"Okay, Sunset, calm down...you can do this."
The nervousness Sunset was feeling right now was plastered all over her face, and the calming breaths she took to help herself didn't really improve matters. But, she stayed, standing right in front of the old horse statue at the front of Canterlot High. Even now, after all this time, it remained damaged from their world's Twilight having a brief bout of dark magic madness, but for the most part, it had remained. And a good thing too, for the portal between words was always needed every now and again. Today was just such a day, as Sunset hesitantly awaited her guest. She watched for minute after minute at the flat stone surface, until, at last, it began to shine. She gulped, and saw, moments later, her old friend emerging from the portal. Even in spite of why she was here, she couldn't help but smile.
"It's good to see you again, Twilight."
The young Princess of Friendship, after taking a moment to once again get used to standing on just two legs, smiled back to her fellow former-pony.
"And you, Sunset. How's everything going over here?"
A chuckle escaped the other girl as she shrugged her shoulders.
"About as good as usual. Nothing much to report on the other girls."
But then, her eyes widened.
"Oh! Actually, I tell a lie! Derpy finally gave birth!"
Twilight gained a surprised look, followed by one of concern.
"Really?! What happened? Is she okay?"
Sunset raised a hand to calm her, continuing to smile as she did so.
"She's fine. And she's got a beautiful baby girl now. She called her Dinky."
Briefly, a look of familiarity passed Twilight's face, and then a chuckle escaped her as she smiled, looking away slightly.
"Right...I should have guessed that."
Needless to say, Sunset was momentarily confused by such words, but, sadly, didn't have the time to enquire further about it, as Twilight looked to her once more and spoke up.
"So...why did you call me? You said it was something important, right?"
Realisation sprang up on Sunset's face, and her smile, just for a moment, faltered. She gave a nod, confirming Twilight's question, before then gesturing to the street nearby. Twilight looked down that road, and then back to Sunset, giving a nod and showing that she understood. So, together, the two started walking down the street together, going at a fairly leisurely pace. Every once in a while, Twilight would spot some of the students of Canterlot High, greeting them with a smile and a wave, which they were always happy to return. But, as pleasant as this was, Twilight couldn't get over her presence here, and so turned to Sunset soon afterwards.
"Sunset? Is...is something wrong?"
Hesitancy was clear upon the other girl's face, and she let out a sigh before looking to her guest.
"It's...complicated. I just need to bring you somewhere else right now. Somewhere I'd be more comfortable talking to you about it."
It was obvious from listening to her voice that something was indeed bothering her, and as such, Twilight continued to look to her with concern. Sunset, for her part, tried to ignore her friend's stares, and so kept on walking. Eventually, after passing yet another street corner, they stopped, and Sunset pointed across the road to what, presumably, was their destination; a small café. Twilight nodded to her, and followed her as she crossed the road. It didn't take them long to get to the place, and after opening the door, Sunset entered, holding it open for Twilight as she did the same. Once inside, they looked around, and found that it was largely empty, save for the people working at the counter. But, moments afterwards, Sunset broke the silence between them.
"Over there."
Twilight turned, looking to where her companion was now pointing. It was a small corner booth, right on the other side of the café. But, the moment she looked to it, Twilight's eyes widened with surprise. For there, sitting in that booth already, was someone very familiar. A boy her age, with distinct blue hair. Flash Sentry, her ex. As one would expect, seeing him here was both a surprise and a discomfort to Twilight, and she briefly turned to Sunset because of it.
"Sunset...?"
But the other girl didn't answer, and instead, began to walk over to the booth. Twilight was hesitant at first, but, after a few moments, began to follow her. When they arrived, Flash stood up, looking right at Twilight and, in all honesty, looking just as worried about all this as she was.
"...Hey," he greeted.
"...Hey," Twilight replied.
It was an uncomfortable moment, that much was obvious, and yet, it carried on for almost a full minute, ending only when Sunset cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the other two.
"Um...shall we?"
With that, she took her spot sitting down on the chair closest the window in the booth. Flash, likewise, resumed where he was sitting. As for Twilight, she continued to stand for the time being, looking from her ex, to her friend, and then back again.
"I...er...no offense, but...I thought this was going to be between you and me, Sunset. Why is Flash here?"
The other two briefly looked at each other, and a flicker of discomfort shone in both of their eyes. A silence followed, wherein it looked as if the two youths were deep in thought over something. When it finally ended, it was Flash who spoke up next.
"Um...actually, Twilight...I kinda need to be here for this too."
Naturally, a remark like that earned Twilight's curiosity, and her suspicion. But, for the moment, she did as requested, taking a seat next to Sunset. Her eyes never left Flash, however, and in the quiet that continued to persist around them, her expression went through a myriad of different phases. There was sadness, no doubt from what happened the last time they met. There was discomfort, perhaps from being here near him. But, at the end of it, she did something Flash was not at all expecting her to do; smile.
"How...how have you been?"
Though taken aback by that, Flash quickly composed himself, clearing his throat before speaking back with a soft expression of his own.
"I'm...good, actually. Things have been okay my end so...yeah, thanks for asking."
Twilight continued to smile at him, and when Flash looked to it, he didn't get any feeling of it being forced or unwilling. Twilight was happy to see him, even in spite of everything that had happened when they last spoke. And that, more than anything else, made the boy feel all the more relaxed. Sunset too smiled at this little exchange, but, unfortunately, it faded soon afterwards, as she let out a sigh, gaining Twilight's attention.
"Twilight, there's...there's something we have to tell you."
The young Princess looked over to her friend, and then back to Flash. Both of them had regained that same look of discomfort, and briefly, Twilight could have sworn there was even a degree of shame in there. She turned yet again to Sunset, her voice tinted with worry.
"Wha...what is it? Has something bad happened?"
Sunset shook her head.
"No...well...possibly. I don't really know how you'll take this, so..."
Slowly, she turned her head, looking Twilight right in the eye.
"In the months since you last visited us...certain things have happened. Things we thought might never happen again, but...have happened all the same."
Twilight, understandably, looked confused at that.
"What are you talking about?"
Sunset opened her mouth to speak, only to find that she could get nothing but false starts out. In the end, she turned to Flash, hoping he might give some better way of saying this. But, sadly, he looked just as lost for words as she was, only able to get out a rather broken explanation.
"Well...it's just...when certain people, and...er...and when they...um..."
Twilight frowned slightly, looking to both of them before speaking up.
"Are...are you two afraid to tell me what this is all about?"
As expected, she'd gone right to the heart of the matter. Sunset and Flash gave each other a quick glance, before the former let out a sigh, softening her expression, before giving a nod.
"Yes...we are."
Twilight looked surprised by this, but stayed quiet as Sunset continued.
"Look, Twilight...something happened while you were gone. Something that, quite frankly, was as much of a shock to us as it's going to be for you. But...we know that there's a chance this might upset you, and not without cause. So..."
She looked away.
"...we just don't know how to tell you."
Twilight's face became more gentle after hearing that, and she regained her smile from earlier. Leaning forward, she placed her hand upon Sunset's, and the latter turned to look at her. Here, Twilight's smile widened a little, and she spoke softly to her friend.
"Sunset...we're friends."
She then turned to Flash.
"All of us."
Then she looked back to Sunset.
"Whatever it is you need to tell me...I promise you, I won't be angry."
Sunset knew she was telling the truth, as did Flash, and yet, as the two glanced to each other yet again, that hesitancy did not leave their eyes. But, after a long silence had passed between them, they knew that, at the very least, Twilight deserved to hear them outright. It was an uncomfortable moment, that much was obvious, but, after a long wait, Sunset took a deep breath, looked Twilight right in the eye, and just came out and said it.
"Twilight...me and Flash...have decided to start seeing each other again."
If the silence from earlier was bad, this was one worse, as Twilight simply stared at Sunset for the longest time. For a while, her face didn't move, resulting in a blank look from the young Princess that Sunset found rather uncomfortable to look at. But, in time, it changed, to one of confusion, and even a little shock. She looked right at Sunset, half-expecting there to be something else, some other explanation, or perhaps even a hint that this was a jest of some kind. But no, for all Twilight saw there was honesty. Looking to Flash, she saw that same look in HIS eyes too, as he gave a brief nod, confirming what Sunset had just said. Leaning back into her chair, Twilight's demeanour was, like she said, not of anger, but of simple surprise.
"Oh...oh...oh..."
She just kept saying that, over and over again, much to the concern of the other two, until finally, she started getting out a coherent sentence.
"So...um...when did this happen?"
Having finally been given an opening, Sunset took a moment to compose herself, before finally starting to explain things.
"Well...during the months since you last came to this world...Flash started spending more time with the girls and me. And at first, it was just that, just us being friends, hanging out, that kind of thing."
Nodding, Flash added his own voice to things.
"But over time...things started to change. Me and Sunset, well...we got to talking more and more."
Sunset looked down at the table in-between them.
"We started remembering how things went the last time we were together, and...and how nothing went right. And I guess...I guess there came a point where we both kinda wished that...things had gone better the first time around."
Flash nodded back to her before continuing.
"Then, one day...the two of us got together, separate from everyone else. It was raining hard and we were kinda stuck until it passed. Things were said and...we realised that we were...comfortable together."
Twilight said nothing, simply looking from one to the other as they each talked. Then, after another pause, it was Sunset's turn to speak up.
"We knew, then and there...that there was still something between us, even if it did take us a while to realise it. We didn't know how to take it, at least, at first, but..."
She didn't finish, but instead looked up to Flash, who finished for her.
"But we thought that, maybe...it might be worth trying again, me and her. We don't know if it'll work, but...we think it might at least be worth trying."
Here, at last, the two of them looked straight at Twilight, with Sunset in particular looking almost ashamed of what they'd just said.
"But we didn't want to start anything like that until we'd talked to you about it. It's only been a few months since you and Flash broke up and...and I didn't want to do this without telling you."
Twilight stared at them in silence, prompting Sunset to grow increasingly concerned.
"I...I am so sorry if you're upset by this, Twilight. We never did this to hurt you, you have to believe that. If you tell us, right here and now, that you're uncomfortable with this...then we'll end it...before it even begins."
Twilight, for a moment, seemed surprised by that last statement in particular, and looked over to Flash, who gave a similarly honest look about it. A silence fell yet again, giving the Princess time to get her thoughts in order. It was a lot to take in, that much was certain, but Sunset and Flash gave her all the time she needed to get a response together. It took nearly a full five minutes before Twilight said anything, and when she did, she did so with a long sigh.
"It's...fine."
The other youths looked to her, very much taken aback by what they'd just heard.
"Um...pardon?" Sunset asked.
Looking to her in earnest, Twilight retained her smile.
"I mean it...it's fine."
Sunset and Flash looked to one another, disbelief as clear as day upon their faces, and Twilight, seeing this, began to explain.
"Look, I...you were right, when you said that this would be a shock for me...because it is. I hadn't really considered this, even though I knew you two had a history."
Slowly, she focused on Flash in particular.
"I'm not going to lie to either of you. Because...I think that, on some level...I'll always feel sad whenever we meet, Flash. When I look at you, and when you look at me...we'll probably always have our breakup in our minds somewhere."
Flash looked away briefly, the discomfort in his eyes making it clear that Twilight was right about that. But, he stayed quiet as she continued, looking to Sunset now.
"I can imagine that, whatever I feel now...is probably going to be what you felt when me and Flash were together."
In a similar vein to Flash, Sunset looked away, and again, Twilight carried on.
"As much as I stand by my decision for Flash and me to...to no longer be together...I think there'll always be some small part of me that will regret it."
Silence followed those words, but, thankfully, it was brief, as Twilight looked to them both and, as before, smiled.
"But...I'm happy for you."
Together, both Sunset and Flash looked to her at once, prompting Twilight to continue.
"Really, I mean it. When I said before that we're all friends...that was the truth."
She looked to Flash once more.
"You are my friend, Flash, and I want you to be happy."
Then, she turned to Sunset.
"And you are my friend, Sunset."
She looked to the both of them before staring down at her hands, which were clasped together on the table.
"You both deserve to be happy, and to find someone you want to be with. And if that someone is one you're already friends with, then..."
Sighing, she looked up to them again, wearing a genuine smile.
"...then that's even better."
Another silence followed, and when it was done, with the other two staring at her, Twilight's smile widened.
"I know you never needed it, but...you have my blessing. And I wish you both the best."
To say that Sunset and Flash were surprised by this would have been a great understatement, as they sat there with their mouths hanging open like a pair of fish for quite some time. Twilight, for her part, couldn't help but giggle at the sight, but, like they did with her, she stayed silent, giving them all the time they needed to get things in order. And that's exactly what they did, as the two shook themselves out of this trance-like state before glancing at one another. They could each see that the other was astonished by their friend's words, and so, when they looked to her again, it was Flash who spoke first.
"I...thank you. I...I don't know what to say."
Twilight smiled again, and, before saying anything, she leaned forward. Gently, she placed her hand upon Flash's, and, before he could react, guided it over to where Sunset's was resting. In that moment, the Princess placed his hand upon hers, and the new couple looked to one another. It took a while, but, in the end, they smiled to one another, just as they had during that one rainy day. And when they looked back to Twilight, it was here that she spoke.
"You don't need to say anything. Just..."
She turned to Sunset.
"...make it special."
As Sunset smiled back, Twilight turned to Flash.
"And make it last."
They nodded back to her, their faces ones of clear appreciation. Twilight's smile grew ever wider, even as she finally took her hand off theirs. But, before she could say or do anything else, Sunset leaned in closer, embracing her in an unexpected hug. Though taken aback by this, Twilight soon regained her composure, returning the hug while earning back her smile from earlier. And through it all, Sunset spoke to her.
"Thank you! I can't tell you how much this means to us."
A giggle escaped Twilight at that.
"You're welcome, Sunset. I truly hope this works out for you. Because you deserve it."
When the two girls broke apart, they continued to smile at one another, as did Flash, who cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the other two.
"Well...um...if that's all settled and good, then...do you two want me to go and get us some drinks? Because I'm not sure those guys are gonna let us stay here much longer if we don't buy anything."
The two girls giggled to that, and Sunset gave her new boyfriend a nod, granting permission for that. Flash nodded, getting up from his seat, and gave Twilight one final smile of appreciation before he left. As the boy walked over to the counter, ready to make their orders, Twilight turned back to Sunset, leaning in close and reducing her voice to a whisper, lest anybody else hear her.
"So, if you and Flash are an item again, would it...erm...be okay if you kept me up to date on how it goes?"
Here, Sunset replied with a smile far more sly than the ones she'd had before.
"Oh, Twilight...as if you had to ask?"
