Sunset stood in front of the familiar wooden door, looking at the carved wooden plaque with her girlfriend’s name on it. Her stomach twisted, but the worry that had been growing pushed her forward more than her nervousness held her back. She needed to know what had happened, and if Twilight was really okay. So she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Twilight’s voice responded a few seconds later, though she had to strain to hear it fully.

Without giving herself any time to think about how this could go wrong, Sunset pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Spike yapped happily and jumped down from the bed to greet her, but the pat she gave him as she sat her backpack on the floor near a bookcase was absent-minded at best. She only had eyes for the girl who was barely able to remain sitting, perched on the edge of the bed itself, all of her desired movements translated into fidgeting and twisting her hands. “…Hey, Sparky,” Sunset managed, swallowing hard but holding out one arm in a way that said she was open to a hug.

In less than a breath, a smaller body slammed into her, arms vicing around her torso like a full body hug from a kraken. This close, she could feel the faint tremor in both of them; she wasn't the only one that felt utter relief at the contact as she managed to kick the door shut with her heel.

Sunset tugged Twilight’s face up to look at her. “I’m glad to see you too,” she murmured, running knuckles lightly over a lavender cheek and savoring the jolt the simple skin contact sent through her nerve endings. Then her brows pinched together. “Though you could have at least texted me when things went to Tartarus in a picnic basket.”

Her girlfriend blinked several times in rapid succession, purple eyes gleaming with a hint of unshed tears. “I promised,” the other girl said quietly, shaking her head. “I know I didn't say it out loud, but I meant it as a promise, and I needed to keep it.” She released her death grip on Sunset with one arm long enough to swipe at her eyes. “I wasn't just a bad girlfriend last week, I was a bad friend…and…”

“You weren’t a bad friend, Twili—”

A finger pressed to her lips interrupted her. “I was. Not because we fought…but because I said something to you I shouldn't have because I was upset with you. I hurt you…and in doing so, I broke a promise I made to you months ago.”

The finger over her lips had stopped her because it was cute and adorable of her girlfriend to stop her talking that way, but those words completely derailed any coherent thought Sunset had intended to voice. The “What?” that fell from her mouth was said like she’d been punched in the solar plexus.

Twilight bit her lip before explaining, “It was a long while ago, when…when you were being bullied still, and you told me about some of your past…I didn't exactly promise it when you were awake or even out loud, but I told myself I’d never hurt you like that.”

“Sparky…” Sunset didn't have a word for the emotion in her core now, but it had certainly showed all her earlier fears the door and pushed them unceremoniously through it. “That’s…”

“It's the truth,” Twilight said, voice so soft that it didn't carry beyond their embrace. “You’ve had so many people use things about your past your whole life to hurt you—I’m not the best with people, but you’ve told me enough to let me figure that out with simple logic.”

Breathing felt tight with the lump in her throat, but the former unicorn managed to give a brief nod acknowledging that her girlfriend had gotten it right. The dark haired girl watched her for a moment, then kept going. “You don't always see it, Sunset, but you are this amazing, intelligent, caring person who is always there for me whenever I need you…and you deserve better than hurtful, hateful words that use things in your past as weapons, or a thousand broken promises from people you trusted. That's why I didn't let Dad call you. I couldn't break another promise to you like that. I couldn't undo what I said, but I could do better this time…not as some kind of way to ‘make it up to you,’ but to show you that I care. That your thoughts, and feelings, and all the things you've trusted me with matter to me…more than…than…”

More than ever before, Sunset was convinced that this was the real Twilight, this awkward, clumsy, dorky girl who had reached out and held a sobbing stranger while she wept, and that whoever or whatever had been manifesting in the last month or so was not just some hidden facet to her best friend. She couldn't sense dark magic on Twilight right now, but she was going to find the source and make it sorry for targeting her. “Hey…” she whispered, trying to put the smaller girl more at ease, even as she struggled to organize thoughts that were all over the place. “…thank you, Twilight. For…everything you just said.”

Twilight wiped her eyes again and managed something of a shaky, half hysterical laugh. “…I’m sorry…I had this whole speech planned out…and now I can't remember any of it!”

The redhead pulled her back into a tight hug. “I don’t need a grand friendship speech, Sparky…what you managed to convey meant so much more, because it was real, not rehearsed. It came from you.” She locked on to purple eyes, and couldn’t hold back any longer. “Now…can I kiss you? Because that was a pretty kiss-worthy speech in my book, and I have it on good authority that today is supposed to be one of those days where we’re supposed to indulge our kiss-impulses.”

Cheeks darkening with a blush, Twilight nodded. “I…I’d like that, but what do you me—”

It was Sunset’s turn to interrupt Twilight, and she did so by covering Twilight’s mouth with her own, willing even half of what her girlfriend’s words had made her feel to be communicated in the way she pressed into the kiss. Even if she didn't manage that, Twilight still let out a soft noise into her mouth, and one hand fisted in the black leather of the jacket she’d forgotten to shrug out of downstairs. Sunset’s own hands slid down, coming to rest on Twilight’s hips, and making sure she stayed as close as possible while she got reacquainted with her favorite nerd.

When she finally pulled back, both of them were flushed and panting for air. Twilight let out a silly little giggle, leaning against Sunset. “Oh…wow…Cady was right…about making up…” Then she blinked away the haze. “But…why…” Her brows furrowed, then realization dawned. “Oh! Valentine’s Day! Right?”

“My school looked like a cheap rose garden exploded inside it today, right after a chocolate factory accident,” Sunset said dryly. “And then I had to listen to my friend Rarity go on and on about the nature and beauty of romance.”

The shorter girl wrinkled her nose. “She's the one obsessed with rom-coms, isn't she? The coffee house romance one?”

“Got it in one, and she keeps trying to drop hints that she thinks I should ‘consider dating again.’ Flash thought it was hysterical until she started trying to not so subtly hint that he and I should try dating again. Like there’s not enough baggage there or anything…” Sunset rolled her eyes. “But…you know…I figured nothing wrong with going with the flow of the holiday when my girlfriend gives me a speech like that.” She moved one hand back up to the back of Twilight’s neck, letting her fingertips ghost across the skin. “And…I forgive you…in case you needed to hear it said. I know better than most what it's like to say something in anger….and I’m sorry if it felt like I was being unfair about Wallflower. I…wasn't sure how to tell you about what happened and I probably didn't do it in the best way. I know it was important to you that I get along with your friend…”

Her girlfriend snuggled in closer, pressing her face into Sunset’s collarbone and closing her eyes. “Thank you, Sunny…” she whispered with a long sigh that took some of her tension with it. “…it helps to hear you say that you forgive me…”

Sunset chuckled, before turning them around and walking backwards until her legs touched the bed, allowing her to sit down, pulling Twilight into a cuddle. “Why wouldn't I?” she asked. “It hurt and it brought up some old stuff…but…I’ve been taught that friendship is stronger than angry words.” Another snicker escaped her. “You should see Rarity and AJ fight—it's both terrifying and fascinating, but they always make up within a few days.” She nuzzled into dark hair that smelled of honeysuckle. “You're my best friend, Twilight. Our friendship is made of stronger stuff than any one fight.”

Silence fell between them for several minutes, exchanging light touches and sweet kisses. Eventually though, Twilight began to fidget again. Sunset pulled away from her neck to study her. “What is it?”

“…I owe you a second apology…for doubting you about Wallflower,” she confessed. “I’ve learned…that you weren't entirely wrong…about her behavior, and it's making me reevaluate both my friendship and past interactions with her….”

The words and the level of distress in Twilight’s voice made Sunset’s brain switch gears back to concern. “What happened, Sparky? Was it…” Her voice trailed off, uncertain. Had she somehow been responsible, if indirectly, for whatever it was?

Twilight brought a hand up to cup her cheek. “It's not your fault, Sunset Shimmer, so don’t immediately blame yourself,” she told her, clearly trying to be firm and authoritative—ruined by the sad little smile that said she knew Sunset was doing just that. “Wallflower…some things happened, and because of it, I got to see the side of Wallflower you described…and hear some of her unfiltered opinions on both of us.” She grimaced. “It wasn't pleasant.”

She could hear the hurt and the faintest hint of bewilderment in Twilight’s tone, and it made her wish for a second that she could do something to make Wallflower sorry for hurting her Sparky….but she pushed that feeling down in favor of hugging the younger girl closer. “I’m sorry, Sparky…I…wish I had been wrong. That it was just me being unfair or some kind of personality conflict.” Tilting her head down a fraction, she asked, “Would talking about what happened help? Or do you want me to drop the subject?”

Biting her lip, the dark haired girl seemed to weigh the options, and Sunset remained quiet, letting her sort through her thoughts. Finally Twilight sighed. “You deserve to know, since it's about us, and about you. We…were talking, and I was trying to understand why she was…saying things very similar to what you said about her last weekend: that she didn't trust you, that she was sure you didn't like her, that she felt you were operating with some ulterior motive, that…you were still…the old you, from before we met…”

“Okaaaay….?” Sunset frowned, the words already making the gears turn. Trying to pick apart a problem with logic and questions was very in line with how the dark haired girl handled things, but it could be a bit…invasive, if you weren't prepared. “So then what happened?”

“The conversation…went wrong. She started acting oddly, saying things that implied she was aware I like girls and was involved with you in more ways than just platonic companionship. She…came off as more concerned that I had potentially found myself in a relationship with someone who might be an abusive partner, and that her concern was for my well being. That she…wasn't trying to be unsupportive, just wanting to be a good friend, even if she didn't agree with what I was doing…”

The former bully sucked in a sharp breath, the scene unfolding before her with a crystal clarity that came from having done exactly what Twilight was describing to others in her own history. “She manipulated you into telling her we’re dating, didn't she? Made it seem like she already knew the secret, so you’d talk freely about it?” Anger bubbled and seethed in her chest, making her grip tighten on her girlfriend.

Twilight looked up at her and then away. “…yes…except the secret I spilled was not the one she was expecting—she made that abundantly clear.”

“…if she wasn’t expecting to hear that you and I are together…then what was she fishing for?” Sunset asked, confused.

Now it was Twilight’s turn to get angry. “She thought you were selling me drugs!” she exclaimed in a whisper-yell. “That the whole reason I’ve been less stressed in the last six months is that I’m smoking marijuana, supplied to me, by you!”

Sunset stared at her, before bursting into disbelieving laughter. “You can’t be serious,” she gasped, before taking in Twilight’s expression. “Oh sweet merciful sunfire, you are! She honestly thought—but that makes no sense! Even if she’s hearing rumors out of CHS, I took care of the drug pushers! It was one of the first things I did when I ran the student body—someone on drugs is a liability, and more loyal to their habit—and dealer—than to anything else!” Not to mention, while she ignored people who smoked pot, the concept of alchemical poisons being used to get high was something that ponies were taught early was dangerous to do because of unintended side effects. It was the entire reason she’d been banned from the greenhouse at CSGU, after a misfired growth spell, and an unfortunate combination of Dragonlands Embermoss and Abyssinian kra’dafii vines had ended with half of the Emerald Terrace of Upper West Canterlot being drugged out of their minds for the better part of three days.

Then the thought of her girlfriend doing drugs caught up and it sent her into another paroxysm of uncontrollable laughter. “And you! Does she even know you at all? Twilight Sparkle, smoking? You don't even like to take Tylenol without double checking the dosage!”

Sunset’s reaction seemed to do a lot to soothe Twilight’s ruffled feathers, enough that she made a little giggle snort of laughter. “Exactly! Even if she was assuming the worst about you, because she’s operating on hear-say, why would she assume that the only reasonable explanation for me being happy is drugs?” She sobered quickly and was soon back to frowning. “And her reaction when I admitted that we were together…”

Amber skinned hands rubbed up and down Twilight’s back lightly. “Less than stellar?” Sunset guessed.

“That’s…one way to describe it.” Twilight pressed closer, her hands worming under the leather of Sunset’s jacket to grip at the thick, warm material of the sweatshirt she was wearing. “I would call it a thinly veiled diatribe of bigotry masked as an expression of jokes and disbelief.”

Arching one eyebrow, Sunset commented, “That…sounds pretty bad when you say it that way.”

“She called you a rug-muncher,” Twilight told her bitterly. “And while it was you she targeted for name calling, it all applied to both of us, as derogatory slang used against women in relationships with one another.”

Rug-muncher? What in the name of Discord’s mismatched crabapples does that have to do with dating Twilight? Sunset frowned. “It sounds like a stupid insult from people not clever enough to come up with anything better—I’m not even sure what it's supposed to be insulting me about. It's not like I’m some kind of goat.”

Fingers rubbed over her side, sending pleasant tingles along her nerves even through her shirt. “It’s derogatory slang,” Twilight explained. “It is a somewhat dated, but offensive term that is meant to be a crude reference to someone performing cunnilingus—oral sex—on a woman, because of how our pubic hair grows.” She flushed under Sunset’s gaze. “It's used to denigrate lesbians because it carries the implication that the act is demeaning and the person performing it is deviant and unnatural.”

Humans and their fixation on sex, Sunset grumbled mentally. “So I was basically right—it's a stupid insult created by people who aren't clever enough to actually come up with a real insult to use on me.” She kissed Twilight’s forehead affectionately. “You don't need to worry about me being upset by it—it's just silly, empty words that mean nothing to me, Sparky…but I’m sorry that you had to put up with that kind of ugliness from someone who is supposed to be your friend.”

Twilight made a frustrated sound. “Even if it doesn’t upset you, that doesn’t make it okay that she thought she could use that kind of bigoted language and I…wouldn't care? Wouldn't view it as also applying to me?” She shook her head. “Like, because she perceives you as being on a lower social strata, it’s okay to say those kinds of things, whereas with me, she treated it the same way some of my relatives talk about queer relationships, as if it's some kind of ‘experimentation’ that goes on in high school and college, before you decide to ‘settle down with a suitable husband.’ Like she didn’t view you as human in the same way she views herself or me.”

The obvious joke about her not being human flitted through her mind, but she forced her laughter down in favor of the rest of what Twilight was saying. It was a problem Sunset could understand. Classism was classism, regardless of species. “Classism is like that, Twilight. Those who have something they use to measure success or quality socially using it to put those who don't have that thing into a place they perceive as beneath them. At that point, it's not even about who you date or what kind of things you find attractive in a partner; it's about the perception of who has and who doesn't. If I had to guess, because I go to public school and don't wear designer labels, she's decided to classify me as one of those who doesn't. She’s not the first, and she won't be the last.” She squeezed her in a hug. “Which makes me wonder, is she against our relationship because we’re both female, or because I’m Sunset Shimmer?”

“Probably a mixture of both,” her girlfriend responded with a sour, frustrated tone. “She’s made comments before…and she’s not shy about her belief that a boy’s personality is not something she considers worth noticing, only how much money he has and if he’s…” The dark haired teen flushed and squirmed in discomfort. “…uh…hung like…well…you know.”

Sunset blew air out her nostrils in a derisive snort. Rainbow had made the same joke at her once, and she responded with the same sarcastic remark now as then. “Spoken like someone who has never been in the same room with a stallion.”

The younger girl blinked at her in brief confusion before her brain made the connection, and she had to let go of Sunset in order to plaster a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter. “Oh…oh…I never thought of it like that but—oh that’s horrible, Sunny!”

One eyebrow arched upwards and Sunset smirked. “I’m not wrong though.” She was fairly certain she wasn't, as she’d passed her various Biology courses in CSGU—a requirement for anypony taking greater than beginner alchemy or medicine classes—and while they were ugly as an inbred diamond dog, human world horses had enough physiological similarities to her own species that it was comparable in this instance.

“You are not,” Twilight agreed.

The pair of them shared a few more giggles, and Sunset was glad to see that Twilight seemed to be in an okay mood despite the heavy conversation. “…Wallflower still goes to your school though—are you going to be okay there with her?” Another thought intruded. “This isn't what happened that has your mom and dad so upset, is it? Did Wallflower tell people?”

Her girlfriend shook her head. “No. For all that she was…spewing unpleasantness, she got very upset at the idea that she might use the information against me.” She fiddled with the collar of Sunset’s jacket. “Mom and Dad don't even know about the conversation with Wallflower…for obvious reasons….but I did talk to Dr. Soft-spoken about it. About my plans going forward to set some non-negotiable boundaries with Wallflower. She’s allowed her opinions, but there are a few subjects where she and I are going to have to agree to disagree, and I don't want her pushing me on it.”

Trying not to sound too hopeful, Sunset cleared her throat. “…like me?”

“Yes, like you. If she is unwilling to believe you have changed, that's her prerogative, but I don't want to hear her telling me how I need to worry about your ulterior motives, and how you're using me to get something.” Twilight leaned up and kissed Sunset, a featherlight brush of their lips together. “As far as I'm concerned, the only ulterior motive here is getting you to kiss me more, and I’m the one with that motive.”

“I don't consider that an ulterior motive, nerd,” Sunset growled back at her, chasing the too-brief kiss with one of her own that was much more satisfying in duration. “That's a mutual motivation. If there's an ulterior motive here, it's eating your mom’s cooking.”

Twilight grinned, her fingers tangling in fiery curls, as Sunset pressed their foreheads together. “I think that’s also acceptable. Mom’s a really good cook, so I can forgive you for wanting to find excuses to eat here.”

Sunset flashed her an impish grin. “That’s good, because she made her chowder tonight, and we all know that's one of my favorites.”

More laughter warmed her insides, as did the feeling of those hands in her hair. “I swear,” the dark haired girl in her lap said with obvious affection, “Mom has made every single one of your favorites over the last two days. I hope that your freezer is empty because she plans on packing it full of all kinds of homemade meals for you—she even went and bought a new set of containers to package them in.”

Internal alarms were going off in Sunset’s mind now, but it just didn't add up. Mrs. Velvet’s go-to when she was upset was to retreat to the kitchen—a place in the house that was unquestionably her domain—where she would bake or cook. She’d explained it once as ‘making food for people was a way to express her emotions.’ However, the fact that she was concentrating on Sunset’s favorite foods and not Twilight’s over the past few days made no sense.

It couldn't be because of the Wallflower incidents, because her fight with Twilight had been a week ago, and the incident they'd just discussed was something her girlfriend hadn't even mentioned to them….and both parents had alluded to something happening to Twilight —or at least, involving her—that had left the other girl struggling to cope and both parents visibly stressed and exhausted…and feeling guilty that they hadn’t contacted Sunset.

Plus she had felt dark magic in the house and destroyed it, part of her mind reminded her firmly.

So what had happened?

“Sparky…” she said slowly, taking the time to examine Twilight’s essence much more thoroughly than the brief once over she’d given her the moment she walked into the bedroom, hunting for any hint of dark magic—something she should have done from the start if she hadn't been so focused on kissing the girl who had bolted into her arms. “What happened this week that you haven't told me? Your parents said something happened, but that it was your place to tell me, not theirs….after they gave me this big apologetic speech about not contacting me on your request. They looked exhausted and so do you, and now you tell me your mom has been cooking like crazy…except she is making my favorites not yours…”

The unease in the pit of her stomach only grew when Twilight tensed and refused to look her in the eyes. Instead, the other teen mumbled something incoherent that Sunset couldn't decipher.

“…Sparky?” the former unicorn prompted her with a little more urgency. “…you're starting to scare me. What is it?” Ice began to form in her veins, a chilling cold that spread from her core outwards and made it harder to breathe. There weren't too many subjects humans were this avoidant about, and fewer still that Twilight would balk at telling her….which meant the ones that remained were dire.

Anything else she’d intended to say was forgotten as the air was forced from her lungs in a grunt, as Twilight twisted in her lap to lunge forward and wrap arms around her with all the swiftness of a striking cobra, grip tight enough that for a second it felt like she was being hugged by Pinkie and not Twilight Sparkle, since only Pinkie and AJ could make her ribs feel actively compressed. She looked down, only able to barely see more than the dark hair in its messy ponytail, but from the way hot breath was soaking into her sweatshirt, it seemed like Twilight was trying to hide in her chest, an unintelligible mumbling coming from just above Sunset’s navel.

Whatever it was, it had to be bad.

Attempting to bring them both a little comfort, she started rubbing circles on Twilight’s back. “…hey,” she murmured, putting as much warmth and affection—and a little gentle teasing—into her voice as she could. “…I know you were just waxing poetic a bit ago about how awesome I am—” And by the moon, wasn't that a flattering thing for her ego! “—but, while I admit I have many talents, hearing through my belly button is not one of them. Can you come up here for a bit to tell me? I promise that the rest of me is just as good for cuddling after a bad week. We’ve tested it, remember?”

She kept up the gentle touch and even started to hum ‘Shine Like Rainbows’ softly as she waited for her girlfriend’s response, unsure of what else to do to reassure either of them. After a minute, something the thought might have been a childish “Don't want to…” came from the girl clinging to her like a limpet. Either that or it was perhaps a particularly nasty curse in the old form of Yakyakistani’s mountain dialect that used to be shared with the now extinct musk-ox that once shared their range. Sunset was willing to wager that the first was more likely, all things considered.

“Still can't hear through my stomach, Twilight,” she pointed out.

Twilight sighed and raised her head up from her hiding spot just enough for Sunset to make out her next words. “…it’s comfy here and if I move I have to tell you…and it's awful, and embarrassing, and I don't know how it's ever going to get better!”

Sunset pressed a kiss to dark hair. “No matter how awful it is, I’m not going anywhere, Twilight Sparkle. You're stuck with me, especially after all the ways you’ve managed to sneak in friendship speeches about the enduring and powerful nature of being someone’s best friend.” She did feel some of the cold ebb—embarrassing was not the word she would use for anything that was dangerously permanent or devastating, so the worst case scenarios were off the table at least. “Besides…it can't be worse than anything you’ve heard from me, right? Between blowing up the front of my school, being a horrible bully, and all of the horrible stuff about my past…unless you're planning on world domination or some mad scientist scheme to blow up your school, you’d still be coming out on top.”

Another whining sound and Twilight mumbled something else she couldn't make out. Part of that might have been from the distracting pressure of having Twilight’s face wedged between her breasts though. “Seriously, Sparky, it can't be that bad…just tell me?”

Finally, the younger girl lifted her head. “…I got suspended…” she mumbled, still unwilling to meet Sunset’s eyes.

The redhead was fairly convinced that the sound of her entire train of thought leaping free of the rails and careening into a cliff face with an earth-shattering KABOOM! must have been audible in the real world. She stared blankly at Twilight, struggling to wrap her brain around the words she’d just heard.

Letting her head rest against Sunset again, although this time she turned it so that she could be understood, Twilight closed her eyes. “I…got suspended…until Monday…” She hesitated, then seemed to force the rest out in a rush before she could stop herself, “Or at least, it's supposed to be until Monday, but it could be longer because now it's a big legal mess, and Mom and Dad called Great-Uncle Stalwart and the family lawyers are involved and investigating and its a huge mess, and I cant really afford to miss all this school! I don't know what I’m going to do—I know I’m a month ahead in all my classes but I can't fall behind in my project and I really just want to forget it all happened and go back to school like normal!”

Sunset gave herself a mental shake, and said the first thing that came to mind. “What did you do to warrant all that, Sparky? Don't tell me you actually managed to blow up your school.” Then she proceeded to want to kick herself for the lack of brain to mouth filter. Way to go, Shimmer, she told herself. Not going to make her feel any better with that one! Stop acting like Rainbow and remember you have more than three brain cells to rub together!

Twilight winced. “…no…I…um…” Her voice got even quieter. At this point, it was reaching Fluttershy levels of quiet, and Sunset was actually glad she’d gotten used to deciphering her friend’s near inaudible whispers. “…I…beat up a senior…”

For a second, the former unicorn thought she had completely misheard. “You…beat up a senior?” she asked. When Twilight simply nodded, staying tucked as close to Sunset as possible, all of the disparate puzzle pieces started slotting into place in her mind. The agitation from the adults. Twilight wanting to cope without her but her parents really wanting to call Sunset. Velvet making Sunset’s favorite foods. The level of violence required for Twilight to classify her actions as ‘beating someone up’, and the circumstances under which the anxious bookworm of a girl would feel compelled to respond that way. The techniques Sunset had taught her meant to inflict damage against a larger, stronger opponent… The way Twilight didn't want to talk about it while simultaneously trying to crawl inside Sunset’s skin. The fact that she was suspended over the incident…

It was all adding up to a very unpleasant image, and she began to check her girlfriend over with eyes and frantic hands “What happened? What did he do? Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Because I swear by the sun, moon, and stars, if he did, there is no hole in the deepest pits of Tartarus that he can hide in—I will find him and—”

Her threat was swallowed by a kiss, and she froze, going from burning with anger to a different kind of warmth. “I’m…unharmed, Sunny,” Twilight told her. “He didn't get that far before I stopped him—he grabbed my arm, that’s all.”

Sunset searched Twilight’s face, at purple eyes that were finally willing to meet hers. “You’re sure? You’re not…trying to spare me the details or anything, are you?”

The smaller girl shook her head. “I promise, Sunny. It got to me emotionally and mentally more than physically. Whatever he intended when he grabbed my arm, he never got the chance.” Her cheeks flushed. “…actually…I feel kind of…bad. Like I went too far. Mom threw my uniform out because it had blood all over the front…”

“Blood!?”

“None of it was mine, Sunny…” She bit her lip. “I think I gave him a nosebleed. Or scratched him really badly.”

Grim satisfaction welled up inside her along with pride in her girlfriend. She also felt vindicated in her decision to teach Twilight to defend herself—all of that training had been used twice now to fend off older, larger, stronger opponents. “So you managed to not just fend off a senior boy, but completely win in the fight and leave him bleeding?” Sunset hugged her tight. “I knew you had it in you, Sparky, and now you know it too. I’m proud of you.”

Then she mulled the situation over in her mind again. “There’s just one thing I don't understand….why are you suspended for defending yourself against a boy probably twice your size? Why would you be in trouble for that!? Is there like some weird policy in Crystal Prep that makes them punish everyone or something!?” Sunset didn't like that thought. It was too close to what used to get done to her at CSGU when the other foals would set her up.

Twilight made a distressed whining sound in her throat. “I don't know,” she told Sunset, “but it's why my dad called the head of the family, and it's why the family lawyers are involved, because all the money that goes into my tuition at CPA comes out of a family educational trust. And Great-Uncle Stalwart used to be a judge, so he’s really familiar with the law and he’s apparently angry…” She buried her face back into Sunset’s shirt, her rambling voice growing muffled again. “…and I know it probably sounds silly, but I don't want to miss school. I just want it all to go away so I can go back to school and do my schoolwork.”

The former unicorn hugged her tighter, pressing her cheek to dark hair. “I’m sorry, Sparky…” she said softly. “I wish I knew how to help…” She really did, because the tired strain in Twilight’s voice hurt to hear, and she wished she was able to make her girlfriend feel better.

The voice mumbled into her shirt sounded even more strained and was definitely pitched up several notches as Twilight’s anxiety spiked. “This is going to end up on my permanent record,” she whimpered. “Colleges will see it in my transcripts—what if it means I can't get into a good school? And if I end up having to transfer, how is that going to look? They’ll think I couldn't handle the high stress environment of an academically intense school…”

Brows pinched together. “I don't think it will, Twilight. Be on your record permanently, I mean.” Her hand idly returned to rubbing Twilight’s back. “It…I dunno. It sounds more like upper class politicking than anything, and if your great-uncle knows law, and the lawyers your family pays think there's a reason to fight against the school, then…chances are it's your school posturing to keep it quiet. After all,” she wrinkled her nose, thinking of similar events in Equestria, “what would the papers say if they found out some darling heir to a family fortune was in trouble for assaulting a minor—you said he was a senior, right? So there’s pretty good odds he’s already considered a legal adult by age. Maybe you should wait to see how this all shakes out before you worry yourself sick, okay?”

“But…what if it does go on my record?”

Sunset snorted. “So what if it does? Do colleges really care about that? Or are they going to care that Twilight Sparkle, genius girl who is going to change the world, wants to go to their campus for an education?” She coaxed Twilight into looking up at her, and caught the hint of a smile starting to turn the corners of her mouth up. “At that point, any school that doesn't want you because you protected yourself isn't worth your time, Sparky. You're too smart to settle for some place that judgmental.”

Twilight sniffled a little, but she sounded a little better. “Why do you always seem to know what to say to make me feel better?” she asked.

Laughing, Sunset flopped backwards on the bed so they were laying sprawled out together. “Fairly certain that's my job, both as best friend and girlfriend. Besides, I like seeing you smile. Makes me happy to see you happy.”

The lavender skinned girl shifted so she was hovering over Sunset, propped up on her elbows. “You're sweet,” she said, eyes bright. “How much longer do you think we have before dinner?”

Not as long as she wished they had, that was for certain. “Don't know. Long enough for you to do what you're thinking?” Sunset offered cheekily.

Giggling, her girlfriend leaned in to kiss her. “Sunny, we wouldn't have that long if we had a whole week alone to ourselves…”

“Guess we’ll just have to pick one thing then.” Sunset grinned. “How’s kissing sound?”

“…it sounds…like an excellent suggestion.”

And an excellent distraction for them both, Sunset decided a few minutes later as she found herself squirming while Twilight nibbled on her ear. She knew, in a distant sense, that she should be focusing on how these recent events tied in with the source of her visions and the dark magic she kept encountering trying to latch on to Twilight and her family, but she didn't have any real way to search or ask for more information that wouldn’t make them think her insane…not without the girls to help…which Twilight was not ready for, and she herself wasn't ready for. As much as she loved her friends, the phrase “human Twilight Sparkle” would be the extent of what they heard before stampeding to meet her…and some of them weren’t always the picture of tact. Like Rainbow. Or Pinkie. Or even Fluttershy sometimes. Plus, while she knew they wouldn't do so on purpose, the potential for subconscious expectations was high, and her girlfriend was very much not the princess.

Sunset shook herself out of those musings by flipping them over on the bed so she was on top of Twilight and able to latch her mouth onto the sensitive spot on that pretty neck that made Twilight make that cute little whimper that she loved to hear. “I missed you,” she growled against Twilight’s ear, nipping at it. “My week sucked…not as bad as yours…but I missed talking to you…those little messages? Morning and night? They make everything so much better…”

“Sunny…” Twilight gasped, fingers digging into her shoulders.

The sudden rapping on the bedroom door made them jump, and Sunset almost fell off the bed, flailing her arms wildly. Twilight hurriedly straightened her top. “C-come in…” she called, managing to sound like she hadn't been kissed senseless not thirty seconds before.

Cadence poked her head in. “It's just me, girls, no need to panic. I was sent up to tell you it's dinnertime.” She winked. “Don't forget to give yourselves a once over in the mirror before you come down—unless you want everyone to know that you were having your own Valentine’s Day celebration up here…”

Sunset flushed, adjusting the collar of her sweatshirt that had been tugged and twisted in weird ways under her girlfriend’s eager hands. “We’ll do that…thanks, Cadence.”

“Happy to help!” the pink skinned woman responded brightly. “Although, Ladybug?”

“Y-yes?”

“If you want to keep this a secret, maybe don't leave a hickey on Sunset’s neck the size of a silver dollar—nobody is going to believe that's a bug bite.”

*gleeful cackling* I've been waiting excitedly for this and the next few chapters, hee hee. I think you're all going to like them.

So yeah. They talk. Sunset is not happy about the Wallflower thing. Do you blame her?

Then again, its not like she's impressed either.

The drug thing was something we chatted about behind the scenes. We figured that first of all, horses...actually have extremely efficient livers--they are way better at filtering alcohol than us humans--and Equestrian ponies, while...fun loving and enthusiastic...don't seem driven to the kinds of self destructive excess you see humans engage in so readily. So while they do have all manner of chemical concoctions meant to do different things (including alchemical poisons, medicines, and even anesthesia), the concept of the ponies being driven to refine and create poisons that get you high...felt...unlikely.

That doesnt mean they dont have things like weed, or magic mushrooms, or other magical variants of recreational drugs...it just means they probably didn't go invent crystal meth or crack or heroin for getting high. And with the way we've designed the "standards" for ethics and practices in the more complex magical fields, including alchemy/apothecaries, anyone doing shady shit is going to be facing some kind of inquiry if they get caught. And large scale drug ops are not the kind of thing to go unnoticed.

Couple that with Evil Sunset's need to be in control, and we decided that she would have driven out all the nastier parts of the school first. Drug pushers/dealers, other bullies, that sort of thing, would have been the first to go, and she would have wanted them gone for good. So setting them up to get arrested/expelled would have been on her initial agenda.

Anyway.

Hope everyone liked the chapter!