The Sunlight Project

by Space Jazz

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle (EqG), Romance, Equestria Girls, Comedy, Sex, Sunset Shimmer, Main 6
Length: 33265

Sci-Twi is determined to get a girlfriend... using the scientific method.

After transferring to Canterlot High, Twilight Sparkle realizes she has a crush on Sunset Shimmer. Being the analytical type, she develops a plan to capture Sunset's heart...using the scientific method.

Sex tag for mild sexual references.
Edited by fourths.

Published 2015-12-27 21:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-22 05:04:33 UTC

Step One: Ask a Question

Gosh, even in a crude drawing she's cute.

Frustrated, I scribbled over the rough sketch in my notebook, crossing out Sunset's face with heavy, unforgiving strokes of pencil lead. As it turned out, the rest of my calculus homework was also littered with little Sunset Shimmers, none of which I remembered drawing.

In every image, her hair was wrong. It was just hard to capture how... perfect it was. Besides, my art skills only extended into general blueprints and mechanical designs, and definitely not to the smile of a girl who you can't stop thinking about. The same smile th—

Stop it, Twilight. You've got homework to do.

In a matter of minutes, I transferred my work to a new, Sunset-free sheet of paper, and I was back where I left off. The last two questions, while somewhat challenging, were straightforward to complete by plugging numbers into a formula I knew by heart.

Along with another drawing of Sunset Shimmer.

Groaning, I tossed the now-worthless sheet of paper over my shoulder and a yelp in the distance told me exactly where it landed. An awkward shuffle followed the startled The now half awake puppy slumped over by my side and brushed up against my leg.

“Hey, Spike,” I said sheepishly. “My bad.”

Instead of asking for forgiveness, I brought my hand down and scratched at the back of the puppy’s head, rubbing behind the ears. Thankfully, he seemed content despite me rudely waking him.

"You doing alright?"

Oh, Star Swirl on a bike! I forgot he could talk.

The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, thanking everything that my bedroom was carpeted. Noticing my fall, Spike rushed over and lapped at my face as if it would kick-start the healing process. It didn't even hurt, but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless as I forced myself back up.

"Sorry," he sighed, staring down at his own paws.

"It's fine," I told him in between strained grunts. "It's my fault for forgetting you talk."

Turning away from Spike, I stared back at my desk, and somehow, through every fault of my own love-struck mind, my notes were covered with Sunset Shimmers.

Okay, so I have a problem. The first step is admitting, right?

I grabbed the offending slips of paper, crumpled them up, and tossed every last trace of Sunset into the trash.

If only it were that easy to do with my thoughts.

"You okay, Twilight?" Spike asked again. "I'm starting to worry about the trees."

"It's nothing, Spike," I answered, brushing off his concern. "I'm just having trouble figuring out this problem."

It wasn't a lie. My crush on Sunset was a problem... just one I didn't mind having.

Spike nuzzled my calf. “That doesn’t sound like you, Twilight.”

"Even I hit walls sometimes," I said matter-of-factly. "And I hit it... hard."

Normally, a teenage girl could confide in her pets and truly trust that they wouldn't tell a soul. Of course, I happened to be the one girl in the universe with a dog who actually could spill secrets.

And, knowing him, he'd probably do it willingly just as an excuse to talk. I couldn't really blame him, though; he talked every chance he could since the first time he’d formed a syllable. Now that he could actually ask for food, the puppy had gained a noticeable amount of weight since my parents practically melted every time he’d pout and say “Please.”

Plus, I didn't want to take social advice from a dog whose courting ritual revolved around sniffing butts.

Maybe he was on to something. They called it "puppy love" for a reason.

Dismissing the gross, absolutely errant thought, I turned my attention to the laptop on my desk. Ever since the Friendship Games, I found myself on MyStable often and specifically the “Cute Critter Corner” group. The pictures and videos of tiny animals doing human things served as a sort of discount therapy—not that I couldn’t afford therapy, but I’d probably be referred to a mental institution rather than an actual therapist’s office.

Instead of a video of a kitten attending a tea party, the website was cluttered with an overwhelming amount of private messages and notifications. As it turned out, my transformation made it onto my social feed. The video was private, thankfully, but I still felt uneasy about it being on the internet.

In a brief moment of curiosity, I clicked on the video. I knew it would only make things worse, but I felt like I had to.

It was a mistake.

I never had a good look at what I turned into, but I didn’t expect the wings and horn. Instinctively, I gasped and held my hand to my mouth. I probably would have kept on staring at the video if it weren’t for the ding of a new notification.

“If you ever need to talk about you-know-what, feel free to come to me —Sunny Flare.”

I looked at the message and reread it over and over. It was simple, but the sentiment behind it carried weight. Trembling, I held the cursor over the reply button and debated over whether I should send a reply.

In the end, I decided not to. I’d rather not bother her. Even then, I didn’t have the heart to tell the Shadowbolts why I transferred in the first place. I figured it was better off to disappear and hope that they would forget about me.

Wanting to get my mind off of things, I made my way over to the stereo on the opposite side of the room and turned it on. The song flowing from the speakers was a simple, swinging jazz standard—a welcome distraction. I closed my eyes and flopped onto the bed, letting the saxophone soloist take over my thoughts.

He was a little sharp, though.

After a few songs, I found my thoughts drifting away from the Friendship Games and back to Sunset Shimmer. It didn't take long (twelve and a half seconds to be exact) until I started to think of swing dancing with her. It was a harmless fantasy—cheesy, yes, but I couldn't help it. We held hands, walking into the center of the high school gym as the music swelled. We were both dressed in full stereotypical fifties garb, down to the saddle shoes, bobby socks, and even a kitschy poodle skirt.

As if Sunset would be caught dead in a poodle skirt. Still, the image was burned into my mind, and I never wanted it to leave.

Stop it, Twilight. Your crush is getting in the way of your studies.

But wasn't friendship the reason why I gave up on Everton? Having a girlfriend is still a friend. Technically, it should be considered advanced studies.

Advanced studies. Yeah, that sounded about right.

Besides, she only gave me a ride home because she had nothing better to do. I outranked cold coffee in the friendship meter.

Maybe she really liked coffee.

Twilight, you're overthinking it again. She likes you, and she's your friend.

I sneered at the word friend as if it wasn't enough. It was my first real friendship, after all.

But what can I do? How do I even know she's into girls? What if she thinks I'm weird for asking her out?

What if I ruin my friendship with her?

I hit my head against the wooden headboard.

So what? You like Sunset. You really like Sunset. Do something about it.

But how?

Another unanswered question to throw onto the pile.

You need a plan, otherwise, it's all going to blow up in your face. You need a tried and true method of getting results.

There were just too many unanswered questions to even risk blindly asking Sunset out of the blue. No, Twilight, you have to be smart about this. She might like you now, but dating is a much higher level than just being friends.

It wouldn't be easy, and there was no handbook on love, no proven method of capturing someone’s heart.

But I can make one.

I jumped off the bed in excitement and clambered onto my desk. Giddily, I reached for a clean sheet of paper, not caring how many shoddy drawings of Sunset ended up on the page. I sketched a small outline and then added in the details from there. The next step was to organize everything I could use to my advantage in various charts and spreadsheets, all separated based on relevancy and usefulness.

In about an hour, I had a rough draft to be somewhat proud of. It was unpolished, but I didn't mind; the kinks would be worked out towards the later stages.

The Sunlight Project was a go.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I stepped off the city bus Like the day before, my new group of friends waited by the stop, nearly pouncing on me as I stepped off the bus. To be honest, it was a little suffocating, especially since Sunset Shimmer wasn't there this time around.

"Hey, Twilight!" a voice cheered before rushing me.

"Guess you weren't scared into transferring back to Crystal Prep," another voice joked.

"Wouldn't think of it," I said coolly, following the group into the high school.

"You totally should've stayed longer yesterday, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, turning towards me while walking backward. "You missed Pinkie Pie downing an entire bottle of syrup."

"Why would she—"

"Rainbow Dash bet her she couldn't drink the entire bottle," Rarity clarified, grabbing Rainbow’s shoulders and spinning her until she was facing forward.

"It was worth it.” Rainbow dug into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill and quickly slipped it into frizzled mess that was Pinkie's curly hair.

We walked through the halls, not necessarily going anywhere—it was still a few minutes before the passing period began. I barely had a grasp on the school’s layout so I kept close to the group of girls, mentally studying the halls and where they led.

"So my sister Maud got a scholarship!" Pinkie Pie announced, her voice rising with excitement.

"What's she studying?" I asked.

"Geology," the bubbly girl answered. "Apparently the scholarship committee never had an in-depth essay about rocks like hers before. She doesn't know it yet, but I'm throwing a really big party to celebrate!"

"Sounds like a lot of fun."

"It's gonna be a lot more fun with you guys!" Pinkie shot back smoothly. "You all have to come tomorrow."

Unsurprisingly, the group exploded into a chorus of acceptance. Even Fluttershy, as timid as she was, jumped at the chance to attend. Not wanting to be the odd one out, I agreed to go. The last thing I needed was another lighthearted interrogation on why I couldn't attend.

"Hey you know what I just realized?" the bouncing girl asked. "This will be Twilight's first real Pinkie Pie Party."

Oh jeez.

"Ah guess so," Applejack agreed, clapping me on the back. "It just seemed like you've been with us awhile, Twilight."

"Especially after Princess—"

Before the conversation could go on, the shrill school bell rang, signaling the start of classes. Already having had my fill of social interaction, I marched off to my first class of the day. Which just so happened to be one of the many periods I shared with Sunset Shimmer.

She waved me over and pulled out a seat from the desk. I smiled and nodded, trying hard to make sure my smile wasn't too wide or that my nod wasn't too enthusiastic.

We sat next to each other, and I did what I could to keep my crush hidden. It wasn't that hard to sink myself into the education mindset again, but I came close to slipping when Sunset's hands met mine while reaching for pencils. It happened fast, but I felt my cheesy, doofy smile telegraph how I was feeling.

Is doofy even a real word? I'm rambling.

How do crushes even work? You don't get one out of the blue. Or do you? I don't know. All I knew was that I wanted to brush hands with Sunset again. It was all I could think about for the rest of the class—up until the teacher called on me.

"Twilight Sparkle," the teacher droned, placing his worn hand onto the desk. "Would you mind writing on the board some similarities and differences between the Keynesian and Classical theories of economics?"

I nodded and uttered a confident "Sure." I knew the material, so it would be a cinch to just regurgitate what I read onto the blackboard. I grabbed the chalk and scribbled two intertwining circles, a Venn diagram. Without any sort of warning, the teacher swooped over and snatched the chalk from my hand.

"I know you're new, Twilight, so I'll just let you off with a warning."

"Uh, why?" I asked, crossing my arms indignantly.

"The school board banned Venn diagrams because students would turn them into phallic symbols."

That seemed irrational. It appeared to be more of a problem with the student rather than the diagram itself, an overreaction to an immature joke. If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if biology textbooks were also banned for the same reason.

"Well, what isn't a phallic symbol?" I said, immediately wishing I could take it back. To further illustrate my point, I reached for another piece of chalk and began waving it around. It was definitely too late to back down, but the moment felt like an out of body experience.

The class erupted into a fit of giggles, including Sunset, who buried her face in her textbook. The brief look of her smiling face as she stifled laughter seemed to fuel my bravado even more.

As I had figured, my teacher wasn't too thrilled about the comment. His bushy brow formed into a scowl, and his shaking hand pointed back towards my desk, which I slumped into quietly.

"I don't know how they ran things at Crystal Prep, Miss Sparkle—"

"We used Venn diagrams." I shot back quickly, unable to stop the snarky remark. I couldn't help it. The cadence in his voice left a breath long enough to sneak it in.

Once again, the students laughed, hoping to keep the distraction going in order to kill another minute of class.

Thankfully, I was able to keep my big mouth in check and I was let off with a stern but otherwise forgiving warning. The class moved on like nothing had happened, leaving the disruption to be dramatized through the exaggerated stories that bored students would tell each other during passing period.

Leaning back in my seat, I felt a gentle nudge poke at my arm.

"That was awesome, Twilight," Sunset whispered. "Never thought you had it in you to be a smart-ass—to a teacher, no less."

She brought up her hand to a fist and looked at me expectantly. Not knowing what to do, I did the same and followed her movements as we bumped fists in a friendly sort of way, miniature explosion included.

Close enough, I thought to myself, knowing that I'd want more than just that.

Step Two: Conduct Research

Okay, so I'm really doing this?

The first part of my plan, although not fully fleshed out, was centered around one thing: gathering information.

The intel could be anything as long as it pertained to Sunset Shimmer. It was a lot less creepy than it sounded. I just needed to know a few things... like whether or not she likes girls. You know, the foundation of my entire project depended on that. A simple yes or no, but the question framed around it wasn't easy to ask.

Hey, are you gay? Short and to the point, but way too direct. No one would ever ask that out of the blue, especially without an ulterior motive.

Girls are cute. Am I right, Sunset? Nope.

So I have this friend who's wondering about your sexuality...

"Thanks for helping set up, Twilight." Pinkie Pie said, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, no problem."

I didn’t really know how I got to Pinkie’s house. One minute I was at CHS, the next I was helping the party girl decorate her backyard, carefully setting rock shaped centerpieces on each table.

"Pinkie, the helium tank ran out," Sunset called, carrying a heavy looking green canister with both her arms. "I think it might have a leak 'cause it ran out pretty quick."

Oh yeah, that's why.

"Oh, that’s weird!” Pinkie responded in between fits of giggles, her voice high-pitched—well, suspiciously higher pitched than usual. “Just go into my room. I have a ton more in there. You never know when a tank just randomly runs out." Following the bouncy girl's instruction, Sunset disappeared behind the back door.

Now that I thought about it, this was probably the first time I was alone with any of Sunset’s friends. And aside from the music playing from a small radio, it was quiet. I also definitely didn’t know Pinkie long enough to carry a conversation.

I could ask Pinkie Pie, I thought. It would definitely help to get it off my chest at the very least. I didn’t even necessarily have to tell her that I like Sunset. I also didn’t even have to tell her that I like girls. Just a simple “I like someone” would be enough.

As far as I knew, she was a kind enough person. It seemed unlikely that she would just run off and tell everyone who I liked. Besides, when was I going to get another chance to talk privately with someone I knew? If anything I heard from the girls was true, the place would be swarming with people in about an hour or two.

But what if Sunset comes back? What if she overhears me?

Nevermind that. Just get it out there.

All this debating was going to tear my brain apart. Yes, it would’ve been much easier to just talk to someone about it, but I still had trouble bringing myself to say anything. I glanced around the backyard, searching for the party girl who seemed to move at a mile a minute.

After a few seconds of scanning, I finally caught her standing by the cooler, helping herself to a bottle of cider Applejack had donated for the party.

Whelp, here goes nothing.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie," I swallowed the nervous lump forming in my throat. "I need your help with something."

"Sure thing, Twilight."

As fast as a slinky rolling down stairs, Pinkie made her way towards me, carried by a small armada of balloons. Smiling, she floated down from her half-foot gap and took a seat next to me on a white folding chair.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked, my voice a low whisper even though Sunset Shimmer was a good fifty feet away and behind by a wall. Instead of answering, Pinkie nodded vigorously, literally zipping her mouth shut with metal teeth. How? Don't ask.

I swallowed again, feeling the dryness set in as if my body refused to admit that I was crushing on Sunset.

"I, uh, I really like this girl. Like, like like, but I don't know if she... you know? Like, likes girls."

What am I even saying? It was probably just pure gibberish to her, straight from the foreign land of Gibber, located smack dab in the center of the continent of Incoherence, floating in the sea of Ambiguity.

"Uh, huh," Pinkie droned, nodding her head slowly. "So this girl you, like, like like."

"You're mocking me, aren't you?" I groaned, nearly planting my head into the table. If it wasn’t for a compassionate hand patting my back, I would have just given up asking her for help.

"I'm not!" She defended, holding back a warm giggle. "I'm just making sure that you actually have a crush."

"Gah! Don't call it that!"

"What? A crush?"

"Yeah that. Just don't... say it out loud."

"Why?"

"Because a crush has a real possibility of..." I paused, not wanting to finish the thought.

"Leaving you crushed," Pinkie finished.

"Yes, that exactly."

Pinkie racked her brain, or at least that's what I assumed since I literally heard gears turning in her head. About a second or two later, the colliding metal clicked knowingly before an idea sparked in her mind, full light bulb and all.

"Ooh, I know how about we ask Suns—"

"No! Not her!" I gasped, grabbing Pinkie's arm and keeping her from rushing out into the house.

A sly, almost entertained grin began to form on Pinkie's face, slowly getting wider as the realization hit.

"Ohhh," Pinkie hummed. "You've got a crush on Suuuuun~set."

"Not so loud, Pinkie!" I yelped, releasing her arm. I couldn't really blame her for the teasing. It was just something teenagers did when they discovered their friend's developing love life. Mock endlessly and ruthlessly.

"Sorry, Twilight, I just thought it was cute hearing you get all flustered over her."

"Gee, thanks."

"Hey, Pinkie!" Sunset yelled as she stuck her head out from a second story window.”I couldn't find any in your room."

"Check Marble's room maybe I left one there!" Pinkie suggested before turning back to me. "That bought us about a minute."

I paused in thought, not really knowing what to do next. Alright, so Pinkie now knows that I like Sunset. What now?

"You wouldn't know about Sunset's... preferences, would you?"

"She did have a boyfriend one time."

"A boyfriend?" I repeated, my voice faltering in disappointment.

"Although knowing where she's from, I'm surprised she found anyone attractive."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing," Pinkie brushed off, refusing to explain when I asked her again.

"Found it!" Sunset announced as she walked out of the house, carrying an identical looking tank. "You'd think they'd be lighter when they're full."

The party girl ran over to Sunset's side and helped her place the tank next to the balloon station. I couldn't help but feel the slightest twinge of jealousy. It should have been me helping her out, but Pinkie Pie was much faster than I was. Plus, I was always a poor runner and an asthmatic, so a brisk walk was the most I could handle.

Not knowing what else to do, I stopped by the coolers and grabbed large bottles of soda, dropping two on each table. I did the same with bowls of rock candy, sneaking samples after I had set the last of the tables. Yep. It was sugar.

Afterwards, I wandered around the backyard, admiring the decorations. On the center table there was a cake that read, "Go Get That Rocktorate, Maud!" It was cute enough to earn an entertained giggle, but that was really about it.

Still, I couldn’t help but admire the commitment to the theme. Only Pinkie Pie could actually get a rock-themed party off the ground.

The rest of the backyard was littered with the same caliber of jokes which I personally didn't mind, but there are only so many rock puns a person can take. I leaned against the side of the bounce house (complete with rock climbing wall) took a sip of the bubbly soda, watching Pinkie and Sunset fill up balloons. If I could, I would have helped, but it was clearly a two-person job. Pinkie would fill up each balloon and Sunset tied it, strung it, and fastened it to a chair or fence post. They worked efficiently without me; I would just get in the way.

After we were finished, all we had to do was wait for the guests to arrive. Maud wouldn't be back for another hour; Pinkie's other sisters volunteered to keep her out of the house until the party started. Anything to avoid setting up a party for the who knows the how many-eth time. Something also told me that Pinkie threw parties for even more trivial reasons.

Sunset and I slumped down on Pinkie's couch, leaning back and collecting our breaths. The hostess was off in the kitchen grabbing a pair of root beers, which I respectfully declined once she came back. One soda was enough for me—two would be pushing it.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Pinkie announced. "I've got glitter in my bra."

"What else is new?" Sunset joked, kicking her feet up onto Pinkie's coffee table.

"Touché," Pinkie shot back as she playfully jumped up the stairs. "Money's on the table if the pizza guy swings by!"

About a minute later, a soft cascade of water sounded in the distance, leaving me alone with Sunset Shimmer. We sat in an interminable silence, and I hoped that the pizza would show up just to have something to do. But of course, the “half hour or it’s free” guarantee didn’t apply for an order of two dozen pizzas.

Almost hearing my internal pleas, Sunset reached for the remote and switched on the TV, saving us both from any real social interaction.

The room was filled with the sounds of a national talent show. Several acts passed, ranging from dancers and singers to even stage magicians. Sunset would always point out the secrets behind each magic trick. It took until the third magician before I even bothered to ask how she knew how every illusion worked.

"I read a lot of magic books when I first got here," she explained after debunking a teleportation magic trick. "Obviously, it wasn't the same as the kind of magic at CHS. All those hours wasted."

It wasn't until the show focused on a singer when I got my first taste of hope.

"She's cute," Sunset mused casually before taking another swig of root beer.

Unable to stop myself, I blurted, "Would you date her—I mean someone like her?"

She shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Possibly the best news I could have heard all day.

"Though," Sunset retracted, "I could do without her stuffing her bra. A little bit of confidence goes a long way."

It took every bit of self control not to squeal in delight at her answer. I had a chance. A small chance, but at the very least, I wouldn’t be shot down by a simple, "I don't like girls like that."

I leaned back into Pinkie's recliner, at ease at the information I just got. Of course, I still had a lot more work to do before I could even consider asking Sunset Shimmer out on a date yet.

Research Phase: Background Information

The party was in full swing; and, unsurprisingly, nearly everyone from CHS showed up. I stood away from the action, admiring the mass of faces that seemed to be enjoying themselves. Carefree smiles and energetic dance moves lined the backyard, all signs of an event that went through without a hitch.

What made it odd was that everyone seemed to have adopted the rock theme. Teenagers dressed as punk rockers danced with old-school rockabilly types, and the grunge kids mingled with the geek rock kids. It was a pretty entertaining sight to watch from a distance.

"You know what I just noticed?" Pinkie asked. Her arm nudged mine, bringing me back to a state of awareness at the party. The booming dance music nearly drowned her voice beneath a guitar riff. I leaned in closer, hoping to get a better earful by getting closer. It didn't work. She was bouncing up and down in place, her thick curly hair styled into a vintage pompadour.

"What?" I asked, entertaining her thought before taking a drink from a freezing water bottle.

"When you and Sunset Shimmer put your names like celebrity couples, you'd get—"

"Sunlight?" I finished, already knowing where she was going.

"Wow," Pinkie hummed. "That totally blows Shimmle out of the water. Have you been thinking about this?"

"Nah," I lied. "It kinda just came to me."

Pinkie giggled before saying, "Well if you need help tying Sunset down, both figuratively and literally, you know who to call." Without another word, she turned away and began bouncing away into the thick of the party.

I tried to brush the comment away, knowing it was just one of her jokes. Then, instinctively, I called an impatient, "Wait, Pinkie!"

Literally leaving skid marks, she stopped in her tracks before she popped up from behind a wall of dancing people.

"Who exactly was Sunset's ex?" I asked, finding it hard to contain my anxiousness.

"His name is Flash Sentry!" Pinkie beamed, bouncing on her platforms, "I think I remember inviting him earlier today, so he should be coming!"

"Flash Sentry. Got it, thanks," I said plainly before releasing Pinkie back into the general public like a stretched rubber band.

I had a lead. It wasn't much, but it narrowed down the possibilities from everyone at CHS to just one person. One person who managed to actually capture Sunset's heart. I spent the next few minutes wandering the party, not really socializing, unless asking around for Flash counted. But still, every lead turned out fruitless as everyone claimed they hadn't seen seen him arrive yet.

There was a corner of the backyard that served as my friends' base of operations. Though, as I looked around, it seemed that neither Pinkie nor Sunset Shimmer were anywhere in sight. Pinkie was most likely still greeting people, but I assumed Sunset was on a soda run or something. Although, her absence made it easy to ask around for her ex-boyfriend now that I knew that she wasn't nearby.

Every time I hit a wall, the thought of going back to the girls seemed more enticing.

After a good half hour of talking, declining sugary drinks, and asking around, I finally conceded defeat and asked my newfound friends.

Rainbow Dash shifted in her seat and toyed around with her drink. "Sunset's ex? I dunno. She might not really appreciate you looking into him."

"Ah remember he played guitar. Nice guy, but we never got to know him since they split before we became freinds,” Applejack clarified, scratching her head.

"You could ask Sunset," Fluttershy suggested. "That way you'll have her blessing when you—"

"Oh, no I'm not asking about that, " I defended. "Not that he isn't great. I just don't really know him."

"Yeah, why are you asking about him? It wouldn't hurt to ask Sunset unless you're scared that she'll be jealous," Rarity teased, squeezing at my shoulder in what I assumed was a playful gesture between friends.

"I can't. I'm uh, trying to figure out some, uh, background information on Sunset,” I admitted. “You know, magic-based stuff. I'm just not really sure if she'll answer me... truthfully. And I was hoping maybe he could shed some light on things."

Smooth, Twilight. Real smooth.

"Uh huh," Rarity hummed. "Well, I think I saw him around here somewhere so you should just keep looking. I’ll let you know if we spot him."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

I scanned the party once again, hanging around and hoping that the girls would pick him out from the crowd. After about five minutes of sitting there, I began to believe that this Flash Sentry guy just hadn’t shown up—maybe Rarity had gotten him confused with someone else.

Feeling my body weighed down by the lack of information, I figured it probably would have been easier to just tell them all the truth, but more people knowing equaled more liabilities. Besides, I had Pinkie Pie, the girl who could seemingly bend physics for laughs and giggles. What more could I ask for?

Anxious, I stared at the water bottle in my hands. It was disfigured, bent at an odd angle from my grip. I also had a habit of chewing on the bottle cap when I was nervous. Then I noticed the small rut at my feet, and I immediately knew it was caused by my restless kicking. Sure enough, the grass and dirt on my shoes proved me right.

I needed something to do, something to take my mind off of things. Throwing away the water bottle just seemed like the most convenient thing to do.

On my walk, I passed a few of the party games that Pinkie had taken the role of hosting. She stood over a two-foot pot of water with a sign hanging off it that read, "Bobbing for Rocks."

Hopefully, for the sake of everyone's teeth, it was just rock candy. Although considering that sugar was soluble, I doubted that it was actually candy. That would also explain the clear lack of people lining up from the tub.

As I tossed away the plastic bottle, I noticed a familiar group of girls hanging by snack table, and I immediately felt my chest drop.

Apparently Pinkie had invited my teammates from the Friendship Games.

I parted with them on… not the best of terms. Well, that sounded worse than what I meant; the best way I can think to describe it was “cold”. It wasn’t necessarily their fault, either. They had tried to make friends, but I didn’t make any effort to return their kindness. I felt like they were only reaching out because they felt bad.

My departure had been quiet, unannounced, and it was one of the many regrets I had. At the time, I figured that no one would ask questions, but the message Sunny Flare had sent the other day proved me wrong.

But still, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to them, and I found myself backing away.

Wanting to get out of dodge, I ducked inside the house. I felt exhausted and that I needed a little break from the rowdiness. Luckily the inside was relatively quiet—key word being relatively. There was still a healthy amount of chatter from people who wanted to talk free from the booming, oppressive music. I sat off in the corner, hoping to regather my thoughts before I continued the case of the mysterious ex-boyfriend.

"Hey," a voice called. Slow, quiet, monotonous. "Twilight Sparkle, right?" The only expression in her voice was the slight upward lilt at the end that signaled a question.

"Oh, hello," I greeted courteously. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

"Sort of," she said. "My name is Maud. Your friend Pinkie is my little sister."

"Oh!" The name immediately clicked, and a sense of guilt weighed on my back. "I thought you'd be—"

"Out there? Nah, parties are more of her thing."

She poked around her turtleneck before sitting down next to me.

"Why did you let her throw this big party then?" I asked. Maud didn't exactly look like the life of the party, judging from the sad-looking dress she wore.

"Because my sister loves it," Maud answered plainly. "It makes her happy, and I like seeing her happy."

I paused for a moment, not really knowing what to say. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Maud answered, her voice absolutely deadpan. "But yes."

"If Pinkie were to come home gushing about someone she liked, how would you advise her in dating, as a big sister, you know?"

Hey, I'm getting better at being subtle, I think.

Maud paused, but her expression didn't change. It rarely did during my conversation with her.

"I guess I would tell her to be careful," she answered. "Knowing her, she's going to fall fast and hard. I just want to make sure she's not crushed when she finds out they're not the one. Now, tell me. Is she?"

"No," I answered, "just a hypothetical."

"Figured," Maud commented. "Would it be too much to ask who you like?"

I froze in place, not really knowing what to say. "I, uh, well, you see."

"It's a girl isn't it?" Maud pressed, keeping absolutely calm. "Not that I mind. You just seemed too skittish, and most girls would have mentioned a boy."

"But that doesn't mean—"

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Is it Pinkie?"

I shook my head, and she nodded. "Not that she's not great and all. I mean—"

"Well, whoever it is," Maud started, "just ask her out. I'm sure she'll say yes." She paused for a moment before digging in her pocket. Her hand came out swiftly, holding a gray, uninteresting pebble. "Boulder told me he’s hungry again."

Without saying much else, she disappeared behind into the kitchen while whispering consoling words to the stone in her palm.

So much for my sage advice. What does she know? I asked myself, immediately questioning her validity based on her relationship with a rock. For all I knew, that rock could have been her lover, and this was just a giant waste of time.

I hit another wall. The clues didn't help, and I didn't get much from Maud. The search for the evasive Flash Sentry was back on. He might as well have been invisible, considering how hard he was to find. I should have figured it would be impossible to find Sunset's "Mystery Hunk."

"I like to call this one, ‘A Flash to the Past,’" a voice introduced, followed by the sound of a familiar chord structure, playing at a pleasantly upbeat tempo.

I stopped at the back of the room, watching the blue-haired boy sing in an attempt to liven up the party. Aside from his hair being ridiculously styled like a caricature of Elvis for the party's theme, he was familiar. It didn’t take me long to realize that I had run into him before, but we never really connected much more than a passing conversation.

Halfway through his musical set, he glanced in my direction and didn’t look away. It also didn't help that I was one of the few people not outside dancing. I sat on a chair against the wall, hoping to talk to him once he was done.

He put his guitar down, and then he set his sights towards me.

"Twilight," he called, leaning against the living room wall.

"Flash, right?" I greeted, taking a reassuring sip of my water. "I didn't know you play guitar."

"Yup," he answered, "and yeah, I play guitar."

"Cool," I said, faking interest. "Sunset also plays guitar."

Gee, Twilight, that wasn't forced at all.

Flash nodded and scratched at his head. "Yeah, I taught her a bit while we were dating."

My eyes flared, a staged reaction on my part to egg him on. "Oh, really? I didn't know that. She would always mention on how she had a good teacher."

That part was a lie, but it worked just the same to butter him up. With his ego stroked, he seemed to be a lot more receptive to talking about Sunset Shimmer.

"I could teach you," he offered, his smile getting wider.

"No thanks. I'm just looking to see what Sunset likes—so I could get her something for her birthday."

"Oh, I didn't know her birthday was coming up."

Maybe there's a reason Sunset dumped him. It couldn’t have been that hard to remember a birthday or at the very least the month—or even season—it's in.

"Aside from guitars, did you two have anything in common?" I asked, flashing an innocent smile and using every ounce of effort to look like I wasn't digging for information. I could have sworn my cheeks were supported with wires by how much they were hurting afterward.

"Well, we never really connected... ya know, intimately?"

I crossed my arms, hoping to just drop the subject of that but no. Conversations required closure or something. The next few minutes were spent trying to politely claw myself out of the conversation that went by at a rock’s pace. I already knew what he was telling me. The girls (and Sunset) had been hounding me to join their band, insisting that I was a good singer. How they knew, I didn’t know.

With his words already less helpful than what I already knew, I was ready to throw in the towel for the night.

I stepped back outside, hoping to clear my head with the mind-soothing sounds of heavy metal. Kidding, of course. I spent a good twenty minutes wandering the party, taking part in small talk with other Canterlot students and declining their offers of cider. The party itself was lively—I couldn't take that away from Pinkie. Even though it wasn't my thing, the pink party girl sure worked some magic turning rocks into the can't-miss event of the month.

Retreating back into the safety of the party, I stopped in an isolated corner. Pushing through walls of guests, I slumped onto a foldable chair and decided to wait the party out.

“Twilight?”

I shrunk, recognizing the voice. “Hey, Sunny Flare.”

Looking up, my fears from earlier were confirmed as Sunny Flare was standing by me. Unlike the other guests, she wasn’t dressed to the rock theme—she was still wearing the Crystal Prep uniform.

“Dean Cadenza told us you transferred the other day,” she said quietly. “Then I got an invite on MyStable from one of your new friends, and I figured…”

“Sorry.” I stared down at my shoes. “I should have said something before I left, but...”

She put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine, Twilight. I get it. I mean, it sucks and all, but I probably would have left too, especially since Cinch is still running things.”

“Yeah... I couldn’t really stay around for much longer.” I paused, debating on whether to tell her any more.

“The rest of the girls really wanted to see you, but they had to leave a while ago.”

“Oh,” I hummed.

Sunny dug her hands into her pockets. “How are you holding up? You know, after the whole transformation thing.”

“Okay, I guess.” It was a lie, but I didn’t want to bother her with my problems.

“If you want to talk about it, or anything really, feel free to come to any one of us,” she offered. “It was just as much our fault, and we really want to make it up to you. You’re our friend, Twilight.”

I hung on the word “friend” and immediately felt selfish. Maybe it was my introverted nature, but it was hard for me to feel like I really made any friends. I wasn’t all to sure if it was a reluctance on my part from shyness or fear of those feelings not being reciprocated.

I adjusted my glasses. “I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Sunny. I needed to hear something like that.”

The conversation lulled, long enough for it to be a nice, quiet moment. Sunny Flare hummed a little while staring off at the party.

“Who’s the cutie at my ten?” Sunny asked, pointing off toward a girl wearing a flower crown.

“Oh that’s, uh, Roseluck, I think,” I answered. "She's in my calc class."

“I’m digging the psychedelic vibe. I'm gonna go see if she wants to dance,” she announced as she stood up. “See ya, Twilight. It was great talking to you.”

“You too,” I said, leaning back into my metal chair. I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling jealous of Sunny Flare's confidence.

Emotionally drained for the day, I plugged in by earbuds and substituted the party’s music with my own. I managed to get a few solid minutes of alone time before my earphones were mercilessly ripped out, and I was brought back to the world of guitar solos.

"Bringing your own music to a party? Not cool, Twi." Rainbow scolded, although not seriously, more of an immature hazing sort of way. "Seriously, though," shespoke up through an entertained chuckle. "Come on and join the party. Even Fluttershy's out there having a good time. So is Applejack, and she's square dancing to punk rock."

"I'm not really a good dancer," I protested, hoping to drop it at that.

She held out her hand, ignoring my excuse—a friendly gesture, no doubt. Without hesitating, I grabbed the flannel-clad arm and joined the punk rocker into the fray of the party. Tonight was somewhat of a failure, so I figured I should just enjoy myself for the rest of it and salvage the experience.

"Any luck finding Flash Sentry?" Rainbow asked, leading me into the familiar group of girls.

"He was a bust," I answered truthfully. "Apparently they weren’t close. It kinda makes me wonder how they ended up dating in the first place."

“She dated him for popularity," Rainbow answered. "Any one of us could have told you that."

"I didn't think Sunset—"

"There's a lot of things she did before she mellowed out," Rainbow clarified. "It's a long story that she should probably tell you herself."

"But—"

"The only 'but' should be the one you can shake," Rainbow ordered playfully before shoving me into the thick of the party. Any cry of protest was ignored as I was pushed into the center of the dance floor.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

"Catch!" Pinkie's bubbly voice called right before I was struck with a pile of flannel that landed squarely on my face. I wrestled with the pajamas for a moment before unfolding them.

I was tired. The party had been a blur, mostly forgotten other than the notes I had taken after most of the action died down. After the party, I stayed behind along with Sunset and the rest of the girls to clean up what we could. Empty cider bottles and soda cans were easy enough, but there was a folding chair still stuck in a tree somewhere. The only light we had were the streetlights and the moon, and unsurprisingly everyone agreed that climbing up a tree at one in the morning wasn’t the smartest idea.

Still, after putting everything away, the cozy inside of Pinkie's house was comparable to warmest of campfires.

Pinkie's parents were gone—they usually weren't around whenever Pinkie threw the world's biggest shindigs, hootenannies, or whatever. Maud offered the six of us her room but we all declined, choosing to cram into Pinkie's tiny room for the night.

I slid myself into my sleepwear, feeling the warm touch of fabric rub against my legs.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack had already passed out, exaggerating their ruggedness by opting to take the floor next to Pinkie's bed. The blonde clutched her hat against her chest like a child would with a stuffed bear. Rainbow, clad in a pair of men's boxers and a tank top, shared the cramped space, unconsciously pushing her friend so she had more room.

I chuckled to myself as I spread a spare blanket over the two.

Pinkie Pie took her own bed, obviously, although she had offered to share it with Rarity and Fluttershy. Both of them, however, had modestly declined, each taking a couch pillow from downstairs to occupy the last bits of free space on the floor.

So that left me with the bed... with Sunset Shimmer.

I swear I didn't plan this. Fate just decided on a whim to have a sense of humor. Story of my life, I figured.

It was a total of two days since green-lighting The Sunlight Project, and I could confidently say that I slept with Sunset Shimmer and not be lying about it.

Of course, we had the buffer of Pinkie Pie in between us, so it wasn't as aligned in the stars as it seemed. Sunset squirmed under the shared covers, and I pretended not to notice. We were all girls there, but I couldn't help but feel my cheeks flush with blood as Sunset carelessly tossed her bra in the corner.

"Hey! Watch where you throw that!" a half-asleep Rainbow scolded. "Jeez, it's all sweaty, too."

Once again I pretended not to notice, mentally blocking out the slanderous remark.

At least half an hour passed and I legitimately could not fall asleep. The sounds of slumber filled the room as most of them seemed to snore. I got up from the bed, thanking everything that I didn't have to climb over Pinkie Pie or trip over the sleeping girls. My throat was dry anyway, so I took it both as an opportunity to both grab some water and stretch my legs.

The halls were empty, almost eerie compared to earlier in the night it was littered with partygoers who ignored the "do not go upstairs" sign. The evidence was still around, forcing me to trod through crushed red party cups and potato chips.

In the corner of my eye, lit up perfectly in the moonlight, was a notebook. It was Sunset's notebook, to be specific, hanging out of her half-open bag. The gold accents shined, immediately drawing my attention towards the leather-bound book, where a heavily-stylized sun was printed. It looked awfully expensive—awfully private.

I'm not proud of what I did. It was an invasion of privacy, yes, but I couldn't help myself.

Greedily, I flipped through the book, my hands awkwardly fumbling the golden-lined paper until I reached the last passage.

I am not proud of what I did, and I am not still not sure of what I found.

I reread the first line over and over again trying to mentally comprehend the words on the page.

Dear Princess Twilight,

Work Cited: Shimmer, Sunset. "Dear Princess Twilight."

I said I wasn't proud of what I did, right? Of course I did, and I would keep doing it. I just couldn't help myself. It was there and I had to. It was unforgivable, morally reprehensible, just downright sick and twisted.

But my hands acted on their own—another poor excuse I would keep telling myself to place the blame somewhere else.

The different colors of ink in Sunset’s entries suggested multiple sittings. Each time, it was addressed to "Princess Twilight," whoever that was, and each time she wrote back.

Maybe it was all written by Sunset. No, it couldn’t be. The handwriting was completely different on either side of the page.

What if Princess was the mystery writer's first name? It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think that.

Besides, Twilight was a common name. It was my mother's name, and it was my name, too. What did twilight even mean? It was just a time of day when the sun... set. What is a name anyway? It was nothing more than a collection of syllables put together as a means of identification. Who knows? Maybe one day names would be obsolete, and we'll all be using numbers.

Maybe it was just a really unfortunate pseudonym. Yeah, that sounded about right. It was just a clever pseudonym used on an advice column: Twilight was synonym for Sunset, after all. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think that.

But why would she be talking to herself with a code name? It just didn’t add up.

Be calm, Twilight. It's nothing. You never saw the book. You never got out of bed. In fact, you're still in bed, sleeping next to Pinkie and Sunset. It's all a dream caused by exhaustion from the night before.

If only that were true. It was impossible or at least extremely difficult (it was never scientifically validated on which was true) to read in a dream. Most of the time text would be indecipherable, so I couldn't even lie to myself and be factually sound.

The book was open, sprawled out on the floor like a tempting, seductive centerfold. It sat there, staring back and daring me to continue further, to delve deeper. There was bound to be one tiny piece of info that could make this easier. Just a slight mention outright confirming her attractions, likes, or turn-ons would be enough.

I'm weak. I won't bother justifying it. It happened, and I felt terrible about it.

I kicked the book away in disgust and watched it slide underneath a layer of filth left behind from the party. I wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted it out of my sight, but most of all I wanted to pretend I didn’t even open it.

My head hit the wall, and I sunk further into the leftover confetti and streamers, picking bits and pieces from the floor and crumpling it up. Without thinking, I kept cleaning. Before I knew it, the hallway was clean, completely rid of the trash and leaving the shining book laying in the center of the hall.

It was late now, much later than before. There wasn't any trace of the morning yet, but the crystal silence pierced my chest, judging my every action. I paused and tapped at the book with my foot, half-expecting it to come alive and sound a siren. In seconds, six half-awake girls would come running out from Pinkie’s room and realize what I was doing. I would and they would drop me as a friend, immediately kicking me out to the street to walk home in the night.

But none of that happened. No alarm sounded, no one came, and no one saw me.

I was left alone in the night to peruse the journal to my depraved heart's content.

Dear Princess Twilight,

You wouldn't believe the week The Rainbooms and I just had. As it turns out, we didn't really need your help—not that it wouldn't have helped, but it was nice to solve a magic related problem without relying on you as a crutch.

I think we finally figured out what caused us to "pony up" at times. I'll be kicking myself for weeks for not seeing it earlier, but it just so happens to be caused whenever we display the truest part of ourselves. Really, in hindsight, it all makes sense.

There's also something I want to tell you. It happened again, the thing at the Fall Formal. Though, this time, it wasn't me who needed the help.

I felt it—the magic, I mean. Though it wasn't the same violent lust for power. It was light, warm, and almost like a daydream. I don't know how it was like for you back at the Formal, but it just felt right to forgive like you did before.

Hopefully, you come back soon. The girls are really eager to see you again. I am too. There's a ton you have to see and hear in person.

Your friend,

Sunset Shimmer

P.S. There's someone you have to meet. I won't say much, but let's just say she's someone after your own heart.

My stomach dropped; I just felt wrong. She was confiding in someone, someone close, and I had no right to read what she had written in confidence. I hadn’t even learned anything other than evidence for my idea that Sunset had some previous baggage weighing her down.

She mentioned me, sort of. Who else could she be talking about? Unless magic-related meltdowns happened every week. She kept my name out of it, which I was thankful for. Though I still had no idea who this Princess Twilight was, but I figured I would find that out in time if Sunset kept to her promise of introducing us.

Still, whoever it was knew magic. Otherwise Sunset wouldn't have brought it up.

I don't remember much from when I was that thing, but I remembered her talking me down, holding my hand, and appearing as a being of pure light. She was golden—radiant, to be exact—the living embodiment of righteousness. I couldn't help but think for days afterwards that Sunset Shimmer was a literal magical girl.

Completely unlike me, the wretch who fell into temptation twice.

My head hung low, and I skulked back into Pinkie's room. My throat was still dry, but water was above me right now. I tiptoed across the room and slowly slid my way back on the bed.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

I watched idly as a torrent of orange juice was poured into a large mug. The gentle, half-awake chatter floated through the air while Pinkie Pie and Rarity tended to the stove. The smell of frying eggs and roasting coffee filled the room, signaling a Saturday morning that was dedicated to accomplishing nothing other than a much needed recharge to tackle the incoming week.

"Ah got a mean crick in mah neck from sharing the floor with Rainbow," Applejack complained, rubbing her neck. She took the seat next to mine and tapped at the counter, her nails clicking against the table.

"It's not my fault," Rainbow Dash protested. "You were hoggin' the blanket."

Their short-winded argument lasted a total of three seconds before devolving into a childish circle of "uh-huhs" and "nuh-uhs." With the slight clatter of porcelain, however, the argument subsided as the universal language of food diplomatically solved the conflict with the two now racing to see who could finish faster.

"Done!" Rainbow announced, claiming the nonexistent first prize.

"Ya didn't even clean the plate," argued Applejack.

"Doesn't matter," the so-called "winner" shot back, standing up proudly before heading to the stove to get seconds. Unsurprisingly, she was batted down by Rarity, who chastised Rainbow Dash to at least wait until everyone else was served. She shrugged in defeat, resolving to just drop her plate into the sink before muttering, "Wasn't hungry anyway."

I was nibbling at a toasted bagel, generously lathered in cream cheese as Sunset Shimmer came in. It was the first time her hair wasn't the perfect wave of fiery colors I had known; instead, it was a messy, unkempt wildfire. Personally, I thought it was an improvement—it made her seem just the right amount of flawed to be approachable.

Sunset leaned against the doorway, graciously accepting a cup of juice.

"I think I know what we're doing today," Sunset spoke up, letting the chorus of “What?” pour in as she took a sip of her drink. "A certain somebody might be showing up later today, and I figured it would be a good idea to wait for her at CHS."

"Ooh, did she say anything?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Not exactly, but she did write back—sort of." Sunset answered. "She just said, 'Busy, come soon.'"

"Exactly like that?" Rarity asked, sitting down at the table.

"Yeah, pretty much. Though, it wouldn't hurt to have a picnic by the Wondercolt statue," Sunset proposed.

"Or what's left of it," Rainbow commented snidely.

"Rainbow!" Rarity chastised. "It wasn't her fault."

"It's fine," I exonerated. "I'm sure she really didn't mean it."

It wasn't fine. The comment actually kind of stung.

Sunset walked over to the table, "How about this? We go home, shower, get changed, and meet at CHS in about an hour for a picnic?"

"I kinda need a ride home," I said, suddenly cursing my insistence to wait on getting my driver's license. Crystal Prep was always in walking distance, and I never really minded taking the bus. Now, however, it was starting to backfire since I had to rely on the others for rides.

"I gotcha, Twilight," Sunset said, right before grabbing my arm and leading me out the kitchen. On the way out I grabbed my bag, bulging with my school supplies and the crumpled vest and tie of my old Crystal Prep uniform.

The outside air was brisk, and I began to regret accepting Sunset's ride; I would have much preferred the shelter and the heating provided by Rarity's hybrid or even Applejack's pickup truck that she borrowed from her brother. We rounded the entry way and stopped in front of Sunset's bike as I mentally prepared myself to climb aboard. I gritted my teeth, hoping the second ride up the hill wouldn't be as frightening as the first.

It was.

When we arrived to my house on the hill, I invited Sunset into my home. Luckily, my parents were off working. Their work ethic was unmatched, to say the least, and I never doubted that my workhorse tendencies came from them.

The warmth of the house was welcomed and sorely missed thanks to the rush of the outside air. I dropped my backpack by the coat rack, resolving to pick it up after a much needed shower and change of clothes.

"Mind if I raid your kitchen?" Sunset asked. "I'll make us both something for the picnic later."

"Oh, sure, just take whatever as thanks for the ride. I'm just gonna hop in the shower really quick."

"Coolio."

I nearly ran up the stairs. I didn't feel right about leaving Sunset alone but I really needed the shower. And, after one quick recharging, I met back with Sunset who was still in the kitchen, fixing together sandwiches filled to the brim with vegetables.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I just made two of my favorite," Sunset Shimmer said cheekily. She let out a breathy chuckle before she began rummaging the fridge. "You got any soda?"

"No, sorry," I answered meekly. “My parents don't let me drink soda all that much. I have juice boxes in the pantry, though."

"Aww, cute," Sunset cooed before diving towards the stock of food. I knew she was teasing, but I couldn’t help but feel my face heat up. Without hesitating, she pried open the container holding all the packs before tossing a handful of juice boxes into a basket. “Hey, do you have a blanket or something?”

I nodded and dug around in a nearby closet, finding an almost textbook red and white checkered quilt. It was perfect. Smiling, I slung it over my shoulder and walked back to the kitchen. I gave Sunset an eager thumbs up, and before I knew it, we were back on the road.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

We were the first to arrive, showing up at least fifteen minutes before Sunset's recommended time. We set up the checkered quilt behind the statue; Sunset Shimmer insisted that it was the best place to set up, claiming that we'd get a fair amount of shade behind the wrecked Wondercolt. The sounds of the outside world was enough to keep us from getting impatient and too restless, providing the perfect background stimulus to keep from wanting to leave.

My dog, Spike, sat on my lap as I gently stroked his back. His presence was therapeutic, to say the least. Although, he seemed to gravitate more to Fluttershy, which I assumed was because of her natural bond with animals.

"Twilight," Sunset called softly, taking a reassuring sip from a box of apple juice. "Can we talk about something... back at the Games?"

I nodded. "Sure. I've been meaning to ask." I paused. "I didn't really know how to talk about it."

Sunset bit her lip, sending me an almost consoling look. "I guess since we're alone, it would be easier to talk about this." Her voice was resolute, almost as if she had made an ultimatum with herself.

Wincing a little, I nodded again, agreeing with her reluctant sentiment.

"It was definitely magic," Sunset started, pausing in thought, presumably to phrase her sentence clearly. "I felt it too—I felt exactly what you felt—not back at the Friendship Games but weeks before. When you changed into th—"

"That she-demon?" I asked, flinching at the words that came out with a condemning harshness. Sunset closed her eyes and faced towards the ground. Running a hand through her hair, she leaned back against the stone podium.

"Do you remember what I said to you back then? When we were floating?"

I shook my head.

"I said something along the lines that I wanted to help you." She stopped. "Like someone once did for me."

We sat in silence for what felt like an interminable clump of minutes, but really it was no longer than a quarter of a minute. I held back choked breaths, and judging from her deep breathing, she was trying to do the same.

"That someone," Sunset started again, taking in a hearty amount of reassuring air, "came through that"—she pointed at the base of the Wondercolt podium—"a portal from another world—another world with magic. Am I losing you yet?" Her question was forced through a chuckle to lighten the mood.

"No," I squeaked.

"She came through and, to make a long story short, she made me a much better po-person. I also became a monster—a she-demon, just like you did the other day. She was the one who saved me, and I think it would help if you met her."

Princess Twilight, I thought, my eyes flashing instinctively.

"But trust me," she said, "it's going to get weird fast."

"Surely it can't get stranger than what happened at the Games," I said confidently, eliciting a chuckle from her. I couldn't help but crack a smile as I watched the curls on her head bob up and down with her giggle. I wanted to make her laugh again and again.

One by one the girls began to join us. Pinkie Pie was first, dropped off by her older sister Maud. The physics-bending girl bounced her way over, somehow landing atop the stone podium. Applejack was the last to show up, grabbing a case of apple cider from her truck's passenger seat as she made her way over from the parking lot.

Even though we had just spent the morning together, we talked as if we hadn't seen each other in weeks. It was calm, relaxing as we all began sharing some of the light dishes we made at home, ranging from Fluttershy's salads to a hearty bag of potato chips from Rainbow Dash, which she had admitted she bought on the way.

Fluttershy quickly turned her attention to Spike, who was now wide awake and ready for attention that the animal caretaker was more than happy to supply. Off to the side, Rarity began fiddling with Rainbow Dash's hair. She lifted the multicolored hairs and began picking at the strands.

"And how did you get gum jammed that deep in your hair... especially that far back?"

"I dunno," she answered, grunting as Rarity tugged at her hair.

"Maybe you slept on it," chimed Pinkie Pie, leaning over the edge of the stone statue. "Happens to me all the time."

"I doubt that," Rainbow defended as she crossed her arms.

"We've seen your room, Rainbow." Applejack took a sip of her cider. “I sure wouldn't be surprised if the pig pen at Sweet Apple Acres was cleaner than your pigsty."

"Very funny." Rainbow said, her voice unappreciative. "GAH! Not so hard, Rarity." There was a slight giggle bouncing around the air. "Don't."

The laughter died down as we sat in the newfound silence. Without any sort of warning, there was a tingling sort of sound, and our heads darted towards the Wondercolt, watching as a liquid ripple formed on the what I used to believe was solid stone.

This was where things got weird—fast.

I bolted to my feet in surprise as I caught a full look at the girl in front of me. For lack of a better, more logical explanation, I was staring at a parallel image of myself. Not an exact mirror, but the similarities were eerie to say the least. From her eyes to the same exact purple streaks in her hair, she was me, except for the fact she wasn't wearing glasses.

"I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner! I didn't get your messages until just now because I was caught in this time travel loop and, honestly, it was the strangest thing that's ever happened to me!"

Once she was finished with her rapid fire monologue, she caught sight of me, and her jaw dropped in disbelief. Not that mine wasn't either, but at least I had some sort of forewarning from Sunset Shimmer.

Unable to think of a thing to say, I smiled sheepishly and waved.

"Make that the second strangest..." she murmured.

Outside Resources

At the risk of blowing up the universe, I stepped forward. I don't know what possessed me—maybe it was a bit of morbid curiosity. Regardless, I approached myself—her—Princess Twilight—whatever.

Our eyes were locked, staring each other down in an attempt to figure everything out. If it wasn’t for the girls' entertained smiles, it would have been tense. I found myself unable to think of a thing to say.

A storm of unanswered questions flooded my mind, and from the look on the other me's face, she was probably thinking the same thing.

"Are you?" I asked—the me me asked, that is. She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat that had also formed in mine. Then we both turned to Sunset Shimmer, who gave us both a reassuring smile.

"Is this her?" Princess Twilight asked, pointing towards me while still looking at Sunset for guidance.

"Twilight Sparkle," Sunset started, pausing just long enough to relish the moment, "meet Twilight Sparkle."

"How?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer from Sunset's vague description.

"Like I said, she's from another world."

"Right."

For some reason, it made even less sense now.

The rest of the girls held back laughs, keeping quiet—save for Pinkie Pie who obnoxiously sucked the last few drops in her box of orange juice. Still, it was better than complete silence.

Before we said anything else, we sat back on the red checkered quilt directly across from each other. No matter how much I tried, I refused to believe that I was standing right in front of another me. It just seemed like an elaborate practical joke. One eerily-convincing practical joke.

"Twilight," she called, her voice faltering. "Wow, this is weird.'

"Yeah," I agreed, biting my lip.

The pause in the conversation was interminable, absolutely unbearable. We sat in silence, none of of us knowing what to say. I decided to turn to the only one who seemed to know what was going on.

"Sunset, can we talk?" we both called, our voices harmonizing—well, to harmonize would imply that one of us has a harmonic part to the other's melody, but we were technically equals, but that was not the point. (Although resonating would be a better, more accurate term.)

"Whoa! Weird!" Pinkie cheered giddily, hopping down from the top of the shattered Wondercolt. "It must be so cool to have someone who could finish your—"

“Sentences?” the both of us answered in reverberating voices.

"Wow, you're so much better at this than I am," she giggled. "I was gonna say sandwiches because sometimes I can't finish them on my own, and it would totally be awesome to share them with myself, so they wouldn’t all go to waste."

"Well, that sure is one way to think of it," Rarity commented.

"Sunset?" we called again, this time earning no startled comments from the others.

"You first."

"No, you—Ugh."

At least our mild frustration was somewhat entertaining.

"Alright," Sunset said, holding back a laugh, "I'm thinking of a number between one and ten."

"Seven! Gah!" we both groaned in unison.

"How 'bout you rock paper scissors for it?" Rainbow suggested facetiously.

"Not helping."

"Well, it can't be too hard to find a way to decide who talks first," Applejack said, being the much needed voice of reason.

"You mean who's on first?" Rainbow cackled.

"Twilight is." Fluttershy joined in, playing along.

"Well, which Twilight?"

"Our Twilight."

"The one with magic?"

"Yes. That Twili—"

"Girls, stop!" the both of us cried, earning a round of lighthearted laughs out of the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

"How 'bout this?" Rainbow Dash started, "Princess Twi goes off to talk with Sunset while Four-Eyed Twi sticks with us and we fill her in—sound good?"

Not wanting to say much else (even if I disagreed with the four-eyed moniker), we both nodded. Although our approving gesture was, in fact, synchronized.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

"So you're saying that in another world, I'm... a magical princess of friendship?"

I honestly lost count on how many times that point was relayed to me. Yet somehow it was still jarring to hear every time they told me.

"Eeyup."

"Pretty much."

"Ooh! Don't forget the part where you're a pegacorn!" Pinkie Pie said.

"I'm a what?"

"She means an alicorn, dear," Rarity clarified, gently patting her arm against my knee. "A unicorn with wings."

I laughed, pretty rudely too. I couldn't help it. They just stepped outside the realm of believability, just like… how Princess Twilight had literally stepped out of whatever realm she came from. Okay, maybe it wasn't so far-fetched.

"Surely, you can't be serious," I said skeptically. "You can't expect me to honestly believe that I'm a magic horse princess."

"Pony princess," Pinkie Pie corrected. "There's a difference."

"Sunset Shimmer is one, too—a unicorn." Rarity added.

Once again, I couldn't help but laugh at the statement. At the same time, however, there was a small part of me getting a little concerned since Rarity seemed like she was above practical jokes. I kept waiting for one of them to break, yet none of them did. Even Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be the most likely to revel in a prank like this, kept a completely straight face.

"Right. And the next thing you're gonna tell me is that I'm from a land called Equinia or something," I said, my tone both defensive and dismissive.

"Close," Fluttershy spoke up, raising her voice just enough to be heard. "It's called Equestria."

"Oh, come on!"

"We're serious," Applejack insisted. "Since when have I lied to you?"

She had a point, though I really did not want to admit it. It all just didn't make sense. Sure, alternate universes were a fun thing to think about, but an entire universe populated by ponies was just too ridiculous to even entertain.

Wanting to get a better, more truthful answer, I turned to watch the other Twilight, who seemed to have finished catching up with Sunset. They both sauntered down the CHS entrance steps. And honestly, I felt a slight pang of jealousy as Sunset seemed to have been gravitating closer to Princess Twilight.

Sunset whispered something into Princess Twilight's ear as they stopped just short of the picnic blanket.

"Am I all caught up?" Princess Twilight asked, surprisingly much more comfortable with the situation than I was.

"Sort of," I answered.

"She just can't really believe that you're an alicorn princess from Equestria." Rarity brought up. "I really can't figure out why."

Surprisingly, Princess Twilight didn't flinch but instead simply turned to Sunset. "You mean you haven't told me—her anything?"

"She knows about magic... and what happened between us at the Fall Formal. Sort of.”

The Fall Formal. My mind clicked at the sudden mention. I, as in Princess Twilight, had saved Sunset at the formal. It was another version of me who was there. It all made sense, in an odd sort of way, and it explained why Sunset, the girls, and literally everyone else at CHS already knew who I was.

"W-wait," I stammered. "Does that mean it's all true—about Equestria?"

Sunset, without missing a beat, simply nodded.

"So that means you were a..."

Oh, gosh. I'm in love with a magic horse.

You would think that would be a deal breaker, but somehow it wasn't.

"A unicorn, yes," Sunset answered, pausing just long enough for me to let it sink in. She stared at her boots and then at the sun above, squinting slightly. "Well, I think we've been out in the sun long enough. How about we go and chill at my place for a bit now that Princess Twilight is here?"

The group burst into a round of agreement before we all quickly pitched in to clean up the makeshift picnic site. After we finished picking up, Rainbow Dash ran ahead and called shotgun.

Applejack drove ahead with Pinkie, and Sunset followed behind on her bike.

I sat in the back of Rarity's car, on the hump, mostly because I didn't want to intrude. I wasn't exactly sure if the other girls had a specific seat they liked.

Sure enough, Rainbow Dash had claimed shotgun, and Fluttershy took the seat to my left, behind the driver, and arguably the safest passenger seat in the car. Although, the same argument could be made for the center seat. With only one place left to sit in the tiny car, Princess Twilight reluctantly hopped in to my right.

We grimaced, afraid that if we touched each other, the universe would fall apart.

As a result, we kept our distance, even though neither of us wanted to say anything at the risk of sounding insane. I had to uncomfortably lean against Fluttershy with no explanation to protect the entirety of space and time and possibly the (now very real) multiverse. The other me did the same, though she had the easier side of the deal as all she had to do was keep towards the window.

Then we hit a pothole, and our hands brushed against each other.

We both gasped in fear, expecting a dimensional rift to form between us. Maybe it would have engulfed us all and swallowed the planet whole, sending us into an interdimensional limbo as a karmic punishment for bending the laws of the universe.

Or maybe we would have absorbed into each other and fused into one body to compensate for there being two of the same person. For all I knew, one of us could have simply vanished into thin air.

But none of that happened, and Princess Twilight and I merely exchanged an awkward laugh before scooting in closer to each other.

The inside of Sunset's apartment was modest; she had what she needed, plus a few luxuries that looked scavenged. Although, none of it seemed to really mesh well. The TV was old and looked like it must have been extremely difficult to bring up to the apartment. The couch was a strange shade of green, and the end tables were mismatched.

How she paid for it all was beyond me, but I figured it would be rude to ask.

"Hey, Sunset, how do you pay for all this?" Rainbow Dash asked, collapsing onto a rather tight loveseat.

"Oh, a lot of this I picked up off yard sales... and I did scavenge some stuff off the side of the road," Sunset answered as her voice faltered. "Plus, a bag of Equestrian bits goes a long way."

I hung on her comment a bit longer than I should have.

"Still," Rarity said, "you've done a wonderful job with the place despite all that." Her praise, at least from what I could tell, was sincere. Even still, she couldn't hide her worries about Sunset's furnishing once she sat on a bar stool and nearly fell because of the uneven legs.

"Sorry!" Sunset cried jumping to Rarity's side. She grabbed a textbook off the table and motioned for Rarity to move before she slipped it under the chair. "Sorry, I needed it for homework."

"No worries, darling," Rarity said, brushing off the incident with a flick of the wrist. "Though I would like to suggest that you invest in new drapes. It would definitely liven the place up."

Sunset, turning to the window, answered back, "Someday, but I prefer the natural light anyway."

"As in sunlight!?" Pinkie Pie asked, nudging my shoulder right before she burst into a giggle fit.

"Uh, yeah?"

Holding back another laugh, Pinkie Pie sent a campy wink in my direction. Luckily, no one else seemed to catch on, and the conversation was dropped from there.

The lazy Saturday continued, slowly plodding along with nothing of note—aside from the second me, who kept looking in my direction. Odds were that she was thinking the same thing I was. Of course, there was only one way to find out.

"Hey, Twilight?" we both called. Without saying another word, we stood up and looked towards Sunset. "Do you mind if we talk in private?"

"Uh, go for it." Sunset answered while pointing down to a door. "There's my room."

We walked off into the next room, but not before I caught a sly, "I bet they're gonna make out," from Rainbow Dash.

Closing the door behind us, I turned to the inside of Sunset Shimmer's room. It was bare. Nothing was on the walls, and the only notable things in the room were a bookshelf, a cabinet, and an air mattress. Rarity was right about the place needing more curtains, but I simply guessed that she preferred a minimalist approach.

"Oh my," Princess Twilight said, her voice quivering in surprise.

"What?" I asked, genuinely surprised at the sudden mental disconnect.

"Nothing."

"Right," I said back. She was probably thinking about Rainbow Dash's comment. Not wanting to entertain her joke any further, I figured it was best to just move on.

"Can we talk about—"

The Fall Formal was my suggestion, and she seemed adamant about discussing what happened at the Friendship Games. Neither of us budged. If only I had brought a quarter or something. Without missing a beat, she called out "heads" and dug into her pocket, pulling out a solid gold coin. Smiling, she flipped the coin.

Sure enough, it landed on the profile of a unicorn with wings, which I had to assume was heads. Curiously, I thumbed the coin. It was heavy, cold, and the back read "Equestrian Mint" and "One Gold Bit."

Any doubts about Equestria were gone now, leaving me to accept the fact that Sunset Shimmer was an interdimensional unicorn turned human. More questions flooded my mind, but I knew I had to wait my turn.

Princess Twilight walked over to Sunset's bed and sat down. She turned to the head and grabbed a throw pillow. "To avoid confusion, this is the talking pillow."

I nodded but didn't say a word, as dictated by the one, absolute law of the talking pillow.

"Sunset told me about what happened—something about the Friendship Games. She told me that you and her... transformed." Princess Twilight gripped the pillow tighter. "I just want to know how you're holding up. I can't even imagine going through that."

She smiled warmly, but I was sure she found it just as weird to be talking to herself—myself—whatever. Princess Twilight then passed over the orange throw pillow, and I accepted it shakily.

"I'm okay," I answered truthfully. "Sunset did a lot to help afterwards—more than she knows, actually." The second half of my response was rushed. It also definitely sounded like I was harboring something, mostly because I was.

From the slight cock of her head, I figured she was catching on.

I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks. If I could, I would have buried my face in the reassuring softness of the plush talking pillow, but I had foolishly passed it over to my other self. She looked at me, smiled back, and planted her hand on my shoulder, this time with no fear of destroying the universe.

"Just know that if you ever need help with anything, just come to me or any of the girls."

I nodded, and the pillow was handed off again.

Pausing for a moment, I thought about what Princess Twilight had said. It wouldn't hurt to tell her.

Besides, if you could’t trust yourself, then who can you trust?

I waited, clutching the talking pillow against my chest as we lay in silence. Once again, my mind began to race as an influx of new questions came crashing in. What if she laughs? What if she tells someone else? Or even worse: What if she's in love with Sunset too?

I couldn’t compete with myself, especially if the other me was a literal magic princess. It wasn’t even fair.

An unshakable sense of dread formed in the pit of my stomach as a realization hit.

What if Sunset is in love with Princess Twilight? It was entirely possible since she was the one who had saved Sunset at the Formal.

Just stop thinking, Twilight. You're over complicating things. Just breathe.

"Twilight," I called, almost cringing at calling my own name out. "Can I tell you something, something personal?"

She nodded.

I looked down at the orange pillow in my hand, my grip forcing it into a deformed blob between scrunched fists.

"It's about Sunset Shimmer," I said, forcing the words out. "I think I… might have a crush on..." Freezing, I mouthed Sunset’s name, and Princess Twilight's eyes flared in surprise. And, to be honest, I recoiled a little after seeing her reaction, not expecting the sudden stuttering. Like ripping off a band-aid, I flung the pillow in her direction and hugged my knees.

"Uh, I..." the Princess stammered, "I didn't know I liked girls like that—not that I'm opposed to it or anything. It's just that the thought never entered my mind." She paused for a brief moment and offered a cheeky, yet supportive smile. "Still, I guess I can see why."

"She's wonderful," I gushed, letting my heart swell with excitement. "She's so... cool and calm and kind. Just something about her screams mellow—and yes, I know I'm contradicting myself, but she's so—"

I cut myself off before my cheeks began to heat up again.

"Talking pillow," she chided, and we both immediately giggled like schoolchildren.

Looking towards the door, our minds clicked into place again as we both spoke up. "We should head out."

"—and so Mrs. Star Crossed walks in and catches her husband just straight-up mackin' with one of their students—in her classroom, on her desk, no less! And then, after they were caught, Mr. Criss Crossed was all like, 'I thought you were at the AP review,' like it was her fault." Rainbow Dash, after finishing her story, took a deep breath.

"Oh, no, not Mrs. Crossed." Rarity groaned. "Wasn't that her third husband?"

"That's awful," Fluttershy cried, cringing at the story. "She doesn't deserve that."

"It's almost like all her relationships are doomed to fail," Rainbow Dash answered back. "Thank goodness he isn't teaching anymore. We could have gotten that creep for math this year."

"Ew," the group exclaimed collectively.

"Oh hey, Twilights!" Pinkie greeted cheerfully, immediately changing the subject to the two of us standing at the opening of the hall.

"Did'ja finish making out?" Rainbow teased, nearly spilling over the back of Sunset's tiny couch.

"Yes," we answered in unison, humoring her comment, "and it was awesome."

Author's Note

Not the first time I've written two Twilights meeting each other. Though, I was thirteen when I did it the first time, so I obviously had them fight like any thirteen year old would. Anyways, leave a comment and let me know what you think. This chapter was a doozy to write.

Step Three: Form A Hypothesis

"Hey, did anyone else wonder why Four-Eyed Twilight has glasses, but Princess Twilight doesn't?"

I let out a short cry of protest at Rainbow’s nickname, which the other girls ignored in favor of an easy alias.

"Beats me." Applejack shrugged. "Maybe she was blinded with science."

"It could be for fashion," Rarity suggested. "A nice pair of glasses adds a certain sort of symmetry that others can find attractive."

"Maybe Princess Twilight just has magic eyes." Pinkie Pie answered, bobbing excitedly in her chair.

"Or," I cut in, "I spent a lot of time as a kid close up on a computer screen.”

"No that can't possibly be it," Rainbow Dash dismissed. "It's gotta be something cooler than that."

"I'm pretty sure that's it," I said, remembering the scolding my parents gave me after I was prescribed glasses. "You can ask my optometrist."

"What does a dentist have to do with your eyes?" Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrow skeptically.

"An optometrist is an eye doctor, Rainbow," Rarity said. "You're thinking of an orthodontist."

"Oh."

A knock at the door prompted Sunset to answer it. After a minute or two, she was back, carrying a pair of pizza boxes, one pepperoni, and one plain cheese. She opened the boxes and presented them to the rest of the hungry girls.

"Wait!" cried Pinkie Pie. "I just want to get a good look at the pizza."

"Why?"

"Because there's just something about an untouched pizza that just radiates purity," Pinkie explained, holding back a giggle.

"Right..." Sunset responded, staring over the pizza. She turned her head to get a better look but never had the same glint in her eye that Pinkie had. “I... guess you have a point?"

"Can we eat now?" Rainbow asked a bit impatiently.

"Wait for it," Pinkie ordered, raising a finger and admiring the bubbling cheese for the last time. Smiling, she looked up to Rainbow and stuck her thumb out. "Okay, we're good."

Rainbow was the first to dive in, grabbing a relatively larger slice of pizza. I reached in afterward and was surprised to find that Princess Twilight had a different slice in mind.

She grabbed a plain cheese slice, and I grabbed one with pepperoni, which got me thinking. If we had the same thinking process like before and we both picked a slice on impulse, why didn't we grab the same slice? I was probably thinking too much about it, but it wouldn't hurt to ask why.

"Hey Twilight." Weird, we were both still synced. Immediately after, she asked me if I ate meat, and asked her if she was a vegetarian. Of course, our questions spoke over each other. Once again, Princess Twilight dug into her pocket, called out heads, and let the coin hit the table with a weighty thud,

It was tails, but this time, we weren't afforded the order granted by the talking pillow.

The talking napkin would do.

Again, I brought up if she was a vegetarian and followed up with questions about the Equestrian diet.

"Mostly fruits, vegetables, sweets." Princess Twilight answered. "No meat, though, though dairy and eggs are on the table—no pun intended." She was a liar, and I knew the pun was intended.

She slid the napkin back, and we kept passing it back and forth, comparing our lives against each other.

Turns out, Princess Twilight led a more interesting life in not only her world but mine as well.

"So, what's it like, being a princess 'n' all?" Rainbow Dash asked, violating the integrity of the napkin. I guess that's what I get for not investing the time to bring something as respectable as a pillow. In fact, no one wanted to touch it after Rainbow Dash had wiped her mouth with it.

"Oh, it's nothing special, really," Princess Twilight said, brushing it off modestly, the same way I probably would have. "My duties mostly revolve around me settling friendship disputes around Equestria."

"So, like a guidance counselor?" Rainbow Dash asked dismissively.

"A little more than that," Princess Twilight defended. "Instead of playground bullies, it's more like crazed tyrants and magical monsters and all those sorts of things. It's all marked on a map that tells me where to go."

As if suddenly interested, Rainbow Dash leaned in closer, "Why can't we do that!? It sounds soooo much better than sitting around and waiting for magical mishaps to come to us."

Princess Twilight only laughed in response. And, if I knew what she was thinking (which I was sure of), the other me probably would have preferred a less hectic experience day to day. I knew I was sick of magic after my first real run in with it.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

For the next few days, Princess Twilight made a few brief appearances, mostly joining me and Sunset on trips to Sugarcube Corner. I managed to pull the other me into private intel-related talks in the bathroom. And thankfully, it was easy to convince Sunset and the other girls that our bladders were synced up. I didn’t know if they really were, but I didn't care to find out.

We used our little insider chats to mostly come up with a plan for or until we managed to get a moment alone again. Unsurprisingly, the best wingwoman I could have ever had was myself.

With a piercing squeal, the city bus stopped, the brakes straining under the weight of its passengers. Cut off from my thoughts, I stood up, made my way down the aisle and stepped off. Instead of being greeted by the same cheery group of girls that I usually was, I was was met with the drab architecture of Crystal Prep.

If I had subscribed to the childish school rivalry nonsense, that day would have made quite the narrative. Twilight Sparkle, the prodigal daughter of Crystal Prep High School, had returned, still wearing the school uniform right down to the socks. Not only did the despicable, traitorous wretch come back, but she had come back looking for a favor from the school that she so heartlessly had turned her back on.

It was an amusing thought, to say the least.

Thanks to my lack of an actual wardrobe, I blended right in with the rest of the school. No one noticed me, which, to be honest, felt just like the Crystal Prep I had left behind. Still, walking through the halls again was a surreal experience. Class was still in session here, unlike at CHS where classes had ended about an hour before.

I stopped at a lone bench, graciously donated by the class of '96, and sat down. On the other side of the hall, there was a gold plated plaque hanging by the door that read, "Dean Mi Amore Cadenza."

From what I could tell, someone was already in her office. On closer inspection, I quickly noticed the neon green hair and recognized that it was Lemon Zest, one of the girls I had left behind. After a minute or so, she walked out, quickly catching sight of me and smiling as we made eye contact.

"Twilight Sparkle!?"

"Lemon Zest! What are you doing here?"

"Uh... I go here? I should be the one asking you that," she shot back. Without hesitating, she dropped down on the bench next to me. "You sort of just disappeared. All we’ve heard from you was what Sunny Flare told us.”

“I know…” I sighed, staring down at my shoes. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t know how to tell you girls.”

Lemon leaned back. “So you just transferred and hoped we’d forget about you?”

“Wow, it sounds really stupid when you put it like that,” I admitted.

“Duh,” she said, patting my back lightly. “Life’s all about communication, dude. We’re social animals and all that jazz.” Lemon Zest poked at her phone. “So what brings you back here, buddy? And don’t tell me that you miss this hellhole.”

"Oh, nothing important really," I droned. "I’m just here to ask Dean Cadance something."

"You mean Dean Cadenza?" she asked. "I think you're the only non-adult who calls her that. Is she a close friend or something?"

"She used to be my babysitter." I paused. "And she's dating my brother."

"Aww, that's adorable," she cooed, her voice softening. "In a weird sort of way."

I could feel my face scrunch up, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," she paused, "it's probably just that she took one look at you and was like, 'yup, she probably has a hot older brother.'"

"What?"

"I'm just saying," Lemon Zest defended, "I got those vibes from you, too."

"What?!"

"Do you think Dean Cadenza ever tucked you into bed, and then did the same with your brother? If you know what I—"

"So what are you doing here?!" I sputtered, immediately changing the subject. "I mean, by Dean Cadence's office this time.”

"My phone got confiscated fifth period," she explained brightly. Smiling, she brandished her cell phone proudly and, with a sing-song lilt, she announced, "I got it back, though." She shuddered in place then turned to me, saying, "Thank goodness Dean Cadenza had it. If they handed my phone over to Cinch, I probably would have needed to buy a new one."

"No kidding."

"Speaking of phones," Lemon brought up slyly, "how come you never gave any of us your number?"

Knowing the response before I even said anything, I winced as I replied. "I, uh, don't have one." As expected, her eyes widened in shock and horror as if I had told her I had snapped my spine.

"Girl! How the hell do you not have a cellphone? It's literally a basic human right."

Noticing the misuse of the word “literally” I said, "I don't think—"

"—that your parents love you enough. I know, Sweetheart—spare me the details." She glanced at her phone and scowled, most likely at the time, "Whelp, I better get back to class. My physics teacher thinks I left to go to the bathroom." Standing up, she dusted off her skirt and turned to me. "We still have some bidness to talk about, though. Stop by my dorm room before you go."

I nodded and watched as she skipped away. Before she disappeared behind a corner at the end of the hall, she turned to me and sent over a light, friendly wave.

Inside, Dean Cadance sat at the desk in the back of the room. Her eyes were trained on the computer, yet she somehow noticed me walk in and greeted me with a welcoming, warm tone.

"Hello, Dean Cadance."

"Oh, Twilight, you don't need to be so formal," she replied, finally looking up from the computer screen. "So, what's up?"

I thought about my next course of action for a quick second.

"How's, uh, my brother?" I asked, feeling it was better to bring up my love life by bringing her up her own.

"Oh," she piped cheerfully, "he's still the same ol' goofball I fell for."

Smiling, she looked down at her hands and began playing with her fingers.

"That's nice," I responded, already growing impatient with the small talk. "Hey, Cadance?"

"Yeah?"

"This might seem totally random, but do you remember the night you babysat me—the night of Shining's recital?"

Her face broke out into a reminiscent smile, her cheeks swelled with blood as she giggled, "Of course I do, Twilight. We spent all night baking cookies and calculating whether or not Shining and I were compatible. Uh, why do you ask?"

"Because," I paused, feeling a twinge of uncertainty, "I kind of need help with something... similar."

Immediately, Cadence's face lit up with joy. "Oh, my. Does Twily have a special someone in her heart?"

I felt the flush of warmth on my cheeks, "S-stop!" I cried. I knew she was teasing, but I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at the coddling tone.

"Oh, I'm only kidding, Twilight,"Cadance assured, "Though it definitely means a lot that you came to me. So who's the lucky boy?"

"Uh, uh," I stammered, feeling my chest tense up. "Actually, it's a—a girl."

Caught off guard, Cadance's eyes flared in surprise, "Oh, I didn't think you were into girls. It's just that I didn't quite expect you to be so confident about it. A lot of kids your age seemed to really question themselves about it, but you've got it figured out."

"Thanks?" I responded, not really knowing what else to say. "Do you think we could get started on the charts... like we did with Shining?"

Without waiting a moment longer, she dove into her desk and dropped a handful of markers onto the desk. Expectantly, she looked up back at me. "And here I was thinking you would never ask."

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

According to my calculations (I couldn't help myself), I had a chance. The odds, after extensively crunching the numbers, seemed a lot less likely. Cadance, back before she dated my brother, at least had the advantage of being the more popular of the two. I, on the other hand, was climbing an upward slope.

Sunset Shimmer was perfect in every sense of the word. The girl of my affections exuded confidence while I questioned myself whether wearing my hair down was too much of a shift in style. Princess Me looked good with it, so maybe…? Advantage: Sunset Shimmer.

However, we both shared an interest in playing music. Sunset was the bandleader of the Rainbooms, and I was the core pianist for Crystal Prep's top jazz ensemble since freshman year. Well, before I quit. Tied, one-one.

Sunset, from what the girls told me, was voted Princess of the Fall Formal. And technically (also from what the girls told me), I won the last one, so I'm the current Fall Formal Princess. Still a draw. It was sad and a bit of a stretch, I know, but I needed all the help to stand even the slightest chance.

From then on, I lost every category pretty handily, until the scoreboard was overwhelmingly one-sided with tick marks that that told me exactly how much better Sunset was than me. Dejectedly, I looked at the whiteboard and felt a sense of dread. Whatever chance I felt I had quickly seemed like it was slipping away with each stroke in Sunset's column.

"D-do you think I still have a chance?" I asked, looking at a comparative graph of mile times (don't ask).

Smiling, Cadance placed her hand on my shoulder, "Of course you do, Twilight. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You're a smart, kind, and beautiful young woman."

"But she's smarter, kinder, and more beautiful!" I whined childishly. "I don't stand a chance."

She grabbed at my shoulder again, rubbed at my back, and then squeezed the nape of my neck. For some reason, that simple sequence always seemed to bring me down from

"Twilight," she said sweetly. I felt the tension in my chest lift. "Even if she's everything you've said, give me one good reason on why she wouldn't want to date you."

Maybe because she's a magic unicorn and might not even entertain the idea of a meaningful relationship with a human.

Maybe because there's another, much more impressive me out there who not only was from Sunset's home world, but she was also literally a princess.

I swallowed an annoying lump forming in my throat, deciding not to disclose the last two bits of information.

"See?" Cadance reassured, "All you have to do is go up and ask her on a date."

If only it were that easy.

"What if she says no?" I asked, flinching at the incoming answer.

"Then you have to be prepared for the rejection, respect her decision, and move on."

That was exactly what I was afraid she was going to say.

"How did you do it? Build up the courage to, you know, ask my brother out?"

She smiled. "I didn't. I just thought we'd be happy together and went for it." She paused for a quick second. "You just won't know until you try."

"Right."

Then, as if her beaming smile couldn't get any wider, she casually slipped in, "Plus it netted me this really nifty ring."

Cadance, holding back a giggle, brandished the diamond ring on her finger.

"No."

"Yes!"

Immediately, I grabbed her hand and inspected the ring. Sure enough, it wasn't coated in watermelon flavored candy or showed any signs of coming from a capsule machine. It was a real, expensive-looking engagement ring.

"Holy... I didn't think he had it in him."

"Me neither," she agreed with a giddy cheer, "but I'm just sooo happy he did. Don't tell your parents—I want to surprise them myself."

I nodded happily and thought about my parent’s reactions, especially if she dropped the bomb as nonchalantly as she did with me.

From that moment on, I couldn't help but stare at the ring on her finger. It just seemed totally obvious in hindsight, the click her fingers made when she tapped them, the way she'd glance down at her hands and then smile. How could I have missed it? It was so obvious… ugh I'm such an idiot.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

"Sparkle! It's sooo nice to see you!" Three. Two. One. "After you ditched us... traitor."

"Hello, Sour Sweet," I greeted politely, lowering my voice and staring at my shoes because of the sudden accusation.

"Don't mind her. Sunny told us everything," Lemon Zest reassured me, pushing me into the messy dorm room. "Just take a seat on my bed. Want a soda, Twilight?"

I nodded and graciously accepted the bottle of soda, courtesy of the mini-fridge in Lemon's dorm. The inside, unsurprisingly, was unchanged from the last time I set foot in Lemon Zest's room, which was about a week or two ago. In fact, the same pair of socks was still crumpled up by Lemon's window sill.

During the days before my transfer, my relationship with my Friendship Games team grew slowly. By the time I left, I felt like they were good acquaintances. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like they had considered me more like a friend, while I didn’t.

The day after the Friendship Games, Lemon Zest threw an after-party and was adamant that I attend. Of course, I managed to talk my way out, citing sickness, but I found myself regretting the missed opportunity afterward.

Even then, the others still tried to include me at their lunch table, where I sat quietly and waited to transfer. Their attempts to involve me in their conversations never succeeded as I pretended to be working on homework or pretended not to know what they were talking about.

It wasn't until after I left that I realized that they weren't just trying to be nice for niceness’s sake, given that they went out of their way to keep in contact.

"Hey, Lemon," I called.

"Hold up," she said, tapping away on her phone. "And... sent. The rest of the girls should be coming soon."

"I really didn't mean to hang around so lon—"

"Come on, Twilight. It's been, like, forever since we've seen you," Lemon said. "Plus, think of how bummed they'll be if they found out you were just here and left before they saw you again."

"It's not like we're pressuring you to do something awful," Sour Sweet defended. "Except, you know, sell your soul to the cellular overlord."

"You told her about that?"

"Of course I did, Twilight. How could possibly I let this injustice go unreported? It's inhumane, I tell you."

I crossed my arms,. "I don't really think it's a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Not a big—"

"What's this I hear about Twilight having no phone?" an outraged voice cried, its owner nearly tearing down the door as she stepped in. I quickly recognized it as Indigo Zap, who seemed more outraged now than when the school’s newspaper dubbed us as, “the worst Friendship Games team in decades.”

Two other girls, Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat (also equally offended), stormed in, staring down at me with crossed arms and scowls on their faces.

"You told them?" I asked, turning to face Lemon Zest.

"Yes, Twilight," Sugarcoat remarked patronizingly, "you can use cellular phones to wirelessly communicate with others."

"I know that!" I huffed indignantly.

"Honestly, you of all people should understand the merit of cellphones," Sunny Flare argued.

"Why? They're nothing but distractions."

"Oh come on, Twily," Indigo chimed, "Sunny told me it's like having the library of—what was it again?"

"The Library of Alexandria," Sunny clarified. "It's like having the Library of Alexandria in the palm of your hand."

"Yeah, of porn," Sugarcoat cut in, her voice deadpan as she turned to me. "The Library of Alexandria of Porn."

"What's—"

"Oh, you poor, sheltered baby, Twilight,” Lemon Zest cooed, bringing me into a tight hug. She scowled at the rest of the girls. "No one tell her!"

"Of course we won't!" Sour Sweet promised. "She's the only one of us left that I have any hope for."

Giggling, Indigo Zap slapped my back. "So, what are ya doing here, Twilight? Was CHS not challenging enough?"

"Obviously," Sugarcoat agreed. "She's still wearing the uniform."

Sheepishly, I stared at the ground, "I kinda don't really have much else in the wardrobe department."

Apparently, that was a worse sin than not having a phone.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

The Canterlot Mall was the local hot spot for students from both Crystal Prep and CHS. Like everything else in the city, it seemed to be designed just to further bolster the rivalry between the two high schools right down to the location as it was perfectly equidistant to both campuses. Personally, I wasn't a fan of these kinds of places, but peer pressure had won.

After a few minutes of navigating the mall, I found myself inside a one of Lemon Zest's favorite stores, helplessly held hostage as I was assaulted by various items of clothing flying in my direction.

"I can still wear some of my old clothes, right?" I asked, staring at the pile of clothes the rest of the Shadowbolts had picked out for me. Sunny Flare turned to me, holding up a T-shirt for my approval. Unable to bring myself to refuse, I simply nodded and watched as it was added to the pile of clothes.

"Not with all these," Lemon commented. "I think you'll be set all through college... and life."

“Yeah, I should probably start cutting back," I admitted sheepishly. "I’m just finding it hard to say no. It all looks so nice."

"Alright," Lemon agreed, "let's start by keeping the clothes that you'd actually wear." She reached for the top of the pile, picking up the exact same T-shirt Sunny Flare had shown me just seconds earlier, and dropped it on the floor.

"Hey!" Sunny protested. “I thought it was cute."

"It is, but Twilight's too modest of a girl to be wearing a crop top," Lemon argued on my behalf. Expectantly, she turned over to me and cocked her head, waiting for an agreement, which I was happy to supply.

"If we're going to remove clothes," Sugarcoat started, "this shirt is awful." Without hesitating, she swept down and picked up a blue button-up blouse. "The shoulders are gonna make her look like a linebacker."

Through a slow, arduous possibly friendship ruining process, we chipped away at the pile until I was happy enough with the last remaining clothes. Satisfied by my choices, they ushered me into the changing rooms, and I quickly dressed into the first out of many outfits that the others helped me coordinate.

I walked out of the tiny cubicle and immediately felt a little less optimistic about the outfit than I was going in. "I don't think it's me. Plus, the shirt's a little too small, and the jeans kinda ride up my—"

Out of the corner of my eye, off in the distance, I caught her, Sunset Shimmer. The blazing locks of curly hair stood out against the rest of the store. She stopped for a moment, looking over the jackets and the rest of the winter wear out on display.

And then she started walking towards the changing rooms.

As far as I knew, she hadn't spotted me yet. She seemed more focused on a pair of jeans draped around her arm. Panicking, I rushed back into the featureless chamber. Great, I thought. The last thing I wanted was for Sunset to see me in clothes I was having second thoughts about, especially ones that barely fit.

"Don't let her in!" I cried, hopping up of the little chair inside the room, bringing my legs up and out of sight.

"Who?" Sunny asked, her voice coming right outside the little plastic blinds of the door.

"Redhead," I blurted, "two o'clock!"

"Oh, wasn't she at the Friendship Games?"

"Yes! Just don't let her in!"

"Did she do anything to you?" Indigo inquired, her tone clearly concerned. "‘Cause if she did..."

"No!" I cried in defense. "Nothing like that—just don't let her see me."

The next minute seemed unbearable. My heart raced with each interminable second. Hopefully, Sunset was just admiring the clothes and went to put it back on a nearby rack or something.

She wasn't.

"Excuse me," I heard her say politely, most likely to the Shadowbolts who had probably blocked the way into the dressing rooms. "Indigo Zap, right? We competed at the Friendship Games"

"Oh yeah, I remember you," Indigo shot back. "But I still can't let you in."

"Why?"

"We have a friend in there who's, like, deathly shy." Sour Sweet answered. "I'm ninety percent sure, she'd keel over knowing that she's half-naked next to somebody else."

She was more right than she even knew.

My stomach dropped as Sunset simply stated, "I can wait."

I could hear Indigo sigh just before she knocked at the door, "Hey, we're just gonna let her in. Just sit tight and wait it out, ‘kay?"

"Uh-huh."

There were a few seconds of silence before Indigo spoke up and said, "She's fine with it. Just don't take too long."

"Thanks."

From the inside of my prison, I heard the clacking of Sunset's boots, followed by the click that came from the booth next to mine. I held my breath, unable to focus, knowing that the girl I was hopelessly crushing on was changing right next to me. Things would have been a lot easier if it weren't for Sour Sweet's naked comment. After about a half a minute, she began to hum a simple, mindless tune that I recognized as some bubblegum pop song that had been circulating the radio for weeks. If my lungs hadn’t been burning, I would have been soothed by the melody next door.

There was a slight snapping sound, followed by an irate, "Aw, fuck me!"

I jumped back a little after hearing her swear. Sure, I had heard that sort of language in movies and TV, and I admit to slipping and letting out a frustrated “damn” every once in awhile, but it felt weird to hear it coming from Sunset. Not sure of what to think, I held my breath, trying to hide my presence.

"Excuse me," she called again, knocking at the wall that separated us, "You wouldn't happen to have an extra hanger? I kinda broke mine."

Without saying anything, I grabbed the nearest hanger and, without thinking, tossed it over the wall.

"Thanks," she said, her voice a little annoyed.

"N-no problem," I piped, raising my voice about an octave, but the anxiety was still clear in the tone.

"Oh, they weren't kidding," Sunset mumbled under her breath, "Don't worry, I'll be out in a bit."

"Okay."

True to her word, Sunset quickly left the stalls after about two or three minutes. Still, I stayed inside the booth until I got the all clear from Lemon Zest.

"Crisis averted?" Sunny Flare announced, clearly unsure as she patted me on the back.

I nodded.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

"Yeah, what was all that about?" Sugarcoat asked, referring to the events inside the store.

Sighing, I took a sip of a strawberry smoothie, sucking in every ounce of sugary support. "It's a long story."

Sugarcoat looked over the food court and shrugged, scowling at the lines in every booth. "We've got time."

I looked down at the drink I bought after the whole Sunset debacle and groaned at the small amount left. "I guess I could tell you guys since you all helped me out earlier."

"Ooh, story time!" Lemon Zest chimed, leaning in on her arms. I felt my chest seize again. Turns out, it doesn't get any easier each time you talk about the girl you like.

"I'm—"

"Hopelessly in love?" Sugarcoat interrupted, "You're blushing like a lovesick tomato."

"Yeah," I croaked, "that's about it."

"Aww," Sour Sweet beamed, "Twilight's in love... shame she's too much of a wuss to do anything."

"Hey!"

"She's not wrong," Indigo joked. "You spent five minutes ordering that smoothie." There was a small round of taunting, yet playful laughs. "And then the lady blended the wrong fruits, but you were too scared to say anything about it."

Okay, so they weren't off base with the whole "wuss" thing.

"So, how long have you been fancying her?" Lemon Zest asked.

"Since—"

"Wait, lemme guess, it was when she went full on with the magical girl transformation?"

"Yeah," I hummed dreamily. "I guess that helped a little."

The girls, like any other group of teenagers, swarmed me with questions about my budding love life. I lost track of how many questions they asked, but I had a sense that it was a long list once Sunny Flare slumped at the open spot on the table, carrying a tray of food. The conversation seemed to end there as some of them began to announce how hungry they were, exaggerating about the last time they had eaten.

The topics seemed to range from their grades to music. Some questions were directed my way, mostly relating to CHS, its curriculum, staff, and whatever else seemed to interest them about my new school.

"Guess who's hella gay?" Indigo Zap brought up, facing Sunny Flare. She then pointed at me, and I couldn't help but stare down at my food. "Though I guess you probably figured that out with your gaydar or something."

"That's not a thing," Sunny defended, turning towards me. "Though, as a 'gay,' let me be the one to officially induct you, Twilight Sparkle, into the Intergalactic League of Homosexuals. We meet on Tuesdays and trade off refreshment duties every week." She did a quick little jazz hands and mad an “ooh” sound.

"Wait," Indigo interrupted, "that's a thing?"

"Of course not," Sunny shot back, earning a laugh from the rest of the girls. "Though I wouldn't object to starting one."

"Wait, so you're..." I faltered, knowing that I didn't really need to hear the response.

"Yup," she hummed coolly. "Though my mom thinks it's just a phase." She paused for a moment and took a sip from her own drink. "It's almost funny how wrong she is."

Unable to think of what to say, I just shout out, "So do you have a girlfriend?"

"Whoa, slow down, tiger," Sunny Flare warned playfully, "I'm flattered and all, but I'm not putting myself on the market until college."

The rest of the girls broke out into a fit of giggles, and I couldn't help but feel the heat burn away at my cheeks, which seemed to only encourage them even more.

"Hey, Sunny… if you were to ask a girl, you know, to go out, how would you do it?"

"Well," she started, pausing most likely in thought. "I'd make sure we're friends at the very least."

"But what if it ruins your friendship?" I blurted out, voicing my biggest fear. "I c-can't have that happen. I don't even want to risk it." The girls looked over to me, the laughter now long gone. I felt one of their hands brush my back, and I felt the heat flush over my face, this time out of anxiety rather than lovesickness.

"It won't happen," Sunny assured firmly. "If she's really your friend, she can look past a little awkward moment like that."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Twilight," Indigo Zap called, "you just have to take a chance and seize love by the balls—or lady balls, in your case. It's worked out for me."

"Hopefully not literally," Sugarcoat cut in.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

I'd been neglecting my studies. No, not school… oh jeez, I'd die if that were true. Though, truthfully, I was in a slight education slump after I had contracted that disease known as "love.”

I looked down at the twenty-six page manuscript and reviewed the information within. Over the past few days, I managed to log likes, opinions, and even trivial information about Sunset Shimmer. There were also the countless amounts of comparative charts Cadance and I got through earlier in the day.

I had also included the testimonies about dating I got from Cadance, the Shadowbolts, Maud, Princess Twilight, and anyone else whom I gushed about Sunset to. Though, pretty much all of their advice was no more helpful than "just go for it."

Even after hedging my bets through extensive research, it was still a yes or no decision.

I couldn't resist smiling cheesily at the final draft. It was pretty much complete from a writing standpoint. All I needed was to get a proofreader—preferably someone close to Sunset, so that meant it had to be at least one of the girls at CHS. Then, it was just as simple as getting the experiment underway.

I finally felt like I was ready. Confidence was key.

There was a knock at my bedroom door, cutting me from my thoughts as my head whipped to face the visitor.

"Oh, hi, Mom." I greeted, looking up from the stack of paper.

"Hey, Twily,” she hummed. “Your father made hot cocoa, and I wanted to see if you wanted some.”

I shook my head. “No thanks, but can I, uh, ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure, of course you can, sweetie." Smiling, she stopped at the door post, leaning up against the wall. "You know you can tell me anything."

Well, I pretty much told everyone else on the planet that I was in love with Sunset Shimmer, so it wouldn't hurt to at least tell the woman who brought me into the world. I began to open my mouth and immediately felt my lungs freeze in resistance. There was just something about the phrase "you can tell me anything" that seemed impossible to actually believe.

"I... uh... need a cell phone."

Nice, Twilight. Real nice.

The Experiment: Peer Review, Materials, and Pre-lab

"I don't know, Twilight," Rarity said, sounding unsure. "Love isn't a series of calculated moves."

Obviously, she had never heard of the phrase, "All's fair in love and war." Its meaning clearly alluded to the idea that love was a strategic endeavor, meant to be handled like a general on the battlefield. Otherwise, why else would they make love analogous to war?

"Yeah," Applejack chimed in. "You can't just make someone like you."

"Says you," I countered, crossing my arms in an indignant huff. So far, it wasn't going well. "It's nothing more than a chemical reaction in the brain—a perfect storm of adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin."

For some reason, that earned a collective stare from the girls.

"Oh, egghead, you're adorable!" Rainbow Dash piped, scooting in closer on the cafeteria bench. "You don't feel love in your brain." The cyan girl paused for a second before pointing at her midsection, "You feel it in your loins."

"Rainbow!" Rarity screamed, swiftly elbowing Rainbow Dash in the gut. "Don't listen to her, Twilight. She wouldn't know what romance is if it dropkicked her in the face!"

That was a painfully accurate description of what it felt like.

"I think you might scare Sunset with all this... preparation," Fluttershy started. "I know I'd be freaked out a little if I saw all... this." She flipped through the pages and paused at the charts.

"Yeah! It kinda looks like you're tracking down Sunset's murderer," Pinkie Pie pointed out, thumbing through the same charts. "Oooh, can I help? I'll be the Girl Wonder to your Caped Crusader!"

If Shining hadn't left behind his comic book collection when he moved out, that reference probably would have been lost on me.

"There's an idea for a pickup line," Rainbow Dash said after a patronizing laugh.

"Look, Twilight," Rarity interrupted, removing the joking tone from the air. "If you really like Sunset, just be straightforward with her and ask. People love moxie. I know that's one of the qualities I look for."

"But what if she says no?" I whined childishly, "I don't even want to risk ruining everything."

"So you’re just going to manipulate her into liking you?" Applejack had already pushed her copy away.

"Well, not manipulate. I'm just recreating the chemicals released when one is in love. Although I have no idea how to tackle serotonin… too much can lead to seizures and an irregular heartbeat."

At least this time, the strange looks were justified.

"So, what?" Rainbow Dash butted in. "Are ya just gonna stab her with an adrenaline needle?"

"What!? Of course not!" I protested. "That kind of scientific practice is looked down upon, especially on unwilling subjects. Believe me, I checked."

Maybe I have something stuck in my teeth, I thought.

"Look," I continued, "it's just a simple sequence of events that, by the end, would plant the suggestion that Sunset and I are meant to date."

Rarity put her hands on mine. “Maybe the best suggestion is to—now, hear me out—literally suggest going on a date."

This was just going in circles. "Ugh. Okay. Other than that, can you tell me anything that it needs work on?"

Rarity, looked over the papers, "You said the purpose of this, er, experiment is to maximize the chances of Sunset seeing you as dating potential, yes?"

"Yes," I said, "it's right there in the thesis statement."

"Well..." She paused. "How do I put this... critically?" She tapped on the table before looking back up at me. "You could tweak your experiment to not rely so heavily on the variable of Sunset even picking up on that notion."

I blinked, putting together her words. "Go on."

"I'm not saying you need to outright throw everything away. No, it would be a terrible waste of effort." Rarity took a sip from her orange juice, which was in a glass she apparently brought from home. "I think the experiment would be a lot more effective—or at least produce more conclusive results—if you directly introduced the variable to Sunset. After the experiment, of course."

"Spoken like a true egghead," Rainbow Dash cackled. "She practically just said the—" She was met with another elbow.

Rarity had a point.

"When you put it that way, I guess I could try that," I conceded. "But I'm still going to need all the help I can get."

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Rarity chirped.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

"I was wondering if... you'd like to... go out. Y'know, just the two of us?"

Okay, but it could be better.

"Hey, Sunset. I was wondering if—I can't do this. Nope, not gonna happen."

Frustrated, I kicked at the pavement, already scuffing the new pair of shoes I had picked up at the mall. Apparently, from what my Shadowbolt friends told me, they were designed to look better dirty anyway, but I still couldn't help but wipe away the small layer of dirt it had collected.

I stood outside my house, watching misty clouds of air fly from my breath. At least the sweater my Shadowbolt friends had picked out was warm. Still, it felt good to think they were along for the ride, spiritually of course. There was also a little uncomfortable feeling on my face that came from me wearing contacts instead of glasses. If really needed to, I could go back to the comfort of my black rimmed lenses by digging in my backpack.

Pacing around the driveway, I reviewed the project notes that were stored on my new cell phone. Already the small device was proving useful; on a single document, I was able to hold conversation topics at my beck and call, and the internet connection allowed me to look up information on the fly with no need for a computer.

Although even I knew that pulling a phone out, especially during one on one conversations, was an unofficial signal of disinterest; as a result, I knew I had to use it sparingly. Even then, the girls would be around, so it wouldn't be too hard to sneak a look every once in awhile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Applejack's truck making its way up the hill, once again carrying Sunset's bike. Behind it was Rarity's sleek white car, and I felt myself jump in a mixture of joy and anxiousness. Today was the day.

Applejack pulled up at the side of the road, and I stopped at the passenger window as it lowered. This was where the first of a series of inconveniences reared its ugly head.

"Two seater," Applejack called, "And unless you’re gonna hop in the back with the bike..."

"It's cool. I get it," I said, turning away from the window. I tapped at the bed of the red truck and walked over to the white car where I hopped in the back. Immediately, a chorus of greetings was dropped on me, which I returned wholeheartedly.

On the way, we stopped to get gas and pick up some snacks for the road. In reality, the drive wasn't very long, forty-five minutes at the most, but Rainbow Dash insisted that it warranted a snack run. I didn't object. I had skipped breakfast earlier that morning on account of my stomach twisting itself into knots, so at the very least I was thankful for the opportunity to buy a blueberry muffin and a bottle of orange juice.

It didn't get any easier once I spotted the swirling steel towers that composed the Iron Pegasus, the flagship roller coaster of Funland Amusement Park.

And, despite the name of the park, I knew I wasn't going to have much fun. To be completely, one-hundred percent honest, I’m deathly afraid of heights. And yes, I knew it was my idea, but it was for a purpose: How else could I have found a way to produce adrenaline without actually putting Sunset's life in danger? Simulated danger.

Because of their ties to early state fairs, amusement parks were also known for their food, all the way from funnel cake to deep fried soda (yes, it's a thing). Food, through consumption obviously, stimulates neurotransmitters in the brain. Of course, the only food I had in mind was chocolate, a known aphrodisiac.

So, to get to the point, Funland just seemed like the perfect place to combine the heart-stopping adrenaline of the thrill rides with a seemingly-bountiful supply of chocolate, which releases dopamine and serotonin. This kind of convenient efficiency was something most scientists would kill for.

It was perfect, save for my fears of course, but that was a necessary sacrifice.

"Twenty bucks for parking?" Rainbow Dash complained, crossing her arms in protest. "That's bull! All we're doing is leaving a car in an empty lot."

"You're not the one paying," Rarity shot back, effectively shutting Rainbow Dash up.

Plugging her card into the automated booth, she drove off into the empty lot and parked next to Applejack's red pickup. During the short walk to the entrance, the other girls made general statements of excitement and plans. Luckily, Funland's website had a map detailed enough so I could plan an itinerary for the day that accounted for long lines, sudden breakdowns, lunch (both out and in the park, depending on budget), and various park showtimes.

The secret wasn't to try to ride everything but to get on a majority of rides in mostly every area of the park.

The park itself was an amalgamation of distinctly unique microcosms, revolving around space, the wild west, and everything in between. An argument—though a lighthearted one for sure—rose up between the girls on where to start. I bowed out of the conversation, letting them figure it out for themselves, only butting in when one would suggest one of the more extreme rides. The only thing I wasn't sure of was whether to "Saddle up on the Iron Pegasus" as the map had suggested.

"What about you, Sunset?" I asked, nudging her arm.

"Oh," she piped, most likely caught off guard. "I don't know, I've never seen anything like this in person. Maybe start off one something more gentle, I guess."

A girl after my own heart.

Ultimately, we decided on a classic mainstay of any park: the spinning teacups. Much to Rainbow Dash's annoyance, it was the only one that met the requirements of immediate proximity and a short line.

This was where I learned the strategy of line placement.

The operator, a teenage boy, seemed adamant about keeping a four person maximum in each cup. It was just easier not to challenge the little authority that he had, and we were split into two groups. Unfortunately, my negligence put me in a separate teacup from Sunset Shimmer. The uncompromising tyranny of the part-time worker kept me from trading cups either, so I merely chose a pink teacup and sat in the seat closest to the tiny exit gate.

The absence of safety belts was also a bit alarming. The county fair roots stayed strong in the lack of proper restraints, apparently.

"Aw, sick!" Rainbow Dash cheered, shifting gears away from disinterest and grabbing onto the metal disc in the center of the cup. "We get to spin this baby around." Smirking, she glanced over at Applejack, "I betcha I can make this spin faster than you can."

"I beg yer pardon?" Applejack asked. "Ah know you just didn't challenge me."

"Yessir!" Rainbow piped, saluting cockily. "That's exactly what I'm doing."

"Yer on, sugarcube."

Oh boy.

When the ride ended, my legs were practically jelly, and my stomach twisted into knots. Through my blurred eyesight, I caught the rest of the girls, who were all smiles and giggles, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash who were both clearly proud of the speed they managed to get the teacup to spin.

For the next few rides, I carefully planned my spot in line, guaranteeing myself a spot near or next to Sunset almost every time. As much as I wanted it to be all the time, I didn't want Sunset to catch wind that I was doing it intentionally. However, my meticulous planning was often ruined by nearby people asking to switch spots to ride at the same time as someone else in their group in an adjacent queue. Still, I managed to sit by Sunset about 72.7 percent of the time on a total of eleven separate rides.

Unfortunately, there weren't any outwardly obvious effects of adrenaline in Sunset other than a heightened mood, which was the same in everyone else. I chalked that up to the general experience of being out with friends, but I was sure I could still turn the situation in my favor.

The first sign of hope came literally printed on a sign, one that just happened to point in the direction of a candy shop. Faking surprise, I suggested we break the pace and make a stop for some sweets.

Modeled after an old general store, The Clydesdale County Store was faithful to recreating the aesthetic of the old west (minus the unsanitary conditions, thankfully). Knowing what I came for, I made a beeline for the chocolate while the other girls wandered around the rest of the shop.

Grabbing an out of place plastic bag, I stuffed what some would consider an excessive amount of chocolate into it. White, dark, milk—it didn't really matter as long as it had cocoa in it. Although, I was a bit concerned about the ridiculously large amount of chocolate I bought for only twenty dollars.

“I think you might have a problem," Applejack commented as we walked out the shop.

"Oh, please," I dismissed, popping a chocolate-covered pretzel in my mouth. Relying on pure self control, I stuffed the bag into my backpack for future use. "I'm going to share, obviously."

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

"You know what? I think I might sit this one out."

My stomach didn't sit right as I looked at the looming tower above. It was designed to carry people up to two hundred feet and let gravity do the rest of the work. A structure like that, although meticulously screened and maintained for safety, still made me cringe at the thought of a free fall.

"What are ya, chicken?" Rainbow accused. "Even Fluttershy's gonna get on."

"I've said it before," Fluttershy spoke up, "I don't mind heights. It lets me feel like one of my birds."

"You of all people should know that it's perfectly safe," Pinkie Pie said, bobbing up and down on her heels. "I've seen vending machines more dangerous than that."

"Yeah, Twilight." Sunset chimed in. "You've been on my bike before, and that thing's an injury waiting to happen."

She had a point. Sure, it was statistically more probable to get in an accident traveling two and from Funland, but I didn't want to admit that. Otherwise, I'd be in line already.

"I'm still not going," I said, hoping the conversation would end there. "I'll get on anything else."

"Even the Iron Pegasus?" Rainbow Dash asked, a smug smile forming as she probably realized she had the upper hand in an argument.

Oh jeez.

"Anything but that," I answered.

"Well, it's no fun if you're not going to get on anything."

"I know. Just... let me work up to it at least."

"Suit yourself," Rainbow said, clearly disappointed as she walked towards the entrance. "Wait for us near the exit, I guess."

I nodded, a little hurt at the comment, but I knew it was nothing really out of line or disparaging. The group disappeared behind a corner, going further into the queue. It wasn't long after that I made my way to a pair of unoccupied benches within eyesight of the ride's exit. Hastily, I dug into my pocket and pulled the cell phone, calling one of the many lifelines I had.

"Hey, Cadance!" I squealed, unable to hide my frantic tone in my voice. "I need your help, bad."

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, realizing how easily it was to misinterpret the conversation through a lack of a visual aid. "I just need some relationship advice right now."

"Oh." The brevity of her response was filled with relief. "Ask away."

"I need the dos and don'ts of courting a woman."

There was a pause over the phone. "Can you be more specific?"

"I'm at Funland with Sunset and a group of friends."

"And where is she?"

"Currently," I started, looking up at the steel tower ahead of me as it began to plummet, "most likely falling about two hundred feet."

"Oh," Cadance said. "Does Funland still have those carnival games?"

"Yeah, why?"

She paused, most likely to think of what to say next. "Shining and I went there on a date once."

Already things were looking up. If it helped cement Cadance's relationship, it could help do wonders with mine.

"Can you tell me anything about it?"

She laughed, and I could feel her smiling through the phone.

"Shining tried to win me one of those stuffed bears."

Key word being "tried," I thought.

"He spent fifty dollars trying to win me that thing," Cadance finished, laughing. "He never got it, but I found it adorable that he was willing to go that far." She broke off into another laughing fit. "It got so bad, that I had to buy the food when we ate there."

"That definitely sounds a lot like him," I said. "Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of being awkwardly cute. I'm just plain awkward."

I hung on the last word, thinking about how much of a long shot all of this was. Call it a moment of clarity or whatever, but I suddenly couldn't stomach the very real chance of rejection. It was easier when it was just an idea, a farfetched goal, a harmless reverie, but now I was here, and it was all or nothing. Stunned, I just sat there on the bench and watched the droves of people as they passed by. Cadance was talking, most likely reassuring me, but I could not bring myself to listen. Instead, my attention was focused on the waves of people as they passed by.

At some point, I hung up on Cadance. And about a half-minute or so later, she sent texts asking if I was okay, which I answered with vague one-word answers. Eventually, she stopped, and I was left alone with my thoughts.

Off in the distance, there was some guy proving his strength on a Hi-Striker, but no matter how hard he brought the hammer down, it never reached the bell. Not too long after, he gave up and went about his day with a disappointed shake of the head.

I was so preoccupied with the planning stage that I forgot Sunset at any point could just say she wasn't interested. But now, with that in mind, I didn't want to risk it at all.

Instead, I quietly resolved to keep my crush to myself.

The Experiment: Procedure and Data Collection

"Please remain seated. Your ride vehicle will begin moving momentarily."

The automated, impersonal recording wasn't welcome. In fact, it was jarring. The ride came to an abrupt halt, and I was left in a tiny metal vehicle in the dark... with Sunset Shimmer. Alone.

And, to make matters worse, I was stuck without the safety net of my phone and the list of conversation topics (organized by person and level of interest) it contained. The life-saving piece of technology was inside my backpack on the loading platform of the ride. Needless to say, I made a mental note to keep it on me at all times from then on.

I squirmed in my seat uncomfortably. The entire area was lit up only by the projections and cartoonish animatronics; next to us, there was a robotic cartoon horse, twitching as the music played just slightly out of sync. It quickly became apparent that the robot pony was meant to only be seen for only a few seconds.

Sunset, sitting on my left, wasn't interested in the carefully-designed robot and was instead typing on her phone.

Looking over her shoulder, I was able to see that she was texting Rarity. At least, I thought it was her. It was hard to read the words through my peripheral vision, and I didn't want to look like I was peeking.

"Apparently, the others got off the ride before it broke." Sunset announced, passing over her phone. I looked over the conversation bubbles, relieved that the others were safe. I was also correct about it being Rarity, by the way.

"Lucky them," I said.

"Powering down. Turning show lights off, and turning maintenance lights on."

Seconds after the non-recorded announcement, everything from the lights to the animatronics stopped working, leaving us in pitch darkness. Instinctively, I let out a surprised gasp at the sudden change, which elicited an entertained giggle from Sunset.

"Spooky," she teased. It was too dark to see, but I could have sworn she was smiling. Not a second later, the entire room lit up in a sterile white light. Sunset, curious about the change, looked over her side of the ride car. "Wow, we are really high up. I guess you can't tell with the lights off."

Ignoring statement, I peered over the side and immediately regretted my decision to do that as the rest of the dark ride was revealed. As it turned out, the entire ride was in a deep ravine, making it much higher up than the outer facade led me to believe. All the special effects like the lights and projectors were also left out bare.

Of course, there was also the one-hundred feet of twisting steel below us.

I gripped the lap bar.

"Oh hey, look. There are cameras over there," Sunset pointed out. "I guess Fluttershy wasn't exaggerating when she said that there were cameras everywhere that watched your every move."

"No kidding," I responded.

I slumped down in my seat, still thinking about the height.

"I read somewhere that if they catch people getting 'frisky' during a dark ride, the operators applaud them on the way out."

"You don't say," I said curtly.

There was a surprising lack of safety rails around the tracks.

"Oh, ponyfeathers," Sunset cursed, "Are you okay? You're shaking."

So I was. That was interesting. Luckily it was dim enough for her not to notice the layer of sweat.

"Are you sweating?" Sunset asked and immediately followed up with, "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to—I'm a bit freaked out too, Twilight, but I'm sure the guys who work here know how to handle this kind of situation."

"It's okay," I forced out weakly before adding an unconvincing, "I'm fine."

She dropped her hand on my shoulder, and I would be lying if I said I didn't appreciate it.

"It's okay, Twilight," she said softly. "Just close your eyes, and we could talk about literally anything else."

Taking her advice, I lowered my head and shut my eyes, welcoming the lack of horrifying stimuli. Strangely enough, it was working.

"So how 'bout them Clydesdales? Pretty eventful season for them so far." Sunset started, purposefully droning on about nothing. "I think they have a real good chance of winning the sportball this year." The pointless small talk was welcomed, even if I didn’t know a thing about sports. "It was pretty clear out today as well."

"Yeah, it was," I said, feeling a bit more comfortable. "It was supposed to be humid, I think."

I really had no idea what the weather was supposed to be. It just felt good to make something up.

"I noticed that too. Thankfully it isn't," she played along.

The conversation never seemed to escalate beyond nothing. In fact, I'm pretty sure it dwelled on utter nonsense. As it went on, I felt a little less intimidated by both the height and Sunset's presence.

Yet at the same time, I quickly realized that this meant that I was still hopelessly head over heels for her. She's the one, I kept thinking, and I refused to let the thought go.

Breaking my thoughts, a jingling set of keys caught my attention. A metallic tap followed. When I opened my eyes, a man, a middle-aged technician, was standing over the vehicle. He instructed me and Sunset to hold our hands up, which we did without question. And, without wasting time, he unlocked the lap bar as the full realization dawned on me.

We were being evacuated.

The mechanic helped Sunset out first and advised her to watch her step on the narrow walkway. There was a pit in my stomach now that I knew that I was next. Sure enough, he turned to me, but I couldn't force myself to get up. I sat there, tightly holding on to the safety bar as if that were the solution.

"Everything will be alright, miss," he said politely. "Due to technical difficulties, we're unable to determine an estimated reopening. For your convenience, we're evacuating guests now."

Still, I kept myself firmly planted in the seat. Every rational thought to listen was thrown out by primal fear and unsound instinct.

Sunset, being the amazing person she was, stepped back into the car and held her hand out. I hesitated for a moment and swallowed the uncooperative lump in my throat. Wincing, I took her hand and let her help me out.

With one hand on the rails and the other holding onto Sunset Shimmer for dear life, I followed the technician down the tiny metal path. For the entire walk, my mind floated between the two causes of my gut wrenching fear. the height, and the uncertainty of whether or not Sunset had noticed how clammy my hands were. She never made a comment, despite how tightly I was holding onto her, and I was too scared to even apologize.

Every once in a while, Sunset Shimmer would whisper a reassuring comment, noting the progress we had made.

I didn’t start breathing properly again until I saw the sun.

Outside, there was another park attendant waiting by the maintenance gate.

"We apologize for the inconvenience," she said formally, digging into a manila folder. "Please accept two complimentary front of the line tickets to the Iron Pegasus, our flagship attraction."

"Sweet," Sunset said before thanking the attendants. I, on the other hand, was still too stunned to speak and wanted absolutely nothing to do with those tickets. Instead, I wanted to curl up in a ball in the back of Rarity's car and just wait to go home.

When Sunset and I rounded the corner, we were swarmed by the rest of the girls, all asking questions about what happened in there. Luckily, Sunset answered them all, leaving out the part where I was a second away from crying or having a heart attack.

"We also got these front-of-the-line passes," Sunset remarked, holding out the slips of paper.

"No way!" Without hesitating, the rainbow haired girl snatched the tickets to get a closer look. "What ride do I have to break to get one of these?"

"You can have mine," I offered, hoping to get rid of it.

Immediately, my statement caught Sunset's full and utter opposition. "Come on, Twilight. It won't be the same unless it's me and you."

"I don't know," I protested. This would be the second time I had backed out, and it definitely would cement myself as a coward in everyone's (especially Sunset's) eyes. The whole Dark Ride Debacle didn't help, either.

"Please, do it for me?” she begged, leaning in closer and lowering her voice. "I'll hold your hand the entire way through if I have to, like I di—"

"Yes!" I answered impulsively, "I mean, on the condition that you don't tell them that."

Real smooth.

"That's my girl." She clasped her hand on my shoulder approvingly before leading the group away from the broken down ride. "How about we take a break and go grab a bite to eat?"

The rest of the girls agreed, and soon we were on our way to the nearest restaurant.

"Nice, Twilight," Rainbow Dash chided. "Can't really say anything since it worked, though."

I guess it can't be so bad, I thought as I followed the pack to an outdoor seating area.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

Applejack and Sunset Shimmer were off in line, with the former still staring up at a giant menu posted above a blue building. Sitting to my right, Rainbow Dash was locked in an intense, yet trivial game of Slide with Pinkie Pie. The rainbow haired girl swore under her breath when she lost track of the number of claps or failed to keep up with the curly haired girl's inhuman speed.

Seeing this as an opportunity to call another social lifeline, I stood up and excused myself to the nearest bathroom.

I dug around my bag, frantically searching for my phone. Fumbling with the screen. I leaned against the tiled wall as Lemon Zest's name showed up on my contact list.

"Hey, Twilight," Lemon Zest answered. "What up, dude?"

"Hi, Le—"

"Are you in the bathroom?" she asked. "Gross. I can hear the echo y'know?"

"Sorry, it's the only place where I could be by myself."

"Where are you?"

"Funland. Specifically, a bathroom in Funland."

"And you didn't invite us?" scolded a voice in the distance, most likely Sour Sweet.

"I'm here with Sunset Shimmer," I explained.

"Atta girl," Lemon congratulated, "I didn't expect you to ask her so soon."

"I didn't," I clarified. "I'm here with a group"

"Oh." The phone did nothing to mask their disappointment, and I couldn't tell whether it was from not inviting her or that I hadn't explicitly asked Sunset out on a date yet. "By the way, the rest of the girls are here in my dorm. You're on speaker—say hi!"

"Hey, Twilight!"

"Hello," I greeted, suddenly feeling a sense of performance anxiety. "I, uh, need help on flirting, specifically with letting her know that I like her."

"Okay!" Her voice was full of determination before she paused. "Here's what you do: You get yourself with Sunset on a ride that launches."

"Uh-huh."

"You sit in the front, and right before it blasts you at, like, a thousand miles per hour or something, you whisper in her ear 'I love you' and gauge her reaction at the photo booth after the ride. If she's blushing in the picture, you're good to go. If not, claim you were saying your last goodbyes to your mom or something."

"That's a terrible idea," came another voice, just as loud as Lemon Zest's. There was a slight argument and scuffling that I attributed to Sugarcoat swiping Lemon Zest s phone. "All that's gonna do is make Twilight look like a creep." Yeah, that was definitely Sugarcoat.

"Here's what you actually do," Sugarcoat continued. "You tell her that you like her and ask her on the damn date!"

There was another argument, another shuffle, and most likely another change of hands.

"If it were that easy, she would have done it by now," Indigo Zap cut in. "Hey, Twilight, sweetie, you know that cliche thing in the movies when the guy wins a big ol' stuffed bear for the girl? Do exactly that, but on your first try. It's a cliche because it works."

"Aww, that would be just adorable and perfect!" Sour Sweet cheered. "If this were a cartoon! Everyone knows those things are rigged."

It was at that point where I could feel all the comments, insults, and possibly fists as they were thrown in all directions.

"We can't mess this up!" one of them cried. "It's her first love!"

After the whole commotion, Sunny Flare was the last to end up with the phone. "Don't listen to them, Twilight. They have no idea what they're doing. You listening?"

I nodded and expected a response, which quickly turned into a sheepish, "Yes." Luckily no one was around to see that.

"It's simple. Just try asking her out under the late night firework show. There's music, pretty colors, explosions. All those kinds of romantic things. It's foolproof."

There was another behind-the-scenes argument, though this time they were mindful enough to not yell over each other. While they fought, I thought about the idea. It didn't take long for me to hang on the image of Sunset and I watching the lights fly across the night sky.

I didn't notice I was smiling until I caught my reflection in a metal paper towel container.

"That sounds nice," I admitted, "though I'm not sure if I have the guts to ask."

"Twilight," Sunny Flare scolded. "You can't just expect her to be the one to make the first move."

That was exactly what I was trying to do.

"I knooww," I whined, cringing at the thought of rejection again.

"Listen, we have to go. Just tell us how it goes after you've done the deed. ‘Kay?"

"Okay," I said back stiffly, hanging up the phone.

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

Somehow, I managed to convince Sunset to put off riding the Iron Pegasus. It wasn't easy, but once I brought up how cool flying over the night sky and the park lights would look, it was a cinch. Naturally, Rainbow Dash protested, arguing that the park would close before they could get on.

It was easy to strike a compromise. All it took was to suggest that they'd get in line earlier, and Sunset and I would jump on when they got near the front.

According to the lit-up sign in front of the Iron Pegasus's queue, I bought myself an hour and a half. An hour and a half alone with Sunset.

We spent a majority of the time in an arcade, where I found myself playing skeeball. The game was simple; all it took was a simple understanding of momentum and the transfer from potential to kinetic energy. After a few rounds of cautious rolling, I was able to figure out the perfect force to apply, which led to me hitting the small target in the corner consistently.

Sunset was off to the side, slapping an uncooperative claw machine.

After a few more tries, she eventually gave up and made her way over to me.

"Nice," she commented as the tickets began to flow out the machine. "Never knew you were good at skeeball."

"I wasn't," I answered honestly. "This is my first time."

"A skeeball savant," she said under her breath. "I wonder how well you would do in Las Pegasus."

"Very well, actually," I stated matter of factly. "Counting cards, while frowned upon, is perfectly legal. It's also ridiculously easy." I grabbed the tickets and neatly folded them over before placing the stack inside the small pocket of my backpack. When I looked back up, Sunset was staring at me with a confused expression. "When I was little, my father let me sit on his lap while he played cards with his friends. I'd pinch his knee every time there was a good count."

"I never thought you'd be the type to cheat." Sunset teased.

"It was just a fun little observational math game," I explained. "When it paid out, my dad took me out for ice cream."

Sunset laughed, which honestly caught me off guard a little. "That explains a lot, actually."

"Theoretically, I could do the same with most of these games. They all seem to rely on basic principles of physics."

Slyly, she dug in her pockets and brought out her wallet. "Care to put money where your mouth is?"

"Go on," I insisted.

"If you can find a way to win in most of these rigged games, I'll buy you ice cream."

"How Freudian of you," I commented. Outside, I had a cold, cocky attitude, but inside I was jumping from wall to wall. This was my chance to impress Sunset Shimmer, and I had to make it count.

She pointed over to a carnival booth, where an excessive amount of stuffed animals hung from the walls. Without saying anything, she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me over to the stand. A good five feet away, three plastic milk bottles stood on a platform, stacked on top of one another. Immediately, my mind began to fill up with how to take down the game, accounting for the underhanded techniques most midway games employed.

"Easy enough, right?" Sunset teased, jabbing me in the shoulder. She planted a pair of ones onto the counter and got a brownish softball in return. "I'm sure it won't take much more than one try." Smirking, she handed off the softball, and the weight immediately was a red flag. It had been corked and was now well below the regulated minimum of 178 grams.

Judging from the ball, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that at least one of the milk bottles was weighed down. The optimal place to aim for would be the bottom center.

It was just a question of velocity, which was easy enough to calculate in my head.

I tossed the ball in the air, getting another general feel before palming it completely. Concentrating, I emulated the stance of a baseball pitcher and threw it with what I calculated as the appropriate amount of force.

It took less than a half second to realize that I had undershot and hit the platform. Consequently, the ball ricocheted and hit Sunset square in the gut. I dove to her side and quickly began wailing several frantic apologies, which Sunset replied with hoarse statements of forgiveness.

"I'm fine," she said for the eighth time. "Sweet Celestia, that hurts."

"Sorry," I said for the fourteenth time. "I'm so sorry." Fifteenth.

"Let's just move on to the next one."

Apparently, Sunset trusted me enough to let me handle a sledgehammer.

The Hi-Striker relied on the same concepts of force as the last game, but now leverage and angle had to be taken into account. I would have to hit the target in the center without angling the hammer. If done well, the bell at the top would ring, cementing my status as a "Macho Man."

I was given three attempts. The rules on the board stated two, but since I was, and I quote, "a pretty lady," I was allowed an extra swing to claim my machismo. Yet I knew I would only need one.

I held onto the mallet by the rubber grip. One hand was on the bottom, the other lined up to where the handle ended. That was the optimal way to hold it for maximum force coming down.

Proper handling of the mallet. Check. Feet shoulder width apart. Check. Sunset Shimmer standing a safe ten feet away. Check.

I put all my force into swinging the hammer upwards and let the momentum do the rest, carefully making sure that the mallet was aimed for the center of the metal target. There was a weighty thud, and I immediately looked upwards and watched the light race upwards until it made a solid ring once it hit the top.

"Nice!" Sunset cheered, going after a stuffed bear. I decided to let her have the prize all to herself to make up for the incident with the milk bottles.

As it turns out, my theory about most carnival games and their relation to the laws of physics was accurate. Game after game, I was able to walk away with a prize worth much less than the actual cost of playing. And after each game, Sunset would give each prize away to a nearby child, and they would bounce away, happily cradling the plush toys. Yet after making a lap through the boardwalk, I noticed that she still kept the first bear I won.

"I guess I owe you some ice cream," Sunset conceded, gesturing towards an ice cream vendor.

Nodding, I followed her lead and waited on a nearby bench. I sung my legs idly, waiting until she came back with two waffle cones in her hand.

“You didn’t tell me what you liked, so I got two of my favorite,” she said cheekily. Smiling, she passed over a cone of strawberry cheesecake ice cream, and I almost chuckled at how much the dessert resembled her hair.

Of course, all good things come to a grinding halt at some point or another. About a minute or two after we finished our cones, Sunset received a text stating that our group was getting near the front of the Iron Pegasus. I swallowed a lump in my throat and began to follow Sunset toward the largest roller coaster the park offered.

It was then where I remembered the supply of chocolate in my backpack. Luckily, none of the pieces were melted beyond recognition, kept in decent quality by the plastic bag. I offered some to Sunset, who accepted it unquestioningly. To avoid any suspicion, I sampled some of the chocolate as well. As we walked, we ate (rather unhealthily) from the bag.

Following the signs, we entered through the exit and stopped just short of a ride attendant, who then asked for the passes.

The cacao did nothing to ease the stress of the ride. In fact, it might have made things worse.

I found myself sitting next to Sunset with the rest of the girls climbing in behind me. Up above, there was a safety poster advising us to keep our heads against the headrest. Whether it was there for legal precautionary reasons or due to past events I couldn't tell, but it didn't sit well in my stomach.

A replica streetlight hung next to the safety sign, and within a second, I knew what it was there for. Whoever thought to have a literal countdown must have been a sadist. I found myself gripping the lap bar, digging my nails into the slight cushion it provided.

"You doing okay, Twilight?" Sunset asked, turning her head towards me (which was unsafe, according to the sign).

"I should be asking you that," I countered, forcing a chuckle. Sunset smiled at the remark, which helped put me at ease but only slightly.

"Atta girl," called Rainbow Dash, who sat right behind me. She leaned forward to be a part of the conversation (also unsafe). "At least you didn't have to wait two hours for this."

"I thought it said one and a half."

"They lie," Rainbow spat before lying back next to her ride partner, Applejack.

This was what my life had come to. Seventeen years, and I was strapped into a deathtrap about to be launched into the stratosphere just to impress a girl who may or may not say yes to a date.

I felt my heart stop once the prop street light actually lit up.

Red.

You know, it's not too late to scream to get off.

Yellow.

Maybe Sunset Shimmer isn't worth it.

Another yellow.

That's not how streetlights work.

Gre—

•·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·☀·.·´·.·•·.·´·.·•

I found myself staring into a garbage can, tossing up whatever ice cream and chocolate I had eaten before the ride. Someone was patting my back gently, humming soft words of comfort. I bent over a decorative garden when I noticed it was Sunset who was humming.

"Someone go get her water," I heard Applejack say. "You'll be fine, sugarcube. Just go ahead and chuck."

I forced myself to stand up before announcing, "I really hate heights."

"At least you didn't do it on the ride," Rainbow Dash joked, shuddering at the idea.

"I did," I gasped between breathy heaves. Sunset's prized leather jacket was an unfortunate casualty.

Fluttershy handed over a half-empty water bottle, which I took while expressing my thanks through a grating whine. Greedily, I downed the water, hoping that it would dilute the taste of bile in my mouth. It did for the most part, but the taste was still present after repeated rinsing.

"Here, get the taste out of your mouth" Sunset spoke up, passing over the bag of chocolates I kept in my backpack. Instinctively, I pushed the sack away, wanting nothing to do with it. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"How about we call it a night?" Rarity offered. "I don't think it would be good for Twilight to hang out so long after that."

"I'm fine," I protested. "Don't worry about me."

"I'm really sorry, Twilight," Sunset apologized, crossing her arms. "It's my fault for forcing you on in the first place."

"It's fine," I repeated. Slouching, I turned to Rarity, "Actually, do you mind if I just lie in your car for a bit?"

"Do whatever you need to, dear." Rarity answered, "Though, I wouldn't feel right if it was just you on your own."

"It's fine," I needed to stop saying that. "There's no need to—"

"I'll go with you, Twilight." Sunset offered. "It's my fault, anyway. Plus I could wash off my jacket on the way."

"But we'll miss the firewo—"

Before I could continue, Sunset grabbed me by the arm and we were off to the parking lot.

Just before I stepped into Rarity's car, Sunset nudged my side.

"You okay, Twilight?" Sunset asked. "For real this time."

"Yes," I said stubbornly. It only took a skeptical raised eyebrow to get me to crumble. "No, I'm not. I just want to go home."

"That's what I figured." Sunset then turned to face the red truck to our side, where Sunset's bike was tied to. "It's about a half-hour ride back to Canterlot with no traffic. I can take you home if you'd like."

"Yes, please," I whimpered.

I helped Sunset pull off the bungee cords, opened the bed of the truck, and slowly helped her roll the bike downward. Its tires hit the ground with a soft bounce, and Sunset jumped on, motioning for me to do the same. Thankful to be going home after the disastrous night, I forced the helmet on and held onto her, hoping I’d never have to let go.

I buried my face against her back, keeping my eyes shut for the majority of the ride back. After nearly crying on the Iron Pegasus, Sunset's bike wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was... even if we were speeding down the highway.

We got to my house at around eight-thirty. Funland didn't close until around eleven, so we saved ourselves about three hours of sitting and doing nothing. The ride up the hill to my house wasn't as bad as past experiences either, so at least that came out of it.

I was still hugging Sunset when we came to a full stop. We sat on the bike for just a while longer. I didn't want her to leave again, but I was still too scared to invite her inside.

"Thank you," I said, my voice muffled by her leather jacket. "Thank you for sticking with me through everything... the broken ride, hitting you in the gut with a softball, throwing up on your favorite jacket."

"No problem," she answered back coolly. "I wouldn't change a thing... except maybe the last one."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'll get it dry-cleaned later. Plus, I got most of it off anyway."

"Just... Thank you for putting up with me," I said, feeling my chest swell. "You're just... awesome. Sunset, I think I—"

I hung on the last word, and I could feel the heat on my cheeks. There was a brief silence in the air before Sunset spoke up.

"Is there, uh, something you want to tell me?"

Now was my chance. It was now or never, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. My chest was pounding harder than any roller coaster could have done to it. I was stuttering, panicking, tripping over my tongue, unable to say a word. I just wanted to get out of there immediately.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not smart. In fact, I'm a certified idiot. Why?

Because my first instinct was to grab the motorcycle's acceleration handle, sending the both of us tumbling down the hill.

Analyze Results, Error Analysis & Conclusion

Citrus—lemons, to be exact. The room was bathed with the overwhelming scent. That was the first sensation I felt when my consciousness came back. I forced my eyes open and was treated to a blindingly white room. Everything was hazy, which wasn't much of a surprise. The impact probably knocked me unconscious, possibly even knocking off my contacts.

My hand wandered around, feeling for the lenses that were probably just out of reach. Somehow despite my blindness, I still was able to make out a general image of the room.

I was in a hospital room, lying down on a cot.

My eyes darted around the room, eventually landing on a familiar yellowish figure next to me.

It was her, the cause of all this... experimenting? I didn't even know what to call it anymore.

My focus adjusted, only slightly, though, and I was able to get a closer view of her. Still no specific details, but her hair was a mess, that much I could tell.

There was an audible sigh before my vision immediately began to clear, feeling the cold of my glasses as it came into contact with the bridge of my nose.

She was frowning, not really angry, just tired. Disappointed? I didn't know. I couldn't really read people that well.

"Hey, Twilight," Sunset said weakly, flashing a halfhearted smile. "You're up."

'Hi," I croaked, forcing out the words.

She bent over, adjusting my crooked glasses. "I saw your notes." Her voice was plain, yet confrontational. I groaned in response, earning a chuckle from Sunset as she slumped down onto a stool. Without saying much else, she motioned towards my backpack, where a crumpled pile of papers sat. Subconsciously, a weight fell off my shoulders. The entire thesis wasn't in the backpack, luckily, but the itinerary and the detailed plan to ask Sunset out were.

Sighing, she placed her hands on her head and massaged her temples in a slow, rhythmic fashion.

"Did you like them?" I joked, knowing how odd the notes must have looked to her. Though, I probably came off as insane for even asking that.

"Twilight, I..." Sunset trailed off. "I don't know what to think. I thought it was cute at first, but..."

I winced. "You knew?"

"Of course, I knew, Twilight. Everyone knew."

"Since when?"

"Me or the universe?"

I swallowed my breath. It was a joke, clearly, but it kind of stung to just have it all out there.

"You," I answered, stating the obvious.

Sunset sighed, tugging at her curly hair for what I assumed was moral support. "I had my suspicions for a while, but I guess it started the day Pinkie Pie threw that party for Maud."

That early? Oh jeez. "How?"

"You jumped at the chance to set up decorations after I volunteered. Then later that day, you asked if I'd be willing to date a girl. It wasn't solid, but I noticed how you kinda seemed to... flock towards me. Of course, I didn't know for sure until I saw all... this."

Unable to respond, I let the silence hang in the air. She wasn't mad as far as I could tell, but there was a slight coldness in her voice. It wasn't until she brought her hands down that I noticed the off-color bruises on her arms.

"Sunset!" I cried, nearly spilling over the medical bed. "Are you okay!?"

I couldn't believe how selfish I was being. Sunset was in pain, and I was the one in the cot, getting the medical attention.

"I should be the one asking you that." She pointed at my foot, which I just now noticed had a white cast wrapped around the ankle.

"Oh."

Sunset sighed, before reaching into her bag, "Unfortunately, Mr. Stuffed Bear didn't survive." Stifling a morbid chuckle, she held up the prize I had won her just hours earlier. It was a barely recognizable mass of white fluff and fabric. "Rest in peace. We hardly knew ye. Gone before I could give him a real name."

The conversation seemed to die there, fading away as neither of us had much to say. Instead, we just looked at each other and refused to bring up the elephant in the room again. I knew we would have to talk about it at some point, but I didn't expect it to be this hard. It would have been a nobler thing to bring it up myself and get it out the way, but I couldn't do anything but lie there helplessly.

If I had my way, I would have just disappeared into nothing or teleported out the room, but I didn't have the luxury of magic like my Equestrian counterpart. Instead, I was trapped in the room with Sunset, and she knew. Oh gosh, she knew. She knew. My stomach lurched in horror at the full realization.

If anything, I just wanted Sunset to stop looking at me.

"How about them Clydesdales?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Sunset scoffed. "Twilight..."

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry."

She looked down at her lap, sighing as she kneaded her hands into her legs. "Remember what I told you back at Pinkie's party?"

I shook my head.

"I said something about confidence," Sunset continued. "Do you remember that?"

The word "confidence" immediately rang a bell. It would have been easy to lie and shake my head again, but I couldn't bring myself to.

Sunset sighed, most likely due to the one-sided conversation, "'A little confidence goes a long way,' remember?"

"Yes," I forced out.

The silence made itself known again. Most of it could be pointed in my direction. My one-word answers were the obvious cause of the dead conversation. For one minute at the very least, I wanted to know what was going on in Sunset's head. Then I would be able to navigate through this mental minefield.

It would have made things easier if I could just communicate. Instead, shrinking away from confrontation seemed like the only acceptable course of action.

"All you had to do was ask," she spoke up.

"What?"

"You heard me," Sunset called out.

She wasn't wrong. I knew exactly what she meant. All of this was my fault.

Sunset laughed. It was quiet, but it was a laugh nonetheless. The sudden shift in tone was enough to get me to join in. For once in the past few days, I got a chance to just lie down and reflect on what I have been doing for the past two weeks.

"You're not mad?" I asked, already preemptively flinching.

"Of course not. I should have expected some complicated plan from you. Just please tell me this is the worst of it," Sunset pleaded lightly. "I don't even want to know if you stole a lock of my hair or anything."

"Nothing like that!" I protested. Though it was better to conceal the rest of the thesis paper. The last thing I wanted was for Sunset to stumble onto the rest of The Sunlight Project and to be scared away. "I just wanted to increase the odds of you saying yes."

"Well, it's a solid hypothesis," Sunset admitted. "Though the execution... not so much."

"I'll have to mention the extraneous circumstances in the error analysis," I commented, earning another laugh. "So does that mean—"

"No," Sunset answered curtly. "At least, not yet. I don't know if it's the adrenaline talking, but I'm willing to just sit on the idea for a couple of days and give you a few weeks to heal up before I make a decision."

"That's fair," I conceded. "I did nearly kill the both of us."

"There's that too," Sunset said. "Although, you're the one who took the most damage... so karma, I guess?"

“Since I'm here, I might as well be the first to sign your cast."

Without saying much else, she bent over and pulled a marker from my backpack. Smirking, she made her way to the foot of the hospital bed and began writing onto the cast. From what I could tell, her writing took up most of the sole, yet it was just out of my field of view. Holding back a chuckle, she turned to face me.

"I can't see what you wrote." I complained, leaning over to see what was on it.

"You're not supposed to," she said coyly. "Yet. I gotta go. The rest of the girls are here too, and your parents are coming in about half an hour, by the way."

As I watched her open the door, I impulsively yelled, "Wait!"

She stopped at the door, "Yes?"

Unable to stop myself, I began to talk without thinking.

"Can you at least tell me what you wrote? No specifics."

Chuckling, she answered, "Just a little note... and my phone number."

"When can I ask you out... for real this time?"

That felt amazing to just ask without any fear.

"I dunno," Sunset falsely droned before her face turned to a devilish grin. "Maybe text me and find out."

With that, she disappeared behind the door. Seconds later, most likely by Sunset's instruction, the rest of my friends flooded the room.

"Twi? Are ya okay, sugarcube?"

"Darling, we came as soon as we heard."

"You really goofed up, egghead."

"That's a real cool cast, Twilight! Can I sign it next?"

"Do you need anything? I can ask a nurse to bring you a better pillow."

"Hi, girls," I croaked, slumping back into my cot. "Yeah, I messed up, but it's all fine, I think."

I had no idea what to think. Luckily, all I had to do was just lie down and wait for my parents to check me out.

"Did you score a date with Sunset?" Rainbow asked.

"I honestly don't know."

"Well, the doctor said that you'll be out of the cast in about a month." Rarity spoke up, delivering a much needed bit of news. "It's only a small fracture, apparently."

"That's good, at least." I paused for a second, not really knowing what to say. "So... would any of you care to sign my cast?"

There was a chorus of approval after my suggestion. One by one, the group all took turns writing down their names on the cast with some making more elaborate signatures than others.

"Hey, egghead." Rainbow called, "Sunset Shimmer left you a little parting note."

"I know," I responded. "Does it say anything?"

"It says, 'Don't open 'til Hearth's Warming,'" Pinkie Pie said before erupting into a giggling fit.

"Very funny," I said. "Seriously."

"We are being serious," Fluttershy defended. "That's when the doctor said you can get it removed, right?"

Of course I had to fall for a girl that had a sense of humor.

"She wrote her phone number on there, too," Applejack spoke up. "Want us to read you that?"

I thought about it for a few seconds before remembering the conversation I had with Sunset Shimmer.

"No thanks," I answered. "I can wait."

Author's Note

Oh jeez, it's over. I'm actually really bummed.

But do you know what's the best part of finishing a fanfic? Getting to read other people's stories that you put off starting until you finished.

I'm also going to take a nap.

The Newest Wondercolt: An Introduction

Without much fanfare, the final school bell rang, signaling the end of my first day as a Canterlot High Wondercolt.

For being the start of a new era of my life, it was surprisingly underwhelming. Of course, I never would have guessed that I'd be surrounded by a new group of friends. Then again, I didn't exactly know why they latched onto me so quickly.

Maybe it was because of the whole she-demon rampage. Who am I kidding? That was exactly why.

Then again, I didn’t really know why I even transferred. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like an impulse decision, the kind of impulse decision when you spot a candy bar at the supermarket line and you grab it. Of course, that was a gross understatement of what I had just done to my life. Maybe it was more comparable to switching from an engineering major to basket weaving or new-age philosophy.

I had abandoned Crystal Prep for an entirely new school, and I could barely come up with a reason to why I left.

Sure, the students at Canterlot High were friendlier and a lot kinder than the ones at Crystal Prep, but was that really it? I was a nobody in my last school, but here it felt different.

Discovering and learning the magic of friendship was another reason. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, but I knew had something to do with my transformation. Just thinking about what it turned me into made me shiver, and I wanted nothing to do with magic.

But at the same time, I wanted to know everything about it.

Sighing, I tried to shake the thoughts. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Like I had been doing for the past week, I repeated the phrase It wasn't my fault. Though in reality, it really was. It just helped to shift the blame toward something else.

I stood up from my government-issued desk, which was a noticeable downgrade from the ones at Crystal Prep. I didn't mind. CHS was a lot more welcoming than my old school. Every textbook seemed like it told a story, thriving in personality compared to the new editions the private school bought every year.

I tried to fix my slouch as I walked down the halls, but my thoughts weighed down my body. It also didn't help that I caught the cautious glances of the other students. Some of the students kept to the walls and some muttered under their breath. Though there was a small handful of students who acted like I didn't scare the daylight out of them when I walked past.

It was still early in the afternoon, and I realized that I had way too much free time. Back at Crystal Prep, the extracurriculars kept me from leaving the campus until a half hour before dusk.

No more chamber symphony rehearsal, chess club, or even speech and debate. The jazz band was without its pianist, and the math team lost one of its captains.

It wasn’t until I had written up that mental list that I realized I had left behind a sizable vacuum. Despite that, I could count the people who would have genuinely missed me on one hand. I’d still see Dean Cadance around, but I had recklessly severed the budding friendships with my former schoolmates at the Friendship Games.

I think I might have made a mistake. My legacy at Crystal Prep was to be the nobody who did everything then disappeared without a word.

I walked out the school’s entrance and slumped down on the top step. Directly in front of me was the shattered remains of the Wondercolt statue. A lone stone hoof stood proudly and declared that it had survived the attack.

I did that. The thought was quick, but it managed to tank my mood even further. I dug my face into my hands, hoping that when I brought my head back up the statue of the bucking horse would be intact.

At least that was the worst of the damage. No one was hurt, thankfully. Though it could have been much worse. Somehow, I was pulled from the abyss; not kicking and screaming, but willingly.

And I had Sunset Shimmer to thank for that.

Sunset. She did it. I remembered being promised all the knowledge in the universe, and I honestly almost signed myself up for the path of absolute power. Then, in a flash of light, it was just me and the fiery-haired girl, floating in the void like two lost souls. She didn't even raise her voice; instead, she held out her hand. I nearly killed her and her friends, but she treated me with kindness I didn’t deserve.

I jumped at the sudden pressure on my back, bringing me back to the real world.

"Hey, Twilight, you doing alright?"

It was her. I nodded.

"I'm fine," I answered meekly. "I'm just waiting for the bus."

Sunset dropped her bag and sat right next to me.

"How's your first day as a Wondercolt?" she asked, scooting in closer to my side.

"Fine, I guess. I'm still adjusting. It's kind of weird to go to a school where everyone knows who you are."

"At least you don't have to introduce yourself to the class each period.” She smiled, and I tried to match her.

"Yeah, but..." I paused, retreating to the safety of my knees.

"But what?"

"Everyone looked at me like I was a freak," I admitted, swallowing back a warble.

She nodded and then brought her hand to my back again, patting my shoulder gently. She was silent for a brief moment, but I could tell she was desperately racking her brain for something to say.

"Who cares what they think? You've got me and the girls."

"But I don't know them as well as you do."

Sunset paused before wrapping her arm around my shoulder. "Hey, you know what? How about I show you where me and the girls usually hang out after school?"

"I dunno. I really have to get home. The bus is coming—"

"Come on. It'll be fun."

"But what about the others?"

"They'll catch up.” She flicked her wrist as she stood up. She held her hand out.

Not knowing what else to do, I let myself be dragged from the school steps to a busy intersection a few blocks away. It was getting chilly. Not too bad, but it was a sure, welcomed sign of the coming winter. We stopped in front of a small coffee shop on the corner of the street, and Sunset led me in. Unsurprisingly, the air was full of the scent of cocoa, and gentle sounds of holiday-inspired pop filled the room.

That was when Sunset let go of my arm, opting to push me over to a small corner booth.

Luckily for us, it seemed the after school rush hadn't really hit yet, or at least not as hard as it did to the other local businesses. Though I doubted the place would safe for long.

"What do you want? It's my treat," Sunset offered, pointing towards the sign.

I thought about it for quick second but politely answered, "I'm not really a fan of coffee."

"Obviously, you haven't had the Cakes’ special blend before."

She stepped away from the booth, stopping at the short line forming in the center of the shop. I dug in my backpack and pulled out a worksheet. Unsurprisingly, the assignment was much easier and straightforward compared to the usual homework Crystal Prep assigned. Not that it was a bad thing, but by the time Sunset returned, I was already done.

Smiling, she set the tray on the table before passing me a handful of sugar packets and cream.

"I don't really know how you drink it, so I just brought a bunch," Sunset explained, grabbing her own drink from the tray.

I took a sip, and it was bitter. My face scrunched, and I immediately reached for the pile of sweeteners and unceremoniously poured a well-past-generous amount into the drink. From the look on Sunset's face, I probably went a little overboard.

I took another sip, and I knew I went a lot overboard.

Still, it would’ve been rude to just throw it out, especially since Sunset paid for it. Besides, I completely ruined it myself by drowning it with sweeteners. So, bravely and valiantly, I drank from the paper cup and hoped Sunset wouldn’t catch on.

Have I mentioned that I didn't like coffee?

We sat in silence, listening to the background music as we drank. I found myself appreciating the stillness. My thoughts drifted again towards the girl sitting in front of me, who seemed to carry that aura of someone who's been through hell and back and won. She tapped her fingers on the counter and played with her hair, both signs of a restless person.

The only reason I noticed was because I did the same thing.

She’s so cool.

Completely unlike me.

She had this sort of mellow disposition I lacked. I was high-strung even before the events at the Friendship Games. But now, every night since, I feared that I’d wake up as the she-monster again.

For a brief, few milliseconds, I locked eyes with Sunset and then immediately looked away. There was a strange, fluttering feeling in my chest as I caught her smile. My grip on the coffee cup weakened a little before I forcefully shoved the opening toward my mouth. Instead of reaching its intended destination, the cup’s scalding contents spilled onto my lap. Pretending like nothing happened, I ignored the burning sensation and swallowed another mouthful of the sugary drink.

Gosh, it hurts. Why am I even pretending? It's not like I'm trying to—

Oh, jeez. I was totally trying to impress Sunset. Why else would I be chugging a coffee I just ruined with an excessive amount of sugar?

Maybe it was just to be polite, but it felt like more than just that.

I have a crush on Sunset Shimmer.

No, Twilight. Crushes are for kids, kids who couldn't articulate their feelings yet, so instead they just pull on pigtails and push their crush off the swing set.

Besides, I still had school. Dating Sunset would be a distraction... a really pretty distraction.

I never even really asked myself if I liked girls. I kinda just threw romance and sexuality aside in favor of my studies. Though, at the very least I could write down that I would date a girl.

Well, I got something productive done here other than homework. Once again, another momentous landmark in my life was surprisingly underwhelming. Usually, it took a long period of insecurity, self-discovery, and experimentation before one truly accepted their sexuality.

I was always about being efficient.

There was a soft ringing in the distance that came from the door, just loud enough to snap my thoughts away from Sunset. Sure enough, her friends had walked in, and it didn't take too long for the swarm of teenagers to flood the booth.

"You coulda texted us," Rainbow Dash scolded, playfully hitting Sunset on the shoulder. "We were just standing outside—in the cold—like a buncha idiots."

"It wasn't so bad," Fluttershy reasoned. "It's actually the perfect weather for some hot drinks."

Applejack slid into the booth, lightly bumping into my side. "Sorry for ruinin' your date, sugarcube."

Instinctively (and foolishly), I began to stutter at the comment. "W-what? N-no, we weren't—"

"Oh, Twilight, she's just teasing," Rarity reassured, sliding in to join us. "No need to get all worked up."

Awkwardly, I laughed along and prayed that the subject of dating would be dropped.

Thankfully, it was, and no one caught on to my unprepared stumble. Though Pinkie Pie kept staring at me with a wide-eyed look. I tried to look away, but I would somehow catch her staring at me again. After a while, I just brushed it off as something she did often and turned my focus to the coffee in my hand.

The conversation moved a mile a minute, and I quickly lost track of what they were saying. They spoke over each other often, some even yelling to get their thoughts in.

I traced my finger around Sunset's name on the cup, shooting a glance towards her. We locked eyes a couple of times, and she often offered me a reassuring smile. But even still, I squirmed in my seat, finding it hard to focus on the raucous group of girls.

"And that's how I ended up with this wicked sweet bruise," Rainbow Dash bragged.

"I don't think that's something to be proud of," Rarity argued, leaning away from the discolored patch of purple forming on Rainbow Dash's leg. Noticing this, Rainbow Dash leaned in closer to disgust her friend.

"Says you." Sticking her tongue out, the cyan girl poked at the swelling flesh that turned an even darker shade of blue in real time.

"That still doesn't explain why you're benched for the next game," Applejack said.

"I dunno either,” she said with a shrug. "I guess the ref just hated me."

"You called him a 'bribe jockey,'" Rarity scolded, dramatically using air-quotes. "And later you asked him if the check cleared."

"Well, yeah, but he called my goal off-sides when it clearly wasn't."

Sighing, Rarity dropped the subject once she recognized it was a lost cause and stood up from the seat. "I'm going to grab a cup of hot chocolate. Would anyone like anything?"

"Oooh! I could use one, too." Pinkie beamed, joyfully bobbing in her seat. "One, two," she repeated, giggling to herself.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be behind the counter?" Sunset mentioned, patting Pinkie's back.

"Right!" Pinkie cheered. In a literal blur, she bounced from her seat, sped off to the front counter, and giggled while she draped an apron over her shoulders. I probably never would have guessed that out of Sunset and her friends, Pinkie would be the one with a job. Then again, buying party supplies in bulk can't be cheap.

The short bit of commotion offered an opportunity to leave, and I stood up, hoping I could slip by without any protest from the smothering group of girls.

"I gotta go home," I mumbled, slipping my backpack on.

"Aww... don't go, Twilight," Rainbow pleaded. "We just got here! You gotta stay some more."

"The bus comes by really soon, and my mom's expecting me to be back by six. I should really be heading back."

The ol' mom excuse. The fool-proof plan for getting out of plans.

"I can give you a ride," Sunset offered, effectively shooting down my escape plan. It took every fiber of self control not to jump at the proposal.

"N-no thanks." I mumbled, hoping that would be enough.

She grabbed my arm. "Nonsense. I dragged you here, anyway. Plus my coffee got cold."

Before I knew it, I was exposed to the cold, biting air, already a block away from the coffee shop. My arm was still locked with Sunset's. I felt myself blush as I shook my myself free from the small bend in her arm. She smiled, and we walked in silence for a brief moment.

"So, uh, where's your car?" I asked, watching my misty breath float in the air.

"Car?" Sunset rolled her eyes. "Pff, you're cute, Twilight. I don't drive cars."

Luckily, Sunset didn't notice me averting my eyes at the word "cute.”

Leading me down the street, Sunset stopped just short of the empty high school parking lot. Empty, except for the motorcycle.

Because of course it was a motorcycle. I should have guessed she was the type of girl to drive one. Speeding deathtraps always seemed to attract the cool, rebellious type.

The cool rebellious type. Jeez. I was a walking eighties movie. I was the preppy girl who always fell for the bad boy type.

Sunset tossed me a helmet and signaled for me to come closer, and I did. Nervously stumbling, of course.

The helmet was loose fitting, but that was the least of my worries as her only advice was, "Hold on."

To what? I didn't know, but I locked my arms around Sunset's stomach, closed my eyes, and leaned my head against her leather jacket. The wind, still cold, blew against us forcefully as she sped up the hill.

"Wait," Sunset said as we stopped at a red light. "I don't even know where you live.”

"2742 Everfree Lane."

"Shoulda guessed you were an Everfree girl, given that you went to Crystal Prep," Sunset said playfully.

I pretended not to hear that comment. Sure, some of the students at Crystal Prep were from the Everfree neighborhood, but the stereotype held little weight; the school made people elitists, not the small district they came from. Even then, kids from out of town took up most of the boarding school’s population.

When we got there, I was still holding onto her, refusing to let go even as she parked right outside my driveway. I just had to make sure, without an inch of doubt, that I could safely set foot on solid ground.

“You can let go now, Twilight.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said, realizing that a few seconds had passed since Sunset shut off the engine.

Sunset helped me off the bike before sizing up my house. "Fa-ancy," she hummed, her tone half-condescending, half-congratulatory. "Beats my dump of an apartment."

"Thanks?"

"We've got to have a sleepover at your place someday."

"Maybe," I answered, "but I have to clear it with my parents."

"Don't most Everfree girls have their parents wrapped around their finger?"

Another stereotype. "I like to make it seem like they have a choice in the matter," I said coolly. At least, I thought it sounded cool.

Sunset nodded, holding back an entertained laugh. "Alright then. See ya, Twilight."

“See you tomorrow,” I said, dropping the helmet into a compartment on the bike.

She sped off, seemingly flooring it as she went downhill. Her driving was definitely looser without me as a passenger.

Walking into the house, I turned on the lights and immediately noticed the silence. I called out that I was home, but there was no response. Normally, no one being around would have been a good thing, giving me a chance to be alone and collect my thoughts, but I felt the sudden need to talk to someone. Plus, there was a nagging feeling burning in the back of my mind.

I wanted Sunset to come back.