Sunset was feeling good…she was in her old body again, properly on four hooves and with her horn and magic again, instead of the awkward, noodley monkey body with permanently over-sized teats in the wrong spot. She was also warm and more comfortable than she’d been since she was a filly.

She was back in her room in the castle, laying in bed…but she was not alone, and that sent a thrill through her, all the way down her tail. Curled up against her, back pressing to her barrel, was a slim but attractive unicorn mare, sleeping soundly. Blue-green eyes roamed over the mare, and Sunset felt a pleased nicker burble in her throat—this mare was no model, but she interested Sunset in all the right ways.

Shifting, Sunset moved closer, draping her foreleg around the other body, resting her neck and muzzle against the mare’s, inhaling and drinking in her scent, even as she let her gaze wander again, realizing that many of the details were hard to make out on her companion. As she nuzzled into the soft, dark mane, the mare let out a sleepy, contented sigh.

For a time she struggled to discern more detail, but eventually the amber colored unicorn stopped trying, contenting herself with just enjoying the moment for as long as it lasted. After spending so much time in the human world, after years of shunning close contact and after being exiled from her homeland possibly for the rest of her life, the likelihood of her ever finding a mare who would spend time with her was slim to none.

She sighed again, inhaling the slightest scent of honeysuckle from the body tucked up to her, when her bedmate decided to change positions. The other mare rolled over until she was facing Sunset, shifting herself even closer.

Sunset closed her eyes again, bringing her head forward to brush her cheek against the mare’s in a nuzzle of affection. She was rewarded by the sensation of fingers dragging through her mane, nails lightly scritching along her scalp and neck. It made her coat ripple with pleasure, the feeling as delightful as it was alien; even when she’d put on the show of dating Flash, she’d never allowed any form of intimate touch like this. A soft murmur escaped her lips and Sunset moved a little, relenting as that touch tugged her head down to rest on her companion’s chest, the flesh warm and communicating the slow and steady beating of the other’s heart.

It was nice, Sunset realized, being held this way, relaxing against the warmth and being surrounded by the light, floral scent. It soothed something in her, something she couldn’t quite define, her muzzle sinking slightly into soft breasts that rose and fell with every breath their owner took. Her forelimb tightened around the other female’s waist; in response, long legs tangled with her hind limbs, knobby knees are pressing against her hocks.

She could feel the tug of the waking world all too soon, not wanting this to end, desperately longing to stay in this embrace and be happy. With a whine, she turned away from the sunlight tapping on her eyelids, choosing to hide her face in the body holding her.

It didn’t work, as awareness of her surroundings made the dream dissolve, Canterlot castle being replaced by the sounds of the human world, of a car driving by outside, of the sound of a TV elsewhere in the building, of the jangling of a dog collar nearby. Sunset whined again, waiting for the arms holding her to disappear…

Except they didn’t, and after several minutes of waiting, Sunset forced her eyes to open and found her face pressed into t-shirt material. Eyes slowly traced a path upwards, falling on Twilight’s sleeping face, and the logic that the dream had been lacking suddenly came into sharp relief as her mind cleared away the fog.

Oh horseapples. Sunset Shimmer had woken up with her face buried in Twilight Sparkle’s breasts, and worse yet, her still sleeping friend had tangled fingers in her hair and was hugging Sunset to her like a child did a plush toy. Trying to extricate herself and save them both embarrassment would likely wake Twilight up. I don’t want to do that. She looks like shes actually getting some good sleep. Besides, this is kind of nice.

A cold spike stabbed through her—what was wrong with her? Finding herself in a compromising position with the first and only person to want to be her friend, and she felt it was nice?! Okay Shimmer, you need to wake up, because that dream seriously messed with your head. The mare was cute and it was nice for a fantasy, but letting it get out of hand is going to screw things up! No matter how soft and warm— Sunset mentally slapped herself. She couldn’t be thinking that way—not about one of the only people in her life who didn’t look at her like she would turn on them at any moment.

Sunset frowned, her face still nestled comfortably against Twilight. This wasn't right at all—despite their current forms, they weren’t the same species. Sunset did not find humans appealing, and she was pretty certain that Twilight would feel the same about ponies. This was all clearly the dream affecting her subconscious, nothing more. It couldn’t be more than that.

—Who are you trying to convince?— a small part of her whispered. —Because for all of that, you’re still perfectly happy right like this.—

Her mind rebelled from the thoughts, intent on shoving them down and away. She wasn’t moving because she didn’t know if she could without waking the dark haired girl, not because she was developing some form of attraction to hairless primates.

—You’re going to be pretty lonely if you keep that attitude,— the traitor voice pointed out. —Besides, even for a human, Sparky is cute.—

Nope. That train of thought could stop right at the station.

—If you really wanted to stop this line of thinking, you could. You’re quite literally arguing with yourself.—

Stupid, traitorous little voice. What did it know? This whole thing was ridiculous and stupid. A heavy sigh escaped the trapped redhead as she squelched the voice viciously.

Time seemed to crawl, giving Sunset ample chance to be acutely aware of everything about her predicament. Painfully, acutely, intensely aware of every tiny detail: the soft texture of the hair tickling her forehead from Twilight’s ponytail, the scent of honeysuckle flowers that reminded her of early summer picnics with the princess, the warmth of the blankets draped over them, the legs tangled with hers that occasionally moved, the feeling of fingers pressing to her scalp through her thick mane of hair, even the slight tingling of pins and needles in the arm trapped under both of them.

The clock she could barely see told her it had been a good twenty minutes—it had felt like hours she’d been laying there, hearing Twilight’s slow and steady heartbeat, feeling her shift with every breath—before the other girl began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open, and, finding her vision filled with red and gold hair, glanced down. Her expression was puzzled as Sunset grunted out, “Morning.”

Then her brain seemed to catch up and she hurriedly let go, looking absolutely mortified. “Sunset, oh my god! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize—I was asleep, and I swear, I didn’t mean to—”

Rolling onto her back to put a few more inches between them, Sunset stretched like a cat, her back popping. “It’s fine,” she assured with a loose hand wave. “We were asleep. Don’t worry about it.”

“But I was holding onto you, and putting you in an uncomfortable position.” Purple eyes were a little vague, and Twilight’s breathing was picking up as panic and anxiety built up. “It was totally inappropriate and I’m so sorry, and I don’t know why you didn’t wake me and please don’t—”

“Twilight!” Sunset hissed firmly, rolling back to her side and propping herself up on one elbow. “Look at me.” She caught Twilight’s eyes with her own, and when she was sure the dark haired teen wouldn’t look away, she took several slow, deep, and deliberate breaths. To her surprise, Twilight copied her breathing; she filed that away for later in case it was ever needed. Her voice softened to the same firm but gentle tone she’d used when she’d led Twilight to her apartment the first night. “I’m not upset. I’m not mad. We were both asleep. For all we know, I could’ve latched onto you first. It’s okay, Sparky.” She tried smiling, an unsure but genuine thing that sat lopsided on her lips.

The lavender skinned girl nodded slowly, reaching up to fix the glasses that she’d fallen asleep wearing. Her breathing continued to even out, and after a minute or two, she nodded again. “…Okay…” Then her face scrunched up. “…Sparky?”

Sunset flushed, realizing she’d unintentionally used the name that the stupid little voice had used earlier. “Oh…Uh…nickname? I…if you don’t like it, I won’t use it.”

Twilight thought about it. “No one’s ever called me that before, is all. My family calls me Twily, and so does my oldest friend, but most everyone else calls me Twilight. Or ‘Miss Sparkle’ but that one is mostly teachers.” The last of the mortification from the awkward wake-up drained away when she gave one of those beaming smiles to Sunset. “I like it.”

Laughing, the former unicorn reached out and mussed Twilight’s hair further. “Sparky it is, then.” Then she sat up, running that same hand through her wild bed head, glancing at the empty container on the nightstand. “…Seems your nightmare remedy worked. I had some…odd dreams, but no nightmares. That was the best sleep I’ve gotten since before the dance…Thanks.”

“Talking about them helped me too…” The girls exchanged shy smiles. “…So you said weekly lessons in self defense? What supplies will I need?”

Sliding out of the bed, Sunset stretched again, her joints popping pleasantly. The burning in her bones was finally gone, and she could do some easy stretching to shake the last, lingering stiffness from her body. “Comfortable clothing that you can move in, but nothing too loose. I recommend pants unless you want me to become intimately acquainted with the details of your underwear,” Sunset quipped. Twilight’s eyes went wide, her entire face flushing, and the sight made Sunset burst into laughter.

“Sunset!” Twilight proceeded to beat her with a pillow, scolding her in a slightly strained voice.

When the pillow fight ended, Sunset looked up from where she was sprawled on the ground. “Can I borrow your shower? I still have that meeting in a few hours and I don’t want to look like I got dragged behind my own bike through a chicken coop.” Fingers pulled a feather from her locks. “Also, your pillow has a hole in it.”

Posting a bit early this week since I'll be away from a computer for the week's end. And a double post, because these two chapters, while important, are kiiiinda short compared to most of the others.

This is also that first chapter where I start delving into the psychology of Sunset not-being-human in a huge way. Different culture, different physiology and anatomy, different social behaviors, different dietary tendencies, different gender ratio, difference in sexual dimorphism, for all there is a bunch about pony society that is recognizable to us as humans in the show, they aren't human, they aren't bipeds, and as much as our girl here is in a human body, at the end of the day...she's not human. She's playing at being human, and I took a lot of time and thought to consider what that would mean in the context of the history, character, and story so far. Hopefully, y'all will enjoy the ride.