Velvet sighed, tugging stubbornly at her too short fashionably chic jacket in vain to cover a bit more of the cleavage her dress was putting on display. Not for the first time, she regretted putting it on at all, but in her mind, highschool reunions were all about recapturing a bit of your youth and showing off your maturity to your peers.
Which apparently meant wearing a sparkly cocktail dress that rode high on her thighs and low on her chest along with matching heels that just made her sleek legs even longer. The jacket was her last minute concession to modesty, but if she was being honest with herself, her whole outfit was a giant shout out to her newfound singleness. A signpost that declared her availability written in the curves and creamy skin that had made her the school beauty queen in decades past.
Thumping beats of cheesy Bon Jovi music greeted her as she made her way up the wide path to the Canterlot High Gymnasium. Velvet smiled at that, nostalgia perking up her spirits in spite of her recent divorce and the quietness of her daily life. By the time she was shoving open the double steel doors, her hips were swinging almost dangerously and she almost felt eighteen again.
Just about every reunion cliche she could think of was in full force inside the gym. The disco ball, the neon lighting, the classic pop music, the fog machine, even the refreshment table surrounded by a bunch of old people in slightly out of date outfits was picture perfect. Velvet’s smile widened slightly when a few of her former classmates turned and noticed her entrance, the fellas’ eyes gluing to her exposed flesh. A quick look around confirmed that she had little competition for attention, even the former cheerleaders having noticeably aged.
Velvet allowed herself to enjoy that feeling of being the prettiest girl in the room for a moment and then forced it down. She wasn’t here to rub her genetic luckiness in anyone’s face. She just wanted to have a good time for once.
Which meant she needed to grab some punch, hug some old friends, and catch up with everyone.
Velvet was on her second lap of the punch bowl when she heard a gasp behind her and turned around to find one of her oldest besties and partner in crimes against boys for most of her high school career. “CC! Where have you been hiding? C’mere you!” Velvet squealed happily, scooping up the slightly shorter woman into a tight hug that was immediately returned.
“Oh, I wasn’t hiding! I jus’ got here!” Cookie Crumbles, aka ‘CC’, laughed loudly, patting Velvet on the back forcefully. The midwestern woman pushed Velvet back a moment later and looked her up and down. “Lookit you! Still the same ol’ Velvet, tall as a skyscraper and jus’ as well built. And here I was hoping you’d at least have the decency to look like you’ve had a kid!”
“I had two of them!” Velvet joined her old friend in another fit of laughter. “Who are you to point fingers anyway? You had two yourself, last I heard.” The Canterlot woman smirked, looking Cookie up and down. “It did you good too...I mean, at least now I can be properly jealous. I’ve had to bust my backside to keep in this shape. I bet you lucked out into that curvy as a mountain road body, didn’t you?”
Cookie smiled, cocking her wide hips to the side and pushing out her sizeable chest. “I’ll never be leggy like you, but I have my own positive qualities. It’s a good thing we drifted apart, huh? I’da hated to lose our friendship over constant competition.”
Velvet’s smile softened, her voice lowering enough that it wouldn’t be overheard through the roar of Motley Crue’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls!’ “Yeah, that would’ve sucked, CC. But still, I’m so glad to see you. It’s been too long since we hung out and drove all the boys crazy.” She brightened a little and looked around. “Speaking of boys, where’s Magnum? Does he still have that silly mustache?”
Cookie’s smile dimmed considerably. “Uh...Magnum’s not here, hon. I guess you didn’t hear yet, but we, uh...we broke it off. About a month ago now.”
“Oh, Cookie...I’m sorry.” Velvet pulled her friend back into a tighter hug. “I know how it goes...Nightlight and I did the same almost a year ago now. I hope...I hope it wasn’t something nasty?”
Cookie sighed, sagging a bit in Velvet’s arms. “It’s past now, that’s all that really matters. Wanna grab a seat? I don’t feel much like dancing.”
“Want some punch?” Velvet smirked at Cookie’s smile returning at mention of refreshments. A few moments later, she took a seat at a small table in the corner of the gym with Cookie, two cups sitting there in front of them. In the quieter corner, it was almost like they were alone. “So...how has things been, CC? I’m still adjusting to my own divorce. It’s not as bad as I thought it’d be...the empty house is probably the worst of it for me.”
The plumper woman nodded knowingly, her eyes scanning the crowd. Old friends and old enemies both mingled in small groups, chatting or dancing to the music provided by the DJs. A few minutes later, Cookie leaning a bit toward Velvet and shot her an appraising look.
“Velvet, can I be honest with you?”
“Sure.” Velvet grinned and took a delicate sip of her punch. “BFF rules are still in effect between us as far as I’m concerned, CC. We promised to be there for each other since the start of high school.”
“This goes a bit past that, I think.” Cookie smirked and let her hands rest on the little table. “As part of my divorce, I’ve been seeing a therapist. They’ve advised me to be more open and forthcoming with myself and others.” She paused, searching for how to continue. “Even back when we were in school, I would lie to myself. To others. Even to you, occasionally. Nothing big, but little stuff that made me feel better about being less pretty than you and less popular.”
Cookie held up a hand when Velvet opened her mouth to retort. “No, it’s true. But I’m not bitter or anything. I’ve had a decent life...but there are some things that build up if all you do is keep burying them. And this is something I’ve tried to hide or ignore since we were teens. I just want you to realize that while this has nothing to do with the divorce, per se, it did force me to face this.”
Velvet blinked, her mind at a lost for what her friend was telling her. She sat forward, bracing her elbows on the table and lowered her voice. “What do you mean, Cookie?”
“I mean this isn’t me being weird ‘cuz I broke up with my husband of nineteen years just a little while ago.” Cookie paled a little and gritted her teeth before resolving herself. She clenched a fist, pumping it hard enough to make herself bounce a little in her chair. “This is like what my therapist advised, being honest and open about my feelings, wants and desires.”
Velvet grinned. Seeing Cookie fired up reminded her so much of their wilder teen years and the hell the two of them raised at school and in town. Pranks, games, just living life to its fullest together. It hadn’t been until they’d both started dating that they began to grow apart. It wasn’t a bad break either, just a gradual thing as their adult lives and careers took them different places. They stayed in touch a lot in those first years out of school. Cookie had written her frequent letters and sent plenty of photos from the college she attended out west. She could remember how happy she’d felt when she’d received the one with the news that Cookie was pregnant with with her eldest, Rarity. That had been the year Shining started school and just months before Velvet found herself once more with child.
Then the letters starting drying up. Life did what it always did and filled in the blanks, making the absence and the distance bearable. Now that they were together again, Velvet wondered idly how she managed all those years without her best friend.
“So…” Cookie drew out the word, drumming her fingers on the little folding table while another ancient female empowerment pop song played in the background. “Velvet...since we met in 9th grade, I’ve always wondered—and I didn’t even realize what I was feeling at the time, mind you—but I’ve always wanted to know what you tasted like.”
Velvet blinked again. “Excuse...me?” Certainly she had misheard. The music was loud. The other people in the gym were all talking. The acoustics in the huge building were terrible.
“I understand if this bothers you. I respect our boundaries as friends, but as part of my ongoing...er...treatment, I feel that I need to be completely open with my best friend.”
“I-I don’t think I understand.” Velvet licked her suddenly dry lips. “What do you mean…’taste?’”
“Velvet, I’m a lesbian. Or bisexual, depending on how pedantic you want to get with labels and the fact that I’m the mother of two.” Cookie shrugged with a jerky motion that sent ripples through her heavy chest. “I have always been curious, but lacked the guts to ever realize it. You were my first crush and being your friend for all those years was the best thing that ever happened to me. But if I’m going to get on with the rest of my life, I need you to know how I felt. I want to say I loved you, and I did, but it was at a time when I didn’t have the real experience to know what it was. I loved you like a sister, but I wanted you to be a lot more than that for me.”
Cookie looked like she had more to say, but shut her mouth with a loud snap and looked at Velvet expectantly. Velvet coughed quietly, the rest of the reunion fading into the background around them. It was just her and her closest friend in the world. Just fruit punch in a plastic cup, state issued plastic chairs, and two hearts beating in time to a Lionel Richie song. She didn’t know what to say. If her daughter Twilight was there, she’d know the perfect thing to say to an old friend that had just revealed something important.
But she wasn’t her daughter. Velvet opened her mouth, trying to force words out, but her just made a little choking noise.
“It’s ok.” Cookie slumped, the fire in her cooling rapidly now that she’d said her thoughts. “You don’t have to say anything. I just needed to…” She sniffed and looked back out were their former classmates were dancing. “I needed to tell you.”
Velvet frowned. “Cookie Crumbles.” When the other woman looked back, Velvet could see a hint of tears in her eyes. “That took some balls to admit that. I always knew you were stronger than me. That’s why I loved hanging out with you. If you’re all about being honest these days, than you’ve got to be honest about that monstrous will of yours. When we came here for classes, and you set your mind to something, there wasn’t a thing on this world that could stop you. Not me, not Hall Monitor Luna or Vice Principal Celestia or anyone else. You say you didn’t have the guts back then to say you loved me, but you did, just not in so many words.”
She reached over and grabbed Cookie’s arm, right below the shoulder, and squeezed. “I didn’t know any better than you what I wanted back then either. It wasn’t until well after we’d gone our separate ways that I realized what I was missing and now that we’re together again, I’m sure that I’m better off with my best friend by my side.”
Cookie wiped unshed tears from her eyes, smiling wide. “So, you’re not weirded out by my...um...confession?”
“Oh I am totally weirded out by it!” Velvet laughed, squeezing Cookie’s arm again before she let it trail slowly downward until her hand rested over Cookie’s in the woman’s lap. “But hey, if you can be open about things...so can I. Right?”
Cookie giggled quietly. Her hand turned over and she took Velvet’s hand in her own, their fingers intertwining awkwardly like highschool crushes holding hands for the first time while the music played on.
Epilogue
“Mom!” Twilight Sparkle and Rarity yelled in perfect chorus. One girl stood there, back straight, her hair starting to curl while the other was doing her best impression of a beetroot and trying to bury her face in her hands.
“What?” Velvet smirked, squeezing Cookie’s hand again while they sat in the drawing room of her Canterlot City home. “That’s how it happened. You asked.”
“But mom…” Twilight gestured vaguely at the air around her, her face starting to flush along with Rarity’s. “That is not how you deal with a friendship issue! That is like...the exact opposite of how you do it. I’m the Princess of Friendship, so I should know!”
Cookie opened her mouth to interject, but closed it again. Velvet nudged her gently. “No, remember, open and honest. If you have something to say, say it. Don’t be afraid.”
Cookie giggled, shaking her head. “It’s nothing. I was just going to suggest that if she kissed more of her friends, it might solve more issues than she knows.”
“Oh god…” Rarity groaned, her normally pale complexion growing even more red somehow. “Mother! Do not give Twilight ideas!”
Fireworks dotted the night, and music and laughter filled the air with noise not heard in this volume in the history of Canterlot.Tonight, the darling Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, was getting married to a fellow heroine of Equestria, and not even a changeling invasion could have put a dent in the hype that spread among the ponies.
The bride - well, one of the two brides, at least - had personally designed the dresses the new royal couple wore as they stood before the sisters of sun and moon and spoke their vows. Princess Twilight managed to not only bring her wife to tears of joy with her solemn pledge, but managed to stir the hearts of everyone who heard or read her words. The smoldering look Rarity Sparkle gave her caused Princess Celestia to move the next day's afterparty from late morning to late afternoon.
Twilight Velvet had excused herself from the commotion still going on inside, after stealing the customary first dance with her daughter from her husband. She had never seen her little Sparkle this happy before. And in a way, that was the problem.
She had retreated to a balcony a few corridors from the great hall, one overlooking the garden and the city. It wasn't exactly quiet, with the city-wide celebration, but it gave her enough distraction to try and order her thoughts.
Her daughter had spoken of true love in her speech. Of happiness. Of defying expectations and following one's heart. And she had to wonder...
She heard hoofsteps approaching her, and she only half-turned in the direction. She knew who would have noticed her disappearance and followed her.
Cookie Crumbles, mercifully, did not close in on her, and she did not try to speak. She kept her distance as she, too, approached the stone railing of the balcony and stared out in the city below. Only occasional side glances at Velvet would have betrayed that she was not here by accident.
They stayed quiet for long minutes.
"So, our little girls are married now," Velvet tried. She knew where the discussion was gonna go, so she might as well ease them into it. "Rarity really outdid herself with the dresses."
"Mhm", was all Cookie replied. Nonetheless, she turned to look at Velvet with that curious look in her eyes.
"And her vow was nice."
"Not as nice as Twilight's. That girl keeps surprisin' us all with her hidden talents." Cookie sighed. "Showed once more why she is so popular with the ponies."
Velvet nodded quietly.
"It reminded me of my own love life," Cookie said quietly. "Got me wonderin' what I am doing to follow my heart."
Velved swallowed harshly. "Cookie... I can't..."
"I'm done saying "I can't". I remember thinkin' that Rarity's wedding dreams were silly. That she'd find some decent stallion, marry him and give me a couple grandfoals. And now look at 'er." She gestured vaguely in direction of the great hall. "I thought it was a phase. She'd crush a bit on that nice Twilight girl while they were playin' hero. But the more I saw them together, the more I realized how wrong I was. I love Hondo, I really do. But I can't say I love him... the way I love you."
THere it was. The issue they'd been dancing around for a year now.
What had started on the night of the engagement party and continued every time they had met. After Cookie's admission, there had been nothing but a few longing looks and Velvet's quiet admission that she felt rather... flattered and excited by the interest.
And the realization that she could not even remember feeling this excited with Night Light in years. How long had it been since they had talked about anything except their respective work or what their children were doing?
The fire had gone out. And here came Cookie, who had offered to reignite that same fire. It was tempting.
"Cookie... It would break Night Light's heart. I just can't."
"There's nothin' for you to do, Velvet," Cookie said sadly. "As for me, stayin' with Hondo while I really love you is enough of a betrayal. I'm gonna tell him, and we'll probably split up." She turned and made her way back to the corridor. She stopped in the door for a second. But she didn't say anything. She gave Velvet a smile, and then she was gone.
~#~
It was much later when Velvet returned to the party. Already, ponies were leaving or even sleeping on the furniture.
She looked around, but could not find Cookie anywhere. She returned to Night Light, dispelling his concerned with a smile and a vague excuse about feeling a bit sick.
"Look at them", he said, pointing to the newly minted couple bickering over who got to carry the other to the wedding suite. After a heated discussion and Twilight drawing a notebook she had hidden somewhere in her dress, Rarity won the debate with a well-timed sultry look and drawn out kiss, eliciting blushes and giggles from their friends, including at least one elder princess. "Ah, to be young and in love again."
It was a bad choice of words. But still, in that moment, Velvet wondered if she could at least have one of the two once more.
