Between Two More

~~~~~That Evening…~~~~~

Sunset Shimmer was sulking, and Twilight was beginning to get a trifle annoyed with her. Oh, she’d had her down moods before. Usually after she’d had a stressful day dealing with other ponies and working on her social skills, she would retreat to the bedroom and hide under the covers for a few hours, but this was orders of magnitude above that, and it was an absolute marvel that Rarity hadn’t lost her temper over it.

Dinner was a fairly simple affair. A light salad, a lovely frittata, freshly macerated strawberries and cream. Rarity had made light conversation of what she’d been doing since she left Ponyville all those months ago. She’d done some work with Coco in Manehatten and done a little modeling work for Photo Finish down in Baltimare. Generally, it sounded as though she’d stayed out of trouble and more importantly, had avoided retreating into some kind of hermit-like state. It was all good news for a speedy recovery from her little… problem. Er… issue. Twilight made a conscious effort not to frown at making the word choice, but again, Sunset’s attitude wasn’t helping matters.

Of course, the fact she was sitting on the floor out of Rarity’s sight was probably a helpful thing at the moment. Twilight sighed silently, trying not to rub her forehead as a tiny headache began to form somewhere north of the back of her neck. The fact that Rarity had come to the meal wearing an incredibly sharp working suit that would’ve been more suited to a high-profile Canterlot business tycoon than the usual flights of fancy her friend indulged in had set the tone for the evening. Rarity was here to handle an issue with the same panache and flair with which she’d handled her business, and Sunset Shimmer was stubbornly refusing to engage.

Twilight gave it until the strawberries were a sweet memory before she finally decided it was time to lay down the law. “Sunset Shimmer, get in your chair now.” She couldn’t afford to be too forceful here, but at the same time she couldn’t take any more of this sulking.

“Yes Mistress,” Sunset answered her, her countenance and voice still stiff as a board. She clammered into the chair, and resolutely stared at Spike directly across the table. Had her eyes been glazed over in dazed shock, Twilight would have been more lenient, but she knew her lover, and there was a resolute focus in those blue orbs. Dear Spike was taking it all like a champ. He hadn’t even dissolved into drooling over Rarity for the entire meal for once!

The silence stretched on for a moment, and just as Twilight was about to lose her temper, Rarity stepped smoothly into it. “I believe I owe you quite the apology, Sunset.” Rarity’s tone was all serious business, imbued with the heaviest dollop of regret that Twilight had ever heard in her voice. “I behaved in a most unladylike fashion, and I do hope you will allow me the opportunity to explain myself.” She lifted her teacup and took a rigid and precise sip of the fragrant brew while waiting silently for a response.

Twilight turned to give Sunset a meaningful look, but Sunny was stubbornly refusing to look towards Rarity or her. For the first time in months, Twilight allowed herself to become very annoyed. “Why?” was the only word out of her beloved’s mouth, and in that moment, Twilight felt she might need to intervene a little more directly. Sunny was straining to keep herself in check, if the tension and sharpness in her voice was anything to judge by.

Rarity set down her teacup. “Because continuing this nonsense is harming Twilight, and I will not allow it to continue one moment more.” She tilted her head upward, and her bright gaze focused on Sunset without a single sign of hesitation. “So stop looking like an angry manticore and say your piece. If there is anything I have learned these past months, it is that we only harm the ones we love when we do not speak our hearts.” Twilight knew this was a bad idea - it was such a bad idea that she was about to open her mouth to say so when Rarity lifted an imperious hoof and gave her a withering stare. “No. She needs to speak, Twilight. Let her.”

Well, maybe there was a level of truth to that statement, but Twilight wasn’t exactly sure if Rarity needed to necessarily hear what Sunny had to say. And she became more than sure when Sunset’s lips became even thinner than they already were, and her head turned to Rarity with seething irritation. “Get… out…” was her whispered hiss. “Go. Go away.” Twilight almost nodded her head. It was advice she thought she ought to be giving Rarity herself, albeit in a more polite, friendly way.

“No, I believe that I won’t.” Rarity’s tone was as level as a straight-edge ruler, and utterly devoid of her usual ego. And now the blaring warning lights were screaming in Twilight’s brain. “I think you’ve got some things to say, and nopony is leaving this room until you’ve said them.” Had she been speaking to anypony else, Rarity might have come across as a touch intimidating in the suit she was wearing. “If you are afraid of speaking your mind in front of the young…” She inclined her head, “Spike, would you be so kind as to provide us with some privacy? Sweetie Belle has a few things for you from my little vacation back at the shop.”

Spike looked toward her, then to Sunset, and then to Rarity. He shook his head a little and pushed himself off his chair. “I’m gonna step outside for some air,” was all he said, giving a worried look at Sunset before turning for the door. “But I’m not going to go that far,” he muttered as he pushed his way past the exterior door of the library and shut it with a gentle click. Rarity returned her full attention to Sunset, her eyes unsettlingly still.

“I… I…” Sunset seethed, unable at first to form full sentences. Not a good sign. “I trusted you!” she screamed. Her words slowly beginning to run together as she vented a rage Twilight hadn’t suspected she’d had. “You stabbed me in the back then come in here like you’re all in the right! You were the coward! You ran! You couldn’t face me or Mistress! Now that you’ve had months to think about it, you come prancing it here like this! You almost ruined everything! Everything! And I didn’t even have that much! Why don’t you go back to sucking up to those simpering idiots in Canterlot since you act just like them! I hate looking at you! Get… Get!”

Twilight’s eyes were now no longer glancing back and forth between Rarity and Sunset. They were glued, inexorably to her lover. If there was one thing Sunset did not do, it was completely lose her temper and begin screaming at other ponies. Yell, yes. Rage, of course. And she sure as Tartarus cried herself to sleep in Twilight’s hooves sometimes. But this screaming was something else entirely. She didn’t think it was Rarity herself that was setting it off, rather that Rarity was only making it worse. And quite without warning, Twilight began to put the pieces together. Sunny didn’t do the apology thing. She would express her regret in action, not words. She was subtle. And this… dinner. Well, it was as far from subtle as Pinkie Pie. Add in Sunset’s lingering, buried, and frankly twisted issues with Rarity, and-

There was movement. That was all Twilight registered at first, but it was a second too late when she realized who was moving and why. Right up until about now, that is.

Sunny climbed out of her chair and onto the table and… Twilight felt her breath leave her chest as the sound echoed in the dining room. Sunset’s hoof came back and without an ounce of hesitation, and a severe right hook crashed into Rarity’s face, sending her spinning onto the floor. Silence reigned over the kitchen for a second that seemed to go on forever… until Rarity slowly pushed herself up off the floor without so much as a noise. She turned, a spectacular bruise across her right cheek already obvious to anypony who looked at her, and without so much as a word pushed her chair back up. She stood unsteadily for a moment, and then sat back down in the chair and looked Sunset dead in the eye, folding her hooves over her lap.

Well, as close as Sunset was allowing her. Twilight rushed around to make sure she wouldn’t try to punch Rarity again, but there wasn’t a need. Her eyes were pinpricks, staring in horror at her hoof. “I… I… I…” She slowly looked up at Twilight, and her tears were coming down in solid streams. “I… I’m sorry, Mistress,” she was barely able to breathe out. “I don’t… I didn’t… I’m… I… fail…” Her shock-induced ramble descended into incoherence, and as Twilight was occupied with the injured Rarity, she didn’t try to stop Sunny as she steadily picked up her pace until she was running to the bedroom. The door slammed shut soon after. Twilight really needed to be in two places at once right at the moment, but… well she could spend more time with Sunset.

Rarity gently pushed her off a moment later and shook her head. “Honestly, darling. I’ve had worse from falling out of bed in the morning. Go to see her.” She waved her hoof airily, picking up her teacup and sipping at the last of the brew. “I’ll be fine by myself. I know where to find the frozen peas.” She sounded almost impossibly calm for what had just happened to her, but now wasn’t the time to sit around and ask for explanations.

“Rarity,” Twilight said firmly. “You were just punched in the face. Hard. Let me work something up. What’s waiting for me upstairs is far more complicated and’s going to take a lot longer than fixing this up.”

Rarity rolled her eyes a little. “Darling, if you knew half the states my body has been in over the years for recreation, you wouldn’t fuss so.” But she didn’t try to fend her off anymore, and that was good enough for Twilight. “Honestly, I’d expected her to come at me with magic. Didn’t realize she had such a lovely hook.” Twilight was starting to get seriously concerned about Rarity’s mental health. What in the world had she been up to since she was gone, and what was she trying to accomplish now? Rarity fixed her with a stern eye. “You saw how angry she was, Twilight. She needed an outlet for it before she did something truly regrettable.”

“Oh yes, and punching your lights out is a fine outlet and totally unregrettable,” Twilight sighed as she assessed how much magic would be needed to stop the swelling.

Rarity laughed faintly. “She did not try to kill me, Twilight. Given more time, I am not so certain she wouldn’t have restrained herself.” A bag of frozen peas flew out from the kitchen and pressed up too her eye, and she smiled around the bag. “I told you, Twilight. I know how to handle bruises.”

For the very first time, Rarity’s blatant innuendos finally clicked with her brain that night. It was perhaps a bad time for them, but her mind was what her mind was, and Twilight facehoofed. “Rarity, can we please avoid that subject for right now? Sometime later perhaps, when we don’t have a looming disaster?”

However Rarity might have replied was cut off when both of them turned their attention to the scraping of Spike’s scaled feet on the kitchen tile. But he wasn’t alone. “Oh… Rarity…” Fluttershy intoned, appearing mildly surprised to see her in such a state. “How did…?” she went on, but a few glances at Twilight and the staircase, and she merely nodded.

“I figured we needed all hooves on deck for thisun’,” Spike grunted. “I heard that smack from outside.” He was looking at Twilight, not so much disapproving but definitely… she guessed unimpressed might be the word. Well, she couldn’t deny she could have handled the situation better.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “Sunny trusts you. Would you go up and get her calmed down while I make Rarity’s face look less like a raisin muffin? I’ll be up to see her as soon as I’m done here.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all Twilight,” Fluttershy smiled faintly at her, then turned much more solemnly toward Rarity. “Did you get to explain anything to her?” Rarity shook her head faintly, gesturing at her eye with a hoof. Fluttershy sighed. “This is going to be complicated… I’m sorry your first night back home had to be like this Rarity.” She stopped to give Rarity a little hug then vanished up the stairs with Spike right behind her.

~~~~~~~~

Sunset didn’t like letting her emotions run out of control, especially not in front of Mistress. But even more than failing to demonstrate self control, Sunset hated when she couldn’t even regain control in the aftermath. Like now, she had… she had punched Rarity in the face. Punched her. True, she had deserved, maybe even had it coming, but that wasn’t to say Sunset herself hadn’t lost all semblance of discipline. And now, up in Mistress’s and her room, she was fighting the desire to childishly bang her head repeatedly into the wall with what little will power she seemed to possess.

The result probably didn’t look much better though. She was sitting there on the floor at the foot of the bed, staring blankly at her forehooves and shivering like she had been drenched in icy cold water. At least she wasn’t crying. How was she going to explain herself to Mistress? Surely she would understand how much of a mockery Rarity had been making of her feelings. Surely. Sunset had to believe Mistress would be able to empathize with what was inside her heart. Why would she side with Rarity anyway? She was completely in the wrong, trying to insert herself where she had no business being.

But even if Mistress understood, there was little doubt she was going to be severely punished for what she’d done. Something Sunset had learned the hard way oh so many times was restraint. Just because she’d wanted to hit Rarity and had the ability to do so didn’t mean she should have. There was no telling what Mistress would have her do, especially as creative as Mistress could be. Only, Sunset hoped she wouldn’t be so harsh as to forbid cuddling and sleeping in the same bed for an extended amount of time. She’d done it once before when Sunset had, well, no sugarcoating it, harassed a family for looking at her and Mistress strangely until the wife and two foals were in tears. Regardless, Sunset didn’t think she’d be able to live for very long without Mistress’s little loving pats and kisses or her absent stroking.

Sunset shook her head, both to clear it of such depressing thoughts and to focus her mind on how to explain herself. It wasn’t easy. Well, it was actually damn near impossible to her at the moment. Nothing wanted to fall into place. Too many emotions were surging through her, and she couldn’t seem to get her heartrate down either. It was looking pretty bleak. Mistress would come through the door, demand answers Sunset had, but that she just couldn’t articulate. She’d end up a blabbering mess, and things would only go downhill from there.

Tap-tap-tap came a surprisingly gentle knock at the door, much to her curiosity. Tap-tap-tap it came again, followed by the sound of the latch turning. A low voice was speaking as the door swung open, too low to hear all of what it was saying. “.... no Spike. It’s best if I go in alone. Go send that letter right away. I’ll explain things when I come back down.” There was the sound of Spike’s feet shuffling against the wood and his tell-tale sigh before retreating steps signaled his departure. The door pushed open a moment later, and a slender figure slipped through the crack before shutting the door silently behind her. “Sunset? Are you in here?”

That was Fluttershy’s voice! Sunset almost had a leaping sensation in her gut at the realization, from surprise and relief. “I’m… I’m over here. At the foot of the bed,” she choked out, her voice feeling somewhat strained.

“Oh, good.” She sounded… relieved? Why relieved? “I was afraid you might’ve... um… Nevermind.” Fluttershy’s hoofsteps were almost silent as she crossed the room. The smell of fresh flowers and wood followed her as she sat down very close to, but not quite touching Sunset. “I see that Twilight moved a bit too quickly again.” She didn’t sound disapproving or anything, just concerned.

Sunset breathed deeply before speaking and was finally able to set her forehooves on the ground. Just having Fluttershy’s calming aura near her was working wonders. “Thank you for coming,” she said first. “I don’t even care how you knew things were going badly.” She paused. Fluttershy was the closest thing to a platonic friend Sunset had, but even so, she still didn’t feel ready to mention Rarity aloud. She hadn’t in the two months she’d been gone anyway. “I… Why’d she have to come back, Shy? I… Weren’t we all living… I dunno… happily?”

Fluttershy sighed just a tad, then shook her head. “Well, speaking just for myself, I missed our spa trips. And I know Twilight missed having somepony she could talk to about how to deal with her royal duties.” She tilted her head, giving Sunset a mildly surprised look. “We’ve all been friends for so long, of course we’d miss one another when we have to be away.” She tsked softly and shuffled in place a bit. “Sunset, you need to understand. We’re all more than just good friends. Rarity couldn’t stay away from Ponyville anymore than you-.”

“I understand just fine how the Elements work!” Sunset cut in sharply. A little more sharply than she meant to actually, judging by the way Fluttershy flinched away ever so slightly. “Sorry. So it was just me then, huh? But… She deser… I don’t know why I lost it Fluttershy. I mean maybe I set myself up… But I feel like an utter failure to Mistr - ”

“Hush,” Fluttershy scolded her… in the firmest voice she’d ever heard Fluttershy use in her life. “There’s more than enough mistakes to go around without inventing more, Sunset.” A gentle hoof reached out and touched her shoulder. “Nopony was fully in the right here.”

“But… what if… oh Celestia, Fluttershy…” Sunset could feel her voice becoming unsteady, but she was determined not to break down. She paused, took several deep breaths, paused again, then continued. “What if I really couldn’t… Pickle topped cookies isn’t a normal food right?”

Even in the dim light of the room, she could see Fluttershy’s face change suddenly. It was odd, like she’d gone from pure concern to all business in the flash of an eye. Firm, gentle hooves pressed into her chest, then down to her belly. And all Sunset could do was close her eyes and wince at the truth of what Fluttershy was implying. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fluttershy hushed her with a tsk. “Give me your hind leg,” Fluttershy quietly commanded, and a much confused Sunset lifted one of her rear legs up… where Shy gently pressed into her hip and inner leg while muttering to herself. “Would have to ask Nurse Redheart to be sure, but…” Shy’s voice turned even more gentle. “I didn’t think Twilight would be much for sharing you.”

Sunset gulped. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she shut it firmly to collect her thoughts. Which was far, far easier said than done. This was not what she wanted confirmed at the moment. Maybe when she wasn’t worried about having nearly knocked another pony unconscious with her hoof. “She doesn’t like to share me,” Sunset decided to say blankly. Hopefully Fluttershy would catch on even though Sunset herself was still trying to wrap her brain around the reality of what had happened.

Fluttershy paused only long enough for it to be noticeable before speaking. “Ah. Well, she is quite the talented unicorn. Though I’ve only heard of that…” And Fluttershy blushed really, really bright red, “particular method being used… Um…” She shook her head and sighed. “I know you’re probably a little worried about this Sunset, but I need to insist you make a discreet appointment with Nurse Redheart.”

“Fluttershy!” Sunset hissed, yanking her leg back away and holding onto her friend’s shoulders with her forehooves. “I can’t be pregnant! I can’t! No. Nononononno...” She blindly descended into muttering over and over again until the word stopped and were replaced as she took her hooves off Fluttershy and nervously began rubbing them against each other.

“Sunset!” Fluttershy didn’t… quite yell, but it was the closest she’d ever come to doing so. “I can’t tell for sure. I’m not a medical pony, I just… know a few things.” Her eyes darted to one side for a moment before she spoke again. “Nurse Redheart is very discreet. She won’t keep any records you don’t ask her to keep, and she won’t tell anypony you don’t give her permission to tell. If you really are, you need to see a professional.” She grasped Sunset’s hooves in her own, steadying them with a surprising strength.

“But, Fluttershy… I can’t explain what I did by telling Mistress. I’m not sure she’s ready to have a foal with me. Nevermind that I’m not even sure if she wants a foal at all,” Sunset said. “And… I… I hit her hard. It’s… damnit.” Whatever was left of Sunset’s initial inner fury from Rarity returning to Ponyville finally drained away, and she allowed her head to droop a bit.

Fluttershy blew out an exasperated sounding breath. “At least I understand now what’s been getting into you lately,” she commented in a rather no-nonsense tone of voice, then flicked her ear up, the sounds of hoofsteps downstairs becoming more frequent. “Sunset, I’m going to tell you something very important, and also a little secret. And I need you to really listen to me, okay?”

“Wait. What? What else have I been doing odd lately?” Sunset asked with a note of curiosity. But when Shy didn’t show any sign of telling more than what she intended, Sunset said, “Okay?”

Fluttershy nodded once. “Rarity stopped by my house last week.” She spoke softly, but in an almost… lecturing tone. She sounded a little like Mistress when she was trying to make a point. “She was not doing well. She was thin and very much falling apart. No real makeup, her mane needed a trim…” She gently wiggled her hoof. “You know Rarity. The last time I’d seen her quite this bad was after what happened with Prince Blueblood.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and exhaled. “Sunset, she told me what’d happened at the party. What you said, what she said, and why she said what she had.” The hoofsteps were getting louder - somepony was coming up the stairs. Fluttershy sounded faintly sad. “She’s not a bad pony, Sunset. And I think the thought of having hurt you has not been good for her.” She stood up, a more firm knock coming at the door at the same time. Fluttershy looked her dead in the eye when she spoke next, keeping her voice quiet. “She came here tonight to punish herself for her mistakes. And although she would never admit it, she needs you to forgive her Sunset.”

Sunset looked away from Fluttershy, staring out the window. She tried not to huff, but a small puff of air managed to escape her nose. “I… Look, I’ll try Fluttershy. For you and Mistress. I can’t promise more… okay?” The last word came out as something of a plea, but Sunset didn’t bother correcting herself. It was honest. Fluttershy gave her a little nod, and the the bedroom door swung open.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight was calm. She had to be calm. Making decisions when she was angry had never gotten her anywhere but in a worse place than where she had started. So she pressed her hoof to her chest and extended it out slowly with a deep breath. Calm. Just like Cadence told you. She was not going to yell or scream (especially since she sincerely felt like doing those things), and she wasn’t going to pull an Iron Will either. She was going to handle this like a Princess. She was also quite certain Sunset wasn’t going to like Princess Twilight Sparkle quite as much as she liked her Mistress.

Fluttershy was standing there looking at her silently, looking more than a little concerned. Fluttershy had warned her that Sunset might not take this well, but she’d been so certain she could handle any sort of attitude… Well, I never quite imagined she’d take a swing at Rarity either, so I suppose it’s a wash. There were no words that needed to be exchanged between her and Fluttershy. Her friend merely nodded her head slightly and exited the room. When Twilight turned back to face Sunny, it wasn’t exactly an encouraging sign the way she looked after Fluttershy’s departing back so desperately.

But when the door clicked shut behind her, Sunset’s eyes could only come to rest on Twilight’s own. She exhaled one more time. Okay. First thing is first. “Sunset, get my studying chair and sit in it.” She kept her tone brisk. There was no need to get overtly angry. This was a time for discipline, not screaming one’s head off. Sunset did as directed, fetching the stiff backed and flat-bottomed chair from the corner.

She scrambled up into it and shifted uncomfortably in the position of a nervous student. The chair was purposefully made to encourage proper posture, which meant it was about as far from being comfortable as a chair could get. “Head up straight,” she snapped, in a parade ground tone that would have made Shiny proud. “Hooves in front of you, eyes front!” Each word snapped out like a whip crack, and Sunset jumped in response, though she did correct herself. Well, her eyes couldn’t have been shifting to the sides more, but at least they came back to face her rather quickly

Still, she couldn’t give an inch. “Keep your eyes on me, Sunset.” Now she lowered her voice to something quiet enough that Sunset would have to strain to pay attention. “I’m going to ask you only once. Do you realize what you just did down there?” This was one of Celestia’s favorite methods when a student or foal had misbehaved. She would be patient, quiet, and would destroy any preconceptions as to the crime committed before she was done.

“I gave Rarity a black-eye,” Sunset replied, and while Twilight was sure she didn’t intend it, the defiance in her tone was clear as a summer day. It was enough to make Twilight tighten her jaw a little, and it took another deep breath to force the tension out of her system.

No. She was not going to let this get the better of her. “More specifically, you hit my friend who had come specifically to apologize to you.” It wasn’t hard to make it very clear in her tone just how incredibly disappointed she was in Sunset at the moment. She planted her hooves in the ground in front of the chair, and stared directly into Sunset’s eyes. How could she have possibly missed all of this anger?

“Mistress… It wasn’t… I shouldn’t have hit her Mistress,” Sunset began to elaborate, and Twilight braced for what would come next. It couldn’t be that easy. “But she deserved that and more, and I definitely had every right to call her every fou -!”

Twilight didn’t want to do this, but it was clear that Sunset had become delusional. “Deserved it?” She spoke with so much scorn that it could’ve peeled paint clean off the walls. “Deserved it you say?” She wasn’t keeping the anger out of her voice, but she was rather certain even Celestia couldn’t have done it at this point. There was nothing for it but to press on. “By Celestia, I never thought I’d hear you sounding so much like the bitch I met in Canterlot Highschool again.”

“She was trying to take away everything I had! Take my Mistress from me! And she didn’t even care about you or me! She was just being a greedy slut!” Sunset implored her justifications, leaning forward in the chair now.

SMACK!

Twilight really probably shouldn’t have done that, but she was officially out of patience for this. The blow had been firm enough to be felt, but light enough not to cause damage. She was proud of it, even as it left a slightly red mark on Sunset’s cheek and sent her rocking into the back of her chair in shock.

Twilight kept her voice level. She was not going to scream. “Rarity has done more for me and for Equestria than you could ever possibly understand, Sunset Shimmer.” Gone were the pet names, the gentle foal-gloves. Whatever had gotten into her had to be dealt with and right now. Sunset brought her hoof slowly up to where Twilight had smacked her and was clearly too stunned to speak. At least coherently.

“But… she tried… tried… Mistress?”

Twilight took an aggressive step forward and kept speaking in that disturbingly calm voice. “Let me tell you a little something about Rarity, Sunset. Let me tell you about the mare who stood up to a raging dragon and was willing to sacrifice something precious to herself to help us reach the Elements of Harmony.” She took another step forward, this one onto the edge of the chair and lifting her head up. She would not yell. “Let me tell you about the mare who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me when Changelings invaded Canterlot and didn’t hesitate once to put herself in harm’s way to save countless ponies she’d never met before.”

Sunset was stuttering, but Twilight was on a roll. “Let me tell you about the mare who has given fifty percent of her profits every single year to help ponies in need. About the mare who has always been more concerned with the well being of others than her own safety and health. Who came to me yesterday weeping her eyes out because she had feared she’d damaged my relationship with you and thought NOTHING of how you had hurt HER!” She slammed her hoof on the edge of the chair, perhaps with a bit more force than necessary, and put a crack in the edge of the wood. She was also speaking a few decibels too loudly.

She forced her voice into a normal volume. She lifted her hoof of the chair and took a deep breath. “I love you, Sunset. But you will retract what you just called one of my very closest friends, or I am going to get more than just cross with you.”

Sunset didn’t say or do much more than blink at her at first. Twilight waited. But then her mouth opened, and Twilight’s eyes widened. “I DON’T CARE!” she screamed. Screamed. Not in a furious, foal-like anger; but in the scream of a pony who was desperate and had lost all hope of communicating that desperation any other way. “SHE TRIED TO TAKE YOU FROM ME!” And before Twilight could stop her, Sunset was out of the chair and embracing her more tightly than she ever had. It was a loving hug, but more importantly, it was a hug Twilight knew she might have difficulty breaking away from.

Gingerly, Twilight held Sunset for a few long moments while she tried to collect her thoughts. Sunset was dealing with issues Twilight had never been trained to handle, and it had become frighteningly clear that Rarity’s momentary indiscretion had set off a chain reaction of obsessive behavior. Where it hadn’t been so clear before, now Twilight suspected Sunset’s strike at Rarity wasn’t offensive, but defensive. Of course, that made it no less right, nor did it excuse her name-calling, but Twilight now knew the specific issue she had to help her work through.

She had to work backward then. She was taking a lot of deep breaths today. “Sunset, nopony is going to take me away from you.” She tried to soothe Sunset, patting a touch awkwardly given how tightly she was being held onto. It was time to try a dash of humor. “Especially given how tightly you’re holding onto me.” It was as lame as one of Dash’s jokes, but it did startle a very weak chuckle out of her. “But you need to get back in your chair and listen to me right now.” Now back to stern. Sunset needed some reassurance, but she needed a steely bite of discipline too.

Sunset’s firm, almost choking, hold over her loosened a bit, and Twilight took that opportunity to unravel herself. Upon the loss of contact, Sunny seemed a bit dazed for a moment, but she did turn and reseat herself after a few long seconds. “I failed in everything you’ve been trying to teach me all this time, Mistress. I’m sorry.”

Twilight half nodded, then blew out a breath. “Sunset, you’ve been doing so well… I should’ve paid more attention to what was going on.” She shook her head, trying to clear it of her muddled thoughts. “No matter what happens, there isn’t a pony out there who could ever take me away from you.” She gently pressed her hoof up into Sunset’s chin, lifting it up. “I can’t say I’m not incredibly disappointed. But in spite of that, I already knew you were sorry for your mistake. But I’m not who you need to apologize to.”

Sunset’s face half-wrinkled in protest, but Twilight was ready for that by this point. “Ah ah ah,” she tsked quickly, pressing her hoof into Sunset’s wrinkled nose. “None of that. You’ve messed up big time, little missy, and now you have to clean it up.” She removed her hoof from Sunset’s nose with a little smile. “Now, do you trust me? Specifically, do you trust me to know what’s going on when the facts are put in front of my nose?” It was a bit of a trick question, but she needed to re-focus Sunset if she was going to get anywhere with her.

“I… I couldn’t love you, Mistress, if I didn’t trust you. So… yes,” Sunset said, though not without something of a defeatist sigh. She really was just as bad as Twilight herself sometimes.

She nodded once. “Then listen to me. I’ve spoken to Rarity. I’ve spoken to you. And by Celestia I’ve talked it over to myself. Everypony seems to be pointing toward the same story, and like it or not, you dreadfully over-reacted.” And an instant later, she held up an imperious hoof and fixed Sunset with a steely look. “You don’t have to like Rarity, or even be friends with her. Celestia knows even all of us don’t get along all of the time. We’ve had our share of fights and worse. But you do have to apologize to her, and you do have to mean every single word.”

“I… will…” Sunset stumbled on the words. Twilight knew where she was, mentally at least. How exactly was she to sincerely mean an apology to a pony she never wanted to see again? And unfortunately, Twilight couldn’t explain it to her no more than Princess Celestia had been able to explain it to Twilight herself. It was something everypony had to come to understand on her own. It came from the heart. It looked like it was getting close, the way Sunset was nodding faintly, her eyes distant. Until she blushed something fierce. “Mistress?” she asked.

Twilight still wasn’t sure if this was going to be salvageable yet, but she was prepared to try to have a good attitude. So she tried to let go of some of her tension and smile a little. “Yes?” She tried to keep her voice soothing. She wasn’t quite done with Sunset here, but a moment to defuse tension wouldn’t hurt.

“Are…” she blushed heavily again. “Will you take away cuddles?”

She stared at Sunset for a moment, then laughed faintly and pressed her hoof into her face. Of all the things for Sunset to be worried about… “Of course not, little love.” It was impossible to keep the warmth out of her voice, and she felt her smile broaden. She grinned. Sunset could play the cute card as much as she liked, but she still needed to be taught a lesson. “No, I think I’ll just forbid you a few other things, and you can help Rarity get settled back into her shop for the next few months. That should be reprimand enough.”

Her face almost fell. Almost. But knowing she wouldn’t be semi-isolated for what she’d done seemed to keep her rather neutral. “I have to go downstairs and apologize to her now, don’t I?” she asked, and while there was a grudging dislike of the idea, Twilight took it as progress that she was at least willing.

“Mhm.” She nodded once and half smiled. “And you’d best be sincere, young lady. I’m not going to have you falling back into your bad habits now.” She gently poked Sunset’s chest. “One of the hardest lessons of friendship is owning up when you’ve been a jerk. We’ve all had to do it at least once, even me.” And at that, she couldn’t help but giggle. “Remind me to tell you about The Mysterious Mare Do Well sometime. We all sort of screwed up on that one.”

“Oh… okay.” She was clearly feeling better now, and Twilight was further encouraged they could finally take a step forward when Sunset stepped out of the chair and toward the door of her own accord. “So…” she mumbled with uncertainty, her magic grasping the door knob but not turning it. “Nevermind,” she said before Twilight could ask what was the matter, and Twilight joined her side as she walked back into the dining room. Slowly.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight quietly shut the kitchen door and leaned against it heavily, closing her eyes. They were talking, at least. Short, brief sentences, but they weren’t screaming, and Sunset wasn’t swinging her hooves around like a mad mare. Rarity’s little swelling wasn’t very bad at all, and she hadn’t even brought it up once they’d come back down. Fluttershy was watching over the proceedings, which meant that Twilight could slip out of the room and try very hard not to cry. Another near total disaster averted by the skin of her teeth and the power of her friends.

Of course, she should have predicted that life would throw her yet another curveball right at that very moment. Beeeeelch was the all too familiar sound of Spike receiving a magical letter from the Princess. For just an instant, Twilight felt seized with panic. Oh, fuck me, not now! I do not need some world-ending disaster to solve NOW of all times! She contemplated teleporting as far away as possible, but Celestia would be able to find her anyway.

So she sighed and counted off the seconds until Spike trundled up to her bearing the scroll. She took it with a nod, and he nodded back. Unfurling the thing, her eyes began to dart across the words,

Dear Twilight…

Oh. Good. She wasn’t being referred to by her title, which meant this probably was not a call to arms.

I have just received Spike’s letter about the incident with Sunset Shimmer. Admittedly, I should have guessed that something like this would happen between her and Rarity. While I am overjoyed at the return of your friend, the news of Sunset’s emotional state is extremely troubling.

Uh… oh…

I have decided that this requires my direct intervention. I have placed Luna in charge of governance, a task to which she is overjoyed to finally be entrusted, and have cleared all of my previous plans. I will be coming to visit you and Ponyville directly for the next several weeks in the hopes of assisting you both with bringing a resolution to these issues. I will not have your friendship, and thereby your happiness, in risk of fracturing.

I have already consulted with Princess Cadence, and she will be joining us as soon as matters in the Crystal Empire are favorable for her to do so. I would expect you to receive several letters from her with advice in the near future. I intend to arrive tomorrow in disguise, so as to ensure there is no undue excitement or scrutiny on you or Sunset Shimmer. Watch for the unicorn mare named “Sunny Skies.”

Do not worry, Twilight. We will make things work.

-Celestia

For one of the first times in her entire life, Twilight was uncertain if she should be celebrating… or if she should be terrified. Given that this was the very first letter she’d ever received with Princess Celestia’s personal signature and not her professional one…

Oh. Shit. How was she going to explain this to Sunset!?