“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.