Limits

“Duuuuude! There you are!” Came the voice of one of Spectrum’s friends, Skyward Soar as he and another student came over to him, “We’ve been lookin’ for ya! We were thinking of hitting up the arcade after school! You in?”

“Uh, nah,” Spectrum said, shoving his books back into his locker and exhaling harshly, “I’m exhausted. Think I’m gonna go home and have a nap.”

“Aw come on, man,” Grounder pouted, “Don’t leave us hanging, now!”

“Grounder, you’re just gonna do what you always do,” Spectrum sighed, “You’re gonna blow all your money on that chance machine, then bitch for hours about it being rigged. Besides, my Mom’s coming home from the hospital this weekend, so I wanna be awake to see her this time.”

“She’s still in there?” Skyward Soar asked in bewilderment.

“No, not like when I was little. She got really sick last month,” Spectrum said, waving it off, “She’s getting better, so nothing to worry about.”

Skyward Soar whistled, “Shit, man. That sucks. Well hey, it’s your Mom, guess we can always go next time or something.”

“Thanks,” Spectrum yawned, “My Aunt’s coming to pick me up soon. I got some time if you guys wanted to shoot the shit.”

“Wait, which Aunt? You got like, that hot twin sister Aunt of your Mom’s and then all your Moms’ friends!” Grounder asked.

“Twin sister? Cielle’s Mom’s girlfriend,” Spectrum said in confusion, “Aunt Twilight’s picking me up.”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle?!” Both his friends shouted in unison.

“You mean Sunrise Sparkle’s Mom?!” Skyward Soar exclaimed, “Whoa, man! That’s crazy!”

“How’s it crazy?” Spectrum asked, “Aunt Twilight’s really nice.”

“It’s not that man, it’s that you got the hottest girl in school’s own Mom, who’s also pretty hot at her age and a Princess coming to pick you you up!” Grounder said, wide-eyed, “Whoa! You’re lucky, dude!”

“It’s just a ride home,” Spectrum shrugged, “Aunt Ascentia picked me up yesterday and nobody made a fuss about it then.”

“Still, man, that’s pretty awesome!” Skyward Soar clapped him on the back, “You got some awesome connections!”

“Connections? She’s family, not a connection,” Spectrum scoffed, “Next you’re gonna be telling me that Sunrise is a really big deal.”

“Uh, dude, she totally is! A Princess AND the hottest girl in school?! How is that not a big deal?” Grounder snorted.

Spectrum shrugged, “I guess I’ve known her too long. We’ve been like brother and sister for as long as I can remember.”

Now both his friends stared at him with widened eyes and slacked jaws.

“Say what?! You never told us that!” Said Grounder.

“No kidding,” Skyward gaped, “You and Sunrise Sparkle are friends?!”

“Yeah,” Spectrum said matter of factly, “We’ve been friends since we were really little. Mom keeps telling me about this time she kept standing on my head when I was a baby.”

Both his friends burst into laughing, slapping each other’s knees.

“Dude, that’s way awesome!” Skyward snickered, “You and Sunrise Sparkle, who’d have thunk it?”

“People know we’re friends,” Spectrum shrugged, “You must have seen us leaving school together every day since Kindergarten.”

Grounder shrugged, “Dude, who even remembers those days?”

Spectrum shrugged and then lurched forward as something tall smacked into his back, wrapping it’s arms around his waist in a tight hug.

“Oof… hi Sunny,” he groaned.

“Heya, Speccy! Come on, Mom’s waiting outside!” Sunrise said eagerly, grinning.

Spectrum reached back and hugged her as best he could, “Alright, I’ll just be a second. Chatting with the guys, won’t be long.”

At this, Skyward Soar and Grounder were slack-jawed yet again with absolute disbelief. They glanced at each other, then at Spectrum and Sunrise again, speechless.

“Okay, honey bunch! I’ll be at the front of the school!” Sunrise planted a kiss on his cheek before she then headed off down the hallway.

Spectrum waved as she left, turning back and seeing his friends looking dumbfounded, “What?”

“Dude… She’s totally into you!” Grounder exclaimed.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Spectrum asked.

“You serious?” Skyward said with a frown, “Dude, did you not see the way she was hanging off you, giving you those eyes and then kissing you like that? I don’t know if you missed the memo, but chicks like her don’t kiss just anybody! Best friend or not!”

“She does that all the time, ever since we were five,” Spectrum said, waving him off, “Honestly, I always thought Sunny was like her mothers and preferred women.”

“Dude, chicks like her totally don’t do the gay thing, trust me!”

“What’ya mean chicks like her?” Spectrum asked, getting increasingly annoyed by his friends.

“Never mind, man,” Grounder brought an arm around his shoulders, “Point is, she wants you! She’d bend over for you if you asked her to!”

Spectrum shook out of Grounder’s grip, “Dude! Not funny. Sunrise isn’t like that, and she sure as hell doesn’t want me that way. We’re friends, we’ve always been friends. Like… Kim Possible and Ron Sto-okay, bad example. Point is, there’s nothing else between us. Trust me.”

Both boys exchanged glances then laughed.

“Yeah right, dude!”

“Come back in a week and tell us that same thing!”

Spectrum scoffed and turned around, “I’ll see you nutcases later.”

He strode off, meeting Sunrise at the car and getting into the back seat, sighing in exasperation.

“Sunny, I hate my friends. Can we trade?”

Sunrise snickered, “Are you kidding me? My friends are pretty sucky, too! Better idea, let’s set up our friends and then they’ll be too busy dating to bother us!”

“I don’t think that’ll work,” Spectrum said flatly, “My friends have all the charisma of a truck. Yours would have to be pretty loose to date them.”

“Trust me, honey bunch, they’ll do anyone with a dick,” Sunrise made a face, “They’re so desperate for boyfriends, it’s not even funny.”

“Sunrise!” Twilight scolded from the driver’s seat, “What did I tell you about that kind of language?”

Spectrum chuckled, “They’re cheerleaders, why would they be desperate?”

“Sorry, Ma,” Sunrise pouted, then looked back at her friend, “Trust me, they are. Every day, it’s boys boys boys boys boys and more boys! I just want them to get boyfriends so they’ll shut up, then get dumped, and realize some reality of the dating world!”

“Yeah, but why do they have to even try? They’re cheerleaders, they could have anyone they wanted,” Spectrum laughed, “Then again, every guy in school keeps talking about you so I guess they’re all in your shadow.”

“Urgh, I know! And I hate it!” Sunrise sighed, “I mean, some teachers even called me Princess Sunrise! I know it’s my legal name and all, but come ON! It just sucks! I’m not even really that hot! So what’s the big deal with me? I don’t get it!”

Spectrum leaned over and hugged her, “Aw, don’t sell yourself short, Sunny. You’re a beautiful girl. Most of the guys are just horny losers, they’re harmless. Might wanna start carrying some mace anyway, though.”

“Don’t worry, Ma made sure of that,” Sunrise pulled out a can of mace from her bag, “Thing is, it just sucks because I never know who I can trust. You’re, like, the only real friend I have, Speccy. Everyone else is either too scared to talk to me, hits on me, or wants to be popular ‘cause they know me.”

Spectrum smiled and kissed the top of her head, “Love you too, Sunny.”

Blushing a bit, Sunrise grinned, “Good to know, Speccy!”

Twilight was watching them in the rearview mirror with a big goofy grin on her face, three times nearly swerving off the road because of how distracted she was. Dropping the two off at Spectrum’s house, they went inside to find it empty.

“Here’s a note from Scootaloo,” Spectrum said, “‘Dear Spec, went to pick up Mom. Be back tonight.’ Looks like we have the house to ourselves.”

“Oh, that’s right! She’s finally better!” Sunrise grinned, “That’s good to know.”

Spectrum flopped down on the couch, sighing comfortably, “So what’dya wanna do?”

Sunrise giggled, “Oh, I don’t know… it’ll probably be a while before they get back, eh?”

“Yeah, six hours or so,” Spectrum said, leaning back and closing his eyes, “Why?”

“Why? It means we can do what we please!” Sunrise winked, sitting on the couch and scooting close to him.

Spectrum sat up, “Have anything in mind?”

“Uh, hello?” Sunrise gave him a look, “We’re two teenagers, alone in one of our homes with our parents and siblings, if any, gone for a long while.”

“Yeah? And?” Spectrum asked, looking confused.

“And? And?” Sunrise advanced on him, “I might have a few….ideas, Speccy.”

“Well… what are they?” Spectrum asked, becoming increasingly confused.

Sunrise snorted, then stood up, “Let’s go to your room, silly. It’ll be more comfortable on your bed.”

Spectrum sighed and stood up, following her, “What will be more comfortable?”

“What do two people usually do on a bed together?” Sunrise said, “Aside from sleeping or cuddling!”

“We used to jump on ours a lot,” Spectrum shrugged, “We might break it if we tried that, though.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sunrise pulled him into his room and shut the door, “Uh, hello? That’s not what I meant, either! All right, I’m gonna make it a bit clearer. It’s what your Moms, sometimes with Aunt Cielle, do together in their bedroom!”

Spectrum thought for a moment, and Sunrise could have sworn she heard the Jeopardy theme playing in the distance, “...I’m totally lost, Sunny.”

“Hello?! How can you be lost?!” Sunrise uttered, groaning. She turned around, bending over to present her rear, “I’m talking about sex!”

Spectrum balked, standing there with his eyebrows raised and a dumbfounded look on his face, “...What the… are you serious?”

“Yes!” Sunrise stood back up, “Come on, please? I’ve wanted this since puberty! ...Actually, I’m kinda lying, it’s not just that. I want you, Spectrum! All those guys in school, hitting on me? No thanks! I want you! You! You’re my best friend and the only guy who understands and cares about me. I dated that guy last year to try to get over you! But it didn’t work. I just wanted you even more! Call me crazy, but it’s true! I love you, Speccy! And I don’t want anyone else to do this with but you!”

Spectrum’s dumbfounded looks only became more dumbfounded. Shaking off most of his initial shock, he tried to make sense of everything that had just happened in the last few minutes. A feat that proved to be difficult considering that Sunrise had just said more than a mouthful.

“...So… let me get this straight,” he said slowly, “You’ve had a crush on me… for how long?”

“I don’t know! A long time, I guess,” Sunrise admitted, “For as long as I can remember.”

“...Really? I thought I was like a little brother to you?” Spectrum asked, moving closer.

Sunrise sighed a bit, shaking her head, “I thought the same thing. I always thought that we were like brother and sister, since we grew up together like siblings. But when I caught myself looking at you and thinking of you beyond platonic or family love… yeah.”

Spectrum laid a hand on her shoulder and smirked a bit, “And you thought the best way to tell me was by presenting yourself to me?”

“Well, duh! Ma says you take after your Mama like that, where you gotta have the direct truth laid out for you,” Sunrise pouted, “I have dropped hint after hint after hint hoping you’d get the message so I… wouldn’t have to say it outright. I know, I know! But still, you know?”

Spectrum chuckled a bit and pulled her into a hug, “Sunny, you’re silly.”

“I’m not trying to be silly! I’m a lady,” Sunrise pouted even more, but hugged him back, “But let me guess. You don’t feel the same way, blah blah blah, that’s fine. Just, get it over with, okay? I don’t want all the reasons you don’t like me. Just say it out and we’ll still be friends.”

Spectrum pulled back a bit and laughed, “Sunny, I once saw you eat a handful of dirt on a dare. You’re as much of a lady as Mom is,” he moved forward and kissed her before she could retort.

Taken aback by the sudden gesture, Sunrise immediately returned it once the initial surprise wore off. She brought her arms around him in a passionate embrace, happily melting into his form.

Spectrum hadn’t really known what he was doing, really just acting on impulse, but he was glad he did. The way Sunrise melted into his arms felt really nice, and the little moans and squeaks she was making were adorable. To top it off, she tasted good. Really good. Looks like the guys were right after all. After what seemed like an hour but was probably only a few minutes, the two pulled apart, breathing harshly.

“Sunny… how long have you wanted to…” he made an insinuating gesture with his head.

“Eh, long enough,” Sunrise shrugged a bit.

“Do you…” Spectrum took a breath as he felt his heart start to race, “Do you still want to?”

Sunrise blushed quite a bit, “Er, actually, we should wait. I uh, don’t want to rush things, you know? I got a little carried away. Hey, I still want to! But I don’t want to screw it up.”

Spectrum nodded and breathed a sigh of both relief and disappointment (how that’s possible I will never know) and hugged her tightly, “G-Good idea. You had me kinda nervous about that.”

“Sorry, Speccy,” Sunrise hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, “I wasn’t really thinking. I kinda just saw the opportunity and wanted to grab it. So I’m not about to say we gotta wait till we get married or anything, but I guess we should date a while, see what happens.”

Spectrum smiled and nuzzled her, “Looks like the guys were right after all… speaking of which, should we tell our folks?”

“Are you kidding? They’re gonna throw a party when we do!” Sunrise laughed, “I remember they used to joke about this kind of thing when we were kids. It’s been ages since they did, though. I wonder what they’re gonna think… Ah, who cares. Let’s just tell ‘em! Your Moms are gonna be back soon, so we’ll tell ‘em then. That is if your Mom isn’t feeling too bad now that she’s outta the hospital.”

Spectrum hand waved, “Eh, she’s always going to the hospital. Remember how she lived there for, what was it, three years when we were really little? Ma still won’t tell me why she was in there so long. Remember that time we tried to ask Scoots and she had a panic attack right in the kitchen? Spaz…”

“Mom always says that sometimes, there are things that just aren’t our business or whatever, so I guess it’s grownup stuff,” Sunrise snorted, “I remember when Mama had to go to the hospital a lot when I was a kid. Mom always said that it was because she needed surgery and some upkeep on damaged organs. I asked her why that was, and she got a little weirded out and said she told me when I was like, three. I don’t remember it!”

Spectrum’s eye narrowed a bit, “Sunny, you’ve never looked up your mother, have you?”

“No, why?”

Spectrum pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times, bringing up Princess Twilight’s wikipedia page.

“Right there, it takes up half the article,” he said, turning the phone to her.

Reading it over, Sunrise was stricken with surprise as she read the contents of it. It was a story covering the years that Twilight had been reported as a domestic abuser and rapist to Ascentia, with some excerpts of quotes and police reports littered about. Most shocking was that she found her mother had never pressed charges. It went on for a couple of years, before Twilight eventually sought out extensive therapy, that she still continued to this day.

“Oh my God… given the date, must’ve happened before I was even born…” Sunrise realized, bringing a hand to her mouth.

“I don’t know what kind of therapy she got, but considering how much Aunt Ascentia is always hanging off her like a lovestruck puppy, it must have been good,” Spectrum shrugged.

“I guess so… for as long as I can remember, Mom never hit me or Mama. Anytime she was mad, she either went to her room or went for a walk,” Sunrise recalled.

“Yeah, but at least you get to know what’s going on,” Spectrum shrugged, “I don’t get a word from Ma, or Scoots. They don’t tell me a thing.”

“I guess… it was kinda scary or painful for them, too,” Sunrise reasoned, “And they feel that they don’t want to trouble you about it.”

“I hate not knowing, though!” Spectrum grumbled, sitting down and pouting.

Sunrise hugged him sweetly, “Maybe we should talk to them when they come in. You know, just ask them all curious and stuff.”

“Maybe,” Spectrum sighed, pulling Sunrise into his lap and snuggling her, “Love you, Sunny.”

Grinning widely, Sunrise kissed his cheek and snuggled close, “I love you too, Speccy.”