It wasn’t exactly the most enthralling prospect for wasting a night of one’s life, after all.

Rainbow was out immediately. Though she would have loved to eat her mother’s fresh cooking off the stove, she and the cute soccer player in their class had a study date. Sunset made sure to give her plenty of ribbing for it, and they both laughed and chattered about whether or not it would turn into ‘more than studying’ and so on, but at the end of the conversation she was right back where she was started.

Even before she texted, she knew Rarity would be no good. They hadn’t even done more than send a message or two back and forth since the mall, so skipping right to ‘Do you want to come over to dinner with my parents?’ was too much friend-bonding all at once. But she did at least offer up a polite ‘Raincheck?’ instead of just calling her an idiot or blocking her number.

Progress was progress.

Fluttershy was also a no-go. Aside from the fact that they weren't really all that close, Sunset had the distinct impression that the animal and nature-lover would take issue with her mothers healthy, yet meat-centered cooking.

That only left Flash. Getting him alone was difficult, given the staggered nature of their schedules. But she had a plan for that. Their supervisor was pretty flexible with their schedules, so she simply told her that she really, really needed to make a call at that time, and she said it would be fine as long as she made up the time at the beginning or the end of her shift. Therefore, she plotted this ‘call’ to be right at the time Flash always showed up for work.

And she waited. As it turned out, he was running late that day, but a few minutes after when she expected he finally breezed in on his shiny red bicycle, rolling it the rest of the way to the rack to chain it up. As he worked at the lock, she approached nervously, trying to wipe her sweaty palms on the sides of her slacks.

“Um… hey, Flash.”

“Huh? Oh! Hey, Sunny!” As he finally got the lock to slide into place, he looked back at her again, slightly confused. “Wait… what’s going on? Do you smoke or something?”

“What? Why would I smoke?”

“Well, you are standing around outside for no reason during your shift…”

Why did she always seem to turn into a complete idiot around him? Smiling sheepishly and trying not to laugh aloud at herself, she said, “Okay, yeah, I guess it’s kinda weird. But um, actually, I had a question…”

“Go for it,” he told her as he took off his helmet.

“Well, um, it’s like this. I know we haven’t really ever spent an time together outside work, but…” Already she was screwing this up, making it sound like he owed it to her or something. “Well, I mean there’s no reason you should, but there’s this thing with my parents tonight, and I really don’t want to go into it by myself, so if you’re not busy, I was thinking, like… maybe you could come.”

For a second, Flash just blinked down at her as he tried to parse out her stuttering. “Wait, what’s the thing? Your parents are there? I’m kinda confused, here…”

“Oh! Dinner! It’s dinner!” A forehead slap was the least amount of punishment she could offer herself. “God, did I really leave that part out? I’m sorry I’m such a dope!”

“Ohhh,” he laughed a little less uncomfortable that he had been a moment ago. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I mean, I still don’t know why you’d want me to have dinner at your parents’ place.”

“Because my dad is… kind of unbearable, and I’m not looking forward to this much.” Sighing, she waved a hand in front of her face. “Nevermind, this was stupid — there’s no reason I should put you through that when I don’t even wanna go myself.”

Still laughing, he put on a hand on her shoulder to hold her steady — and she felt like she was going to pass out. Usually, the most contact they had was a high five or something. “No problem, seriously. And even though it sounds awkward and terrible, I totally would go if I didn’t have plans already. We’ll hang some other time.”

“Oh.” Astoundingly enough, that made her feel both better and worse at the same time. “Wow, so… wow. What are you up to tonight?”

“You fact-checking me?” he teased. When she looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel in her haste to reassure him, he beat her to the punch. “Kidding, totally kidding! I just have this club thing that meets sometimes. I go there straight after work.”

“Yeah? What club? You don’t have to tell me, but…”

“And I never will,” he said, his voice very suave and debonair. He finished sliding his helmet into his bag as they turned toward the doors to the store. “Seriously though, we should get some fried mac and cheese at the student union sometime, right?”

Her cheeks bunched up with the force of her smile. “That sounds greats. I’ll see if Rainbow wants to come, maybe.” There; pressure was released.

“Awesome! Alright, time to go down to the shelves. Later!”

Though she was mostly pleased that he was being less stand-offish in regards to her, part of her brain was pouting that he hadn’t batted an eye at her inviting another friend. She’d been hoping he’d say something — tell her that he wanted her all to himself. Of course, that was a wild dream painted on the tear-drenched canvas of her never-touched romantic heart. Oh well. At least she’d never been dumped, either.

By the time she got off work and breezed in her door to change, Sunset was already dreading the prospect of facing down an entire night of boring conversation with her father. Yes, he wasn’t always quite that irritating, but most of the time, yes. Yes, he was.

It was also that she resented him for taking off, of course. No amount of reasoning that it had been the best decision for everyone involved could erase the fact that he skipped out on them, and she and her mother were left to pick up the pieces. They were all better off, but the two women weren’t ‘great’. They had struggled, and barely came out on top, in spite of his meager offerings in the way of financial support.

Once she had struggled into some less-grungy clothes and was fixing her hair, and it just wasn’t cooperating, she threw the brush into the sink and sighed, gazing at her reflection in the still-broken mirror. Why wasn’t she truly an adult yet? In the eyes of the state, she was, but to her mother was still a little kid who had to do as she was told. All she wanted at that moment was for someone to tell her she could blow them off and not feel any repercussions.

A ‘Get Out Of Familial Obligation Free’ card.

But it wouldn’t be coming. She had to go, or she’d never hear the end of it. And she wouldn’t even have a friend to help draw some of the rapid-fire questions away from her.

Or would she…?

The moment she had the thought, she dismissed it again. No summoning; her period wasn’t coming back until her meds decided her body needed another ‘spring cleaning’. She had to get used to the idea that Twilight wouldn't be around, at least not for a while. It rankled, but she knew it to be true.

Then again… she could try summoning her another way. That had occurred to her before, as well, but seemed too drastic. She didn’t want to become another girl with little white scars along her arm, even if it would be for a slightly different reason. That was not a depressing image she wanted to project to the world.

Permanently depressing. There were already enough girls who had that problem and didn’t feel like they could reach out. She didn’t want to pull focus away from them just because she missed Twilight.

A bug buzzed around her ear a few times before landing on her neck. Without thinking, she swatted it with a quick slap! And sighed. She had hoped the growing chill in the air would have killed all of them off, but it seemed a few more were still hanging around.

Her hand was inches from the pouring water of the sink before she saw the red splotch. Blood. The damn mosquito had been full to the brim when she caused its timely demise.

“Oh… well, there we go.”

Never had she scrambled around and performed the summoning ritual in such a short time as this. Within minutes, the air was sparking and a presence was filling the room that wasn’t there before.

“Wow, ugh,” Twilight coughed, waving her hand in front of her face to clear away the smoke as she staggered into the wall. She smacked her lips, as if to rid a bad taste out of her mouth. “Is that…? Do I taste… mango? Blegh.” She shivered all over. “What did you do?”

“Didn’t have much blood to work with,” Sunset breathed back, face completely transformed into that of a child on her birthday. It was going to be alright. This was way better than even Rainbow or Rarity would have been. A goddess was coming to dinner — and now this could actually be fun.

“Can you help me with my hair?”

A finger jabbed into the small of Sunset’s back as they walked up the path to her mother’s cozy, two-bedroom ranch-style house. Actually, it was still ‘her’ house; her room was there, and was mostly the same as when she moved out. However, part of the promise she made to her younger self was that the moment she was old enough to be out on her own, she would at least attempt the ‘single life’ instead of just mooching off her mother. So far, so good. But there were times she missed the familiarity.

“What?” she whispered over her shoulder.

“Don’t slouch,” Twilight muttered into her ear.

“Okay, we’re going to see my parents already; if I’d known I’d be bringing a third parent, I wouldn’t have called you!”

“You know what crappy posture like that conveys? Besides laziness?” When there was no reply, she went on in the same low tone as they reached the welcome mat. “That you don’t want to be here. We both know it’s true, but you can fake that you’re happy about this dinner a little bit better than you are. Body language that broadcasts your displeasure is only going to put them on edge early.”

“Maybe that’s what I was going for,” Sunset pouted.

“Bullshit. You asked me to look my best to impress them with your ‘class of friends’, right?”

Turning around, she glared at Twilight. “That’s not why, I just… I didn’t want them to dislike you because you’re dressed like a hobo, that’s all.” Then she added with a slight smirk, “Or as a reject from ‘Grease’.”

“Excuse me? I happen to like that skirt, thank you very much!” Never before had she seen Twilight look so offended. “Wow. Just wow. Now I know where we stand, Sunset Shimmer.”

Smiling wryly, she bumped the goddess with a shoulder. “Maybe sometime I’ll update you on the more trendy styles.”

“Says the girl wearing the ‘Reptar’ shirt. Real trendy.”

“Pssh. Hey, he’s just a dinosaur~!”

Giggling, Twilight rolled her eyes. “Celestia, you are such a dork.”

Sunset stuck her tongue out, but turned around to jab her thumb into the tiny button beside the door. It only took a few moments before they heard footsteps, and her mother threw open the door.

“There you are!” the woman sighed heavily, though with a smile. Against her will, Sunset was actually very pleased to see her in anything other than her usual restaurant-wear; the simple orange blouse clashed a little with the chunky necklace of random green rocks, but for the most part she looked very nice. Also, was much less ‘white trash’ to borrow a semi-offensive term, but they both knew she was anything but.

“Sorry, mom,’ she said as she was pulled into a tight hug. “Twilight had to help me with my hair.”

“Oh, I see! Hello, Twilight. Thank you for coming tonight.”

The next thing that Sunset knew, her friend had stepped forward and held out a hand, her back straight and her chin held high, a look of friendly warmness written all over her face. “Hello, Mrs. Shimmer. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Wow!” The woman was practically exploding with excitement as she grasped her hand. “Thank you — you too! It’s so nice to finally meet someone polite these days!”

“Well, I try to be polite to everyone,” Twilight laughed demurely. “Especially my friend's family.”

“Naturally,” her mother gripped Twilight’s shoulder and practically dragged her into the house. “But don’t just stand there — please, come in!”

Once the goddess’ head dipped in carefully-arranged chagrin as she walked back, her mother shot Sunset a look that clearly said, “Where did you find a friend this friendly?” The only response she could muster was a shrug and a smile. Granted, she wasn’t that surprised with Twilight’s attitude. She could be extremely nice when the situation called for it.

“Ahh, there’s my girl,” her father said with a wide smile, showing off his pearly white teeth. To his credit, he hadn’t got wrapped up in her friend and forgotten to pay Sunset any attention; he’d done that once before. When she obediently stepped closer, he wrapped her in a tight hug. “I missed you so much!”

Resisting the temptation to say “Oh yeah? Then why has it been since last Christmas?” was nearly impossible, but she found the strength somehow. “I missed you, too.”

“Should I take off my shoes, Mrs. Shimmer?” Twilight was asking, glancing between the older woman’s brightly-patterned socks and how Sunset was removing her own blue flats.

“Oh, no, no,” she dismissed with a negligent wave of her hand. “Only if it’s muddy or snowy out; It’s just an old habit. We don’t really care about that. And don’t be so formal — call me Dawn.”

“Dawn, then. Thank you very much.”

They all laughed at the budding familiarity as they made their way toward the dining room and settled into chairs. Sunset ended up across from her father, with her mother on her right and Twilight on her left. Of course, her mother’s place setting was almost a pure formality, because she would have ended up gathering the food the entire time. All three of her guests tried to insist on helping, and she actually swatted her father across the shoulder for insisting too much, so he sat back down with both hands raised in an ‘I surrender’ gesture.

“You got a haircut,” Sunset mentioned to him as her mother brought out bowls of chowder.

“Yeah,” he said with a sheepish grin, passing a hand over the neatly-sculpted buzz. “The mullet look kind of went out again, and I want to keep things relatively professional for the clients. Thought about shaving ‘Biz Whiz’ in the back though…”

“Oh, you totally should. Subliminal marketing, right?”

“I don’t know how subliminal it is if it’s spelled out right in front of them,” he countered. “But I’ll take that under advisement.”

After a few seconds, Twilight picked up her spoon and dipped it gently into the chowder as she asked, “Your last name isn’t Shimmer, is it? I mean, I could be going out on a limb, here.”

“No, it isn’t — umm… was is Starlight?”

“Twilight, but close enough. I get that now and then.”

Nodding as if at least pleased he was close to the mark, he went on. “Well, Twilight, you’re correct. My name is Rain Storm. Please don’t call me that though; call me Rain. Yeah, Dawn and I were never that well suited for each other. Not long-term. We like each other well enough and were attracted to each other, but—”

“Dad!”

“Sorry, hon,” he said, trying not to make light of Sunset’s embarrassed outburst. “Anyway, it just wasn’t in the cards for us to be in a relationship. We tried marriage for a while, but she didn’t take my name because she was already pretty sure it was going to end eventually. At the time, I resented that a little, but… yeah, kind of hard to argue with it now.”

“And this tall drink of water,” her mother drawled as she came back in, “could never settle for one woman, anyway. He’s the sailor of the business world — a girl in every port.”

Now his guffaws were both embarrassed and loud, but still coming from the depths of his belly, and it was impossible for Sunset and Twilight not to laugh — at least at his laughing. The conversation kept rolling along until they were partway into their soup.

“How do you like your steak cooked, Twilight?” Then Sunset’s mother glanced at her daughter briefly before adding, “Assuming you’re not a vegetarian or anything.”

“You know what, it’s funny,” Twilight replied as she worked her way through her soup. “I was raised vegetarian. But over the years since I got out from underneath my family’s thumb, I started to branch out a little. You could say my job—” she grinned briefly at Sunset. “Makes it difficult to be picky about what I eat. Besides, a good, rare steak every now and then is fine with me.”

Leaning in, her father smiled a rather excited smile. “A woman after my own heart — most girls want theirs charred to a crisp!”

“Why do that?!” Twilight gasped as if scandalized, but winked at Sunset. The message was clear; she was being charming on purpose to make sure she left a good impression, not returning what could be misinterpreted as advances. “All the flavor, the juiciness is gone if you cook it off that way!”

“So right, so right. I guess that’s two rare, and two medium-well?”

“Actually,” Sunset said as she glanced between the pair of blood-drinkers, “make mine medium this time. I’ll live a little.”

“Don’t let Mr. Storm bully you into it, though,” Twilight told her with a pat on her hand, which she appreciated. “Eat what you want to eat.”

“Please, I told you not to call me that,” he groaned as Sunset’s mother rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen. “Makes me feel old.”

Nodding, Twilight pulled her hand back and turned to face him again. “Sorry, but I’m just not comfortable calling you Rain; it’s weird! I mean, you’re wearing a suit and everything!”

Glancing down at the grey suit and skinny black tie, he sighed heavily and started to take the tie off — which in turn led to both girls begging him not to strip at the dinner table, a request her mother echoed from the relative safety of the kitchen. The shouts and laughter got louder the more he threatened to do it, regardless of their feelings on the matter.

By the end of the steak and accompanying sides — which Sunset was surprised to see in both variety and style — she knew she had made the right decision. Having someone outside the family there curtailed come of the uglier scenes that could have played out. For instance, when her father mentioned some twenty-five-year-old blonde from another country that he had spent a few ‘evenings that turned to mornings’ with, her mother would normally have told him in her usual disgusted tone that she didn’t need to know those details and wished he would be more responsible. He’d have told her that it wasn’t her business and he was just making conversation, and from there it would have devolved into a terse argument. Not a full-on fight, nothing so horrible, but definitely a scene that would have left an ugly pall over the rest of their dinner.

Instead, Twilight was there to make the joke that the girl barely old enough to be his daughter was a little too old for him, which got her mother laughing out loud and her dad acting indignant that she laughed. When he asked what she thought was so funny, Twilight chimed in that a ‘young thing’ like Mrs. Shimmer was more his speed, and they were both properly charmed and forgot the quarrel that almost was. Even though Sunset was drawing out the word ‘Eeewwwwwwwww’ as long as possible, privately, she was beyond grateful.

Still, the first thing she did when giving Twilight a tour of the house — to give her parents a moment alone, and also while waiting for the pie to be gently heated for their desert — was to ask what she and her mother had whispered about while her father was regaling her about his latest business trip.

“Nothing really important,’ the goddess said dismissively as they briefly poked their heads into her mom’s room. “Seriously, you don’t have to worry.”

“I’m worrying anyway. And I mean, my mom’s always been pissed that the most polite I’ve ever been is to add a ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ in sentences. I swear to Christ she’s gonna adopt you or something.”

Nodding, Twilight stopped in the hallway and put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Just some stuff about me — I lied about most of it, of course — and how you’re doing at school, that kind of thing. And, um…”

“What?” Twilight paced into her room, and Sunset followed close behind. “What is it?”

“Great room,” she remarked with a slight smile. “You grew up with this bay window? The view from here is awesome, I’m so gelatin.”

“Jelly. The phrase is ‘so jelly’ — and don’t change the subject!”

Rolling her eyes, she turned to look Sunset square in the face. “Just that she wanted to know if there was anything I could do to set you up with Flash. I know, I know — it’s none of her business, and she’s pushy about ‘having some grandkids’, and all that crap. I get it, seriously. So I just told her I’d see what I can do so she’d let it drop.”

Unable to help herself, Sunset groaned and sank down into her bed, flopping over onto her side as she stared at her dresser. “Why?! Why can’t she just… let my life be my life?”

“Because she’s your mother, that’s why. And not a bad one, either.”

“Great, take her side.”

“I’m so not. Just… she’s gonna do what she does because she wants the best for you. Please believe me when I tell you that you only get one mom, and when she’s gone… she’s gone.”

That made Sunset lean upward on her elbow. “What about you? What was your mom like?”

Not that she expected a reply, or Twilight to even entertain her question, but it seemed to catch the goddess completely off guard. She suddenly turned around, the hem of her simple lavender A-line swirling around her knees as she came to a stop. She was stunned, and unsure of what to say.

“What? Did I, um, bring up something that you… don’t wanna talk about? Or can’t? I mean… you… mentioned a sister before, so…”

“No. Yeah,” she breathed quietly. “It’s just… something I haven’t thought about in… wow, I’m not sure how long it’s been since I thought about my parents.” Perching on the edge of the dresser, she thought about that question for several seconds. “Well… my mother was pretty easy-going. She and dad did what she could to prepare me for the real world, even after I got noticed by my teacher and left home. She was warm and loving; really liked to write stories. Got published quite a few times, too. My father worked a lot. I remember him being really… neat and orderly — the complete opposite of my mom. But then again, opposites attract and all that. They were very supportive of me and my brother.”

“You have a brother and a sister?”

Shaking her head, Twilight said, “I just had an older brother. He married Cadence, who became my sister-in-law. Cadence is really the only family I have left. Well, she and her daughter, Flurry Heart.”

“Are they both goddesses, too?” Sunset asked, interested in hearing more about Twilight's family back home.

“Yes. Along with me, there are four other alicorn goddesses. I’m the Goddess of Friendship. Cadence is the Goddess of Love. Flurry Heart is the Goddess of Music. The last two are the rulers of Equestria — my home — and they are Luna and Celestia. They are the goddesses of the Moon and Sun, respectively.”

“Huh.” So, now Sunset had a name for Twilight’s mysterious pony homeworld.

Hah. Equestria. Ponies. Funny.

After a moment, Twilight shrugged. “That’s about it, really. My parents and brother died a long ago... Cadence, Flurry Heart and I ascended to godhood... though we're all still princesses, too... and it’s just been us since then. Well, us and Luna and Celestia, of course.”

“Oh, okay.” She was bursting to ask for more details; how she became something like a goddess, namely. How did something like that happen? Was it just a random, Disney-esque occurrence with some crazy song-and-dance number encompassing the entire town? Or was it something more… personal? Did she lose something close to her? Her family? Her friends? From how Twilight acted sometimes, Sunset wasn’t willing to make any bets, but she still wanted to know.

When it was clear that Twilight didn’t seem too keen on divulging any more information, she instead went on, “The way you said my mom cares about me, I thought that maybe yours didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize; you didn’t do anything wrong.” Sighing, she continued, “But I’ve seen lots of people and ponies who grew up with absentee parents, or ones who just let them run around doing whatever they wanted, and didn’t care. They were… sad. About that, and other things that happened as a result of that. So it wasn’t my personal experience, but… Sunset, I’ve seen so much…”

She scooted forward and gently punched Twilight in the leg. “Hey, who the hell is this? Not my friend, Twilight. She’s never been mopey a day that I’ve known her.”

“Yeah.” With a slight nod, Twilight straightened up and smiled. “You’re right. I’m bringing you down, and that’s a pretty crappy way to help you tonight, isn’t it?”

“Dude, I was kidding. You have every right to feel a little down about things — you’ve lived way longer than me.”

“You don’t have to put it that way,” the goddess grumbled, but was still smiling. Sunset didn’t look away; she just sat and watched her intently until Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You okay down there?”

“I worry about you sometimes.”

“Hey, it’s my job,” Twilight laughed. “You don’t have to worry about me. If there’s anything I can do, I’ll take care of it. I’ve been doing it for a long time, and will continue to do it for even longer.”

Shaking her head, Sunset stood up and wrapped her arms around a slightly surprised goddess, nestling her chin on her shoulder. “You don’t have to do that; pretend you don’t have any feelings that way you do. I know that this ‘job’ of yours has to get to you a little sometimes. Maybe it’s in your contract, or magic or something, that makes it so you can’t let the feels leak out. But I’m right here if you can, and if you ever need me.”

“O-oh,” Twilight whispered in a soft voice. After a few seconds, she simply returned the embrace. “You know… strictly speaking, I don’t usually make comments like this, but you’re a pretty special person. And… I feel really fortunate that I met you. More than I should.”

“Why shouldn’t you? It’s not like you aren’t allowed to feel things, or make friends, right? I mean… you are the Goddess of Friendship.”

“Yeah. I know. I just…” Twilight paused, her eyes drifting away from Sunset’s face to the window. “It’s been a long time since someone wanted to be my friend, is all.” Sunset opened her mouth to say something, but then Twilight pulled back to clap her firmly on the shoulder. “Now, should we get back to the table before your mom sends out a search party?”

“No.” But when Twilight only held her eye for a very long minute, she grumbled under her breath, “Yes… ugh. Let’s go.”

As they left, Twilight added, “By the way, I love that giant Ninja Turtles poster — especially since it’s in the original comic style. Always had a certain realness and energy to it that I appreciated.”

“Wait, you know the turtles? Seriously?! They were my fucking jam growing up — I wanted to be Michelangelo!”

“Oh yeah? Funny story; Flurry Heart actually helped with their inspiration,” she chuckled with an arm slung around Sunset’s shoulders, tugging her close and she explained, “She went through a comic book phase a while back and ended up pitching the idea to the creators. She said she meant it ironically, but hey, look where a little sarcasm and a pet turtle gets you…”

Chapter 11: You're What Now?

Author's Notes:

A/N: At the insistence of readers, I wanted to go on record that Rainbow Dash did not commit suicide at the end of this chapter.

The rest of the evening went by like a perfect dream of how interacting with her parents should be. Her father gave her a few gift cards to various restaurants, and they all took a picture together on Sunset’s phone, which she promised to forward to them — and secretly knew she never could. Twilight wasn’t human. Or mortal, for that matter.

Or at least, not anymore. The way she had talked about herself in Sunset’s room made her wonder about that. From what she understood, Twilight had been a regular girl — or... pony princess — once, and something happened to make her immortal. And, in doing so, she was apparently bound to some sort of… contract or something to serve out her immortal life serving the whims of average, everyday schmucks like Sunset.

Didn’t people sell their souls to the devil occasionally to do that kinda thing? She had heard about that happening in stories and whatnot. That could very well be what happened in this case: Twilight got in over her head and had to serve the Pony Lord Of Darkness™ for all eternity to make up for it. Hell, she had said so herself, hadn’t she? Demons are total jerks. If that was the case, it was really sad to think about, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.

Profuse thanks were given back at her apartment, along with promises to summon her again soon. Twilight recommended blood from a butcher shop instead of waiting around for another mosquito, since it was apparently the closest thing she could get to a viable life force without resorting to stealing the blood of innocent people.

The scary part was that there were summoners that did just that. Twilight hated being summoned like that, but, again, there was little she could do except suck it up and perform the request that was asked of her.

Soon — too soon in Sunset’s opinion — she noticed it was getting late. The latest the both of them had ever made it, actually, and she felt a lump form in her throat as she whispered, “You better go.”

“I better,” Twilight sighed. “I’m cutting it close tonight. But… yeah, this was fun. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“We will, or else my mom’s gonna kill my ass for robbing her of her new BFF.” They both grinned, and she followed Twilight into the bathroom. “But yeah, sorry for it being so late. I’ll see you soon, right?”

“Yep!” Just as her physical form began to fade, she called over her shoulder, “We still have one last pigboy to run down!”

“No, no, it’s ‘fuckboy’ — or ‘misogynist pig’, you can’t combine them!” But Twilight was already gone.

A couple of days later, Sunset still hadn’t summoned Twilight again. She decided to give both of the a little time off — since Twilight likely had other summoners clamoring for her time, and she needed to catch up on her sleep.

However, she had already acquired pig’s blood from the local butcher. It had been a slightly odd request, but after a raised eyebrow and a shrug, the large man procured a few mason jars filled to the brim with the stuff. So she was ready whenever she had the itch for fuckboy revenge, or a little bit of ‘friend therapy’.

That evening, she was in the campus library trying to concentrate on her lit paper. Not that she had any real interest in ancient Greek and Roman gods and how they compared to their counterparts in other religions — not when she had her own personal goddess of friendship on speed dial — but it was at least better than calculus. She was tempted to wander into the occult section, see if she could find any other spell books that looked like the one she had ‘borrowed’, but managed to resist the temptation. What were the odds that a second book from another world would find its way into her hands? One was enough, really.

As she was putting back a book that had served no purpose other than to frustrate her so she could look for another, she overheard some raised voices coming from a couple rows down. That was unusual; the librarians were pretty hard-nosed about noises in the ‘studying spaces’. Drifting closer, she tried to overhear what the topic was that had them so irate.

“No, you don’t get to marginalize me because I don’t fit into any of the last five letters!” a girl snapped. “And I don’t appreciate you thinking you can!”

“It’s just not a pressing issue!” a guy with a somewhat effeminate accent was saying back. “You’re not into sex; that’s cool and all, but we have much more pressing matters to worry about than letting people know you’re not into sex with your own special little flag! I mean, grow up!”

“You don’t get to talk to us that way,” said another voice — a very familiar male voice. “It’s the same way other people talk about you, along with certain words that start with ‘f’ and end with ‘ag’ and are banned here. You really think that’s cool?”

The scoffing noise was full of so much derision that Sunset actually drew back. “In what way am I implying she’s evil for not wanting to sleep with people? Not even close — and like I said, I support her, that’s fine! But what’s the point in ‘advocating’ for it? That’s the problem I have with this whole bullshit asexuality movement in a nutshell; that’s like saying ‘Hey, I’m a person-ist, I advocate for the right to walk around on two legs!’ There’s no need, because it’s already commonly accepted!”

“That’s a false equivalency,” said another woman with a deeper voice. “I mean, okay, I hear what you’re saying, and I’m not sure where I stand on that whole ‘ace’ issue either, but clearly it’s important enough to her that she’s pissed off at you for it.”

“No, she has no right to be!” said another woman. “And I don’t approve of this boy swooping in to save her, either — if she can’t defend her own merits, why does she need some kind of white knight? How is that really helping her?”

The familiar male voice shot back, “First of all, I’m not some knight swooping into save her. I’m defending her because there’s two of you already sitting up there on your high horse, telling her that her sexuality doesn’t exist — just like a few months ago, you tried to tell Lyra that she’s not bisexual, that she doesn’t exist!”

After a brief pause, and what sounded like a calming breath, the first guy said, “Listen. I already admitted that I was in the wrong on that issue — and that even though I still don’t believe that you can be more than one sexuality, me personally, that I also am not inside the head of those bisexuals and can’t speak for them, so I apologized to Lyra for thinking I could. But on this issue, I’m not wrong; asexuals have no place in this fight because they’re fighting for something that’s already there. Not being sexual is their right and they already have it, so we need to get back to focusing on things like LGBT marriage right, power of attorney, adoption -- things that impact how we live our lives that are currently illegal in certain parts of this country!”

“But talking about asexuality isn’t fighting for rights, just for awareness!” the first girl was fired up again. “Because there’s such a… an overwhelming push in the media and society for us to ‘just try it’ and get over our sexual repulsion, and that’s wrong! We need to stand up and remind people that some people really don’t want it, and never will, and telling us we’re just people who aren’t ‘into’ it is an oversimplification!”

For a split second, Sunset was tempted to cut and run. Yes, she know a bit about some of those issues — mostly through social media and talking to her friends. And she supported them, always had, even though it didn’t impact her life directly. Live and let live, she thought. But then again, there was a group of them engaged in some pretty ugly in-fighting, and she felt like she was intruding on a family argument. Maybe she should go back to her table and pretend she never heard a word.

“...isn’t the issue! We’re here to make a real impact on the cishets and their closed-off worldview, but there have always been people who dislike sexual contact, and they’re no less real or less recognized now than they were before, so it’s a waste of our efforts!”

“No, it’s not! You can’t just put that on her and decide where her efforts need to go! Obviously, we both really believe in this, so I literally have no idea how you can act like we’re… deluded, or whatever!”

“Flash, I’m talking about making a difference on this campus, and across the world! It starts here and rolls outward, you know this!”

Flash!

Before, she had just felt mildly uncomfortable. Now, however, her pulse was thundering in her ears, her head felt light. No wonder his voice sounded familiar. She hadn’t meant to do this — hadn’t meant to find out something about her coworker in any way other than him telling her himself, but it was too late.

The depressingly funny thing about the whole situation was that she didn’t even know what she had just discovered. Something about asexuality. Flash didn’t want to have sex? With who? The whole thing was just in a realm of thought that she herself had never entered, so she couldn’t quite figure out how to feel about that. Of course some people didn’t like sex. Not everybody likes everything. She couldn’t stand apple juice, even though she knew she was in the vast minority on that issue. But this seemed to be something that he was willing to take a firm stance on. Even against other people who should be supporting him.

Of course, this was when the book she had laid on the shelf decided it wasn’t having enough fun there, and decided to fall off and hit the floor with a reasonably loud 'thud’.

“Um, hello?” the first man call out after the group had been quiet for a few seconds. “Somebody over there?”

Time to face the music. Picking up the book, Sunset slowly paced around the two shelves until the table came into view. Sure enough, there were about eight people around it, but she didn’t double check her head-count. She was too busy staring at Flash.

It occurred to her in that moment that she could either get defensive, or offensive. And while she didn’t really want to do the latter, the alternative was to set herself up as an eavesdropping asshole and start fielding accusations from a very large group of people.

“You, um… you guys know that you’re in the library, right?” There. Take the high road, Sunset. There’s a good girl.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” the one with the effeminate voice demanded. He was a rather tall guy with an undercut and blonde highlights. He was fairly attractive, if Sunset was being honest, but considering his look and the topics of discussion, she probably wasn’t his type.

“Just that, uh, you were being pretty loud.” Then she held up her other hand. “I mean, not that I have a problem with anything you guys were saying! But maybe, uh, if you don’t want to be disturbed, you could find a classroom or something?”

God, now she was coming off as a homophobe. She could hear it in her own voice; the carefully-worded attempts not to offend any of them. Even though she knew it was because she was trying to explain her presence, it would be pretty easy to misinterpret.

“We have as much right to be here as you do,” said a girl in dreads and a sick Star Wars tee.

“No, yeah, but you know the rules. You have to be quiet and all that, and… I mean, it sounded like you were really passionate about what you were talking about. So it was kind of suck to have to, um, keep your voice down while trying to really, uh, get into details. I guess. Yeah.”

The other girl who had been defending her asexuality viewpoints — who turned out to be taller than Flash, and also had the most epic mint green hair — simply asked, “Who are you, anyway?”

“Nobody! Just a library user. Seriously, that’s it. I’ll leave you alone. I didn’t mean to disturb you in the first place. I’m just… gonna go now.”

As she turned away, her face burning, she saw Flash raise halfway out of his seat, as if he was going to say something to her. But he didn’t. Silently, she thanked her lucky stars.

Of course, he was waiting for her when she left. That was to be expected. Everyone else had already gone, but she could see the green-haired girl lingering in the quad; she stood out slightly. Backup in case the conversation went awry, she presumed.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” Sunset muttered, adjusting her thumbs under the straps of her backpack and wishing she could vanish into the grass somewhere.

“So… about what you heard back there.”

Nodding, she joined him in sitting on the second-from-bottom step, wincing slightly when her behind connected harder than she thought it would on the concrete. “What about it?”

“Well…” He squirmed. That was probably the first time she had ever seen Flash Sentry, who was normally so confident, so at ease with everything, look like he wanted to do anything but confront the topic at hand. He looked totally out of his element. “How much did you hear?”

“A lot. Pretty much everything.” After a second, she added. “I thought about telling you I didn’t hear anything so you wouldn’t have to look like you’d rather jump down a sewer than talk about this, but it would be a lie. And I respect you more than that.”

Grinning sheepishly, he led off with, “I’ll tell you later whether it helped or not. For now… I guess you’re wondering why I was with those people.”

“Not after all I overheard. Asexuality. You and Spearmint over there are both in that club.”

“Right.”

“And… it means you have no interest in… banging.” Thank you Rainbow Dash, for coining the only euphemism Sunset could think of at that very moment.

“Were you searching for the worst word possible, or was that your attempt to not make it sound gross?” But when her eyes shot up in alarm, he was laughing. “Nah, it’s fine. And true. I don’t really have that ‘male libido’, or any libido at all. Just doesn’t interest me.”

“What about dating? Like, without the sex part.” Shrugging, she said, “That’s a thing, right? Parents who sleep in separate rooms. They still love each other but don’t have sex anymore.”

“That’s a thing, but not the thing for me. I’m…” He scratched the back of his neck while trying to produce a response. “That’s something I might try, someday. If I find the right person. But sex it totally off the table, for sure. No doubt.”

“How can you know, though? Like, without trying it.”

“I just do. I don’t even wanna try it. Not curious or anything.”

Sunset eased forward, rubbing her hands over her face as she tried to process everything. She accidentally rocked too far, and flung her hands out to catch herself. Luckily, a pair of strong arms reached out to help.

Sorry,” she sighed, righting herself. “Still saving my ass, huh?”

“What are friends for?” he laughed. “And I don’t even charge.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Biting her lip for a moment, she asked the one thing that she didn't want to ask. But she couldn’t wait. It was either get it out in the open now, or suffer with the secret forever. “So… did you ever… figure it out?”

“Figure what out?” When she didn’t continue for a few seconds, he folded his hands over his knees. “That… you maybe… kinda…”

“Yeah.”

“I did.”

“God,” She groaned. “I feel so, so stupid. You weren’t interested — I knew you weren’t, but hey, why give up on somebody just because they’re not into you? That only, y’know, makes sense!”

“Hey, Sunny, don’t do that to yourself!” he protested nervously. “Like you had any idea that I’m not allo!”

“Aloe? Now you’re a plant?!”

That time, he laughed out loud. “Allosexual. As in, not ace.”

“I… what? Oh… oh, okay. Not asexual. Got it. So that would be me, maybe.”

“Maybe?”

Shrugging, Sunset sank back down into her default position for depression. “Yeah. Well, I get turned on and everything sometimes. Not a lot, but it does happen. But I’ve never dated, really, and if I ever make it past second base… I don’t even know if I’d be willing to go all the way, or if I’d be looking forward to it, or what. For me, it’s more that I just never had to deal with it, unlike for you where you just know it deep down. Does that make sense? Probably doesn’t.”

“No, it does. Not everybody can figure themselves out right away. It takes time, and you’ll get there when you’re ready.” Then he leaned back against his hands to stare up at the darkening sky. “On the other hand…”

“What?”

“When I saw your phone… I started to doubt my guess about why you were so twitchy around me.”

That made her wince. “Twilight. Yeah, she’s a good friend… most of the time.”

“But that’s all, right?”

“Of course! Geez, wasn’t I awkwardly hitting on you all the time?”

“You could be bisexual.”

That seemed to throw her off her train of thought, because she clammed right up. She couldn’t be bisexual… could she? She thought Twilight was pretty, sure. Downright beautiful in the right light, even with her wings and horn… but was she attracted to her? No, of course not. She was just a friend.

Right?

“I know, It’s easy to forget that you can like both,” Flash continued, as if sensing Sunset’s hesitation. “And nobody’s stopping you. And I don’t know, I thought maybe you were down for dating more than one person at a time — or she was your adopted sister. Who knows?”

Snorting, Sunset shook her head and laid all the way back to watch the sky with him. “Yeah. All of the above. Weird ones to me, but not weird ones to you, who didn’t have any details. So that’s my fault for being a chickenshit and not just telling you that I like you.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Neither of us are mind-readers.” Then his voice quieted as he added, “But it definitely had nothing to do with whether or not I like you, okay? Or you being attractive or not. It’s purely that you’re my friend, and that’s where it stops. For everybody.”

“Well…” There were other questions she wanted to ask, and accusations she wanted to level. Things to just get off her chest that would have no place in that conversation, because Flash was exactly who he had always been — despite her figuring out something that had eluded her before. Therefore, she simply said, “I hope you have lots of ‘just friends’ in your life, since that’s the only thing I can think of that would make up for a girlfriend. Or boyfriend.”

“Or a non-binary friend?” When her eyebrows furrowed slightly, he waved a hand. “Sorry. Upper-level LGBTQ lingo. You gotta be a member and know the secret handshake.”

“No, I’ve heard the term before, I just… don’t get it personally. But that’s nothing against people who do, or want to use it! Just… God, I don’t know!”

Chortling, he bumped her with his elbow. “Don’t sweat it; you’ll get there. It was weird joining the group since they don’t really support us much. It’s all about the cisgay boys and girls in their ‘struggle’, while all the other struggles are unimportant. But we’re making real progress, trust me.”

“Good, good,” she laughed back. “One step at a time.”

“Yeah, totally.” Then he smiled very cautiously. “I… don’t suppose you’d still want to go to the union, would you?”

“Fried mac and cheese? Oh, I’m so there — and I need to get the taste of foot out of my mouth.”

“Awesome! And… do you mind it Spring tags along, too? She’s—”

“Waiting for you on the quad,” she laughed. “I noticed; she doesn’t really blend in well.”

“Yeah, true. Really can’t understand why not — but I think maybe it’s her love for breaking out into numbers from The Book of Mormon. Tends to get attention.”

Grinning as she stood up, Sunset offered Flash a hand as she gushed, “Oh man, that’s definitely in my top three! Well, I never got to see it live, but I’ve watched it online and I have the cast recording!”

“Really?”

“It’s totally on my phone right now — I’ll play it if you don’t believe me. But only if you don’t judge Twilight still being my lock screen, or ask me a bunch of weird questions about her again!”

Both his arms shot up above his head. “Okay, enough! I surrender! Take me to your leader!”

“Wouldn’t you like that?” she fired back at him as they started walking to meet up with Spring, who was looking both anxious and relieved. “But you’re an assassin or something, sent from another world!”

“Oh, totally. A magical land filled with talking creatures!” he grinned, wiggling his fingers theatrically. All she could do in reply was laugh hysterically — and for the first time, it was purely because she found him funny, and not out of awkward nervousness. Maybe this would turn out halfway decent after all.

Of course, by the time she made it home, stuffed to the gills with breaded-and-fried pasta, she was back to lamenting the sad, sad state of her love life. There wasn’t even a secondary interest for her to fall back on. One of the TA’s for her calculus class wasn’t too shabby-looking, but she didn’t really see the point in dating anyone one was even partially a professor. That was just creepy. Therefore, she was back to pining over fictional characters for a while.

“Oh, Loki,” she sighed morosely as she tossed her backpack to the floor. “Why can’t you sweep me off my feet and take me back to Asgard as your princess?”

“Because he’s too busy failing to take over Earth and getting his ass stomped by the Hulk. Duh,” came a voice from inside her living room — and Sunset nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Rainbow?!”

Once she had flipped on the light switch and raced around the end of the sofa, trying to forget her momentary mortification that someone had overheard her talking to an imaginary — though, admittedly attractive — character, she confirmed it was indeed her neighbor and friend. “What the— sorry, not trying to be rude here, but why the fuck were you sitting around in my living room — and in the dark?!”

Shaking her head, her neighbor drew her knees up onto the couch again. “Didn’t feel like getting up. Too lazy. Too tired. Take your pick. Anyway, the sun went down, like, half an hour ago or whatever, and I just… didn’t think to get up and turn any lights on.”

“Okay… but what are you doing here in the first place?” she asked as she slid into the seat next to her friend.

“Oh. Fluttershy is hogging the bathroom again, and she always says she doesn’t care if I go while she’s in the tub with cucumbers on her eyes or whatever, but I’m not really comfortable pissing with her right there, ya’know? So…. I dunno. I was so angry at her that I didn’t want to see her again, and I just didn’t go back.”

Frowning in concentration, Sunset rubbed her hand along Rainbow’s shoulders. In all brutal honesty, she had no real desire to attend Rainbow’s pity party now; she already had one personal crisis going on, such as it was. But she also didn’t want to be insensitive — especially since there was clearly more going on that just Fluttershy being oblivious as usual.

“What’s really on your mind? Has to be more than just this.”

“Nothin’.”

“Liar.” No response. “Fine, don’t tell me. I didn’t want to know. I don’t want to know anything, because I’m just a big, dumb, stupid-head.”

“Stop,” Rainbow said, her lips twitching up slightly.

“Nope. I’m too dumb to stop. My head is made of styrofoam and I can’t learn things. You’d totally be wasting your time if you told m—”

“Alright, alright!” she laughed — still against her will, but a little more freely. Sighing at the end, she said, “I just… don’t see the point anymore.”

“The point? Of what?”

“Anything.”

Nodding slowly as she tried to process the implications of that statement, Sunset did her best not to overreact, or be dismissive. “I see.”

“What do you see? You have it all together, dude. What do I have? A crappy job, crappy grades. A roommate who thinks I’m stupid and in the way all the time. One good friend and no other friends, and no boyfriend.”

“Come on... Fluttershy is your oldest friend. And what about that guy on the soccer team?”

“He doesn’t really like me. Said he’s more into girls who aren’t flat as a freeway.” She rolled her eyes, snorting. “They’re all the same — and I don’t think that’s going to change, ever. So… what’s the point of getting up in the morning if this is the best life has to offer?”

“Whoa, whoa, don’t be like that. Yeah, you’re right; life isn’t handed to you. But you’re way off base when you say I have it ‘together’. So do not.”

“Oh yeah? Name one thing that doesn’t work out great for you. Grades, family life, friends. Boyfriends.”

Sunset blinked rapidly, her mouth falling open. “Uh… dude, have we met? My name is Sunset. You might have me confused with someone else.”

“Don’t do that,” Rainbow hissed, the sound a harsh slicing of the air. “Don’t do that right now.”

“You really think I’m that stable, huh? My life is a total picnic? Let me tell you what happened to me literally just now…”

And Rainbow listened patiently. Well, that was a stretch; she listened, even though for most of it she was tapping one foot and glaring down at the coffee table. By the end of the story, her eyes were wide with shock and disbelief, but very quickly afterward she switched gears. “Well… he didn’t really reject you, he’s just not interested in anybody. So that doesn’t say anything about you, right?”

“True… yeah, I get that. But still, it’s… when you go a year and the only person you had a crush on turns out to be asexual, then what do you do with that?”

“Live with it, I guess.” Then she sighed and leaned back, slightly to one side, using her elbow for support on the arm of Sunset’s couch. “But okay, yeah, I’m sorry I kind of told you that nothing is hard for you… it wasn’t how I mean that. You know I didn’t, right?”

Sunset pursed her lips, thinking of her recent reconciliation with Rarity, all stemming from a similar misunderstanding. “Yeah, I know you didn’t.”

“Good. And I know I’m exaggerating about your grades and family. I know, I know… it’s just hard when you do have it better than I do, even if your life isn’t perfect. Wish I had it a little better, is all.”

“Life isn’t fair,” Sunset admitted, hating the sound of her mother’s words coming out of her own mouth. “But seriously, give it time. You’ll get a guy, and your grades will come up if you keep kicking ass. And then life will fall into place around all that.”

But Rainbow had already begun shaking her head before she finished the sentence. “No, sorry, I just… can’t see that anymore from where I am. I don’t know what to do — there’s just no goddamn point!”

By now, she was getting the picture that there would be no easy resolution of this mopey mood. What did people do for depressed people? Sure, she was depressed on a daily basis, but it was always a form of depression that she would push through relatively easy — at least enough to get through classes and work. Nothing that made her want to crawl into a hole and die. There were no easy answers.

Or were there?

That was probably the most dangerous thought she’d ever had since she first met Twilight. Bringing in outside help for a friend who was in the depths of despair seemed callous — or like one of those interventions people did on TV. But she couldn’t let Rainbow sit around feeling like this, and she was completely out of ideas.

Then a new problem arose: how to get Rainbow out of her apartment. There would be no summoning a goddess into her bathroom and then explaining that random presence. Could she ask Rainbow to go get them a pizza? Of course not; she’d go get it herself, or have it delivered. Racking her brains, she only came up with a single solution. Stupid as it was.

“You need to go confront Fluttershy.”

“What? Are you retarded?” Rainbow gawked, looking at Sunset as if she actually was. “No fucking way. She can eat my ass for all I care.”

“Seriously, go do it, right now!” Her hand curled under Rainbow’s bicep, and though she protested she didn’t stop pulling until she was in her kitchen. “That girl has made you feel uncomfortable in your own apartment for long enough, and it’s about freaking time you told her you’re beyond done with her shit! She’s your friend, and she needs to act like it!”

They stared at each other for a long moment while Sunset tried not to hyperventilate, or otherwise give away her plan. Rainbow did take one step toward the door, then turned back with a shrew look in her eyes.

“Okay, wait. You just want me out of here so you don’t have to deal with my ass.”

“No, I promise that’s not it! I swear! You… you go out into that hall, and stand in front of her door — your door — for one full minute, sixty seconds. Then just go in there and tell her that she needs to start respecting some of the rules you want in place! You take back your apartment!”

“Well… okay, I guess. But if she glares at me in that freaky way she does when she gets really pissed, I’m blaming you.”

“She won’t glare at you, I promise. Now go! Go, go, gooooo!”

“God, fine!” Rainbow blustered as she was pushed through the door. “But what do—”

“Just get that ass moving!”

Then she slammed the door in her friends face. For just a second, she felt a slight prickle of regret — but there was no time to focus on it. She had a friendship emergency, and knew just the goddess to call.

“Okay,” Twilight said in a slightly dazed voice as she steadied herself against the sink. “That was trippy. And not a good trippy. More like a psychedelic trippy. Reminds me of the sixties. What did you use?” She smacked her lips, her face pinching. “Pig’s blood? Blegh.”

“Yes, and I guess it’s technically good enough,” Sunset sighed as she rolled a bathmat back over the symbols on her bathroom floor, then began carrying what was left of the jar back to the kitchen. “We have kind of a situation.”

“Oh? A good situation? A party-type situation? Dude — are we finally marathoning Jessica Jones?!”

“What? No! Well… maybe eventually, but not right now!” Swallowing briefly while putting her thoughts in order, she ran a hand through her hair as they both reconvened to the living room. “I’m… sorry if this isn’t your usual request, but if I’m the one who summoned you, can I still ask you to help out a friend of mine instead?”

That made the woman’s perfect eyebrows knit in concern. “What’s going on? I mean, you’re right that it’s a bit odd, but only because most summoners tend to call us for selfish reasons. There’s nothing that keeps us from assisting other people, though, if the summoner requests it.”

“Good. Because I’m in over my head with Rainbow.”

Nodding slowly, Twilight perched herself on the arm of the couch. “Yes. I felt that loud and clear when I arrived. She’s in something of a funk?”

“Oh, yeah. And I don’t know how to snap her out of it! Like… maybe it’s really shitty that I brought you all the way here for this, but I really need your help!”

The goddess nodded again, this time more resolute. “Yeah, no, I understand. Helping friends is important; I should know, after all. And it’s your blood. Well, the blood that’s in your possession, anyway. And possession's nine-tenths of the law. So, what, you just want me to snap Rainbow Dash out of it?”

“Please and thank you,” breathed Sunset. “Do you know what’s bothering her, or do you need me to—”

“No, I think I got it.” Twilight waved her hand airily. “She’s easy enough to understand once you get to know her.”

Sunset opened her mouth to ask how Twilight knew this, but as she did she heard the key turning in the lock. “Shit, she’s back!” she hissed, and that was all the time she had before the door was open.

“Would you believe it?!” Rainbow grunted as she closed the door behind her, her entire face the color of the red stripe running through her hair. “That fucking granola bar isn’t home! And I was finally actually going to— to… oh, uh, hi.”

Whirling around, Sunset saw Twilight sitting exactly where she had left her. The only difference was, her horn and wings were gone, her skin a beautiful coppery tone that blended well with her dark hair, and her poodle skirt and blouse were now jeans, a black AC/DC tank top, and she wore a pair of killer boots that Sunset found herself wishing weren’t an illusion so she could totally borrow them.

“Right,” she found herself mumbling when she caught her breath. “Um, I mean, th-this is Twilight. Twilight, this is my neighbor, Rainbow.”

“I… I thought I was your friend,” Rainbow said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Well, yeah,” she laughed awkwardly. “But you know, the whole neighbor part might explain why you have a key to get in, right?”

“Yup, no problem,” Twilight chirped in a prim-sounded British accent, popping to her feet with a wide grin. Sunset’s heart jumped all the way up until it hit the roof of her mouth. That was not what she had been expecting in the way of ‘help’ and she wasn’t sure it qualified. “You alright, love?”

Blinking, Rainbow looked between both of them for a long second. “Oh… you’re from Europe? Or England, or whatever? That’s… I didn’t know Sunset had a friend from there. You an exchange student?”

Laughing, Twilight switched back to her usual accent and said, “She doesn’t actually — well, not now that I’m back from overseas. Got in just tonight, in fact, and I thought I’d pick up where I left off with Sunny, here.”

“Yeah,” Sunset laughed nervously — then mentally kicked herself for sounding like a freak. “Sorry, she just got back and totally surprised me!”

“Oh... okay. I mean, I didn’t even hear anyone come through the hallway, and usually anytime someone walks past it’s like some kinda stampede happening on the other side of the door.”

Twilight shrugged, walking over to offer her hand more formally to the multi-color-haired girl. “Really? I wasn’t really bothering to keep it down. Did…” She frowned slightly. “Did I miss something?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you kinda look like you wanna throw up, that’s all.”

Shrugging, Rainbow said, “Nah. It’s cool; I don’t wanna bore strangers with my problems.”

However, when neither Twilight or Sunset replied for a few seconds, Rainbow relented. It took some coaxing here and there from the other two, but little by little, she did fill the disguised goddess in on her mood, her displeasure at her current situation and how hopeless it all seemed.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been there. Lots of times.” As Rainbow grunted — her method of keeping tears at bay — Twilight rubbed her back and talked in a soothing voice. “You have a lot more to offer than you think.”

“Oh, yeah, right,” Rainbow scoffed. “I’m nobody. My parents don’t even call anymore; our conversations are so boring to each other.”

“Have you told them that?” Silence. “Have you told Fluttershy off, or told any of your old friends that you miss them?”

“So it’s my fault?”

Shaking her head, Twilight sighed, “Sometimes it’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong. Sometimes… you have to be the bigger person or nothing’s going to change. Be the person to offer loyalty to a friend. Extend some kindness, or bestow some form of generosity.” She took a deep, slow breath. “Be honest with those you care about. Share laughs with them. It all comes together in the end. And I know it sucks now, but it’s how life is. Sucky. We just have to power through to the good stuff.”

“Oh, this is just life, then. That helps.”

“Yeah,” Twilight laughed. “I guess it doesn't. But I mean, the only alternative is to let go of all of it. But then what do you have? Nothing, instead of not much. Guess what matters is to just try your best.”

“But I’ve done that! Believe me, I was really putting in maximum effort; in class, at work! It just… never went anywhere! And okay, I guess my friends are something I could have worked harder on, and my parents, but… but they quit talking to me first! It’s gotta be something about me!”

“Hey,” Sunset protested, frowning. “What am I over here? Not your friend?”

“We live next to each other, Sunset. It’s not like you have a choice, really. I know you only stay friends with me because it’s too inconvenient not to.”

Ouch. Guilt dropped hard into Sunset’s stomach. That wasn’t true, but it wasn’t entirely false either. Would she even bother to give Rainbow the time of day if they didn’t work together and live in such close proximity? Maybe. Probably, though not to the extent she did now.

“I knew it,” Rainbow growled when she didn’t answer. “I knew you didn’t really want me around. Not deep down, anyway. And now your other friend is back, and I’ll be thrown out like your mom’s week-old food.”

“Hey, that isn’t fair,” Twilight said warningly. “Sunset probably isn’t sure what to say to an accusation like that. Besides, she’s always had more than one friend, and will continue to. Nobody’s supposed to get through life without at least a few really good friends; it’s possible… but… it’s really, really hard.”

“Thanks for confirming what I already know…” Both of her hands dropped into her lap. “I’m sorry, you guys… I know I’m a mess. I know. But, today had been was harder than normal. Maybe I should just go.”

Sunset stepped forward and clamped a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “No, you don’t have to — we’re right here and not going anywhere. Uh… maybe some TV will take your mind off things?”

“Mmm.” Shrugging, she rubbed at her face and suddenly stood up. “I’m… gonna go for a walk. It’s— I can’t think in here. I can’t breath. It’s too close to Fluttershy’s fucking patchouli oil. Maybe when I get back… if I give you a twenty, will you order some pizza?”

“Totally,” Sunset told her gently. They both went with her until she got to the door. “See you in a bit, and… try not to think too much.”

“Or do all your thinking out there so your brain is empty when you get back,” Twilight joked as she went in for a hug. Rainbow was surprised, but returned it. “Nice meeting you, though,” the goddess said as she gently but firmly squeezed Rainbow.

“Yeah, right.”

“I mean it.” Twilight held her at arm’s length, her eyes serious. “Not ideal circumstances, but… you seem pretty awesome.”

Snorting, Rainbow finally cracked a smile. “Thanks. I’ll text you if my walk starts taking too long.” But just because Sunset closed the door, she looked over her shoulder and said, “Just no pineapple — you know I hate that stuff.”

“No pineapple.”

The minute they were alone, Sunset walked straight to the couch and collapsed. Twilight joined her a moment later, sighing heavily and slowly. “So. Do you think that helped at all?”

“Dunno. At least she had the two of us trying to cheer her up instead of just me. I’m no good at this friend stuff. Not really.”

“You aren’t? Didn’t you just make up with Rarity?” Twilight’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.

“Hey, that’s different. Besides… that took me way longer than it should have. Also, I had to be almost directly responsible for her not having Blueblood for comfort before I got up off my ass to talk to her.”

Pursing her lips, Twilight pulled Sunset into the crook of her arm. “Yeah, but what’s to say she really would have been better off with Blueblood? We both know where his interests lie.”

“Her panties.” That caused the goddess to snort before collapsing into inelegant laughter, and Sunset beamed back at her. “God, you have such a great laugh. Has anybody ever told you that?”

“My laugh is great? I didn’t know there was a ranking.”

“There is now, and yours it at the top of the charts.”

For some reason, that make the goddess fall silent, just smiling back at her as if considering what she should say next. However, she was spared the need when a loud, sharp cracking sound filled the apartment.

“Wait — what was that?”

Twilight shot to her feet immediately, eyes sharp and focused. Sunset followed a moment later. “Huh? It came from outside, I think. Should we take a look?”

“Yeah. Here, let’s take the shortcut.”

Before Sunset could so much as yelp ‘Hey!’, she was lifted bridal style as the goddess took a few quick steps toward the window. “Wait — whoa, whoa, what are you doing?!”

But they were already falling. As the neared the ground, Sunset knew they were doomed, braced to feel the cold, hard pavement that would be the final resting place of her corpse… but their descent was slowed.

Sunset looked up to see huge, feathery wings stretching over them, highlighted with shades of lavender and dark purple. They beat once, twice, and as she felt the rush of wind against her face, they alighted on the street. Twilight gently set Sunset down on her feet as if it were something she did every day.

“Wow,” she breathed shakily, staring up into the goddess’ bright purple eyes. But she wasn’t looking back — instead, she was busy trying to pin down the source of the disturbance.

And then she found it. Immediately, she fixed Sunset with the most piercing gaze she could muster and said, “Listen to me, okay? I strongly suggest you go back inside. Right now. Just go back in and don’t look.”

“What? Why can’t I look?” Human nature reared its ugly head. Even though she had been told not to, her immediate response was to turn her head in the direction that Twilight had been staring at a moment before. Even as she did it, she felt the slight pang of regret that she hadn’t listened, but her curiosity was too strong.

A figure was laying on the ground, a dark substance staining the concrete underneath and their clothes. Her clothes. Nobody else was in sight, other than a few people poking their heads out of windows along the street, also straining to see what had happened.

“Is that… no. It’s not… Rainbow?”

“Sunset,” Twilight repeated, grabbing her face with both hands and forcing their eyes to lock. “Go inside. Please.” She gripped Sunset’s arm to hold her fast when she tried to run forward. “No, don’t — there’s nothing you can do for her now. You, or anyone.”

Sunset’s heart hammered in her throat as she wrenched her gaze away from Twilight’s, falling on the body of her friend, laying silently on the ground. She tried to yell, scream… do something… but all she could hear was Twilight’s voiceless whisper in her head.

Everything has a price, Sunset Shimmer. Everything.

Chapter 12: I'm Super Loyal and Kind... Seriously!

“No,” Sunset grunted, straining against Twilight’s firm grip. “Will you—hey, lemme go!”

“Please don’t order me to do that,” the morose-looking goddess whispered in a strained voice. “Don’t make me let you go see—”

“I order you to let me go!”

She did, of course. Twilight released Sunset’s arm like she’d been burned. Sunset stumbled and almost went down face-first before a hand shot out to wrap around her stomach to keep her aloft; still saving her, even from herself. But Twilight did not try to prevent her from running toward the prone, still form any longer.

The most memorable part to Sunset, out of everything, was how surprised Rainbow Dash looked in death. Eyes glassy, mouth open in a small circle that could have been a scream or a gasp. None of the blood had made it up to her face. The wound was small. Clean. A perfect little puncture in her vintage gummy bears shirt.

There was no sign of the attacker anywhere. Maybe that was for the best; Sunset would have etched their face into her memory forever is she could, instead of only Rainbow’s death mask. Her hand lifted to close her eyes — something had to be done, it wasn’t natural, they couldn’t let her—

“Stop!” said a nearby voice. It was old Mrs. Cake, hobbling down the sidewalk with a plastic grocery bag dangling from her elbow. Her face was drawn tight with worry. “I know its hard, but… the police would want you to leave her be.”

“How could they do this?” Sunset whispered in a weak, broken voice. It surprised her that she wasn’t crying, wasn’t angry… wasn’t anything at all. She just felt like she was in a dream, a horrible but ludicrous dream that somebody was going to have to wake her up from before she was lost inside of it forever. “What… I mean, what happened? Did you see anything?”

“I didn’t, deary, I’m sorry. But I’d guess it was a mugging. There’s been a few in the area lately.”

“A mugging.” That word meant something, and it took her longer than usual to put it together. “Then… all they wanted was her money?” The old woman nodded sadly. “Why? Why are people so… fucking stupid?!”

There was the rage. Mrs. Cake saw as clearly as she felt it when she had spoken, and she dipped her head lower in acknowledgement of the younger girl’s distress. “Come away from there. I know you want to help, but there’s—”

“There’s what? Nothing I can do?! Bullshit! Bullshit!” Turning and pushing up from the sidewalk, she ran at the kind old woman full speed, stumbling while trying to gain her footing — and was promptly intercepted.

“Inside,” Twilight hissed in her ear as Mrs. Cake took a wary step back, watching the two girls scuffle. “Come on, let’s— no, I really think you should come inside!”

“We can’t just leave her alone!” Sunset screamed. “Somebody has to—”

“These people will watch over her while the authorities are on the way,” Twilight whispered, gesturing to the steadily growing number of passersby. “In the meantime, I really, really think we have things to discuss in your apartment.”

Something in her tone cut through the haze of rage and disbelief. Things to discuss. Twilight wasn’t just a human friend — she had connections. Magic. Maybe this wasn’t over. She had just barely begun to accept what it was, hating it though she did, and swinging her brain back in the other direction left her feeling disoriented to the point of nausea.

“Do we?” she murmured shakily. “Have things to discuss?”

“Yes. Right now.”

Her head started to turn, to glance down at Rainbow’s body — but she didn't need to. That image would be forever burned into her mind, haunting her sleep and ruining her quiet moments for years. No, there was no need to look at it another time for further confirmation.

By the time they got back into her apartment, she finally had enough of a check on her emotions to demand, “What can you do? Tell me, Twilight. Tell me right the fuck now, what you can do for Rainbow.”

“Okay. I can bring her back to life.”

She hadn’t really minced words in the slightest. Completely stunned, Sunset asked, “Wait… just like that? You can bring her back to life?”

“I told you from the beginning,” Twilight said as her outfit melted back to the poodle skirt and blouse, turning to face her summoner in the middle of her own kitchen. Her horn slowly slid out from her forehead and her wings unfurled, stretching as much as the ceiling would allow. Sunset barely noticed any of this. “Anytime you are dissatisfied with my services, as long as you tell me before I leave…”

“You can hit the undo button!” Her eyes were brimming with tears -- now, not before when it would have made more sense, but now, when there was actual hope, she was crying instead. “And if you do that, Rainbow will be alive?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m not satis—”

“Wait a second,” Twilight cut her off with a finger against her lips. “Before you say it… just remember that there are never any ‘free’ decisions. If you choose to undo what we did, you may put Rainbow Dash on a worse path. Or someone else. Nobody knows the future, or all possible futures that stem from our decisions.”

Pushing the goddess’ finger aside, Sunset snapped, “Get the fuck out of here with that Back To the Future shit! Right now, there is nothing that could be worse that Rainbow dying in the street, okay?!”

“I didn’t say that wasn’t a terrible enough fate to warrant you changing how things ended up,” Twilight said in a very soft, very patient voice. Sunset saw that she was not as ‘together’ as she usually was; her purple eyes were wide, and her breathing was shallow. Sunset didn’t know if this was a genuine reaction to her friend’s death, or faked. Right now, she didn’t care. There was no way of knowing anyway. “I just… wanted you to be aware of possible implications before you chose. It wouldn’t be my place to judge your choice, but I am obligated to fill you in first.”

“Fine. You told me. Thanks for the heads up. I’m not satisfied.”

Nodding sadly, the goddess turned and began walking through the living room toward the bathroom. Sunset found herself a little confused, thinking she was going to leave in the middle of the crisis, until she laid her hands on the symbols on the floor.

She hadn’t know what she expected. Maybe some words in a strange language, or Twilight to whip out a magical staff or something. But there were no words, no magic spells or wands. There was only a slight breeze, and power. The floor and walls rumbled slightly — like a low-level earthquake, and Sunset grabbed onto the door frame for support. There was a brief flash of multi-spectrum light, and the air began to swirl around her. Then Twilight looked up at her, and she could only gasp as she saw the goddess’ normally crystal-clear amethyst eyes glowing a brilliant white.

And then she felt herself being tugged through what she could only call a portal.

It all lasted about ten seconds, but it felt like a lifetime passed as she felt as she rocketed through something she imagined as a bad acid trip. Horrific scenes like melting skulls blended together with rainbows and fields of grass. There was a distinct ‘cracking’ sound, like a glass was breaking somewhere. There was no time to contemplate that something as ‘sci-fi’ as a portal between time and space existed, or could be created so quickly, or that she was actually travelling through one herself. Just time enough to scream.

The worst part, somehow, was that the trip just ended. There was no jumping out the other side of the portal, no disembarking or fading. She just blinked, and she was back in the bathroom as usual. Only this time, she did not have tears on her face from Rainbow’s death. Things were… perfectly normal.

“Twilight?” she whispered. No answer. Reaching up to touch her own face, to feel for the nonexistent tears, she felt the jar of pig’s blood push into her cheek. She was still holding onto it, getting ready to summon.

But she remembered. She remembered everything that happened after summoning Twilight — clearly, not as if it were a dream or something imagined. Putting the blood on the counter, she tried to decide how she felt about everything all at once, and it was just too overwhelming for her — death, portals with skulls and rainbows and broken glass, time being rewound…

And then there was the sound of her door opening. Rainbow’s voice. That blessedly sweet voice that she had briefly thought would never be heard in her apartment again.

“Would you believe it?!” The door shut, and not gently. “That fucking granola bar isn’t home! And I was finally actually going t— to… hey, where’d you go?”

“I’m in here!” Sunset called out as she frantically jerked open the cabinet under her sink and shoved the jar of blood inside. She could figure out everything after she made sure there would be no awkward questions of her having a jar of blood in her bathroom and… was it just her, or was her mirror looking even more broken than before?

“Oh. Anyway, I guess I’ll have to gripe her out another time.” Sunset had just kicked the rug back over her summoning circle when Rainbow rounded the corner. “Oh, um… sorry, did I catch you at a weird moment? My bad.”

“No, you’re fine,” Sunset stammered, trying to force herself to be calm, to will herself to not sound like she hadn't just been staring at this young woman — this wonderful, amazing young woman — on the sidewalk, in a pool of her own blood. “You’re… really fine.”

“Uh, yeah. Cool. Listen, I think I’m just gonna go out and get some air. You were probably right before that I just need to be more positive — and confront ‘Shy. I mean, she’s my friend, and we should probably have a talk about our living space and shit. But I can’t shake this crappy mood right now, so I’m gonna step out and—”

“No!”

Blinking, Rainbow took a step back. “I… what?”

“No, you… I can’t let you!” Trying to think quickly, Sunset gripped her friend’s arm and declared, “Because, um… friends don’t let friends walk around alone!”

“Fine, then come with me,” she grunted, still wary at the manic intensity in Sunset’s eyes.

“We’ll go in the morning. Tonight, why don’t you and me just watching old movies until we pass out? I’ll order a pizza, and there’s chocolate syrup in the fridge.”

“Oh snap, my fucking kryptonite,” she laughed. Then she debated for a second or two before leaning in slightly to whisper, “Hey… are you okay? I mean, I thought I was feeling rough, but I didn’t even notice how wiped you look. Like somebody made you work a double shift.”

“Me? I’m fine! Never better!”

“Really?”

Unable to help herself, she threw her arms around Rainbow -- and felt so much of her anxiety and terror just drain away, evaporating from her skin like dew in the warm morning sun. “Really.”

“Whoa, bonding moment. Ooookay.” Rainbow patted her back a few times, but did return the embrace a little more easily. “Did… I freak you out? With all that ‘life doesn’t matter’ talk earlier. I mean, if I did… God, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t trying to—”

“You’re okay,” Sunset whispered. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Just… you’re my friend, Rainbow. You really, really are. I’m sorry if I’m difficult sometimes. Or kind of a bitch—”

“Kind of?” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow, but her lips were curled up into a sardonic smirk.

“Okay. A major bitch,” Sunset giggled, then sobered. “But… really. I care about you. A lot. You’re always there for me and… well… I’m sorry If I’m not always there for you. I’ll get better. I will. You…” she trailed off, Twilight’s words coming unbidden into her mind as she spoke them aloud. “You’re one of the most loyal people I know. And I’m proud to call you my friend,”

“Whoa.” Rainbow blinked three times before she cleared her throat shyly. “Well… thanks, Sunny. I… I mean, that means a lot to me. Really.”

“You’re okay,” Sunset repeated softly. “Just… don’t give up. And be careful at night; there are all kinds of fucking nutjobs on the streets.”

Chuckling slightly, Rainbow pulled away and said, “Right, mom, thanks for the pro tip. I can cover the pizza if you want.”

“No way. My treat. You’re the one having a shitty night, so I’m happy to spring.”

“Okay, okay. Oh, and no—”

“No pineapple. I know.” They both grinned at each other as they moved back into the living room. “You better buckle up. We’re in for an eighties moviethon and major heartburn in the morning.”

“Oh, shit! We talking Labyrinth, here?”

“Hell yes. You name it, we got it; Labyrinth, Neverending Story, Ghostbusters, The Goonies, and Raiders!”

“Dude, you’re gonna spoil me — pineapple-free pizza and Indy? I shoulda freaked out like this a long time ago!”

The night progressed, and everything was absolutely okay. That is, until about ten minutes later, when they heard the gunshot from outside.

By the time they got downstairs and out into the street to investigate — mostly because Sunset insisted there was nothing they could do anyway, but Rainbow finally said she was going with or without her — the ambulance was already there. Sunset could see old Mrs. Cake, who had been so kind to her before time was rewound, being lifted inside onto a stretcher, groaning weakly as the medical team worked. She was clearly still alive, but she was in a lot of pain, and there was a lot of blood. The police were everywhere, questioning people and taking photographs of the crime scene.

Walking alongside Mrs. Cake’s gurney, looking to Sunset like all the world was ending, was a girl who looked to be her age. Her vibrant, bubblegum pink hair fell in slick curtains around her shoulders and back, and her ice-chip blue eyes were round with worry and despair. Sunset assumed that she must be the family friend staying with old Mrs. Cake, and felt reassured that the kind old woman at least wasn’t alone. The girl gripped Mrs. Cake’s hand tightly as they climbed into the ambulance.

What Twilight had talked about had come to pass: there was indeed a consequence. In this case, however, Sunset was more or less at peace with her decision. After all, even though she hated to see the kindly old woman in pain, but at least she wasn’t dead like Rainbow had been. She would make that choice again in a heartbeat, as many times as it would take.

She was no longer in the mood for pizza, but Sunset did force her way through a few slices as she and Rainbow powered through The Goonies, Raiders of the Lost Ark and most of Temple of Doom. Around four in the morning, her friend fell asleep just as Indy saved the day yet again, so Sunset crept off to her room and crawled into bed to sleep it off.

But she didn’t forget about what Twilight had said. As the movies rolled on, she addressed several of the points the goddess had touched upon before the night was reset — slipping them in more naturally and at intervals, of course. She could tell that Rainbow was always reluctant to get back to the subject and would rather just focus on how Indy handled his whip and fedora, but she did seem to take some of it in and felt a little better about herself in the process. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all she could do.

One of the best sights that could greet Sunset upon waking up was that of Rainbow Dash snoring gently on her couch, a blanket draped over legs . After all of her horrible, blood-soaked nightmares, it was the only thing that could make them disappear. Her friend was fine. Just fine. She was alive, and she was going to stay that way as long as Sunset could help it.

Work and class seemed to drag on forever. Somehow, even though her sleep had been less than plentiful, a can of Java Monster seemed to get her through it, and she made it home to take a well-earned nap on the couch, right in the tiny nest of blankets left by Rainbow.

To her extreme misfortune, that was interrupted by a knock at the door. Too tired to even get up, she just half-yelled, “It’s open!”

But instead of Rainbow, in walked Fluttershy. The girl was a real piece of work; her golden-bronze skin didn’t quite match up with the pale, almost pinkish hue of her hair very well, and the dirt-colored knit cap over it only made her look weirder. But it was the flowy hemp dashiki that was truly problematic for Sunset. Even if Rainbow was mostly annoyed with her habits around their shared space, everything about her screamed ‘sheltered white hipster who suddenly felt a lot of racial guilt when she make it to college’.

Not that Sunset had any right to complain, mind.

“Oh,” she mumbled dazedly. “Uh… hi. I mean, hello, Fluttershy.”

“Hi, Sunset. Um…” the girl’s face was neutral, but her expression flickering between discomfort and determination. “If you’re not busy, would you mind… talking to Rainbow?”

“What?”

“She’s been a grumpy puss all day long,” Fluttershy went on, placing her hands on her hips and sticking her lower lip in an impressive pout. “Snapping at me and telling me how she’s not ‘taking my… um… my ‘s-word’ anymore.’ I mean, we’ve been friends for so long, and I think I work pretty hard to be a good roommate to her, you know? I respect her habits, observe her opinions and understand how her ideals don’t resonate with mine. So… I don’t understand why she’s so upset now.”

“God, can we have this conversation after I get some coffee?”

“Coffee? It’s… almost sundown. Do you normally keep nocturnal hours? I mean, it’s okay if you do and everything… but do you know what time it is?”

Groaning loudly, Sunset mumbled something along the lines of “Anytime is coffee time” and sat up, padding into the kitchen while Fluttershy sort of wandered along behind her, waiting for her to reach into the fridge for the first thing she could find. Which was beer. She put that back and found a bottle of cola that was flatter than her floorboards. As she guzzled that, Fluttershy opened her yap again.

“I mean, like this afternoon, when she got back from work, she just started complaining to me for always taking up the living room again. Which of course was fine and everything... but I thought we were supposed to share it, not just me stay out of her way, right?”

“Not… exactly… but yeah, I guess.” Setting the disappointing bottle down on the counter, Sunset’s brain tried to parse out a response for her. “There are just things that you can’t do when you’re like, right next to somebody the way you are with Rainbow.”

“Well… yes. That’s true. But that’s what I don’t understand. I’m not trying to annoy her. She’s my oldest friend.”

“That’s — just… look, you can’t just say ‘Hey, if I didn’t intend to piss somebody off then they have no right to feel pissed off.’ That’s crazy and unrealistic. You don’t live in a bubble. Um… here’s an example: If you burn incense that smells up the entire apartment, that affects Rainbow. Like, she can’t unburn just the incense that comes into her airspace, right?”

Frowning, Fluttershy leaned against the counter. “I don’t really do incense… but it is natural, so I don’t understand…”

“It stinks, Fluttershy. You said before that you don’t really ‘believe’ in fake scents, like Febreeze. What if Rainbow sprayed that all over your room? Wouldn’t that bother you?”

“Well… of course, but I don’t do that to Rainbow Dash. Why would I go into her room and burn incense?”

“Whether you plan to or not isn’t the point!” Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sunset began to see this was a lost cause. However, maybe she could summarize it in a way that would poke through that makeup-free ‘all-natural’ beauty. “Look — how about this; If Rainbow’s saying she’s annoyed by something you do, then you can’t tell her she isn’t annoyed, or has no right to be. That’s not fair to invalidate her like that. If you want to do something like naked yoga or cucumber masks in the bathtub or something with the door closed, you can, but you still have to understand that in shared spaces, things you do can affect other people. Otherwise…”

“That’s not fair,” she muttered under breath. “I knew you’d take her side. It’s not like I’m doing anything just to make her upset; you know that, right?” When Sunset looked skeptical, she stepped closer. “Really, I swear to you, it’s true. Really very serious.”

Nodding, Sunset plopped a hand on her shoulder and began steering her to the door. Fact of the matter was, if she didn’t get rid of the girl now, she was going to throttle her. “Look, ‘Shy, just believing that you don’t mean to piss her off doesn’t change the fact that you’re annoying her. Just makes you less of an asshole. So my advice, stop resisting her suggestions, because you’re actually really messing with her mental health. Alright?”

That did it. Against all odds, that one phrase seemed to make every single shred of difference.

“Oh… oh my God, are you -- is it really making her mentally unhealthy? I thought she was just trying to, like… you know, assert her territorial dominance, or something, like Angel Bunny does back home. I wasn’t sure since we never actually lived together before for an extended period, but if it’s really stressing her out this much… I mean, I still don’t get why things I consider natural and inoffensive are bothering her, but I don’t want her to have to go insane because of something I don’t mean, you know?”

Flinching at the word ‘insane’, Sunset tried to slap on a smile as she said, “Yeah, I think that would actually help out a lot. Plus not, um, walking around in a thong. Also kinda bad for shared spaces.”

“But my body is… okay, right, it’s not about me, it’s about Rainbow’s mental health.” Then she leaned in close and whispered, “Is she gay or something? Like, I think I would know by now if she was, and it’s wonderful if she is and everything, but I’d never flash the flesh if it would be a problem for her!”

“No, no,” Sunset laughed, patting her on the shoulder — even though she had no real desire to touch the girl’s awful scratchy clothes. “Just… not everybody can do the whole ‘our bodies are beautiful’ thing. We all have our trigger, you know? Rainbow’s happens to be vagina-floss. When you’re in your room, anything goes, but in the shared space--”

“Ohh… I understand,’ the free spirit said with a sagely nod as she moved towards the door. “I’ll be sure to keep my rose under glass.”

“I… is… like, did you just compare your vag to Beauty and the Beast, or is there something going on here?”

Shrugging, a coy smile flitting across her lips, Fluttershy turned to leave. “Who knows? Well… thank you for the talk, Sunset.”

“Sure,” Sunset waved slightly, watching as her friend walked towards the door. Her… friend. Wait… was she her friend? Sure, she hadn’t really had all that much interaction with Fluttershy; mainly clipped greeting in the hallways and in passing on campus… but was that enough to consider being friends?

Rainbow was her friend, Sunset knew that. And Rarity was also her friend… or at least, back on the right track. Which was more than before. But what about Fluttershy?

“Hey, wait,” she found herself calling out as the free spirit opened the door. She turned back, her eyebrows high and her face a look of mild curiosity.

Maybe it was the influence of her newest and best friend — one who considered herself an expert on the subject of friendship — but regardless, Sunset knew it was her own intention when she suddenly asked, “You, uh… you wouldn’t be interested in staying a bit, would you? I have some tea.” She shifted slightly. “If… if you like tea, that is.”

There was a long silence, during which Sunset cleared her throat, feeling inexplicably exposed. She had never once offered anything to Fluttershy before; every previous interaction with the girl was usually forced or ending up with Sunset nursing the beginnings of a migraine. This time was no different, but her recent revelation of how important Rainbow was to her, and her reconciliation with Rarity made her realize just how important friendship truly was to a person.

Maybe now, she could finally start on the right track.

“Sure,” Fluttershy finally said, her voice soft and decidedly pleased. “I would love to have some tea with you, Sunset.”

An hour later and Sunset was pouring out some of the pig’s blood again — the same amount as last time, which was mysteriously returned even though she still had a memory of the summoning. She said the incantation, looked around at the candles, and waited.

Nothing.

Licking her lips and clearing her throat, she said it again — still no crazy vortex of air, no pop of atmosphere to announce Twilight’s arrival.

That made her feel crushing sadness like she hadn’t in a long time. Never before had she failed at summoning. Did she do something wrong? The words were exactly the same. She looked at the magic circle, trying to find a spot that might be worn down or smudged too much, but it looked relatively intact. Just in case, she went over the spots not doused in blood with her eyeliner again. Even when it looked perfect, and she was saying the words clearer than she had ever spoken before, there was no response of any kind.

“Hey!” she finally shouted to the ceiling, stamping her foot for good measure. “What the hell?! Don’t I even get a—”

Before she finished the sentence, there was a poof! And a scrap of paper started fluttering down from the ceiling. It moved slow enough that she could recover from her surprise in time to snatch it out of the air.

‘We apologize for the inconvenience. Your alicorn goddess will be with you shortly’

It was in a fancy script that Sunset had to re-read to understand clearly, and had an illustration of what looked to be a caracturized pony on the phone — complete with a headset and desktop computer at a desk — looking very cheerful as though the picture was straight out the fifties.

Huh. Well. Okie dokie.

Half an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. later, the telltale sounds of a teleportation filled the apartment as she craned her head hopefully towards the bathroom. Her hopes her not dashed; a moment later, Twilight stepped out, dressed in a violet gown with a slit all the way up her leg, matching opera gloves, and silver heels, bracelets and earrings that sparkled in the light. There was also a silver necklace with an amethyst that was easily the most beautiful she had ever seen.

“Whoa,” was all Sunset could manage.

“Sorry for not getting back to you sooner,” the dolled-up goddess announced wearily as she strutted closer, patting her razor-sharp hairdo. “I’d tell you who I was having dinner with, but the spell forbids me from saying anything — and also, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Yeah... that’s… you look incredible,” Sunset told her earnestly as she rose, feeling as if sitting down in her presence wasn’t even permitted. “Are you even allowed to be in this apartment with me looking like I am?”

“Stop,” she giggled bashfully as she slipped out of her heels and plopped down on the couch, rubbing one of her feet. “But that’s sweet of you to say. Sometimes it pays to have magic to do your hair and makeup.”

At first, she was going to get on with her question, but Sunset found another one coming out instead. “Do your — okay, I’m sorry if this seems mean or like I don’t trust you, but I’m legit curious.”

“Oh?” Trimmed eyebrows knitted slightly, but Twilight didn’t comment further.

“Do your feet actually hurt, or are you faking that to seem more… ya’know… relatable to me?”

Nodding slightly, she couldn’t keep the bemused smile from her face. “Thought you and I were past the whole ‘new friend mistrust’ thing by now. But I understand; you’ve never known anyone from another world before.” Switching legs, she sighed and went on, “Yes, they are sore. If I have to create something that could hurt me, I feel the pain of it; I’m not immune. For instance, some clients want me to take on the form of their parents and get revenge on the atrocities they perpetrated. If you’re familiar with a ‘whipping boy’ concept, then yeah, I get summoned to be that sometimes. The bruises and cuts aren’t permanent, and fade the very moment I shapeshift again… but at that moment, the pain is real, and I do feel it.”

“So… you could change back to the skirt and blouse you normally wear and make the ache go away, right?” When Twilight nodded, she shrugged and sat down next to her. “Then why don’t you? I’m not trying to judge, I promise.”

“I know you aren’t,” Twilight said very gently. “It’s just… how can I explain?” She considered for a moment, then nodded to herself and looked over at Sunset. “Have you ever had a really good stretch, both arms over your head and everything, then afterward you thought, ‘Man, I wish I could go back to not having stretched and enjoy that stretch all over again?’ Anything like that?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Then maybe you can understand why massaging the ache feels more satisfying than just… waving your horn around so it disappears.”

That wasn’t something Sunset could actually understand. Yes, she could somewhat appreciate it from Twilight’s perspective, but she’d never had her pain supernaturally removed — the closest was having her period cramps soothed — so comparing the two experiences was difficult for her. On the other hand, she did have some level of empathy.

“Here.”

“What? Oh, you— Sunset, you really don’t have to--”

“It’s cool,” she said as she tugged Twilight’s ankle toward her and away from its owner’s grasp. “You do a lot for me, and I want to repay you how I can.”

“If you really want to repay me, you can explain to Luna and Celestia that the re-do from last night totally wasn’t my fault,” she laughed — and then the laugh changed to a groan of relief when the thumbs pushed into the bottom of her foot. “Ooh… wow, okay, this is way better than me doing it, for sure!”

“My mom taught me,” Sunset laughed as she worked on her pressure points. Her skin was as soft there as on her arms, and while she felt she should have expected that to be the case, she didn’t. “Reflexology, or whatever. Are… are Luna and Celestia mad at me?”

“No, of course not. There aren’t really mad. It’s… complicated. Whenever we have a summoning reversal, there’s a bit of a backlash that feeds back into the conduit for the spell.”

“….Okay?” Whatever that meant. Frowning, Sunset thought about that. Too late, it seemed; if she had really considered how saying she was dissatisfied with the job might affect Twilight, it would have been pretty obvious already. She was still grateful to have saved Rainbow, but she would have liked to know in advance if Twilight could get in trouble for it, or have something bad happen. Then again, she had been pretty irate at the time… even if the goddess would have properly warned her, Sunset doubted she would have listened.

“I’m really sorry,” she finally whispered.

“Nah,” Twilight sighed, her head leaning over onto her elbow as Sunset kept working. “You… this makes the whole thing worth it, trust me.”

“Doing my best, anyway. Switch?” They did, and now Twilight was lying on the couch with her legs gently crossed, eyes closed in relaxation. “I doubt this can really make up for… uh, backlashing magic into your spell conduit?” Wow, real technical there, Sunny. Way to make magic sound kinky. “Is… there something else I can do? Like, write a letter to Celestia, or something?”

Twilight snorted, “Seriously, you’re fine. It happens once in a while. There’s nothing we can do about it. Even Celestia gets redos from time to time -- although she gets summoned so infrequently such a ratio is negligible. There’s just… one small thing I should mention.” One of her eyes opened very slightly, as if to gauge her friend’s emotional state, then closed again. “I… can’t let it happen very often. Each time we cast a time reversal, the conduit is damaged a little bit more. If it gets too damaged, you won’t be able to contact me anymore.”

“What?” The foot dropped from her hands to bounce against her calf. “You— what do you mean, ‘can’t’? Like you won’t be allowed to come if I summon? For serious?!”

Nodding, Twilight frowned across at her, looking both guilty and resigned. “Sorry. I only told you because you asked; we normally keep that bit to ourselves. But you’re entitled to know if you ask.”

“I… I don’t… how? Will Celestia stop you from responding, or something?” Sunset gasped loudly. “You won’t be fired, will you?!”

Snorting again, Twilight rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I can’t be ‘fired’ from being a princess or a goddess. It’s…” she paused slightly, considering her words. When she finally decided, her explanation came slowly; deliberate. “The conduit that opens the bridge between our worlds is not permanent. Each time it’s used, it’s weakened just a little bit. And the more magic we use, the more it is damaged. Time magic is powerful… far more powerful than a simple glamour or a memory charm. If we use it too much, then we run the risk of the conduit breaking beyond repair. We cannot allow that, so instead, once the conduit reaches a certain point of damage, we will seal it off completely.”

“Oh.” Sunset nodded slowly, considering Twilight’s words. “And once you do, you…”

“We will not be able to be summoned anymore,” the goddess finished. “For good.”

“I… see…” She didn’t really, but couldn’t really complain.

“Listen, you’re fine!” Twilight continued, sitting up a bit and gripping her wrist. “We are fine — you haven’t ruined anything! What we typically do is have a set limit of three rewinds per summoner. Once they hit the third, we cut them off and don’t answer any further summons. That way, we can continue coming here so long as we don’t mess things up with too many different summoners. Honestly, we really do our best to make sure we don’t have to cut anypony off unless they are really super picky.”

Frustrated, both with herself and with the whole situation, Sunset picked Twilight’s foot back up and started kneading furiously. “No. No, that totally won’t happen — I’m never telling you I’m dissatisfied again. You’re gonna make me so satisfied, okay?”

“Really?” An odd keening moan floated out of the goddess’ throat, and she laughed at the tail end as she sank back into the couch. “Keep that up and… wow, you may get that wish granted.”

“What?!” Then she cleared her throat once she heard how sharp her reply had been. “I mean… uh, what do you mean?”

Smiling lopsidedly, Twilight turned her knees from one side to the other, sliding her hands up behind her head. “You did tell me you’ve never dated, but you’re a smart, kickass chick who gives one hell of a massage. Boys are missing out — and by ‘boys’, I mean the ones that aren’t a Blueblood or a Snails, of course. The ones who deserve someone like you.”

“Somebody who’s going to break a magical conduit?” she scoffed.

“Somebody who could make anyone the happiest, luckiest shit in existence.”

There was a shift. It was negligible, almost, but suddenly Sunset felt hyper aware of everything around her. Twilight lay on the couch, gazing into her with those startling purple eyes as earnestly as anyone had ever looked at her. Yes, she’d found good friends before, but none of them seemed to cut through her heart in a way that left her totally speechless. Alas, no potential boyfriends — even Flash before she learned why he was so aloof — came even remotely close.

And she was sitting there across from her, massaging her, kneading the soft skin between her toes. If she were to be honest with both herself and Twilight, before the sudden and jarring shift in her perceptions, she had been contemplating an offer to move up to her neck next. Where after that? Her back, her shoulders? Or would it be her own turn afterward?

“Thanks, I guess,” she finally murmured in a hushed voice as she looked down at Twilight’s toes so as to avoid that piercing gaze. They were painted a pristine plum color, and Sunset inspected them as a sudden thought occurred to her, and the desire for a distraction spurred her to voice it. “Hey… do you mind if I ask you about something?”

“You can do whatever you want,” Twilight purred softly.

“Where… did the scars on your legs come from?”

Almost instinctively, her leg twisted as if to hide them, even though they could still be seen from the top of the slit in her dress. “What scars?”

“Don’t do that. I mean, if you don’t feel like answering, that’s one thing, and I totally—”

‘“No, you’re right,” she cut Sunset off — pulling her legs again and turning to sit more properly, staring across at the dark TV. Her dress rumpled from the motion. “You… deserve better than lies, and I hate lies. I’m just… I don’t want to get into that. Not when we could be doing something more fun.”

“It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Sighing, she scooted closer and nudged her friend’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re okay, Sunny. You asked a simple question, that’s all.” Then she smiled back at her with a little more confidence, taking a deep breath and letting it out. “Glad we had this chat -- and thanks for the magic fingers. What are we up to tonight? Soul Calibur? Fallout? Seeing who can eat the most cookies without throwing up?”

Laughing, Sunset allowed her stomach to unclench the tiniest amount as she considered their options. No. She had already promised herself that they wouldn’t just waste her valuable time anymore.

“Nothing that disgusting — and you have an unfair advantage with your super magical stomach. Tonight… we go after the big fish.”

All at once, the slightly moody, slightly amiable grin turned as dark and sinister as it ever had, and Sunset felt her heart speed up at being so close to something so deliciously malicious. She was the lucky one to have found a bestie this awesome — especially one who had the bonus of magical powers.

“Snails. Oh, yes… that fuckboy won’t know what hit him. I’ve been saving some ideas for him, so tell me which you like best.”

“Okay… you have anything especially traumatizing up your sleeve?”

Twilight’s grin, if possible, grew wider and even more unnerving. "Oh baby, you have no idea. Have I ever mentioned an old friend of mine by the name of Pinkie Pie?”

Chapter 13: Smile, Smile, Smile!

Author's Notes:

A/N: As always, just a little warning for those squeamish in this chapter. Pinkie Twi can get a little... overzealous. Not enough for me to add a 'Gore' tag but... even I did a double take after writing a couple bits.

Cupcakes, anyone?

Hah.

“Get out of our party, then!” Snails shouted into his top-of-the-line headset as he slashed at the digital monster with his bastard sword. “Nobody wants your whiny ass anyway!”

“You should have supported me!” the higher-pitched voice shot back. “Everybody was coming around to attack me, where were you guys?”

“You are playing support, you newfag! Damn it, why did we even invite you to raid with us?”

A sigh floated out from one of his other regular party members. “Should we just log out and log back in? Try the raid from the beginning and switch up the people in--”

“No, we see this through to the end — even if we have some loser gaying it up over here.”

“Listen, I told you guys I was a noob and you told me it wouldn’t matter! Besides, I did what you told me — I spammed my cure spell!”

Sighing, Snails actually stopped to pinch the bridge of his nose, even though he knew it would probably only result in getting killed onscreen. “You… weren’t supposed to spam them all before the battle even started!”

“Yeah, then you just ran around doing nothing,” his buddy chimed in. “Epic fail.”

The younger voice shouted, “Screw you guys! I’m out of here, I don’t need this shit!”

Then, the elven avatar of the other played winked out of existence. It was true that it left their party without a healer, but then again, the newbie hadn’t been much of a healer in the first place.

They made it through the raid, though it took a lot of running around and spamming potions. In the end, there was a chest, and they divvied the loot as was wisest and most appropriate, and eventually teleported back to the most recent waypoint in town.

“Great,” Snails sighed, wiping the sweat from his clammy brow. As he raised a can of cola to his lips, he asked, “Anybody down for some resource-gathering?”

“Nah, I’m out.”

“Alright, Grain, alright. What about you, Frick?”

“Gone, too; the wife will be home in ten minutes — we wrapped this up just in time.”

Together, he and Grain responded with a well-deserved, “Gaaaaaaay!”

“Yeah, whatever,” he sighed as there were various thuds of him adjusting equipment to put it away as he logged out. “Later, losers.”

“Later.” Snails sighed morosely. “Fine, I guess everybody sucks tonight.”

“Not me,” came a giggle. “…and not yet!”

Snails felt his heart melt, as it always did with Princess Sparkles addressed him directly. After the first hour of obligatory male hazing didn’t seem to even put a dent in her confidence, he and his other friends had to confess themselves suitably impressed with their newest addition to their raiding team. Her character was a pretty decent nuke, and she knew how to use her. Plus her voice was the stuff his dreams were made up; vivacious, energetic, and one-hundred percent sexy.

“Yeah? You… want to go into the dark and scary woods with me?”

“Who wouldn’t?” But she laughed and said in a less provocative voice, “Are any of you other wimps coming?”

“Sorry,” said Flim, the only party member who hadn’t spoken up yet. “Sleep, then running with Flam in the morning. You all know I’m trying to make the team.”

“Real life sports? Fuck that noise.” But Snails was kidding, of course. With a sigh, he waited until the others had all logged out before he said, "Come on, Princess… let’s get shit done!”

An hour passed. In that time he and the princess thrashed many zombies, ghouls and giant spiders, racking up experience points and gold to buy better weapons. Part of him couldn’t believe that this was really a girl playing with him, as easily as her fire spells dispatched every enemy she faced, but he was also insanely optimistic. After all, she’d already accepted his friend request — she was going to party with him a lot more often. Maybe, the two of them could have a private party someday.

Of course, he’d been down that road before. Dozens and dozens of female avatars ran by his character in the game every day, and they never panned out. Sure, he checked them out, but half the time they were just dudes who wanted pretty sprites — and the other half, girls who were real bitches. That was the last thing he needed in his life, so far as he was concerned, he was better off without their nagging and judgement.

Finally, the time came for sleep. Not the time that would be wisest — that had blown past before he even went into the woods with her. Now, he was barely able to keep his eyes open, and if he resisted any longer we was going to be a complete trainwreck in class the next morning.

“I’m… really sorry about this,” he told her through a yawn. “But it’s been great. Like, seriously, you aren’t like all those other girls.”

“I’m not, huh?” she asked lightly as she stood in front of the vault, stashing some treasures and withdrawing others.

“Way different. In a good way, though; you don’t get all butthurt over nothing.”

Giggling over the connection, she said, “Yeah, I know what you mean. Like rah rah, girl power and all that. But seriously, don’t they ever get tired of doing it all the time? I mean, like, take a day off and have a cookie. Geez louise.”

“Thank you! I get so fucking tired of that Feminazi shit.” Did he dare? This was not his field of expertise, but he also didn’t mind taking a shot; after all, it’s not as if he had anything to lose. “Hey, uh… you want my Discord ID, maybe?”

“Pshhh, I never fuck with Discord.” She paused for a moment. “Hah! Inside jokes. Anyway, I have too many comics to read; I couldn’t get through them all with my phone blowing up constantly.”

His heart thumped even faster. “You read comics, too?!”

“Um, yes?” She was still laughing.

“Okay, okay — name your top three.” There were too many fake geek girls out there; he had to make sure she was the genuine article.

“The three B’s — Buffy, New Fifty-Two Batman, and New Fifty-Two Batwoman. Oh, the sequel Buffy seasons only. The other stuff was cute, but not worth collecting, am I right?”

“Not a Marvel fan?”

“X-Men is kick ass, but the rest of it’s just not my thing. No hate, just less interest.”

“But you’ve seen the Avengers movies and all.”

“Of course. Any comic movie in theater is worth my money — well, unless it’s Green Lantern.”

Grinning, Snails leaned back in his chair. “Man, I’d even watch Green Lantern with you, or any other crappy comic book adaptation. Would be great to have somebody I can tear it apart with.”

“We’re actually showing the old Captain America from the eighties at my comic shop tonight… well, I guess tomorrow morning actually; it’s a midnight screening—” She laughed her high-pitched laugh again. “—just for that reason.”

“Seriously?! There doing that here, too, at New and Old Page Comics.”

“Wait…” For the first time since they had partied up, she sounded shocked instead of perpetually excited about everything. “Like, are you messing with me right now?”

“Huh?”

“That’s where I work!”

Both of his eyebrows shot up into his messy hair. “You work here? In my town — at my comic book store?! Shut the fuck up!”

“I’m super serious! Deadly serious!” There was some more laughing, and shifting of her microphone before she responded again — it sounded like she was probably moving around in her chair. “This is so crazy ... you have to come tonight! I mean, I was scheduled to run the counter, but they won’t care if I take off for the movie — we won’t be selling much during it other than snacks, trust me!”

“Are you…” Then he stopped himself. In his complete amazement and shock at finding out he was in the same town as this incredible girl, he had been about to ask if she was asking him on a date… but experience had taught him that there was no point in doing that so early on.

Especially recent experience. Running his fingertips over the very light scab that remained on his cheek — the last of its kind, the others having healed by then — he instead finished with, “Are you sure? Like, I’m just some random from the internet.”

“You’re Snails and Great and Powerful.” She giggled again. “Okay, but your name really is Snails, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. And yours is really Princess Sparkle, right?”

Still giggling — a good sign — she told him, “Pinkie.”

“Pinkie? Like, Pinkie-Pinkie?”

“Yeah, I get that alot — it’s actually Pinkamena, but if you call me that I will end you in the most horrible way imaginable.”

Snails wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

“It’s… a nice name.”

“Thanks! So… I have to jump off here and get ready for my shift, but will I see you there?”

“Milady, wild horses could not keep me from your side.”

“Sir, flattery will get you everywhere!” she snorted. “Alright, later skater!”

“Later.” Then their party was devoid of anyone else, so he logged out as well. Now that he was wired and awake, he wondered what he could possibly to do get ready for his ‘movie-date’.

Captain America was everywhere when he strolled into the comic book shop an hour later. The usual suspects were already gathered around the big plasma screen in the ‘lounge’ area. A few people he wasn’t quite as familiar with, like the girl with pink hair and large eyes, munching her way through a bowl of popcorn. He wasn’t sure who else to expect, but he figured more would trickle in as the movie wore on.

“Not much of a crowd tonight,” Gus, the owner of the shop, grunted as his thumbs flew over the buttons of his DS. He’d barely looked up enough to figure out it was Snails approaching.

“Yeah, well, it is midnight. And that’s fine by me.”

“Gotta say, I’m surprised to see you here. You never come to these events.”

Inwardly groaning at the slight dig, he shrugged and said, “What can I say? I got a date.”

That made Gus do something he absolutely never did: pause his game to look at someone. “You? Have a date? You.”

Though the implication was no fun, Snails knew he had chosen the right time and method to debut this information. It instantly took the heat off him for not supporting the shop often enough.

“Yup, me.”

“Well,” the older man said with an arched eyebrow as his eyes lowered back to his screens. “She must be… something else. Maybe even from another world.”

“She’s something, alright. Actually, she works here.”

“Oh yeah? Gem? ‘Cause she’s off tonight.” No answer. “Pinkie?”

“Yep, it’s Pinkie.”

Another pause — this really was an uncommon day. “You have a date with Pinkie.”

“I do.”

“Input error. You do not. You can’t; because Pinkie is actually way, way too awesome for any of us losers. What the hell did you do, win a bet?”

“Hey, I can get dates, too. I get them all the time! You don’t even know how many chicks I have lined up!” It was a blatant lie, but he couldn’t help attempting to save face. “Either way, I have a date with Pinkie and you don’t. So shut up, okay?”

Shrugging, Gus went back to his game. “Fine. Whatever. But you might want to stop wasting time distracting me from shiny scrubbing and get your ass over there.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s waiting for you,” he grunted, just barely nodding over to two seater sofa without taking his eyes off the game.

Nodding at the pink-haired girl he’d noticed earlier, who was presently talking to another guy about something.

Nodding, at Pinkie.

About two minutes later, Gus finally growled, “Dude. What?”

“Huh?”

“You’re still here, casting ominous shadows into my periph. What’s your malfunction?”

“Oh. Well. I’m working up to it. I just…”

“You didn’t know someone that hot dated losers like you? Maybe you’re a case study.”

There was no way Snails could say anything to that without coming off sounding both a loser and an asshole. He needed time; he needed an opportunity to work out the shock to his system. Here he was, minutes away from talking to the very girl he had spend hours with adventuring. What was he supposed to do? He’d barely even spoken to many girls in person before — well, other than the brief interactions with customers at Subway, given someone directions once. And now he was supposed to sit next to a girl for the length of an entire movie. A bad one, at that. Not Green Lantern bad, but damn… it was right up there.

“Look,” his almost-friend sighed as he finally set the game down for a moment. “You’re not fooling anyone with your whole ‘suave mother fucker’ act. It’s okay that you have no idea what you’re doing with girls. Most of us here don’t. However, it stands to reason that your chances of succeeding with her will be zero percent if you don’t actually go over there and initiate the mating ritual.”

“Maybe I changed my mind,” Snails muttered.

“So then you’re still in here because…” No response. His behavior seemed to irritate Gus a lot more than usual — which is to say, at all. “Enough! Go do it, go fail epically so we can all laugh at you!”

“Hey, I’m not gonna fail. You have no way of knowing I will, so take that back!”

“Negative. You will fail and the rest of us will level up from your demise.”

Fired up at last, he flipped Gus the bird and marched over, plopping right down next to Pinkie in the seat the other guy had vacated. He folded his arms and filled his face with enough determination to impress even the most serious of video game protagonists.

“Oh!” she chirped in surprise. “Hi there!”

“Hello!” Once realizing he had nearly snapped that at her, he cleared his throat and said in a calmer tone, “I mean… hi.”

“I’m so sorry, but this seat is saved. Waiting for somebody.”

Definitely her, then. He had doubted Gus’ knowledge, even though he was almost always right, but there could be no mistaking her chipper voice. A small part of him that was hanging on to hope in vain completely died then and there. Especially when he saw that her name tag said, “Pinkie Pie”, complete with a tiny sticker of the her face, all cartoonized, in the corner.

“Yeah, um… that would be me. I’m Snails.”

“What? Oh!” That seemed to be her catchphrase. “Oh, I’m sorry, you sounded kind of… super, duper intense. I totally didn’t recognize your voice!”

“Sorry about that,” he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. “I guess, to be honest, I’ve never…”

“Never what?”

Luckily, his brain had caught up with his mouth before he blurted, “Never gone out with a real, 3-D girl before.” No way would that have ended in anything other than shame and disaster. “Never, uh, been on a blind date! Not with somebody from a raiding party, anyway!”

“First time for everything!” Her laugh was musical and good-natured, just like when they always partied up. “Well, you want some popcorn? It’ll be a good way to move to a page break until the movie starts!”

As he shrugged and reached for some popcorn, Snails breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this would go okay after all.

And it did — partly because the movie started about one minute after he popped the first piece of popcorn into his mouth. Then they both could both sort of turn off their brains and watch the bad movie. Of course, they did keep up a running commentary about how boring it truly was, and how Red Skull looked like he was made of plastic, but no deeper thoughts were required.

By the time the credits rolled, he was beginning to feel slightly more comfortable around Pinkie. As the rest of the crowd began to filter out, as she shop would be closing up soon, he offered to help her close up.

“Sorry, but that’s against store policy,” she told him with her tell-tale giggle. “But hey, if you hang out at the coffee house around the corner, I can meet you there in, like… twenty minutes?”

“Awesome! I’ll, uh, meet you there!”

Against all odds, she showed up in a little under half an hour, as promised. Nametag gone, she seemed a lot more at ease than she had in the store. She went straight up to the counter, placed her order, then sat down at his table.

“Sorry, I tried to go super fast,” she sighed as she plopped her candy-yellow purse — decorated with little balloons — in the corner. “Most of the stuff was already taken care of by Gus before he left, but there was this stack of new figurines… anyway.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled nervously as he slid his hot chocolate closer. Secretly, he was glad he got there first so she wouldn’t see him ordering something besides coffee.

“Alright, so.” She leaned forward and grinned widely. “This is your first time spending time with a real girl, isn’t it?”

All it took was him freezing like a deer in headlights to confirm it for her. As she was sitting back, nodding in a sort of resigned bemusement, he finally unfroze and managed to squeak out, “Am I that obvious?”

“A little, yeah.” She laughed again, but it wasn’t a teasing one — just regular, mirth-filled giggle. “Hovering over there by your buddy Gus and trying to figure out if you should really dive in the deep end or not.”

“Well, I mean…” Snails muttered, cradling the cup of hot cocoa with both hands. “You sounded nice on voice chat, but when I finally saw you in person… I mean, I don’t know.”

“Yeah? Well, at least I sound nice.” When he only started sweating more, she laughed and jostled his arm with her hand. “Hey, it’s okay! I don’t mind!”

Again, a nervous laugh. “You sure? I mean, I guess I’m not surprised that you actually are as nice as you sound in person.”

“Thanks,” she giggled. And then, her name was called, so she dashed up to the counter to get her cup and her large slice of cake. He loved a woman with a sweet tooth.

The conversation wore on, and though he thought he stepped in it a few more times, mostly Snails managed to keep from completely offending her. Mostly, that could be attributed to her being almost impossible to offend; even when he used the phrase “baby got back”, she just laughed again. What a breath of fresh air, especially compared to his co-worker. If ever there was a raging bitch, it was her.

By the time they were walking back to his car, which thankfully was running as well as could be expected again, he found himself wishing the night would continue. Obviously they could always make another date, but something told him the magic of this one would be easier to recapture the longer they were together on the first night. That, and he wondered if he might make it to at least first base.

And he got his wish; she was going to take the late-night bus across town. He was more than happy to drive her home, even if it was about ten minutes out of his way. That was just what you did for a lady.

“...and I told him it was totally overrated, too,” he was finishing saying as he pulled up to the curb and put the car into park. “Way better than the prequel, obviously, but still, a crappy piece of media.”

“They’re just different versions of the same movie,” Pinkie agreed patiently, but her lips were quirked up into her perpetual grin. “Nobody could really improve on the original, no matter how much money they put into it.”

His lip curled slightly. “Eh… I was never really into the older movies. Not saying it wasn’t good, but all that stuff was just too melodramatic.”

“You got me there. They should have kept the director on a tighter lease. Still a fun pair of movies, though.”

“Agree to disagree.” Then he sighed and glanced up and down the street. “Well, this is your stop, right?”

Nodding, she shrugged and pointed her thumb vaguely out the window. “I’d invite you up, but it’s an ungodly mess; I’ve never been much of a cleaner.”

“Living here in the ghetto, I wouldn’t be, either.” Another groan. “I mean… not to say you live in the ghetto, or anything…”

She laughed again. “Nah, don’t worry about it; this is totally the ghetto, for realsies! Well, as ghetto as this town gets, anyway.” Grinning wider now, she reached for the door handle, then hesitated to look at him steadily. “Had a great time — we gotta do this again.”

The pause. This was it; she was giving him the green light. He was sure of it. Letting him drive her home was questionable — it could have been a friend-only thing, but this was clear.

“I… had a great time, too.”

Her eyes flashed down to the hand that suddenly slid onto her thigh, then back up to his face. “Hey, uh… what’s this?” Her grin remained fixed in place, but her eyes were suddenly wary.

“My offer,” he said as smoothly as he could, moving his hand up and down the denim-clad leg in slow motions. “We don’t have to let the night end just yet.”

“Uhhh, yeah… we kinda do,” she laughed again — weaker this time. Clearly, she was less comfortable than she had been before. “I have work in the morning; I just took this shift tonight because Gem called in sick.”

“Right, right. But we could have a little fun before you go to sleep. Just for a little while.”

For a second, as his hand trailed up so that his fingers brushed against where her legs met, he thought he might really be getting somewhere. But then she visibly squirmed and pushed his hand away.

“Yeah… sorry, but… I’m not good with that right now.”

“Don’t fight it, okay? You’ve been into me since we met -- in person, at least. Maybe you don’t think I can treat you like you deserve, but I swear to you I can. You’ll see.”

“What will I see— oh!”

Her ‘oh!’ was a visceral response from her when his hand found its way back between her thighs. Her entire body went rigid, and she only managed to sit stock still before he was leaning in to take her lips with his own, kneading them together. They shared a beautiful minute between one another, a moment that Snails would look back on for years as magical.

Of course, that was before she pushed him away with one hand, her bright purple eyes wide. “No, you… what do you want? I thought…”

“Don’t think — just go with your instincts.” Again, he moved in to kiss her, but she turned her head aside this time. “Come on, baby, what’s wrong?”

“Just… don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but I’m kind of… a virgin.” Before he could respond, she was already saying, “And I know, I know it shouldn’t matter, but it does to me!”

“When you say ‘virgin’... do you mean, like, you haven’t had sex? At all?!”

“Yeah. I mean, what did you think I meant? You think I’d joke about that?”

‘“But you’re… I mean, girls like you aren’t virgins. That just… doesn’t happen.” His heart went out to her, even as her lip started to curl, and he quickly said, “Hey, if you want to take care of that right now…”

That finally caused her to laugh again, but harshly. “Wait, you mean right here in your car? Seriously? I don’t think so, that’s — I mean, really! I’d at least ask you up, even if my place is a mess!”

“Well, I think this could be fun, yeah. Or we could get in the back seat. You look like more of a back seat girl, am I right?”

“I’m not an anything girl!” Running a hand over her face as she stared out the window, she muttered, “Damn, but that is some bucking serious ego-tripping you got going on there! I didn’t believe it but… wow!”

“Fine, whatever.” He was surly now, the sudden shift of her mood not helping in the least. She seemed like a totally different person now. “Didn’t mean to keep you from your sleep. Goodnight.”

“What?” Her pink eyebrows lifted into her bangs. “Are you serious with this? You’d really kick me out of your car for not having sex with you in the backseat?”

“Hey, you don’t want me up in your apartment, and you seem to think I’m so disgusting you won’t kiss me down here. I don’t know, I thought we were doing great, but apparently ‘great’ isn’t good enough for some people. So typical.”

“Fine,” she grumbled as she struggled with the seatbelt. “For fucks sake… I finally have a good time with a guy who isn’t a completely shithead, and what does he turn out to be at the end of the night — oh, right! A complete shithead. Just what I fucking wanted. Serves me right for being optimistic.”

Maybe she had a point. As far as he was concerned, he hadn’t done anything wrong, but he did hate to end the night on such an awful note. “Alright, alright. Don’t—”

“Oh!”

That turned out to be the last ‘Oh!’ of the evening from Pinkie. Just after opening the door, she had attempted to exit, but wound up standing too quickly -- and misjudged the distance and angle of the car’s opening. The thump of her head against the frame was audible and painful-sounding, and watching her crumble back into her seat was even worse. He sprang toward her, hovering over her and watching her carefully. Soon afterwards, her uneven breaths fell into a pattern of slow, shallow breathing. So she was fine — just unconscious.

But the sigh of relief was accompanied by a wrinkle of confusion across his brow. Now, Snails had something he had never counted on having: access to a woman’s body. Sure, she wasn’t his ideal type, but she wasn’t bad to look at, and he’d never gone further than he had with that blonde bitch from a couple weeks back. What was there to lose?

His hand drifted toward her, then pulled back. This probably wasn’t okay. Sure, she would never remember it, but didn’t even thinking about doing anything to an unconscious woman make him a major creep? Just because nobody would know didn’t make it right.

But then he remembered something he’d read on a forum post about women generally wanting sex more than men did; maybe if he could just get her started, her instincts would kick in and start taking over. She had been enjoying his company before he started pushing, so she was clearly interested. Maybe she just needed another little push. And he wouldn’t go very far with her unable to enjoy it with him anyway.

“Hey, wake up,” he began to say softly as he caressed her stomach, his hand moving in gentle circles. “Your prince is ready to rescue his damsel.” No response. His breath grew ragged and his heart began to speed up as he moved up to her chest, still just gently caressing. “Hey… this would be a lot more exciting if you’d join me.”

Nothing. Weren’t most people supposed to wake up when they were touched? He remembered reading that somewhere. His other hand came up to shake her shoulder a few times, and she make a quiet little groaning noise — which was a positive sign, at least — but still did not awaken.

“Pinkie, you’re missing all the fun,” he told her in a shaky tone, finally cupping her bosom and kneading it gently, moving the fingers inward. He’d really been missing out — they felt fantastic! He hadn’t come into contact with one since a cousin of his fell on top of him five years ago, and that had been too brief to get a true impression of what they were like. Maybe he could slide her shirt up, see what one looked like up close and personal…

“Pinkie’s not here right now,” came a sudden voice from somewhere in the car.

Snails jumped, his hand leaping from the girl’s form as if it were electrified. “Wha—”

“Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeep…”

Blinking, he swallowed and watched as Pinkie slowly lifted her head, her eyes swiveling around in her head, taking in her surroundings. She seemed to notice where she was after a few moments, and then turned to settle her gaze on him. The mirth and constant amusement that filled her eyes before was now conspicuously gone — in its place was a cool confidence, and a kind of stillness that was vastly different than she had before.

This… was this still the same girl he watched a movie with not one hour ago?

“No message? Oh well. I would have made sure she got it, too.”

“I… what?” he stammered, his heart pounding in his chest. “P-Pinkie?”

Her head tilted as she regarded him. “Not quite. But close enough.” Then she shifted, turning more towards him and bracing herself between her seat and the dashboard. “I’m… Pinkamena.”

Pinkamena. That name should mean something to him, Snails knew. But for the life of him, he couldn’t remember why. He could only stare in shock as the girl crept towards him over the center console, her eyes cool as polished amethyst, and forced him back against the inside of the car door.

“Do you want me, Snails?”

The question was so sudden, so blunt, so direct, that the only thing he could do was nod dumbly in response.

“Are you sure?” she asked again, something trembling in her voice. “You want to… please me?”

“I…” he swallowed against a dry throat. “Yeah. I do.”

“Do you Pinkie Promise?”

A pinkie promise? Sure, he could do that. His first thought was to hold up his little finger — a display he vaguely recalled from childhood — but instead, he opened his mouth and the words came spilling out, unbidden. “C-cross my heart, hope to fly… stick a cupcake in my eye.”

What… just what kind of promise what that?

But it seemed to work, as after he said the words she nodded, and, humming softly, reached over to pluck Snails’ right hand from its death-grip on the seat cushion.

“Shh… relax,” Pinkamena whispered as she examined the hand, turning it over this way and that. “You’re too tense. Do you like to sing?”

“I… what?” Snails’ voice was raspy, his tongue cottony and dry.

“Sing,” the girl repeated patiently. She turned his hand over and slowly traced a fingernail along the inside of his palm. “Want me to sing to you? Singing makes everything better. It makes everyone smile.”

“Y-yeah.” It was the only thing he could say.

The corners of her lips curling up into a small, vulpine grin, Pinkamena’s tongue darted out and touched the tip of Snails’ middle finger. Then she softly sang,

“Sing… sing a song, sing out loud. Sing out strong. Sing of good things, not bad. Sing of happy, not sad~”

Her eyes flashed up to his and, before he could even voice a word of protest, parted her lips and slipped his finger into her mouth.

“Haa…” he involuntarily groaned, his entire body seizing up. What… in God’s name? This was far more than he had ever dared to dream about! He could… he could feel her tongue! It was touching his — touching his… finger! He squirmed and whimpered against his will, and barely managed to swallow against a dry throat as the girl continued to hum her song while giving his finger the most erotic experience of his entire life.

And then…

Ca-runch.

….What?

It felt like a sharp jerk — a tug just past the second knuckle. There wasn’t any pain that he could feel, but his eyes didn’t lie.

Pinkie… Pinkamena... had bitten his finger off.

“Wh—what…?” he breathed, but heart lurching up into his chest as he watched her jaw work at the piece of meat and bone. His piece of meat and bone. Or… what used to be his. He watched, totally numb, as she chewed, little crunching noises emanating from her mouth as her teeth worked at his phalanges and muscle.

And then the pain started.

“Ha… haa… Haaaaaaa!!!” he screamed, jerking his hand back and cradling it close to his chest. His legs lifted trying to force Pinkamena away, but she easily slid between then and pressed her nose against his.

Oh, God in Heaven… he could smell his blood on her breath!

“What’s wrong, Snails?” the girl asked and chewed a final time and spat out the remains of his finger to the side. “Is… is it something I said?” Her eyes were a glittering purple, blinking in concern as she studied him.

“G-get a-fucking-way from me!” he screeched, trying to bat at her with his uninjured hand.

“Why?” came her voice, but not from her lips. They didn’t come from her mouth because she had suddenly latched onto his other hand, kissing his palm softly.

Oh… oh no...

“Heeeeeee!” he keened, writhing against the girl ineffectually. “P-please, stop! Lemme go! Lemme go!”

“You’re not going anywhere.” the voice said again, from all around him. “You promised to please me. You Pinkie Promised!”

“The fuck I did, I—” But he fell silent as she pulled away from his hand again, blood shining on her lips and chunks of flesh in her teeth as she grinned widely up at him. It painted a horrifying visage, and it only got worse as she started singing again.

“Sing… sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long.”

“S-stop singing!” he bleated, clutching his bleeding and broken hand to his body as he tried to twist away from her. “Just fucking stop!”

But she didn’t stop. Her voice grew even louder as her bloody face loomed in above his, her bright, cheery voice crawling into his ears like a parasitic worm.

“Don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear… just sing…”

“No! Stop it! It hurts… It hurts!”

“Sing a song…”

“I said stop it!” He tried one last time, putting all his pain and fear into his voice.

“Why should I?” came the voice from everywhere. “You caused this. You corner women, push yourself on them when they’re in your car. It’s the same thing. This is where the magic happens, isn’t it?”

“W-what?” he groaned, trembling as his hand throbbed in pain. “It… it’s not like that… they want it, they just can’t let themselves w…”

“Just like you want this. You want to please me… you Pinkie Promised me.”

“No! That’s not the same! what are—”

“It’s the same thing to me.”

A few quick, deep breaths passed as he tried to gather his wits and push past the pain in his hand. Futility personified. “Alright! Alright, God, I’m sorry, I didn’t… you know I wasn’t going to do that, right?” Silence. “Right?!”

“Who are you trying to convince?” Pinkamena asked, her eyes flinty. With deliberate slowness, she reached down and pulled his undamaged hand back to her lips. “You Pinkie Promised, you know. Nobody ever breaks a Pinkie Promise…”

She parted her lips and drew another finger inside, just past the second knuckle.

“L-let me go! Seriously! I swear I’m not a rapist! I wasn’t going that far! I never would!”

“Going past the word ‘no’ is always too far, Snails. Always,” the voice echoed all around him.

“What…” he couldn’t even move -- all his attention was focused on the finger still in Pinkamena’s mouth. He prayed she would believe him. “What are you gonna do?”

Again the voice came from everywhere — and nowhere. “Maybe nothing. Or maybe you’ll be forced to be stuck here in your car and have your pleas ignored.“

“That’s—no! I don’t want that!”

“Nonsense. You do want it. All you need is a little… push.”

Crunch.

“Ahhhhh!” He screamed, jerking his other hand — sans one finger — back against his chest. His hands were slick with blood and searing with pain, and yet, somehow, all he could concentrate on was the burning amethyst eyes of Pinkamena before him. “P-please,” he began to sob. “Let me go, I… swear I wasn’t… and I’ll never do anything again! Not anything like that, I swear to God!”

“God’s not the one doing this.” Her voice was coming from all around, and her eyes were widening impossibly large, as though they were starting to overtake her entire face. He could see himself in her irises, and it was like looking into a horrifyingly bloody mirror.

“Then I swear to whoever — to Satan, the the f-fucking Flying Spaghetti Monster, I don’t care — I just promise!”

Then the pain in his hands ceased. They were still covered in blood, and his fingers were still missing, but the pain was at least gone.

“Swear to the targets you’ve painted on future unsuspecting women. Swear to their shivering, their fear, and their disgust. Swear to the helplessness you inspire within their stomachs every time they get a little ‘push’ past what they want. Swear that you won’t put anyone else in the same position you forced on others… or I forced on you. Swear that you won’t make them feel like you do… right now.”

“Okay, that!” No response. After a few seconds, the pain in his hands returned with a vengeance, and a chill shot down his spine when he felt Pinkie’s breath tickle his ear. Her teeth pinched his lobe, and he shrieked, “I swear! I swear that I won’t ever push anyone too far, ever!” But then, to his horror, her teeth clamped down and tugged — hard. He squealed in pain as his ear tore free from his head, and blood trickled freely down his neck. “Haaaaaa! W-wait! I-I did it! I did what you f-fucking said — you can’t do this!”

“This is what it’s like to have your pleas ignored, Snails,” the voice echoed as he writhed in pain beneath her. “Shhh… don’t worry. We can have a little fun before you go to sleep. Let me sing to you.”

“N...no…” he moaned weakly, wishing more than anything that this wasn’t happening. But as her croons wormed into his remaining ear, he knew — deep down inside — that this was real. That this was actually happening. And there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

“Sing… sing a song. Let the world sing along. Sing of love there could be… sing for you and for me…”

The last thing he saw was Pinkamena looming above him, her mouth opening impossibly wide, her jaw unhinging as if she was going to swallow his entire head. He could smell blood all around him, feel the rank heat from her breath and her long, wet tongue reach out to writhe against his cheek, lapping up the blood from his face like the frosting off a cupcake.

And, perhaps the most horrible thing of all, was that he could still hear her high-pitched laugh, echoing all around him, as her singing continued.

“Sing… sing a song~”

When Snails eventually woke up, it was morning. He was lying across the seats of his car, shivering from the cold; it was just barely that late in the year.

Sitting up made his head pound, but never was he so glad to have just a headache. He was alive. It had been some kind of… fucking stupid dream. Just to confirm, he saw that both his fingers were still whole and attached, and his ear. There was no blood, and all was well.

He did wonder where Pinkie went, but decided she might have accidentally knocked him out at some point and escaped. No real harm done. Still, he swore to give up dating for a little while. Chicks were nothing but trouble.

But the dream was so vivid that he couldn’t shake it all day at work, and still not when he got home. A nightmare. He’d never had more than a handful in his life, and none of them had been even close to that horrific. Maybe he needed to change his diet; quit drinking so much soda, stick to juice. Maybe actually start hitting the gym, like he promised his mother.

When he logged into the game after dinner he checked who was online -- and saw that Princess Sparkles was gone. She wasn’t in the group chat or the guild list, wasn’t in his friends list. It was like her username had never existed. That was definitely weird, but weirder things had happened; she probably just didn’t want to be pawed at by him anymore, and was too uncomfortable to keep gaming with him. After his shitty nightmare, he found it pretty hard to blame her, even though he wished she’d have stuck around. They could have started over, right?

However, when he checked his in-game mail, he had a single new message. The ‘From’ field was blank — which wasn’t supposed to be possible. Deleting it wouldn’t work, and when he switched to his backup account, he had the same message in his inbox, as well. It only contained two things.

The words “Don’t Forget: You Pinkie Promised”, and an audio clip.

He clicked on the file, and listened for a few moments before screaming.

"Sing... sing a song~"

A/N # 2: My first idea was to have Pinkie Twi sing "Singing In The Rain", a la "A Clockwork Orange". But my editor suggested The Carpenters. Much more creepy.

Chapter 14: Well... That Happened.

“Duuuuude, I didn’t know you were a hacker-princess!”

Shrugging with obvious satisfaction, Twilight slowly morphed from the pink-haired, pale-skinned form to her usual poodle skirt and blouse combo. She stretched her arms above her head, making a small noise of pleasure in the back of her throat. Her wings fluttered leisurely as she leaned against the stove. “Oh, I’m not, but I have connections. Easy enough to set up the interface — especially with magic facilitating the whole thing. Without it, I’d have a hard time even figuring out something as asinine as an MMORPG.”

“Yeah, I could see that,” Sunset laughed as she got one of Snips’ beers out of the fridge. For some reason, she felt like celebrating this time; they had finally done it! Finally delivered sweet, sweet retribution to each and every guy who wronged her during that hellish week. That didn’t mean they would never talk again, but it was the end of an era. “Wish I could see the look on his face when he finds that message and can’t get rid of it. Stupid prick.”

“Yeah — you were so right about him. I mean, I clearly said ‘no’ and he was still all over me, and totally justified it in his mind. What a slimeball. And a Marvel fan? Ugh.”

Now Sunset found herself laughing at her for another reason as she retrieved a barely-used bottle opener from one of her drawers. “You’re into comics?”

“Not really, but… one of my previous summoners was a big fan, and really loved the DC universe. Rubbed off on me a little, I guess. Had quite the collection.”

“You guess. Would you want me to grab you some comics sometime?”

“What?!” Then she blanched and quickly said, “Oh, no… don’t be silly, that’s — you don’t have to do that! I can’t take them back with me anyway.”

Rolling her eyes, Sunset cracked open her beer as she said, “Yeah, but you could read it while you’re here. And they’re what, a few bucks? Depending on the series. Not really that big of a deal for me.”

Bashfulness always looked terribly odd on Twilight, but at least she was smiling. “That would be wonderful. I’m definitely not asking you to do it, but—”

“You definitely don’t have to. What are friends for?”

“I… thank you,” Twilight whispered. Both of them shifted awkwardly before she followed up, “So… are you satisfied with your summoning this time around?”

Swallowing down the huge gulp of beer she’d taken, Sunset replied with, “Totally. Are you?”

“Of course.” The raised eyebrow made Twilight snort. “Listen, I’ve had a few years doing this; things don’t always work out perfectly — outside forces come into play and screw shit up, as we both know all too well — but I have gotten pretty good at predicting what will have the best, most lasting results. Is it a crime that I have a little bit of professional pride?”

“Not at all, not at all. Just… sorry, that’s my bad for making it seem like I was judging you.”

“No worries.” Then she examined her nails. “So I guess I’ll be heading out, then. See you soon?”

“No!” As a drip of beer splattered to the floor, Sunset cleared her throat. “I m-mean, do you have to? I figured we could hang out for a bit, watch something stupid on TV.”

“I can’t,” Twilight sighed. “I mean, technically I could since you’re still in control of the summoning, but I got a tug from another summoner while I was finishing off Snails. Sorry, brother, gotta split.”

Pursing her lips, Sunset quickly mopped up the spilt beer with a paper towel. “You don’t say ‘brother’ to a girl. You say ‘bro’ — or ‘bruh’, even. Maybe I should summon you one day and just let you fuck around on Urban Dictionary for a few hours.”

“Maybe, maybe,” she chuckled as she walked toward the bathroom. “I am a pretty quick study.”

“True. So… how does this work, now that we did all the things I first summoned you for? Can I call you still, or is that not allowed?”

“Well…” The squirming was visible. “It would probably be best if you didn’t, but we can’t really stop you as long as you have the life force to bind me here. Eventually Celestia or Luna might intervene if you’re taking time away from other summoners, though. It’s a system we worked out.”

A chill shot through her spine. “Intervene… how? Like… strike me dead with some kind of lightning bolt from the sky?” She could see that happening from an angry goddess.

When Twilight laughed again, it was full and glorious, and she threw her head back as she grasped Sunset’s upper arm for stability. Sunset joined in after a few seconds, and they were breathless and crying by the time it was over.

“Oh, man, you’re the best!” Twilight finally managed to giggle. “Strike you dead — yeah, that’d be great for business! Don’t worry, we need the magic from this world to stabilize the catalyst and keep it from breaking on its own; so it’ll be more like some kind of temporary ban on summoning me.”

“How ‘temporary’ is temporary? A week? A month?”

“Well… we tend to throw down timeframes like… thirty years, but lately we’ve been saying more like a month or two. Depends on how bad the offenses are, especially when compared with current demand. Lucky for you, there just isn’t as much summoning going on since the internet was invented.”

“Really?” Sunset said thoughtfully, taking another drink as she mulled that over. “Huh… I'd figure the internet would make it more likely, since spells could find their way there for anyone to find.”

“Oh, there are, but it balances out, since a lot of the ‘instant gratification’ type requests are much easier to get through the internet than summoning beings from another world.” Her voice dropped slightly as she smirked. “Online porn really helps take the edge off, I hear.”

“Don’t tell me that,” Sunset snorted in mingling disgust and amusement. “I don’t need to be thinking about what you mean by porn taking the edge off.”

“My apologies.” Then she squeezed her arm briefly. “But don’t worry so much. We just did a ‘normal’ summoning tonight, and it usually has to be a ton of summonings without a clear purpose before Luna and Celestia start asking questions.” She paused, tapping her lip with a finger. “Flurry Heart gets into the most trouble with that, actually.”

Though she felt a little silly about it, a huge sigh of relief burst from Sunset at knowing she wasn’t getting anyone in trouble. “If you’re sure… then okay.”

“Yeah. All’s well.” Letting her go, Twilight turned to walk into the backroom, then was standing on the circle. “Alright, I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Wait!”

Dashing forward, she threw her arms around Twilight’s neck and clung to her tightly. Why? Sure, every time they had to part ways she felt a sense of loss, but it had never been so potent this time. Beyond all reason, the goddess seemed to have a way of reducing her emotional state to that of a little lost child. By simply being more open and honest, more available, she had become essential to her very survival. No one since her mother had reached that level of importance — not even Rarity when they were still the best of friends.

“Hey,” Twilight half-laughed as she embraced her back. “Okay, okay, stop buttering me up!”

“I’m not,” she breathed in a shaky murmur. “I just… don’t want you to go yet, I’m sorry!”

“Not really my choice, here.” When Sunset still didn’t let go, her hands slid up her sides and tried to push backward, to literally peel the girl off of her body. “Okay, I can’t hang around anymore — I mean it.”

“Sorry,” Sunset breathed, hating herself, hating how weak and stupid she sounded, hating that she couldn’t just wave like she had every other time before. “I’m… God, go, just hurry.”

Ironically enough, that phrase was what made Twilight forget about leaving for a moment. Leaning in, she examined the face of her client, eyes narrowing in confusion. One of her hands came up and slid along Sunset’s cheek, cupping it gently as she tilted her head to look better into her eyes.

“Whoa… okay, something is up, and not a small something. Do you wanna talk about it?”

“You have to go,” she said in a strangled voice. What was the matter with her?! Why couldn’t she keep it together this time?

“Hey, fuck that. Um… my summoner reported that she was satisfied but looked like she wasn’t being honest, so I had to stay and make entirely sure. That’s close enough to the truth, and it’ll buy me some time.” Leaning closer, so close that her breath could be felt on Sunset’s chin, she continued in a very soft voice, “Is… there something you need to tell me? Something I missed?”

No longer trusting herself to speak, her eyes squeezed shut. For some reason, she didn’t even want to see Twilight anymore. She wanted her gone because something wasn’t the way it should be and she couldn’t figure out what it was. That scared her, a lot. Her mind was racing without getting anywhere, around and around the same tracks. Why couldn’t she think, or breathe?”

“Please… talk to me.” For the first time she could remember, even including the time Rainbow had been murdered in the street, her goddess friend sounded truly scared. “Sunset, I don’t — I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong, so you have to tell me!”

Sunset shook her head.

“Then do something to show me; write it down, or something, I don’t know!”

Needing her to leave conflicted with needing her to stay. The second being unfair was what created the first one, but telling Twilight how badly her heart seemed to demand she not go back to her world was not possible — it wasn’t fair to her, so had no control over that! There were no words that could make that demand anything less than selfish and awful.

So she showed her, as requested. She leaned up and pressed her lips briefly to Twilight’s velvet-soft ones; held them so much longer than she should have, but still tore them away much too soon.

All the while her eyes remained locked closed, sealed off against the reaction she might receive. Hoping the sun would rise at the exact second and banish all the consequences before they happen.

“Oh…”

Stupidly, Sunset just nodded. As if a nod could hope to touch what she had just done.

“Wow… so I, um… I figured wrong. I felt the… but you could never have been -- except that you were, when it… damn.”

Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes as Sunset violently hissed, “Fuck me! Fuck how st— how fucking stupid I am! Fuck my stupid, stupid ass self!”

“I really… do have to go now.” Her voice was hollow -- not the kind of hollow that was cold or unfeeling, but the one in which there was literally nothing. Just a total, complete absence. “Goodnight, Sunset.”

“Please don’t hate me!” she managed to stammer as she felt the buildup of power that indicated Twilight’s normal departure. “I didn’t mean to do — I’m total shit, I’m sorry!”

“I could never hate you, Sunny. Goodnight.”

Thirty minutes passed before Sunset stopped sobbing on the floor of her bathroom enough to open her eyes and check, just to make sure Twilight really did leave. Of course, the room was empty.

What in… God and Celestia’s name… did she just do?

By the time Sunset woke up, it was late afternoon. Many missed calls were waiting for her, along with a few texts from Rainbow letting her know that she had missed both her shift and class. None of that was important.

She had kissed Twilight. Of all the people she could have kissed, actual humans, the only goddess from another world that she actually knew had to be the one her face picked for a suckfest. The thought kept speeding around and around the endless racetrack of her brain.

Did this make her gay, or what? She’d never even kissed a boy before, not seriously. Maybe it didn’t make her anything but a giant idiot.

And then there was Twilight’s reaction. In a way that she couldn’t quite explain, she seemed to be both completely floored and have expected it all along. That was weird, right? Did people normally go around acting like that, or was it a pony thing? Maybe she’d never know that part. After all, she wouldn’t be surprised if Twilight never answered a summon from her again.

What time did she fall asleep? That was another mystery. She hadn’t been paying attention to the time, even though she had finally dragged herself to the living room, then back in the bathroom to throw up. Living room to cry a bit on the couch, bathroom to pee, staring into her reflection in the cracked mirror for another hour. Crying through everything, but then long periods where she just stared blankly, feeling that more tears could come if she let them but just being so tired of the associated movements that she just held them at bay to give her body a rest.

Even though she went over it again and again in her mind, she never figured out when she had stopped viewing Twilight as just a friend-slash-otherworldly-employee. After the second or third summoning? Dinner with her parents? That first time she cried on her? All those times, even right up until she kissed her — a fresh wave of nausea and tears arrived whenever she thought about that bizarre experience — she had only been thinking of Twilight as a good friend and nothing more. It literally made zero sense.

Unless it was just a fluke. That was as likely as anything; she hated the thought of Twilight leaving so much that she… expressed it via mouth-to-mouth? Not an airtight explanation, but better than anything else she had pondered by a long way.

Far, far too late for it to be of any use, she finally thought of the obvious plan — the moment before Twilight had disappeared, she should have announced that she was dissatisfied with her service. Reset the whole night and taken back the kiss. Then again, Twilight would still remember it, wouldn’t she? Besides, she didn’t want her to get into any more trouble than she was. Or… that magical conduit to become any more damaged by her indecisiveness and stupidity. Either way, there was no changing the past now that Twilight had left, so thinking about it was only an exercise in torturing herself.

Even worse than thinking about the implications of her foolish lapse in judgement, that wondering what might become of their friendship after a fuckup like this, was thinking about the moment itself. When she could bring herself to remember the actual feeling, it was so soft and pure, innocent. Twilight hadn’t jerked back in shock, hadn’t thrown her against a wall — she just stood there and let it happen. And physically, at least for the moment in which it occurred, neither one of them seemed all that unhappy about it.

How could they ever face each other again? This was the one thing you could not, should not do with a best friend! Especially not one of the same sex! The lines were supposed to be even clearer there, weren’t they? Of course, that was before being ‘out and proud’ became more the norm in society, and groups like the one Flash attended were in existence on every college campus. Not that she ever had a single thing against them, but there’s a world of difference between supporting them and joining the team.

Gay. Not her, not Sunset Shimmer. Only a week ago, she had still been pining after Flash — lesbians didn’t do that, did they? Of course not. But she did have more or less her only strong attachment to a person — one that bordered on romantic — aimed in Twilight’s direction. The circumstantial evidence was mounting against her with every passing second. Maybe she didn’t have any romantic feelings toward women on a typical day, but being turned down by her coworker and having all those men make unwanted advanced toward her could have easily tipped her over to the queer side of life. Just the mere fact that she had sent her lips after another set that belonged to a female body was proof enough.

Which led to more mirror-staring. Did she look ‘dykey’? No flannel shirt, no undercut or androgynous suit-and-tie, no rainbow bracelets… though, with how Rainbow Dash wore her hair and was admittingly straight as a freeway, that was not saying much. Just a college girl, dressed like a slob. Obviously she wasn’t as high femme as Rarity, but neither did she go out of her way to appear masculine. Maybe there was something to that ‘bisexual’ comment Flash had made off-handedly… not that she knew of any bisexual stereotypes by which to judge her appearance.

Then again, the downside to this activity was that she had to look at her own puffy, ugly eyes, and she quickly ended up going back to the couch. The world could wait for her coming out exclusive until after she felt like a human being again.

But she could not rest. Her brain never stopped going back to the kiss, to the moment that was both magical and terrifying, fantastical and abysmal. Maybe it had only been a few seconds, and in the grand scheme of things it was no big deal, but if some part of herself hadn’t really wanted to make it happen, there would have been nothing. Just another hug, maybe a tearful goodbye. On some level deep down, at least one tiny shred of her soul had wanted to show Twilight in a very physical way that she cared about her. More than she cared about anyone else.

And that thought, more than any other, was the one that shook Sunset to her very core.

As she had been half-expecting, there came a knock about thirty minutes after classes were let out. Twenty seconds after that, another knock, along with an accompanying outcry:

“Sunset? Sunset, are you in there?!”

“Mrarrrrgh,” she groaned beneath her Disney blanket.

“Nice, Frankenstein. Can I come in?”

“Frankenstein’s monster — Doctor Frankenstein is the dude who built him. And fine, fine, get in here before I change my mind.”

There was no hesitation between when the door swung open a crack, just enough to display that Sunset wasn’t in the kitchen but was permanently glued to the sofa, and when Rainbow was sighing and asking, “Alright… what happened?”

“Nothin’.”

“Bull. You look worse that I did a couple days ago.”

Shaking her head, she sat up. Obviously, telling Rainbow or anyone else would be about the hardest thing she’d ever done, and she wasn’t ready for something like that. So instead, she just said, “Just… guy stuff. Kinda. I don’t really wanna talk about it if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, alright. Sorry.”

“It’s cool.”

“Wanna… Netflix and chill?”

“And… chill?” In this situation, where she was tits-deep in the questioning of her own sexuality, that was the craziest thing Rainbow could have asked for. Against her will, she started laughing, and couldn’t stop for a few minutes. Rainbow did join her eventually, even if the girl had no idea what was going on. When she finally ran out of breath, she flopped back and let her body catch up for a few seconds.

“Feel better?”

“A little.” Then she shrugged and wiped at her face. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s watch something… I need to try to get out of my own head.”

Nodding, Rainbow pulled out her phone and began scrolling. “Oh yeah, I heard that.”

“Ugh, no pizza right now,” Sunset groaned. “I can’t do food.”

“I’m not ordering pizza. I’m ordering a giant cookie.”

“Oh. Well… yeah, okay. Do that.”

Rainbow’s smug grin was completely self-satisfied, but it was also pleased that she could be the one helping Sunset for once.

The weekend passed in a blur of sleeping, moving and sitcoms, junk food binges, and self-flagellation — and not the fun kind. Rainbow was the only one she kept in contact with, and even she got zero details. Just that Sunset felt like she messed up a friendship, which didn’t even slip out until the day after the cookie had arrived.

Monday, she was back at work, even if her heart wasn’t in it. Doing the best she could felt so fake. All she wanted was to crawl back into bed and forget she had ever existed — and the ‘she’ alternated between herself and Twilight at a pretty steady one-to-one ratio.

Flash stopped to ask how she felt now that she’d had a little more time to think about things. She knew he meant the club and his sexuality status, but her brain went straight to he kiss, and to Twilight’s dumbfounded reaction. It always went there without specific orders to go somewhere else.

“Just… I need some time to think. About a lot of stuff, not just that.”

“Oh,” he said, slightly disappointed but not surprised or upset with her. His smile remained in place, soft, unwavering. “Well, you know where to find me.”

“Yeah. And… I’m sorry for acting all disappointed, I didn’t mean—”

“You’re fine, okay? Nobody meant for anybody to be hurt. And hey, if I was going to date anytime soon, I’d be lucky if they were as good-hearted as you are.”

Though he’d meant that to be bolstering, it was like a railroad spike being driven through her sternum. A good-hearted person didn’t shove her face onto another face without at least asking first, or anything. Slumping even more, she went back to the register, leaving Flash even more confused than before.

That night, she tried to summon Twilight. It had taken her a couple of days to work up the courage, but in the end, she definitely wanted to talk through some things, to assure her that it had been just a stupid mistake, and that she wanted to fix what went wrong. Maybe that wasn’t entire the truth, but it was what she had to work with so far.

But, there was nothing. She hadn’t been expecting a prompt reply, but several hours — and re-reading of the words — passed with no change.

Her call was being screened.

The next morning, she again went to work, to class, and home. Rainbow did her best to mitigate her foul mood, but eventually drifted back to face down Fluttershy again. Sunset wished her well, but nothing held any permanence in her mind, or seemed to be important anymore. She just felt washed out and bleak.

Everything was a matter of going through the motions until she got a call from her mother.

“Where have you been?!”

“I… what?” she said groggily. The time had been way after four in the morning when she finally drifted off, and therefore being woken up at nine was most unwelcome. “Been where?”

“Not here! I thought I was going to have to send out a search party!” Sighing, she paused long enough to take a breath before asking, “Are you eating?”

“Yeah.”

“And sleeping?”

“I was until you called.”

No matter how many times the old woman did it, she never failed to surprise her. “...who were you dating and why did they dump you?”

“What?!”

“Don’t kid a mother, kid. I thought you were still going after that Flash -- did you find someone else?”

There was no use. Even though she was still completely floored that her mother had figured it out in under two minutes, there was absolutely no way she could spill the les-beans this early. Therefore, she seized on Flash.

“Actually, uh, yeah It’s Flash. I found out he’s not into dating. Like, at all.”

“What do you mean? Who isn’t ‘into’ dating, what does that mean?”

“He’s… um, asexual. Like, has no interest in ever doing those kinds of things… and doesn’t even seem to want to date. I mean, he said we could hang out -- and we will! Still, kinda feels like I wasted my time going after the wrong guy, you know?”

“Aww,” her mother cooed over the phone. “Sounds to me like he’s shy! Wasn’t your friend Twilight going to help get you two together?”

Dead silence. The mention of her name was very unexpected, and Sunset found herself grasping for words, blinking and sitting up in bed.

“Ohhh,” she said in a much softer voice. “You and she had a fight, didn’t you?”

“How do you do that?!” Sunset burst out without thinking — which only confirmed her mother’s suspicions, of course, but she couldn’t help it.

Quiet chuckling, but not at all derisive or mean. Just amused at her daughter’s reaction. “Oh, I’m so sorry… I could tell you were very close to her.”

“You could? I mean… like, how could you tell?” If there had been any early warning signs that she was slightly less than heterosexual, maybe she could learn something from finding out what they were.

“Just little things, like how you’d always be smiling when you looked at her and went off to show her the house. Haven’t seen you like that with a friend since that girl Rarity used to come over every day.”

Deep in the back of her brain, a part of her worried that she and Rarity had been heading for something deeper than friendship before they quit talking. Worried that somehow it had been at the root of why they stopped talking… even though she knew it was all about her sorority. Crazy thoughts, ones she wished she wasn’t having, didn’t need.

“Do you want to talk to Mommy about it?”

“Not when you call yourself ‘Mommy’ in the third person,” she grunted. “But… nah, I’ll be okay. Maybe it’ll just take some time.”

“You know more than me, so I guess you’re right. On the other hand, don’t let too much time pass.” Her mother hesitated, which wasn’t something she did often — and still didn’t for very long on this occasion. “Always regretted that you and Rarity couldn’t come to an understanding. You were so cute together, the best of friends — and such a pretty little girl! And then one day, you disagreed and ended up never speaking, and for what? Because she joined that all-girl house?”

“Well… actually, I do have some good news about that.”

Her mom was ecstatic. They chatted about her mending fences for a little while longer, then Sunset promised to drop by the restaurant soon before the call ended. Seconds after, she found herself flicking through her contacts to dig up another number.

“Yes?”

“Hey, um… do you mind if we meet at the union? I, uh… I’m not doing so great and kinda need someone to talk to.”

The voice hesitated. “Sure. And I’m sorry for blowing you off before, it just… wasn’t a great time for me either.”

“Sounds like we need to compare shitty stories.”

“Oh, you know it — as long as there’s ice cream involved.”

Against her will, Sunset found herself grinning ear-to-ear. “Why wouldn’t there be?”

“Wow, dear… I had no idea you were… dealing with all that.”

Nodding morosely, Sunset poked at the bottom of her bowl with a plastic spoon. “Yeah, neither did I.”

“Okay, um… please don’t take this the wrong way, but I must ask…” Swallowing, Rarity’s bright eyes flicked back and forth to the other tables before she lowered her voice, “Did you ever… think about me… that way? Not that I’d be mad, not exactly, but it—”

“No! God, no, I mean I just figured this out a few days ago, so when would I have had the time since then to check you out?”

“Shhhh!” Leaning her hand against her forehead, the poor girl sighed heavily as she tried to sort through everything that Sunset had just told her. “And you really had no clue before you went and… um, smooched up your friend Twilight?”

“Not even a bit!” Clapping her hands together in prayer, she went on, “I swear to God I was totally in the dark — I’m still kinda confused and in shock, okay? Like, maybe it was just a slip!”

Nodding vigorously, she leaned forward so fast that she almost knocked her own ice cream to the floor. It was tempting to make fun of her for buying so much less than Sunset got, but then again, there was no way she could maintain that perfectly trim figure without some sacrifices.

“Okay, that I can work with — I’ve done that, too! One night, I got a bit tipsy and Roseluck said to me, ‘Hey, wanna make out?’ I just went for it! Wasn’t the highlight of my life, but yeah, no big deal — even though I’m pretty sure my mom would make me talk to her preacher for hours if she ever found out!”

“Right! Except… I’d only had like, two sips of beer. And I was pretty much crying just because she had to go and I wouldn’t see her for a day or two.”

“Oh. Well… that does sound kind of…”

“Gay?”

“You said it, not me,” Rarity grunted.

“Seriously, I don’t know what to do! She’s not answering my calls, even though she said she could never hate me… like, I don’t want to just sit around with my thumb up my ass until she decides to respond! Should I be doing more? Or should I have some kind of prepared speech? I’m seriously clueless!”

“Calm down, calm down! You’re fine! This is… I mean, wow, I still can’t believe it, but you’re still the same Sunset Shimmer I knew all those years as far as I can tell. Except maybe…”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Except maybe what?”

“Well, the way you talk is a little different. There’s this… sorry, I can’t think of how to explain. Like your words are more important. You think before you talk, something like that. Not bad, just different is all. Probably happened a while ago and I never knew because… well, you know.”

“Really? Huh…” Sunset had no idea of what to make of that observation.

“Anyway, I’m really sorry you’re going through a lesbian thing or whatever this is. But, darling, as long as you don’t try to bite my boobs, I think we’re good.”

Snorting, she had to ask. “Do you hear a lot of lesbian boob-biting stories?”

“Hey, I’ve never been gay. Who knows?”

“Fair enough, I guess,” she giggled as she stirred the melting contents of her bowl. “But we kinda got carried away with my shit and didn’t talk about you and your guy.”

“Oh… we’ve been done with forever. It’s… well, it’s Blueblood that I’m worried about now.”

“Blueblood?” She tried to sound innocent when she asked.

“Yeah. Ever since that night he never showed up when I told him I needed a shoulder to cry on, he kind of… it’s like he’s a totally different person, you know? Doesn’t look at me for too long. Then there’s this part where he won’t stop grabbing his crotch, which is sort of a guy thing, I guess… but it’s getting kind of skeevy.”

A tiny prickling of guilt shot through Sunset’s pulse at that. So he still remembered the lesson they had taught him, and it wouldn’t be so easily shrugged off. Still, she hadn’t meant to give the guy a complex — and neither had Twilight, she was fairly certain. “Well, it sounds like you were better off without him, right? As a potential boyfriend, at least.”

“Yes,” she spat angrily. “What a creep. At least you never have to worry about that anymore.”

“Hey, I told you that I still don’t know that I’m full-on gay! I mean, maybe I’m bisexual — I was crushing on Flash before this all happened, I think that counts for something!”

“Yeah, okay… maybe that — but was this Flash kind of a… you know, girly guy?”

Both of her eyebrows shot up past her bangs. “Girly?! No way, he was just a guy-guy!”

“Fine! I didn’t mean to piss you off or anything, I promise -- just wondering if you had a… you know, a type, a middle-ground that you went for! Like, I mean, what does this Twilight look like? Is she butch?”

“No, she has long, dark hair, and… kind of — oh, wait, hang on.” Pulling out her phone, she unlocked it — thankfully it was back to being the Doctor, so she wouldn’t look quite that gay already — and found one of the selfies Twilight had snapped. “That’s her.”

“Wooow,” Rarity breathed as she examined the picture. “Okay, I apologize if this sounds offensive somehow, but I can’t blame you for going over to the other side. She’s divine!”

“Oh, you have no idea — but that’s not why it happened! It just… did. Sorry, I wish I could explain better, I swear I’m trying…”

“I’m so jealous. How does she get her skin to look like that? Does she tan?”

Thinking of what she must do in her daily life as a pony on another world, Sunset shook her head as she said, “I literally have no idea. Anyway, we got off topic — you don’t have to put up with Blueblood or anyone like that anymore, okay? They weren’t worth your time, Rares.”

“Yeah, but…” A little shrug. “They were what I wanted. Strong, independent… macho and sexy, and just chock to the brim with muscles and confidence. That really gets me going, you know? But my ex just never had the time for me, and Blueblood turned into… well, whatever he turned into, and now I’m just lonely.”

“Those things aren’t your fault, though.”

“Yes, they are. I’m not enough woman for them, obviously.” Swallowing, she gestured in a would-be casual fashion as she went on. “And that’s fine, right? I have a few pounds to lose, and maybe try a new hairstyle. Maybe then… maybe I’ll—”

“No, stop. I can’t hear you talking like this about yourself.”

“Hey, don’t do that,” Rarity snapped. “You were always doing that to me before, and I hated it then, too. Hated you telling me that my image concerns aren’t valid — I mean, hate the way I look and want to change it, why is that a crime?”

“Because you’re already one of the prettiest girls I know!” Sunset burst out. “And you’re my friend, and it sucks hearing you talk about yourself like you’re ugly — you are so not ugly, okay?!”

Thought Rarity rolled her eyes at the sentiment, the anger seemed to break after the point was made. “Says you and only you.”

“Who else is telling you that you don’t look good? I mean, you say the other sisters are great people, but… if they’re doing that, telling you that you aren’t pretty enough or—”

“Of course they aren’t! Don’t be a dick!” A few seconds passed in which Rarity looked slightly guilty, until she finally said in a much softer voice, “Most of them are great people, and I’m not just bullshitting you, but sometimes… Roseluck just says things that feel wrong, or grate on my nerves. She was the one that got me to enter the wet t-shi— uhh… I mean, nevermind. But she’s also the one who normally tells me that my face would look better with a little bit of waxing to my eyebrows and upper lip. And I mean, wouldn’t it? Look more glamorous, or something?”

“Might look more glamorous, but would look a lot less Rarity.”

“Wow,” she snorted with a roll of her eyes. “Thank you, mom.”

“Maybe moms can be right sometimes. Like mine said that she wished you and I were still talking — and man, was she happy when I was able to tell her that we are again.”

“Yes.” Nodding for a few seconds, she chanced a quiet smile up. “Yes , this is what I missed. It’s… not the same, we’re still a little weird, but we’ll get there. Pretty confident about that. Plus there’s the fact that you literally came out to me, and during out first official ‘Besties Again’ ice cream fest!”

Grinning sheepishly, Sunset’s hand continued the nervous habit of stirring her soupy bowl. “Talk about jumping the shark early, right? And I’m sorry I forgot you’re allergic to peanuts when I ordered you rocky road, I totally spaced. You’d think after Switch Hit’s birthday party, I wouldn’t be so dumb.”

“Oh my God, I forgot all about that!” Rarity gasped dramatically, a manicured hand covering her mouth as she started to titter. “Everybody was freaking out — they practically had to roll me out to the car to get my EpiPen!”

“Switch was so pissed, she though you did it on purpose!”

“Oh yes, because most people would rather have a near-death experience than have their turn at ‘pin the tail’! Absolutely understandable, right?!”

Even though they were having such a stupid conversation, Sunset literally could not stop smiling the entire time. Her old friend was back in her life, and even though her future with Twilight was completely up in the air, at least she had a new start with Rarity to help mitigate the pain.

Every little bit helped.

Author's Notes:

Hey all! Just in case you aren't aware, since the story is starting to amp up into possible 'spoilers' territory, in an effort to keep the comments section as spoiler-free as possible, I've created a blog that anyone can use to drop plot or character-relevant comments or observations on, instead of maybe-possibly spoiling future readers who happen to read the comments before the story.

You know who you are

That being said, you don't *have* to use it -- I just created it with future/current readers in mind.

Cheers!

Chapter 15: Love Is Just A Four Letter Word.

By the end of the night, of course, Sunset was no longer cheered up by the ice cream lunch with Rarity, no matter how great it had been. Her mind eventually drifted right back to the problem that would not leave her alone, sinking her back into the mire of despair.

How could she apologize properly to her friend if she couldn’t even talk to her? It was a Gordian Knot like none she’d ever run into before in her relatively short lifespan.

Relative to an immortal pony goddess, anyway. How long had Twilight said she’d been alive? Thousands of years? Maybe she was just done playing with a child and wanted to move onto other, more mature people. That would be sensible, especially after said foolish child decided she was entitled to some ‘fringe benefits’.

The summoning circle and its drying blood did nothing new when she tried again. She spoke the words, lit the candles… and got no response at all. Not even a ‘please hold the line’ message like that one time. She wanted to scream, wanted to throw the old spell book out the window, but she knew that would only force her go to outside and pick it up. The thing still belonged to her teacher, regardless. Besides, what if she hit somebody? That wouldn't be cool at all. Far better to simply give up and try again some other time.

November finally turned from dark but warm to chilly and bright, not yet frigid enough for Winter but just beginning to edge its way past what Sunset tended to consider ‘autumn weather’. A brief snow flurry in midweek threatened to cancel classes, but unfortunately didn't pay out enough to make it actually happen. The mixture of students who were laughing and catching snowflakes on their tongues with the ones who were bundled up in six layers of clothes and grumbling on their way to and from classes was one of the things that made her college truly feel like a cultural melting pot.

And then there was the Yeti Walk.

Long ago, the seniors had started the tradition of getting all the freshmen up and the crack of dawn and forcing them outside in their underwear of pj’s — and usually, they would catch one or two students who actually slept in the nude, though that was rare indeed. Then, they would make a speech about tradition and heritage, about preserving the sacred rites that seniors handed down to the freshmen before leaving to go out into the world. Then, after all that happened, they would all run from one end of the campus, through the quad and until they wound up at the other end, near the oldest building and the statue of the college’s founder. There they had coffee and hot chocolate waiting, and sometimes food, if they were lucky and had a rich brat amongst the seniors.

Of course, Sunset wasn’t a senior, and was definitely not a freshman anymore, but she still decided to rouse herself in order to head to campus with Rainbow — and surprisingly Fluttershy, who seemed to be getting along somewhat better recently — to watch the poor freshmen do their thing. No nudists this year, but one guy in a neon pink bikini speedo made up for that — and Rainbow and Sunset both hooted and wolf-whistled at him enough for everyone. The annual event was fun, and a slight distraction from everything that was going wrong in her life.

It was while she was out there, watching the freshmen sprint and shiver, when she had the idea, completely unrelated as it was. Once it struck her, she wondered how long she had gone this long without considering it -- but at the same time, didn’t wonder in the slightest.

After all, it’s all about connections, isn’t it?

“Okay,” she breathed shakily several hours later as she lit the candles and began to place herself in the ‘summoning state of mind'. Even though it seemed to work most of the time whether or not she concentrated, this would be unlike her previous attempts. A little extra effort couldn’t hurt.

“Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty and Magic; I call upon the elements here and now. Friendship ties everything together, and makes it all complete. I call upon the magic of Cadence, to come to me tonight!”

She wasn’t entirely sure of simply changing the name from Twilight to Cadence would work, but already, the difference in energies was palpable. So many times had Twilight entered her home in this way that she knew the sensation by heart. However, she pressed on. “Element of Love, you are bound to me, to do my bidding until thy work is done! Come to me!”

Candles flickered, the air grew tight as it readied to squeeze a solid form through it. However, Sunset was in for a surprise. The shadowy, slightly pinkish bulk was nearly twice the size that Twilight had been, even in her ‘super spooky monster’ form. A single horn the size of a scimitar jutted from the forehead, and long incisors dripped with saliva. Talons raked the air in front of her, but stopped far short of Sunset’s actual body.

“Who disturbs my slumber?” the voice boomed. “Know this: only one may enter here, one who’s worth lies far within. A diamond in the rough…”

“Oh! Oh! I know that one! That’s from Aladdin!” Sunset smirked, folding her arms over her chest and lifting her chin triumphantly. “Do I know my Disney, or what?”

The creature paused, then tilted its head to one side.

“Speak.”

“I don’t even need you to do anything all that complicated for me. Just want some questions answered.” She shifted slightly. “You’re... Cadence, right?”

At last, the booming nature of the voice receded as the being continued, her tone turning smooth and conversational. “Ah… you want some answers in the field of love and romance, do you? Or are you after something more… specific?”

“More specific. I’m… I need to ask you about another, um, goddess. Pony. Um… yeah.”

“... Sunset Shimmer.”

That did throw her for a loop. “You know my name?”

“Well, you’re all we’ve been talking about recently. So it’s sort of hard not to know your name, at least. Should I change to a more… comfortable form?”

“Go for it.”

And as had happened so many times before in that apartment, transformation began: the giant, pinkish, translucent bulk began to melt down into a form distinctly more human — more feminine as the being turned. She was surprisingly short — shorter than Sunset, at least — but graced with pale pink skin and hair that cascaded down her shoulders and back in pink, purple and golden curls. For an instant, she was nude, but then a red silk robe shimmered into existence around her form. Long, elegant wings fluttered from behind her back and her horn remained. When she turned back, her burning red eyes dimmed to a soft pink — as if there wasn’t enough pink to her form already — and seemed to glow with an unearthly light.

“Okay,” Sunset breathed shakily. Her newly-found appreciation for women was making her even more flustered than she normally would be, but only the barest amount. Was it going to get worse the longer she lived, or did she eventually ‘get used to’ eying curves?

“There we go,” Cadence said, tugging at the ends of her robe and examining her nails. “Wow, it’s been a while since I took this form, buuuut I think I nailed it. What do you think?” She twirled, giving Sunset a little show as the bottom of her robe flared out to show smooth pink thighs.

“Uh… yeah. Great,” she mumbled, suddenly finding the corner of the bathroom very interesting. “Anyway… feel free to take a seat.”

“But, there’s only one chair. Also, it looks pretty uncomfortable — there’s a hole in the center.”

“What? Oh, not in here — in there.” She gestured to the living room, and the goddess sighed in relief.

“Oh, good.” Leisurely sashaying into the living room, she painted herself into Sunset’s couch and crossed her legs smoothly, hands perched on the arm and across the back like a true goddess on her throne. “Now, since I am the Princess of Love, I’m pretty good at sensing these things. And when I look at you…” she paused momentarily, eyeing Sunset. “I sense that this is a matter of the heart. You desire a… oh. A woman? Mmm… interesting.”

Sunset wasn’t sure if she liked that grin. Pressing one hand into her cheek was the only way she could keep talking. “Am I that obvious? God, and I didn’t even know I do until like, a few days ago…”

One pink eyebrow lifted. “Well, it’s not as obvious as you might think. Like I said, I’m just good as picking up these things.” She tilted her head slightly. “Though, if it’s just curiosity that drives you, you’re more than welcome to try me out…” Her hand drifted down to the belt of her robe.

“What?!”

“Well, I’ll admit it’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman, but there just just something about them that really flips my switch. And you’re not bad to look at, either.”

“No! I mean, um, no, th-thank you.” Clearing her throat and hoping she wouldn’t pass out, Sunset took a seat on the far end of the couch. “It’s about a specific woman, but I’m not really sure what to do.”

“Well, you’ve summoned the right pony for the job! If there’s one thing I understand, it’s matters of the heart!” Under her breath, she added, “No matter what everypony says these days.”

Now that she mentioned it… “You know, how did you get to be the Goddess of Love, anyway?” she asked, genuinely curious. “I mean, how does something like that happen?”

Cadence shrugged elegantly. “Like anything else, really,” she said. “But I like to think of myself as a princess rather than a goddess. The whole immortality thing is more of an unfortunate circumstance rather than my defining point; I’d really rather be remembered for my contributions to the study of Love.” She paused for a few moments, and then shrugged again, waving her hand in front of her with slow grace. “To answer your question, however, I became the Princess and Goddess of Love because my special talent is Love.”

“Your special talent?” Sunset repeated dubiously. “What do you mean by that?”

Cadence opened her mouth as if to explain, but seemed to change her mind partway. “Twilight Sparkle didn’t explain this to you?”

Sunset blinked. “Twilight… Sparkle?”

Now it was Cadence's turn to blink. “Oh, Celestia… she really is slipping if she doesn’t fully introduce herself to her summoners.” Then, with a heavily put-upon sigh, the pink goddess rose to her feet. “In that case, I shall show you.”

Before Sunset could even take a fortifying breath — or complain, for that matter — Cadence’s silk robe vanished into motes of pink light, leaving her completely nude.

“Wh-whoa!” she stammered, her hands flying up to cover her eyes from the shameless display of pink glory. “Give a girl some warning, why don’t you?!”

“Oh, grow up, Sunset,” came the grumbling. “I won’t bite. Just look.”

It took a moment to work up to it, but after a few moments, Sunset finally did so, and did her best to avoid looking at anything interesting -- even though part of her kind of wanted to. Instead, she followed the goddess’ hand down to her lower thigh, where a very peculiar marking was proudly displayed on her skin. Clearly visible from the pinkness surrounding it, was a bright blue, glasslike heart.

“Huh. A tattoo?” It definitely looked like one.

Shaking her head, Cadence’s horn glittered with light as her robe reappeared around her, much to Sunset’s relief. “Not a tattoo. A cutie mark.”

“... you mean a beauty mark.”

The princess huffed and stamped her bare foot on the floor. “A cutie mark! It’s a symbol ponies get when they discover their special talent. It’s… sort of a coming of age thing,” she explained. “Mine is love.”

“Oh...kay.” Sunset nodded slowly. “I’ll buy that. So were you always a Princess, or what?”

Cadence grinned at that. “Oh, I was royalty much earlier, but I became the Sovereign Princess of the Crystal Empire when I used the power of Love to save a kingdom and its ponies from a tyrannical alicorn king.”

There was silence for a while, until Sunset cleared her throat. “So… what, you slept with him?”

The princess barked out a laugh. “Oh!” she cackled, delighted. “Oh my! Wouldn’t that have been something! My Shining would have loved to see that!”

While Cadence laughed maniacally at the idea of adultery — and, lack of context aside, Sunset could appreciate some well-timed dark humour with the best of them — she shifted uncomfortably.

“R-right. Um, anyway. Well, at least you seem to be doing pretty well for yourself.” She cleared her throat. “Aside from the whole ‘forced summoned goddess schtick’.”

When she finally stopped laughing, Cadence shrugged again. “I suppose. I have a daughter, I have Twilight, and I have my little ponies to look after. The occasional jaunts to this world are more of a favor to Twili.” And, before Sunset could ask her to clarify, she leaned forward, her interest piqued. “Anyway, on to business! Which do you want to discuss first — this new allure that women now hold over you, or the one who happens to already have a place in your heart?”

“It’s all kinda the same, to be honest…”

“Is it? Oh…” The smile that grew on Cadence’s face was more like that of a Cheshire cat who had spotted fresh cream. “Ohhhhh…. oh, this is delicious! You like like Twilight!” She gasped dramatically, her hand pressed to her chest like a teenager in a school play, and her eyes glittered with sudden enthusiasm. Then she clapped her hands together excitedly. “Yay! It’s been so long since something like this has happened!”

“I… what?”

Dipping her head slightly in a poor attempt to hide her mirth, Cadence recovered enough to speak again. “Well, every now and again there will be some summoner who will become… shall we say… ‘overly enamored’ to the summoned. Usually it’s me,” she added with a conspiratorial whisper. “Although it’s been some time now, so I’m a bit vague on the details on how we normally handle this… but I do seem to recall something about boiling in oil… or a beheading.”

Sunset squeaked as she clutched her throat. “Beheading!”

Laughing, the princess waved her hand in front of her. “Kidding! I’m kidding! Gosh, she was right about you! You’re so uptight!”

“That wasn’t funny,” Sunset grumbled. When Cadence simply rolled her eyes, she grunted, “Then again, that is the kind of joke Twilight would make.” She allowed the princess her moment of humor, and then cleared her throat. “So… what’s up with Twilight’s, um, cutie mark, then? I…” she hesitated, but only for a moment. “I’ve seen the scars.”

Sitting, Cadence steepled her fingers over her lap, eyeing her carefully. “You don’t know a lot about her, do you? But you’re already so taken with her, from what I sensed when I was summoned, and from your heart. That’s… intriguing, to say the least.”

“Well, I don’t know, she just… I’ve never met anyone like her. The way she listens — and it’s more than just because she has to, I can tell.” Then she swallowed and pressed on, feeling her entire body begin to tremble even though she had sworn she would not let it. “But it’s not like I’m in love with her or anything, I just… some feelings happened and I wasn’t expecting them. Honest!”

“I believe you,” Cadence assured her softly. Then she grinned widely. “Hey, you should try singing with her.”

“Why?”

Rolling her eyes, the princess said, “Magic, of course. Duh.”

“I… I don’t understand.” Sunset crossed her arms over her chest, genuinely confused. “What magic?”

“Okay, look; Flurry could explain this better than me, but I’m here so I’ll do my best.” Cadence straightened, her hands resting in her lap. “Have you ever heard a song that’s so good, so catchy, that all you want to do is sing along?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“That’s the magic of Music at work. There is a magic in song — as well as Love and Friendship — and is present in all living things. It surrounds you, and guides you, and fills you up with energy, makes you what you are… makes you who you are.” She stopped, smiling softly. “It’s why we like Disney so much. Their musical numbers are so catchy.”

“Huh.” Sunset nodded. In a way, that did make a weird sort of sense. She did always like singing along to her favorite songs, and when they were younger, she and Rarity had some really impressive duets. Maybe she was onto something here. “So I should get Twilight to sing? What would that do?”

“I can’t say. All I can say for certain is it would probably clear things up between you two. Magic works in mysterious ways, after all.”

Okay… not entirely helpful, but at least it was something. Sunset nodded and said, “Yeah, okay, thanks. I figured. Just… tell me I can see her again, at least. Can you talk to her? She’s your sister, isn’t she? Won’t she listen to you? I really messed up and I want to apologize!”

This seemed to take Cadence aback. “You’re… telling the truth, aren’t you? You’re totally serious; Twilight’s well-being is that important to you — even knowing she’s from a different world? Even not knowing how she is what she is? You know so little about so little about her—”

“You think I care about that bullshit?! We’re talking about one of my best friends! She has to know I didn’t mean it, and that I’m sorry!”

The room was silent for a long time as girl and goddess stared at each other intently. Sunset was breathing hard and her eyes prickled with unshed tears, but she wasn’t about to blink or lower her gaze. At long last, Cadence crossed her legs in the opposite direction fluidly and leaned against the opposite arm of the couch.

“She… really is something special, isn’t she? All this time being trapped in servitude, all because she feels she must be, and she still seems to maintain such a… perfectly Twilight aura about her. It… nopony else could have done it.” She smiled softly, as if only to herself. “I can see why you love her.”

“I didn’t say I—”

“Admire her, then.”

“Yeah, right, admire. So can you figure out how to talk to her?”

“Of course. There are any number of ways you could go about that.”

“Good.” A few seconds passed in silence until Sunset finally burst out, “And what are they?!”

“Well, you could come back with me to Equestria,” she chuckled lightly — and the offer made Sunset’s eyes boggle, so she smoothly continued. “Or you could have me pass on a message. There’s also summoning her directly.”

“I’ve tried that already.”

“Not really, no,” she countered. “Your heart was calling out to my magic, so I answered because I was free at the time. There is a much more specific way than a mere internal focus — a way to pinpoint the exact magic of a pony, should you have their name.”

“Huh.” Sunset considered that. “Okay.”

“But before you do… I suggest you learn more about our little Princess of Friendship.” Cadence said, straightening on the couch.

“Okay. What can you tell me about her?”

Chuckling, Cadence held out her hand. “I don’t have enough time to fill you in on the essentials. So…” Her horn glowed with a soft pink light, and there was a flash, followed by a soft pop, and when Sunset finally blinked away the dark spots in her eyes, she noticed a book in the princess’ hand. “Take this.”

“What’s this?” She took the book, making a slight ‘oof’ as she hefted it; it was even heavier than the spellbook she got from her professor. Opening it and giving it a cursory glance, she arched an eyebrow at a smiling Cadence. “A textbook?” The distinct lack of pictures and over abundance of text was a dead giveaway.

“A Brief History of Equestrian Royalty,” she explained proudly. “It’s my personal copy, so Twili won’t notice it missing quite yet. That has enough information to fill you in on Twilight Sparkle before you talk to her.”

“Ugh… do I have to read the entire thing?”

Cadence threw her head back and laughed. “No, no… there’s a section in there on her early life. I’ve marked and translated it for you. It should tell you everything you need to know. The rest… well, you can ask her yourself.” She paused, tilting her head at Sunset, regarding her. “After you summon her directly, anyway.”

“Okay…” Clutching the book to her chest, Sunset sat forward a little more as she stared at the face of the pink pony princess in her living room. “Is this… I mean, do I have to do anything weird? With the direct summoning?”

“... define ‘weird’.”

Following the summoning instructions, Cadence also informed Sunset that she would not be able to use them right away. The spell was designed in such a way that essentially had it as a ‘one summoning per night’ policy that nobody bothered to tell her about at any point in time before that -- not her book, and certainly not Twilight.

Convenient, that.

But, on the flipside, it did give her pretty much the entire day to study ‘briefly’ about Equestrian royalty.

Unsurprisingly, Princess Twilight Sparkle was one of the — if not the most — famous ponies in all of Equestrian history, after Princesses Luna and Celestia. The Cliffnotes version that Sunset took away from her cram session was that Twilight was born a normal unicorn, to a normal family of unicorns in the capital city of Canterlot.

Man… these ponies and their horse puns were gonna kill Sunset someday.

When she was young, she was discovered by Her Radiance Princess Celestia and given private tutelage; something that was a great honor amongst unicorns. She quickly became one of the most well-learned and magically-gifted students ever taught by Celestia, and even, with the assistance of a small group of other ponies, managed to defeat Nightmare Moon when she invaded Equestria. Her Majesty Princess Luna began her co-sovereignty after being freed from the influence of Nightmare Moon, but Sunset didn’t concentrate on that piece of history.

Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony, as they were known, spent years together, acting as Equestria’s best and last line of defense against evil forces and magical entities that threatened their world for a number of years. They were national heroes, almost demi-gods in their own right. They were undefeated and adored by every pony in the land, and were the best of friends.

And then what was simply known as ‘The Catastrophe’ happened.

The book seemed to gloss over many of the details on how it happened exactly, but somehow, a magical artifact known as Starswirl’s Mirror was damaged. According to records, the mirror was supposed to be a gateway to other worlds, and being damaged, the bridge between Equestria and said ‘other worlds’ became unstable. Ponies up and disappeared without a trace, entire cities crumbled and sunk into the earth, killing thousands, and strange landmarks appeared seemingly out of thin air, only to disappear just as quickly, leaving only blank space and frightened ponies behind. Nobody knew what was really happening, but they knew the damaged mirror was the cause.

Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony were called upon, and they, knowing it was the only chance to fix the bridge between worlds, used their combined powers of Harmony to fix the mirror and restore balance to their world… among countless others.

Unfortunately, they failed.

The specifics were not recorded in the text, but the end result was that the Elements of Harmony all died, and only Princess Twilight Sparkle remained alive. And not only that, but she somehow became an immortal goddess like Celestia and Luna; and was forced to live out the rest of eternity with her magic tied to the fate of Starswirl’s Mirror, for better or worse.

The only positive thing to come from such a tragedy was that the mirror -- while not completely fixed -- had been repaired enough to stabilize the bridge, thus saving Equestria and its ponies from destruction. In the millennia since then, Twilight has been a beloved national hero, god-princess, living martyr, and decidedly alone.

Everything in the book sounded — and rightfully so — as some kind of fantasy story, or a children’s cartoon. And as a weird sense of bemused shock settled over her as she sat back in the library chair, she knew — instinctively— that it was true. Somehow, asking her to believe that was a lot easier to swallow than believing both Twilight and Cadence — their use of magic aside — had been hallucinating about the entire thing.

But there was only one way she was going to get any more help then the book could give her, and it was going to be if she actually went to the source of all her troubles. And, as chance had it, her office hours were open.

“You want to know about what?!”

“The summoning spell,” Sunset repeated herself as she eased the door closed behind her. No way did she want another living soul overhearing this particular conversation.

Professor Shine glanced between the book she had laid on the desk between them and her student’s face, wearing a highly skeptical expression that she wasn’t even bothering to hide. “Be more specific. What’s the spell do, and what more are you wanting to know about it?”

“Anything you can tell me. I mean, I’m just really fascinated by the idea itself. How does summoning work? Can you do it in reverse? How are these being able to be summoned at all? Where do they come from?”

“Calm down, calm down,” the woman half-laughed, still a bit thrown off as she leafed through the pages. “What is the reverse of a summoning, anyway? Do you mean a banishing?”

“Sure, yeah! That!”

“That’s the kind of thing you’d be better off asking the church about; exorcisms and such.” Slipping a pair of teal reading glasses that matched her eyes, the professor glanced down at the pages as she flipped, until she found what she wanted. “Ah, there we are! Alright, yes… I presume this is the one you meant?”

“You got it,” Sunset said, trying to hide her excitement and knowing she sucked at it.

“Hmm, yes. I see.” She read quietly for a few minutes, then eventually shrugged. “Seems pretty straightforward; draw the symbols, light the candles, a bit of life-force… blood, most likely… say the incantation. What else do you need help with?”

“Well… I was wondering if it could be altered.”

The old eyes sure did have a way of sharpening on someone when they were suspicious. “Alter it… how? And to what end?”

“Well, this is all just, um, conjecture,” Sunset said, trying sound more intelligent than childish if she could pull it off. “But… like, say this spell actually does anything besides mark up your floor and waste a perfectly good candle. Would there be ways you could alter the way it works? For example…” Leaning in, she tried to lower her voice but not so much that it would make Professor Shine unable to hear. “Is there a way the summoning could be made… permanent?”

“Again, that depends on what a ‘permanent’ summoning is. Do you mean that the… being… would never leave once it arrives?”

Hard though it was, Sunset fought down the feeling that she sounded like a stupid little girl who wanted to clap hard enough to revive Tinkerbell as she nodded and said, “Yeah, pretty much.”

‘“I doubt it,” she sighed as she glanced over the wording and notations, her sunflower yellow-painted fingernails skimming down the page to help her concentrate. “This one seems to have a very specific purpose: to enter you into an agreement, so the—” she squinted. “—specific element can grant you a favor. Anything beyond said purpose would be something else entirely, and therefore would — I surmise — call for an entirely different spell.”

“Ugh,” Sunset sighed, slumping. “Kinda figured it wouldn’t be that easy.”

“Sorry,” the woman chortled. “Is this for a project of yours?”

“You might say that.”

The woman thought for a moment before she flipped to the book and began skimming down the columns of reference numbers with practiced ease, looking for anything that might stand out to her. After a full minute of looking, she sighed and set the book back down.

“Sorry, hun. Nothing that looks to do the sort of thing you wanted; most of these are white spells in the first place, just to grant things like fuller crops, or clear up warts. Pretty eclectic stuff. Afraid you’ll have to make your own, er… banishment spell, or whatever you plan on making.”

‘“Make my own?”

“For your book.” The gaze in the professor’s eyes was a lot shrewder than the next question seemed to merit. “That is what this is about isn’t it? You’re writing some sort of novella, fanfiction, or a creative writing assignment, aren’t you?”

Gasping, Sunset shot bolt upright as she seemed to realize just how much she had forgotten to feign that this wasn’t for personal use. “R-right! I mean, something like that! Wow, you are… super on-point!”

“Of course I am,” she laughed again as she shut the book. “One has to be limber along the tenure track. Either that, or one has to have male biology and a very nice toupee, as our Professor Nile exemplifies.”

"Right, right,” Sunset also laughed — though wasn’t quite sure she understood the joke. “So, um, thanks for your help. Guess I’ll just figure my own way through.”

“Of course. And apparently you’ll still be needing it as a reference regardless.”

“Huh? Oh!” It haven’t even dawned on her that she was still taking the book with her. “Right, I um… yeah, if you don’t mind? As you can see, it’s still in great condition!”

“Indeed.” Rubbing at her chin for a brief moment, she murmured, “Miss Shimmer…”

Blinking innocently, she asked, “Yes?”

“If you were to, hypothetically, try putting any of these spells into practice… I do hope you would be wiser than to start with that one.”

Now the blinking was accompanied by a derisive scoff. “Why would I want to do something crazy like that?!”

“I wonder.” Then she was shuffling her papers and waving at the door. “But I also hope my insights into magic helped you, as much as they might.”

“No, yeah, I totally appreciate all your help. You’re really the best. Seriously!”

Smiling up at where she hovered, Professor Shine said mildly, “Flattery will not prevent your assignment from being due next class, Miss Shimmer.”

Every condition had been satisfied according to Cadence’s specifications when Sunset surveyed her work roughly six hours later that night. Though her professor had not turned out to be much help other than to bounce a few theories off, Sunset at least still found the theories to bolster her confidence in herself. Knowing a thing or two more than a venerated professor in her sixties was a shot in the arm like none other.

There in the circle of symbols was an etching of the words “Twilight Sparkle”, in Equestrian symbols, in pig’s blood. A few of the letters were barely legible, but that wasn’t what mattered; it was the intent, the symbol of what she wanted. Either was, the life force was the catalyst — disgusting as it was to paint with.

For good measure, however, she pricked her finger with a sanitized sewing needle and allowed a single drop of her own blood to fall. Once it had splashed amongst the letters, she began her recitation.

And she got nothing. Seemed that once again, her calls were to go unanswered.

“Fine,” she grunted as she clenched and unclenched her fists. “Just… fine! Just fuck off and stay out of my fucking life, you dick!”

Silence.

“Okay, maybe I didn’t mean that, but you could at least come talk to me! Just tell me how you were feeling when we couldn’t talk, okay? That’s all. Please.”

Almost thirty seconds passed before the candles began to gutter out one by one, before the air pressure changed and her ears popped. Though she had been beyond excited when the figure emerged, she was slightly disappointed when the figure spoke down to her — since it was her ‘super scary smoke monster’ form.

“Okay, seriously, there’s no possible way you forgot what happened last time I was here,” the dark growl that technically belonged to Twilight at the moment snapped. “Why are we pushing the envelope? Are you so dense that you can’t get the message when I won’t respond?!”

Seconds passed, and no response came. Somehow, even though they had parted on such unusual terms, Sunset hadn’t expected anger.

“Well, you have me here. You have me contracted by magic for a few hours at least, or until you’re satisfied — and now I’m pretty damn worried what that might mean.”

“Don’t do that… please?”

The tone of her voice — cowed and meek — took all the wind out of the goddess’ sails. Though her form remained dark and foreboding, her arms folded over her chest and her voice quieted to her normal tone.

“Fine. What do you want then?”

“Just to talk.”

‘“Talk about what?”

Taking a deep breath, Sunset managed to squeak out, “I know how you got those scars on your cutie mark.”

Chapter 16: Friendship and Music is a Kind of Magic... Right?

First the wings folded in. Then, after a sufficient amount of time had passed the form finally shimmered until the blouse and poodle skirt appeared, along with the form that usually wore them. However, the goddess still did not speak; instead, she only marched straight into the living room and plopped herself down on the end of the couch, her arms crossed so tightly over her chest Sunset thought she might never let them go.

“Alright. Talk.”

Sunset walked over and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, but after five seconds of bouncing her leg, she popped right back up again and began pacing in front of Twilight.

“Okay… so, yeah, I know who you are now. Princess Twilight Sparkle, right? You became Celestia’s personal student when you were still a kid, and the Element of Magic later. You eventually became an alicorn and the Princess of Friendship, and then…” Her eyes flicked up to Twilight for confirmation, but only got Resting Bitch Face instead. “Then the mirror was damaged, and you guys messed up trying to fix it, and… you stopped the mirror from breaking completely but all your friends died, and you somehow got your magic mixed with the magic of the mirror. The scars on your cutie mark basically reflect the mirror — that’s the catalyst you told me about that brings you to this world. The more scars you have, the closer the mirror is to breaking completely. Am I right?”

“Top marks, Miss Shimmer,” Twilight growled sardonically. “Did you figure all that out on your own?”

“I… had some help,” she admitted softly. “But my question is… if you can change your form at will, why do you keep your cutie mark the way it is? Why not hide it all the time?”

Sighing with the weight of the world, Twilight seemed to defrost the tiniest amount as she said, “Because it’s me. Even with all the bad things that happened to me, even if I’ve tried on a million different forms in my life… it’s part of who I am. It’s my burden and mine alone. It’s… to remind me of my mistakes. I don’t want to change that, even if I could.”

“Okay. Yeah, I respect that. I respect the hell out of that.”

“Have you been drinking Java Monster again? You know what that does to you.”

Waving that off, Sunset continued, “So now I know that, which I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to know, but you weren’t talking to me and… I don’t know if you—”

“Cadence told me.”

“Oh. Well… yeah, that happened. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Twilight sighed as she examined her nails.

“Good, good. Got that out of the way.” Another deep breath. “I totally didn’t mean to kiss you.”

Raising an eyebrow, Twilight leaned back against the couch. “Didn’t you?”

“No!”

“You did, though. It was your mouth moving, your lips. I didn’t do anything to tempt you into it, I wasn’t… I never even made a pass at you by accident!”

“Hey, I never blamed you for it happening! Just… I don’t know, I was really upset and not thinking straight, okay? I’m sorry, I never—”

“Stop,” Twilight hissed sharply. “You did it. I felt your intentions to do it during the summoning, but you’re my friend, and I gave you the benefit of the doubt. And you disappointed me.”

That brought up Sunset up short. “Wait, you… okay, what are you talking about? My intentions-- how could you have felt something I didn’t even know about?”

“I’m not Cadence, but even I could feel your heart being set on getting closer to me. It came through clear as a bell during your last two summonings, but it was only this last time you did anything about it.” Her throat closed up as slightly as she pressed on. “I just… one time, just one time I thought I had a true friend. One who didn’t want to push past that boundary, and didn’t just see me as a means to an end. It’s never, ever happened.” Almost as a whisper, she added, “not since my first friends.”

“You think I wanted that, though? Of course not. You’re pretty much my best friend now, so why would I want to throw that away for… for one random-ass kiss?”

“Who knows why humans do what they do?” Twilight flipped her hand dismissively. “I’m not the one who’s questioning her sexuality. That’s all on you.”

“I’m not a lesbian!” Sunset snapped angrily. “Not once in my whole life have I ever been attracted to a woman before, okay?! And I’m still not sure I’m attracted to one now! This is freaking me out — I’m losing it, and I need you to talk to about this, but what I’m talking about is you, and I… nothing makes sense, and I’m pissed, and I don’t know what to do!”

The words rang in the room until the faded. Then Twilight cleared her throat and said, “I know.”

“You… you know?”

“I know. That came through in today’s summoning. It’s why I even agreed to come here. But the fact remains that you couldn’t control yourself — the urge came up to kiss me, and you gave in.” Rubbing her face, she leaned forward, slumping down so that her hair hung loosely around her face. “Damn, but this has been hard to reconcile. You being you, being so awesome and so fetch, and then turning things into… even if it wasn’t on purpose, you still let it happen.”

“Okay, in that movie, when they said ‘fetch’ isn’t a thing, they kinda meant it.”

The goddess looked up at Sunset, her mouth set in a hard line. “Stop trying to be funny, or change the subject. You wanted me here, you wanted to discuss this. So discuss.”

“Alright. I like you. A lot. But I don’t know if that means I want to date you, or anything.” Her face felt like it was built around a heat lamp, so she finally sank down into the couch and pulled her Disney princess blanket over herself to hide. “And I have never had a thought like that about a girl before, and it scares the shit out of me. So I’m sorry for freaking you out, or disappointing you or whatever, but believe me, I’m having a gigantic life crisis.”

“Better. Well, better for the purposes of this conversation.” A harsh, humourless laugh spilled from her throat. “I’d, um, come over there and pat you on the back or something, but that somehow seems like a less than smart move at the moment.”

“I wish it wasn’t.”

“Me too.” Clearing her throat, Twilight asked, “You really had no idea you have… some feelings for me until after the kiss?”

“Not really. There was that moment, just before I sent you after Snails… like, it felt different, but it didn’t feel like ‘love’ or whatever. Just different.”

“So then… I had the early warning signs, and failed to heed them. You were unaware so you couldn’t have stopped it — even though I still contend that you were in control of your own body. But as far as who could have prevented the whole thing… it’s mostly on me.” Sighing, she pushed ahead, “And I wouldn’t have, because I try never to use my pre-knowledge of a summoner against them if I can avoid it — or change how I treat them because of it. That’s just my standard operating procedure.”

“Makes sense to me. And maybe I do wish you’d warned me — or us — but if you normally just sit on that info, then I guess I can see how you wouldn’t have expected me to… to jump all over you that way.”

“Right.” Her laugh was beyond nervous that time. “In five thousand years, this is the first time someone’s made any kind of pass at me and somewhat surprised me with it. That’s actually super impressive, in a messed-up way.”

“Hey, at least you thought it might happen — I had zero freaking clue! For a second, I actually thought you were the one who did it until I was like, ‘Oh wait, no, I moved.’ Scary as fuck.”

Snorting more casually now, Twilight edged a little closer on the couch. “Let me know if this is too weird for you at the moment.”

Sunset’s heart picked up in tempo, but she said, “I will. Not yet, though.”

“Good, good. Now… this has been hard on both of us, I guess, but I’m thinking it might be better if you don’t summon me for a while.”

“What?!” Finally, she whipped the blanket off her head to stare up at Twilight. “But the whole point of you coming here was so that we could move past the—the stupid thing!”

“You calling a kiss ‘the stupid thing’ sort of proves that you need more time,” she laughed, smiling down at Sunset. “And I’m not saying forever, because I really like you — like so much! But if your feelings for me turned you from straight to slightly gay…”

“Yeah, I don’t even know if I’d go that far. Sure, it felt nice, but that doesn’t have to mean I want to do it again.”

At that, Twilight’s smile turned slightly sly. “Huh.”

“Huh? Huh what?”

“Well… you hadn’t said how you felt about the actual kiss itself yet, that’s all.” Smiling wolfishly, she whispered, “Tell me.”

“Don’t do that,” Sunset groaned, trying to cover herself with the blanket again — but Twilight held it down, preventing her retreat. “God, I just want to forget about it! You and me, our whole awesome dynamic was messed up because of one weak moment!”

“But did you like it?”

“We didn’t talk for days! I was a wreck!”

“But did you like it?”

Glowering with a passion, Sunset hissed, ”If I didn't know better, I’d say you were trying to get it to happen again. Or at least make me think about it way too much.”

“I’m trying to get you to be honest with yourself. Because the more I ask you to think about it, the more you blush.” Her smile faded. “You really did like it, didn’t you?”

“Well…”

“It’s okay,” Twilight finally conceded, patting her back through the blanket. “Yes, it’s… a little uncomfortable, but I would hate for you to lie to yourself. My lips are irresistible, or so many have told me.”

With a loud ‘pffffft’, Sunset reached up to push Twilight away, and they laughed. At the end of it, she sighed and settled down on the couch. “Sorry to have to make you put up with me. I didn’t mean to make it awkward between us; it’s the last thing I wanted. Not with you and me.”

“You’re totally fine. Well, as long as you don’t kiss me without asking again first.”

“Oh, so now you want me to ask?” At Twilight’s epic eye-roll, she snorted and jostled the goddess with her shoulder, eliciting another peal of giggles between them. When those finally slowed, she inhaled deeply through her nose, and released from her mouth, calming her heart as much as she could.

Then, as if by chance, Sunset recalled Cadence’s words from the previous night.

“You should try singing with her. There’s a magic in music that guides you, makes you what you are — makes you who you are. It might clear things up between you two.”

A slow smile worked its way onto her lips as the first song she could think of came to mind, and oh, of course, she thought with chagrin, it’s Disney.

“Hey,” she said, nudging Twilight again.

“Hmm?”

“I just wanted to tell you… you’ve got a friend in me,” she said, a slight lilt to her voice. Twilight blinked, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Sunset’s lips quirked up, she continued, “You’ve got a friend in me.”

“Oh... “ Twilight grinned slowly, her eyes narrowing. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes,” Sunset said, smirking fully. She continued, almost hearing the familiar, jaunty little beat that heralded the song in her head. “When the road looks rough ahead, and you’re miles and miles from your nice, warm bed…”

Twilight barked a laugh, pushing away to stand from the couch. “Cadence put you up to this, didn’t she?” Her words were accusatory, but her tone was anything but.

Ignoring her, Sunset stood as well, bobbing her head along with the beat. “Hey, you just remember what your old pal said: you’ve got a friend in me~” Then, reaching out towards Twilight, she finished, “Yah, you’ve got a friend in me!”

Smiling fully, the goddess sighed. “You’re serious about this?” she asked, though her body was swaying slightly to the song’s rhythm.

“C’mon, Twi,” Sunset urged, gesturing with her hand. “Let’s really belt this one out. You and me.”

And, with a clearly fake-groan, Twilight finally took her hand and sang, “You’ve got a friend in me... you’ve got a friend in me~”

“There you go!” Sunset cheered as she spun Twilight in place. She shouldn’t have been surprised by the sound of Twilight’s singing voice — after all, she had been alive long enough to become adept at almost everything. But still, hearing the girl sing along with her as she pulled the goddess into a simple two-step, she did feel her heart thud just a little bit harder.

“You’ve got troubles, I’ve got ‘em too — there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. We stick together and we see it through! ‘Cause you’ve got a friend in me! You’ve got a friend in me.” Twilight ended her verse by lifting her arm so Sunset could pirouette below it, and she twirled as gracefully as a girl with no formal dance training could twirl, continuing the song.

“Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am—”

“—Bigger and stronger, too!” Twilight picked up for Sunset, and she twirled her again, with more success the second time around.

“Maybe...” she giggled, and then her breath hitched in her throat as she suddenly found herself in Twilight’s arms, their faces inches away from each other as the goddess sang.

“But none of the will ever love you the way I do… It’s… me and you.”

The pause was noticeable as they stared at each other, but the music pulsing through Sunset’s body refused to pause, and she found herself murmuring as gently as she could, “and as the years go by…”

“Our friendship will never die,” Twilight whispered.

Sunset's tongue swept over her bottom lip nervously. “You’re gonna see it’s our destiny. You’ve got a friend in me.”

“You’ve got a friend in me…”

Breathing slowly, they merely regarded each other cautiously, optimistic. Add to that the hand pressed into the small of Sunset’s back and they had a genuine recipe for disaster, with just a dash of shame.

“We, uh… we might be in trouble,” Sunset finally said.

It took a full ten seconds for Twilight to murmur back, “Yeah. Yeah, we might be.”

“But you do get that I’m not doing it on purpose, right?”

“No, I do. You know that I’m not, right?”

“Yeah, totally.”

“Okay. Okay, good. That’s… good.”

Nodding her agreement, Sunset leaned forward until her forehead was just pressing into the goddess’, breath shaky as she tried as best she could to think instead of do. “Can… I ask you something?”

“Please.”

“Do you… I mean, I’m sorry if this comes out sounding dumb, or totally cliché. And we kinda talked about this before, in a way. But can you... feel things the way humans do?”

God… hearing the words come out of her mouth made the question sound even worse than they did in her head.

“I can,” Twilight assured her, swallowing hard. “As I’ve told you, when I’m in this form, I feel what I would feel as if I were human. The mere fact that I can shift out of it at any time doesn’t negate the nature of a human form. I’m… ‘real’, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Another short, jerky nod. “The kiss… you asked me how it felt to me.”

“Yeah.”

“What about you?” When there was no immediate reply, she let go of Twilight’s hands and moved her own up the goddess’ back, circling around the base of her wings and alighting on her skin once she had climbed high enough. “How did I feel to you?”

“Why even ask?” she whispered in a tight voice again. “You and I… it can’t work. It can’t go anywhere. And I don’t think of you that way, I don’t want to think of you that way. So what’s the point?”

“Maybe this is its own point.”

There came a quiet chuckle as Twilight reached up and brushed her thumb over Sunset’s cheek. “You’re so wise sometimes, even though I’m thousands of years older than you, it’s like… you can still teach me things.” However, just when their lips began to drift toward each other as if pulled by magnetism, she stepped back. “But I really can’t.”

“Okay,” Sunset said immediately, scrubbing at her face with both hands to hide her shame.

“Not because… of you.”

“You don’t have to make excuses.”

“No, I mean it,” she told Sunset really firmly, hand suddenly a vice-grip on her shoulder. “You are… I don’t know, more than I ever expected. From anypony I’ve ever met. But I won’t… I can’t, and even if I could, I’m completely unsure if this would be what I want from our relationship, okay?”

“You can’t?” Then her eyes widened slightly. “Because of the mirror? You’re trapped…”

Twilight’s face pinched slightly, her eyes darting away. “I can’t get involved with anyone. It just… I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“That’s… okay.” Sunset took a deep, cleansing breath. It really wasn’t, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Not yet, anyway. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

“You’re right, I didn’t.” Sunset remained steadfast, so eventually, she caved. “It was… unlike anything else I’ve ever felt. And I’d rather not go into any more detail than that, if you don’t mind.”

“You’re… trying to protect me, aren’t you?”

“Trying!” the goddess burst out, throwing her hands up in the air. “And you’re not making it any easier, gosh!”

Snickering, Sunset hugged her tightly — a warm, friend-hug. Of course, her heart still thumped faster from being so close to the other girl, but she kept that weird new component of her thought process in check as best she could. “You’re kind of awesome, you know that?”

“Yeah, yeah. Now, if you’re satisfied with the results of the summoning, I really should be getting back — I requested a… sort of leave from this world for a while, but of course, your very specific summoning kind of blew right past that.”

“Oh… you didn’t want to see me?”

“For a while. I didn’t want to see anybody, really. Kind of went over that, didn’t we?”

“We did, but I didn’t know you made it all official and such.” Shrugging with one shoulder, she asked in a soft voice, “So, um… after this talk…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll just say that enough time has passed,” she sighed, releasing Sunset. “In a couple days, I’ll just say ‘I had enough time off’ or some shit. But it would make things easier on me if you didn’t summon me the way you did just now -- not at first anyway.” And she waited for Sunset to respond. And waited. “What?”

“I still don’t want you to go.”

“Now, now, that’s how the cud hit the fan last time,” Twilight chided her as she took a step towards the bathroom.

“Okay, okay. Sorry I’m such a… a needy piece of shit.”

“Needy, perhaps. The other part, not ever. Later, sheriff.” Winking and cocking a finger-gun in her general direction, the goddess walked into the bathroom and vanished.

There was another problem, one thing that Twilight did not consider. One thing that kept the arrangement from being so simplistic: Sunset’s determination to figure herself out.

Because the more she thought about it, the more she knew that there was a something that was more than her usual friendships, and that she only felt it with her. Maybe it was because the idea of kissing a girl had never occurred to her before it actually came to pass, or maybe it really was that Twilight was special. Either way, no amount of pretending that she didn’t care could make those feelings just evaporate.

A brief conversation on the phone with Rarity helped clarify things. To better receive a bit more personalized advice, she described the way they had danced, sang their little duet, the feeling she’d had when they were pressed so close to each other that she could have counted every last eyelash on her perfect lids. How their breath mixed in the air and threatened to create a mini tornado.

“Wow… you got it bad.”

“Damn. That’s what I was afraid of,” Sunset groaned as she sank back against the tree trunk on the quad. “You really think so? That I’m… you know, the thing?”

“No question. I mean, obviously I don’t know anything about lesbians, but I do know about dating in general — and if that happened to me with a boy I liked, I’d be putting on Dior and Dolce and popping birth control like it was wholesale.”

“Rarity!” The muffled laughter did nothing make her feel less embarrassed. “I’m not even — we only danced, okay?! God!”

“The next dance is the horizontal tango, is it not?” But she quickly followed up with, “Okay, sorry, you’re a newbie lesbian and this is making you nervous, I’m sorry. But really, it sounds like she’s kind of into you and just… not sure if she’s ready.”

“Right, yeah. Besides the fact that I don’t think she’s… allowed to date.”

“Allowed?!”

Panicking, Sunset scrambled for an explanation. “Uhh… um, something like that. I kind of got the impression that she won’t… let herself date. Like, something happened a long time ago, something bad, and she feels so horrible about it that she won’t let herself get involved with anybody again.”

“Ohhh, okay. I guess I can understand that.”

“Yeah.” Perhaps it only counted as a little white lie — or maybe not so much, in this case. Even if it didn’t she knew opening up about Twilight’s actual situation wouldn’t in any way uncomplicate matters.

“Well… alright, I can’t lie, that’s kind of sucks. But we’ve all got our little issues, haven’t we?” They both mulled things over for a moment while Sunset twirled her red-blonde hair between her thumb and index finger. “Why don’t you talk to her family?”

“Huh?”

“Well, I mean, assuming they know her situation and all, and you said you’ve already talked to her sister about this. Like… just go talk to them, tell them you’re serious about Twilight and want to help her with this. Whatever it is.”

Sunset was all set to laugh, to tell Rarity that it wasn’t really okay to go behind someone’s back and talk to their family — in this case, a group of immortal goddesses — like that, when she stopped herself. Not even knowing it, that suggestion had given her an idea.

“Rarity, has anybody ever told you that you’re kind of a genius?”

Laughing, she answered almost immediately. “Only the whole world, dear. And I’m not arguing.”

“Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty and Magic; I call upon the elements here and now. Friendship ties everything together, and makes it all complete. I call upon the magic of Flurry Heart, to come to me tonight!”

“Element of Music, you are bound to me, to do my bidding until thy work is done! Come to me!”

Again, as before, the air popped and the room shook with power, and the bright ‘crack’ of magic was starting to become routine for Sunset as she took in the new hazy, demonic form before her.

“Treguna... Mekoides… Tracorum Satis Dee,” came the rumbling noise from all around her. At first, the nonsensical words made Sunset blink in confusion. But, knowing the goddesses’ preference for Disney tunes, it took her only a moment for the lyrics to click with her.

“Well, to tell you the truth, that does seem a bit old fashioned,” she said, watching as the shadowy figure tilted its head to the side curiously. “After all, we are in the twentieth century.”

After a long moment, “What do you suggest?”

Bingo.

“Well, it needs rhythm. Tempo. Music. As I always say: ‘do it with a flair’.” She leaned forward, grinning wryly. “Do you mind if I have a go?”

“...Of course not.”

And, adding a simply four-beat timing to the words, Sunset chanted, “Treguna... Mekoides… Tracorum Satis Dee. Treguna... Mekoides… Tracorum Satis Dee…”

And, building off of her chant, the figure lifted its claws and sang, in a beautifully melodic trill,

“Substitutiary locomotion; mystic power that's far beyond the wildest notion. It's so weird, so feared, yet wonderful to see. Substitutiary locomotion come to me!”

“Shh!” Sunset hissed as her chant cut short, pointing towards the goddess. “Now.”

And, slowly, the shadowy figure crouched, pointing a claw vaguely in her direction, uttering, “Treguna... Mekoides… Tracorum Satis Dee...”

And somehow, inexplicably, Sunset felt her foot tap on the ground. She blinked, her grin widening even further as she realized the magic of Music was at work. Her foot tapped again, testing, and then her other copied the motion, creating an audible ‘click’ of her heel on the wooden floor of her bedroom.

Then, feeling the urge to continue the song bubble up from the very center of her being, she chanted, “Treguna... Mekoides… Tracorum Satis Dee—”

“—I don't want locomotiary substitution, or remote intrasitory convolution. Only one precise solution is the key. Substitutiary locomotion they must be!” Flurry sang loud, her voice echoing through the room and guiding Sunset’s every action as she tapped out the rhythm with her feet with the precision of a professional. All the while, the goddess circled around her, singing out the words to the song with all the flamboyance somehow born for the role of the witch Eglantine Price.

“Treguna Mekoides and Tracorum Satis Dee!” Sunset finished at the same time as the Goddess of Music, throwing out her arms as her feet scraped along the floor, tapping out a flourish to the end of the song.

Or… so she thought. The beat continued thrumming through her body, and as she tapped her feet, the goddess joining at her side, her foot claws clacking on her floor in tandem. As they danced beside each other, the shadowy form shimmered and rippled, and the smoke and darkness fell away to reveal light pink skin, shoulder-length lavender hair streaked with blue, and bright, ice-chip blue eyes that sparkled back at her. Her wings — the same color as her skin — tucked in as she spun, careful not to knock Sunset during their dance number. Her skirt was a sequined little number that wouldn’t go amiss in a run of ‘Footloose’, and swirled and flared out as she spun in place, her baby blue sleeveless sequin shirt flapping as she danced with Sunset.

She turned and began marching out of her bedroom towards the living room, and excusing the little kick in Flurry’s rump -- as was part of the routine — they made it with seconds to spare.

The goddess whirled around and spun in a large circle, singing the end of the song as they made full use of Sunset’s living room. “Substitutiary locomotion. Lovely substitutiary locomotion. You'll make substututiary history—”

“—with Treguna Mekoides and a little help from me.” Sunset said with a definitive nod.

And then the finish, together as one, Sunset and Flurry threw their arms out and and sang, “With Treguna Mekoides and Tracorum Satis Dee!”

The song ended with a flourish in Sunset’s head, and before she could even take a breath she found herself tackled to the couch, the wind knocked out of her and a laughing goddess rubbing her face against her chest.

“Yes!” Flurry Heart squealed, delighted. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“Um, hi?” Sunset wheezed, unsure of whether to embrace the immortal goddess or rebuff her.

“You seriously have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for somepony to get that reference! I haven’t had anyone sing with me like that in years! I was starting to think that this entire fucking world was full of people who could only recite ‘Let It Go’ like a bunch of fucking sheep! I mean really! Nobody appreciates the classics anymore! But you—” she snuggled a bit closer, all but burying her face into Sunset’s cleavage. “—oh, you! You proved me wrong! Fuck it, if Auntie Twi won’t take you, I will!”

She pulled her face from Sunset’s chest and grinned a megawatt smile up at her. “Oh baby… you can sing with me anytime.”

“Oooookay,” Sunset said, carefully peeling away the goddess from her person. She did so without complaint, moving back to sit up on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her and her smile stretched from ear to ear. “Okay, um… thanks? I guess. But, uh, I don’t—”

“But don’t worry!” Flurry cut her off. “I mean, mom filled me in on everything with you and Twilight. I’m totally rooting for you; both of us are.” Then her smile turned sly — and for some reason, Sunset saw Cadence’s face in her daughter; unsurprising, since they were directly related. “Unless, of course… you change your mind? If that’s the case… well, all you need to do is ask.”

“Change my— no! No, I don’t plan to change my—” she grunted sharply. “Jesus Christ! First Cadence, and now you? What the shit is up with you ponies and your coming onto me?”

Flurry shrugged, her sequin shirt shimmering in the light. “Hey, what can I say? Mom likes you, and not many people can actually pull off a musical number with me the way you did.” She paused, shifting a little in her seat. “Shit, I actually got a little wet there towards the end. You got a gift there, Sunny.”

“I’m… going to forget you said that.” Sunset dropped her face into her hands. “Look, I called you here because I wanted some help. And since I already asked Cadence…”

“You thought I would bring in some new ideas. Yeah, I gotcha.” Flurry leaned back in sofa and dropped her bare feet to the floor, crossed her legs leisurely. “Well, you got me here all night. So hit me. What do you wanna know?”

“Right, okay. I want to know…” Another deep breath. This was a big deal, and she was actually quite terrified of how things might go after asking. “I want to know if there’s any way to free Twilight from the mirror.”

At first, she wasn’t sure Flurry was going to answer. The goddess seemed to freeze completely. By the time she unfroze, Sunset wished she hadn’t… because she started to laugh. Long, high and melodically, she laughed for at least a solid minute before she finally started to regain control of herself.

“Oh!” she finally sighed weakly, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh, Celestia, I haven’t laughed like that since… well, I can’t remember when!”

“You don’t have to be rude,” Sunset grunted.

“Sorry, but it just caught me totally off guard! You want to free Twilight from the mirror? That’s... “ She pondered her words for a moment, before tilting her head to the side. “Well… we haven’t thought about that in a very long time.”

“Why not? You’d think that’s something you would try to do right from the get-go.”

For the first time since she arrived, Flurry’s smile slipped a notch. “Of course we have. The Catastrophe was a long time ago — much further back any anypony really understands -- but I was there. I was young then, as was Twilight and mom… but I remember. We tried for years. Decades. Centuries. Nothing we tried ever worked. Not for a while at least.”

“Why? What really happened?”

The goddess hesitated for a moment, watching Sunset with wary eyes. After a while, she asked, “Let me ask you this: what would you do with Twilight should we free her from the mirror?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Flurry’s eyebrows climbed into her bangs. “Nothing, tra la laaa?”

Sunset snorted. “You watch as many movies as Twilight does.”

“You’re telling me,” Flurry went on, rolling her eyes at Sunset’s quip, “That you want to go through all the effort of trying to get Twilight freed from the mirror, only to… what, not ask anything in return? Anything at all?”

“Nothing but… well, nothing but her friendship. I wouldn’t demand it, or make it a condition. Just… that’s what I’d be hoping, anyway.”

She was expecting laughter. But when Flurry simply stared at her for the longest time she shifted, uncomfortable.

“You’re serious.” When Sunset didn’t even nod — just continued standing there silently — she sat back with a puff of air. “Damn, Mom was right. You’re something else.”

“Yeah, yeah. Is there anything you can tell me? Do for me, tell me anything I can do?”

“Not really,” Flurry muttered. “It’s not simply a matter of casting a spell to free Twilight’s destiny from the mirror. It’s… complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

“It’s complicated,” the goddess said with conviction. “Because my dear auntie doesn’t want to be freed.” When Sunset blinked in shock, she folded her arms over her chest and frowned. “Do you think that we, the Princesses of Equestria, aren’t able to counter the magic at work with Twilight and the mirror if we really wanted to? I’ve been alive for more than five thousand years, Sunset Shimmer. I am second to only Twilight in terms of raw magical power, and the two of us trumped by only Celestia herself. Trust me when I tell you that we are able to break Twilight Sparkle free from Starswirl’s Mirror if she us wanted to.”

She paused, her face pinching with old irritation. “The problem is that she doesn’t want us to help.”

“Why not?”

“Because she feels like she deserves anything that happens to her.”

Feeling a slight stirring of rage build in her chest at that, Sunset growled, “That’s crap. All her friends died trying to stop the mirror from breaking. It wasn’t her fault; it was an accident.”

“It was an accident that Twilight feels she could have stopped if she tried harder,” Flurry shot back, frowning. “And I suggest you not argue with her otherwise. It may have happened long before you or anypony can remember except in history books, but to someone like Twilight, such a wound hurts just as bad now as it did then. It’s shaped her into who she is, and everything she stands for. To try and prove otherwise would only push her away.”

“Okay, okay. Sorry.” Sunset held her hands out apologetically. “Look, I just… isn’t there anything I can do? She’s miserable. I can feel it every time I talk to her. I want to help.”

Sighing softly, Flurry considered Sunset’s words. Her foot bobbed up and down to an unheard beat, and just before she was about to ask what the goddess was thinking about, she straightened. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to arrange a meeting.”

“Good.” Then Sunset blinked. “Wait… a meeting with who?”

“With ‘whom’.” When all Sunset gave her in return for that grammatical correction was a death glare, the goddess threw up both hands and huffed, “No one wants to better themselves anymore. Anyway, you’ll see when I’ve made the preparations.”

Sighing, Sunset let herself sink down into the couch. ”Fine, fine, keep your little secrets.” She stewed for a few moments longer before saying, “How about next time I summon you we sing the ‘DuckTales’ theme song? You totally got me in the mood for some classics.”

With a loud ‘Eeeeeee!!!’ Flurry tackled her again, burying her face into her chest and giggling madly.

“Oh, Sunset! Take me now!” she squealed, her hands working at Sunset’s sides to tickle her ribs.

“Oof! G-get off me, you f-fucking psycho!” Sunset shrieked, laughing despite herself at the girl’s enthusiasm. For all her odd personality quirks and mood shifts, she had to admit the Goddess of Music was pretty fun to be around.

Then, suddenly, Flurry stopped and her head shot up, eyes sharp and alert. “Someone is coming.”

“What?” By the time she asked, the lock was turning in the door, and she lowered her voice to a hiss. “Fuck! It’s Rainbow, she — what are you gonna do?!”

Large blue eyes blinked at her. “What exactly do you want me to do? You summoned me.” It was a few seconds too late. Only now did Sunset realize that, given that she was the one technically in command of Flurry, she could have simply ordered her to hide instead of asking for an opinion. But as she scrambled for something to say — anything — she craned her neck around to see Rainbow open the door and walk into the room.

“Hey, do you mind if I borrow some… shampoo…?” The young woman asked, pausing in speech and her approach as she took in the situation on the couch.

Namely, a situation where Sunset Shimmer was lying directly underneath a strange girl with purple and blue hair, wearing a sequin skirt and top, and a horn and pair of wings attached conspicuously to her person. And the fact that Sunset was breathing heavily from their little bout of tickle-torturing could definitely be misconstrued as something less-than innocent.

“What’s… uh, what’s going on here?” she asked, eyeing the two girls on the couch warily.

Sunset opened her mouth to say that whatever Rainbow thought was happening, it most definitely isn’t what it looks like!

Unfortunately, Flurry Heart beat her to it.

“This… is exactly what it looks like.”

Damn it.

Author's Notes:

A/N: Flurry Heart is best princess. Fite me.

Also, gonna save you a google here.

You've Got a Friend In Me

Substitutiary Locomotion

Yay Disney

Chapter 17: Move Over Alice, This Is MY Rabbit Hole!

“This… is exactly what it looks like.”

Rainbow blinked once. Twice. A third time. She looked at a loss for words, so Sunset took the opportunity to break the awkward silence.

“S-shampoo! Right! Uh, h-help yourself, Rainbow,” she tried, hoping maybe if she played everything off like it was no big deal, she would leave all the quicker.

“Okay,” the girl said slowly, her eyes narrowing. “Uh, who’s this?”

Glancing up above her, Sunset felt her stomach sinking down further into her gut with every passing second — and then was relieved to see Flurry Heart’s wings and horn were gone, and her skin was a much more believable complexion. Her hair still looked like something out of a bad anime, though, but at least that was easily explainable. Overall, she no longer looked so out of place that the automatic assumption would be ‘a being from another plane of existence’ and instead the slightly more plausible ‘fetish sex worker’.

Sunset wasn’t sure which she would have preferred.

“This is, uh, Flurry Heart.” Kicking herself, she realized that she should have used another name. “A friend of a friend. Sorry, if I’d known you were coming over, I’d have told you I had… company.”

“Nice to meet you!” Flurry chirped, still straddling Sunset without a care in the world. Obviously surprised, Rainbow nodded vaguely by both the woman’s presence and their odd position on the couch.

“Right. Um, so uh, I’ll just get the shampoo real quick. Don’t let me interrupt, um, whatever’s going on in here!”

“Okay, good,” Sunset laughed awkwardly. Then caught herself and squeaked, “I mean, not that you weren’t welcome to hang, but we… yeah, if you need the shampoo… yeah.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow laughed back — just as uncomfortably — as she went into the bathroom. Flurry was shaking with barely controlled giggles when she called out, “Hey… Sunset?”

“Yeah? I mean, what?”

“Has this… uh, funky symbol always been on your bathroom floor?”

A chill shot down into the pit of her stomach. “Oh, that? Uhh…”

“I only ask ‘cuz it… well, it looks like it’s drawn with eyeliner. And what’s this page on the sink?”

Flurry was absolutely no help; she rocked with silent laughter at Sunset’s mounting panic. Just how the hell was she supposed to explain some kind of magical summoning circle and an incantation without just admitting what they were?

“Oh, I was just messing around,” she finally said in a would-be amused voice. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, this is weird… have you been marathoning Charmed or something?” When she came back into the living room, she was holding the spell, narrowed, suspicious eyes flicking between the two. “And here you introduce me to a new friend that's just a little too hot to be real. So either you joined a new clique of supermodels who like to draw weird shit in bathrooms, or…”

When the room had been silent for about ten seconds, Flurry, her amusement at the situation finally exhausted, extricated herself from Sunset’s lap and stood. “Or what, child?”

“Or you guys have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Sunset,” Flurry said, her tone silky smooth. “Do you want me to alter her memory? This could be trouble for the future.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened comically. “W-what?!”

“No, there’s been enough of that happening to her already,” Sunset hissed.

“Oh?” Flurry blinked, and then nodded. “Oh… the reversal spell; you were dissatisfied.”

“Well, she did die, so I didn’t really feel like it was an overreaction!”

“Who died?!” Rainbow interjected, her expression rapidly flicking between outrage and shock.

“You,” Sunset sighed. “Okay, um, you might wanna sit down -- this is going to take a while…”

“So let me get this straight,” Rainbow muttered weakly about an hour later, her hands shaking around a mug of now-cold cocoa Sunset had fixed her when she started telling her story. “You… have been doing this for weeks, and nobody else knows? Nobody’s noticed the, um, otherworldly activity?”

“Who’s gonna notice? I mean, the guys on campus would probably recognize Twilight if they saw her, but—”

“And you’re gay?! Wow, glad you trusted me enough to tell me!”

“It’s been like, a few days!” Sunset snapped back. “And I’ve been figuring it out myself the whole time, alright?! God!”

Rubbing at her face with one hand, enough to make the pale cheeks and nose as red as her highlight, Rainbow looked over at her with a strained, worried face. “Just… are you sure you’re in love with this… immortal princess?”

“Technically she’s a goddess. Well, both, I guess.”

“Whatever! That’s crazy — this whole thing is crazy, and you might be, too! I can’t believe you’re even thinking about going there to… to Equestria or whatever, to what, win her over? Win her freedom or something?”

“Rainbow… I have to.”

“Because you think you love her.”

“Because it’s the right thing to do. She’s one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, and… and I have to try. For her, even if not for us — even if there is no ‘us’ at all.”

They held each other’s gaze, gauging seriousness, trying to psych the other out — to force one of them to admit they were fighting a losing battle. Eventually, Rainbow broke and sighed as she looked away. “You really are serious. It… sounds like love to me.”

“Yeah, I’m not really one hundred percent on calling it that yet, personally. But I’m not ruling it out anymore, either. It’s… this is scarier than I’m probably acting like it is. Just don’t want you thinking I’m walking into it blind, okay? I know it’s stupid, and I know it might not work, or I might get in over my head…”

“Then why do it?” Glancing briefly at Flurry Heart, Rainbow leaned closer and grasped Sunset’s shoulder, shaking it hard. “From what you’ve told me about how all this works, if this is even real and I’m not just having an intense dream because of that expired can of ravioli… anytime you want to bring Twilight over for some reruns of Futurama, all you have to do is go say the magic words. The mirror won’t be breaking anytime soon; not at least in our lifetime. You can still see her all the time with no risks at all, so what’s the point? Why do this?”

“Because she deserves to be free.”

The answer was so short and to the point that it silenced all. The shuffling of feet and the sound of the clock on the wall filled the small space until Flurry spoke up.

“Well… this has all been… interesting, but I need to be getting back. I have to talk to my mom about your plan and do a bit of reading up on inter-world transportation magic. And the sooner I can leave, the easier it’ll be when you next summon me. Which you should not do using my name; if I’m unable to figure out how to bring you back with me yet, I won’t answer, and you can call Twilight Sparkle and watch some cartoons instead.”

“Right. Okay,” she sighed as she pushed to her feet to follow Flurry Heart to the bathroom. Peripheral vision told her that Rainbow was right on her heels. “Just… do your best. I know this isn’t part of your usual thing…”

“Meh. No problem. Really, you have a sort of tenacity and determination that inspires me. Most humans these days aren’t capable of such depth.” Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “I take it you don’t mind if I make my exit in front of Nosy Nancy?”

At the same time that Rainbow said “Hey!” Sunset shrugged, “Doesn’t matter at this point.”

“Honestly… you should reconsider having me cloud her memories. This could be troublesome later.”

“Okay, I was wondering about that -- you can only affect her memory of tonight, right? Like Twilight with that reset button?”

“Exactly. And with what that sort of magic does to the mirror — and by extension, Twilight herself — it isn’t a decision to be made lightly.”

“Hey!” Rainbow snapped again. “I’m standing right here, you know!”

“Chill down a notch — you won’t remember this if we do decide to wipe your memory,” Sunset said offhandedly as she drummed her fingers against her bicep. “And if we don’t, hey, we didn’t lie to you about it, either.”

“Well… I guess that’s true…”

Nodding, Flurry stepped into the circle and turned. “Final chance, Sunset.”

“I trust Rainbow. Just… go do what you gotta do.”

“Alright. Hopefully I will have some good news for you the next time we meet. And...” She winked at Sunset. “I’ll cue up DuckTales for you.”

“Bitchin’.”

When she began to fade and eventually disappear, Rainbow fell to her knees beside Sunset, staring at the spot where the goddess had just been as if waiting for the trick to be over, for someone to come out from behind her shower curtain and let her know that she was being punk’d or something. No such moment came, which eventually forced her to whisper, “It’s… real. It’s all real, you’re not even fucking kidding.”

“Yeah.”

“How… how have you been dealing with this, on top of your classes and your mom and everything? Like… I’d crack. I’m already about to crack now, and this shit isn’t even really happening to me!”

Sunset went back to her couch and flopped down, splayed across it like a starfish. “Sometimes, you do what you can. And… even the weirdest shit eventually starts to feel normal if it goes on long enough. Maybe losing my mind and I can’t even tell. Who knows?”

“No, you… seem pretty lucid. Adaptable as all hell, but lucid.”

Nodding her understanding, Sunset laid there for a while, letting the pressures and pitfalls swirl around her mind. When she opened her eyes, it was to find Rainbow staring down at her, and she raised her eyebrow. “What?”

“Um… okay, promise not to laugh?”

“No. Just tell me, I’m too tired to guess or jump through hoops.”

“Is it weird that I’m more surprised about you being a lesbian that you summoning a magical princess from another world?”

“Oh, so I’m the kind of person who would summon beings from another world, but not the kind who might crush on a girl?! What kind of—”

“Okay, okay! Should have asked you not to get mad instead, since clearly, you aren’t laughing!”

“Yeah… okay, I shouldn’t have snapped. But why is that? And for the record, I don’t really think of myself as a ‘lesbian’ — I mean, I have crushed on a guy before, remember?”

“Bisexual then, whatever.” She thought for a moment. “I don’t know. You just barely even thought about dating the whole time I’ve known you, and when you did, it was about Flash. So it’s… yeah, I guess if you just don’t care that much, the gay part of your brain wouldn’t have surfaced, of something.”

“Ah.” Sunset couldn’t help but laugh. “Captain, we have visual on the gay quadrant of Sunset’s brain. Requesting confirmation!”

“Oh, shut up!” she snorted. Then her face fell. “You and Twilight… you really think this can work?”

“It has to. I mean, I don’t have many options.”

“I guess… and once you get her free?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

Rainbow finally sat down in what Sunset started to think of as her ‘Princess Throne’, on the edge of the cushion and visibly nervous. “But you heard it yourself… she doesn’t want to be free. I know it sounds like she got a bum rap… but there’s got to be a reason for her still being trapped, right? I mean… she wouldn't refuse help unless there was a good reason.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Thing is, I know Twilight is miserable like this. She is stuck coming here at every beck and call, forced to grant wishes from fucking asshats—”

“Asshats like you?” Rainbow interjected.

“—fucking asshats!” Sunset forged on. “Whether she wants to or not. And just because Twilight has some sort of fucking martyr complex doesn't mean she is happy with it! I know she isn’t...I can feel it.”

“How can you be sure, though?”

“Because I am! You’ve met her, don’t you…” Then she trailed off. “That’s right. You met her before, but we erased your memory because…”

That definitely killed the mood in the room, even if nothing else was going to before that point. Their eyes met, and Rainbow turned to look out the window.

“How… you said it happened, but not how it happened. What… I mean, what did you stop?

“Don’t think about it.”

“But you did this thing for me, and I don’t even kn—”

“Don’t.” Both of her arms snaked around her stomach as she whispered. “Just… I don’t want to think about it anymore. Please believe me when I say I’m glad I was able to do something about it, but… thinking about… what happened, it’s—”

“Hey,” Rainbow whispered, kneeling by the couch to grasp Sunset’s hand and give it a hard squeeze. “I’m sorry, I… yeah, this is really messed up for me, and will probably give me some nightmares, but I guess when it comes down to it, you were the one who had to live through the experience, so… I’m sorry for prying.”

“No, you’re fine.” Wiping both her eyes, she cleared her throat. “I… told myself that since you are, there was no use crying. So I need to stick to that.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow replied in a tight voice.

“Okay. Okay, I’m good, I promise.”

“Okay. Should… I mean, do you need time to yourself? Or what?” No immediate response. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Could you maybe not just yet? It’s… having you around is kind of… comforting. You’re still here. I didn’t make the wrong choice — I didn’t, I know I didn’t!”

Curling both arms around Sunset’s back, Rainbow began to rock her gently. “Hey, hey… you’re awesome, okay? We’re both okay, and it’s because you made the right choice. We’re good.”

“You sure? You sure you’re… not mad that I didn’t tell you?”

“No! Not even — dude, you saved my fucking life! You… God, you saved me and I never even knew. You were going to let me go on without even knowing how lucky I am to be alive!”

Then they were both crying. Sunset would later recall it being way disgusting, and wishing other things had been said so they could have avoided such an ugly exposure of their innermost feelings, but she also knew this had probably been one of the most healthy things that could have happened to them. Catharsis is not always so easy to come by.

By the following evening, Sunset had resigned herself to many possible outcomes. Freeing Twilight from a five-thousand year imprisonment from a magical gateway to other worlds: check. Finding out that nothing would change and she had wasted her time: check. Managing to do either of the two and still managing to piss of an immortal goddess: check check checkaroo.

Thinking about everything that could come from this made her fears feel very real, but in the end, she knew she was still going to try. This wasn’t about her.

Just in case things went tits up with her little ‘visit’ to another world — even though she was a bit skeptical that it was actually going to happen yet — she penned a hasty note to give Rainbow, so she might pass it along to anybody who would ask about her. It wasn’t very long or detailed, but it was nominally more responsible that simply disappearing without a trace.

Sorry for not saying goodbye. You probably won’t be able to find me and that’s for the best. But I love you and I hope you have a long and happy life. I wasn’t depressed and it wasn’t your fault; I was trying to help a friend. Maybe someday you’ll understand. Sunset Shimmer.

The wording was so ambiguous and stupid, but she knew there was no way to temper it into a more useful shape, and fretting over it had already cost her two balled-up rough drafts. Hopefully it would be enough for her mother and the few friends who might care enough to ask.

When she ‘soft-summoned’ Flurry Heart later the following evening, the girl arrived with a ‘crack’ and flash of light, and a ready lead-in to the DuckTales theme song. They belted it out like a couple of old-hands, and that alone almost made the nervousness in Sunset’s gut disappear.

Almost.

“Wow, so that was a thing,” Sunset breathed, wiping a few errant strands of hair from her face. “So… what’s up?”

“Oh, this and that.” Flurry shrugged and fingered the hem of her sequin shirt idly. “You up for a little road trip?”

“Am… am I really going with you?”

The look the goddess fixed her with was carefully measured. “Only if you wish to. I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”

“Okay,” she said, wiping her hands on her jeans nervously. “Okay… I got this.” She started pacing around her bedroom, muttering, “You got this, Sunny. You got this. It’s no big deal, you’re just going to another world to help a magical princess. No big deal at all. This shit happens all the time.”

“Actually, this is the first time anypony has brought back a human to Equestria so… I legitimately don’t know if this’ll work.”

Sunset’s eyes slowly widened, her eyebrows shooting up into her bangs.

“What?!” she squawked. “I thought you said you were gonna talk to your mom and figure out how to do this… and stuff! And now you tell me this shit might not work?!”

Flurry rolled her eyes. “Yeah. And I did that... though Twilight is the the real expert on inter-dimensional travel. But I’m no slouch; I’m pretty sure I can handle it.” She grinned slyly at Sunset. “If it’s any consolation, I’m the only other one besides Auntie with enough raw magic and experience to be able to bring someone back to Equestria with me.”

Blinking, Sunset had a thought. “That reminds me… Twilight said something about not being able to bring anything back home with her.”

“Any non-living thing, sure,” Flurry agreed with an easy shrug. “Because there’s no innate magic in, say, a book. We can bring stuff here because everything there is totally saturated with magic; even something as mundane as a book. It’s how we lost a whole bunch of books from random libraries all those millennia ago,” she finished with a grumble.

“Like Starswirl’s book?” Sunset offered, knowing Flurry already knew the book she was referring to.

“Among many others. Anyway, the point is I can bring back a living being because, even here on your world, sentient creatures have a small trace of magic inside them. Not much, but enough.” She paused. “At least, in theory.”

“In theory.”

Folding her arms below her chest, Flurry sighed, “Look, it’s all I got without running it by Twilight first. And I kinda got the feeling you didn't want that. You down or what?”

“I’m down, I’m down,” Sunset nodded vigorously. “Better do it quick, before I change my mind.”

“Alright; buckle up for the ride of your life, Sunny.” She reached out a hand towards Sunset. “Just take my hand and we’re on our way.”

Swallowing and taking one last look around her apartment, Sunset gingerly slipped her fingers into Flurry Heart’s palm.

And thus the ride of her life began. Sure, she had seen and felt some very odd things recently, including the time-slip from hitting the reset button, but nothing like being pulled through a dimensional portal. That was new.

Energy swirled around every limb and nerve ending as she and the goddess holding onto her rocketed between the layers of reality, heart pounding in her throat — if she still had a heart in this form. On the other hand, a lot of her body still felt exactly as it did every other moment in her life, but there was also a sensation of floating that she had only felt in her dreams. Maybe that meant that astral projection was real — that people really did leave their physical forms behind when they entered REM sleep. She’d probably never know for sure, but the thoughts wouldn’t leave her alone.

Before she was truly ready for it to happen, her feet felt solid ground under them again -- and then collapsed fully on said ground with a groan.

“Fuuuuuuuuuck me sideways,” she moaned, feeling her entire body catch up to her as the sensation of being inside of it once again hit her with the force of a truck. “Now I know how Charlie felt going on that fucking boat ride… seriously, fuck Willy Wonka.”

The sound of footsteps beside her brought her more back to the present, and she forced herself to roll over onto her back and mutter some kind of curse to Flurry for having her suffer through that ‘ride of her life’—

Only to yelp in shock as she caught a glimpse of who — what — was looking down at her.

Large blue eyes, an elongated face covered by pale pink fur, blue-and-lavender cotton candy colored hair that fell from the top of her head in waves of curls and twists, and four — count ‘em — four legs ending in hooves. Not feet, but fucking hooves!

The large, feathery wings from its back and horn jutting out from its forehead should have probably freaked her out more, but really, considering the company she’d been keeping for weeks, the hooves were actually more shocking.

“What in the ever-loving fuck?!” Sunset screeched as she scrambled backwards as far as she could go. She eventually hit a wall and whimpered, watching as the vaguely familiar-looking creature approached. “S-stay back! I don’t know where your fucking balls are, but I swear to Christ I’ll find them and kick them so hard you’ll shit them in installments!”

Then the creature plopped down on its ass in front of Sunset and leveled a flat stare at her, and the voice that came out of its mouth was all-too recognizable. “Wow. That’s nice. For one thing: I don’t have balls. And another thing: didn’t you know I was a pony? I mean… Twilight didn’t forget to mention that little tidbit, did she?”

“I... “ Sunset stammered, her limbs shaking and her hair falling in her face. “I, wha—who… Flurry Heart?!”

“Duh,” the girl — pony!!! — replied, rolling her eyes dramatically. “You mean this is the first time you’ve seen our real forms?”

“I… the… wha — um, yeah?”

“Huh.” Flurry frowned, and then her lips curled up into a bright smile. “Well, this is what we look like!” And, shooting to her feet… or, hooves… she turned around in a circle for Sunset to inspect. Her wings fluttered gently, blowing a gust of air against Sunset’s face and ruffling her hair. “And I’m not too bad of a specimen, if I do say so myself.” She finally finished her rotation and nickered softly, lifting a single hoof in a pose. “Don’t got the flanks mom has, but damn it I don’t know how to use what I got.”

“Um… okay.” Sunset breathed in slowly, closing her eyes and counting to ten in her mind. “Okay… you can do this, Sunny. You’re just in a world filled with magical talking ponies. You knew this was coming. You can deal. You got this.” Then she took another breath and opened her eyes, still finding Flurry smiling back at her. “I got this. No problem. I’m the fucking queen of coping mechanisms and I can do this.”

“Great. Good. Glad to hear it. Because I got some possibly upsetting news.” Flurry’s horn shimmered with a pale yellow light and a small hand mirror popped into existence before her. “Promise you won’t freak out and… well… just, here.”

Blinking, Sunset reached with with her hand and took the mirror.

Or… tried to reach out with her hand.

If only it was a hand that she used to reach out with.

Instead of a hoof.

A hoof.

A… hoof.

“What,” she said slowly.

She waved the hood to the left, and to the right. Up and down, and in a circle. Yep, without a doubt; it was hers. She tried to move her fingers, but the only part that moved on command was the edges of the dark, spongie underside of said hoof.

“I… what.” She tried to speak again, but words failed her.

“Yeah, it’s not just your hands. It’s, um…” Flurry trailed off, shifting uncomfortably where she sat.

“It’s what?” demanded Sunset.

“It’s… sort of… all of you.”

“What?!”

And fumbling for the mirror — finally managing to wedge it between two hooves like an infant with a toy — Sunset looked at her reflection.

And saw the face of a yellow-furred, teal-eyed, red and yellow-haired pony looking back at her. For a split second she thought that the face in the mirror wasn’t hers, that it was some trick of the light or, just maybe, some prank being pulled by Flurry Heart. But when she felt herself blink and saw the reflection blink back at her, she swallowed, slowly turning her eyes to the goddess in front of her.

“Yeah…” Flurry laughed nervously. “Trust me when I say that I had zero idea this would happen to you.”

Chapter 18: There's A New Girl (Mare) In Town.

“I hate you so... so much right now.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Hate… you.”

“Oh, like I was supposed to know you were gonna turn into a pony!”

“All the hate in the world.”

Flurry huffed in annoyance and stamped her front hooves on the ground, but still looked entirely embarrassed at the situation. It’s not like Sunset could really blame her. After all, It’s not every day that you accidentally transform a client into another species.

Or maybe it was in Flurry’s case. Sunset had absolutely no idea.

“Okay, okay… just, try again. Remember, the gait goes like this: back left, front left, back right, front right. If it helps, try labeling those legs as one, two, three, four, then counting them off as you move.”

It was good advice, but Sunset couldn't help but grumble for the sake of grumbling as she counted off her steps, “one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four.” She was frowning in concentration on the order of moving her legs.

“Good! You’re getting it!” Flurry cheered her on, trotting up beside Sunset with a little smile. She was taller than Sunset by a large margin, which only grated on her nerves. The entire thing reminded her of a parent teaching a child how to walk.

The irony was not lost on her, nor was is appreciated.

“Three, two, no, fuck!” she snarled, collapsing in a heap on the ground. She groaned and managed to pull herself up again, ruefully reflecting that at least she was learning something new. Even though walking on all fours was a skill she’d likely never use again if she could help it.

“Oof… well, don’t worry!” Flurry Heart knelt down beside her and lay a hoof on her shoulder. “Everypony has to learn sometime.”

“All. The. Hate.”

“Hate me all you like,” the goddess retorted, her tone suddenly waspish. “I’m just trying to help. Now, try it again. Follow alongside me.”

Taking a fortifying breath, Sunset did just that. Luckily for her, there wasn’t anyone around to see her fail at basic motor skills. Or the fact that she was naked and furry. After the initial shock wore off and Sunset accepted the fact that she somehow became a pony upon appearing in what Flurry declared was Equestria, and the fact that ponies generally wandered around with little to no clothes on — something she could understand, at least somewhat… after all, they were ponies — she had decided to take the circumstances at face value.

She was a pony for the time being. And naked. She might as well accept it.

But that didn’t mean she had to like it!

As it turned out, she had turned into what Flurry determined to be a unicorn. The horn — not quite as large as Flurry Heart’s, but that was obvious since Alicorn’s horns were among the longest… at least, according to her — on her head was a dead giveaway, as was the lack of wings which would have made her a pegasus. Damn, but having some wings would have been cool.

Learning to stand on steady hooves was the first step, as was getting used to her new stature. That done, learning to walk was the next order of business. After that... well, Sunset would cross that bridge when she came to it. Until then, she would grumble and snarl at Flurry with all the vitriol that a vampire had for garlic.

“Oh, come on,” Flurry sighed patiently, guiding the tip of her wing alongside one of Sunset’s back leg to keep pace. “It’s not that bad. You could have turned into something much worse than a unicorn.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll bet.” Sunset finally completed a circuit around the room and let out a breath. Okay — nailed step one. “Where are we anyway? Probably should have asked earlier.”

Stepping around to face Sunset, Flurry said, “We’re in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria.”

“Kinda figured that. I meant this room specifically.”

She gestured with her head to somewhere behind Sunset. “Take a look.”

Sunset did so. She turned around, yet again taking in the smallish, yet well-lit area that was around the same size as her living room. The walls were lined with shelves loaded with pristine books and trinkets in polished glass cases, and for a moment Sunset was ready to disregard it as some kind of library or trophy room, or even a well-kept storage area, but then she finally noticed what Flurry was really referring to.

And she wondered how the hell she hadn’t noticed it before now.

It was a large mirror, pretty basic in its design, and was twice as tall as Sunset. Any other time she would have dismissed it; after all, one mirror was just the same as any other. But when she looked closer and noticed the patterns of missing shards and cracks that webbed out from the center of it, she knew that this mirror was the cause of all Twilight’s problems.

“Is that…?” she breathed, just because she had to be sure.

“Yes. Starswirl’s Mirror.” Flurry stepped up beside Sunset. Silence filled the room as both occupants stared into the mirror, seeing only their splintered reflections staring back at them from a thousand different angles. “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?” she murmured after a long stretch of silence.

“Yeah,” Sunset could only say, her throat suddenly dry. She had broken a mirror once or twice on accident before, and they were nowhere near as bad as this. “How… how long until it breaks completely?”

Flurry hesitated for a few seconds before whispering, “We estimate about fifty human years.” When Sunset sucked in a sharp breath, she quickly followed up with, “of course, that’s only if every single summoner requests a re-do. If nobody does, then the mirror will last a bit longer. Not by much, but…”

“What’ll happen to Twilight once the mirror breaks?” Sunset demanded, turning away from the mirror to face the alicorn.

“It’ll be better if we wait and speak to everypony else first,” Flurry said after a beat. She turned towards the only door in the room. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Sunset asked as she carefully fell into step behind Flurry Heart. “You said we’re in Canterlot… are we, uh, going to see Twilight?” She was suddenly and inexplicably nervous with the idea of seeing her friend. Would she be happy that Sunset came to her world to help her? Would she be angry?

Would she hate her?

“No. Twilight doesn’t know you’re here yet. We’re going to see Cadence.”

“Your mom?” Sunset blinked in confusion. “Why her? I mean, I could have just summoned her to my bathroom.”

Flurry lowered her head as they approached the door and covered the doorknob with her translucent, yellow magic. The door opened with a subtle creak and she stepped aside, motioning Sunset through the threshold. “She’s meeting us here, and then we’re going to see Celestia.”

That brought Sunset up short. She jammed on the breaks, nearly toppling over as she lost her step-count, and stammered, “C-Celestia?! We’re going to talk to Celestia?”

“Of course. Who did you think we were gonna talk to?” Flurry deftly swerved to avoid Sunset as she shut the door behind her.

“I don’t know!” Sunset snapped. “Somebody! Just not the fucking ruler of the whole goddamn country! I mean…”

She faltered, suddenly feeling eyes on her. She turned her head and saw a pair of ponies standing a few meters away from her. They were dressed in sets of ornate-looking armor and were standing in what Sunset guessed to be attention. At least she assumed so — their eyes were noticeably wary as they watched her.

“Um… sorry!” Sunset said, coughing into a hoof and waving at the ponies who were clearly a pair of guards. “Everything’s cool. Nothing to worry about. Go back to… doing whatever you were doing. Nothing to see here. We got this.”

When the guards continued to stare at her like she was deranged, Flurry sighed and stepped past her. “Just ignore them. This way.” With that, she trotted off, leaving Sunset to catch up, her face burning with embarrassment from her outburst as they passed the guards.

“I can’t do this,” she finally whispered when they were out of earshot of anyone else. As they rounded a corner a new pair of guards materialized outside another set of doors, and Sunset knew she wouldn’t be rid of eavesdroppers so easily. What, were they at every single doorway in this place? “Flurry, I can’t do this!”

“Do what?” she asked, peering back towards Sunset to show that she was paying attention as she led her down the hallway.

“I can’t just… turn up out of the blue and demand to see Celestia! She’s… I don’t know… your ruler! Isn’t there a waiting list, or something?!”

Even as she walked, Flurry turned her head to stare incredulously at her. “Are you being serious? Did you forget that I’m a princess, too? I can pretty much do whatever I want here, even in Canterlot. It’s practically my second home. Plus, with both mom and I with you, there’s no reason to worry.”

“But—” Sunset stammered, the nervous ball of anxiety working its way back into her gut now that the shock of being a pony was wearing off. “B-but I’m not ready! I’ve only just turned into a unicorn! Shouldn’t I… I don’t know… get cleaned up or something?”

That’s when Flurry stopped and turned to fully face Sunset. “Okay. First of all, anxiety doesn’t do you any favors. You’re with me. Relax. Second of all,” she cast an appraising glance over Sunset’s new body. “Not gonna lie; even as a pony, you’re legit good looking. I’m actually a little jealous of your legs; mine are too skinny around the gaskin. And your flanks…” she trailed off, blinking slowly as her eyes lingered on Sunset’s backside.

“Are you… stop checking me out!” she demanded, stomping a hoof against the stone floor in indignation.

“Hey. I’m five thousand years old,” Flurry replied with an easy shrug. “I don’t beat around the bush.” She paused, flashing a familiar-looking leer at Sunset. “Or do I…?”

“Ugh,” Sunset grunted, once again starting her step-count and pointedly ignoring the shameless goddess. She wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not, but as she passed Flurry her tail flicked out and swatted the alicorn across the nose.

“Oooh, feisty.”

“Bite me.”

Chortling quietly, Flurry appeared by her side the next moment. “Hey, hey… I’m only trying to get you to relax. See? Are you feeling better?”

“No.” Damn it, she was.

“If you say so.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Sunset grumbled, “Okay… fine. Thanks. Just… what’s the plan?”

“We’re on our way to meet my mom, and then to see Celestia.” Flurry cantered ahead of Sunset, leading the way once again through the seemingly endless maze of corridors and guards. They all stood at spotless attention as they passed, but Sunset could still feel curious and wary eyes on her all the while. They were all clearly wondering what this random-ass unicorn was doing with their beloved princess.

Well... eat your heart out, boys.

“And that will do what, exactly?”

Flurry glanced at her as they rounded a corner. At the far end of the hallway, Sunset picked out a bright pink figure standing outside a doorway and — oh, yup, of course, a pair of guards. “You wanted to help Twilight,” the goddess said simply. “And getting Celestia on board is the best way to do it. Convince her, and maybe even Luna, and together, I think we can get Twilight to finally accept help.”

“Okay.” Sunset nodded solemnly. “Okay. Sounds good.” No it didn’t, but it was the best plan they had.

Coming up to the double-doorway so tall she had to crane her neck up to see the top, Sunset and Flurry stopped in front of the pink pony and set of guards.

“Hi mom,” Flurry Heart said to the pink pony standing in front of the cavernous doorway.

Mom? Oh. Oh. So that was pony-Cadence.

As was with her human body, her pony form was pink. Standing just as tall as Flurry and decked out in what looked to be a golden tiara-slash-crown on her head, Princess Cadence resembled her human counterpart more than Sunset cared to admit; long, pink and purple and gold hair, large pink eyes and a petite face, and a lanky yet well-proportioned body pretty much summed up the entire package. Just like her daughter, it looked as though someone had taken their human bodies, and stuffed them into a pony mold. It was uncanny, and more than little unnerving.

“Hi Flurry Heart.” Cadence’s voice was warm, loving. She stepped forward and pressed her face against her daughter, an action that Flurry returned without complaint. It was clear she loved her daughter, and Sunset shifted on her hooves. It was the kind of relationship Sunset had always secretly hoped she and her own mother would have had, if only her father hadn’t skipped out on them in the early years, and forcing Sunset and her mom to forge a ‘friend-family’ relationship to keep things afloat.

Sunset turned her eyes away from the obvious display of affection to stare at the floor.

When mother and daughter finally parted, Sunset looked back up to see Cadence looking around. “I thought you were bringing…” She cleared her throat, eyeing the guards flanking her warily. “Our guest?”

“Yup! She’s right here.” And, without further ado, the Princess of Music waved a hoof in Sunset’s direction.

“Here? Surely you must be...” She looked at Sunset for a moment. She blinked once, twice, and then smiled softly. “Hello my little pony. Might I know your name?”

Her little pony? Oh, hell no.

“Cadence,” Sunset said flatly. “It’s me. Sunset.”

“Uwaaaa!” the pink pony squawked, her wings springing out to her sides in surprise. One of them smacked the guard flanking her, earning a pained yelp. “Oh! S-sorry!” she apologized, her cheeks darkening.

“No problem at all, Princess... happens all the time,” the guard relied, groaning slightly.

Meanwhile, Flurry Heart was cackling loudly, her front hooves stomping on the floor in delight. Even Sunset had to fight back the smirk at Cadence’s outburst. It was good to see the cool, collected Princess of Love blushing and staring at her in shock.

“S-S-Sunset?!” she cried, stepping forward to closely examine her. “You’re… a unicorn!”

“So I’ve noticed.” Sunset sighed and frowned when she wanted to cross her arms over her chest, only to find that she couldn’t. Instead she clopped her hooves on the floor in irritation. “Looks like someone made a mistake.”

“Someone made a…” Slowly, Cadence turned her gaze on Flurry Heart. “Flurry?” Her voice was sweet. Saccharine. “Care to explain to me why Sunset is a unicorn?”

Swallowing heavily, Flurry tried for a grin, but was only able to manage a pained grimace. “Now, now… I’m pretty sure I can fix her!”

In retrospect, Canterlot Castle was impressive. Sunset had never been in another castle before, but damned if she wasn’t enjoying the view of the tall corridors, exquisite-looking paintings, sculptures, and royal ambiance while Cadence was berating Flurry Heart for her negligence and complete disregard for Sunset’s safety.

After all, even if she couldn’t check with Twilight regarding inter-dimensional travel with a passenger (“You didn’t even have to tell Twilight it was Sunset you were bringing with you!”), she should have at least discussed the spell with Cadence!

“I mean, honestly!” Cadence snapped, her bright pink eyes ablaze with righteous fury. “You could have permanently hurt her, or worse; turned her into a griffon or something! Or a buffalo! Or something that couldn’t even talk! Then how would we have explained that to Twilight?! Ooh, you act like such a foal sometimes!”

Flurry Heart jammed the tip of her hoof into the stone floor, her ears drooped in an unmistakable imitation of a child being scolded by their parent.

Life was good.

“Are you okay?”

Cadence’s voice, paired with the hoof on her shoulder, snapped Sunset’s attention back to the task at hand. The pink alicorn was there, concern etched on her features as she stared down at Sunset.

“Huh? Oh… yeah,” she said, averting her eyes in embarrassment. “Yeah, I’m good. I mean, it was weird at first, but…” She shrugged, the action a little weird with her front hooves being flat on the ground. “I mean, once I get the walking down, I’m good. And the no clothes thing. After all, when in Rome...”

“If you’re sure…” Cadence’s expression was anything but reassured.

“Well, I can be turned back into a human, right?” Sunset asked, turning her attention back to Flurry. She arched an eyebrow in silent question.

The Princess of Music seemed to get over her shame at being scolded like a child and nodded vigorously. “Of course! Reversing the spell will both send you back to Earth, and revert you to your human form. I’m positive.”

Both Sunset and Cadence stared at Flurry.

“I’m super positive!” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “Look, if it’ll make you feel any better, we’ll check with Twilight before we return you to your world.”

“Well, that will have to do,” Cadence said at length, and then straightened. “Are we ready, then?”

“Are we ready for what?” came a new voice from behind.

Whipping around, Sunset found herself nose-to-chest with a dark-furred pony whose dark blue — almost black — coat shone brightly in the low torchlight. Her mane waved and shimmered darkly around her head and neck, and was speckled with tiny pinpricks of light. Her simple metallic breastplate glinted black and white, the symbol of a moon embossed clearly on it. An alicorn princess like Cadence and Flurry Heart — her wings and horn a dead giveaway, if not her overall regal presence, she towered above Sunset, flicking her seafoam gaze around the assembled group of ponies. The guards, likely having so rarely to be in the presence of so many of their princesses at one time, stood ramrod straight, their eyes wide and alert for any signs of trouble.

“Uhhh... hi,” Sunset said warily, trying to resist the temptation to stubble backward.

“Greetings, my little pony!” the dark alicorn said cheerfully, her gaze lingering on Sunset before continuing around towards the other princesses. Just what the hell was up with this ‘my little pony’ bullshit? “And Cadence and Flurry Heart as well! What a surprise! Tell me, what are we going to do?” She edged forward, her smile widening in anticipation. “Something fun?”

“Good evening, Luna. We were going to speak with Princess Celestia,” Cadence said with a slight dip of her head. Flurry mirrored the action, and reflexively, Sunset did as well. Well, now she could finally place a face to the name.

“Ah. Well, you are more than welcome to join us for dinner,” Luna said agreeably. “I was going to raise the moon once we’ve finished.”

What?

“Raise the… moon? The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Three sets of eyes swiveled to look at Sunset. Five, if you counted the guards. She shrunk back underneath so much scrutiny. Desperately, she trying playing it off.

“I mean… of course you’re going to raise the moon!” she laughed awkwardly. “That makes perfect sense! Totally! It’s completely normal for you to raise the sun and moon. Happens every day. I mean… um… well…” She trailed off, coughing and digging a hoof into the ground. “Nevermind. I’m dumb and you should ignore me.”

There was silence for a long moment until the dark alicorn tilted her head curiously and ‘hummed’ above Sunset.

“Okay…” she intoned. Then she turned to the other princesses. “Care to explain?”

It took a surprisingly short amount of time to fill Princess Luna in on who Sunset was and what she was doing here. When Flurry’s story finally petered out — and wow was it more than a little nuts when she thought about it — Luna lifted a hoof and tucked it underneath Sunset’s chin, tilting her face up to look down into her eyes.

“You are brave indeed, Sunset Shimmer, to come all the way here for Twilight Sparkle.”

Her words, and that someone was finally validating the fact that Sunset was risking a lot, if not everything, by coming here to help Twilight, sent a tremor running through her body. Her breath hitched, and she choked back a sob.

“I…” she tried to say, but ended up swallowing back a gasp and trying again. “I just w-want to h-help her.”

“I know.” Luna smiled softly down at her. “And I thank you for it. Twilight Sparkle is very dear to me. Dear to all of us. It pains me every day to see her slowly withering away because of the mirror, and us unable to do anything about it. Hopefully, with you, we can convince Twilight to accept help from her friends and family.”

Nodding, Sunset managed to keep her tears at bay. “Okay,” she sniffled anyway. “Okay. Great. So… are we gonna talk to Celestia?”

Flurry sidled up beside Sunset, thankfully ignoring the fact that she was still fighting back tears. Cadence mirrored her on the other side, and whispered into her ear, “Whenever you’re ready, Sunset.”

“Okay…” she said again, taking a deep breath and turning to face the double doorway. “It’s now or never. Let’s do this.”

And then, before she could even change her mind, the doors smoothly parted, allowing the assembled group passage into a spacious antechamber. The first thing that Sunset noticed was, surprisingly enough, the large crystalline chandelier tinkling above a modest dining table. That was not what she expected in the slightest.

What she did expect, but was still caught off-guard by, was the large alicorn sitting at the table, her pure white coat shining almost too-brightly in the light around the room. Her hair — mane, Sunset had to remind herself — shown almost like a rainbow in shades of pinks, blues and greens, and seemed to radiate with an ethereal light. It was almost an exact opposite of Luna; understandable, as they were the goddesses of the Sun and Moon respectively.

She’d expected surprise, confusion, or even consternation when the white alicorn looked up and saw Luna, Cadence and Flurry Heart joining her for dinner with a strange new unicorn. She’d expected to talk to Celestia as she did with Luna, or with Cadence or Flurry — or, God forbid, Twilight herself — and maybe gain her assistance with helping Twilight.

But when Celestia’s eyes — an ageless, pale pink — flickered from Luna to Cadence and her daughter, and finally settled on Sunset, she certainly didn’t expect for the Goddess of the Sun to double take, her mouth forming a little ‘o’ of shock, and slowly climb to her hooves.

“Sunset… Shimmer?” Her voice was soft, breathless, filled with disbelief.

Sunset stopped in mid step, never before having been caught so totally flat-footed by the simple sound of her name. Her breath seized in her chest as she watched Princess Celestia approach with slow, measured steps. The trio of princesses flanking her all stopped as well, their expressions ranging from surprise to curiosity.

“Is it… really you?”

“I…” Sunset murmured, unsure of what to say. She peered at Cadence, who seemed to shrug. Flurry’s eyes darted between Sunset and Celestia, her expression both wary and unsure. Luna’s was carefully guarded, her lips in a thin line across her face. She finally looked back to the approaching Goddess. “I guess? I mean, that’s my name. Do you... know me?”

Soon, far sooner than Sunset would have been comfortable with, Celestia was close enough to reach out and touch, her pink eyes staring down at her as though she was trying to see through her. Sunset shifted nervously on her hooves, trying but failing to keep eye contact with the immortal being in front of her.

After a long moment Celestia seemed to deflate; she exhaled softly and she broke off her stare with Sunset, her gaze dropping to the floor for a moment before lifting again, a gentle smile on her face. “My apologies,” she said softly. “I mistook you for another. You… said your name is Sunset Shimmer?”

“Y-yes.” Sunset cleared her throat to rid herself of the sudden croak that she barely counted as a reply. “Yes, I am. Are you…?”

In answer to her unspoken question, Celestia stepped back and nodded. “I am Princess Celestia.” She peered down at Sunset again, but this time her stare was much less invasive, almost... curious. “May I ask who you are? You are not one of my little ponies.”

Sunset blinked. “You can tell?” She chanced a glance back at the other princesses. They had all made the mistake of confusing Sunset for a real unicorn. Why hadn’t Celestia?

“I know each and every pony in Equestria; some more than others,” she said. “But you, Sunset… you I don’t know. Who are you?”

Stealing herself, Sunset stood as straight as she was able and said, “I’m Twilight’s friend... from Earth.”

“Ah,” Celestia simply said, a little smile flickering across her features. “I see. Well, that explains much.” She leaned forward to examine Sunset a little more, and then lifted her head to address the others in the room. “Why don’t we all have a seat? I think we’ve been long overdue for a discussion about our dear Twilight.”

The group silently fanned out and took seats at the table; Luna at Celestia’s side, and Flurry beside Sunset. Cadence took a spot between both groups, but not far enough away to discourage including her.

When the finally took their places at the table, Celestia was the first to break the silence.

“I imagine you have some questions.”

Sunset snorted inelegantly. “You could say that.” Only after the words left her lips did she slap a hoof over her mouth. “I… I’m sorry, I—”

“Please,” the white alicorn said with a shake of her head. “Don’t hold back. Treat me as though you would a friend. We’re all friends and family here, after all.” Her declaration was backed by a round of nods and encouraging smiles, and Sunset felt relief well up in her chest at the solidarity of it all. “Now. Please. Tell me what brings you here.”

“I want to try and free Twilight from the mirror,” Sunset said without preamble.

Celestia nodded. “I thought as much.” Her horn shimmered and a cake in the center of the table separated into pieces. Each piece floated gently to everyone’s plate. “I assume you know of her particular circumstance?” she asked once the cake was served.

“I know the gist. I know about The Catastrophe, and how Twilight and her friends tried to fix the mirror using the… uh, the Elements of Harmony. Though the book I read doesn’t really go into detail about how, or what happened after that. All I know that Twilight’s magic somehow got mixed in with the mirror, and now she’s trapped, being dragged through the mirror whenever someone calls her.”

Celestia nodded thoughtfully, nibbling on a small piece of cake as Sunset talked. She smiled at Cadence when the ‘book’ was mentioned, but didn’t comment. When Sunset finished, the white alicorn set her fork down. “You are well informed, Sunset. To some extent, you are correct. Though it is a bit more complicated than that.”

“What actually happened?” Sunset asked. She was tired of being led around by the nose, always having her question ignored or misdirected. It was time she finally got some answers.

Celestia was quiet for a long minute, staring down at her piece of cake. Sunset kept her eyes on her, her intent to have her questions answered obvious. Eventually, the sun goddess looked up.

“Truthfully, we do not know exactly what occurred to break the mirror. It simply… happened.”

“What?” Sunset’s eyes widened. “One of the worst disasters in your world’s history, and you’re telling me you still have no idea why it happened, even thousands of years later?”

“Is it so unbelievable?” Celestia asked. “Surely you have similar occurrences on your world; entire towns, cities, and civilizations up and vanishing without a trace, unexplained disturbances that have not been… what’s the expression — debunked? — and things your scientists or theologists haven’t been able to predict or properly explain. Taking that into account, surely such a world with something like magic as its unifying force having an unexplained disaster or two isn’t so far-fetched.”

When Sunset opened her mouth to retort, Celesia cut her off. “Please, let me finish,” she said softly. “We have our speculations, of course, and theories. Luna has ideas, as does Twilight, Cadence, and Flurry Heart. I have mine. But what we all can agree upon was that some sort of magic caused an imbalance in the gateway between worlds, creating a schism — a rupture — which brought about the initial disaster.”

“What could have done that?”

“We do not know,” Luna answered for Celestia. “It could have been anything. Twilight Sparkle is the most knowledgeable source on the mirror’s magics, and the only thing she could extrapolate is that it was a source of magic from your world.”

A source of magic from Sunset’s world? That didn’t make any sense. Her world didn’t have any magic. At least, nothing commonly known. It only existed in stories and fairy tales in her world. Hell, a couple months ago, she would have gone as far as saying magic isn't real. Of course, that was before finding out the truth.

That magic was real.

So, taking that into account, a source of magic from her world didn’t seem all that outlandish anymore...

“That being said,” Celestia picked up again once Luna fell silent. “What we do know was the aftereffects. I’ll spare you the details of the disaster itself; it will do nopony any favors to hear more about it.” She paused momentarily, considering her words. “But eventually, we asked Twilight and her friends to help us. They were to use the Elements of Harmony to fix the mirror and end The Catastrophe.”

“That’s what I don’t get,” Sunset interrupted. “What are the Elements of Harmony?”

“The Elements of Harmony are magical artifacts that represent the aspects of harmony.” Cadence’s voice was soft, reflective. “They are the most powerful magics known to our kind. No pony knows how they came to be, but they were found in the Tree of Harmony by Luna and Celestia long ago, which they used to defeat Discord, the God of Chaos.”

“Okay... “ Sunset nodded slowly. “And they were supposed to be used to fix the mirror how?”

“When the elements are wielded by somepony who’s trait corresponds with the element and used in conjunction with each other, their powerful magics can restore harmony to chaos, bring balance to imbalance, and even life to death.” Celestia’s gaze rested unblinkingly on Sunset. “They are a last resort to restore and enforce the delicate balance of peace and order to the world. Maybe even many worlds.”

“And I’m guessing that didn’t work?”

“It depends on who you ask,” Flurry Heart chimed in sadly. “In essence, we succeeded; the Catastrophe was averted and hundreds of thousands of lives were saved. But… Twilight’s friends all died in the process. Somehow the magic causing the mirror to break overpowered the Elements of Harmony, and that was it. Only Twilight was left.” She snorted loudly. “And, as if it couldn’t get any worse, Twilight became a goddess for her troubles.”

“Yeah,” Sunset murmured thoughtfully, “How’d that happened, anyway? I tried asking her, but Twilight always kinda changes the subject. How did she become a goddess?”

“Oh, she wouldn’t tell you,” Cadence said softly, “But becoming a goddess is hardly a positive experience. In fact, from my perspective, I’d say that it was probably the worst thing that ever happened.”

“How so? Can I please get a straight answer?”

Celestia cleared her throat quietly, turning attention back to her. “Sunset, do you know about a pony’s cutie mark?”

Caught off guard buy the non-sequitur, Sunset blinked. “Uh… a little? Cadence told me they were, um, that they symbolized your talent? What you were good at. Right?”

“Somewhat. A cutie mark is obtained when ponies discover a unique characteristic which sets them apart from others, what makes you you. It often symbolizes who you are. Most of the time, it does represent a special talent, or skill; many ponies often fashioned their livelihoods around their cutie marks. Do you see?”

Turning slightly, the princess displayed the symbol of a brilliant, golden sun for Sunset to examine.

“Your talent is the sun?”

Celestia giggled quietly. “An oversimplification; but in essence, you are correct. I am the Princess and Goddess of the Sun. I rise and lower the sun, while in turn my sister rises and lowers the moon.”

“Huh.” Okay, Sunset could buy that. After all, magical ponies moving the sun and moon around the world wasn’t crazier than everything else she’d seen so far. Curious, she craned her head around to see her own flank — but it was bare save for yellowish fur. Well. Okay. Turning back, she asked, “And what’s that have to do with becoming a goddess?”

Turning around to fully face Sunset, Celestia’s smile lessened considerably. “Because, in many ways, becoming immortal is the opposite of getting a cutie mark. Whereas getting a cutie mark is the reward of finding out what makes you unique... to become immortal, you must lose what you love most.”

Sunset felt her blood freeze in her body. “...What?”

Silence fell in the room as she digested Celestia’s words. They must lose what they love most? What did that mean?

Cadence was the next to speak, and she did so softly that Sunset would have missed her words if she wasn’t standing right next to her. “I loved Shining Armor with all my heart,” she murmured. “He was my reason for living, and until I met him, I didn’t understand why my cutie mark was the way it was. Or why love was what made me unique. But it was because I was destined to love him with all my heart, until the end of our days. When he was taken from me, I understood what true loss and heartbreak was, and in doing so I became a goddess. I still miss him, each and every day.” The sad smile she showed Sunset made her lean over and press her side against the Princess of Love, just to show some sign of empathy to her. Her smile turned grateful, and she looked over to Flurry. “But it was Flurry Heart, Twilight, and everypony else who brought me back. I loved them as well, and as such they became my reason for living. They have been ever since.”

“Shit.” It was the only thing Sunset could say. “That… that’s…”

“So you see, becoming a goddess isn’t the greatest gift in the world.” Luna’s declaration was so matter of fact, Sunset could only snort.

“No shit,” she agreed. She shifted her attention to Flurry Heart, who was smiling at her mother. “I’m sorry if I…”

“Don’t worry,” Flurry shook her head. “You’re a good person, I know you don’t mean anything by it.” Her thoughts must have been showing on Sunset’s face, because after a moment Flurry’s smile turned wry. “You wanna know how I became a goddess, don’t you?”

“No!” Sunset stammered. “I-I mean… well, I’m curious, yeah, but…”

“It’s cool,” she said with a shake of her head. “It wasn’t my dad dying, if that’s what you’re worried about. I mean, it still hurt, but…” she shrugged, shifting slightly to show Sunset her cutie mark. It was a simple series of straight, horizontal lines. It took her a few seconds to count them out -- there were five in total.

“Are those…?”

“It’s a staff,” Flurry explained. “The fundamental latticework of musical notation. Anything and everything can be built upon this; any kind of song, tune or jingle. Hence, I became the Princess of Music.”

“And how did you become a goddess?”

Flurry rolled her eyes dramatically. She was about to answer when Cadence cut in with, “She lost her hearing,” she explained. “Flurry Heart is totally, and completely, deaf. She can’t hear a thing.”

“Basically,” Flurry said.

“What?” Sunset balked. “Bullcrap. She can hear me right now.”

“I actually can’t.”

“Then how do you know what I’m saying?”

The grin Flurry fixed her with was both mysterious and amused. “Magic.”

“Oh, you’re funny,” Sunset said flatly.

Flurry laughed brightly. “No, really! I can’t hear anything, but I’ve had lots of time to practice other ways of picking up sound. I read lips, I use magic to sense sound vibrations in the air… the list goes on and on. At this point I don’t even remember what my own voice — or anypony else’s — sounds like, but it doesn’t matter. What does matter is at the time, I lost something so important to me, something so integral to who I was, that I felt like I lost who I was. It was then that I became immortal.”

“The universe is not without a sense of irony, it seems,” Luna said sardonically from beside Celestia.

“What do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“I mean that what point would there be for immortality without a price? We ponies gain a sense of who we are and our purpose when we get our cutie marks, but the moment we lose the thing that makes life worth living for? That’s when we live forever. Hence, the irony.”

“Yeah, or you could just say that the universe can choke on a bag of dicks,” Flurry retorted.

“Yes. A bag of dicks, indeed.” Luna nodded sagely. “A very large bag of dicks.”

“The universe’s sense of irony aside,” Celestia said with a surreptitious roll of her eyes. “The point is that Twilight Sparkle became a goddess when her friends, whom she had loved and cherished as extensions of herself, all perished in that one instant, leaving her alone to live with her failure.”

“But she didn’t fail!” Sunset argued. “Her friends dying was an accident!”

“Twilight sees it as her own failure, and that has shaped her into who she is now. For all of her Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic… she feels that she deserves anything that happens to her once the mirror shatters. No one has been able to convince her otherwise. At least… until now.”

The implication was not lost on Sunset. So, this meeting was to get all of them to rally together and convince Twilight to finally understand that the loss of her friends were not her fault, and accept help from her family to free her from the mirror.

“So, this is an intervention?” she asked dryly.

“Basically,” Flurry Heart said. “Anyway, It wouldn’t be the first time.” She leaned closer to Sunset and stage-whispered, “Last time we did an intervention for Twilight, she wouldn’t take off the hat for years. Have you seen that thing? It totally clashes with her color.”

Sunset snorted. The idea of Twilight never taking off her hat — probably that old Stetson she got from her friend -- was equal parts sad and hilarious.

“Yes… well, the hat was unfortunate — all things considered — but Flurry Heart is more or less correct.” Celestia straightened slightly. “Sunset Shimmer, do you have any questions before we bring in Twilight to speak with us?”

Looking down at her untouched slice of cake, Sunset chewed her lip. So now she knew the entirety of Twilight’s situation -- or, at least, as much as was relevant to helping her. She knew she couldn't actually help with freeing Twilight from the mirror, as that was more something the other princesses could do, but she could act as both moral support and another person who cared about her.

Because she did care about her, didn’t she?

Maybe not as much as everybody was assuming she did… but she did care about Twilight. Or, maybe she did care about her as much as everyone thought? She wasn’t sure. What she did know, though, was that Twilight needed help, and she was going to give it, even it it killed her.

“No…” she finally said. “No, I’m good.” When both Cadence and Flurry nodded beside her, she declared, with more energy. “I’m good to go. Twilight needs our help, and damn it she’s gonna get it!”

“Here, here!” Flurry cheered.

“Well said!” Cadence added, to which both Luna and Celestia nodded in agreement.

“Very well,” Celestia said. She turned to Flurry. “Flurry Heart, would you please go to Ponyville and summon Twilight Sparkle?”

“Okie Dokie, Granny Tia!”

And with that, she stepped away from the table and sent a wink towards Sunset. Then, with a crack and a bright yellow flash, she disappeared.

“Whoa,” Sunset breathed. “Wicked sick.”

“Indeed…” Luna said slowly. Her fork hovered in the air, occasionally taking pokes at her food. “So, tell me, Granny Tia,” she said, her smile widening. “How are you today?”

“Luna,” Celestia said warningly.

“Oh, my apologies,” the darker alicorn continued, nibbling at her slice of cake. “I was simply asking how the day was. Should I not have asked, Granny Tia?”

“Luna…”

“Cadence, do you know what is wrong with Granny Tia? She seems… I don’t know… amiss. Maybe it’s her age catching up with her? Is your age catching up with you, Granny Tia?”

Celestia let out a quiet little groan as Cadence joined Luna in her laughter. Sunset figured teasing the goddess about her age was a common occurrence, but thought it better than to join in with them. After all, even if Celestia told her to treat her like family, even she wouldn’t tease her mother about her age. Down that path lay death and destruction.

And significantly less free food.

“Okay,” she whispered to herself, taking steady breaths to calm her nerves. “Don’t worry, you got this. This is all for helping Twilight. For Twilight.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Cadence told her in a murmur, leaning in close. “I mean, you got all of us behind you. Honestly, I don’t know how Twili can possibly resist all the love in this room.”

For some reason, the goddess’ words only made Sunset blush. “H-hey, I’m just running by the seat of my pants here. I actually don’t have any idea what I’m doing.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia joined in. “You’ve done more than anypony really expected. I mean, I certainly didn’t expect to have a human come here in hopes of helping Twilight. None of us did.” She grew quiet, peering across the table at Sunset for a long moment. “Especially not someone like you.”

Sunset blinked, something in Celesia’s words flagging something in her mind. “Wait… what do you mean, someone like me?”

Celestia opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by twin pops of magic and displaced air. Sunset jumped, whirling around to see Flurry Heart accompanied by another alicorn.

A very familiar looking alicorn.

Even knowing ahead of time who she was supposed to be, Sunset was still struck speechless by the sight. Long legs supported a lithe body covered in purple fur, standing twice as tall as Sunset and carrying herself with a subtle grace that she knew she would never, ever match even if she practiced walking on all fours all her life. Her long, flowing hair cascaded from her head and neck in shades of purples, pinks and dark blues, flecked with motes of light that winked and sparkled as she walked, and was matched with a long tail that swept along behind her, skimming along — but never quite touching — the floor with every step. Her wings were folded at her sides, at rest, and her horn was easily as long as Celestia or Luna’s.

She turned her head to regard the occupants of the room, her violet eyes skimming from face to face, taking them all in with a warm smile; a smile for her family.

Twilight’s smile faltered only slightly when she noticed Sunset.

“Hi everypony,” she said, and Sunset had to fight back the gasp when she heard Twilight’s voice — the voice of her best friend — coming out of this regal, elegant creature. “What’s going on? Flurry only said that you had something to talk to me about.” She stepped up to the table and fixed Sunset with a curious glance. “Who’s this?”

“Take a closer look, Twilight, and see,” Celestia said, her tone both patient and indulgent.

Warily, Twilight turned to look Sunset, and peered carefully down at her. She stared for a long time, her eyes searching. Sunset returned her gaze as best she could, willing herself not to look away or shrink down. This was Twilight, her best friend, not some monster or malevolent being that would hurt her. This was Twilight.

There was silence for a long time while Twilight looked at Sunset, but when she finally found what she was looking for, something in Sunset’s eyes that told Twilight who and what she really was, there was no outburst like Cadence had had. There was no melodramatic exclamation or a sudden burst of tears.

There was just a sudden and sharp intake of breath, and the quiet whisper --

“Sunset…?”

Chapter 19: Is... This An Intervention?

“Sunset…?”

Sunset shifted on her hooves, suddenly bashful in the unwavering gaze of her friend. “Hi, Twilight.”

“You’re here,” Twilight said in a soft voice so full of emotion that Sunset almost choked. She watched as Twilight’s face then went through a myriad of expressions — shock, fear, outrage, hesitation, disbelief — and then finally settled on one of the biggest smiles she’d ever seen on her friend since the first time she’d met her.

Sunset’s face must have also been something to see, because Twilight dipped her head down and brushed the side of her head against her own. A nuzzle, Sunset belatedly realized.

When Twilight pulled back, she was unable to meet Sunset’s eyes anymore. She looked down at the floor between them, a shy smile creeping across her lips.

“Um… hey.”

“Hi. Um... again.”

“Why… are you here? Not that I’m complaining or anything, but…” she trailed off, at a literal loss for words.

“Yeah, well,” Sunset said, getting a bit of her footing back as the shock of seeing Twilight began to wear off, “who else would come here to help keep your crazy lesbian urges at bay? I mean, you ate a raw potato. It doesn't get much more rock-bottom than that.”

“Eating a— I thought it was an apple! Besides, that has nothing to do with urges — urges I don’t have, by the way!”

Flurry snorted from beside them. “You ate a raw potato? Hah. Gay.”

As if suddenly realizing that her entire family was here with her, Twilight’s chagrined smile fell and her eyes flicked around the table once, twice, before finally settling squarely on Celestia. Her smile dropped completely. “What is this? Why did you bring Sunset here?” Her eyes suddenly widened, and she whirled back on Sunset. “And you’re a unicorn?! How the fuck did that happen? I don’t—”

“Yeah… that was my bad,” Flurry cut in. “Sorry. That happened when I brought her here. I think it had something to do with the differences between pony and human magic, but I can’t seem to pin it down.”

The glare that Twilight fixed her niece with made Sunset’s skin burn, and it wasn’t even directed at her.

“We’ll discuss your frivolous use of transplaner magics later, Flurry Heart,” the Goddess of Friendship hissed angrily. “For now, let me check to see if you didn’t damage her permanently.” She turned her gaze back on Sunset. “Hold still, Sunny. This will only take a moment.”

Without further ado, her horn sparked and shimmered with light. Sunset felt something wash over her body and left her fur standing on end — like she just touched a low voltage electric wire. She shivered once as the sensation repeated itself, and then, just like that, it was over.

“Is she alright?” Celestia asked, concerned.

“Yes,” Twilight replied after a moment. All the anger had left her voice, leaving only puzzlement. “A complete equine transformation. I’m... unsure why she turned into a unicorn and not, say, an earth pony, but there you go. And not only that, but she has as much innate magic as a regular human. Which is to say, not much at all.” She sent one final glare towards Flurry Heart and said, “as for why she turned into a pony at all… I’m actually not sure. I can only speculate.”

“Have a guess, then,” Luna pressed gently from beside her sister.

“Yeah, ‘cuz, I legit wanna know why I don’t have fingers anymore,” Sunset said.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight’s horn flickered again and in a series of soft ‘pops’, several books appeared, hovering in the air around her. Two of them opened with ominous creaks and pages flipped rapidly in succession. Twilight turned her attention away from Sunset to focus the books, muttering to herself as she took mental notes. When she didn’t find what she wanted from one of them, she disregarded it in a flash of light and opened another, flipping through it faster than Sunset could parse out.

After a few moments of relative silence and no less than seven rejected books, Twilight visibly brightened; she had apparently found what she was looking for. Her eyes skimmed over the page for a few seconds, and then she nodded, slamming the book shut with a satisfying ‘thunk’.

“Okay, while no precedent for this situation has ever been properly established, theories have been formulated regarding intra-world teleportation and inter-species transmogrification. According to Nova Lux, who was the foremost expert on meta-world theory—” She paused, shrugging. “—well... aside from me, anyway, he hypothesized that a being from one world that traveled to another—”

“Yeah, okay, lemme stop you right there,” Sunset said, lifting a hoof. Twilight stopped, blinking in confusion. “I can almost guarantee that anything you say past this point I won’t be able to follow. So how about you dumb it down a bit for me?”

“Ditto,” Flurry Heart chimed in. “I mean, as much as I love your little educational rants, Auntie Twi, I don’t think now is the time.”

Twilight exhaled sharply — insulted, almost — and looked to Celestia and Luna for support. When the two goddesses only shrugged, a gesture mirrored by Cadence, the Princess of Friendship wilted, her ears flattening atop her head.

“Fine…” she muttered, dejected. She sat there silently for a moment, sulking. Everyone waited for her to collect her thoughts, and when she finally did, she raised her head. “Basically, she turned into a unicorn because her innate magic, however meager it might be, resonated with native Equestrian magic on this side of the mirror.” She fixed Celestia with an unreadable expression. “Or, in other words, there is — or was — magic here that is the exact same as Sunset Shimmer’s. The most likely source would be another pony.” Her eyes slowly turned back towards the pony in question. “And from the looks of things, it’s a unicorn.”

Sunset blinked, Twilight’s words breaking through her thoughts like a runaway bulldozer. Did that mean… “Wait, are you saying,” she breathed, disbelieving. “That there’s another me here? An actual pony me?!”

Twilight’s tone was careful. Measured. “So it would seem. And apparently, one that I was not aware of.” She turned back to Celestia. “Do you have any input on this guess, Princess Celestia?”

The white alicorn was silent for a long moment, her eyes never leaving Twilight’s. The friendship goddess returned her stare unflinchingly; a silent contest of wills between immortals. Celestia was the first to crumble. “I have an... idea,” she said quietly. “But that can wait. For now, I think we should move onto what we all came here to discuss.”

Twilight’s stare lingered on Celestia for a while longer, trying to extract any information she could from her fellow goddess’ face, but she eventually nodded, her frown turning pensive. “Very well,” she said, straightening. “Is there a problem with Sunset’s contract with me? I assume that’s why you brought her here without consulting me first.”

“Not as such,” Celestia replied, looking towards Sunset with a kind smile. “Although it does have something to do with it. No…” she returned her gaze to Twilight, her smile fading as she drew in a calming breath. “We wanted to talk to you about the mirror.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “What about it?” She looked to Luna, and then Cadence. A cursory glance to Flurry and her frown deepened. “Has something happened to it?”

“Be at peace, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said gently. “Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. But… you know as well as we do that means little. It’s only a matter of time before the mirror is gone.”

Twilight’s face was impassive, but Sunset could see the lines of tension around her eyes. She was uncomfortable with this topic; that much was obvious. And if Sunset could tell, then her family definitely could. It was interesting to see how her features corresponded to her human counterpart -- it was nearly the exact same… so much so, that Sunset could imagine her friend sitting right next to her on her couch.

Very grumpily, however.

“So? We already knew this,” the goddess said simply. She shrugged again, uncaring. “We agreed that we would just let it happen.”

“No. You said that we would let it happen.” Flurry Heart’s tone was harder than Sunset had ever heard it. Even Twilight blinked at the bitterness of it. “And then you rebuffed any and all attempts to bring up the situation again. But not anymore.”

Sunset could see in her friend’s eyes the moment she understood the real reason for the impromptu gathering of her family and friend. Her eyes widened fractionally, her lips parting as she sucked in a breath, and then she closed herself off. Her eyes grew cold, her lips curling into a sneer.

“Oh. So this is why you called me here,” she said. She looked at everyone in turn, focusing on Sunset last, and the human-turned-unicorn shrunk at the disapproving look her friend stared her down with. “And you even convinced Sunset to help with this asinine attempt to… what, persuade me to break myself free from the mirror? To fix the mirror?” She barked out a humorless laugh. “Well, you can forget it. Take Sunset back to her world. We’re done here.”

“You need help, Twili,” Cadence said softly.

Twilight balked at that. “I need help?” she echoed scornfully. “With what? I’ve lived for over five thousand years, Cadence, and I’ve gotten along fine without any help.”

“That’s not true.” It was Luna’s turn, who straightened from place at the table, her expression grim. “How many times have we gone to Earth on your behalf, answering summons meant for you simply because they were too frequent and you were stretched too thin? If we hadn’t helped then, the mirror would have surely been destroyed long before now.”

Twilight considered that. “Then I’m living off borrowed time,” she finally said. “That’s fine. I knew that a long time ago.” She looked down at the table. “We all knew that.”

“But we never accepted it,” Celestia said calmly. “The only one of us to accept it was you, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Accept what?!” Sunset finally shouted, drawing every eye in the room to her. When she knew that she had the floor, she stomped her hooves angrily. “I’m tired of everyone fucking beating around the bush, brushing me off and just fucking ignoring my questions!” She fixed Twilight with her best anti-bluster stare. “What will happen to you once the mirror breaks?”

No one said anything for a long moment. Everybody simply stood there, looking decidedly uncomfortable in the wake of Sunset’s outburst. Twilight looked like she was going to say something, but faltered when Sunset’s glare remained.

“Twilight will die,” came the eventual answer. Celestia was the one who had spoken, and it was clearly done so with hesitation.

It was both the answer Sunset feared most, and yet wholly expected to hear. Still, she had to say, “but… she’s immortal.”

Luna nodded, taking over for Celestia. “She is, but that matters little with magic. Once the mirror breaks, so does its connection with Twilight Sparkle. For thousands of years the mirror has acted as an anchor to Twilight’s immortal soul; binding her to this plane. She…” she hesitated, chancing a glance at Twilight, who nodded solemnly. “She should have died back then, when the Elements were defeated. But somehow the mirror kept her rooted to this plane, as one in the same; the mirror and Twilight. But if one were to be destroyed…” she trailed off, allowing Sunset to put the pieces together on her own.

“If the mirror were to be destroyed, like it's slowly been doing over the years, then there is nothing left to tie Twilight to the mortal plane. Even if she's immortal, she’ll… disappear?”

“We’re not sure,” Cadence said quietly, her ears folded flat against her head. “But that’s the only answer we could come up with.”

“Bullshit!” Sunset snarled. “I won’t accept that! There has to be something we can do.”

“There is, but that isn’t the problem.”

“Well, what is the problem?”

Twilight sighed, her expression not giving anything away. “The problem, if they want to call it that, is me.” She returned Sunset’s glare. “I don’t want to be free of the mirror.”

Sunset scoffed. “So, what, you’re cool with dying? Is that it?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

Twilight’s words were so dispassionate, so matter-of-fact, that Sunset actually sat down on the floor, hard. She stared at her friend, mouth agape, unable to say anything to refute the goddess’ uncaring declaration that she was ready — was willing — to die.

When she finally could form words, she only whispered, “You can’t mean that.”

Twilight looked down at her, her face grim. “I’ve been alive far longer than I deserve, Sunset. I think I really do.”

“Why?”

She paused, something flickering across her face for an instant before getting covered up by indifference. “You’re mortal. You wouldn’t understand.”

“It’s because of your friends,” Sunset said, working moisture into her mouth. “Isn’t it? They died, and didn't. You feel guilty because of it.”

Twilight’s face darkened. “That’s enough, Sunset Shimmer.”

“No!” she shot back, gathering herself up and standing as tall as she could — which was only to Twilight’s chest, but it was the principal of the thing, damn it! “You helped me when I was feeling shitty, so now it’s time to listen to me! The Catastrophe—”

“Sunset…” Twilight growled, her eyes narrowing.

“Shut up!” Sunset snapped. “That was a shitty thing, yeah, and you and your friends tried their best to help! They died, but that was an accident! There was nothing you could have done!” In the back of her head, Sunset wondered if it was a smart thing to antagonize Twilight like this. She knew how powerful her friend was, and riling her up like this might not be the greatest idea, but it was too late now; she was on a roll. “And now, here you are, alone and miserable, just because you think you should be? Fuck that!” She sucked in a breath in preparation for her final blow.

“You tell me, Twilight; would your friends be happy with this? Do you think they’re happy with you wanting to die?!”

Before she could even shut her mouth from her diatribe she found herself forced up the against the wall across the room, the wind knocked clean out of her. Nothing visible was holding her — some some powerful, unseen thing — to the wall, but she was unable to move as she tried to force air into her lungs. Her mouth worked feebly, unable to draw breath as swiveled her eyes to see Twilight stalk towards her, her eyes glowing with a dark pink fire and her mane whipping angrily around her.

“You… dare…” the goddess hissed, her voice reverberating through the expansive room. Somewhere deep down, Sunset recognized her friend’s voice as that of her ‘super spooky demon’ form she sometimes took. Only this time, it was actually, truly frightening.

“You dare use the memory of my friends against me?” Twilight’s voice was unnatural, the sound sinking into Sunset’s entire being and leaving only fear and darkness in its wake. “You know nothing! You are nothing! Who are you, to claim to know anything about me?! You have no right! None!” she shrieked, her eyes alight with malice and her wings splayed out wide in an aggressive stance. She flapped once, closing the distance between them in an instant and it was all Sunset could do to shut her eyes to prepare for the inevitable—

“That’s enough, Twilight.”

Celestia’s voice — clear and soft, but holding an unmistakable edge to it — cut in through Twilight’s rage like a blade. At once the oppressive air around Sunset disappeared, and she found herself slumped on the grown like a child’s doll, shaking like a leaf and sobbing as she tried to make sense of what just happened.

Twilight — her best friend — had almost killed her. Or… something. Maybe that was a little much. Maybe she wouldn’t have killed her. Or maybe she just would have turned her into a rabbit or something. Regardless, Sunset had set out to antagonize the goddess into acting, to break through the girl’s seemingly uncaring attitude towards her own mortality — ironically enough — and she had certainly succeeded.

In spades.

Through the sound of her tears, she heard the quiet, soothing sounds of Twilight’s voice, murmuring, “shh… shh… I’m sorry, Sunny. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry…” She felt the gentle touch of her friend touch her shoulders as she cried, and the warmth she always felt from her friend when she was with her.

“Damn,” she finally said after her sobs had slowed to the occasional hiccup. “Remind me never to piss you off again.”

A wet chuckle. “I’m sorry.”

“S’okay. Was kinda asking for it, anyway.” Sunset sniffled, reaching up to clumsily wipe her hoof across her nose. “Fuck, I must look like shit right now.”

“Silly filly,” Twilight whispered, hooking a hoof underneath Sunset’s chin and tugging it up to look at her. “You look great. So fetch.”

Despite herself, Sunset snorted. “Dude, I told you that ‘fetch’ isn’t a thing.”

They stayed like that for another few seconds before Twilight pulled Sunset up. She wobbled shakily for a couple steps, but after a false start, they finally returned to the table.

“I’m sorry, everypony,” Twilight said softly as they rejoined her family. “I… don’t have any excuses.”

“There is nothing to excuse, Twilight,” Celestia said kindly. “Everypony here understands.”

“Well, personally, I could have done without the aggravated assault… but that’s just me,” Sunset muttered, though without any heat. Twilight rolled her eyes and nudged her side.

Celestia smiled at the two of them, and then frowned thoughtfully. “Twilight, would you be willing to try something?”

“What do you mean?” the goddess asked carefully.

“Well, sometimes it helps to see something from out outside perspective,” the sun alicorn explained. “To get a better understanding of the situation, one must see from another point of view. Maybe it would help if you could see what we see when we look at you. That way, you could better understand why we are so worried.”

Twilight eyed the other alicorn shrewdly, but nodded. “Alright. What did you have in mind?”

The smile returned, and Celestia turned to Cadence. “Cadence, would you mind retrieving Starswirl’s Mirror for us? Bring it here, please.”

Cadence looked between Celestia and Twilight, confused, but she nodded tightly and disappeared in a flash of light.

“You’re bringing the mirror here?” Twilight asked, wariness evident in her tone. “Why?”

“To test a theory, My Faithful Student,” Celestia replied.

“Uh huh.” Twilight settled herself beside Sunset, her grumpiness finally showing itself after her little breakdown. “I’ve seen your theories, Princess, and they mainly have to do with experimenting with new recipes for cake.”

From beside Celestia, Luna snorted.

“Yes, well… I assure you that there are no cakes involved at the moment—”

“At the moment,” Flurry Heart repeated quietly.

Huffing softly, Celestia frowned. “Okay, that joke was old four thousand years ago.”

“Which means it’s funny again. Retro is the new hip, after all.”

“Yes. Therefore making fun of Granny Tia is hip,” Luna snickered.

Letting out a long sigh, the sun goddess refused to answer. The chuckles from the alicorns around Sunset slowly died down, and before anyone had any time to speak, the ‘crack’ of Cadence reappearing heralded the pink alicorn’s arrival.

With the mirror in tow.

Using her magic to set the magical artifact gently on the ground, Cadence took her place back at the table. “Here it is, Auntie,” she said. “Now, maybe you can explain why you wanted it here?”

Nodding, Celestia turned to regard the mirror. “Starswirl the Bearded was a talented magician,” she said, perhaps unnecessarily. “Many of the artifacts he created were one of a kind; unable to be reproduced. Or if they were, they were never quite the same. This mirror was one of those. However, one or two other mirrors were later created which bear a likeness to this one, and in their creation, a very specific function of the mirror was discovered.”

Turning back to the others, she continued, “We originally thought that the mirror acts as a physical gateway between worlds. Many different worlds, in theory. One that we can use to travel from one world to the next. That much is true, but in fact, there is another way to access worlds with the mirror, one that isn’t so obvious.”

“What are you saying?” Twilight demanded, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

“I’m saying, Twilight Sparkle, that if we tune into the mirror in a specific way, we can glimpse into the mirror to view other worlds, instead of just physically going to them.”

Twilight’s mouth dropped open a couple of centimeters. “Why haven’t I been told this?”

The smile Celestia gave the purple alicorn was equal parts sweet and bitter. “Because, My Faithful Student, you always refused to discuss the mirror with me. You never let me tell you what I’ve learned about it all these centuries.”

If Twilight was embarrassed by the not-so-subtle admonishment, she hid it well. She shut her mouth and gazed pointedly at the mirror, as if waiting for Celestia to pull a rabbit out of it and be done with the demonstration.

“So… what, we’re going to look in the mirror and see something?” Sunset wondered. “What are we going to see?”

“We’re going to see Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said simply.

“What—” Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when the mirror blazed with light, shining brightly with every color of the rainbow. Sunset lifted a hoof reflexively to cover her eyes, and when the light finally faded, every eye in the room was drawn to the mirror.

“What are you doing?” Twilight finally finished her question, her tone sharp and demanding.

“I think it’s finally time to see who Twilight has become without friendship to guide her.”

And slowly, like an old vacuum tube television warming up and finally coming to life, the cracked but still reflective sheen of the mirror began to show shapes.

And with a sinking feeling of dread, Sunset knew just what everyone was going to see.

Twilight Sparkle, her dress a shimmering violet and her hair a glossy sheen, in the car with Blueblood. Her eyes alight with glee and malice as she mounted him. Her lips peeled away from her teeth in a terrifying grin when he realized just what was happening, and how the tables had inexplicably turned on him. His manhood gone, and apparently endowed to another, tears began to leak from his eyes as the monster on top of him took total and absolute control…

The image blurred, shifting to a shaken, tired-looking Blueblood sitting in a psychiatrist’s office, shaking like a leaf. A much clearer picture, this scene had the feeling of something happening currently; they had obvious been talking for a while before the group of goddesses tuned into the conversation.

“These feelings sound like displacement to me,” the grey-haired man told him as he removed his horn-rimmed glasses to wipe them with a tissue. “You harbor resentment towards your mother for leaving you, abandoning you as an infant. Until now, you have over-identified with your father, who encouraged the mindset that all women are nothing but… pardon my rudeness, sexual objects. However…”

“However what?” Blueblood asked in a quiet, nervous tone.

“However, you have always yearned for that connection to your feminine side. Missed it, craved it more than ever. That is why, until now, you have mistreated women in your relationships; you didn’t know how to handle what you had, and fell back onto your father’s teachings.”

“But I didn’t try to do that!” he burst out, pulling roughly at his hair. “They seemed into it, they seemed to like to want to fuck — and I’m pretty sure they did, okay?!”

“Those aren’t mutually exclusive. They wanted to have sex with you, yes, but they also wanted a relationship; they were hoping you would also be their boyfriend instead of just a one night stand. But you treated them as disposable, and the guilt has caught up with you, and caused this hallucination.”

Getting to his feet, Blueblood paced back and forth as he tried to string two thoughts together in the chaos of his mind. “You don’t know how real it felt. It was like— I mean, I really felt her —him— on top of me, and I felt me… I felt it disappear! I was totally gone! I’ve never had a dream that felt so real!”

“That is because it was of utmost importance to your subconscious that you be made to see your behavior is unacceptable.” Though his voice did not raise, he punctuated the last word with a slap against the desk. “The dreams we need in order to sort through our emotions are often the most real to us.”

“Fine,” he sighed, as if still doubting it was only a dream but having no other way to explain it aloud. “Then… how am I supposed to treat women better? I still don’t really get it, it just… they want my body, I want theirs, and that’s all I understand, so…”

“Just listen to them. Your father has done you a great disservice, making you believe there is such a vast difference between sexes. We are all only human. All of us are worthy of equal respect.”

The mirror lost its glow and left silence in its wake. Sunset looked around the room, seeing various expressions ranging from surprise to pity. Twilight’s was the worst of all; remorse.

Feeling to need to say something in defense of her friend — after all, it was her problem in the first place — she sighed, “Okay, so.. I’m sorry he freaked out, but doesn’t it look like he kinda needed to be shaken up? To learn something about how messed up he is?”

“You truly think so?” Celestia replied, her tone honestly curious. “Do you think psychological trauma is the only way to get through to someone?” Her eyes flicked to Twilight. “You can’t yield dividends without sacrificing something.”

“Maybe not usually,” Sunset retorted. “But this time, there doesn’t seem to be a downside.”

“Truly? Watch.”

The mirror flickered to life again.

Blueblood was now in his room at his frat house. When he reached up and took off his shirt, a red lace bra was underneath, covering his pecs. His eyes were wide and fearful, bloodshot. He glanced over his shoulder at the door, and he hurriedly tossed the shirt to the side and pulled on a clean one before anyone could walk in and see him.

“Oh—” Twilight gasped and lifted a hoof to her mouth, her eyes wide.

“And there it is,” the sun goddess stated evenly.

“There what is?” Sunset replied without batting an eye. “He’s exploring his feminine side. Good for him. To be totally blunt, more guys would probably be a lot better off if they tried wearing what we wear at least once in their lives.”

Shaking her head gently, Celestia waved a hoof towards the mirror. “But he didn’t come to it on his own. You — through Twilight — forced him through a traumatic experience that now has him questioning his gender and sexuality.”

“Again, so what?” Sunset narrowed her eyes. She was getting defensive on Twilight’s behalf. Even as she stared back at Celestia, she heard Twilight’s choked murmur from beside her.

Celestia’s tone was still calm, neither sympathizing nor being needlessly harsh. “Your revenge on him was petty, even if you told yourself you were doing it so that he would never treat another girl the way he treated you.”

“You’re making a big deal about him wearing a bra, I think! So what? Maybe he always wanted to try it, and he couldn’t before now! Doesn’t that mean we actually helped him instead?!”

“That does not change the motivation. You wanted him to suffer the way he made you suffer through his unwanted advances. Understandable, but hardly pure.” Again, she looked at Twilight. “And not something the Elements of Harmony should be used for.”

“Well, what about the other guys?” Sunset cut in swiftly. “The guy from the pizza place didn’t have anything bad happen to him — in fact, he got to see some free boobs! Neither did the other two, not really!”

Pursing her lips, Celestia settled down at the table. “You are correct about Noteworthy. I’ll concede him. Since the two of you intervened, he’s actually started dating Cloud Kicker now that he has a somewhat better understanding of how to approach women. Though, the fact remains that you sent Twilight after these men with the intention to punish then, and I won’t be distracted from that. I will say, however, in this case, things turned out for the best.”

“Great. Good,” Sunset sighed.

“Snips, however…”

“What? What about Snips?” Her stomach was twisting in knots as the mirror shifted to show the store clerk sitting in a jail cell, head in his hands.

Twilight moaned, “Oh no…”

“Your ‘cautionary horror show’ sent him over the edge.” Celestia’s voice was still soft, but her eyes were hard. “Now that he’s serving a sentence for assaulting a waitress who shouted at him for accidentally bumping her breast with his elbow, he has plenty of time to contemplate where he went wrong in his treatment of women. That part may yet serve some good. The waitress, on the other hoof…”

Sunset didn’t want to hear the rest of it. “No… she can’t be dead. Please, tell me he didn’t kill her…”

“No, not dead. Just a broken arm and a broken nose.”

“Oh.” Though her pulse was falling back down her its usual levels, it wouldn’t quite dip down that far. “Do you… I mean, can we see her?”

“Why?” Celestia looked at her shrewdly. “She’s no one to you — and it’s not your fault he attacked her, is it?”

“No, not exactly… but…”

In a flash, everything came together in her mind. This lesson was as much for Sunset as it was for Twilight. All actions did not exist in a bubble. Everything she and Twilight did to those men had farther-reaching consequences. There was always a domino effect, even if she didn’t see it, even if she didn’t believe it at first. Yes, she had partially understood that before now, when she noticed how lonely Rarity was without Blueblood around to at least physically reassure her, but it was crystal clear at that moment.

And Sunset could blame her own immaturity and inexperience for this. What about Twilight? Who could she blame besides herself?

“Do you feel responsible for her?” Celestia offered.

“Not that, either. Just… concerned.”

“Alright.”

The image on the mirror shifted, and the dread in the pit of Sunset’s stomach uncoiled when she found herself looking at a woman she didn’t even know; she’d been half-expecting to see Rarity there, or maybe her mother. But the pang of regret was still sharp as she looked at the bruises on her face, at the split lip and the brace holding her re-broken nose in position.

“What’s… her name?” Twilight asked softly.

“Symphony. She is a struggling pianist who waitresses part time. She just started seeing a boy in the dish room, and can’t check her phone right now to see the dozens of missed calls. He now thinks she lost interest and quit his job to avoid her.”

“That wasn’t what I wanted!” Sunset breathed, her body trembling with frustration. “I mean, I’m glad they caught him so he can’t do it again, but I… oh, God… poor Symphony.”

“Stop this,” Flurry Heart said, her voice hard. “You’ve made your point, Celestia. Sunset is just inexperienced and ignorant in the ways of life. Putting her through this is—”

“And what about Twilight?” Luna cut Flurry off. “Would you use the same excuse for her? Would you consider Twilight ignorant, or inexperienced? She is as much to blame as Sunset is. If not more so.”

“I…” Flurry stammered. “I—”

“It’s okay, Flurry,” Twilight murmured, her eyes never leaving the scene in the mirror. “I… need to see this.”

“What about Snails?” Sunset couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Nothing bad happened because of what we did to him, right?”

“No,” Celestia said. “Not yet. What happened with Snails will have other consequences in the future; of that I’m sure. But at present, he has merely been more cautious of who he talks to online. Also, he has a new irrational fear of cupcakes. If you’re really curious, though, I could have Luna run up some projections…?”

Shaking her head, Sunset sat back down and ran her hoof through her mane, trying not to look at the crestfallen look on Twilight’s face. “Those people… I mean, didn’t Snails deserve it for trying to force himself on me?! For doing it again to Twilight when she disguised herself? You’re acting like we’re the bad guys here — I mean, we’re not the ones going around, screwing over anyone with a uterus!”

For a moment, the room was quiet. Celestia nodded to herself, and then said, “In each of us, two natures are constantly at war — the good and the evil. All our lives, the fight goes on between them, and one of them must eventually conquer. But in our own hands lies the power the choose -- what we want most to be, we are.”

“Wow,” Luna muttered quietly. “You really need to get to the library and get some new material.”

“You’re getting in the way of my pathos, Luna,” she whispered out of the side of her mouth.

“But I…” Sunset floundered. “I was mad, but you also know I didn’t want any of them treating women like shit anymore. I can do things for more than one reason. I’m not evil!”

“Yes, Sunset Shimmer, that’s true. Humans are… beautifully complex. I’m not even saying that at any one time, you did anything truly ‘evil’. But can you honestly sit there and tell me that a person who repeatedly summoned the Goddess of Friendship, for the main purpose of personal vendettas, has any room to say she had everyone’s best interest at heart?”

Not giving anyone a chance to add anything more, she turned her attention to Twilight. “And you, My Faithful Student,” she said, her voice never dropping below the level of ‘caring’. “Can you honestly tell me that if your friends could see you now, they would be happy with what you have become? Would they approve? Would they still want to be your friend?”

Her words were the last straw. With a deep, shuddering breath that seemed to travel through Twilight’s entire body, she broke. She let out a long, keening whine and collapsed on the ground, crying louder than Sunset could have ever thought possible. Her body racked with her sobs, her wings splayed out limply on the ground as she cried.

Sunset was shocked. She’d never seen Twilight laid bare like the before. Until now the goddess had always seemed so… perfect, so unflappable that she was beginning to suspect Twilight never cried or got upset. Oh, how wrong she was.

She looked around the table to the others, intent on getting some sort to cue or reassurance that they had Twilight’s outburst under control. None of them moved, only watched on as the goddess cried on the floor. She locked eyes with Celestia, and with a barely perceptible nod from the white alicorn, knew what she had to do.

Kneeling down to eye level with Twilight — which was actually not all that lower than her normal standing height — and pressed her face against Twilight’s in a nuzzle. The larger pony recoiled at first, whimpering, “N-no! Don’t touch me — I’m a m-monster!”

“Shh… you’re not a monster,” Sunset soothed gently. Twilight shook her head and cried harder, only spurring on Sunset’s attempts at comforting the goddess.

“I am!” she sobbed. “L-look what I’ve become! I… I never used to be this way! I used to build b-bridges! Make friends! And h-help ponies! Now I just h-hurt them!”

“It was my fault.” Sunset’s chest was tight, but she forced herself to say, “I made you hurt them. They were my problems and you only did what I told you to.”

Twilight shook her head again, jostling Sunset with the motion. “I could have suggested something better! I should have done more, should have thought of an alternative that didn’t hurt anypony!” She sniffled, coughed, and cried pathetically, “Now nopony will ever want to be my friend!!!”

It was such a pitiful and childish — though, considering the circumstances, justifiably horrible — statement that Sunset smiled. She knew just what to say to that.

“I’m your friend, Twilight,” she whispered against the goddess’ ear.

At once Twilight stiffened, and despite the hushed “D’awww” overheard from Flurry Heart and the equally quiet “Shhh!” from her mother, Sunset knew she had gotten through to her.

“...Really?” Twilight asked, her voice quiet. Hesitant.

Sunset snorted. “Well, duh. I mean, come on — we sang a fucking duet together. I don’t sing You’ve Got A Friend In Me with just anybody, you know?”

Flurry gasped dramatically. “What?! You sang Toy Story without me? Dude.”

“Flurry!” Cadence hissed.

Twilight burst into tears again, but Sunset could tell it wasn’t as bad as before. She let her friend rest her head on her shoulder and cry, moving a foreleg around to awkwardly pat her on the back until she finally began to quiet.

When she did, Sunset heard the barest whisper, “Help me…”

She blinked, moving back. “What?”

With a visible effort, Twilight straightened and turned her attention back to her family. Her eyes were red, and her fur was wet with tears, but her expression was determined. “Help me…” she repeated. She stood up slowly and faced her family.

“Will you all help me break free of the mirror?”

Sunset felt her heart thump in her chest. She knew how much it must have hurt Twilight to admit that she needed help. And now that she had… well, there was only one thing left to do.

“Of course,” she said, reaching out to touch her friend’s face with her hoof. “That’s why I’m here, after all.”

A series of affirmations came from around the table, and Twilight sniffled. “T-thanks… everypony. I’m sorry I—”

“Don’t apologize, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said gently. “You would do the same for us.”

“I guess…”

“Well, now that we’ve reached an understanding,” Celestia announced, her smile wide. “There is the matter of how to go about breaking Twilight free of the mirror.”

The group fell silent for a few seconds, each one clearly thinking of the best way to go about such a task. Eventually, Flurry Heart was the first one to speak.

“Why don’t we just use the Elements of Harmony?”

“I… what?” Twilight asked, blinking rapidly.

Sunset could relate. What?

Flurry shrugged. “Well, why not? They failed before because they were overpowered by that strange foreign magic coming from the mirror. Well, that magic has long dissipated, leaving nothing in our way to use the Elements to fix the mirror and free you in the process.”

“It’s not that simple, Flurry,” Cadence said slowly. “While the Elements could, in theory, fix the mirror, there are too many variables.” She fixed Twilight with a sideways glance. “Besides, the Element bearers are all dead. There’s nopony left to wield them besides Twilight.”

“Isn’t there?” Flurry pressed. “The Elements were used by Celestia and Luna to defeat Discord before. Therefore, they can be wielded by other ponies. Maybe not perfectly, but…” she trailed off, her meaning clear. Other ponies could use the Elements.

This time Luna spoke. “But that was because Tia and I each had traits that corresponded to the elements equally. I used the Elements of Generosity, Honesty and Laughter. Tia wielded Magic, Kindness and Loyalty. It was enough to push back Discord, but only just.” She frowned. “As Cadence said; Twilight now wields all six Elements, but she is not powerful enough to utilize them effectively enough to break free of the mirror.” She looked to Twilight for confirmation, and got a stiff nod. “And if we were to each use the Elements in her stead, there wouldn’t be Harmony between us. There would be five wielders, with one pony using two Elements at once. That pony’s magic would be spread too thin and unable to wield both effectively.”

“But we don’t have five of us,” Flurry insisted.

“I… beg your pardon?”

“I said, there aren’t five ponies here.” Flurry straightened, her smile widening as she turned her gaze to Sunset. “There are six ponies here. And, forgive me for saying so… but I’d say Sunset is as Loyal to Twilight Sparkle as they come.” The twinkle in the alicorn’s eye was unmistakable, as was the implication.

One by one the connection was made, the idea taking root in each and every pony’s mind. Six ponies… six Elements.

“Huh…” Celestia finally said, her expression not unlike someone hit her over the head with a large pillow. “Well, that… might work.”

Chapter 20: I Hear Dead People... Or, Ponies. Whatever.

“Absolutely not.”

Twilight’s expression was thunderous. Her declaration was even moreso.

“Twilight, surely you must realize—”

The purple alicorn didn’t even bother to shake her head, cutting off Celestia with a definitive “No.”

“But using the Elements of Harmony would be the easiest way to—”

“I said ‘no’,” Twilight repeated.

“But why?” Flurry Heart demanded hotly, stomping her hooves on the floor. “We have access to a powerful tool. One that by all rights should have worked before. And now that nothing stands in our way this time, the Elements will work. All we have to do is—”

“I will repeat myself once more,” Twilight said coldly. “I will not allow the Elements of Harmony to be used against the mirror again. Not now, not ever.”

“I… but…” Flurry faltered, her mouth working as she tried to come up with a rebuttal of some kind. Sunset watched the proceedings warily, only halfway understanding what was really being discussed. The goddesses were currently caught in an argument about whether they could use the so-called Elements of Harmony to break Twilight free of Starswirl’s Mirror. Cadence, Flurry Heart and Celestia agreed that the Elements could, in theory, be used, and now that Sunset was here to wield the sixth Element — Loyalty, apparently — they should consider that as a very real solution.

On the other hand, both Luna and Twilight seemed to be against the idea; Twilight very adamantly. And while for the most part, three against two seemed to be pretty straightforward, with Twilight currently being the sole bearer of all six Elements, it seemed like the final decision was ultimately hers to make.

“I think you misunderstand, Flurry Heart,” Luna spoke up from beside her sister. “It’s not that Twilight doesn’t believe the Elements would work this time; it’s that she doesn’t wish to risk the safety of her family and friends.” She paused, her gaze lingering on the other goddess. “Not after losing so much the first time around.”

Twilight didn’t nod, but her stony expression was all the confirmation anyone needed.

That seemed to mollify Celestia and Cadence, who looked down at the table in deep thought. But Flurry wouldn’t be deterred.

“Okay. That’s understandable. But surely you realize that we’re goddesses.” She unfurled her wings slightly as if to prove her point. “We’re the most powerful beings in Equestria. We have been so for thousands of years. Celestia and Luna wielded multiple Elements themselves when they were still young against Discord himself and came out unscathed. You yourself have held all six for five thousand years and are no worse for the wear...” She cocked an eyebrow at Twilight. “...if a little grumpy at times.”

Twilight scoffed, and Flurry smiled. “Just… my point is that we’re tougher than we look. And if there’s even a chance that the Elements can be used to save you… I’m willing to try it.”

“So am I,” Cadence added softly.

“Me too,” Celestia said simply. She turned to face her sister. “Lulu?”

Luna hesitated, her eyes flicking around the room in a slow rotation until her eyes found Twilight’s again. “I think it’s clear we all want to help Twilight Sparkle, and are willing to go to great lengths to do so. But I think we are forgetting one thing...” She looked at Sunset. “That Sunset Shimmer is a human, not a pony.”

“Does that even matter?” Cadence asked curiously.

After a moment, Twilight announced, “Technically, the elements can be wielded by anyone — no matter the species.” She cocked her head to the side, her expression hovering somewhere between resignation and irritation. It was clear she wasn’t sold on the idea of using the Elements, but she still wanted to get everything out in the open. “No… the problem comes from Sunset herself. She’s a human, not from this world at all.”

“Meaning…?” Flurry rotated her hoof in a clear ‘move things along’ gesture.

Twilight looked at her niece like she was a particularly dim-witted child. “Meaning she has no innate magic, Flurry Heart. No human does.”

That seemed to take the wind out of Flurry’s sails. Her face fell and her ears dropped. Her wings fell to her side and she murmured, “Oh…”

“What?” Sunset spoke up for the first time since the Elements had been brought up. “What, oh?”

The alicorn all went silent for a moment, digesting this new — or not-so new — information. Then Luna said, “she means that, because you do not have magic, Sunset Shimmer, that it may be impossible for you to wield the Element of Loyalty. Or any Element, for that matter. We do not know why Humans have little to no magic. Everything in Equestria has magic; even non-living things simply by being around those with magic. But everything on your planet is simply… devoid of it. Only a handful of organisms and sentient life on your planet have magic, flukes of evolution.”

“Oh… like what?” Sunset had to know.

“The duck billed platypus, for one,” said Twilight, rolling her eyes. “I mean, really. Such odd creatures, but a faint trace of innate magic nonetheless.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah. And there are humans born with magic from time to time throughout the years, but it’s often difficult to tell between the real ones and the fakes.”

“I see… and I have no innate magic?” Despite the situation, Sunset couldn’t help but feel left out.

Shaking her head, Twilight looked at her. “Not even a little bit. Sorry, Sunny.”

Sunset shrugged. “Eh. It’s alright, I’ll survive.” Taking a deep breath, she asked, “So… what does this mean us for right now? The Elements.”

“It means that, even if you could use wield the Element, it might not be safe for you to do so,” Celestia explained. “With no magic to draw upon, the Element may instead see your life force as a substitute.” Her expression turned grim. “It may consume your very soul.”

Sunset swallowed. “That’s… not good.”

“Gonna have a bad time,” Flurry agreed.

“I should say so.” Celestia nodded in agreement. “Though, that is only if the Element accepts you at all at a suitable holder at all.

“Are you saying Sunset is not worthy of the Elements?” Twilight asked, a note of challenge in her tone.

Shaking her head again, Celestia looked at the both of them. “No. It’s clear to me that, despite the method of your interactions together, and the reasons for your initial bonding, you two have a close friendship. I do not doubt that Sunset is loyal to you, or that she would not be worthy of any of the other Elements.” She stopped, her lips drawing into a sympathetic frown. “I only worry that in doing so, Sunset would lose far more than her life.”

“I’m willing to take that risk.” Sunset declared without hesitation.

“It may be a risk that you are willing to take, Sunset,” Twilight retorted. “But I’m not.” She turned to fully face her, and Sunset could almost feel the weight of Twilight’s words as she said, “You’re too important to me to risk like that. Not even for my life.”

Sunset was floored. She swallowed heavily, managed a raspy “I… um,” before she wrenched her gaze away from the goddess before her to look at the others, pleading silently for their help.

Not that any help was forthcoming. The rest of the gathered party only watched them in silence, their faces a study in contemplation.

After a moment, Flurry said, “I… guess you’re right. It’s too much of a risk. We can find another way.”

Her words kicked Sunset back into action, and she jumped up. “No! I mean, using the Elements is the best way, right?”

“It is the fastest method, yes,” Luna confirmed. “And, provided each of us can safely wield them, the surest way to fix the mirror and therefore free Twilight’s immortal soul.”

“Okay, so let’s do it,” Sunset said, looking at Flurry Heart. “Screw the risk.”

Flurry let out a long, dejected sigh. “No… Twilight is right. It’s wrong to risk your life like that. There are other ways.”

“But those other ways will take time. Time that Twilight doesn’t have,” Sunset pressed.

“Sunny,” Twilight muttered from her side, “it’s not like I’m going to disappear tomorrow. There’s still decades before—”

“I don’t care!” Sunset snapped. Her patience had worn thin again; but this time, instead of being angry at Twilight for being too cavalier about her own life, it was for everyone skating around the fact that she was the one in danger here.

Didn’t they understand? Didn’t they know what she risked by coming here? She knew her life was forfeit the moment she took Flurry’s hand in her apartment, the moment she decided to give up everything on the slim chance that she could help her friend, when she stood in her presence — weathering the anger of a goddess as she ranted and raved — and knew without a doubt, that she would do anything to help her, and it was then that Sunset realized she loved Twilight.

...She loved Twilight.

Sunset’s eyes widened so much that they almost fell out of her sockets. All in the span of a moment she could feel everything sliding around in her head, slotting themselves into new, amazing places, and even though she knew she was staring at the same girl — or, pony — as she was a second ago, her best friend, but it was totally different now. She didn’t know what exactly she had felt before. She knew she had felt something; maybe not love, but definitely something. But it was completely different now, like those ink blot tests that looks like two opposing profiles facing each other; the same, but totally opposite.

She started shaking, and she forced herself to draw a shuddering breath. Everyone was looking at her, concerned. Damn it, talk, girl!!!

“I… I don’t care,” she repeated faintly. She trembled like a leaf, barely able to stay standing.

“Sunset, maybe you should—”

“I. Don’t. Care!” she suddenly snarled, with more feeling this time. “How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t give two shits about what happens to me! I already gave everything up when I came here, so that’s not really an issue.”

“But you could die…” Luna protested.

Stomping her hooves on the floor, she barely felt the stab of pins and needles in her legs as she cried, “I don’t care about me! I only care about Twilight!!!”

Everyone went silent at that. Even Twilight stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. But she wouldn’t be distracted, she reared up and planted her front hooves directly on the table. “Twilight is a great person! Way better than most people... or, ponies, or fucking whatever… way most than most of the people I’ve met, and she deserves better than — than to have to answer to whiny brats on their periods like me who just want guys to stop grabbing their asses in the quad! So there’s no fucking point in going on about whether it’s ‘safe’ for me or not when it’s my decision, because it’s mine, and not yours!”

“Sunny, stop,” Twilight whispered. “You don’t have to--”

“No, I really fucking do!” Licking her lips, she leaned further onto the table and went on, “I’m a bad person, that’s fine. I may have done bad things with good intentions, or even with bad intentions, so fucking what?! The fact of the matter is that because of Twilight, I’m a better person; I have friends now, and I actually know what a shitty person I was before. I’ve made peace with that. And now I can do something really good with the rest of my life, even if it means I may die doing it! Well, let me repeat myself: I care about Twilight more than my fucked up self, and I’ll do whatever it takes to help her!”

“No, I mean it,” Twilight said more firmly putting a hoof on her shoulder and tugging her away from the table. “You’ve made your point.”

Sunset allowed herself to be pulled off the table, setting herself firmly on the floor. “I damn well hope so,” she growled.

She was prepared to argue her point further if anyone objected, but… strangely enough, the room was utterly silent. She blinked, her frown slipping as she saw every eye in the room on her.

Or… not on her… but right behind her.

“Um… what?” She turned, but saw no one. “What’s going on?”

“Sunset…” Twilight said quietly. “Your flank.”

“My what now?” Sunset repeated, but instinctively cranked her neck around to her backside—

—and saw what everyone was staring at.

A picture of the sun was there, plain as day, on her flank. Three distinct colors; the sun itself was stylized with a deep red and orange — like a colorful yin-yang symbol — but with the orange on the left and the red on the right. Surrounding the sun were the coronae, visible as arms in red on the left and yellow on the right.

Sunset Shimmer had a cutie mark.

A cutie mark.

...huh.

For a long moment she stared at the symbol, unable to form words. Was… this a good thing? A bad thing? She didn’t know. Looking up to see Twilight’s expression was no help; the goddess just stared blankly at the symbol as if she’d never seen such a thing before. Turning to look at the others, she was met with similar shock and confusion.

Celestia was the only one that seemed solemn; she stared at Sunset with a look of such bleakness on her face that she had to look away.

After another few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Sunset cleared her throat. “So… is this… bad?”

No one answered for another few seconds -- that is, until Flurry Heart said, “Holy… fucking shit on a shingle!”

“W-what?!” Sunset gasped, her heart pounding. What she going to die?! From a tattoo?!

“Now we get to throw you a cute-ceañera!” she cried, her eyes wide and her smile widening with childlike glee. “Fuck yeah!”

A low groan spilled from Cadence. “Oh… Flurry Heart… please, now is not the time—”

“Oh, don’t you worry about a thing, Sunny,” Flurry continued, totally ignoring her mother. “It’ll be the best cute-ceañera you’ve ever fucking seen. It’ll have punch, cake, dancing, hookers… the whole package.”

“I…” Sunset stammered. “Just, what the…”

“Hookers, Flurry Heart?” Twilight deadpanned. “Really?”

Flurry sighed loudly. “Okay, okay… courtesans. Expensive ones. Ones that know how to keep their mouths shut. Or open, as the case may be. Happy?”

“Marginally,” Twilight grunted. Turning back to Sunset, she said, “Hold still Sunny. I want to see if I can examine you.”

“I… sure,” she replied numbly. She turned, presenting herself to her friend, and opened her mouth to ask a question—

—when she was suddenly stricken with pain; horrible, searing pain. It started from where her cutie mark was, and quickly traveled up through her body. It went down her legs to her hooves, and up her chest to the tips of her ears. It felt like thousands of tiny needles digging into her body through her fur, hooking in deep and peeling back her skin leaving only muscle and bone all in the span of a moment. She felt… something deep inside her body, burrowing, searching. When it finally found what it was looking for, something new and unknown, she felt it tug. Nothing happened at first, and she felt if tug again, harder this time. The thing inside her gave way then, and tore free from Sunset, leaving her distinctly hollow and cold.

The shock of it all was so acute and harsh that she didn’t even have time to cry out. She simply collapsed, her legs giving out from under her as she convulsed, her vision blurring and her ears ringing.

Through the blinding pain and disorientation, she heard the distant sounds of shouting.

“What —ed?”

“—on’t know!”

“.... mirror…”

“....I don’t…”

As the pain clouding her vision slowly ebbed and gave way to creeping blackness, she felt a prickle of warmth seep into her — and she distantly recalled the time that Twilight used magic to sooth her cramps. It immediately made her feel nice, warm, and absolutely safe.

“...’ailight?” she heard herself mumble.

“It’s okay, Sunny,” someone whispered into her ear, hot breath puffing and tickling her ear. “I’m here. Don’t worry. Just sleep. You’ll be fine.” There was a pause, and Sunset wasn’t sure if a second had passed or hours before she heard the voice again, very faintly.

“I’ll always be here for you.”

The cloud-floaty sensation that Sunset always associated with waking was always the same. Whether she was rousing from a night’s sleep, or waking from passing out due to summoning a goddess from another world in her bathroom. And, from past experience, waking from blacking out from pain shouldn’t be too different from the former instances.

Luckily for Sunset, it wasn’t different at all.

Her vision grew sharper as her consciousness returned to her, and with it the feeling of soft warmth and comfort that a nice bed always instilled in her. Once the fuzzy shapes around her solidified to reveal furniture — a bedside table, a desk, a wardrobe, among some others — she turned and found the purple form of Twilight Sparkle beside her.

Sitting on the floor next to the bed, the Goddess of Friendship was silently staring at a small pile of photographs, held aloft by a dark pink cloud of magic. She examined one picture for a few moments, then floated it away to place it gently on another table beside the bed, and then looked at another. All the while Sunset quietly watched her, wanting to say something, but the words not coming to her.

After a long while, Twilight finally reached the final picture, and looked at it the longest. Her face was tired, resigned, sad, and she made a small movement — as if she was about to say something to Sunset — but then she faltered, her face falling and her ears drooping. The picture floated down to join the others. Sunset caught a glimpse of what was on the picture, a group of ponies, all different colors, some with wings and some without, and she was about to ask about it when the soft, dulcet tones of Twilight’s voice made their way to Sunset’s ears:

“Is there more I could have said?” she sang quietly to the small pile of photos. “Now they’re only pictures in my head.”

Sunset’s mouth snapped shut, the her question sucked away from her as if by some unseen force. Instead, the faintest tinkling of a piano could be heard. It grew in pitch as the melody became familiar to Sunset. And then she realized the message was clear; this was Twilight’s time.

“That’s why my fur is feeling grey… sometimes even I have rainy days.”

Standing up from her place beside the bed, Twilight turned and walked slowly across the room, her voice growing louder as she moved. “Remember the Grand Galloping Gala? We were totally rocking out. Who’d of thought your apple pies would be hard to live without?” She stopped by an open window, and paused to swallow. “If we could do it all again… just another chance to be together. Would anypony know, or even care? Or did something break we can’t repair?”

Turning away from the window, Twilight stalked back across the room, the music swelling around her as she sang, “Your sonic rainboom, it always always gave me hope. They may have been unbearable, but I still loved your jokes.” She reached the far wall, and faltered, her wings falling limply at her sides.

“Is there more I could’ve said? Now they’re only pictures in my head…”

The music stilled as Twilight stood there, her head hanging. Sunset hesitated, unsure if she should say anything yet, or wait until Twilight acknowledged her. It seemed like the kind of time a friend was needed, after all. But, before Sunset could come to a decision, a new voice could be heard; echoing as if coming from a great distance, but still clear and perfectly understandable.

“Remember, you Pinkie Promised! Nopony ever breaks a Pinkie Promise!”

The cheerful, lilting voice seemed to come out of the air itself, and it took Sunset only a moment before she somehow understood:

This was one of Twilight’s friends. Somehow, she was hearing Twilight’s friend in the song. Despite being long dead, the Magic of Music was allowing her to hear Twilight’s friend. But… if that was the case…

“Girl, you worry too much. Don’t you know you’re as awesome as me?”

The next voice was decidedly cocky, arrogant, but filled with a confidence Sunset only wished she possessed. It was also familiar to her, but not enough to warrant a second thought as the voices continued..

“Darling, you really should do something about your mane… how long has it been since you’ve been to the spa? A mare needs to care for herself, after all.”

“Don’ you worry none about us, Sugarcube. Jes’ go an’ do your thing.”

“Oh… well, I know it’s hard but, I know you try your best. Just remember: we’ll always be your friends.”

The voices came one after another, some more recognizable than others, and Sunset saw the impact they had on Twilight as they each said their piece. They seemed to hit with physical force, Twilight nearly crumbling to her knees before they were done, and just when the music started to slow, the first voice came back, a bright, cheery trill that Sunset couldn’t help but smile at.

“Aw, come on! This sadface tune is absolutely most positootly bringing me down! Come on girls; let’s belt one out for old times sake! One, two, and a half!!!”

And, in perfect harmony, all of Twilight’s friends chimed in, each one lending their own voice to the song, and each one filling the room as they sang.

“Could we do it all again? Make em laugh like we did then? We could harmonize for one last song… even now, after far too long!”

And then, just as quickly as the voices started, they stopped, and Twilight’s quiet murmur took over.

“But I’m standing here instead…” her voice trembled with the weight of her words, but she forced out the rest, concluding the song. “Now they’re only pictures... in my head.”

Then the music ended, and Sunset could finally suck in a breath. She lay on the bed, her legs shaking despite not having moved at all. She watched as Twilight took a minute to compose herself, and finally turn to her.

“I still hear them sometimes,” she admitted softly as she looked at Sunset. “In my head. They’re part of the Elements, you see. And since the Elements are a part of me now, they are also part of me. I can’t talk to them… but I can sometimes hear them… when there’s enough magic in the air.”

That… somehow made sense to Sunset. A lot of sense, now that she thought about it. And even as the implications rolled around in her head — and how Twilight often seemed so… different, like when she had been exacting Sunset’s revenge on her victims — she couldn’t help but chuckle, “Well, yeah, but… the Muppets? Really?”

Twilight cracked a watery grin, giggling through the tears that Sunset finally noticed when she approached. “Probably the best group of characters ever made,” she admitted. “In your world or mine. Kermit the Frog is something of a personal hero of mine.”

Sunset snorted. “No shit?”

“Really. I cried like a little filly when Miss Piggy broke up with him.”

Laughing aloud, Sunset pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Wow. That’s nuts. Were they some of Flurry Heart’s ideas, too?”

Twilight’s grin became indulgent. “Nope. The Muppets are one-hundred percent human-created. I was actually a little jealous when you guys thought of them and I hadn’t.” Her smile then turned a bit rueful. “But, knowing now how much I had changed from before… I guess it isn’t too much a surprise.”

Sensing that now was the time, Sunset reached out to place her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “You really miss them, don’t you?”

Nodding, Twilight said, “More and more each and every day.”

The two of them were silent for a long time. Sunset shifted on the bed as Twilight watched her, either unwilling or unable to say anything further. Eventually, Sunset couldn’t stand the silence anymore and she blurted out, “What happened?”

Twilight looked away. “You… got your cutie mark.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that,” Sunset replied dryly, craning her head around to look at the mark in question. It was still there — that orange, yellow and red sun right there on her ass. Great. She had no idea what that meant, but didn’t spend more than a few moments contemplating the thing. Her mom was so gonna kill her when she found out. If she ever got back to Earth. “I meant all that stuff after.”

“What do you remember?”

Sunset frowned. “I remember… pain. Just, really sudden and intense pain. All on my body. Inside… everywhere.” She looked up to find Twilight’s intense gaze on her. “Is… it always like that? When you get your cutie mark?”

“No,” Twilight shook her head. “Definitely not.”

“Then why?”

Twilight hesitated visibly, but said, “Well… I guess you could say there’s good news, and bad news.”

Sunset blinked. “Okay… what’s the good news?” Always pick good news first. Especially after waking up in a strange place.

“Well, apparently, after getting your cutie mark, you also got magic.”

“I… what…?” Sunset stammered, her eyes widening. “Magic?”

Shrugging listlessly, Twilight nodded. “Yup. Magic.”

“Like, abrakadabra?”

“Don’t forget Alakazam.” Twilight smiled slightly. “Or his mega evolution.”

Sunset was too stunned to even laugh at the reference. “I can… do magic?”

“With some practice...” Twilight said slowly, as if considering the implications. “Yes, I’d say so. It’s not like my magic, though. I mean, it can, in theory, do the same things, but it’s inherently different at its core. It’s not equestrian magic… it’s human magic.”

“But I thought humans didn't have magic. I didn’t have any before… what changed?”

The goddess frowned in thought. “Well, I’ve had some time to consider that — you’ve been out all night, by the way — but after talking with Celestia and Luna about it, we came to the possible conclusion that when you got your cutie mark, you somehow opened up yourself to the Equestrian magic that everypony is exposed to here. And you, being human and not native to Equestria, took that ambient magic and… changed it, for lack of a better term, to something more in tune with your own life force.”

“I… literally have no idea what that means,” Sunset said.

Snorting, Twilight rolled her eyes. “It means, My Little Pony, that you used equestrian magic to jump-start your own human magic. Like the sparking of a bonfire, you used a spark of our magic to get your own.”

Sunset sat back, exhaling heavily. “I… have magic?” she breathed. When Twilight nodded, she leaned forward again. “How do I do it?”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea…” Twilight said. Her tone was careful, but her smile was pulling at the corners of her lips. “I mean, you just woke up, and—”

“No. You don’t understand. I need to know. Right. Now.” Sunset wasn’t going to budge.

All-too easily, Twilight gave in. “Alright. Alright, fine. Just… don’t blame me if you get a migraine so soon after waking up.”

“I’ll take me chances. Lay it on me, sensei” Sunset climbed her her hooves and planted herself firmly on the bed. She felt and must have looked like a dog begging its master for a treat, but God dammit she wanted to learn how to magic shit up!

“Okay. Look. Magic for unicorns is focused on the horn. So what I want you do it is to focus on it, and nothing else.”

“Okay,” Sunset said, and did just that. Her horn — which, until this point, she had been doing her utmost to ignore — wasn’t as long as Twilight’s, but it was noticeable enough if Sunset actually paid attention to her peripheral. “Okay…”

“Focus on it, and nothing else,” Twilight repeated softly.

Nodding slowly, Sunset sat there, focusing on the horn jutting out from her forehead like some kind of hood ornament on a car. “You know, there is something inherently phallic about these horns, isn’t there?”

“Just…” Twilight blinked, and groaned loudly. She paused for a long moment, and growled, “Damn it, now that’s all I can think about.”

Sunset laughed, her friend’s bemused expression fueling her laughter as she fell back on the bed, both sets of legs kicking in delight.

“It’s not funny,” the goddess grumbled, which only made Sunset laugh harder. After a few seconds, Twilight smiled as well, and began to chuckle.

“Hey Twilight,” Sunset gasped. “Stop staring at my horn, you’ll give me inadequacy issues.” And then she was off again, squealing with laughter.

This time Twilight laughed as well, climbing on the bed to settle in beside Sunset, which was trembling with laughter. “Okay, it’s kind of funny now,” she admitted.

“Of course it is!” Sunset agreed, grinning widely as her friend lay down beside her. “Whoa, hey now, be careful; you might cross ‘em.” Snorting with laughter, she barely noticed Twilight had pressed the tip of her horn to Sunset’s until she had actually done so. With a sharp intake of breath, Sunset’s laughter died away. Her eyes widened as a sharp mote of raspberry light prickled at the tip of Twilight’s horn, touching the end of her own.

“W-what—”

“Shh,” Twilight whispered. “Just relax. Let me show you, My Little Pony.”

And then, somehow, Sunset felt it. Magic. She felt Twilight’s magic — warm and comforting — reach out and take hers, pulling her along, showing her how to be. It was new, and somehow felt so familiar, like being taught how to walk, or to swim, or ride a bike for the first time.

She imagined being pulled up on shaky legs, Twilight reaching out with strong hands to seize hers, holding gently but firmly as she straightened from an unsteady crawl. Her gait was slow, uncertain, but Twilight guided her every step of the way, holding her carefully, giving soft, unspoken encouragement through feeling and thought.

“Yes… that’s it, Sunny,” her voice was in Sunset’s head, filling her with warmth and... affection. Love? Was that Twilight’s feelings, or her own? She wasn’t sure, but she somehow she knew that Twilight was feeling exactly what she was feeling at that moment.

“I know,” she heard the reply, unspoken but still clear. “Oh, Sunny, I know.”

And then, before she knew it, Twilight pulled away, her amethyst eyes watching her closely.

“I... “ Sunset said once she could force herself to speak. Her mouth was dry, cottony. “What… was—”

“Look.” Twilight motioned her her head towards the side, and Sunset reluctantly broke her gaze away to look at a cup floating a few inches above the bedside table. It was surrounded by a brilliant amber haze, flickering softly with small motes that looked like embers from a flame.

“Is that…?” Sunset asked, but somehow knew the truth even without confirmation. She could feel it, after all. It was her magic, a part of her. She could feel it as clearly as if she had reached out and touched the cup with her own hands. Licking her lips, she focused on her horn and, as Twilight had somehow told her when their horns had touched, felt what she wanted to do.

And just like that, the cup floated a few inches higher.

“Holy fucking shit.”.

“Eloquent,” was the goddess’ reply.

“Holy fucking shit!” Sunset repeated, jumping up and staring at the cup. She willed her magic to lower the cup, and — just like she wanted it to — it fell back down to the table. “I—” she stammered, looking back to Twilight. Back to the cup. Back to Twilight.

“You…?” Twilight repeated, climbing to her hooves as well.

Sunset looked around the room, searching for something else. In a moment she found it, a bookshelf laden with thick-looking tomes. A moment of vanity consumed her, and with a flourish she stood up on the bed, lifted a single hoof and gestured to the bookshelf. A little bit of focus was all it took, and a single book slid off the shelf, surrounded by a murky cloud of amber magic. It floated directly to Sunset, who opened it and stared at the Equestrian symbols blankly for a moment before slamming it closed. She kept it floating there with her magic, but turned back to Twilight.

“I’m a fucking jedi!” she declared, her shit-eating grin so wide it nearly hurt. “I’m a fucking magical jedi!” Cackling madly, she leapt off the bed and ran around the room, crowing, “I can do magic! I’m a fucking witch! A jedi! All you bitches better watch out when I get home! Sunset’s got magic and she’s not afraid to use it! Bwahahahaha!!!”

It was at that moment that the door Sunset had neglected to notice before creaked open, and she turned in place to see Flurry Heart, Cadence, Luna and Celestia standing in the doorway, eyes wide and expressions rightfully wary.

“Um… what’s going on? Is she okay?” Cadance was the first to ask.

Dashing up to Flurry Heart, Sunset grinned manically. “I’m a fucking jedi, Flurry Heart,” she said. “You can be my Obi Wan, and Twilight will be my Yoda. We’ll have the best fucking time… ever!”

“Huh.” Blinking rapidly, Flurry looked past Sunset. “Did you tell her about the mirror?”

The mention of the mirror brought all of Sunset’s elation to a grinding halt. She frowned, turning back to Twilight. “What about the mirror?”

Grimacing, the purple alicorn lowered her head. “That… was the bad news I mentioned,” she said. Climbing off the bed, and walked up to the group. “I said you were exposed to Equestrian magic, and that’s true. But what I didn’t tell you was that the moment you did, and your life force began to change the Equestrian magic to human, the mirror… reacted.”

“Reacted how?” Sunset asked, suddenly afraid of the answer.

“We’re still ascertaining why the mirror did what it did,” Twilight said slowly. “I can only speculate that when the mirror bound me to it all those millennia ago, it was to correct some sort of imbalance. The schism that started The Catastrophe brought about disharmony between worlds, and to try and fix it, it bound my magic to it. Magic from this side to counteract magic from the other side. Simple math to balance it out. But it didn’t equate. My magic was either not enough, or too much. It was like a scale that suddenly had too much weight on one side, and became even more uneven. It’s why the mirror has slowly been breaking. At least, that’s what we think.”

She took a deep breath. “So, when you suddenly gained magic, the mirror once again tried to balance itself out… by using your human magic.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Wait… are you saying…?”

Nodding solemnly, Twilight’s eyes bore into hers, both sympathetic and and fearful. “Yes, Sunset Shimmer. I’m afraid that you are bound to the mirror, just as I am.”

Author's Notes:

A/N: And the hits just keep coming.

Please note (Because I know some people are going to jump to conclusions): Sunset is not immortal. She's just stuck to the mirror like Twilight is, the poor girl.

Also, gotta love the Muppets.

On that note, I received more than one (polite) messages on the usage of licensed lyrics in the story. While I was not aware of that rule at first, I am currently aware of this, and am choosing to include them anyway. I think it makes the story better, since the context calls for these particular songs. If anybody *is* upset by my breaking of the rules, by all means let me know (again, politely), or if you feel like going to the admins anyway, go ahead. Honestly, its fanfiction; no one is getting paid for this, and I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only.

Worst case scenario is I'll be forced to remove ST from this site. And if that does occur, I'll make an announcement and give interested parties a googledocs link to keep up with the remainder of the story until its end.

The sequel will likely have all original songs anyway

Chapter 21: The Fate Of Sunset Shimmer.

Everyone in the room was silent for a very long time. Sunset looked between the faces that she had quickly grown accustomed to, each one expressing sympathy and sadness through their gazes, and wondering what on Earth she could say. Could she say anything? Would anything help?

“I… um,” she murmured. The elation she felt when she learned she could move things around via magic seemed paltry in comparison to the megaton-sized atom bomb that had been dropped on her. “Okay…”

“Sunset… don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.” Twilight sidled up beside her and wrapped a wing around her back.

Sunset snorted bitterly. “Oh, yeah? How do you figure? My soul or whatever is being leeched on by some kind of magical, interdimensional mirror of doom. Somehow I think that’s a little less than ‘okay’.”

“Well, I can’t really deny any of that is the truth. But, really, it could be worse.”

That made her bark a laugh. “Worse? Like how? I mean, it’s not like I’m immortal now and am gonna be stuck to the mirror forever, too, right?” When there was a slight pause, Sunset whirled around. “Right?!”

Twilight jumped a little. “No! No, of course not. You’re mortal as ever.” She took a slow, deliberate breath. “Look, I know you’re upset, and little scared, but do you trust me?”

Sunset hesitated, but nodded. “Yeah… of course I do.”

“Then trust me when I tell you that you’re going to be fine.”

The certainty in Twilight’s voice did make her feel a little calmer. Maybe it was the fact that she was over five thousand years old, had first hand experience with the mirror herself and have turned out fine — for the most part — and, aside from the looming threat of the mirror eventually breaking and having her soul lost, Sunset did actually feel pretty good.

“Okay…” she nodded again, more confidently this time. “Queen of coping mechanisms. I got this. So, what happens now?”

Celestia stepped forward. “Well first, like Twilight said; things aren’t quite as bad as they seem. As I’m sure she explained to you, when you used Equestrian magic to trigger your human magic and the mirror reacted, the artifact’s magic did indeed seem to balance out. Luna and myself, along with Twilight, Cadence and Flurry Heart, have spent some time examining Starswirl’s Mirror since then, and have come to the conclusion that your magic was successful in binding itself. As far as your magic is concerned, there should be no lasting side effects.”

“Ah, well,” Sunset shrugged from her spot on the floor. “That’s cool. I feel pretty normal now, at least.”

“You should also retain your ability to do magic,” Luna added, smirking slightly. “Even on your world.”

“Also good.” Sunset nodded deeply. She was already thinking about ways to totally fuck with her friends. Maybe she could use the Magic of Music to put on her own sing-a-longs? The choices were endless…

“In fact,” Celestia continued, “It seems as though your magic was exactly what the mirror needed. All this time, with Twilight’s magic acting as the primary focal point, there was little to no magic from your world to counter it. As she just told you, too much on one side, and the scale collapses. By our estimates, the mirror would not have lasted another fifty of your years before breaking completely. But with your magic to act as the counterweight, provided nothing else is added to the equation, the mirror can last indefinitely.”

“Hold up — are you saying the mirror is fixed?” Sunset felt the briefest stirrings of hope well up in her chest. “Just like that?”

“No, not exactly.”

“Oh.” Damn it. Hopes: deleted.

“But, on the upside,” Flurry Heart said, her megawatt grin fully in place. “Neither is the mirror in any danger of breaking. Looks like you got your wish, Sunset, if a little different from what you expected.”

Blinking, Sunset turned to Twilight, who was watching her with an unreadable expression. “What’s that mean?”

“Well,” the goddess replied at length. “The whole reason I — and by extension the others — were called to your world at all wasn’t only because my soul is bound to it, but because the magic of the mirror is, was, unbalanced. The overabundance of magic from this world was tipping the scale and causing the mirror to break a little more each time I was called. Somehow, magic from this world made its way to yours, and with it, disharmony. But we can use a pseudo human magic when we are there by channeling the magic of nature itself, and by doing so help a little bit to slow the eventual degradation of the mirror.”

Sunset nodded at her friend’s explanation. It made sense, in a way, if about as much as anything else in her life these days. “Okay… and that’s different now?”

“With you there to provide human magic in tandem with my equestrian magic, the mirror is perfectly balanced; it isn’t getting any less broken but... neither will it fully break.” Twilight beamed at Sunset. “You… you saved me, Sunny.”

Sunset felt her ears prickle and her neck warm. “Um, I… you’re welcome? But how the heck do I have enough magic to counter you? Aren’t you, like, some super magical alicorn? I’d think I would be… well, a drop in the pond next to you.”

At that, Twilight stepped close to Sunset, lowering her head to look directly into her eyes. “Sunset Shimmer,” she said softly. “Like I told you at the very beginning — magic is all about intent. When you were bound to the mirror along with me, I felt your magic, your intent, and that you were ready and willing to give everything you are to help me, at any cost. I felt your determination, your will, your friendship… and your love.”

“D’awww…” Cadence cooed from a few feet away.

“Mom! Shh!”

Twilight ignored them. “I felt it all, and so did the mirror. At that moment, it didn’t matter how much magic you or I had. Your intent was all that counted, and at that moment, you had more magic that even I did.”

“Whoa…” Sunset breathed. “I… dude.”

“So, like I said...” Twilight smiled again. “You saved me, Sunny.”

“But, you’re still stuck in the mirror. Along with me.” Sunset argued weakly. “I didn’t…”

“True, but now that the mirror isn’t in danger of breaking, it’s not like we’re on a time limit anymore.” Twilight sent another lingering look down at Sunset, and then stepped away. She lifted her head to address the others. “I trust you all agree with me?”

From the accepting nods that circulated around the group, it was clear they did.

“I still say that the Elements of Harmony would be the best bet,” Flurry said. “And now that Sunset here has magic, there should be little danger in having her utilize them as well.”

Twilight was quiet for a moment. Her gaze flicked around the room, taking in everyone, before finally settling on the floor. “Actually, there might be a better solution. If we intend to use the Elements, that is.”

That got everyone’s attention. “Oh?” Celestia said. “What do you mean, Twilight?”

The goddess took a deep breath. “I mean that there may be others… who can wield the elements.” She paused, as if choosing her words. “Others, who are better suited to them.”

The others were silent for a moment, before Celestia cleared her throat. “Better suited? But, Twilight, the only ones who are more compatible to them than us are…”

“Yes,” Twilight picked up the thought when the white alicorn trailed off. “Exactly.”

“You’ve found them...” Celestia’s voice was soft, disbelieving. “Really?”

“Wait -- found who?” Sunset asked, looking back and forth between the two. “Where? On Earth?”

“Twilight,” Cadence stepped forward, her eyes wide. “Are you saying…?”

Twilight nodded, turning around and walking back towards the bed. “Yes.” Her horn glittered with light and the small pile of photos she had been looking through when Sunset awoke lifted from the bedside table. She took a moment to look through them before pulling a single one from the stack, taking it with her and letting the rest drop back down. “The only ones that were perfectly suited to using the Elements, along with me. The ones that died when we tried to use them to fix the mirror the first time, and the ones that I’ve been without all these millennia.” She returned to Sunset and lowered the picture, allowing her to see. “My friends.”

Sunset looked at the picture.

In it was Twilight as she was now, an alicorn and noticeably larger than the other ponies that surrounded her, but the others — five in total — didn’t seem the worse for the wear. They clustered around Twilight, their legs and wings entwining around her in some way, the show of solidarity towards the Goddess of Friendship clear, even in the faded photograph. They were all different colors and species; some regular ponies like the pink one and orange one — oh, yup, and there was that damn cowboy hat — and some were pegasi and one was another unicorn.

In fact… she looked closer at the ponies in question, an inkling of a suspicion forming in her mind. There was something about some of the ponies that she found familiar. Was it… someone’s hair? The shape of a face? Or was it…

It was actually the smile of the white unicorn that she recognized; the coquettish grin that Sunset recalled all too well from her younger years, but instead of on the face of a strange pony, it had been on the face of her best childhood friend.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

She looked up, expecting to see Twilight smiling in that cute little way she did when she was playing a joke on her. But she was not; her expression was resolute, and totally serious.

“No fucking way,” she repeated, hardly knowing what else to say.

“Yes,” Twilight said softly. She stepped forward and used a hoof to point out each and every one of her friends.

“Applejack.” The orange one with yellow hair and the stetson.

“Pinkie Pie.” The pink one with the fluffiest hair Sunset had ever seen. And she’d seen prize sheep at a county fair as a kid.

This time the pause was noticeable. “Fluttershy,” she said, pointing to a butter-yellow pegasus with all-too familiar pink hair.

“Rainbow Dash.” The blue pegasus with multicolored hair and a cocky grin. “And—”

“Rarity,” Sunset finished for her. Even as she said the name aloud, she didn’t quite believe it. Too many implications rushed through her mind as she stared at the photo, too many to consider. “Your friends…”

“Your friends, Sunset.” Twilight’s voice was hard. Her tone was enough to make Sunset look up at her. “They are your friends, not mine. My friends—” she gestured to the picture. “--have been gone for a long time. Their human counterparts have no connection to me aside from the Elements.” She turned her attention back to Celestia. “But when I was close to them — at least, to Rarity and Rainbow Dash — I could feel their connection to the Elements themselves.”

“What… what does that mean?” Sunset asked.

“It means that, while your human friends aren’t the same ponies as Twilight knew, they still embody the characteristics necessary to wield the Elements of Harmony.” Celestia nodded.

“So basically, they can use the Elements to fix the mirror?” Sunset was putting pieces together faster than she could parse out her words. “But--they, um, I…” she shook her head. “Is that safe?”

That had the others turn to Twilight, who pursed her lips. “I can’t say,” she said honestly. “It would be best to… break it to them slowly. Get them used to the idea of the Elements, and magic, before drawing any definite conclusions.” She looked up. “But I can say with absolute certainty that, if they can successfully wield the elements, the outcome will be assured. Both Sunset and I will be totally free, and the mirror fixed.”

Sunset snorted. “I can tell you right now that Rainbow will be all over it. Hell, she already knows about you and Flurry, so we won’t have to do all that much to convince her. Fluttershy and Rarity, well…” She grimaced, thinking of how much Rarity had changed over the past couple of years. She was still the same Rarity, more or less, but with a harder edge. And Fluttershy… “They might take some convincing. As for the other two—” She shrugged. “I don’t know them, so I can’t say yet.”

Twilight nodded. “It’s a smaller world than you might think, Sunset. Don’t worry; we’ll find them.”

Sunset smiled. “So it’s ‘we’ now? Who invited you along?”

Matching her grin, Twilight stepped close to Sunset. “Why, my little pony, I thought you wanted me to tag along. Was I perhaps mistaken?” Sunset stammered out a reply, and Twilight laughed, “Besides, who else would be your Yoda? Much to teach you I still have, my young padawan.”

Sunset blinked, finding her voice. “Okay, that sounds really weird coming from you.”

Twilight gave a little wiggle of her eyebrows, and then paused, her smile dropping slightly. A strange look passed over her face, and she looked up to Celestia. “On that note…” she said slowly, her gaze locking with the sun alicorn. “Princess Celestia, what do you think of Sunset’s cutie mark?”

Celestia very nearly flinched, only a flicker in her eyes told Sunset the question had a deeper meaning than just what Sunset’s cutie mark meant.

“Because I could have sworn I’ve seen it before,” Twilight said, continuing without waiting for her teacher to answer. “Not on any pony I knew, but in a book. Let’s see now…” Her horn flashed, and a moment later a old, leather-bound tome appeared before her. “Ah! Yes, here it is. This book has been in my castle library for… oh, I don’t know, five thousand years or so? It’s rather unremarkable — a diary of a sort, it seems, barely anything written in it — but after seeing Sunset’s cutie mark, well, you can understand why the cover interests me.”

And without further ado, Twilight used her magic to toss the book to a nearby table. It spun once, and landed with a heavy ‘thunk’. Sunset inched forward, craning her head a little higher so she could see around Flurry Heart.

Somehow, with everything else going on in her life, she wasn’t all that surprised to see the now familiar-looking orange, red and yellow sun embossed across the cover of that book. If anything, it was perhaps the most normal part of her day.

“Who is the unicorn Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight asked simply.

“Twilight… I--”

“Who is she?” Twilight repeated, her tone darkening in a way that made the back of Sunset's neck crawl.

Celestia was quiet for a long time. She stared down at the floor, her face impassive. The others simple watched on, either unwilling or unable to contribute to the discussion. Sunset sat as close as she dared to Twilight, if only for a show of support to her friend.

When the Goddess of the Sun finally did speak, it was quietly. “Sunset Shimmer… was my personal student.”

Twilight stiffened, her eyes widening.

“I took her on as my protégé long before you ascended. You must had been only a filly at the time, even before I brought Cadence to the castle. She was an orphan, quite alone… but she was so powerful, held so much potential as a unicorn, I couldn’t just sit back and see such talent wasted. So I opened the castle to her and took her as my personal student.” She paused to take a shuddering breath. “But she became… greedy. She wanted more. More power, more… everything. She became cruel and dishonest. She started delving too deeply into dark magic, and I became worried for her sake. In an attempt to stifle her curiosity, and hopefully put her on a better path, I… I showed her the Crystal Mirror.”

This time it was Cadence to sucked in a breath. “You what?” she gasped. “But that’s…”

“Yes,” Celestia nodded. “I had hoped to use the magics of the Crystal Mirror to allow her to see that the path she was on was a self-destructive one, and that she could use that knowledge to better herself.”

“Wait, what’s the Crystal Mirror?” Sunset asked. “Is that like Starswirl’s Mirror?”

“Starswirl’s Mirror was a prototype that would eventually become the Crystal Mirror,” Cadence explained. “Aside from being more powerful, Starswirl’s Mirror allowed one to see across multiple worlds at any given time. The Crystal Mirror, on the other hoof, only opens a doorway into a singular world, and only under particular circumstances can that be opened. However, the Crystal Mirror also has another attribute that Starswirl’s Mirror does not: the ability to see into your own heart.”

“Uh huh,” Sunset said, already seeing where this was going. “And I take it pony-me didn’t really like what she saw?”

“On the contrary,” Celestia shook her head sadly. “She liked it a little too much. I do not know what she saw, but it consumed her. It drove her to study the darker magics all the more; her every waking hour was spent studying, and sneaking into the more dangerous areas of the library in search of more power. I do not know what she was looking for… nor do I know why she chose to enter Starswirl’s Mirror instead of the Crystal Mirror, but…”

The sudden, sharp intake of break from Twilight jolted Sunset out of her shocked stupor.

“She… went through the mirror!” Twilight hissed, her pupils pinpricks against the whites of her eyes. “My mirror! She—”

“She disappeared one day—” interrupted Celestia calmly. “Into Starswirl’s Mirror, and was never heard from again.”

“When was this?” Cadence asked after a long, tense moment.

“Shortly after you joined me at the castle,” Celestia admitted. “Do you, perhaps, remember her?”

Cadence pursed her lips in thought. “I… remember somepony… a unicorn. She might have been a visitor, or a guest in the royal suites. But it’s pretty vague.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry — it was so long ago.”

“Don’t worry. As you said, it was so long ago.”

Something about the way Celestia said those words made Sunset turn her attention fully back on her. “Is… Sunset still alive?”

Celestia’s smile was brittle. “No. It was thousands of years ago, after all. Not even the eldest dragons can live that long.

“When you first saw me, you thought I was her,” Sunset accused.

“I admit, I held onto hope for the longest time that Sunset would come back to Equestria. That she would renounce her dark path and return to her friends… and me.” The sun alicorn sighed quietly. “She never did. So, when I saw you, who bore such a striking resemblance to Sunset Shimmer in my mind, I admit I… lost my head for a moment.”

“I’m sorry,” Sunset said, because she was.

“It was not of your doing. Simply… a poor circumstance.” Celestia smiled again, and this time meant it. “I have long since accepted what happened, and moved on. And on that, we should—”

“She caused the Catastrophe!” Twilight declared suddenly. Everyone turned to her, and Sunset had to fight from flinching away from the expression on her friend’s face. She was livid. “The unicorn Sunset Shimmer caused the Catastrophe.”

“Twilight, surely one unicorn couldn't have—” Luna tried to say, but was cut off by Twilight stomping a hoof on the floor.

“It was her!” the goddess said insistently. “All these years, I suspected but never…” She shook her head, as if to rid herself of a thought. “At the time I had no idea why, but during the Catastrophe there was an overabundance of human magic, that much was true. But such an occurrence wouldn’t have made the mirror break. Equestrian magic would have balanced anything out from the other side, and nothing would have happened. No, the problem was a strange presence of other magic there, mixed in with the human magic. At the time, I didn’t know what it was; I simply assumed it was another form of human magic and would deal with it later. But after I became immortal and the mirror was essentially stabilized, but still unbalanced, that strange magic never surfaced again. It simply disappeared along with human magic. Poof. Gone, just like that.”

She took a deep breath, her eye wide and flitting around from face to face. “But now it makes sense. A unicorn of immense power crossed through the mirror some years before that, bided her time to attain more power, likely siphoning magic from humans all the while, and when she became powerful enough, a schism was created, and the mirror began to break.” She snorted angrily. “It all makes sense now… why didn’t I see it before?”

“Twilight, surely that isn’t the case…” Celestia started to say, but the purple alicorn wouldn’t have it.

“And you!” she growled. “You never told me! You never thought to tell me about Sunset Shimmer?”

Celestia’s voice was soft, but there was the slightest edge in her tone. “You have also had many pupils in your past, my faithful student,” she said, the endearment sounding like a malediction. “Some you have even kept from my knowledge.”

Twilight slammed her front hooves on the floor. Sunset flinched at the loud ‘cracks’ that emanated from the splintering stone. “That’s not the same!” she snarled. “I can understand wanting to keep something secret from me, or even Luna! But this —” she gestured with a wing between herself and Sunset. “This is completely different. You didn’t think I should have been made aware of Sunset Shimmer the moment I became one with the Mirror?” She stalked towards the white alicorn, her mane whipping angrily behind her, until she was inches away from her. “You don’t think that I, the Element of Magic, should have been told about what Sunset did? Where she went? When my friends all died and I alone lived? Did you not think about me at all?!”

Twilight finally fell silent, though her words echoed around the room for another few seconds from the volume she had shouted at. Every pair of eyes was trained on the two goddesses; Twilight panting, her entire body heaving and her wings trembling with fury, and Celestia, her gaze set firmly on the ground, her entire posture meek, but still proud.

“You’re right, Twilight,” she finally said. “I’m so… so sorry I’ve kept this from you. I considered, at the time, that this might have been the case — that Sunset’s disappearance might have had something to do with everything — but…” she looked away, out towards the window. “Twilight, I could not bear to think that Sunset Shimmer would have done anything like that, no matter how far she would have fallen. To this day, I still hold onto the hope that Sunset simply fell into misfortune, and died a long time ago.”

“Wait, you wanted her to be dead?” Sunset asked, askance.

Celestia fixed her with a brittle smile. “It’s better than the alternative. But… as Twilight said, the pieces are all there, and I can’t deny the truth any longer. I’m just sorry I didn’t see it sooner.” She nodded her head gravely to the goddess before her. “Twilight Sparkle, I am truly sorry. Can you forgive me?”

Twilight stared at Celestia for a long time, unable to speak, until she finally turned away. “I… forgive you,” she murmured. “I understand. While I don’t agree with it, I accept why you kept it to yourself.”

“Thank you, Twilight,” Celestia replied. “I can’t tell you how it feels to tell you this after this long.”

“Yes, well… what’s done is done. The fact of the matter is it was long ago, and circumstances are different now. The mirror is stabilized, we have a lead on the Elements on Harmony, and I am no longer forced to travel between worlds for the sake of Harmony itself.”

“Yes.” Luna nodded happily, clearly glad that the subject had turned to lighter things. “We can, of course, alter the mirror easily enough to cancel out any further summonings.”

“Gonna have a lotta upset chicks on their periods,” Sunset remarked dryly.

“Pssh, don’t worry,” Flurry chortled. “They can always summon demons instead of us. They’re always on the lookout for young, impressionable girls willing to sell their souls for power.”

“Wait, you mean that’s actually a thing?!”

Chuckling softly, Twilight bumped her hip against Sunset’s. “Pretty much. The spell itself is a little different because demons come from another world from us, but the concept is generally the same. I met a few over the years, and like I said--”

She nudged Sunset towards the door, and the entire group turned to leave. “Those guys are total jerks.”

It should have been harder for Twilight to tie up her loose ends in Equestria for a lengthy stay on Earth. You’d think that, being a princess, she would have to do a lot more when going on vacation; tell her ponies that she was leaving, hold court for a while or something, or at least go through a few dozen meetings beforehand.

But no, barely an hour later Twilight ready to go, a small bag slung over her back and a nervous smile creeping across her face. “Some books, for reference,” she explained.

“Are… you really sure about this?” Sunset asked, mainly to keep her own anxiousness from being too obvious. They had all gathered in the room Sunset had found herself in when Flurry Heart had first brought her to Equestria. The Mirror had been put back to where she had first seen it, as broken as ever. Sunset eyed it warily; being this close to it made her feel… weird. There was no other way to say it. It was as if she were looking into the mirror and it drew her eye to every single imperfection she ever had, every blemish, every cut and scrape, every wrinkle. She found herself thinking of a book she read a number of years ago, about a man who had a cursed portrait that aged instead of himself, and if he were to ever gaze upon it, he would die. It creeped her out now more than ever, and even now refused to look directly into its shattered surface.

“Absolutely,” Twilight said. She hefted her bag for emphasis. “The plan to get all the Elements of Harmony together in one place aside, now that I’m not going to be shuffled around between worlds like a hockey puck, I kinda wanna see what your world has to offer.” She grinned mischievously. “Besides, we got a lotta movies to catch up on.”

Sunset laughed, doing her best to keep her eyes off of the other alicorns that had somehow all crammed into the room, and instead focus on Twilight. “Who said you could stay with me?”

The Goddess of Friendship blinked, her grin widening. “Who said anything about staying with you? I can get my own place easily enough. We could still watch movies and not room together, can’t we?”

Sunset felt her neck prickle with heat. “Um, yeah… I just…” she shuffled nervously. “I don’t know what I was—”

“Sunset,” Twilight said, one of her wings stretched forward and brushed along Sunset’s back. She shivered at the touch. “I’m teasing you. If you don’t want me to stay with you, I—”

“No!” Sunset said suddenly. “No, I, uh… want you to. I mean, I wouldn’t mind it if… um,” she floundered, looking around for help.

“Nuh uh,” Flurry chortled. “You got yourself into this. See if you can’t get yourself out.” Frowning, she looked to Cadence.

“Sorry. As much as I adore the love you two have, I am really enjoying the teasing, too.” Okay. What a bitch. Luna?

“Sorry, my little pony,” the moon alicorn said, smiling. “I wouldn’t be of any help to you now.” Grr… Celestia???

“Sunset Shimmer, just say what you feel is best.”

Well, that’s probably the most useful help she would get. So, clearing her throat, she muttered, “Um… whatever makes you comfortable. I’m happy as long as your close to me.”

Smiling softly, Twilight leaned forward and nuzzled her cheek against Sunset’s. “Of course. In fact, with a little bit of magic, we might have some help.

“Help?” Sunset repeated.

“You’ll see. But yes, I’ll stay close to you; for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Might be a while, then,” Sunset giggled, returning the embrace. All at once, the entirety of their time together flashed before her eyes; first summoning Twilight into her bathroom and freaking out, yelling and screaming at her, learning who and what she was, and enlisting her help in exacting her petty revenge on her would-be pursuers, learning from the girl’s mouth what had happened each time she returned from her task, from Blueblood’s traumatizing encounter, Noteworthy’s surprising education on honesty and accountability, Snips and Snails’ equally horrifying confrontations... bringing Twilight to dinner with her family and their heart-to-heart afterward, alone in her old room. Everything leading up the surprising, and startling realization that Sunset truly cared about Twilight.

Did she love her? Sunset was fairly certain she did, and was pretty sure Twilight felt the same way about her. At least, enough to give up everything to be with the other, to give herself up unconditionally. And, really, if that wasn’t love, Sunset didn’t know what else it could be.

The sudden sound of sniffling brought Sunset’s attention away from the feeling of soft fur against her cheek, and she pulled away to see tears leaking from the corners of Twilight’s eyes, her bottom lip trembling, as she mouthed soundlessly.

“Whoa, Twilight, are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

But the alicorn already lunged forward, wrapping her wings around Sunset in a tight embrace, clinging to her so tightly that she felt the air go out of her lungs in a loud gust. The two of them turned around on the spot as Twilight sobbed against Sunset’s neck, completely overcome with emotion.

“I… it’s just that — you… did so much for me!” she eventually said. “I don’t have to be summoned anymore! I c-can be free, all thanks to you! You… I can’t thank you e-enough!

Shushing her as best she could, Sunset found herself kissing the spot behind Twilight’s perfect little ear, reaching up to smooth back her long, glittering mane with a hoof, whispering the best summary she of her feelings she could come up with.

“Best use of a tampon, ever.”

That got a laugh out of the crying goddess, and then her sobs slowly ceased. The two broke apart, and Twilight turned to address her family. “You sure you all will be alright without me for a while?”

“Honestly, Twili, it’s not like you won’t be able to visit from time to time,” Cadence chided. “Now that the mirror is stable, you and Sunset can freely travel between worlds whenever you want.”

“Yes,” Luna agreed. “Come back when your ready. Go have fun a while — you’ve earned it.” She turned a twinkling gaze on Sunset. “But not too much fun.”

Sunset blushed heavily, and Flurry Heart giggled. “Speaking of fun,” she said. “Don’t forget my offer; if Aunty Twi gets tired of you, I’m always up for a sing-a-long…”

The way the goddess said ‘sing-a-long’ make Sunset think that Flurry had other activities than singing in mind.

She opened her mouth to brush off the appreciated offer — but seriously, no — when Twilight beat her to it.

“We’ll let you know, Flurry,” she said, her tone implying that they likely wouldn’t.

“Of course, you’re always welcome to join us, Twilight!”

Ignoring the salacious chuckle coming from the Goddess of Music, Sunset turned with Twilight towards the mirror. As they stepped towards it, she leaned in close. “Is… she serious? About that?”

Snorting, Twilight answered in an equally quiet whisper, “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Yeah,” Sunset laughed. And then Twilight's meaning caught up with her. “Wait, wouldn’t be the first time for what?”

“Both her and Cadence, actually.”

As Sunset’s eyes widened impossibly large, she yelped, “Wait, what?!”

With a laugh, Twilight pushed her through the mirror.

Chapter 22: This Ship Has Sailed!

Her strange habit of waking up slowly and comfortably aside, most people didn’t want to hear “Oh… my fucking God…” first thing in the morning. Sunset was no exception; her eyes cracked blearily opened, and she rolled over to stare at the door of her bedroom.

“What… what?” she moaned, half-wishing whoever it was would just leave. She had only gotten home a few hours ago!

But through her blurry vision she could see that it was only Rainbow Dash, and that from her tone the girl was hovering somewhere between disgusted and decidedly amused. That was only confirmed when she spoke again.

“Okay, so I kind of thought that maybe this would happen, but I guess I just… wasn’t expecting to walk in on it!”

“Huh?” Rubbing at her face, Sunset finally became aware of an odd presence next to her body. Warm, and solid. Slight movement pushed the back of her heel into something that most certainly felt like a leg. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, Sunset was almost afraid of what she would find.

But it was only Twilight, snuggled deep into the covers and breathing softly. Her always-perfect hair was now an adorable mad tangle, and a line of drool glistened down from the corner of her mouth.

“Oh,” Sunset finally whispered. “Last night — I mean, this morning—”

“Spare me the details!” Rainbow blurted out, and when Sunset looked over she saw her friend had raised both hands up in a warning gesture. “Th-that’s fine! I mean, you do you and, well, good for you guys, but I’m awesome staying in the dark on this one!”

“No!” Sunset stammered. “Nothing like that happened, w-we just fell asleep! I swear to God!”

“Swear to— you mean you swear to goddess?” Rainbow’s grin was slowly returning now that the shock had worn off.

“Well, I can swear to whoever I want to swear! And… well, yeah.”

When the details of the previous couple days came rushing back into her mind, a glow spread up through her chest and into her face, invigorating her entire being. Twilight was a goddess. She was here to stay with Sunset, and she didn’t have to go back and forth between worlds all willy-nilly any more. Or at least, not for a while. That was a win in her book!

“You okay?”

“We did it,” she told Rainbow with a huge grin. “Flurry helped me — we got Twilight freed from the mirror!” Her head tilted a few degrees. “Or at least partially. Technically. Whatever; the point is, we did it!”

“Oh,” Rainbow half-laughed, obviously still unsure of what any of this actually meant. “And I’m guessing from the look on your face that it’s a good thing?”

Around that time is when the Goddess of Friendship herself began to stir. Her legs shifted under the sheets, head tossing in two different directions. One arm fell across Sunset as she tried to roll over onto her stomach, which seemed to rouse her a little faster.

“Hmwah?” Purple eyes slowly slid open, and she coughed slightly. Sunset’s heart skipped a beat; it was as if just the simple sound of a cough was enough to prove that she was actually, really here. “Whazzat?”

“You were asleep,” Sunset told her, beyond amused by the whole situation.

“Oh…” Then her former summoner’s grin became infectious as Twilight focused on her, her entire face lighting up. “Oh wow! I’ve never actually slept in this form before!”

Again, Rainbow laughed at them. “Yeah, wow, such a big deal.”

“And you were with me when I did.” Twilight’s hand found Sunset’s and clasped it tightly. “You… I’ve never felt to safe, so at peace.”

“Gawd!” Holding up her hands in defeat — or maybe to ward off any lesbian radiation they might be giving off — Rainbow slowly backed out of the room. “I’m, uh, just gonna see if I can get your coffee pot to work for once, alright? You two… just do whatever. Don’t mind me!”

Once they were alone, Sunset rolled over and slid her arms around her friend’s abdomen, holding her close. “Morning.”

“Hey.” Now Twilight’s cheeks were a little darker than before, and she drifted closer, just enough to nuzzle her cheek against Sunset’s. “You’re really adorable when you sleep.”

“When I— oh.” Now Sunset’s blush was trying to wage war with Twilight’s, and it was a very close battle. “Um… thanks? You, too. Even when your hair’s a mess.”

That did wipe the smile off her face. “Shit… I forgot about my hair. Sleeping does that to me.” Passing her other hand over it as she sat up, she said, “You don’t think it’s cheating to use magic to style my hair all the time, do you?”

“Not if you teach me how to do it, too,” Sunset laughed. She also hadn’t failed to notice that one of the goddess’ arms remained draped over her body. Possessive, inviting. Intimate. Heart beating just a little faster, she decided to simply put her hand on Twilight’s forearm. To test.

The reaction was pretty immediate; Twilight froze, looking at her intently. From the way she glanced down, it seemed like she had completely forgotten about how close they were, but was now acutely aware of their positions. Instead of pulling away, she surprised both of them by running her hand up and down Sunset’s side, stroking through her shirt.

“What… are we doing?” Sunset breathed softly.

“Who knows? Not me… not anymore. Kinda gave up on the whole ‘knowing more than I should’ when I decided to come stay here.”

“Really? Huh. Too bad. We could have really used some of your magical mind-reading powers right about now.”

Swallowing, Twilight slid her hand up even further, skipping over her chest only briefly — and ignoring the sharp intake of breath — to alight on her neck. “Yeah.”

“Yeah… damn, for somebody who acted like they didn’t know what their feelings were a couple days ago, you sure are putting the moves on me.”

Instantly, Twilight’s hand disappeared, her eyes widening. “Fuck, I wasn’t trying to— you just felt so— no, I didn’t mean to say that you feel ‘good’, even though you totally do, but I d-didn’t mean to put it that way!”

Grinning at the normally self-assured goddess’s lack of chill, Sunset leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m not gonna judge.”

“You completely intoxicate me.” Twilight admitted simply after a moment. “You totally take my breath away, and I’m honestly shocked by how much I care about you, and how I was able to live without you for so long.” Swallowing hard, she pressed her face into Sunset’s neck, and her warm breath teased her skin so much that Sunset felt butterflies erupted from cocoons in her stomach. “And somehow, I thought that if I told you it would make me feel more sure of myself, but instead it just makes all my feelings ten times more intense!”

“Welcome to my world,” Sunset giggled, trailing her fingers up to Twilight’s elbow, feeling the slight wrinkle of skin there before continuing up her arm until they met the sleeve of the old green tee she had loaned Twilight for sleeping. “Part of me was really hoping that… I mean, now that you are here and all, maybe it would be easier to ignore how much… how m-much I…”

“How much you what?”

“Want you,” Sunset said quietly. “How much I started to want you without even knowing I did.”

Twilight drew back immediately, goggling at her with such wide eyes that Sunset had to turn away, couldn’t meet that astonished gaze head on. “What? Okay, I know we kind of talked about this, but you never said — never actually admitted out loud…”

“Yeah. Kinda hard to admit something to other people when you can’t even admit it to yourself, right? And with your situation being how it is, was…”

“You want me? Like… you know that now, for sure?” When she got no answer, she reached up to gently stroke Sunset’s hand. “And that’s not a bad thing. Before now, I couldn’t even think about wanting you back — but it just kept happening. I kept thinking about our kiss and trying to figure it out, but thinking about it got me nowhere, since I knew I couldn’t allow myself to get involved or do anything about any potential feelings. So I would do my best to shove those feelings down deep.”

“Then… what do you feel for me?” Sunset squeezed her eyes shut. “Ugh, that sounds so stupid — and you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. Sorry.”

“Honestly?” I’ve… never felt this before. I’ve had lovers before, some I cared about more than others, but none of them were you. They were completely different experiences, and all of them have been ponies. You and me, it’s brand new. I’m in the dark as much as you are.”

Chuckling weakly, Sunset whispered, “If the five-thousand year old immortal friendship goddess doesn’t know, I think we’re shit out of luck, since I’m just some dumb human.”

“Stop it,” Twilight told her firmly, both hands reaching up to cradle the back of her head. “Don’t talk about yourself that way. It’ll piss me off.”

“Oh yeah? And what are you donna do if you’re pissed off, change to your super-scary monster form and spout Disney quotes at me?”

As it turned out, her plan of attack was to kiss her. Deep, and hard, and without holding anything back the way she had the last time. Sunset was so stunned that she herself barely reciprocated until she felt Twilight pulling back, trying to give her room to protest — which made her throw herself into it with all the frenzy of a woman already completely resigned to love. As entirely possible as that was.

Their tongues had just barely found each other when they heard a clang! from the kitchen, and broke apart with ragged breath, eyes flying open to stare at each other in complete shock.

“Well!” Twilight managed to say.

“Yeah. Kind of, um…”

“Wow.”

“That, yeah.” Passing a trembling hand over her own face, Sunset whispered, “Did we really just do that?”

“Definitely. Do we want to do it again?”

“I don’t know, do we?!”

Twilight shrugged, then darted forward to leave a very light peck on Sunset’s lips. “Seems okay.”

“Does seem fine to me.” Sunset returned the favor — twice, in quick succession. “Feels great, like… holy shit, you’re fantastic.”

“No, you. Dude, can we do this every day?”

“Stop me!” Sunset dipped her head forward, then paused. “No, really, stop me. I mean, if you don’t want to.”

“Who are you hearing complaining?” Twilight took her mouth again, pressing both hands into her back and breathing hard as their lips melted together. Their legs slid anxiously against each other’s, and Sunset did feel a shiver run down her spine when their chests touched — since it was something she never thought she would feel from a romantic partner, even back when she fantasized about this kind of thing. Which felt like a lifetime ago. Making out with a girl was going to take a brief period of mental adjustment.

… a very brief one.

“Ohhhh-kay,” Twilight panted as they broke off, her hand grazing up and down the back of Sunset’s neck, even as she grinned and tried not to laugh. “This is… the best thing ever, but maybe we should go out there where Rainbow Dash is. We’re being horrible hosts.”

“True. We should probably get dressed first, though.”

“Guess we should.” As Twilight climbed out of bed, she glanced down at her clothes and sighed. “In your stuff, again. Geez, I can’t just steal half your wardrobe!”

“We’ll take care of that later. But for now, find some pants?”

The look on Twilight’s face when she glanced down and suddenly remembered that she was only wearing a pair of Spongebob Squarepants boxers below the tee was worth the entire trip to magical ponyland.

“Wow… so it’s all true. Twilight, Flurry Heart, the mirror, magic… talking ponies.”

Both Sunset and Twilight were nodding, the latter chewing her waffles with slow relish as the former sipped her coffee. She had enjoyed watching Twilight eat much more than she thought the she would, but it was because everything was somewhat of a novelty to her.

“Ohhhh,” Twilight moaned as she let her fork fall to the plate with a clatter, leaning back with a look of bliss on her face as she struggled for breath. The reaction looked like something else entirely, and Sunset had to fight to keep from blushing for no rational reason. “That was… fucking incredible!”

“Dude, it was just an Eggo with some maple syrup,” Rainbow rolled her eyes as she drank her own coffee. “You’d think you never had one before.”

“I actually haven’t! And… I don’t know, but things just taste different here than back home. Not bad or anything, but humans just developed different tastes and flavors than us. It’s a novelty for me.”

“Fair enough, fair enough.” After a few seconds, Rainbow turned to Twilight. She was still getting used to addressing her directly, since knowing that someone other anything a standard-issue human, let alone an immortal princess, was uncharted territory for her. “Um, so where are you going to be staying? I mean, if you used to live… you know, on your world, I kinda doubt you had an apartment somewhere in the city.”

“She didn’t,” Sunset said as she got up and grabbed her jacket, tossing a spare one to Twilight, who actually dropped it — and they both grinned at each other. “We need to stop by there and scope it out before we go looking for clothes. Wanna come with?”

“Sure, just let me get my coat from my place.” She was partway to the door when she stopped. “Wait, stop by where?”

Whatever magical strings Twilight pulled to accomplish her move to Earth from Equestria had done their job well.

When they walked into the apartment building across the street from Sunset’s — door unlocked, as Twilight had mentioned earlier when she explained to Sunset about her living arrangements — they immediately saw two keys sitting on the small bookshelf just inside the door, waiting for the new owner to collect them. They weren’t even brand new, just relatively new. Underneath those was a manila folder containing all the necessary documents she would need.

“Cool, cool,” Sunset said as she rifled through them. Twilight looked over her shoulder at it, watching as Sunset checked off the documents. “Driver’s license, passport, birth certificate — oh, two copies, awesome.”

“I forgot to ask, but why did you say I need two copies?” Twilight asked as she joined Rainbow in exploring the apartment.

“You never know when you’ll lose one — and a lot of places ask to see it, so you’ll probably end up taking one somewhere. Better to keep another copy safe at home.” Then she grinned. “Aww, here’s a little baby Twili holding an ‘I Choose You, Pikachu’, that’s adorable.”

“Really?” Twilight walked over and glanced at the magically-created photograph and snorted. “Hah. Could be me, I suppose. Decent enough likeness. That Pikachu looks like a cheap knock off, though.”

“Don’t diss Pikachu!” Rainbow whined from the other room. She walked back in the living room, her arms crossed over her chest. “Wow… it’s empty, but then again, at least you have closet space. I’m jealous you were able to get this all set up; wish I had magic to do this kinda shit for me.”

Sunset grinned as she started to separate some of the items into different stacks. Then she slipped one one of the keys onto her key ring, for good measure. “Well, apparently this place was already up for lease. All it took was a quick spell to secure the papers, and a couple more for some forged documents. Twilight is all set up for her life here now; name, education, imaginary family. Everything. Well, almost everything, anyway.

“Really?” Snatching the license from atop one stack, Rainbow read, “Twilight Sparkle. The hell? Isn’t that already her name?”

“Yeah, but now it’s legal,” Twilight grumbled, before lowering her voice to add, “Or as legal as magically gaming the system can get.”

“What did you major in, then?”

Twilight straightened, lifting her chin proudly. “Political Science.”

Rainbow snorted. “Of course you did. Miss Princess.”

Darting over to the rainbow-haired girl, Twilight snatched the ID away, slipping it into her pocket. “You don’t need to know my fake birth date, either. Or my height and weight.”

“Was she always this uptight?” Rainbow grunted towards Sunset.

“She’s not uptight, she’s just… Twilight,” she replied with a shrug. “Just like you’re you, and it shows the way you’re both bickering.”

Rainbow looked affronted, like she had been betrayed by the remark, but then harrumphed and went back to exploring. “Should have known you’d take your girlfriend’s side.”

Such a seemingly innocent remark caused the pair to stare at each other for a few seconds. They hadn’t discussed labels, not really, but this seemed to be appropriate. A moment later, when Rainbow was in the bedroom, Twilight tugged her closer by her belt loops.

“Is that what I am?” she asked softly. “Your girlfriend?”

“Shhh,” Sunset breathed, though she was grinning down at the floor like an idiot. “I don’t know. Ask Rainbow; apparently, she’s got all this figured out.”

“Don’t wanna ask Rainbow. I’d rather ask you.” Then she leaned in for a quick peck, just enough to feel the softness of her lips before drawing back. “The more that happens, the more the label seems right. You’re my steady gal.”

Loud, raucous snorts made Rainbow run back in the living room to investigate, and she had to figure out what she had missed when she found Sunset on the floor, clutching her sides. A bemused Twilight was sulking in the kitchen, so she was no help.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a riot,” Twilight grumbled five minutes later when Sunset had recovered enough to stand. “I’m still working on some of the more modern colloquialisms, alright?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Sunset gasped, working her hand through her coat pocket. “But if that’s true, I may have something here to help you with that.”

After closing the refrigerator, Twilight glanced over with an unimpressed look… that slowly melted into one of pure, childish glee. “Dude, is… is that what I think it is?”

Holding out the slightly-worn comic book, Sunset grinned. “Yup. Batwoman. New 52, issue number one. I snagged it a couple weeks back for a song. Got a few more squirreled away somewhere, too. I never thought I might actually get the chance to give them to you, but hey, you might want something to read until you can get cable instal—”

The next kiss was no hesitant peck, that was for certain.

Once the apartment tour wrapped up, there was a mutual agreement that the one bedroom one bathroom was modest, but more than tolerable. All that remained was a road trip to IKEA to complement the rest of her furnishings.

Then there were the exciting aspects of her new identity as Miss Twilight Sparkle, which needed to be memorized. All forged documents showed her as a second-generation immigrant from Europe with both parents deceased as of a couple of years ago. There was a cash card with several thousand dollars preloaded onto it, and a credit card registered in her name for emergencies. Also, all the proper documentation that reflected her degree in an ivy league school — which had been Sunset’s idea. Seeing how that Twilight was indeed a real life princess, of a sort, it stood to reason that a good degree would only help sell her for the job market.

Funny how she could do that for Twilight and not her own aimless life. But that was something to worry about later.

By the time they made it to the mall, it was pretty late in the day and the stores were nearly empty. Their bags were laden down with an assortment of cute things, some of them articles of clothes close to to what Twilight had conjured for herself on previous occasions. A few of the store owners had seemed mildly surprised that two of the girls were holding hands so often, but none of them commented; they mostly just tried to be as courteous as possible. Homophobia isn’t as lucrative as biting one’s tongue, in most cases.

In the lingerie store — where Twilight splurged on a few items that she swore had nothing to do with Sunset, a little too insistently — they happened to run into Rarity, who was rummaging through the store’s collection of silk nighties. Their conversation was brief, but Sunset was grateful it happened.

“I normally wouldn’t bother buying something like this, not when I can make it myself,” Rarity confided in her as she idly fingered the soft fabric. “But it’s good to get some fresh ideas sometimes.”

“Really? Normally you’d be all over stuff like this. You got a gift card from your mom, right?”

“Yes, but lately I’ve been…” She lowered her voice. “Ever since Blueblood blew me off and my ex stopped talking to me, I just… I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Men don’t want me, or they just want to hit-and-quit. Which is not what I’m about.”

A lump formed in Sunset’s throat, and the glanced over her friend’s shoulder to catch Twilight’s eyes. She was rather busy trying not to look overwhelmingly embarrassed at what was in her hands, but she did eventually notice Sunset and shrug. It seemed that the old days of knowing what people were thinking really were over.

“Um… okay, listen.” How could she make this happen without it revealing just how much she had dabbled in Rarity’s life? After a moment of indecision, she decided it wouldn’t be too much of a misuse of her own knowledge to let slip a very vague detail. “You didn’t hear this from me — in fact, you can’t repeat this to a single person. Ever.”

Rarity’s eyes widened at the prospect of juicy, non-disclosable gossip. “What, what, what?!”

“Don’t ask me how I know this, either, but… the thing with Blueblood has nothing to do with you. He’s going through some, um, mental health issues.”

“Shut up, he is not!” She was smiling, but what she said was, “That’s awful!”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t want you thinking that him bailing on you had anything to do with you — or I mean, even if it did, it’s definitely not the only reason. You’re pretty amazing, and nobody should make you feel like you aren’t.”

Rolling her eyes, the mollified fashionista flicked Sunset on the upper arm. “Stop, that’s enough flattery, you lesbo.” Then she dropped her voice again, glancing around to make sure no one else was close enough to overhear. “Um… so that dark-haired girl over there next to the girl with rainbow hair is your gee-eff, right?” At Sunset’s nod, Rarity squealed, “Girrrrrrrlllll~!”

“Cut that shit out right now, you asshole.”

“Your face is glowing! Darling, I almost thought you were kidding before now, or maybe doing some sort of social experiment for class, but… you seriously are into girls!” Rarity’s grin turned decidedly suggestive. “Especially that one trying to choose between thongs right now!”

Under her breath, Sunset hissed, “Fuck off! Wow, see if I ever come out to you again!”

“Can you even do that more than once?” About that time, Twilight wandered over because she had overheard the outbursts. Rarity instantly became less effervescent and smiled primly as she said, “Hi! You’re a friend of a friend, so that makes you my friend, too!”

“Twilight,” the goddess replied with a warm smile, reaching out with her hand that wasn’t full of panties to shake the other’s. “And you’re… Rarity, right?”

“Um, yes. I am. How did you know?”

Twilight’s smile turned playful. “I’ve heard a bit of how generous you are. Always wanted to meet you in person.”

“Oh!” Rarity turned a grateful smile to Sunset. “Well, that’s great! I’m sure we’ll become fast friends.”

The mischievous smile that Twilight shot over toward Sunset threatened to send them both into a giggle-fit, but they somehow managed restraint.

After they had finished shopping for clothes and stowed the bags in Sunset’s little car, right next to the jumper cables and the old chess set that she had been meaning to throw away for a year or more because both the white and black queens were missing, they went back in to do a little browsing at the bookstore. Rainbow was less interested in books than the others, and so she split up from Twilight and Sunset to get a Christmas gift for Fluttershy.

“Oh sweet, I can finally read these,” Twilight remarked as she picked up a box set of Harry Potter novels. “Been hearing good things.”

“Really? I would have thought a little magic is old news for you, because… well, you know.” This was good practice; Sunset was still trying to get used to never mentioned her former — at least, somewhat former — life as a pony princess with direct terms like ‘your world’ so they could avoid awkward moments in the future.

“Well, it isn’t so much the magic as it is the world the author created. I mean, I’ve only heard a little bit here and there, but the whole fanbase is huge, and that there are whole conventions dedicated to it. I mean, do you have any idea how many fanfiction there is for the entire series? More than any other fandom in human history, I’d wager. And—”

“Twilight Sparkle?”

Both of them stopped dead and turned. That name should have not been uttered out loud in the middle of a bookstore in the mall. At least, not until Twilight had been on Earth for longer than day, or at least started introducing herself to people! Even less acceptable was for the name to be spoken by Professor Shine herself.

“Um,” Twilight said very slowly. “Excuse me?”

“It’s you. I…” The older woman glanced quickly around the store, then at Sunset, then back at Twilight — and all at once, everything came together in Sunset’s mind, she understood, but there wasn’t enough time to speak out.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean,” Twilight attempted with a slightly bemused smile.

After a moment of awkward silence, Sunset stepped forward. “Professor,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

As her old eyes glanced between them again, Shine seemed to be grappling with many different emotions at once. After a few seconds, she tried a tense smile on for size. “Nothing! Nothing, I just… never expected to see…” She hesitated again, and then seemed to reach a decision. It may have had something to do with the look over her shoulder at the rest of the store, or perhaps the worry that flickered across Twilight’s face. Regardless, what she followed up with was, “To... see a student of mine outside of class, that’s all. After a while, you just sort of start to assume there’s an invisible faculty-pupil wall, don’t you?”

“I… yeah. Right, yeah, that’s kind of what I thought, too. How… are you, though?”

“Quite alright, I assure you. And who is this… breathtaking young woman along for the ride?”

“This… is—”

“—Twili.” Twilight chimed in politely. “I’m her friend.”

“Good, good. Nice to meet you, Twili.” The old woman slowly offered her hand, and Twilight took it, shaking it with a placid smile playing around the edges of her mouth. Discomfort didn’t even begin to describe the mood that hung over the scene like a stuffy curtain from a high school play. “Any friend of Miss Shimmer’s is a friend of mine, of course.”

“Right,” Twilight agreed. “Likewise.”

Gathering up her purse and the book on the Persian Empire she had apparently been about to purchase, she nodded as she looked between them. Then, again, she looked at Sunset. “About that book I loaned you…”

“Oh, crap!” Sunset gasped. “I keep forgetting to—”

“No, no. You can keep it.” After a slight pause, in which her eyes flicked back to Twilight, she whispered, “About time it had a new owner, anyway. Who knows, you might still be able to learn a thing or two from it. Even if…” She paused, then waved away her words as she finished with a simple, “See you in class tomorrow. Miss Shimmer… Twili.”

The goddess’ head dipped a little. “Goodbye.”

The minute she was out of earshot, Sunset whirled on Twilight and grabbed both her shoulders. “What the actual fuck?! She knows you!”

“Yeah… I guess she does.”

“You ‘guess’? What kind of bullshit is that?!” Another glance around before she guided her girlfriend over toward a couple of chairs in a semi-secluded area and sat her down. “Did she summon you before?”

Twilight didn’t meet her eyes. Instead, she looked at her hands thoughtfully. “You know I can’t discuss my previous summoners with you.”

“You aren’t being summoned anymore, okay?! Tell me.”

Twilight exhaled in a short huff. “Fine. You’re right, Eve summoning me a few times, way back before she became a teacher. Not even as many times as you, but… they were pretty memorable occasions. She’s actually one of the few humans with real, honest-to-goodness magic, and she’s not too bad at it, either.”

“Eve,” Sunset scoffed derisively. “Did you… I mean, what kind of working relationship did you two have?”

“She never tried to solicit me sexually, if that’s what your asking.” Both of her eyebrows twitched upward when Sunset drew back in shock. “What? Isn’t that what you were trying to ask? If she got to sample the goods first?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Sunset said, taken aback. “You… I mean, yeah I was thinking it, but it’s not a matter of ‘first’ or anything like that, it’s…” Then she ran a hand through her hair, sighing. “This is me jealous, I guess. Wow.”

“It’s… actually kind of cute, even while it’s insulting. Either way, what’s the difference?”

“Okay, you… didn’t, did you? Because you acted like me getting a crush on you was the worst thing ever.”

With a heavy sigh, Twilight reached over and took one of Sunset’s hands between her own. “No. I wish you didn’t need to ask, though. She… summoned me a long time ago, and you are my present. And my future.”

“Why do you even want to stay with a baby like me? I’m… thousands of years younger than you, and obviously never been in a real relationship before!”

“I haven’t either; not for a very long time, at least.” Her voice got a little smaller. “I thought we had been over this. Do you not want to be with me because I’m… too—”

“Not because of you,” Sunset told her firmly, her words chiseled in stone. “Because of me. I’m too young, too… inexperienced and naive. You’re perfect — you’re everything, I just don’t know if—”

The single fingertip silenced her effortlessly. “Shhh. You’re everything I could ever hope for, as well. And don’t forget — you’ve grown up in this time period. Me? I called you my steady gal just this morning.” One of her shoulders shrugged upward. “So I’ve been in a few relationships before. So what? It doesn’t make ours any less special to me. Or… make me any less nervous about screwing things up.”

“You? Nervous?” The scoffing had only just started when she saw Twilight wince, so she headed it off. “Wow, you really are nervous.”

“Heck yeah, I am. I… nopony in the whole universe matters to me as much as you. Not anymore. Not any of my previous relationships.” Her voice got smaller and smaller. “Please don’t keep thinking of me as the one who has all the answers, or is going to be able to fix everything. That isn’t me anymore. I still have magic, and so do you… and I’ll teach you to use it, but that isn’t what we’re about. I’m… Celestia, what am I trying to say?”

And then Sunset did something she hadn’t thought herself capable of. Trying not to think about how public of a setting they were in, she slid herself into Twilight’s lap, earning a quiet squeak in the process. Both arms looped around her neck as she settled in, trying to find a comfortable perch on her partner’s lap.

“You might not be able to fix my every problem on the spot anymore,” she whispered against Twilight’s collarbone, “But you’re still my princess.”

“Really?” Once Sunset nodded, Twilight leaned down to press their lips together. “That’s probably… the sweetest, most clichéd thing anyone’s ever said. And not just to me.”

“Well, I tried,” Sunset muttered, turning away to hide her pout.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah. Yeah, anything?”

“Are you… super self-conscious right now?”

“Oh yeah.” Gulping, she shifted and kissed Twilight again, then leaned her forehead against hers. “Is… everybody watching us? Should we get up?”

“Probably should.” But Twilight’s hand was wandering down past her lower back. “Aaaaanytime now.”

“Yeah, we— whoa there! Hands above the waist, missy!”

The goddess’ smirk gave away her lack of shame. “Aww, but that’s no fun.”

Following some greasy goodness in the food court — during which they ran into Rarity again, who goaded Sunset nonstop about her new sexuality status in the most good-natured of ways — they made their way back to their apartments, Rainbow having bought very little for herself. Twilight, on the other hand, picked up everyone’s check, regardless of whether they ordered; whether it was sushi for Rarity or a giant slice of pizza for Rainbow. Knowing her cash card was a finite resource, at least in theory, didn’t even seem to phase her. If things got tough, she said, she would just find a job.

“Are there any libraries that need an assistant?” she had asked lightly.

Then things progressed back to Sunset’s apartment, where the four of them dug further into Sunset’s pilfered beers as they put on a bad movie in the background and found a conversational rhythm. Despite how varied their backgrounds were — Twilight’s even more drastically — there was enough common ground that there was never an uncomfortable moment. Sunset idly wondered about how adding Fluttershy into the mix would change things up.

Most satisfying for Sunset was how easy it was to get along with Rarity again. The last few interactions shook loose the dust and frost from their old bonds of friendship, and she couldn’t have been more grateful. Even if there was still a lie of omission hanging between them.

Which, of course, she brought up to Twilight after the others had left. Sunset was already in her pajamas from just after she got home, but Twilight had elected to keep her new flower-patterned white dress on for a while longer. The guests leaving was a decent cue to ditch the fanciness.

“There’s no reason for you to feel guilty,” she called from the bathroom as she changed.

“But I can’t help it,” Sunset whined from the bed. “She should know that half the reason we’re friends again is because I messed up her hookup with that asshole.”

“You did her a favor! And besides…” Opening the door, she slunk back out, wearing a dark purple nightie that barely reached halfway down her thighs. “Are you ready to explain to her everything about me in the process? About you?”

One of Sunset’s eyebrows lifted as she looked up and down the soft, feminine form that was so poorly hidden by her current garb. One hand was perched on her hip in an attempt to look confident, though the way her toes curled under her feet belied that pretense.

“Well… maybe not quite yet,” muttered Sunset. “I kinda want you all to myself for a while longer.”

“Is that so?” the goddess whispered as she stalked over to the bed. “You want to keep little ol’ me away from other people?”

Sunset swallowed, ready to deny that allegation. However, when two hands began to slide their way up her sides and she found her breath catching, she began to wonder. She fidgeted quietly as Twilight paused.

“We don’t have to do anything, you know,” the goddess blurted out. “I mean, not that I don’t want to or anything, but we can just hang out and watch another movie or something. We can just sleep. I don’t—” she blinked rapidly, her jaw working silently as she searched for words. “I don’t want to pressure you into anything, Sunny.”

Grabbing for courage that she knew was there, and knowing that now was as good a time as any, Sunset smiled. “I don’t feel pressured,” she murmured. She reached up to her pajama top and popped the topmost button. Twilight inhaled sharply at the action. “I know what I’m doing, Twilight.” She hesitated. “Well, I don’t, obviously. I’m a... virgin… but I know that I care about you, so I know that I want to do this with you.” She frowned slightly, her eyebrows knitting above her eyes. “Unless you don’t wanna do this, of course.”

“No, no,” Twilight said, shaking her head and running her hands down her thighs. “No, trust me, I am all aboard this ship. I am the captain of this ship.”

“What does that make me?” Sunset laughed and leaned back a little on the bed. Another reach for courage had her popping the next button of her top.

Twilight gave a lopsided smile. “The first mate?” She giggled when Sunset breathed another laugh and her smile grew more subdued, reaching out to gently rub her hands along Sunset’s upper arms. “You okay?”

Sunset nodded. “Oh yeah. Just, you know...” She lifted her hands and slapped them back down on the bed with a soft ‘whumph’. “Don’t wanna snag a rock and sink the ship or anything.”

Twilight snorted in that delicately adorable way she does and leaned forward. Electricity popped in the air between them, the hairs on Sunset’s arm stiffening. She gently touched her fingertips to Sunset’s face and then swooped in to meet her lips. “We’ll take the scenic route, okay? Much fewer rocks.” Her warm breath puffed against Sunset’s lips.

Sunset’s laugh was broken by staccato breaths. “O-okay.”

Twilight kissed her again, climbing atop the bed and pushing her back down on the mattress. Her knees planted on their side of Sunset’s legs, carefully lowering on top of her hips. Their tongues met, tentatively as first, but quickly became accustomed to the sensation.

After a moment Twilight pulled back, panting. “Wow,” she said, her cheeks dark.

“Yeah. Wow.” Sunset was suddenly way too hot, and she took the opportunity to unbutton more of her top, shucking it from her shoulders. She wore a simple black bra, so nothing was exactly all that interesting in the new view, but the idea of her pale gangliness being bared to her girlfriend was more than enough to send another wave of anxiousness pulsing through her.

Smiling softly, Twilight leaned forward and kissed her collarbone. Her lips were hot, and her hands shook as they swam past her arms to finish taking off Sunset’s top. She was just as nervous as Sunset, apparently. There was another tug and a brief pause, causing Sunset to glance down.

“There’s one more button,” she breathed. “I forgot one.”

“Oh,” Twilight replied, giving another soft laugh as her hands moved lower to pop the final button through its hole. Sunset barely had the chance to take another breath before her top slipped past her wrists, leaving her in just her bra and a pair of yellow boxers. She stared up at Twilight, her chest swelling and deflating at a dizzying speed. She was a literal ghost compared to Twilight — who was all tan skin and flawless complexion — but at that moment, with how the goddess was looking at her like she was perfection, it made everything worth it.

Without a word, Twilight reached up and pulled her nightie over her head, throwing it carelessly away. It pooled noiselessly to the floor along with Sunset’s top. The human scurried backward so that her back was against the pillows at the head of her bed, and she took a moment to admire the curves and lines that made Twilight up; the little hills of her knees and the dents behind them, the tiny cave of her bellybutton and the swell of each breast. She was perfect, and Sunset didn’t realized that she had said that aloud until Twilight’s cheeks darkened in a blush.

In a moment of playfulness, Twilight reaching behind her to pull the hair tie that had held her hair up in a ponytail all day long. She smirked slightly, stretching the piece of elastic between her thumb and forefinger, aiming it at Sunset.

“I dare you,” the human growled, lips splitting into a wide grin. Twilight laughed, directing the hair tie toward the floor, and let it fly. It bounced once and spun beneath the dresser.

Following Twilight’s lead, Sunset pulled her own hair free of her tie and held it up. There was a definite kink where it had been pinched, her reddish-blonde curtains swinging at the sides of her face. But unlike Twilight, Sunset didn’t give her enough time to throw out a dare before she let the hair tie go in her direction. Twilight sputtered as the elastic smacked her shoulder, her mouth dropping open in shock.

“Why you little—” Twilight hissed, crawling across the bed, between Sunset’s legs, fingers digging into her sides. Sunset gave a brief squeal as the goddess tickled her, squirming and kicking her legs, laughing in delight.

After a moment Twilight managed to wrestle Sunset to her side, and then onto her back, resuming her previous post on top of her hips. Sunset grinned up at her, as if to say she had that planned all along, but instead of retaliating with words, Twilight kissed her again. At once the playfulness melted into something decidedly more intimate as Sunset’s fingers reached behind Twilight’s head, tangling themselves in her tresses, their kisses growing in intensity.

When their tongues met again, Sunset inhaled sharply through her nose, and Twilight slid her hands beneath her back. By the time Sunset had pulled away and blinked up at the girl, the clasp of her bra was already undone, and Twilight was smirking triumphantly down at her.

“You sure?” Twilight asked after moment, watching Sunset closely for any signs that she wasn’t into this. In answer, the human finished pulling off her bra and tossed it to the growing pile of clothing on the floor, propped herself up on her elbows, and kissed her.

“Okay, you’re sure,” the goddess giggled. She reached down to cup one of Sunset’s breasts in her hand, thumb grazing along a puffy nipple.

Sunset’s breath hitched in her throat, responding with a sound against Twilight’s lips that was something between a moan and a groan. Twilight peppered her jaw with more kisses, working her way along her neck. Sunset fell completely against the pillows, hands falling beside her as Twilight began to explore her body in earnest.

Sunset never thought it could be like this; not just a wonderful thing in the aesthetics, but on a deeper level, it felt so much more than that. She knew she had a freckle below her left breast, a birthmark on her right thigh, a little mole that liked to hide just under her arm right above her rib cage, and not to mention her brand new mark — the sun-motif cutie mark that graced her upper thigh, half-covered by her boxers; Twilight found it all, her lips burning when she kissed bare skin. Her hands clenched in and out of fists as Twilight explored, kissing and licking and fanning over every part of Sunset that she could reach.

Sunset’s breathing became so fast that Twilight stopped. She pushed herself up on her hands, her concern visible.

“Sunny,” she whispered, planting a warm hand just below Sunset’s breast, cupping the side of her rib cage. “Breath. Slowly, before you pass out.”

Sunset pinched her eyes shut, nodding as she forced herself to steady her breaths. Her heart still raced, a quick drumming in her chest, but she slowly started to feel better. “Sorry,” she said, opening her eyes. “I’m just, I’m so— this is just so, so good. You’re so fucking good at this.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, I have picked up a thing or two over the years,” she muttered, though her tone was pleased. “But you haven’t seen anything yet.” She quickly kissed Sunset’s lips again before disappearing down the length of her body.

Sunset lifted herself up on her elbows to watch the goddess, their eyes locking as she surfed down the plane of her stomach and over her legs. Thighs parted for her, and Twilight planted a kiss as the elastic of Sunset’s boxers, causing the human to erupt with shivers, goosebumps racing across her skin at a fascinating speed. Twilight studied the phenomenon for a moment or two, until Sunset’s soft moan brought her back to the task at hand.

She gently pressed her fingertips to the inside of Sunset’s knee and slowly dragged them up toward her thigh. Sunset groaned again and shifted, her heart hammering in her chest at all the sensations assaulting her body. She felt so hot, so tingly, that all she could do was lay there and watch as Twilight hooked her fingers into the waistband of her underwear and tug them down the length of her legs. And that simple action, paired with the look that flashed across Twilight’s face when she saw Sunset completely bared before her, caused all of Sunset’s nerves to disappear, only to be replaced with desire — because finally, right then, Sunset knew with absolute certainty that she wanted Twilight Sparkle, and that she wanted Sunset right back.

Her skin shivered where Twilight pressed a kiss to her thigh — her lips hovering right over her cutie mark. She felt soft hands ghost over her center, Sunset’s straining hips that struggled not to lift. She heard herself make another sound, this one deeper and far more animalistic than she thought could ever come from her, and it shook her to the core.

Twilight didn’t wait. She didn’t ask then if Sunset was ready, because she clearly was. She was more than ready. She simply skimmed her hand over her mound and pressed her fingers against her damp flesh. The sudden stimulation alone was enough to make Sunset cry out. In an effort to retain even a little dignity, she lifted a hand up to her face and pinched a knuckle between her teeth.

“Don’t hold back,” Twilight murmured, circling with two fingers through her folds. Sunset moaned again, releasing her finger from her teeth, and cried out. Twilight’s movement were slow, testing, a little unsure, but gentle all the same. She stroked once, twice in one direction, circled a few times, and then changed again, each time eliciting another strangled moan or whimper from Sunset. It was a kind of torture that Sunset never knew she could like so much.

And then it slowed, and stopped.

Sunset looked down at Twilight, her expression almost desperate.

“W-why—”

That was as far as she got, because then Twilight slipped two fingers inside of her. Sunset’s eyes widened and her mouth slackened, her arms giving way as she fell back. Her back arched off the bed and her hands fisted into her blankets.

“Oh. My. God—” she panted, barely able to keep her voice below ‘acceptable’ as Twilight shifted on her knees to accommodate the new position. Her fingers slid in and out from between Sunset’s legs as a steady, even pace, occasionally curling and spreading inside of her, her thumb brushing against the very top of Sunset’s slit.

Sunset groaned, her head thrashing from side to side on the blanket as Twilight worked her wonderful magic. She managed to keep her legs spread only because her girlfriend was settled securely between them, but she couldn’t keep from squeezing her thighs against Twilight’s shoulders as she felt the goddess lean her head down and—

Then the touch changed ever so slightly. Her fingers still slid through her wetness with delicious slowness, but the pad of her thumb against Sunset’s flesh became warmer, softer and infinitely more teasing.

With shaking arms, Sunset pushed herself up once more on her elbows to see Twilight leaning over her, her tongue flicking out to taste her — once, twice, three times, and then she looked up to catch Sunset’s eye.

That was all it took. Sunset came crashing down, lost in the waves of her climax, her constricting muscles and sweating skin. She fell back on the bed and reached down to wind her fingers through Twilight’s hair, gripping as hard as she could. All the while, Twilight didn’t even pause; she kept tasting her, licking her, sucking her until she was too tender to move. She only stopped when Sunset’s trembling thighs finally dropped in exhaustion against the mattress.

A rustle of movement seconds — or minutes — later told Sunset that Twilight had crawled up the bed to lay beside her, and she opened her eyes to see the goddess drawing little figures on the sweaty skin of her stomach.

“Wow,” she managed.

Twilight grinned. “You liked it?”

“Liked it?” Sunset laughed. Though she was still shaking a little, she managed to roll over and plant a kiss to her cheek. “Dude, there aren’t any words strong enough to describe how that was.”

Twilight’s eyebrow arched up into her bangs. “Well? How does not being a virgin feel?”

Sunset smirked, knowing a challenge when she heard one. After another few moments to gain her breath back, she rocked forward and kissed Twilight again. She could taste Twilight and something Sunset was fairly certain was herself on the goddess’ lips, but instead of grossing her out it only spurred her on. “Awesome,” she breathed as they parted. And in the span of a second, Sunset wrapped an arm around Twilight’s back and plucked at the clasp of her bra.

Grinning wickedly, Twilight chucked the bra over the side of the bed and, to both the girls’ surprise, Sunset immediately latched onto a nipple with her lips. Twilight gave a surprised sound as Sunset’s curious tongue tested the sensitivity of the little bud. Her hands wandered, following the curves of her sides, the dip between her breasts. She pushed Twilight only her back and straddled her, only barely remembering to hold her long hair back with one hand as she kissed every inch of Twilight’s chest and stomach. She grunted when Twilight hooked her ankles behind her back, the trembling that had been prevalent at the onset of their encounter all but gone.

“You know, for a newbie,” Twilight offered at some point, a little breathlessly. “You’re really fucking good at this.”

Sunset smiled against the little cave of her bellybutton. “You should know I’m a fast learner,” she gloated. Then she pulled back a bit, allowing Twilight to hike her newly bought boyshorts down to her knees, where Sunset took control and dropped them to the floor. Then they both were completely bare, washed in the dim lighting of the bedroom. They stared at each other for a moment before Sunset got confident again.

She worked slowly and carefully, always judging Twilight’s reaction with her eyes, but she quickly found out what her girlfriend liked and disliked, mastering her like an instrument. The slightest brush of the pad of her finger was enough to nearly knock Twilight off the edge, so she kept the little circles and drew out the flicks of her tongue. Twilight whispered her name, a quiet little noise that was so adorable it should be fucking illegal, but Sunset was so completely consumed by Twilight that she could only respond accordingly.

When Sunset finally slipped a single finger inside of her, Twilight gasped, letting out a strangled little mewling sound, quickly followed by more words without thought behind then, no construct or forethought — more yes please fuck Sunset faster oh Sunny oh Sunny Sunny — until it was just one long string of noise.

Soon she stiffened, and her back lifted up off the bed, her entire body so stiff Sunset was afraid she might break. Twilight whined her name once more, and then fell, trembling and chest heaving on the bed.

“So… was I good?” Sunset questioned after a minute, a hint of doubt in her voice.

Twilight rolled over and gave her the most incredulous look she had ever seen. “Sunny, shit.” She laughed, reaching over to wind her hands through Sunset’s hair as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. “You were incredible. And, lucky for us…” she grinned mischievously, placing two fingers against Sunset’s knee and began to glide then up the skin of her thigh. “We’ve got a whole night of smooth sailing ahead of us.”

“Just how many ship puns are we going to be using, here?”

“As many as it takes to get the booty.”

“Ugh. Twilight.”

“Alright. Alright; you know, I thought that one was a ferry clever one.” She grinned at Sunset’s flat stare, and then leaned forward to press their lips together. “Now, full speed ahead.”

Later, as the two of them lay in bed, panting and lazily gazing up at the ceiling, naked except for a wholly embarrassing afterglow, Sunset couldn’t help but think back to that awkward, sad kiss they had first shared when she was in the depths of despair. How long ago that seemed, even if it was only a week or so. But it was over now; they had beaten the odds, they had found each other. They got to do this every night for the rest of their natural lives — or, at least, Sunset’s natural life… well, they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

They had a few more things to take care of, of course; gathering the Elements of Harmony on Earth, fixing the mirror, and bada-bing bada-boom, all would be well. There might be issues along the way, but Sunset was certain that between her and Twilight, with their friends backing them up, anything was possible.

“You know, if this doesn’t count as a happy ending,” she finally said, “Then I don’t know what the fuck does.”

“Right?!” They both laughed, which soon sent the both of them into fits of giggles. “Celestia, but you’re… just, look at you. You’re amazing.” Twilight smiled happily. “How did I ever get this lucky?”

“You bet on the right pony, I guess.” Sunset replied easily. “You knew I’d care enough to follow you home and help you out.”

“No, not that.” Rolling onto her side, Twilight pressed her hand up against Sunset’s neck, smiling very faintly but the deepness of her violet eyes, their earnest sheen, told that her joy was so much deeper than any words could convey at that moment. “You. Here. Making me… the happiest, luckiest shit in existence.”

Grinning, and no long able to meet the goddess’ eyes, Sunset murmured, “You can’t keep saying that. But I mean, if you never stopped… I guess that’d be cool, too.”

“Good. You’re gonna get used to it someday, My Little Sunset.”

“Your little— wait. Oh no, you did not—” Sunset groaned aloud and covered her face with her hand. “You did not just switch out my little pony for my little sunset.”

“I did. And I enjoy watching you blush.”

“Stop it, I am not blushing! I’m just… overstimulated!”

“Oh, is that right? You want to go for another round?” The minute her hand was on Sunset’s thigh, she slapped it, and its owner drew it back with an exasperated shout. “Hey! Watch it, human!”

“Oh, so it’s ‘human’ now, is it?” Twilight’s exaggerated pout was adorable, so Sunset snaked in and kissed her on the nose. “I’m gonna forget you said that.”

“Okay, if it’s a fair fight you want — last standing in Super Smash Brothers has to be on the bottom.”

“Oh, you’re on!” Sunset was halfway up when she paused, which allowed Twilight to pull into the lead as she dashed toward the living room, the trail of her nightie billowing out behind her like a cape. “Wait, you— what do you mean, the bottom?!”

“Look it up, Sunny! You game, or what?”

Grumbling, Sunset yanked her shirt back on and stomped after her. “Haven’t we both done that enough for one night?”

“I don’t know, have we?” Twilight asked cryptically as she perched herself on the couch, two controllers in hand, folding her legs neatly under herself. As if to prove a point, she tossed one of the controllers over to Sunset. “Catch!”

Rolling her eyes, Sunset reached out and caught the object — but not with her hand. A murky yellow glow flickered to life around the controller, enveloping it and stopping it mid-flight, keeping it aloft a few feet away from Sunset.

Nodding happily at the casual display of magic in Sunset’s human form, Twilight said, “Your pick first. Who do you wanna be?”

Sunset sighed loudly, plucking the controller free from her magic and walked over to the couch. As she joined the Goddess of Friendship, she gave the question a lot more weight than was necessary. Maybe her friend-turned-paramour was only asking about the game, but she thought it over more carefully than that, reflecting on all they had been through over the past few days, few weeks, few months.

She reached a conclusion readily enough, and plopped herself down to press a light kiss to Twilight’s lips.

“Just me, Twi. Just me.”

"Wow... that was so deep, it was unfathomable."

"Ugh. Twilight."

Epilogue: And What a Life It Is.

And there we have it.

So how about it? Do you take my side now?

Sorry, I kinda knew this would be a lot to swallow when I first started this story. After all, you don’t believe in gods, other worlds, magic, or talking ponies any more than when you started reading. Heck, you probably prefer my business metaphor, don’t you? That’s totally fair. After all, these are just words on a page, and I’m a total stranger. You have no reason to trust me when I say I am a unicorn from another world, who became an alicorn princess, who then became a goddess with her soul bound to a semi-sentient magical artifact, who was finally saved by a human for no other reason than she thought I was too ‘cool’ to be stuck like that.

I wouldn’t believe me, either.

But let’s forget about me for a minute, and put the spotlight where it should be: My Little Sunset.

At some point, probably right at the beginning, you probably started to wonder why this story was about her instead of me; told from her perspective, focusing on her experiences, with mine just sort of taking a backseat. Well, my answer is going to be simple and pretty unsatisfactory: even though my past might be more checkered, more colorful, I think hers is more important. Not just because she’s important to me, because she is, but because she’s a way better person than I ever was.

Or... pony. You get the idea.

Oh, I’ve tried my damndest over the course of my long… long life to look on the bright side and not to waste the opportunity I was given; to be kind to others always, to protect those who needed protection. But for Sunset, it’s not even trying; she just naturally does the right thing, every time.

Some of you are probably sitting there saying, “Hey! She didn’t really do the right thing! She sent you after those guys for petty revenge! Interfered with their lives and went outside the laws of man and nature to do so.” And yeah, you’d be right. That was petty. But when you get right down to it, humans are petty most of the time, much as they don’t want to believe they are. Nobody practices altruism, and anyone who says otherwise is selling something.

I guess the real question you all are asking is… did she ever go too far, or was she merely balancing the scales? They wronged her first, after all. It’s a big question, and I can’t really answer that. You’ve heard her side, and you’ve heard Celestia’s, as well. I’m siding with Sunset’s, but don’t let that tell you what to think about everything; I’m slightly biased.

But yeah, that’s about it. I have a feeling you’ll want to know a few more details about how things played out in the future, right? About if Sunset and I ever got the Elements of Harmony together, and if we successfully fixed the mirror and freed our souls or not, even though that stuff isn’t really important to this story… and I’m afraid I can’t tell you. Not yet.

I know, I know; that’s kind of a dick punch. But I can only say that story isn’t really this story.

This story was about Sunset and I. Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. Some of you might say it was really about me, and some might say “No! No, it was totally about Sunny!” Or maybe both? I don’t know.

But this story is over. It had a good ending — not great, but good. Sunset got the girl, became a better person, and picked up some party members along the way. Your typical hero’s journey, really. All wrapped up in a nice little bow with sprinkles on top. All we really need are the candles, and then we could live happily ever after.

That being said, our journey isn’t really done. There are still things to do, people to meet, and dastardly villains to vanquish. I kind of wish I was lying about that last part, but what’s a good story without some antagonists? A not very good one, that’s for sure. But, like I said, that’s another story.

Until then, you’ll have to make due with the warm fuzzies you get from Sunset getting the girl, and me being happier than I’ve been in a very, very long time.

Which is a very good thing, because there are just some things that turn even the most even-tempered, studious girl into a raging bitchmonster, and those things are still to come.

Author's Notes:

A/N: Welp, that was a fun time. Hope you all were entertained, at the least. I'm sure most of you were skeptical at the start, basically wondering 'Okay... is this gonna be your typical female revenge fic with a side order of girl power?' And for the most part, that's how it indeed started. Though, if you stuck around for the first few chapters, you quickly realized that this wasn't what this story was ultimately about.

I mean, there was revenge and girl power... oodles of it at that... but again, not the point of the story. The story was really about friendship and love and how it can help bring two people together, with heaps of nostalgia along the way. Hah. I mean, can't you just imagine Twilight and Sunset singing "Let's Get Down To Business" from Mulan when they get ready for the day?

Gasp! Ideeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaa~

Or something like that. There was a mirror or something in there somewhere, wasn't there? Hmmm....

Anyhoo, thanks a bunch for those of you who stuck with it from the beginning, or picked up Summoning Twilight along the way! Or even those of you who started it now that it's complete (you know who you are ); I hope it was worth the wait. But let's be honest — Sunlight often is.

And one more shout out to my editor, TheTownCrier, as well as my good buddy Demous_Abyss for putting up with my insanity right from the get-go.

Until next time, stay classy, San Diego!

What's This? A Marvel-esque Mid-Credits Scene?!

Professor Evening Shine walked through the front door of her house, feeling as though the entire world had turned on its axis. The day itself started out normal enough; she woke up, ate breakfast with her daughter, went to school to teach her classes. She had, at first, considered going straight home after her lectures, but a fit of pique sent her to the mall instead. Maybe she should browse the bookstore and find something interesting to read that night?

But instead, she found Twilight Sparkle.

Feeling her chest tighten up uncomfortably at the memory of the goddess from another world, she shut the door and removed her shoes, hardly caring where they ended up as she padded through the brightly lit entryway. Her daughter always left the light on when she was home, but she could hardly be bothered to call for her then.

She walked silently through the halls, passing by darkened rooms and the kitchen — there was a plate of cold chicken and salad laid out for her — until she reached the bedrooms. She paused at her daughter’s room; the door was shut, but she could hear music playing softly. She was probably working on one of her many projects that occupied her time.

Satisfied that the only other occupant in the house was busy, she continued on and entered her bedroom.

The room itself was as one would expect of a tenured professor of literature; a large four-poster bed along the far wall, a couple wardrobes and an armoire lining the other side. The door to the attached bathroom was shut, as was the sliding door to her walk-in closet. A sizable bookcase was filled with an eclectic assortment of books. All in all, it was a typical room and the aged professor found it suitable.

The vanity that took up the far corner of the room was the only thing that seemed like it didn’t belong.

An antique chair sat in front of the shortened countertop, for looks rather than practicality, as it wobbled and creaked whenever she sat in it. The makeup counter even moreso — it was splotched with old, dried foundation and a random assortment of colors. But she hadn’t kept the vanity all these years because she liked the look of it, after all. No, she kept it for very different reasons.

The broken mirror that stood at the back of the vanity, crawling up the wall and casting her eerie reflection back at her in thousands of angry splinters was really why she refused to give up the thing.

For a long moment, she stared at the mirror, her eyes running over each and every inch of the glass, examining that which she had memorized for most of her life. Some shards were missing along the edges, some larger than others, but the center of the mirror still remained intact — for all that was worth, heavily fractured though it was. It was a poor tool for applying makeup, and as such she had long since gotten used to performing her daily routine by muscle memory alone.

But still, she kept it. Because it was important to her.

Minutes passed, and as her alarm clock beside her bed clicked away the seconds, Eve began to lean towards the mirror, her eyes becoming hard.

Surely it wasn’t possible.

She lifted a hand up, pausing only a few inches away from the splintered glass.

But she knew what she saw. What she felt.

She pressed her fingertips to it’s surface, feeling its cool smoothness against her skin.

There was no mistaking it.

She barely twitched when her finger ran over a warped edge of a shard, slicing the pad of her finger open.

The mirror…

“Damn it,” she finally murmured.

…was no longer breaking.

“Damn it,” she said again, her face twisting.

She had seen Twilight Sparkle herself, standing there clear as day in front of her. It was definitely her, ‘Twili’ or not. She knew those eyes anywhere.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it.” She withdrew her hand and made a fist, clenching it so tightly that it hurt.

And Sunset, right there beside her. Little Sunset Shimmer. Totally oblivious. Unaware of what she had really done, what she had undone.

“Damn!” Eve snarled, lashing out with her fist towards the mirror. Her hand jolted to a stop, pain lancing through her wrist up to her arm. She blinked, staring at the damage done. The mirror hadn’t changed all that much — a few more shards clattered on the table and bounced to the carpet near her feet — but her hand had gotten a few good slashes, fresh blood already starting to well up around her knuckles. She swallowed, pulling her trembling hand back to cradle it to her chest.

“Damn it,” she muttered again, unable to say anything else.

There a muffled sound through the wall, and footsteps walking from the next room over to the hallway.

“Mom?” came the call, tentatively.

“In… in here,” Eve replied.

A moment later her door opened, and her daughter stood there, her dark hair piled high in a rather severe bun and her glasses perched loosely on her nose. She flicked on the light, blinked a few times to take in the situation, and then brought her hands to her mouth in a gasp.

“Mom! Oh my gosh — are you okay?” She started forward, her expression set in worry.

“Be careful, there’s glass on the carpet,” Eve warned, perhaps unnecessarily. The younger girl was wearing her thick winter slippers.

“You’re hurt!” she said, taking her mother’s hand in hers and examining the damage. “What did you do?”

“I was… thinking of getting rid of my old mirror,” came the reply, the flimsiest of excuses. “I accidentally brought my hand too close and knocked it.”

Her daughter pursed her lips, clearly unbelieving, but didn’t comment. She only said, “It’s about damn time. You’ve had that thing longer than I’ve been alive. It’s hideous.”

Smiling wryly, Eve replied, “You don’t know the half of it, dear.”

The girl clicked her tongue, turning over her mother’s hand in hers. “I’ll go get the first aid kit,” She muttered quickly, turning to leave.

But just as quickly, Eve reached out and wrapped her non-bloodied fingers around the girl’s forearm. “Twilight,” she said.

Her daughter turned her bespectacled gaze to her. “...Mom?”

“You know I love you, don’t you?” she asked. “No matter the circumstance, you’re still my daughter in every way that counts.”

Twilight blinked. “I… um, okay? I know that.” She laughed skittishly. “What brought this on?”

The older woman held her adoptive daughter’s gaze for a long moment, curious as to why she said those words. They were the truth, in a way. But still, she rarely said things like that. Nowadays, anyway. Maybe seeing Twilight Sparkle in the mall earlier with her student brought with it a bunch of old memories, thoughts that made her feel as old as she was. Or maybe she really did care for her daughter like she said. Either way, with the girl standing there looking all awkward and nervous, it wouldn’t do to stay silent.

“Nevermind.” She shook her head. “Go and fetch the first aid kit.”

The girl eyed her mother for another few moments. When she was satisfied, Twilight Shine turned and jogged from the room to find the supplies.

Eve watched her go, finally standing when Twilight left the room. Letting her bloodied hand fall limp, she walked over to her bookshelf and trailed her good hand along the spines of her many books, her eyes expertly passing over the many texts she had read over the years. After a few seconds, she found what she was looking for.

She pulled out a large, leather-bound tome, the stylized depiction of a sun cracked and faded from its cover. She scowled at the book for a moment, and then, balancing it deftly between her chest and her bad hand, opened to the front page.

In perfect, if slightly formal Equestrian characters, she read,

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, going through the mirror. I wanted to know more, I wanted to learn more, I wanted you to be proud of me. But I failed. I came here, to this world, and it wasn’t at all what I wanted. It’s so horrible here, I’m scared all the time. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go. I barely sleep, I can’t eat.

I want to go home.

Please. Can I come home?

Your student, Sunset Shimmer.

There was no reply — the following page of the magical diary was blank.

She frowned and turned to a later page, skipping over many, many instances of the same missive to the Sun Goddess of Equestria, each one more desperate than the last, until she reached a point where the once-perfect symbols started to become sloppy.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I’m a bad pony. A naughty, stupid filly. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live like this. Please please please please, take me back!

Sunset

There was still no reply.

Eve’s face hardened, and she flipped past a few more pages of increasingly more desperate pleas, each one going ignored, until the Equestrian characters grew too illegible to read, and were eventually replaced with symbols she recognized as Proto-Sinaitic. It was a difficult translation — the meaning was almost impossible to parse between that and Equestrian — but the gist was clear.

Celestia—

Fine! I don’t care anymore! Fuck you, for making me think I was loved. You never loved me. You only love yourself, and you always will. I hate you. I hate you so fucking much. I hope I never, ever see you again!

No reply.

As Eve turned the pages, Proto-Sinaitic turned to the Phoenician alphabet, which soon changed to Greek. Greek turned to Latin, which soon began a subtle shift to a more Germanic script. The language and tone changed nearly every missive, each one more scathing than the last, until the language finally resembled a fairly antiquated form of English.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I never did thank you, you know?

I spent so much time hating you, spitting on your very existence and lamenting my lot in life, that I never thought to extend my thanks to you. For, you see, it was because of you that I was able to accomplish so much.

I came here are a mere unicorn, barely able to survive on my own in a strange world. I recall countless sleepless nights, constantly fearing for my life should somebody find me in the dark, and smother me, or burn me alive as a monster. In a way, I still wish they had. It would have been easier.

But I survived, and have become so much more.

I have turned cities to dust, created entire civilizations, gave life and took it away just as easily. I controlled kings and emperors at my whim, commanded armies more vast that you could possibly imagine. Watched an entire species grow from infancy to adulthood, witnessed as they learned how to master the elements, and wield unbelievable craft. I watched as they mapped the stars and studied the world around them.

And they are all mine. My students. My children. My humanity.

But then, you also know what that is like, don’t you? After all, Twilight Sparkle is your student.

Twilight Sparkle, the Goddess of Friendship. A princess. Your most faithful student. Your success to my failure.

I have met her, many times. She has no idea who I am. As it should be. I summon her to my world infrequently enough that she never has an inkling, and always when I am living a different life. I sometimes greet her as a queen, later as a pauper. Different always, and each time I see her she is still the same, the same perfect little student you always wanted.

She makes me sick.

But, in the end, it doesn’t matter. After all, even gods don’t live forever. I have made sure of that. It will only be a matter of time.

Only a matter of time until the end.

So thank you, My Dear Celestia, my Mother, for making what what I am. For if you hadn’t cast me aside, I would never had learned my true calling.

Say hello to oblivion for me. I’ll be waiting.

Your Faithful Student,

Sunset Shimmer

Evening Shine quietly shut the book, giving the well-worn cover a gentle caress of her yellow-painted fingertip. It had been such a long time — lifetimes ago — since she had thought about her old mentor, even longer still since she had written to her. She never received anything back, of course, but that was alright. She always thought that allowing her words to be put down on paper as cathartic.

First things first, though; she quickly slid the book back into the shelf when she heard Twilight scurry into the room, her cheeks flushed.

“I couldn’t find the kit,” she explained meekly as she lay an armful of supplies on her mother’s bed. “So I bought antiseptic from the medicine cabinet, and some wipes and bandages. That’ll have to do until I run to the store to get more stuff.”

“It will do,” Eve agreed, holding out her hand as Twilight set herself to task disinfecting the cuts along her hand. She watched her daughter work, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she considered what to do now; now that the mirror was stable, now that Twilight was on Earth for who knew how long, and now that Sunset Shimmer — her very own student, ironically enough — was mixed in with everything.

“After all, some things you have to do yourself.”

Le Gasp! A Marvel-esque Post Credits Scene?!

“So… let me get this straight,” Rarity said slowly, her hands set firmly atop her thighs from her spot on the couch. Her makeup was perfectly applied for a day out, her scarlet lips set in a curious frown as she stared at Sunset and Twilight. “You’re telling me that your new girlfriend is actually a magical princess from a world filled with talking ponies, whom you accidentally met by summoning her using some obscure, paganistic magical ritual, and basically sicced her on guys that groped you a couple times, got bored doing that and instead played video games and watched cartoons together until you kissed her out of the blue.”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Sunset muttered, shifting embarrassingly from her spot beside said magical princess from another world.

“And not only that,” Rarity cut her off by holding up a manicured fingertip. “But she’s also some immortal friendship goddess that, thousands of years ago, got her soul accidentally stuck in a magical mirror that forces her to be called to our world like some kind of wish-granting genie.” She let out a breath, lifting her hands to rub at her temples. “And you, in a fit of altruism, decided to just take a jaunt off to magical pony-land and see if you could set her free.”

“Again, yeah, but—”

“—and in doing so—” her friend spoke right over her, her eyes glinting dangerously from behind mascara-covered lashes. “—you somehow got a magical tattoo on your ass that lets you use magic just like your paramour, got your soul stuck to the mirror as well, and just decided to let us know now because we have some kind of mystical power that lets us join together in friendship and harmony to free both of you from the mirror and, what, save your souls from winking out of existence?”

With that, Rarity fell silent, her arms crossing tightly over her chest in disapproval.

When she didn’t say anything further, Sunset cleared her throat. “Um… are you finished?”

“Oh, by all means, please correct me if I missed anything,” she replied sardonically.

Scratching at her cheek and sending a surreptitious glance at Twilight, who shrugged, looking just as uncomfortable as Sunset herself felt, she said, “Well, damn. Yeah, that’s… uh, pretty much the last few weeks of my life in a nutshell.” She laughed awkwardly. “Of course, when you sum it all up like that it sounds kind of—”

“Badass as fuck!” Rainbow chuckled from arm of the couch. “I mean, dude, you have magic! Your girlfriend is a princess, and we’re gonna go on a kickass adventure! I mean, how cool is that?”

From Rarity’s other side, Fluttershy tilted her head thoughtfully. Her soft pink hair was tied into twin plaits down the sides of her head, and she fiddled her hands around the length of one of them. “It does sound really…” she paused, as if suddenly afraid of insulting the pony princess in front of her, and said in a slightly more subdued tone, “Um… hard to believe.”

“Psssh,” Rainbow waved a hand in front of her. “That’s only because you two haven’t seen any of this shit yet.” At Fluttershy’s skeptical expression, and Rarity’s frown, she leaned back. “And speaking of which… how the hell do you two already know each other?”

Fluttershy peered at Rarity, and when the other girl didn’t answer — she was too busy frowning at Sunset — she explained, “We go to the same spa.”

“Of course you do,” Rainbow snorted.

“I know it’s hard to believe,” Twilight said slowly when there was silence for a few seconds. She was calm, and her face was absolutely serious. “But Sunset and I wanted to—”

“Prove it,” Rarity said simply.

Twilight blinked. “Pardon me?”

“Prove it,” the fashionista repeated, leaning back in the couch. She uncrossed her legs and tucked her ankles together. “If anything you just told me is true, then I want you to prove it to me.” She arched a dark, expertly-plucked eyebrow at Sunset. “Then, I may believe you.”

Twilight and Sunset exchanged a look. Well, they knew this would probably happen anyway; both Fluttershy and Rarity may have been more skeptical than Rainbow, who had had at least a first-hand witness account of Flurry Heart’s magical power — and a little show of Sunset’s mad jedi skills a little later. Really, they shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Well, alright,” Twilight said, nodding. “I can show you—”

“Don’t worry, Twi,” Sunset said, holding up her hand to touch her girlfriend’s shoulder. “I got this.”

Twilight paused. “You sure?”

Smiling widely, Sunset licked her lips. “Oh yeah. Trust me.” She had been looking forward to this.

Shrugging, Twilight sat back down to watch the proceedings.

“You wanna see some magic?” Sunset asked Rarity and Fluttershy. When both nodded, she flicked her hand up nonchalantly. “Alright then.” And then she fell silent in her chair, simply watching them.

After a few seconds, during which both Rarity and Fluttershy — with Rainbow eyeing her curiously, as well — watched Sunset just sit there, Rarity said, “Sunset…?”

“I just wanted to say…” Sunset intoned slowly.

Everyone leaned in ever so slightly.

And then Sunset sang, “Day-o!”

“Uwah!” Rarity squawked, flailing backwards in the couch as Sunset’s voice echoed around her small living room. Rainbow snorted a laugh while Fluttershy squeaked, staring wide-eyed at the girl.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Day-o!” Sunset repeated, the echo reverberating around the room again. “Daylight come and me wan' go home.”

“Oh, that’s cute, Sunset,” Rarity said peevishly, brushing her hands down the front of her blouse.

Then, inexplicably, the soft sounds of bongo drums started pounding. Where was that coming from?

“Day!” Sunset sang. “Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day-o. Daylight come and me wan' go home...”

“Bwahahaha!” Rainbow cackled. “Classic!”

“What the—”

Together, both Sunset and Fluttershy rose to their feet, their arms out as Sunset continued, “Work all night on a drink of rum!”

Rainbow and Twilight stood and starting swaying on the spot, joined in with the harmony, “Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

“Stack banana 'til de mornin' come!”

“Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

There was a movement from the kitchen, and ceramic cooking pot covered in a murky yellow mist flew from the stovetop to Sunset’s outstretched hand. She caught it and began patting it like a drum. “Come, mister tally man, tally me banana,” she sang, matching the rhythm the unseen bongos set while Twilight and Rainbow continued providing the harmony.

“Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

“Come, mister tally man, tally me banana.”

“Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

“What—” Rarity sputtered, even as she rose to her feet. “I don’t—”

Then, everyone sang together, “Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!”

“Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

“Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!”

All five friends moved to a circle and held hands as Twilight and Rainbow sang their part, “Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

“Day, me say day-o…” Sunset moved the circle around, taking the lead as they all sang. “Day, me say day, me say day, me say day…”

Then, Fluttershy took over the song, singing, “A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana,” and, still wide-eyed and her hands curling into claws, “Hide the deadly black tarantula!”

“Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

“Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!” the group sang, sitting down and only leaving Sunset standing.

“Daylight come and me wan' go home~”

And then Sunset ended the song, slowly crooning out, “Daylight come and me wan' go home…”

The music soon ceased, leaving only the girls in its’ wake, their eyes wide and chests heaving.

“What… was that?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“The best fucking thing ever!” Rainbow crowed. “Holy crap. Can we do that again?!”

“That,” Sunset said, still catching her breath, “Was the Magic of Music.” She turned to stare at Rarity, who was slack-jawed and pale-faced. “Need some more proof?”

A long moment passed between the two old friends, during which an unspoken conversation seemed to take place between them. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Twilight watched as different emotions flickered across Rarity’s face, until a curious mix of resignation and determination won the fight.

“Alright… how can I help?”

And then Sunset grinned, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees.

“Okay, first things first,” she said. “Do any of you know a Pinkie Pie or an Applejack?”

Author's Notes:

*Snigger*

Day-o!