Just For Popularity

by RadiantBeam

Rating: everyone
Tags: Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Romance
Length: 5648

Sunset has a crush on Twilight, and that worries her. But it's fine, because Twilight would never actually like her back. Right?

Sunset has a crush on Twilight. The problem is, she seems to have a type: people who are incredibly powerful, have some measure of authority and power in their positions, and still have very sweet personalities.

And Twilight is far more powerful and popular than Flash ever was.

But it's okay. It's not like Twilight likes her back, right? Right.

7/7/2016: Now with cover art designed by the very generous Novel-Idea! Thank you so much!

Published 2016-06-18 02:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-06-18 02:50:02 UTC

Just For Popularity

The weekend had never been a particularly important time for Sunset. In the not too distant past, it had just been additional free time to tighten her grip on Canterlot High and to plan her eventual, triumphant return to Equestria. In recent months it was mostly time she spent getting to know her first real friends, or time she spent on her own, relaxing or cleaning her apartment or doing odd jobs for additional money. It had just been time, like any other.

Recently, however, Sunset realized that the weekend had become not only the most important time of her whole week—she always made sure to have her calendar clear of everything, short of some time spent with the girls—but also the time of the week she looked forward to the most.

And the reason for that was a purple girl who, currently, looked like she was attempting to dance while holding a CD player in one hand, the other hand keeping her earphones in place. Key word being ‘attempting’, since time clearly hadn’t made Twilight a better dancer since she’d last visited the human world. There was no real need for her to hold on to her earphones, either, but Sunset was enjoying the show too much to tell her that.

“This is amazing, Sunset!” Twilight spun on her heel, pulling her earphones out with a huge grin as a familiar gleam entered those violet eyes. “You said this was called a CD player?”

“Yep. Pretty cool, huh?” Sunset offered a new disc for the other girl to listen to and Twilight accepted it happily, opening the player and switching discs with an ease that came from using the device all day. After a bit of internal debate, the redhead had yet to reveal that the player was, at this point in human history, several years behind the current technology being released; to Twilight, it was leaps and bounds ahead of anything ponies had managed to produce.

It had been a little frightening to think of Twilight handling something like a smart phone, so Sunset had decided to start her out small. So far it had worked beautifully.

“Amazing,” Twilight repeated, slipping one earphone back into place so she could listen to music and talk at the same time. She sat down on the bed next to Sunset, absently twirling her free earphone around her finger. “Honestly, I wish I could come to the human world more often. I could write books on the technology you have here.”

“You say that like Equestria hasn’t made any technological advances.” Sunset had only seen a little bit of it with her own eyes; she didn’t go through the mirror to the pony world nearly as often as Twilight came through to the human world, and the times she did her visits were restrained to Ponyville, which—while a bustling and rapidly growing town—didn’t have all of the most recent technology available. Still, what little bit of it she had seen had been truly impressive.

It had honestly been both a little frightening and a little sad to think of how much her home world had changed in the few years she’d been gone.

Twilight smiled sheepishly, and the thought dissolved on Sunset as quickly as it had formed. “I know, I know. But technology in Equestria is like…” She trailed off, trying to think of the best way to describe it, before she began to gesture with her hands. “It’s like, technology in Equestria is in spurts,” she began. “A lot of it is just random ideas thrown together by somepony to see what works, and what does work ends up sticking. Human technology is so linear in comparison, like it was all planned out. It’s so different, but so intriguing!”

That made Sunset laugh. “Oh, princess, I need to buy you some history books,” she chuckled. “I think your tune would change real fast if you read how humans worked out their earliest bits of technology.”

At the mention of history books, which meant reading, which meant learning, the princess’s eyes lit up with a familiar gleam. That gleam quickly went out, though, as Twilight realized the exact wording of what her friend had said. “Oh, no, you don’t need to buy me anything!”

“I could always swipe a book from school. We have so many I doubt our teachers would miss one copy.”

“… You think so?”

“I know so. Trust me, we have too many as it is.” Sunset shifted, glancing at her calendar. “I can probably grab you one before next Saturday.”

The gleam came back into Twilight’s eyes, and with it, once again, every other thought the redhead had dissolved.

Oh.

Sunset was distracted from her budding revelation as Twilight popped out her earphone, setting it aside with a sigh. “I’ve got to go,” she said, somehow managing to both look apologetic and mournful at the same time. “It’s getting late.”

A quick glance out the window confirmed that the sun was starting to go down, and Sunset blinked. When had that happened?

“Same time next week?”

Twilight smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it.” She glanced down at the CD player she still held in one hand, and her smile died slightly as she realized she’d have to leave it behind in the human world.

Sunset spoke without thinking. “Take it with you.”

“Huh?”

“The CD player. You can take it to Equestria.”

“R-Really? I don’t even know if it would work!”

Sunset simply gave Twilight a look. It didn’t take the Equestrian too long to crumble under it. “I could probably find a way to make it work,” she admitted, looking down at the player. “But… are you really sure, Sunset? I mean, it’s yours.”

The redhead shrugged. “Honestly? I haven’t used it for awhile. You’ll probably enjoy it way more than I have.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up and her smile came back, bright and happy, as she tackled Sunset in a tight, excited hug. “Oh, this is perfect!” she squealed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t wait to see how this player works in Equestria!”

Sunset’s thoughts came to a screeching halt at the contact, and didn’t properly form again until sometime after Twilight was back in Equestria with her old CD player.

Oh, dear.

The problem wasn’t that Sunset didn’t know how she felt; on the contrary, she’d been here once before in her life. She knew perfectly well how she felt. She’d felt this before, back during her relationship with Flash Sentry. Or, more accurately, near the end of it, sometime before he’d broken up with her.

She recognized a crush when she had one.

And that wasn’t the problem. In the long run a crush was a mostly harmless thing, and this was hardly her first crush. Her second crush on someone she interacted with on a regular basis, but Sunset was no stranger to how this worked. She would develop a crush, it would linger for a little bit, and then it would die. In the past, it had been because she hadn’t usually actually interacted with the pony she’d had a crush on, or—being how she’d been back then—had been thoroughly convinced that the pony wasn’t good enough for her, anyway.

With Flash, the emotional attachment had emerged near the end of their relationship. Even if he hadn’t broken up with her, Sunset suspected it ultimately wouldn’t have gone anywhere; for as much as she’d liked him at the time, she’d been in no mindset to have a relationship.

So no, the problem wasn’t the crush. The problem was who she had a crush on.

The problem was that she had a crush on Twilight.

The problem was that she had a crush on Princess Twilight Sparkle.

The thing was, Sunset hadn’t been lying to Rarity when the topic of her past relationship with Flash had come up. As horrible as it sounded, she truly hadn’t liked him all that much. He’d only been a means to an end, and even if she had started to care for him at the end, it hadn’t changed the fact that the moment he’d broken up with her those feelings had been ruthlessly discarded. It was true that hearing him talk about Twilight like he had caused some pangs, but it was distinctly for what could have been.

Because in the end, Sunset had been using Flash for his popularity. She’d had one goal in mind, and he’d made her goal infinitely easier to accomplish. Dating the nicest, most popular boy in school had done wonders for propelling her into the inner circle of things and had allowed her to lay the groundwork before her true personality had seeped out and alienated people. By the time everyone had realized how she really was, she had taken complete control of the school.

Remembering how she’d once been would always make Sunset cringe, and that was good. It was a constant reminder that she didn’t want to go back to being that person again. After the Battle of the Bands, she was genuinely starting to believe that she would never be that person again.

But it seemed one thing still lingered from the girl Sunset had once been: that she was attracted to people who were incredibly popular, had some measure of authority and power in their positions, and still had very nice, sweet personalities.

After all, a boy who was popular in a high school in the human world was one thing. But it was rather hard to be more powerful and more popular than a princess.

From her relationship with Flash, Sunset had been able to take charge of a human high school in three years. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the damage she could potentially cause if she managed to work her way into being Twilight’s significant other.

The fact that her thoughts had even gone that far terrified the poor girl, even if it had all been a purely hypothetical thought exercise; she took some comfort in the fact that the thought revolted her instead of delighting her like it once had.

But it made its point perfectly clear. Twilight Sparkle was powerful and popular, leaps and bounds ahead of anything Flash Sentry had been. It was perfectly fine that Sunset had a crush, but it wasn’t fine at all that her crush was on her. It wasn’t fine at all that apparently being powerful and popular was her type even when she was turning over a new leaf.

It was a problem.

Thankfully, it was also a problem she could nip in the bud before it fully formed. So long as she ignored her crush, buried it somewhere dark and deep whenever Twilight visited and didn’t act on it, it would be fine. It would die the way her crushes before it had died, and that would be the end of it.

It wasn’t like Twilight had a crush on her, after all.

That weekend found Sunset in Ponyville. While it would have been nice for Twilight to simply always come through the portal to the human world, the simple fact was that now it could go both ways, and there was no reason for Sunset to not return to the world she’d been born in. Even her concerns about encountering Celestia—a confrontation she still didn’t feel at all ready for—had been nipped in the bud by the fact that the princess of the sun spent most, if not all, of her time in Canterlot.

It hadn’t helped either that Twilight had asked her with the most eager, hopeful expression on her face, clearly wanting to show her friend things that were happening on the other side of the portal. She then promptly tried her best to ignore the reminder that she was so weak for the princess.

Besides, it helped that Twilight only asked her to come through occasionally. This day had been one of those days.

“Okay, I’ll admit it,” the unicorn sighed, nodding up at the clear, sunny sky. “You’re right. It really is a beautiful day over here.”

Twilight grinned and bumped against her affectionately as the pair made their way down the path that led from Applejack’s barn to Ponyville. “And?”

Sunset sighed again, unable to help the slight smile. “And the apple cider tasted great, so thank you for inviting me over for that.”

If Twilight’s grin got any bigger, it threatened to fall right off her face as she gave Sunset another light bump, giggling slightly when her friend bumped her back in retaliation. “And?”

“… And okay, yes, it wasn’t as strange to meet pony Applejack as I thought,” Sunset admitted, her ears flicking. “That was the part I was really nervous about.”

“I told you,” Twilight sang, somehow managing to sound smug without making Sunset annoyed or angry. “It’s very subtle, really, but there are differences between our human friends and our pony friends. It’s pretty interesting, I think.”

“Planning to write a book about that too, princess?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Ha! I knew you were thinking about it!” Sunset crowed, triumphant. “Rainbow owes me five bucks when I get back through the portal!”

Quick as a whip Twilight’s tail flicked out, aiming for Sunset’s flank; the unicorn managed to dance out of the way just in time, unable to contain her laughter. The Princess of Friendship huffed and set her eyes forward as they continued to walk, but her friend wasn’t fooled. She could clearly see that Twilight was smiling, a slight spring in her step that hadn’t been there before.

It was strange and thrilling to think that Sunset could have that effect on her.

“… Did you really have a bet going on about that?” the purple alicorn couldn’t resist asking.

“We really didn’t,” Sunset assured her with a chuckle. “We joked about it a few times, but there’s no actual money on it. Believe me, if that bet ever happened, you’d be the first to know about it. Pinkie can’t keep a secret to save her life.”

“Neither of them can,” Twilight agreed, her smile warming at the thought of her old friend. “I’m still trying to work out if that’s a good thing or not. Sometimes I change my mind.”

“Well—“

Whatever Sunset planned to say was abruptly cut off by the excited cries of Twilight’s name. Or, to be more specific, excited cries of Twilight’s title and full name—“Princess! Princess Twilight Sparkle!” shouted by young voices as a small group of foals charged down the path, eyes alight and wearing eager smiles on their faces. They didn’t look much older than eight or nine, if Sunset had to guess at their age; still young, still blank-flanked.

But out of the corner of her eye she saw Twilight freeze, one foreleg caught mid-step, as she realized what was about to happen. The alicorn princess closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, as if to compose herself, before she exhaled just as heavily. Then her eyes opened and she smiled, something warm and gentle as the foals approached.

It had all happened so quickly that most ponies who didn’t know Twilight would have missed it. But Sunset wasn’t like most ponies.

Twilight carried the title of Princess of Friendship, but it was plain as day that while she’d grown accustomed to the weight of it, she would never truly like it.

Unable to resist, Sunset took a small step closer and leaned in, nuzzling Twilight. It was light and quick, just a brush of affection before she pulled back as the foals came to a skidding halt in front of them. She didn’t even know if the alicorn had felt it, but something in her smile seemed to relax, and when Sunset tried to step away a purple wing flared out over her withers, keeping her in place by Twilight’s side.

Sunset took a quiet breath. Well. Twilight had felt it, then.

“Princess!” The foals finally managed to skid to a halt, kicking up a small cloud of dust in the process. “We finally found you! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Twilight chuckled, and very noticeably didn’t remove the wing keeping Sunset in place. “I’m sorry you had to look all over,” she said, lowering her head so she was eye level with the youngsters. “I hope you saw the best of Ponyville, at least.”

That elicited a wave of nods from the foals, and the next one to speak sounded like a colt. “It’s an interesting place! Very different from Canterlot. But we were looking for you, and now we found you!”

The princess of friendship smiled. “That you did. Were you looking for me for any particular reason, or…?”

The group hustled together at that, pushing one of their members right to the very front. The poor thing was clearly nervous, ears flat against her head and tail swishing nervously. “Guys, you really don’t need to,” she murmured. “It’s stupid—“

“No it’s not!” one of her friends insisted. “We said we’d find you the princess, and we did! Go on, tell her!”

“I…” The filly shifted nervously from hoof to hoof, unable to raise her eyes to look at the purple alicorn. “It’s really not that important, I’m sure the princess is very busy…”

Something bloomed in Twilight’s eyes at those words, something that was at once warm and pained, and it shocked Sunset just how much the expression hurt. It was like a magic bolt right to her chest, and it was the reason she spoke without thinking; considering the foals hadn’t even acknowledged her, it was entirely possible they were so focused on their goal that they hadn’t noticed her at all. “She’s not,” she said. “At least, not right now.”

That got their attention, and finally alerted them to the fact that she was standing there at all. Several pairs of eyes blinked owlishly at Sunset before one foal was finally brave enough to ask, “Who are you?”

“A friend of the princess,” she replied evasively. The foals looked too young to know her name, but she wasn’t about to take her chances. “And believe me, if you thought this was so important to come all the way to Ponyville, she’ll definitely think it’s important.”

The filly was finally able to raise her eyes and look at Twilight, who smiled reassuringly. After a moment, tiny eyes turned back to Sunset. “You really think so?” she asked, and it was like they were the only two ponies on the path.

Twilight gave Sunset a gentle, encouraging squeeze with her wing.

Shifting a bit so she was eye level with the filly, Sunset gave her the most encouraging smile she could manage. She had never interacted with children during her time as Celestia’s student, and similarly had avoided the younger students of Canterlot High up until her reformation. She could only hope she was doing this right but, well. Twilight had set a good example in those few interactions. She clearly enjoyed kids, regardless of her feelings on her title.

“I know so,” she assured her. “Trust me, I had something going on that I didn’t think was very important, either. Twilight helped me through that.”

She must have done something right, because as she finished speaking the little filly seemed to breathe in deeply, gathering up her courage. Once Sunset went silent, she hesitantly stepped closer to Twilight.

Twilight smiled, gentle and encouraging.

“I-I just wanted to say hi,” the filly squeaked. “I don’t have my Cutie Mark yet or anything, but… I wanna be a really powerful magic user like you one day, princess. I think you’re really great.”

Twilight’s eyes went warm and soft, and she leaned down to brush horns with the small unicorn. “Thank you very much,” she said. “I appreciate you telling me that. It means a lot to hear. And for what’s it worth? I think you’re going to be a great magic user.”

“T-Thank you, Princess Twilight!” Completely forgetting her shyness in the face of her idol’s open acceptance, the filly threw herself forward for a moment and nuzzled into the purple alicorn completely, making her laugh with surprise and delight. They lingered like that for a moment before parting, all of the foals wishing them a good day before heading back down the path to find their parents.

“I didn’t get her name,” Twilight murmured once the foals were gone. “I’ll have to ask about her the next time I visit Canterlot. If she ever qualifies for Celestia’s school, I could put in a good word for her.”

Sunset chuckled, nuzzling her friend gently since they were still so close together. “Softie.”

“You say that, but you were good with her. It was sweet to watch.”

The yellow unicorn scuffed a hoof against the dirt. “Honestly, I was nervous. I didn’t ever talk to any of the younger magic students while I was still in Equestria, and I’ve only recently started talking to the kids at high school. I don’t have a lot of experience in it.”

“Well, you did great.” Twilight paused, then hummed as her ears flicked. “And you know, it’s great that she looks up to me so much—humbling, really—but I should probably tell her I know some other great magic users she could learn from too.”

“Mm, like Starswirl the Bearded?”

“Oh, he’s definitely one. But I was also thinking of some more recent magic users…” Twilight absently tapped her hoof against the ground. “Trixie’s not nearly as great and powerful as she makes herself out to be, but she still has a decent grasp of magical theory and knows how to use it precisely. And mentioning Sunset Shimmer certainly wouldn’t hurt. I hear she was quite powerful in her time.”

Sunset’s ears flicked back, and she snorted. “Okay, funny joke.”

“I was being completely serious!”

“Real funny.”

Twilight huffed in irritation, then squeezed Sunset close and nuzzled her cheek. It was quick and warm, a friendly gesture…

Except Sunset felt the lightest, fastest brush of lips against her cheek, and it sent a bolt of heat all the way down her spine.

“Okay,” she managed breathlessly, “maybe you aren’t being funny.”

Twilight huffed and pulled her wing away, and Sunset swore her face was a little bit red. “I told you I was being serious, Sunset.”

Oh.

Oh, dear.

Twilight walked a little closer to Sunset on the way back to her castle, something the other unicorn was absolutely determined to ignore and not think about too much. She knew what she should have done about it—even if she had somehow misinterpreted her friend’s intentions with her actions, the fastest and easiest way to clear things up would be to ask about it before she went through the portal and back to the human world.

But of course, Sunset didn’t actually do that, and Twilight seemed in no rush to start the conversation either.

The moment Sunset went through the portal, of course, she regretted the decision immediately; she wouldn’t be able to see Twilight again until the next weekend, which left an entire week for both of them—but mostly her, if she was being completely honest with herself—to agonize over what had just happened on that walk back from Applejack’s farm.

Because her entire plan of burying her feelings and ignoring what they could possibly lead to had hinged on her belief that Twilight wouldn’t like her back in that way. That Twilight would never consider dating her, and would never even see it as an option. Everything had hinged on the belief that Twilight didn’t like her back; indeed, that for some vague, undefined reason in Sunset’s head, Twilight couldn’t ever like her back.

Except apparently she had been wrong all along, and Twilight did like her back. Or at least, she liked her. Sunset doubted her purple friend knew about her own crush, unless she’d been dropping some unspoken signals that she wasn’t aware of.

Of course, it was entirely possible that this was all in her head, that she was just imagining something that hadn’t been there. Sunset had considered that possibility, and she knew that it was probably the best one for her concerns. It was best if she had imagined this, if she was wrong and Twilight wasn’t actually interested in her.

Because the possibility of the Princess of Friendship being interested in her, someone with genuine magical strength and political pull in Equestria, was…

Sunset didn’t know what it was.

She just knew how she had acted the last time she had even had power like that in her grasp from someone else had been terrifying.

And yet, even as she thought that, even as she remembered her fears and the great difference in power between Princess Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry, a small part of her started to hope.

Sunset stepped through the portal into Twilight’s castle that weekend, and tried very hard to remember how to breathe. She figured it was a lost cause, but it helped to distract her from the fact that her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst through her chest.

That her book had vibrated that morning soon after she was awake hadn’t been shocking. And in retrospect, she wasn’t terribly surprised that Twilight wanted to talk after how last weekend had gone. Sunset had even been at her desk, chewing on her pen as she tried to think of how to write down her own request to talk, when her friend’s message had come through the book.

It hadn’t been shocking at all, but it didn’t change the fact that Sunset was still nervous. They were going to talk about this, decide where to go from here, and whatever happened, they would have to live with the consequences of it.

But first, she had to actually find Twilight.

That wasn’t hard, at least. The message had said she was in the library, and after a quick stop to say hi to Spike and to ask for directions, Sunset found the place easily enough. She lifted a hoof out of old habit, knocking against the door to be polite, before she let cyan magic cover the door to the library and urge it open.

Twilight had set up a table near the center of the library, and Sunset wasn’t terrible shocked to see that she had piles of books stacked around said table to such an extent that they resembled a small forest. What did surprise her was that the purple alicorn had what appeared to be a roughly made pair of earphones settled over her ears, humming along to a tune as she worked. The yellow unicorn shifted slightly, and spied her old CD player on the table next to the book Twilight was reading.

Well. Twilight had gotten it to work, after all.

Unable to help a smile, Sunset’s horn flared again as she lifted Twilight’s earphones off, careful in case they were fragile. “I like,” she said. “Made these yourself?”

Not even surprised, Twilight’s hum became one of agreement, her purple magic replacing Sunset’s as she set the earphones down. “Yep. Took some doing, but I found a way to make your player work here! It’s all really rough around the edges, obviously, but it’s a start!”

It would have been easy to keep Twilight focused on that topic; she was easily distracted when it came to such things, and it would have been the best way to avoid the talk that Sunset was one part dreading and one part anticipating. But this was something they needed to talk about regardless of the outcome, so she finally swallowed and steeled herself as the Princess of Friendship turned to face her completely.
“You wanted to talk?” she asked, keeping her tone light as she settled down to sit as well.

Twilight shifted a bit, gesturing with her wing for Sunset to sit beside her and smiling when she obliged. “I did. It’s about, um, what happened between us the last time you talked.”

“Kind of figured that. I was actually trying to write to you when I got your message—you worded it a lot better than what I was coming up with.”

“Oh! Um, did I interrupt you? I’m sorry if I did.”

Sunset waved a hoof, amused. “It’s not a problem, princess. And you’re getting sidetracked.”

“… Right. Sorry again.” Twilight’s ears flicked back, and that little bit of red returned to her face. “I’ve never really had this talk with anypony before.”

“Mm, so I got one of your firsts? I’m flattered, Twilight.”

It was worth it, just for the way Twilight turned bright red at the implications, her feathers fluffing up from embarrassment. “Well, I’m glad one of us is having fun,” she muttered.

“Actually, I’m nervous and using humor to hide it.” And it looked like neither of them were going to start this conversation, so Sunset finally bit the bullet, nervously tapping a hoof against the ground. “So, about last weekend.”

“Right. Again. So.” Twilight swallowed, and when she finally spoke, it all came out in a rush. “I’m sorry—for the third time—if I overstepped my boundaries. I really should have talked to your first about my feelings before I did the things I did, and I really really should have brought it up before you went back to the human world, but…. I was scared, I guess. Because I assumed you liked me back, because you were letting me act the way I was, and I didn’t want to be proven wrong so soon and potentially ruin our whole friendship.”

A moment of silence passed after that little outburst.

“… You’ve been holding this in all week?” Sunset finally asked.

Twilight sagged and nodded, ears going limp. “Pretty much, yeah. The feelings go back farther, but the words, yeah.”

“Do you feel better, at least?”

“Kind of. Your lack of an actual response is… worrying, though.”

Judging it to be safe, Sunset shifted a little closer so their shoulders were touching, then after a second of thought nuzzled into Twilight’s shoulder. “Honestly? You’re kind of saying everything I’ve been wanting to say. Again. So, you know, stop stealing my words, please.”

Twilight stiffened in surprise, shifting slightly to look down at her. “R-Really?”

Sunset looked up at her, chuckling. “Really. I get what you’re saying, and thank you for saying it, but trust me. If I hadn’t liked how you were acting last weekend, I definitely would have let you know. But I did like it, and I was just… afraid to say anything about it, I guess.”

“Why were you afraid?”

Sunset sighed; of course this topic was going to come up. But there was no point in trying to hide it, especially when they were being honest with each other. Better to just say it now, instead of letting it stay quiet and possibly ruining whatever they had together.

Even if the thought of talking about it was terrifying.

“It probably seems stupid,” she murmured, nuzzling back into Twilight’s shoulder. “I was scared, and not for the reasons you’d think. When I dated Flash, it was just because he was popular, and I made a lot of progress in my plan because of how much influence he had at Canterlot High. I don’t like you just because you’re popular, obviously, but…”

“But I have way more power and influence than he ever could,” Twilight guessed. “And that scares you because of how you used it in the past.”

Silent now that Twilight had hit the nail on the head, Sunset nodded.

Twilight was quiet for a moment, before she draped a wing over Sunset and squeezed her close, kissing her ears. “Well, I think it’s sweet of you to worry,” she said. “But I also think we’ll be fine.”

Sunset chuckled, glancing up at her again. “You think so?”

Twilight gave her another gentle squeeze. “I know so. You aren’t who you were back then, Sunset. Trust me, I wouldn’t like you nearly as much as I do if you were.”

“Thanks,” Sunset said dryly, and mumbled incoherently when Twilight laughed and pressed an apologetic kiss to her cheek.

“You know what I mean.”

She did, and the thought made Sunset feel warm and light. “So… you aren’t worried,” she said. “And knowing you aren’t worried is making me feel better about this. So what do we do now?”

“Well…” Twilight’s purple magic found a book—Dating Tips and Date Ideas for Dummies—and held it in the air for a moment, before she set it down on a stack. “According to that book, I should probably ask you out on a date now.”

“But?” Sunset asked.

“But I really want to kiss you first.” Twilight paused, ears going flat as she blushed faintly. “I-If you’re okay with that, I mean, I don’t want to just assume things again because look what happened last time—“

As cute as Twilight babbling was, Sunset much preferred the thought of kissing her, and went right for it. Judging by the way Twilight reacted, she didn’t mind it at all.

They got to go on that date eventually.

Author's Note

I got it up the night before my vacation! It still counts!

For those curious, yes, this is the Sunlight story I've mentioned in past notes and blog posts. I started writing it right after Rainbow Rocks, then kind of lost interest in it for awhile, and only just finished it up now. Hence why the timeline of events is so... vague.

But hey, that means you can just put it in wherever you want it to be for any Sunlight headcanons.