Right There in Front of Me

“So that’s when I insisted, ‘No, really! It’s used for massages!’ And she totally bought it! She spent the next three days carrying this giant purple dildo around the dorm, using it like a back massager.”

With classes dismissed for the day, the front doors swung open as the six girls emerged into the afternoon sun. Once just a group of five, Indigo and her friends were now accompanied by their newest companion, Sunset Shimmer. Having taken up Indigo’s offer, she spent the day at school not hiding in the corner and scoffing the world, but instead socializing with these girls that she now felt confident in considering her friends. The six girls strolled across the school grounds with Sunset at the lead, still entertaining the others with stories of her time at prep school.

“In the end, I kinda felt bad about it so I confessed and told her what she had actually been carrying around.”

“So how’d she take it?” an enthusiastic Sour Sweet inquired.

Sunset Shimmer stopped in her step and swung about to face her friends, grinning from ear to ear. “I swear to god, you could hear the shrieking from one end of the dorm to the other.”

“Did she get angry with you?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Sunset said with a hearty laugh. “Between her rage and her disgust, she decided her best choice was just to hurl the thing at me, which missed me by a mile, naturally. She did, however, manage to hit her friend in the chest, and, I shit you not, it fell right down her blouse!”

She had to stop for a second as she was now doubled over, laughing so hard she could barely get any further words out. All of them were laughing, in fact, at the mental picture of the sheltered prep school girls freaking out because they had sullied their hands with a sex toy.

“Seriously? Down her shirt?” Indigo laughed in disbelief.

“This girl had huge knockers: I’m talking like ‘Himalayas on their sides’ big. The opening in her shirt was bigger than a train tunnel. And then… and then…” Sunset tried to continued but stumbled into an even deeper giggling fit. After a few seconds, she gasped for air as she pushed through it. “Both girls started freaking out, and when they tried to get it, they accidentally turned the dildo on. She starts screaming and running about the dorm with her tits now jiggling about!”

The uproar of laughter swept across the entire group once more, forcing them to step off the concrete path for a moment in order to let other students pass by, many of whom regarded the group with a puzzled gaze. Such a brazen, public display of laughter and camaraderie from Crystal Prep’s most notorious pair of rivals? Nobody would’ve believed such a thing to be real had they not seen it for themselves: Indigo with an arm thrown across Sunset Shimmer’s shoulder, laughing like a pair of old friends.

After a few minutes, the girls finally managed to settle down, with Sunset Shimmer letting out a long and wistful sigh. “Oh god, do I miss those two—sheltered prep school kids are so much fun to screw with.”

“Yeah, can you imagine mistaking a sex toy for a back massager?” Lemon remarked. She shot a playful grin over to Sunny Flare beside her before elbowing her a couple of times. “How silly do you have to be to do that, right Sunny?”

Sunny Flare just began to fluster a deep red as she responded with a nervous smile. “Ah-heh, y-yeah, that would be… um, be really silly. Who’d ever be that ignorant?” Thankfully, her sheepish laugh went unnoticed by the others.

Now able to catch their breath, the girls continued on their way.

“So what are you girls up to for the rest of the day?” Indigo asked.

“Sugarcoat and I still have a lot of work to do on the gala presentation,” Sour Sweet explained while grabbing her friend by one of the straps of her schoolbag. “Because somebody has been slacking and hasn’t finished her contribution to the project!”

“It’ll be ready in time,” Sugarcoat insisted, sounding almost like she was pouting.

“I know, and I’m going to make sure of that!”

Indigo glanced to her other friends, all of whom responded with uncertain shrugs. “Maybe you should tone it down a bit, Sour,” she suggested. “I know you want this presentation to be perfect, but that’s no reason to get snippy with Sugarcoat.”

“Okay, fine,” Sour said with a roll of her eyes. She then released her friend, but nonetheless kept Sugarcoat close to her. “But I’m still planning on working her ass hard tonight.”

Sour Sweet’s remark spurred a chorus of snickering from the other girls. One could see her expression change as her brain came to the slow realization of the possible interpretations of what she had just said. However, it only changed from ‘angry’ to ‘really, really angry,’ which wasn’t too dissimilar except louder and with more flustering.

“Oh, screw you lot!” Sour cussed the others out, which only made the laughter worse. Growling in frustration, she grabbed Sugarcoat by the arm and stormed off with her friend in tow.

“Be sure to be extra rough with her,” Lemon called out after them. “She likes it that way!”

Indigo and the others waved good-bye to Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet, the latter of whom waved back with just one finger.

“I’d better get going, too,” Sunny Flare then announced with her phone in hand. She started tapping and swiping, as though reviewing some documents. “Still plenty of work to be done in preparation for the gala. I’ve had to rebook my appointments to get my hair and nails done, and there’s still alterations needed for my dress.”

“You’ve got a date for it, right?” Indigo asked.

“Well, um… not quite. I’ve just been, uh… biding my time,” Sunny explained in a manner that just screamed ‘making excuses.’ She then struck a pose, hand upon her chest, that carried with it an air of grace and a generous helping of arrogance. “A lady does not just accept any old invitation that floats her way. I expect to be properly courted, as is befitting for one of my stature.”

Fortunately, Indigo Zap managed to keep the next fit of laughter from bubbling to the surface, lest she wound Sunny’s pride further. Sunny was probably under enough self-inflicted pressure to ensure she didn’t go stag for the gala that she didn’t need Indigo making it worse.

Sunny and Lemon bid farewell and headed on their way, oddly enough both heading in the same direction despite both claiming they had separate things to take care of for the gala. Indigo had a feeling that the day after the gala was going to involve a lot of people explaining their behavior for the past few weeks, including maybe even Indigo. She certainly hadn’t been acting herself ever since Sunset Shimmer showed up, and she felt a bit guilty that she had been neglecting her friends as a result. She definitely owed them an apology or two later.

“Guess it’s just the two of us,” Indigo said while giving Sunset a playful nudge with her elbow.

“Well, three if you include Kibitz,” Sunset replied. She then directed Indigo’s attention to the open gates up ahead. Parked at the side of the street, along with so many other cars waiting to pick up their fares, was the familiar luxury sedan that ferried Sunset in every morning.

Standing out front of it was an older, spectacled gentleman with more hair in his bushy moustache than he had atop of his head. He was busy staring at his pocket watch when Sunset’s waving caught his attention.

“Ah, good afternoon Miss Shimmer,” he greeted as the two girls approached. With a crisp ‘snap,’ he shut the pocket watch and tucked it away into the deep recess of his velvet red jacket. His perceptive eyes gazed through his wire-frame glasses as he looked to Indigo Zap, scrutinizing her from top to bottom. “A new friend of yours, I presume?”

“That’s right!” Sunset stated. “Indigo Zap, this is Mr. Kibitz; butler, chauffeur, tutor, and substitute paternal figure all rolled into one. Mr. Kibitz, this is my new friend, Indigo Zap.”

“Nice to meet’cha!”

“Charmed.” Mr. Kibitz was as curt and polite as one would expect from a man of his position. Wasting no further time with idle conversation, he stepped over and opened the rear door of the car. “I presume there shall be a change in our destination for the afternoon?”

“Guess that depends,” Sunset answered before turning to her friend. “You wanna hang out?”

“Sure. My place or yours?”

“Well, I don’t want to impose, but it might be a good idea to keep you a safe distance from my father for the time being,” Sunset said with some reluctance.

“My place is fine,” Indigo said before gesturing towards the open door. “If your dad is as pleasant as you make him out to be, I probably don’t want to meet with him any time soon either.”

Sunset got into the back seat, followed by Indigo a second later. The interior was quite spacious, with a chilled wall of conditioned air greeting her as she entered.

“Oo, now that is nice,” Indigo said as she settled into the padded leather seat. “It’s like wrapping my ass in silk,” she added with a laugh. With ample room to stretch out her legs, the teen let out a contented sigh before she buckled up and the car began to move.

“It’s also got heated massage if you want,” Sunset explained as she pointed out the controls on the arm rest. She leaned over and tapped a few of the buttons, spurring a subtle rumbling noise from the seat.

Indigo’s grin just grew wider as the legions of tiny mechanical fingers began working into her back muscles. The motions moved in pulsing waves up and down her spine while two larger knobs began grinding into her lower back. “Can I just live in your car?” Indigo swooned in delight. “This is sooooo much better than anything I’ve got.”

Sunset giggled but said nothing more, content to just sit and watch as Indigo enjoyed the ride, including all the soft little purrs and murmurs that came with it. It was a shame they were in the back seat of a moving car at the moment, because otherwise she’d be tempted to pounce on Indigo to make it a really good massage.

Instead, she had to settle for making more conversation. “So, can I ask a bit of a personal question?”

“Considering everything I’ve asked of you, I’m pretty sure you’re owed a bunch,” Indigo replied.

“What’s the deal with the goggles? I get the impression they’re for more than just eye protection.”

The contented grin faded from Indigo’s face, which took on a more somber expression. “They were my dad’s,” she answered plainly. “He gave them to me before his last deployment.”

“Oh.” Sunset’s response was brief at first, but only because it took her a few seconds to piece the clues together and realize what kind of deployment Indigo was referring. Once she did, though, it hit with all the guilt-inducing force of a nagging grandmother you never remember to call. “Oh dammit,” she sighed to herself, “I broke her dead dad’s goggles…”

“It’s not your fault,” Indigo replied, having overheard the last remarks. “I got too cocky—shouldn’t have been wearing them at all. But noooo, I was so certain in my invincibility that the idea they were at risk never crossed my mind.”

“I still feel bad, especially considering how smug I was about it at the time,” Sunset replied. Just then, an idea came to mind and she leaned forward to peer into the front part of the car. “Hey Kibitz, do you know anybody that could fix a pair of goggles?”

“It might take a bit of asking around, but it should be possible,” Kibitz answered in a prompt fashion.

“Excellent!” Sunset exclaimed, slapping the side of the driver’s seat in her excitement. “Indigo, gimme your goggles.”

“Listen, I appreciate the offer, but you don’t have to do this for me. This was my doing and I should live with the consequences.” Despite her words, Indigo’s tone did not carry the same degree of certainty. She’d love to have her goggles fixed, but it didn’t feel right to be taking so many favours so soon from her new friend. When you strove so hard for personal accomplishments, having someone else hand you things felt like it diminished more than it added.

Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment before sinking into disappointment. She fell back into her seat and clasped her hands together. “Oh come on, Indigo, please? I already feel bad enough as it is thinking back to how I’ve treated you for the past couple of weeks, now I’ve got this hanging over me too?”

“Okay, okay, you can have the goggles,” Indigo relented. She rummaged through her backpack until she finally produced the item. “Heh, you are not a girl that takes ‘no’ lightly, are you?”

“Neither are you,” Sunset replied. She took a moment to look over the goggles, but despite the guilt she managed to smile back to her friend. “Listen, I’m sorry for how I’ve behaved. After having all my friends turn on me in back in Trottingham, I just convinced myself that I’d be better off if I just didn’t bother with any for a while.”

Indigo reached over and cupped her hands over her friend’s, giving Sunset a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “You don’t have to apologize, Sunset. I’ve already forgiven you.” She then let out a brief, sheepish chortle. “Plus, I’ve got just as much to apologize about. It’s not like either of us got off on the best foot.”

“Well I wouldn’t mind getting you off both of your feet again,” Sunset whispered, flashing her playful little smirk.

“Sunset!” Indigo exclaimed. She tried to hide the quick rush of heat to her cheeks, but to no avail. “Could you not—I mean, you sure it’s a good idea to talk like that in front of others?”

Sunset shrugged, feigning innocence. “Dunno. Hey Kibitz, you won’t tell my dad if I started making out with Indigo, right?”

“I would prefer if you tried to exercise some discretion, Miss Shimmer.”

“See? Kibitz is cool with it.”

“Sunset, no,” Indigo warned in a stern tone.

“Party pooper.”

************

Indigo Zap arrived home to an empty household, which was about as predictable as the sun rising in the morning. Her mother would still be at work and her sister was most likely out in the city enjoying her time away from college. Normally such a hollow greeting would instill a similar feeling in Indigo, but this time around she had Sunset Shimmer alongside her. If anything, an empty home would be a boon for the two of them.

“You can just leave you coat and bag in the hall closet,” Indigo said before she kicked off her shoes.

Once they had put their things away, Indigo led her friend to the kitchen, where she offered Sunset a soda.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” Sunset commented before taking one of the offered sodas.

A picture on the nearby wall caught her attention: it was a candid photo of a very young Indigo Zap, grinning in a way that only an energetic child could while trying to wear a flight helmet that was comically too big for her. She struggled to keep it from slipping and engulfing her head like some kind of alien predator. Just behind Indigo was the owner of said helmet, a young father who was threatening to burst out into laughter at the antics of the young girl who sat upon his knee. Sunset could feel the love and joy in the picture; she couldn’t recall ever having a picture of her that carried such emotion.

“That’s your dad, I take it?” Sunset commented, still staring at the picture.

“That’s him all right,” Indigo answered. She walked over to join Sunset in viewing the photo, a nostalgic smile upon her lips. “I was seven when that picture was taken. There was a big air show so he was giving me the grand tour of the place.”

“Sounds like a pretty cool guy,” Sunset remarked as she took a quiet sip.

“I was a kid and my dad flew fighter jets—as far as I was concerned, he was the coolest dad to have ever existed.”

“So… um, how long since he… uhh… you know.” Sunset felt a bit awkward asking, and it showed clear as day.

Fortunately, the subject didn’t seem to upset Indigo at all. “Seven years and two months, give or take a few weeks,” she replied. It wasn’t her favourite subject, but she’d grown enough to be able to talk about it without losing herself in memories. She recognized she had the slight luxury of being the youngest and thus having the fewest memories attached to her father. She remembered how inconsolable her mother was for weeks after they received the news. “There was some sort of engine failure after take-off, or something along those lines. In all honesty, I never really looked at the details—knowing the exact reasons won’t really change anything, you know?”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Sunset offered her condolences.

“I’m sure he really would’ve taken a liking to you,” Indigo replied, smiling as she turned her gaze back to her friend. “Now come on, let’s go make something to eat.”

She had invited Sunset Shimmer over to hang out and have a good time, not to dwell on the past. Taking a cue from some of Sunset’s memories, she thought maybe spending some time together in the kitchen might help them get to know one another better. If nothing else, it’ll at least result in something to eat.

“And what do you propose we make?”

“You like sushi?”

No words were needed as Sunset simply grinned from ear to ear. The two headed into the kitchen where they began to gather the necessary ingredients and tools for the job.

“You actually have all the things to make sushi?” Sunset remarked with a hint of surprise.

“Lemon Zest and I did a project in home ec. last year where we had to research and prepare a foreign dish,” Indigo explained. She popped open a cupboard and pulled out a large glass jar filled with rice. “Did you know sushi originated from a process used to preserve salted fish? The rice was fermented to help keep the fish from spoiling and they actually discarded it before eating.”

“We had one girl at Trottingham who was really big into sushi, which did not earn her a lot of friends, sadly.”

“Not big sushi fans at Trotty, I take it?”

“Their taste in food tended to be about as conservative as the rest of their outlooks on life.”

“Oh well, more fish for the rest of us!” Indigo beamed brightly as she rummaged through a few drawers to find the rolling mats. “Now we gotta get the rice, veggies, and meat all prepared. Which do you want to take?”

“I’ll take the veggies—it’s been a long while since I’ve made any sushi, so I’ll stick to the easy part.”

“Veggies are in the fridge, knife and cutting board next to it,” Indigo directed her friend while she headed to the sink.

As Sunset started gathering the vegetables for their meal, which included cucumber and an avocado, Indigo got to work on the rice. For both girls, it was nice to partake in an activity together that didn’t involve school or sports, and with no competition needed whatsoever. Just friendship and the promise of a tasty treat at the end was enough motivation to keep both of them hard at work. The kitchen was soon abuzz with activity, the tapping of a knife against a chopping board and the splashing of water and rice filled the air.

“It’s nice to actually be making something with my own hands for a change,” Sunset remarked while cutting a cucumber into very thin slices. “My dad has a personal cook who gets ornery when I mess around in his kitchen.”

“You got your own cook?” Indigo remarked. “Just how rich is your dad?”

“Let me put it this way, my four-year tuition at Trottingham probably cost more than this house,” Sunset said.

Indigo just stared at her friend in disbelief, as if her brain couldn’t possibly fathom the very concept of a year of prep school costing that much. Her home wasn’t big by any stretch of the imagination, but it was in a good neighborhood, so Sunset was insinuating somewhere past the quarter-million ballpark. Her tuition for Crystal Prep Academy was probably not even a tenth of what Sunset’s family paid.

“Boy, Crystal Prep must really be a step down for you then, huh?” Indigo replied with the only thing that came to mind.

“It is and it isn’t.” Sunset paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, using the time to scoop up the vegetables she’d diced thus far and move onto the next. “I mean, yes, the facilities at Crystal Prep aren’t as good, but I’m just as capable of doing my lessons without being given my own personal laptop, and I don’t need my textbooks all on tablets. They’re nice, but they’re not essential.”

“You might reconsider that when you’ve got to carry thirty pounds of textbooks and binders back home with you.”

“Maybe I’m just being foolishly optimistic, but I really think you and your friends are going to make Crystal Prep a good place for me,” Sunset continued on. “Well, at least until we all graduate and I get shuffled off to the next gilded cage.”

Indigo hadn’t even thought about what would happen after Crystal Prep. She had her plans, and considering Sunset’s family fortunes, it was unlikely they’d wind up in similar locations. “So where exactly would that be?” Indigo asked, feeling a pang of wariness as to what the answer might be.

But Sunset just shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet. Dad’s already got three or four colleges lined up ready to rubber stamp my approval,” Sunset explained. “I guess I should get around to deciding what my future career should be.”

“You don’t sound too thrilled about that. Don’t you have any goals of what you want to be when you grow up?”

“I want to be me.” Sunset then sighed, her silence punctuated by a dull ‘thunk’ as she bisected a bell pepper.

“What do you mean?”

Sunset set down her knife for a moment, then turned about as to lean back against the countertop. “I mean that it’s not a major exaggeration to say that most of my life was planned out before I was even born,” Sunset explained. “Every school I attended was picked well in advance; every spare afternoon was filled with tutors for music and dancing and public speaking. The only silver lining to going to Trottingham college was that I didn’t have my dad micro-managing my day-to-day life anymore.”

“Almost sounds like you miss Trottingham.”

Sunset let out a quiet sigh, folding her arms across her chest as she turned her gaze to the nearby window. “I miss the freedom, as fleeting as it was. There wasn’t much of it between the tight schedules and early curfews, but it was more than I ever had. But I’m sure this all sounds rather silly to you—real first world problems here, eh?”

Indigo would’ve been lying if she said that she wished the worst of her problems was a lack of choice in parts of her life, but she knew she lacked the perspective needed to fully understand her friend’s plight.

“Grass is always greener on the other side, it seems,” Indigo remarked. She would’ve offered her friend a hug, but she was still wrist-deep in starchy, rice-filled water for the prep work. “So what does the real you want to be?”

“I wish I knew,” Sunset said as she let out a defeated sigh. Her mood was turning faster than a piece of salmon left on the side of the road, so she swung about face to try and focus her thoughts back on preparing the ingredients. “Soccer was one of the few things I managed to talk my dad into letting me do regularly, and even then I had to agree to take on something else to ‘make up for the wasted time.’ And that’s why I had to study Latin for four years.”

“Who even speaks Latin anymore?”

“Latin teachers,” Sunset answered with a wry smirk.

There was a momentary lull as Indigo drained the water from the rice, leaving nothing but a bowl of fresh, clean rice. “When you’re done with the veggies, want to help me with the vinegar?” she offered.

Having diced up more than enough to feed the two of them, Sunset put her things aside and joined her friend at the stove. Together, they started preparing the rice and Indigo directed Sunset on how to properly prepare the vinegar.

“What about you?” Sunset asked, giving her friend a nudge. “A girl like you must be aiming pretty high.”

“Promise not to laugh?” Indigo said with a sheepish smile.

“Is it a stripper? A librarian? A crime fighter? A librarian-stripper that fights crime?”

“That last one doesn’t sound half-bad,” Indigo said while holding back a chuckle. “Sexy librarian by day, crime-fighting stripper by night. Might make for an interesting comic book series.”

“But seriously, what’re you aiming for?”

Indigo let out a half-hearted chuckle as she buried her gaze in the pan of rice she was now cooking up. “I… I want to be an astronaut.”

Luckily for her, Sunset did not respond with an uproar of laughter, but instead just cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you sound so embarrassed about that?”

“I don’t know—it just sounds cliched,” Indigo explained, now feeling embarrassed for being so embarrassed in the first place. “When they’re seven years old, everybody wants to be an astronaut, along with firemen and police officers, but they always grow out of it. For most people, it’s never more than just a childish fantasy.”

“But not for you, I take it.”

Indigo shook her head, feeling a bit less foolish now that she was putting her thoughts out into the air. “Astronauts are some of the smartest, bravest people out there. I mean, who else would willingly strap themselves to a million pounds of rocket fuel and launch into a realm where everything is on the frontier of human knowledge?” So caught up in her own thoughts, Indigo didn’t even notice the tranquil smile curling upon her lips, though it didn’t slip past the other girl’s attention. “I want to see the stars and float around in zero-G. I want to go where nobody has ever gone before, see things that no human eye has ever set upon. I want people to look at me and go, ‘there’s a woman who never settled for anything less than her very best.’”

“Wow… that’s… that’s pretty impressive,” Sunset eventually stammered out in response. She was at a loss for words, and that truth was written across her face. “Guess that’s why you’re so damn competitive, huh?”

“They don’t make astronauts out of average people. You need to be the best,” Indigo replied, as though the principle were as simple as ‘one plus one equals two.’

“True, but you don’t need to make everything a competition to do that. You got your panties in a twist pretty hard just because I was beating you for that Crystal Heart thingie, but do you really think you’ll be a better astronaut if you beat me? Or that me winning will mean you’ll have to settle for another dream?”

When Sunset phrased it like that, it did make Indigo feel rather silly about her obsessiveness earlier. “It’s not quite like that; it’s about becoming better—pushing myself to new limits.”

“If you wanted to get a better score on your tests, you could just ask me to tutor you,” Sunset offered. “Or, hell, one of your other friends. Why haven’t you tried asking them?”

“Because then it’s not a competition.” The very notion of asking her opponent for help sounded strange and alien to Indigo, like ketchup-flavoured potato chips.

Sunset just rolled her eyes, laughing quietly under her breath. “If you’re only able to find happiness by winning and setting yourself apart from others, you are going to spend a lot of your life alone, and very miserable. There’s always going to be somebody smarter around the corner.”

“Like you? Didn’t you compete at your last school? Or are you telling me you’re just naturally this smart.”

“The only person I’m accountable for is myself. That’s the only person I’m trying to outdo each day.” Sunset then glanced up from her work and offered her friend a sincere smile. “I don’t mind a little competition in a game where it’s all just for fun, but that’s about it. Maybe you should give it a shot: I help you with your school work, and you stop fussing about winning.”

It was Indigo’s turn to fall silent for a few minutes as she pondered over the other girl’s suggestion. There was no denying that trying to compete against Sunset had only made her school life worse, so maybe a change was needed. The old Indigo would’ve probably agreed in order to get a leg-up on the competition, but today she found herself wanting to agree because it felt like the right thing to do.

“Okay,” Indigo nodded. “We can try that.”

“We’ll make an astronaut out of you yet,” Sunset said with a playful chuckle. The laughter soon turned into a wistful sigh, however, followed by a quiet murmur, “Must be nice—knowing you want something with that kind of certainty”

“Haven’t you ever wanted something really badly?”

“Well, I can think of one thing,” Sunset mused before smiling playfully to Indigo.

It took a few moments for her to realize what Sunset was referring to. “And I thought I sounded corny,” she remarked while trying to hide the rosy flush upon her cheeks.

“I’m a sheltered prep school girl,” Sunset insisted, albeit unconvincingly. “I’m allowed a few flights of fancy.” After a quick laugh, the girls turned their attention back to their work with the sizzling of water and vinegar dancing through the air. “I think the vinegar is ready. What should I do with it?”

“Just put it aside to let it cool,” Indigo answered. “The rice should be ready soon.”

Of course, with only the rice left to cook, that meant Sunset Shimmer had little to do but wait. There was no point in standing idle, however, so the playful teenager slipped in behind Indigo and snaked her arms around the other girl’s waist. She gave a tender, affectionate squeeze as she drew in closer, resting her head upon Indigo’s shoulder.

“This is nice,” she sighed contently and then said nothing further.

Indigo kept silent as well, opting to just enjoy the warmth and company of the other girl as she continued cooking their rice. She never shared quiet moments like these with her other friends since Lemon Zest or Sunny Flare always had something to say regardless of what was going on around them. And likewise, when she was around her friends, she didn’t care much for silence—it felt too much like wasting idle time. With Sunset it felt different; it was something stronger, more intense than just friendship, and far different from the lust she felt the day before. She had really grown to care about her friend.

Was friend really the right word for what she felt? Indigo wasn’t sure, but she did know she’d like to consider Sunset something more than that.

For now, though, she was happy just to enjoy the moment for what it was; she could worry about labels another day.

“Okay, I think the rice is ready,” Indigo eventually announced. She glanced sideways to the girl still nestled against her. “If you want any sushi, you’re going to have to let go.”

“Can I try some of the rice?” Sunset asked.

After checking to make sure the rice wasn’t too hot, Indigo plucked out a clump of it with her fingers and held it up. Rather than take the rice herself, Sunset just leaned in and ate the rice straight out of Indigo’s grasp. And it wasn’t just the rice she took, her lips closed around the girl’s finger, slipping further and further up until she was brushing up against the knuckle. Sunset suckled slowly and gently, letting her tongue caress alongside the underside of Indigo’s index finger, all while she purred like a contented kitten.

It was hard to resist the memories of the day before flooding to her forethought: the warmth of her tongue, the feel of her lips, the intoxicating scent of her hair. Indigo could feel her heart beginning to race again, followed by a slow, deep breath to steady her nerves. Sunset withdrew slowly, tormenting the girl further as her tongue slithered back and finishing with one last little flick against her fingertip.

“So what kind of fish are we going to put on these things?” Sunset asked, returning to the matter of their meal as though the last ten seconds had never transpired.

“I… uh,” Indigo stumbled at first, blushing from ear to ear, “there’s some salmon and crab in the fridge. We’ve also got some shrimp and tuna in the freezer, but we’d need to thaw them out.”

“Salmon and crab it is!” Sunset acknowledged. She gave Indigo a quick peck on the cheek and then headed to fetch the last of the ingredients, leaving her red-faced friend to fight down her more carnal urges.

“Keep it together, Indy,” she reminded herself. “She’s trying to play you; don’t let her win.”

She could tell that Sunset was trying to make another game out of this otherwise innocuous activity. If for nothing other than principle, Indigo was determined not to let her win: a prospect that became all the more difficult when she noticed that Sunset was stooped over while searching the bottom shelves of the fridge.

“Must… resist… urge!”

As if possessed by another power, Indigo’s hand began to gravitate towards the tantalizing posterior. The pleats of her skirts swayed with Sunset’s hips, as if beckoning the other teen closer. One little touch wouldn’t hurt, would it? Maybe just a quick peek?

Before Indigo even realized it, she had already shuffled right up to Sunset, and her hand was just inches away. She bet Sunset had a nice, toned butt; the kind that perfectly filled out a pair of jeans and could turn every guy’s head in a quarter-mile radius.

“Found it!” Sunset exclaimed. She sprang back upright, prompting Indigo to quickly withdraw. Just in the nick of time, too, as Sunset Shimmer turned around and gave the girl a look of thinly-veiled confusion. “Is something wrong?”

“N-nothing!” Indigo stammered again. She could’ve chastised Sunset for continuing to tease her, but that would mean admitting that she was losing.

With an innocent smirk, Sunset handed over the packages of salmon and crab, and the two girls returned to their preparations. Indigo kept her chatter to a minimum, wanting to focus on getting the food ready in a timely fashion, and also because she was wary of what Sunset might say or do if given an opening. It was getting harder and harder to resist, but at the same time it was fun in its own way. It was like a competition between her willpower and Sunset’s charm—just another game to see who was better.

“Let’s go with some crab, avocado, and cucumber in this first roll,” Indigo suggested. She set down a sheet of dried seaweed, or nori, across the rolling mat, and then began laying out the first ingredients.

“I’ll use the salmon and make some of those single-piece sushi,” Sunset offered.

“The proper term for those is nigirizushi, if I remember correctly.”

“I just call them delicious.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Indigo said with a laugh. Once she had her sushi laid out, she began rolling up the bamboo mat, compressing the mat of rice, vegetables, and fish into a tidy, compact, nori-wrapped tube. “Ta-da! Our first maki roll.”

“Nice! Let’s get a few more ready and then maybe we can watch a movie while we eat,” an eager Sunset suggested. She continued balling up clumps of rice until she had about ten or so pieces. Upon each bed of rice, she laid a thick slab of salmon, taking great pains to make sure it was positioned perfectly centered and then secured with a thin ribbon of nori.

Indigo had a second roll prepared by the time that Sunset finished her first batch. “Not bad for a first round,” she remarked as she took a moment to admire the small bounty they’d created. “Why don’t you slice up the maki rolls and grab a plate from the cupboard while I make a couple more.”

Sunset Shimmer simply nodded and heeded the instructions, slicing and arranging their freshly-made sushi upon a small plate. Once she was done, she headed over to the nearby kitchen table to set them aside, leaving Indigo to continue with her toiling.

A gentle humming floated through the air as Indigo finished up her third maki roll for the afternoon. Her mind was abuzz with excitement at the afternoon that laid ahead. On top of that, she was feeling quite proud of herself for being able to withstand her friend’s tantalizing wiles. No doubt Sunset wanted to reduce her to another babbling mess just like she had the other day. Even if there wasn’t anything really at stake, it was the principle of competition that mattered. She had won; she had triumphed over Sunset Shimmer!

“Indigo, is it true that some people like to serve sushi atop of a naked woman?”

“Sure,” Indigo began as she turned about, “but it’s a bit of an esoteric practice that’s just… sil… ly…”

Her words drifted off like a wisp of smoke in the breeze. Before her lay a sight that took her breath away: Sunset Shimmer laid across her kitchen table, completely bare from the waist up, save for the careful arrangement of sushi pieces across her captivating figure. It formed a trail stretching from her navel up to the valley of her breasts, both of which were capped with a strip of salmon. Sunset flashed her a smile, playful as she always was, but on top of that: triumphant.

“Oh… oh my,” Indigo murmured under her breath. Her hands wrung tightly around the sushi roll still in her grasp, causing rice and avocado to spurt out from both ends. Her eyes drank in every curve and feature as she worked her way up Sunset’s pristine, amber skin. Much like Indigo, she had a lean and athletic figure, though the fully-dressed teen couldn’t help but feel a little envious when comparing her breast size to that of her friend.

“You look hungry,” Sunset said before giving a quick wink.

“Oh, god yes.”

Indigo Zap set the ruined sushi aside and stepped over to her friend, all thoughts of competition was gone from her mind. If this was losing, then who cared about winning?

She wasted neither time nor words, leaning down to the first piece of sushi nestled in the small gully of Sunset’s abs. There was no need for hands either, as she slid her tongue along the soft, delicate skin to scoop the sushi into her mouth. She couldn’t take the time to savour her creation, though, as Indigo moved on to the next piece. This time, she let her teeth tease across the pale amber flesh and nipped gently at the end.

“Don’t suppose you could share a bite?” Sunset asked.

“Open wide then.”

Indigo picked up another piece of sushi with her teeth. With the utmost care, she lowered it down into Sunset’s awaiting mouth. Their lips met in a brief and tender kiss as Indigo passed the sushi across; she even used the opportunity to slip her tongue in for a quick visit. They kept their embrace close, with Sunset making a sultry show as she vocalized her enjoyment with each bite. At the end, she ensnared Indigo in another kiss, the taste of fish and vinegar still fresh on her lips.

“Now that’s how you serve sushi,” Sunset cooed.

“Not the only thing that’s being served here,” Indigo remarked as she reached up and brushed a few loose grains of rice from the other girl’s lips.

Eager for more than just sushi, Indigo shifted back down to Sunset’s chest, taking a moment to admire the view. The soft mound formed an almost perfect little plate for the slab of salmon, hiding away the round, rosy nipple beneath. She made sure to engulf both breast and food, pressing firmly with her lips and tongue as she closed in around the sushi itself. And as she pulled back, she caught the very tip of the girl’s teat with her lips, giving it a nice, sharp tug at the end.

“Mmm, that’s nice,” Sunset purred.

Indigo moved to the other breast, eyeing the next tasty prize as she ran her tongue along the underside, tracing around the perimeter and working slowly towards the center. And it was just as she was about to scoop up the next piece of sushi that the two teens heard footsteps shuffling at the kitchen entrance.

Indigo and Sunset both froze on the spot, save for their eyes as they both looked to the source of the noise and saw a disheveled-looking Lightning Dust shambling into the room. Between her hair looking as though it had been hit by a cyclone, her attire consisting of only a t-shirt and and panties, and the drowsy, zombie-like expression on her face, it appeared that Lightning Dust had only just risen from bed.

“Hey Indy,” the elder sister said in a half-grumble, eyes barely open at all. “What time is it?”

Indigo was still paralyzed in absolute terror, face flushed with embarrassment and her tongue still pressed against the other girl’s bare breast. She drew her tongue back in, slowly, as if a sudden movement might trigger a horrific fate. “It’s… four in the afternoon,” she answered.

“Oh, cool.” Lightning then yawned and stretched, exposing far more midriff than any younger sister would be comfortable witnessing. She resumed her sleep-deprived shuffle towards the fridge and proceeded to rummage through it in search of sustenance. “Is there any coke left?”

“Bottom shelf, near the back,” Sunset answered.

“Thanks.” After grabbing a can, plus an apple, Lightning Dust was just about to leave when she stopped at the kitchen table. Her drowsy eyes glanced over to Indigo and then down to Sunset Shimmer. “Sweet—sushi.”

She then grabbed one of the pieces off of Sunset’s chest and popped it into her mouth, remaining either indifferent or utterly oblivious to what had been transpiring just seconds ago.

Once satisfied, Lightning continued on her way, waving over her shoulder as she exited. “I’ll be upstairs if anyone needs me.”

It wasn’t until they heard the footsteps fade into the background and the distinct ‘thump’ of a closing door that Sunset and Indigo breathed a collective sigh of relief. Out of the blue, Sunset started to snicker and then promptly burst into a full-out fit of laughter. The few remaining pieces of sushi tumbled off her figure as she rolled about the table in her merriment. It didn’t take long for Indigo to be infected as well, and soon the kitchen was filled with the roaring of their laughter.

“Oh my god, you should’ve seen the look on your face when she came in,” Sunset said between snickering fits. “You looked like you were about to piss yourself.”

“Speak for yourself: your face is almost as red as your hair,” Indigo playfully sniped back.

“No more redder than yours.”

Soon, both girls had been reduced to gasping, wheezing heaps as they struggled to regain control. Indigo even had to take a seat just to keep from tumbling to the floor. After a few more minutes of giggles and laughter, they finally managed to calm down with one last joyful sigh.

“I should probably put my shirt back on,” Sunset remarked before dropping a piece of sushi into her mouth.

“Probably a good idea,” Indigo said with a nod. “Knowing my luck, if we try to go at it again, my sis will wander back in looking for something else.”

“At least your sister doesn’t seemed bothered by us.” Sunset sat back up and proceeded to get dressed, though for expediency’s sake she only tossed on her blouse. “Good thing you don’t have a little brother—he’d probably try to take pictures.”

“Lightning’s probably more liable to join in than take pictures.”

“Oh really?” Sunset mused, stroking at her chin with a Cheshire grin.

“Don’t even think about it!”

“I wonder if she tastes like you.”

“Sunset, don’t joke about that!”

A faint chuckle drifted through the air as Sunset hopped from the tabletop; it was playful and mischievous, but ultimately benign in nature. “Don’t worry dearie,” she teased as she slipped in behind Indigo. Leaning forward, Sunset draped her arms over her friend’s shoulders, resting her head alongside the blue-hair teen. “Between you and your sister, there’s no competition. You’re the only one I’m interested in.”

Indigo felt another flash of warmth rushing to her cheeks, though it wasn’t fueled by arousal or embarrassment this time. Well, maybe a little bit of embarrassment.

“Y-you really mean that?” Indigo said with a bashful smile.

“No, I just like having sushi all over my naked body. They do say seaweed is good for the skin, after all.”

Indigo just scrunched up and pouted at her friend’s bout of sarcasm, but the more she fussed, the more Sunset just giggled and hugged her tighter.

“Hey Indigo, you’re planning on going to that big gala thing, right?”

“The dance?” Indigo repeated. In all the excitement of the last few days, she had almost forgotten all about the Crystal Gala. The only reason it stayed a remote concern for her was because it was also when the Crystal Heart would be awarded, which was a forlorn hope at this point. “Yeah, I was planning on going. I still need to finish that speech that Sour Sweet wants me to give, but… eh, I can probably just wing it.”

“Would you like to be my date for the dance?”

“Are you sure it’ll be okay? Wouldn’t a date just upset your father?

“It can be a date just between the two of us,” Sunset reassured her. “Given how little my old man pays attention to my life, he won’t even realize I’ve gone to a dance until a week after the fact.” She swung around in front of Indigo and sat down upon the other girl’s lap, keeping one arm hooked around her neck. “I’ve gone to plenty of dances before, but I’ve never had the chance to go to one with the person I wanted.”

“In that case, I’d love to be your date.”