Lights dim. Shadows in the corners. White walls. Calendar hanging on the wall. 21st circled in red. Dinner with Twilight italicized. Room a mess. Bed only thing that was clean: bright stainless sheets, frame was in the center, mattress perfectly aligned, and Sunset Shimmer safely snoring under the sheets. Everything else? Blinders damaged, TV covered in boxes, a to-do list sticky note hanging on the top right of the TV set: clean this mess before mother relocates me to the Sun, study for Chemistry test, call Twilight; books strewn about, picture of her and her friends on the wall tilted just off that 90 degree balance.
Shifting. Form of Sunset shivering.
“No… no…”
Voice hollow. Quivering form. Eyelids tightly shut.
“Twilight!”
Awake. Heavy breathing. Fumbling lamp next to her. Lamp hits the side of her nightstand. Turn on. Light brighter than normal.
Grimace. Ears twitching. Hand holding forehead.
“What was that dream?”
Eyes glazed, tears gliding down cheek. Eyes glance at the clock. Shimmering red numbers reply back: 1:20. Groans.
“I can’t stay up now! I got a Chemistry test tomorrow!”
Plops on pillow. POOF. Tears fail to leave, soaking the pillow case. Another groan.
“UGH! Why can’t I get that dream of her out of my head?”
Shaking of head. Tapping of skull. Tap, tap, *TAP!*** Cry of agony.
“URGH! Stupid brain!”
Sunset returns to her pillow. PLOP. Pillow makes room for her head. Eyes tightly shut again. Snore…
…
Wake. Frustration. Groan.
“Son of a—”
RING: “Hello, who the heck are you sitting by the bench at 10 o’clock at nig—”
Sliding of finger. Eye roll highlighted by a bright white light showing her pale face. Giggle.
PHONE: “Hello, who the he—”
TAP!
“Shut up, phone! I know I got a text from Twilight!”
Eyes intensely watching. Glare shows that they waver. Focused, but they begin to slow; they move to engage in something in particular. Gasp.
“Come downstairs, we need to talk?!”
Worry. Eyes dancing now. Fast, glistening, shifting, moving, sheets are rustled, bed now in a tussle, the sticky note flies off the TV set gently falling to the ground before being snatched up and placed back on the TV set where it belonged, and her body shakes as the door quakes from her exiting her room with fierce strength and—deep breath. Second breath. Tears don’t glisten no more. Eyes focus on the door. Sigh. Walking down the stairs. Eyes never leaving the door. Slow approach. Hand grasps the door. Grimace. Eyebrow twitch. Shakes head. Opens the door with a smile and—
“Hello, Sunset!”
Mouth open. Airplane nearly lands. Crashes on the runway. Days before those passengers can use it again. What a mess!
Closes mouth.
Light breaths.
Open again.
“H-Hi, Twilight. How a—”
“I’m sorry that I came on short notice,” Twilight says. “See, I was going to ask you at school today if I could come over, but I was… having second thoughts. With all the tests coming up, and with Chemistry being rather stressful nowadays, I thought that you might need your space, but then I remembered what Rarity told me: ‘Darling, be a lady and check on your dear friend. You’re worried about her.’ So that’s why I texted you and I came over!”
Gawking. Eyes unable to move off her friend’s body. Shaking of head.
“No, this has to be a dream. You wouldn’t come at 1:20—”
“Actually Sunset it’s 1:24 and—”
“It’s late, that’s all I know, Twilight, let me finish,” Sunset says. Hand raised slightly in Twilight’s direction. “You’re here at my doorstep… in pajamas?”
Purple stars on 100% cotton, tag fluttering in the open. Purples of all kinds, white sometimes blending. Says: WEAR PURPLE on her chest. Bright smile on that face of hers.
“Exactly! A sleepover… perhaps?” Two flickers of her eyelids. Wavering eyes. Pursed lips that belong nearly on a clownfish—sigh.
“Okay, Twilight, come in. Just put your—” Pause. Stare at shoes slippers. Groan. “Slippers next to the shoe bin.”
Turn away. “Okay!” from behind. Sounds chipper. Air whizzes past her. Door shuts politely. Twilight stands next to her, slippers beside Sunset’s shoe bin. Smile nearly as wide as a license plate. Eye roll. Beginning to walk, stride with short bursts.
“So, since it’s late, and there’s no way we’ll be able to stay downstairs without waking up the entire household—”
“Are we heading upstairs to your room?”
Slight cringe. Hand holding side of face swiftly. A slight nod after a few seconds of silence.
“Yes.”
Echoes of the word in the background.
“SHHH!”
Quieter echoes of the word previous in the background. Hop, hop, hop after each one. Slow steps up the stairs. Creaking absent in each. Gesture behind her.
“Come on up, Twilight,” Sunset adds.
Twilight follows. Breath tickling Sunset’s shoulder. Fabric warm on her left shoulder. Ear twitches.
The ascension continues. They reach the door, which promptly opens as it did before. SLAM!
“Sunset, I thought you said we needed to be quiet—”
“Twilight, do not question my door-shutting methods!”
Silence. “Okay,” Twilight replies softly. Voice easing into melancholy.
“And… welcome to my room.”
Sunset presents her world. And all she receives is:
“GREAT! I’ll set up over here next to the box-covered TV area and you hit the mattress!”
“No comment on… the messy room?”
Shaking of head in reply. An addition of, “Nope!” sealed the deal.
Gawking. Airport open for business. Molecules exchange flights. Runway starts to shake. Flicks the cloud in the sky. Airplane totally was sent to space. Mouth closes. Airport delays again.
Tense. Fingers wrap in palm. Swift moving toward Twilight. Grip her purple shirt with her right hand.
“Who are you and what did you do with Twilight?” Sunset growled.
No change in face. “Did what? Sunset, this is how I get when I’m tired and wanting to chat.”
“Chat?” Aggressive tone. “From what I remember, when you’re tired, you’re not wanting to chat. You just fall asleep, or you’re up focusing on reading a book that you’ve been reading since you got to school.”
Giggle in reply. Voice adds context. “Sunset, you catch me when I’m at school usually. I really focus on academics when I’m there. I do try my hardest to pay attention to my friends, but sometimes, I’m just not in the mood. I’m sorry that you always catch me when I’m not in the mood…”
Eyebrow raise. Gesture to continue.
Twilight clears her throat. “And the only time you really saw me fall asleep was because our Chem teacher was lecturing about ions and isotopes. I already researched that subject several times before, and even wrote a twenty-five—”
“Twenty-six pages, Twilight, I know.” Eye roll and groan to boot. “You do not need to remind me. I read the whole thing!”
Bright smile in response. “And I’m glad you did. I was able to submit that to Princess Celestia for my daily report of my learning! She loved it!”
“I know… she also said that you need to be more descriptive, because your data overwhelmed—”
Frown. “The entire paper, I know…”
Frown deepens. Eyes turn away. Hands fumble with bag—
“Twilight, where did you get that sleeping bag?”
Eyes return to the inquisitor. “Oh, this bag?” Waving the material at Sunset. “It was behind me the entire time! How did you not see it?”
“I don’t know,” Sunset responds. “Not important—where were we?”
Swift reply: “You were talking about my paper being too—”
“Oh yes! About your paper being too…” Energy recedes. Blank face ensues. “I… can we move from that topic?”
A nod.
“Good.”
Silence. Twilight opens the bag. A blue generic sleeping bag flops onto the floor. Sunset returns to her bed. Legs scramble on top. Turn. Sunset watches the bag roll into position. It bops against one of her books. Gasp.
“You read this too?!”
Hold up to Sunset’s face. Focusing eyes on the title. Reads: The World of Magic in Relationships: Volume 2. Eyes widen.
“I-It’s just a book that I’ve been glancing at and—wait you said you read it?”
“Yep! Been reading the series since the beginning! SSB has such an awesome view on relationships with other people! Surprised he didn’t add any explosion references so far. You know how in the first book of his ten book series—”
Brows stay afloat. Eyes cannot let go of that book in Twilight’s hands. Jumps off bed. Attempt to snatch. Miss. Tensing of arm.
“What’s wrong, Sunset? You don’t want to talk about the book with me?”
Jump. Miss again. “No!” Jump, grabs the list instead. “GAH!”
Twilight falls onto her bag in a fit of giggles. She clutches the book against her chest. Glare. Nurses hand. Slaps the list on the wall. “Look, Twilight, instead of talking about the book, how about we talk about that text you sent me?”
Stop. Giggles fade away. Her ears twitch, eyes glued to Sunset. “I thought I told you that I—”
Sliding of fingers on a screen. White light brightens Sunset’s face. “Come downstairs, we need to talk.” Tosses phone on bed. “Twilight, what do we really need to talk about that couldn’t wait till morning?”
Silence. Twilight twiddles her fingers. Eyes glancing at skin. Growl. Gripping those hands. “Answer me,” Sunset adds.
“I… wanted to…”
RING: “Who the fuck listens to this rap shit anyway—”
TAP TAP TAP.
Tapping that phone to bits. Throw it at the bed frame. CLUNK. Red in the face.
“Sunset, what was that ringto—”
“Don’t switch the subject to my ringtones!” Snap call. “Look, you sent me a message to tell me something important. What was so important that you had to schedule an unscheduled sleepover disguised as a study-buddy ordeal?”
Other’s face is red. “What do you mean, disguised?” Stands up, taking Sunset with her. “I am not someone who will lie about a sleep-over’s purpose! It’s clearly against the rules of a sleepover dotted in the book How to Sleep Over 101 on page twenty line seven saying, ‘Do not lie about the purpose of your sleepover.’”
“Twilight, I was not asking for you to cite your sources, let alone cite a source at all.” Facepalm. “I just… feel like you’re leading me on. When you send someone a text like that, it’s almost as if you’re going to stop being friends with them or something.”
Gasp. Flinging out a phone. Pink case. Sliding of fingers on the screen. Shoves the phone in front of Sunset. Black letters paint the picture:
Come downstairs, we need to talk. [Message sent.]
[I want to talk to you about our test tomorrow. And I also want to have a sleepover with you. Sorry, for being on such short notice! I]
“I was hoping to finish the text, but you got to the door before I could finish it,” Twilight shakily says, her voice quaking after each word. “I really did not want to hurt your feelings, Sunset. I just… wanted to be a friend to you.”
Eyes widen. Glazing appears again. Mouth opens. Airport still recovering from the last crash. That plane is still stuck in space. Mouth closes again. Swiftly wrapping Twilight in a hug.
“I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t know.”
Sniffles. “It’s okay, I don’t expect you to know everything. That’s my job.” Laughs all around. “Actually, I take that back. If I knew everything, then I would be a prodigy of SS Beard.”
“Isn’t he that author of the suspicions of magical properties in explosives?”
A nod. “And the one who wrote that book we like.”
Mouth shape of an O. “Right… Look, how about we talk about this in the morning? You know, so we don’t fail our test tom—”
Eyes snap to the clock. Red letters read 2:40.
“Oh my gosh, we need to go to sleep and—”
RING: “Crawling in my skkkkinnnn—”
TAP!
Screen fades to black. “That phone is not going to see the light of day tomorrow.”
Full-blown laughter. “Sunset, you really need to change your ringtones. They’re as bad as Dash’s.”
“And what are hers like?” Inquisitive. Brow raise just in time.
“You’d have to ask her. But trust me, you’ll want to break all ties with her when you hear them.”
“You, recommending breaking up with a friend over ringtones?” Mock gasp. “Twilight, you’ve changed!”
Laughter fills the room. After a minute, silence resides once again. The two girls stare into each other’s eyes.
“Glad to have you over, Twilight.”
“Glad that I sent you a text this late.”
A nod. “Yeah,” Sunset oh-so-punctually adds. “Let’s get some sleep, kay?”
“Okay,” Twilight says. “Hope you sleep well and—”
“Twilight, just go to sleep. We’ll finish this tomorrow morning over some pancakes, okay?”
A slight giggle. “Oh, alright.” Eye roll for added effect. “I can’t say no to pancakes.”
“Good girl,” Sunset replies with a snap. “Good night, Twilight.”
“Good night, Sunset.”
Hands fumble with light. Bumps against bed frame. “YYOUCH!” Giggles in the background again. Grumbles under breath. Switches the light off.
Darkness.
Snores…
“Sunset, why is this Playgirl magazine underneath my sleeping bag?”