Right There in Front of Me

Indigo Zap had never considered herself to be the romantic type. Her idea of a perfect evening with a partner would involve an afternoon at the ballpark, pizza for dinner, and the latest Daring Do movie afterwards. She had always been the type of girl to scoff and roll her eyes at the antics done in romantic comedies or when one of the girls at Crystal Prep would send out a million messages across social media about how much they loved their new boyfriend. That sort of diabetes-inducing diatribe just wasn’t her style.

However, she couldn’t deny that the last few days spent with Sunset Shimmer felt like a dream to her. It had only been five days since their dalliance in the bathroom, but life itself seemed as though it had been turned up to eleven. Maybe it was the hope and optimism; maybe it was Sunset’s infectious passion and energy; or maybe it was just from her brain swimming in a cocktail of endorphins and teenaged hormones. Whatever the case, every day felt warmer and brighter than the last. She woke up each eager to see Sunset again at school, and every night before she went to sleep, she’d spend a few minutes gazing at some rather tantalizing selfies Sunset had sent to her phone.

Did she ever feel like the luckiest girl on the planet.

Indigo hadn’t even bothered to look at the rankings for the Crystal Heart Award for the past couple of days. A more sinister person might use the distraction of their blossoming relationship to pull ahead or keep the competition too distracted, but Indigo had agreed to spend her afternoons finishing her homework with Sunset Shimmer, rather than try to focus on Crystal Heart award rankings. Studying and learning alongside her was proving to be far more fruitful than any amount of competition. Even if her grades weren’t improving, it was a far more enjoyable experience.

It was a brand new day at Crystal Prep Academy. Classes had yet to begin and Indigo was spending the quiet time before the bell relaxing in the warmth of the morning sun. Once again, she couldn’t be sure if it was just her perception, but the sun felt so much better lately. Granted, just thinking about Sunset Shimmer made her feel warm all over. She lounged beneath a tree, positioning herself so that she wasn’t in the shade, while scrolling through the many photos she had on her phone. Most of them were of her and Sunset: hanging out at the park, sharing pizza, cuddling on the couch, and her personal favourite, a picture of Sunset fast asleep upon Indigo’s shoulder while they had been watching a movie.

Indigo smiled to herself as she gazed at the photo, her thoughts drifting back to that evening just a few days ago.

“If you were glowing any brighter, I’d be able to find you with a Geiger counter,” Sugarcoat’s voice perked up, snapping Indigo out of her daydream.

She glanced up from her phone and saw her pig-tailed friend standing before her, regarding Indigo with her typical dispassionate, analytical stare. There was no point trying to deny the euphoria oozing out of every pour. Her excitement was almost palpable, partly due to her anticipation for the Grand Crystal Gala that was now less than twelve hours away. An evening of fun and dancing with the most incredible girl’s she ever known? What wasn’t there to be excited about?

“Hey Sugarcoat, what’s up?” Indigo greeted as she put her phone back onto the home screen. “Sour Sweet still riding your ass about the presentation project?”

Sugarcoat frowned in an instant, folding her arms as she looked away for a moment. “I’d rather not talk about that right now,” she answered. A faint hint of red graced her cheeks, but it went unnoticed by her friend.

“Just don’t take whatever she’s saying too personally,” Indigo offered out as advice. “Sour gets worked up too easily for her own good, moreso if you’re not done and the gala is tonight.”

“That’s an understatement,” Sugarcoat muttered to herself. She then cleared her throat and straightened up her composure. “Anyways, I came out here because somebody needs to drag your daydreaming ass back to class.”

Indigo just scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I haven’t been out here that long,” she explained while checking her phone for the time. “It’s not even—HOLY SHIT! Why didn’t somebody tell me class starts in three minutes?”

“I was working my way to that.”

A panic-stricken Indigo jumped to her feet, grabbing her backpack in the process. “How the hell did I not notice what time it was?”

“Don’t know,” Sugarcoat answered with an indifferent shrug. “Probably too much time spent masturbating to pictures of your new girlfriend.”

“Oh, get stuffed!” Indigo snapped at her friend. “I wasn’t doing anything like that, and she’s not my—well, I mean, I don’t think we’re quite at that stage yet.”

“So you’re okay having sex in a public bathroom, but not calling her your girlfriend?” Sugarcoat asked with a skeptical eyebrow raised. “Are you sure you’re not just scared to commit?”

Indigo bristled and growled at her friend’s reaction, though she couldn’t dedicate too much time or effort as she needed to hurry to her locker. “It’s complicated,” she said dismissively. “It’s an unconventional relationship, okay? Sunset’s not like other girls—she can’t be open about who she is.”

The pair hurried along as fast as they could without officially ‘running in the halls,’ as to avoid the wrath of any of the faculty. As Sugarcoat had anticipated this, she already left all of her things in class, whereas Indigo needed to make a quick stop at her locker to put away unneeded textbooks and binders.

“You’re lucky at least one of us is still looking out for your academic performance,” Sugarcoat remarked.

“Oh, come on, it’s not like I’ve neglected everything else in life just because I’ve got a girlfriend,” Indigo answered, making sure to use the g-word to prove she wasn’t afraid to do so. “I just lost track of time while I was waiting for her to show up, that’s all. We’ve been meeting out by that tree before school for the past couple of days.”

It was hard to get any privacy once classes began, so meeting outside just before class gave the couple some time alone together. The fresh summer air was not only relaxing but it let them see anyone approaching well in advance, so they didn’t have to worry about anybody eavesdropping. From a distance, they appeared no different than any other two students, so they had always been left alone. Ten or fifteen minutes may not have been much in the grand scheme, but it helped make a world of difference for the two of them. However, now Indigo was wondering what went wrong.

“I don’t get it,” Indigo said in the midst of tossing books into her locker in a haphazard fashion. “Sunset wouldn’t just leave me hanging like that without telling me.”

“Maybe she had to come in early,” Sugarcoat suggested, still at her friend’s side.

“Maybe. I don’t know.” With a kick spin, Indigo slammed the locker shut and hurried off again towards her homeroom. “I haven’t gotten any texts from her either, so maybe something has come up.”

There were a million and one possible explanations, and she didn’t have time to consider them all. When the class bell rang, the most important thing for her was her education, and so the two girls scampered off to class. There would be time to figure out what happened afterwards. However, when Indigo sat down at her desk in homeroom, she couldn’t help but notice that the desk in front of her, where Sunset typically sat, was empty.

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

“Still no word?”

“Not even a winky face,” Indigo sighed as she checked her phone for the hundredth time that day.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Sunny reassured her friend, giving Indigo a few pats on the shoulder. “In fact, you might want to tone it down a little bit; you don’t want to come off as clingy.”

“I’m not being clingy!” Indigo snapped without thinking. Of course, being defensive never helped one’s case, and she was quick to realize that and sighed in disappointment. “I’m just worried, that’s all.”

The two friends walked through the halls of Crystal Prep, en route to the cafeteria to join the rest of their friends for lunch. Indigo didn’t have much hope that lunch would be a relaxing affair since she hadn’t been able to keep her mind focused on anything else since realizing Sunset’s sudden absence from class. She was still staring at the ‘zero new messages’ when they passed by the bulletin board with the Crystal Heart rankings, and that was when something caught Sunny Flare’s eye.

“Um, Indigo? There’s something you might want to see,” Sunny remarked.

Though her friend had stopped in her tracks, Indigo kept on walking with her eyes fixed on her phone. “In a moment,” she insisted, lost in her thoughts. “Maybe Sunset has a MyStables page I can find…”

Offended by being brushed off so casually, Sunny grabbed her friend by the collar and pulled her over to the bulletin. “No, you need to see this now!” she ordered in a stern voice before shoving Indigo’s face up to the rankings’ sheet.

Since the list was only updated once a week, Indigo hadn’t bothered to pay any attention to it since Monday. And indeed, the list hadn’t been changed out for a new, updated one yet, but there had been an alteration: at the top where Sunset Shimmer’s name stood above everyone else’s, it now had a thick, black line straight through it. It was no understatement that Crystal Prep Academy liked to foster a competitive spirit amongst its best students; very few things could actually take a student out of a competition altogether. Even cheating only resulted in a massive penalty, as if to give the guilty party the faint hope that they could overcome the setback if they worked hard enough, or at least cheated better.

If Sunset’s name was stricken from the rankings, then there was only one likely explanation.

“I have to go!” Indigo said as she hastily excused herself.

Lunch and her friends could wait—her worst fear may have come to fruition and she needed to get answers. She raced through the hallways across the school, shoving her way past the crowds with complete abandon until finally skidding to a halt outside the office of Dean Cadance.

Now a more sensible student might’ve politely knocked on the likely possibility that Cadance might be busy with other students or coworkers, but Indigo wasn’t about to let anyone or anything stand in her way. She pounded on the door like a horde of vikings outside the church doors where all the virgins in the village had taken shelter.

“Dean Cadance!” she called out. “I need to talk to you! It’s urgent!”

After a moment’s pause, Indigo could hear movement from the other side of the door, and soon it swung open to reveal the young Dean, who was thankfully less annoyed about the intrusion and more concerned about what could’ve drawn such a response.

“Miss Zap, what is the meaning of all this?” she asked, remaining polite but firm in her delivery.

“What happened to Sunset Shimmer?”

Cadance didn’t answer at first, at least not with words. Her expression softened, almost looking remorseful, and that was enough to confirm what Indigo had feared.

“This is something that should be discussed with Principal Cinch,” she answered.

“After the Friendship Games, do you really think she’s going to toss me any favours?” Indigo replied. “Come on, Miss Cadance, she's my friend. I’m worried about her.”

The Dean stepped to the side and gestured to an empty seat in her office. “We should talk inside,” she said.

Indigo rarely had reason to see the inside of Cadance’s office, especially as her Dean was very proactive in approaching students when concerns or opportunities needed to be addressed. As one of Crystal Prep’s best students, Indigo and Cadance rarely had much that needed to be discussed. It was probably Indigo’s first real visit to the brightly-lit room, adorned with books and photos of graduating classes from years gone by. Unlike Principal Cinch, Cadance was more concerned that the students graduated having achieved what they wanted and with happy memories of their adolescent years, so it made sense for her to have reminders of those achievements.

She took a seat in the empty chair and waited for Cadance to take her place on the opposite side of the desk. A growing sense of impatience was beginning to bare down upon Indigo’s nerves, leaving her tapping her foot in an increasing pace as the seconds ticked by. Eventually, Cadance was in her chair, hands interlinked upon the desktop before her, the hallmark of professionals everywhere.

“Miss Zap, I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but Sunset Shimmer is no longer a student here at Crystal Prep Academy,” Cadance explained in a cordial fashion. “Confidentiality agreements mean there’s little I’m permitted to discuss with you. I can tell you that she wasn’t expelled from the school; she withdrew voluntarily.”

“Oh, bullshit!”

“Indigo, language, please.”

“Sorry,” the teen tossed out as a half-hearted apology. “Listen, you and I both know that Sunset had no intention of leaving Crystal Prep. This was all her father, wasn’t it?”

Cadance quietly sighed under her breath, casting a sideways glance to the nearby windows. “I cannot confirm, nor deny, that statement.”

“How could you let him do that? Her father doesn’t give a dam—darn… about what Sunset wants.” Indigo protested. She could see in the Dean’s expression, which shifted between a facade of calmness and the disappointment that was hidden beneath.

“There’s nothing that could be done,” Cadance explained. “He is her father, and it’s his right to decide where she goes to school.”

“You could’ve offered some kind of argument against it.” Indigo wasn’t sure who she should be directing her outrage at, though her impatience might mean she’d target whoever was closest at hand. “It can’t be good to be pulling a student out of a school, and for the second time in a year no less. Not to mention graduation is just around the corner!”

Fortunately, Cadance was no stranger to upset students, which was commonplace in a school with such a competitive reputation. “I am aware of the disruptions that this might’ve created,” she answered calmly. “But Miss Shimmer is a smart student. She’ll… persevere.”

Indigo frowned, her impatience growing more irate. “Did you even try to help her?”

There was a pregnant pause, the kind that spoke far louder than words could. “Her father is an influential man; the kind of influence that can harm a school’s future,” Cadance explained. “I know she was your friend, but there was nothing that could’ve been done.”

Indigo had heard enough, especially since it was clear that Cadance was going to stonewall her with protocol and confidentiality agreements. What more did she need to know, anyways? Sunset’s father had taken her away, and the school just rolled over and showed its belly to him. Letting her frowning face express her disgust, she rose from her seat and was just about to leave when another knocking came from the door.

“Just a minute,” Cadance called out. She got up from her seat as well, and escorted Indigo to the door. “I know this is difficult for you, Indigo, but you have to understand—”

“Oh, I understand plenty,” Indigo growled back. “Sunset has a jackass for a dad and nobody gives a shit.”

At this point, Cadance wasn’t even going to bother chastising the student for her vulgar language; she was justifiably angry and a bit of cussing was better than venting in a more forceful manner. She wished she had more to offer Indigo, especially when faced with something as difficult as a friend being removed from your life so suddenly, but right now Indigo wanted answers that she wasn’t allowed to give.

“You should go back to your friends,” she suggested in hope of gently easing Indigo back to a more positive environment. “I’m always available if you need somebody to talk to, or I could arrange an appointment with one of the counselors.”

It was an offer that Cadance suspected would be ignored, but as Dean it needed to be made. She knew that Indigo would at least have her friends to turn to for support, not to mention being strong-willed. It would hurt for a while, but she would survive. As much as Cadance wanted to tell the young girl that she agreed with her, that she thought Sunset being taken away was the worst possible decision to be made, she was bound by protocol to remain silent.

Unfortunately, any hope for a peaceful end to the conversation went up in flames when Cadance opened the door and immediately on the other side was the mustachioed butler and chauffeur, Mr. Kibitz. While Indigo had been simmering in her anger during the whole of the previous conversation, seeing the placid man-servant brought about a new wave of outrage in her.

“You!” she exclaimed immediately, jabbing at Kibitz’s chest. “This is your fault, isn’t it? You told him about us!”

To no surprise, Kibitz remained unphased by the accusations and merely regarded the young girl through his spectacles with a sense of mild disappointment. “I assure you, madam, the discovery of your dalliance with Miss Shimmer was not due to any action of mine,” he explained in a frank tone. “Her father returned home earlier than he had previously announced, and discovered her in the middle of an attempt to take some… photographs of an explicit nature. He subsequently confiscated Miss Shimmer’s phone where he discovered all of your communications from the past several days. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m just here to gather her things from her locker.”

Kibitz tried to step past the teen, but Indigo continued to bar his path. “I’m not done with you yet! Just because you didn’t rat on us doesn’t mean you’re not still partly at fault here,” she continued her assault, undaunted by such minor nuisances like facts. “You still knew about us. When her father discovered us, did he ask you to corroborate?”

“Naturally. He was quite upset with my performance as well; he felt I was negligent in my duties.”

“Did you tell him about us when you were asked?” Indigo asked.

“He is still my employer.”

A deflection, but once again what wasn’t being said made it just as damning. That only dumped more gasoline on the fire and infuriated Indigo further. “You son of a bitch!” she shouted. “You were supposed to look after her, not turn her in! She trusted you!”

“Indigo, please,” Cadance spoke up in an effort to calm her down. “I know you’re upset, but he’s no more in control than any of us.”

“Stop trying to feed me that idiotic platitude,” Indigo snapped in defiance. “I can’t believe you two. You’re the adults here; you’re supposed to be ones to protect people when they need it the most! You’ve both seen how she’s been since she got here—she was miserable! She was alone and hurt!” Her outrage was beginning to wear itself out, and soon the only thing Indigo could feel was a sense of crushing despair in her chest. She wanted to cry out, but she willed herself to keep her anger burning. She maintained her fiery glare, as if trying to will something to ignite at that very instant. “Sunset has spent her entire life being told where to go, what to do, and who to be. You might see a smart student, and you might see a dutiful daughter, but I’ve seen who Sunset Shimmer really is! I saw the girl who was dying to be free; the girl who just wanted to love and be loved.”

For once, both Cadance and Kibitz had trouble maintaining their normal air of calm professionalism. Were Indigo not trying so hard to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes, she might’ve noticed that the two of them were beginning to look a little guilty as her words struck home.

“Miss Zap, you must understand,” Kibitz began in another attempt to placate the irate teen, “Sunset Shimmer agreed to this; she willingly left Crystal Prep so that you wouldn’t be dragged into this.”

“I’m not the one who needs protecting, she is!” Indigo shot back. “And that should’ve come from you two, but you’re both too busy looking after your own hides to give a damn. Who in this entire goddamn equation is looking out for Sunset, hm?”

Indigo wasn’t expecting an actual answer, as the stunned expression on both Cadance and Kibitz was enough for her. She snorted in disgust as she exited the room, taking only a moment to glance back at them as she took hold of the door.

“You know, I had always been proud to be a student here. I thought being a part of Crystal Prep meant something; something great. But if looking after yourself is what this school really is all about then you can take your damn Crystal Heart and shove it! I’d rather have nothing to do with this place after I graduate!” She then promptly slammed the door behind her with enough force to rattle the glass. It may have been unnecessary, but did it ever feel cathartic.

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

Indigo could not survive on anger forever; her outrage was like a forest fire, burning without direction and consuming everything in its path with a remorseless fury. But at the end of the day, when everyone had returned home to prepare for the Grand Crystal Gala, Indigo was left with nothing but ash and ruin to keep her company. When that emptiness hit, when all emotions had been burnt to their last embers, she at least had the good fortune to be at home. The last thing she wanted was to break down in public.

She had spent the last few hours since returning home from school in her room, laying across her bed and staring aimlessly at the swirling ceiling fan above. At least, she presumed it had been a few hours; she had long since lost track of the time. She felt numb: no joy, no rage, no sorrow.

There was nothing but a soul-crushing void in her heart.

Her thoughts, naturally, drifted to that of Sunset Shimmer. Had her friend gone through the same stages of grief as her? Was she, perhaps, laying in bed in her own room, staring up at the ceiling just as Indigo was now? She worried about Sunset Shimmer, about her future. A person could only take so many blows before something broke, and given how she behaved when she first arrived at Crystal Prep, things were only going to be worse for Sunset going forward.

Indigo couldn’t remember the last time that someone’s absence left her so broken. Even after losing her father, she hadn’t been left this visibly shaken, though she was a child at the time and barely understood the gravity of the news. What she felt and what she saw in herself, however, did remind her of how her family reacted to the news years ago. She barely remembered her mother for days afterwards, and even when she returned, it was weeks before Indigo could say she truly saw the woman that raised her. But her mother’s reaction was understandable; losing your husband and the love of your life so early on was a crushing reality. The mere fact that her mother managed to still raise two young girls as successfully as she had was just a testament to her strength and something that Indigo would always be grateful for.

“Why does it have to hurt so much?” Indigo muttered to herself.

She had lost friends before; it wasn’t uncommon for kids to come in and out of her life as parents move about the country. She had lost friends that she’d known for longer than Sunset and didn’t lose a wink of sleep over any of it. Was it all simply because what she had with Sunset was something more than just mere friendship? She had called Sunset Shimmer her girlfriend, but that might’ve been more of a point of pride rather than what she genuinely felt. All she knew was that she’d give anything to see Sunset again.

“Indy? Are you in here?” her sister’s voice echoed from outside the bedroom. A moment later, the door creaked open and the elder sibling poked her head in. “You going to hide in here all night? I thought you had that big school dance to go to.”

“I’m not going; it doesn’t matter anymore.”

That statement alone set off more alarm bells in Lightning Dust’s mind than the time she was couple weeks late. As there was nobody else she could turn to, Lightning had no choice but to strap on the ‘big sister’ pants and offer what support she could. She wandered in and sat down on the bed next to her little sister.

“Come on Indy, this isn’t like you,” she said in a gentle, inviting tone. “You want to tell me what’s going on?” With a bit of extra prompting, she coaxed Indigo up into a sitting position, and then pulled her in close with an arm around the shoulder. A hand rested gently on the back of Indigo’s head, easing her in until she was resting it atop of the older sister’s shoulder. “It’s okay, sis, I’m here for you.”

In that moment, it felt like somebody had turned on a tap, as a tsunami of emotions suddenly overcame Indigo. She flung her arms around her sister as she burst into tears, burying her face into Lightning’s blouse. As she continued to bawl her eyes out, her big sister just held onto Indigo, gently rocking her back and forth. Words weren’t needed right now, and Lightning knew what her sister needed at that moment was just a shoulder to cry on.

After several minutes of non-stop sobbing, the waterworks began to finally dry up and a tried tranquility swept across the room. Lightning still refrained from saying anything just yet, waiting instead for her sister to make the first move.

“She’s gone,” Indigo whimpered to break the silence. “He took her away.”

“You mean Sunset Shimmer?” Lightning asked, to which her sister nodded.

“Her dad’s an asshole. He’s a stupid, fucking, bigoted asshole!”

“There, there, Indy,” Lightning sighed and gave her sister a comforting squeeze. “World’s full of assholes. The best you can hope for is to avoid them when you can, pick your battles, and just… keep marching on when things don’t go your way. On the bright side, doesn’t this mean you’re a shoe-in for the Crystal Heart Award?”

“I might’ve told the Dean to take her trophy and shove it.” Indigo then let out a quiet whimper, still too emotionally drained to offer up much else. Even without the sabotaging, no award was going to fill the emptiness she felt. “I don’t know what to do.”

“If you were one of my college buddies, I’d suggest drinking until you couldn’t feel your face, but that’s not an option,” Lightning said with a half-hearted chuckle. “But I could run down to the corner store and bring back several pints of ice cream. We’ll binge on frozen desserts and movies: how does that sound?”

As juvenile as it sounded, spending the evening with her sister did have its own appeal. Indigo pulled away and wiped the excess water from her eyes before managing a feeble nod. “Y-yeah, that’d be nice,” she murmured back. “Thanks, Lightning.”

“All part of the big sister job,” Lightning replied as she rustled her sibling’s hair. “It was only a matter of time before I had to help nurse a broken heart.” Seeing her sister smile was a huge relief for Lightning Dust; it gave her hope that everything would be all right in the end. “Why don’t you go find something for us to watch, and I’ll get the snacks.”

Lightning leaned over and gave her sister one last small comfort—a quick peck on the forehead—before getting up and heading off to fetch the aforementioned ice cream. Once her sister was gone, Indigo pulled out her phone and began searching for something the two of them could spend the evening watching. It might not be the kind of night she wanted, but it gave her a small glimmer of hope. She soon became so engrossed in her task, that she didn’t even notice the doorbell ringing. It wasn’t until there was another knocking at her door that Indigo lifted her still puffy, tear-stained eyes.

It was Lightning Dust once again poking her head into the room. “Hey Indy, there’s something you might want to see.”

“I’m honestly not sure how many more surprises I can take for one day,” Indigo sighed as she set her phone down.

She got up from her bed, expecting another rainstorm of bad news to shower what had already been an emotionally draining day. What she got instead was a burst of sunlight that broke apart the clouds as Sunset Shimmer strode into the room, closing the door behind her.

“Uh, h-hey Indigo. I’m not too late, am I?” Sunset said with a nervous, sheepish grin. She was, of course, referring to the big school dance, as she was already dressed in a lavish ball gown. It flowed down her figure like cascading water, shimmering and splendid. It was an array of green hues, complementing her cyan eyes, becoming more vibrant and intense as one’s eyes trailed down the dress.

“Sunset! Y-you’re here?” Indigo muttered in disbelief, taking one shaky step after another until she was within arm’s reach of her friend. “But… but how? I thought you were—”

“I thought so too, but then suddenly Kibitz barged into my room and told me to get dressed and ready to go,” Sunset interrupted. “Apparently a certain someone said a few things that made him rethink his priorities.”

“I… wait, really?” Indigo was still having trouble coming to grips with how this was happening. She recalled just venting her anger at Kibitz and Cadance; she hadn’t expected anything she said to actually make a difference. “What about your dad?”

“To hell with what he thinks,” Sunset waved off the concerns. “It’s not like he can punish me more than he already has.”

Overcome with relief, Indigo hugged the other girl in a tight embrace, burying her face into the crook of the other teen’s neck. “I thought I’d never get to see you again,” she whimpered.

Sunset tightened her own embrace, letting her warmth provide a soothing reassurance to the troubled teen. “I’m so sorry to have put you through that,” she replied. “Everything just happened so quickly. When he saw all the photos, my father just… exploded. He took away my phone, my computer, and pretty much imprisoned me in my own home. I had no way to reach you.”

As Indigo pulled back, she found herself trying to fight back a new tide of tears, but this time there was no sorrow in her heart. She smiled, feeling no shame in letting them streak down her face.

“So what happens now? What happens to us?” Indigo asked.

Sunset offered her a comforting smile, taking Indigo’s hands and giving an affectionate squeeze. “Let’s not worry about that right now, okay?” she asked hopefully. “I want this night to be special, so let’s just focus on that.”

It was hard to miss the tint of woe behind Sunset’s words. The smile was reassuring, but forced; the kind of smile somebody gives after your world’s been turned upside-down and they insist that ‘it’ll be okay.’ It was the kind of look that Indigo was far too familiar with. However, if this was going to be the last night she got to share with Sunset, then she was going to make it the best night ever.

“Then we'll make this a night to remember,” Indigo nodded in agreement. She took a moment just to admire the wonderful girl before her, taking in every detail of the elegant, strapless dress she wore. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Sunset replied, blushing ever so slightly. “I’m sure you’ll look great too.”

That’s when Indigo Zap realized a slight problem with their new plans. “Oh, shit! I have to get ready for the gala!” she exclaimed. “When does it start?”

“In about an hour, I think. We can be fashionably late, of course.”

“Holy fuckberries, I’ve got an hour to get ready? Out of my way, I gotta fix my hair!”

As Indigo bolted past her friend, motivated by a passion strong enough to throw the sun out of orbit, Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She raced to the nearest reflective surface, beginning to take a damage assessment of what state her negligence had left her in.

“Hrmm, no time to do anything fancy,” Indigo said, running a hand through her hair. “A good brushing should fix it enough to be presentable. Nobody’s expecting me to go all out anyways.”

As Indigo tended to personal grooming, an idle Sunset decided to wander over to the closet to take a peek at what would be joining her that evening. After quickly sifting through the contents, which contained quite a few sporting outfits and extra sets of the school uniform, she found what she was looking for. For the gala, Indigo had chosen a knee-length slip dress consisting of dark, vibrant shades of blue, giving it an almost nightsky-like appearance. It was silky and delicate to the touch, and Sunset smirked when she noticed there was no back to the dress, with the shoulder straps linking instead behind the neck. Her imagination soon set to work picturing her beloved Indigo in such a gown, simple but seductive.

“Indigo, this dress looks absolutely gorgeous,” Sunset said.

“Oh? Thanks,” Indigo replied, still focused on combing her hair. “I’m probably going to look pretty plain next to you.”

“Nonsense. You’re going to look stunning,” Sunset reassured her.

She laid the dress down on the bed, and then strolled over to join Indigo by the mirror. The other teen had begun multitasking, undressing with one hand whilst combing with the other. It made for a clumsy affair, but in her mind it was more efficient this way. Again, Sunset just giggled as she watched the spectacle unfold, waiting until Indigo had stripped down to her underwear before sneaking up and embracing her from behind.

“Of course, you look just as stunning like this,” the crimson-haired vixen mused. She wrapped her arms around Indigo’s bare midriff, drinking in her warmth and beauty.

Indigo blushed from ear to ear, smiling as she paused to enjoy the tender moment together. “Shouldn’t this be for after the dance?” she chuckled.

“And how could I possibly ignore such a lovely body when it’s presented to me?” Sunset said with a playful giggle. Her hands traced up Indigo’s smooth, firm midriff, cupping over her breasts and giving them a loving squeeze. “Of course, if you want to make this a really fun night, I do have an idea.”

Slowly turning more and more red as the other girl’s hands tantalized her senses, even through the bra, Indigo couldn’t deny that her curiosity was piqued, as was her arousal. And Sunset had that mischievous grin across her face once more, the kind she had back in the bathroom tryst or when she covered herself in sushi. But while it sent a shiver of excitement through her just thinking of what it could be, did she really want to risk something at the gala?

Since Indigo’s answer was taking too long, Sunset clutched tighter, making the girl loose a quiet moan. “Would you like to hear it?”

“Y-yes,” she murmured without even thinking.

“Trust me, you’ll love it. I’ll be right back.” Sunset leaned forward and gave Indigo a small kiss on the cheek before she scampered off to parts unknown.

Indigo waited patiently, trying to keep her anticipation in check until, a minute later, her lover returned with a spring in her step. She took her former position once again behind Indigo, holding aloft a device in her hand for Indigo to see. It was quite small, consisting of a small egg-shaped pill with a long wire that connected it to an equally tiny, plastic box, whose only notable feature was that it was fitted with a velcro strap.

“What is that?” Indigo inquired.

“Just a little toy,” Sunset explained. She then held out her other hand, revealing another small device that consisted of a switch and a dial. Flicking the switch to the on position, the tiny egg began to hum as it vibrated in her palm. “The remote here controls the egg, letting someone turn it on at will, as well as adjust the intensity.”

Demonstrating the second part, she thumbed the dial, making the egg buzz at a higher pitch.

“And… and what exactly did you have in mind?” Indigo asked, though she had a reasonable idea of what her date had in mind.

“I want you to wear it tonight, obviously,” Sunset explained. She gently pressed the buzzing egg against Indigo’s slit, letting her get a feel for what was in store. Even through the panties, the vibrations make her gasp and shiver in delight. “Because, when this night is over, I want you so dripping wet that I can wring the juices from your panties.”

“B-but… at the gala? In front of everybody?” Indigo said, her voice shaky as the pleasure nibbled away at her resolve.

“That’s right,” Sunset said in a sultry whisper. “Surrounded by all your friends and classmates, fighting every second not to let even the slightest moan escape. Come on, you know just the very thought of that turns you on.” Just to emphasize the point, she turned the dial to its highest setting, and the buzzing soon had the girl quivering on the spot. “With me no longer a student, you’ll be sure to win the Crystal Heart Award, and that means you’re going to have to go on stage in front of everybody. Each second will be a tortuous ecstasy, you’ll be burning with desire and screaming to cum… but you’ll have to keep it all in.”

She then chuckled again, a sinister and playful laugh, before flicking the vibrator off.

“Unless you don’t think you’ve got what it takes to last the whole night,” Sunset added before stepping away. She held the toy out, waiting to see if Indigo would step up to the challenge. “I’ll make it worth your while if you do.”

Indigo Zap stared at the vibrator, then back to Sunset for a moment. Her mind was a swirling cauldron of lust and arousal at that moment, which made her thoughts about as clear as crystal after it’s been smashed by a hammer and dropped into a vat of boiling oil. It was an absolutely crazy idea; an idea that meant taking a huge risk of ruining her name and reputation in front of the whole school for the sole benefit of making her girlfriend happy.

“Sure, sounds like fun.”