Three Little Words

It had been a relatively normal day for Twilight Sparkle and her friends. While there was no super powered baddie to be taken down, a few fights in Ponyville had broken out, each fight taking two Elements of Harmony to calm them down. Twilight herself had only recently gotten back to her home, and immediately plopped down on her bed.

"Get some rest, Spike." She called to her companion, "We've done enough work for today."

A grunt of acknowledgement was heard, soon followed by the drake's light snores. Twilight smiled to herself and rolled onto her side, about to get ready for bed herself. It occurred to her to check the book that Sunset wrote to her in before bed, just in case. She kept the book in a special drawer in her room, safe from prying eyes and curious hooves.

Opening the cover and flipping through she realized that she had, in fact, gotten a message. What at first seemed to be a normal greeting soon turned into what was almost... A friendship report? Why in Equestria...

Twilight's heart skipped a beat as she read over a certain group of words. Your faithful student echoed through her head for several moments before she closed the book, unsure how to respond.

It was true that her and Sunset had grown closer since the Battle of the Bands. Twilight had found herself an honest friend that was a lot like herself in Sunset Shimmer, and she cherished that friendship.

Maybe a little too much.

After she came back from the human world for the second time, Twilight found herself uninterested in Flash Sentry. The only person--or pony--in her mind was Sunset Shimmer. At first she wrote it off as being worried about her or simply missing her. But it didn't stop there. Many times she had found herself talking a friend's ear off, going on and on about something Sunset did, or something she felt Sunset should do. Once Rainbow, in a sheer fit of boredom and annoyance, said "Can we not talk about your marefriend for five minutes?!"

That had shut Twilight up quick. As the others defended her against Rainbow's harsh tone, Twilight herself had a moment to reflect on just why her world suddenly seemed to revolve around Sunset.

Have I... Fallen in love? Twilight paled at the thought. Not that she had fallen in love--or even that the other pony was a mare--but that it was Sunset Shimmer. An ex-villain. An ex-student of Celestia. This felt like some kind of betrayal. Was she doing wrong by Celestia by falling in love with Sunset? What if Celestia got mad at her?

She quickly excused herself and went straight to Canterlot. The princess was busy at the moment, however, so she was stuck there alone without anything better to do than to think about her situation. After a bit she had calmed down, and had a laugh at her own expense. Why would Celestia be mad? Celestia loved Sunset like a daughter, much like she loved Twilight. If she had been thinking rationally, Twilight would have known that Celestia would be happy for them--especially if Twilight could get Sunset back in Equestria.

When Celestia was finally free to talk, Twilight instead asked the princess about Sunset, eager to learn more about their past and to hear stories about Sunset. She wasn't too surprised when, as she left, Celestia wished her good luck (adding a wink for good measure).

She made her way home the following day and apologized to her friends about her rapid departure. They were happy for her, once she explained the situation, and she even got a heartfelt apology from Rainbow.

When it came to actually telling Sunset about her feelings... Well, she was worried about rejection. Especially now that she knew that humans tended to reject same-sex couples. Maybe Sunset didn't, but what about their human friends? This whole mess was getting out of hoof.

And now, looking down at the book on her lap, Twilight felt a surge of doubt.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

Of course I wouldn't mind! I would be honored to receive your friendship reports.

I agree with your chosen course of action. Perhaps merely staying by your friends' sides will give them the strength to do what they want. It's good to always support your friends, and also to make sure that what they are doing is good for them.

I've been thinking of visiting you again. When would be a good time for you? Celestia has told me that I deserve a bit of a vacation, and I can't think of a better place to visit.

Sincerely,

Twilight Sparkle.

There. Maybe a visit to the other girl would give Twilight enough confidence to confess her feelings.

P.S. Twilight added mentally, not actually writing it down, I've gone and fallen for you.