Amethyst Star couldn’t be happier. Everything was going precisely according to plan.
She leaned back against the base of the recently restored Wondercolts Statue and pressed her precious wedding planning binder to her chest with a contented sigh. The shadow of the rearing horse stretched all the way to the front doors of Canterlot High. Above her, the setting sun was slowly sweeping away the day in brush strokes of red and gold. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, and the forecasts called for sunny skies all the way up to the wedding!
She let out a little squeal, leapt away from the statue, and jumped up and down with glee. Even if her friends had been there, she wouldn’t have cared. This was it! The moment she’d been working for! She’d spent the last month stressing and freaking out more than the bride had to make sure everything was just so. And in three days, Cranky and Matilda would finally be getting married!
She’d done it!
“No! Professionalism!” Amethyst forced herself to calm down. “Need to stay professional! This is just the beginning. Gotta see it through to the end!”
She still didn’t stop bouncing for another minute or so.
She leaned against the statue again, though her heart was still pounding. Slowly, carefully, she opened her binder. It was several pounds of notes, scraps, comments, documents, waivers and a half-dozen other things. It was her pride and joy. Her ticket to her future career. Managing to keep the squees to a minimum, she flipped to the page with the diagram of the Canterlot High School courtyard.
Let’s see… we’ve got the new hedges lining the walk between the roundabout and the statue where the bride and groom will take their vows. Already checked the lighting on those: blue and white, just like the rest of Matilda’s theme.
Amethyst clicked her favorite pen open and checked off the box, adding a little flourish at the end.
Tents are already in place for the guests to keep the sun off of them… chairs are scheduled to be set up tomorrow evening. Poles all up for the paper lanterns…
Most of the day’s work had been spent preparing the gym to hold the reception. Part of Amethyst thought it was silly the two were having their wedding here, but since this is where Matilda found Cranky after like… twenty years… it had more than enough sentimental value to work.
Anyway, it wasn’t her place to criticize their decision. Her job as their wedding planner was to make their dreams come true!
Another squeal escaped from the girl. “And I’m going to do it!”
She let out another enormous sigh, slapped her binder closed and slumped against the cool stone. She didn’t have anything to worry about. Everything had been accounted for. As long as Sunset Shimmer and those crazy girls didn’t have to battle some unholy force of dark magic in front of the school—again—everything should be just fine.
Besides, it was Spring Break. What sort of crazy things could possibly—
The ground shivered beneath her feet. Amethyst froze.
“No,” she whispered. “I didn’t actually finish the thought! It doesn’t count!”
The tremors didn’t seem to care. In fact, they increased. The air buzzed with energy. Something familiar… something she’d felt before back during…
“Oh, come on!” Amethyst shouted to the universe. “Give me a break!”
An odd noise came from directly behind her. She staggered away from the statue, clutching her binder. The stone of the statue’s base was twisting, writhing… and suddenly there was a brilliant white flash. The last thing she saw before the flash blinded her was a shadow flying out of the stone.
“No!” Amethyst shrieked. “No magical shenanigans!”
She swung her heavy binder at the thing blindly, and felt it connect with something soft.
The shadow let out a grunt of pain. A few seconds later, she heard a thump and a muttered “Owww…”
Amethyst heart raced as she backpedaled, desperately trying to clear her vision.
It took far too long, but when the stars began to fade, the statue looked exactly as it had been before.
With only one difference.
Slumped against it was a groaning girl with breathtaking red and gold hair.
Sunset Shimmer swayed back and forth a little, her teal eyes not quite focusing on the stunned Amethyst.
“What the buck?” she managed to ask.
Next second her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fell over.
“This wasn’t on the list!” Amethyst squeaked.
Amethyst stared at the unconscious body of Sunset Shimmer, currently nestled deep with Amethyst’s own four-poster bed.
I knocked out Sunset Shimmer.
Amethyst’s stomach was filled with ice. I knocked out Sunset Shimmer! Someone who’s saved the world! I knocked out one of seven girls who can use freakin’ magic! I knocked out a girl who’s some hotshot magical talking unicorn from another dimension!
Amethyst forced herself to stop. Well, that last one depends how trustworthy Flash is when he’s drunk.
But still! I knocked out the Sunset Shimmer! The most gorgeous girl at Canterlot High!
The most gorgeous girl, Amethyst thought, sagging against her dresser, is in my bed. I put the most gorgeous girl at CHS in my bed.
She bopped herself with her binder.
Why would I do that?
She took a deep breath, and tried to center herself. She’s only in my bed because I needed to be sure she was okay. She’s only in my bed because I needed to be sure she was okay. She’s only in my bed—
“Ugh… where am I?”
Amethyst let out a squeak of surprise and jumped back into one of her coat racks. Even as coats tumbled on top of her, she managed to keep a tight grip on her binder.
“Hello?” Sunset’s normally relaxed tone had a wary edge to it.
She let go of her binder—reluctantly—and managed to excavate herself from the pile of clothing. She ignored the pang from her back from hauling Sunset up the stairs.
Sunset sat up in bed, rubbing her head and looking thoroughly confused. She was dressed her usual teal blouse and skirt with the jeans that were far too form-fitting to be even remotely respectable. Plus the boots.
I wish I could pull off boots like that.
“Uh… sorry… but, where am I?” Sunset said, wincing as she touched the bruise Amethyst had left on her jaw.
“My bedroom,” Amethyst answered honestly after a brief hesitation.
Sunset stared at her.
Amethyst stared back.
“Wow…” Sunset rubbed her temples. “I’m going to strangle Pinkie. I told her that many shots were a bad idea, especially right before going back through the portal. Still… it’s been a while since I’ve just woken up in someone else’s bed with no memory of what happened.”
Amethyst’s cheeks felt like she might be able to light tea candles with them. She tried to respond, but only tiny little squeaks emerged.
This is the girl who turned into an angel during that mess with Crystal Prep!
And. She’s. In. My. Bed.
I. Put. Her. In. My. Bed.
Amethyst opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Some part of her mind threw up her hands and stormed off.
“Listen, I’m not saying you’re not cute or anything…” Sunset smirked, though she was still having trouble focusing. “But when I end up in someone else’s bed, I like to know how. And with who.”
“I’m… I’m Amethyst Star,” she squeaked.
Sunset took a moment to process that information. “Oh right! The organizer! You’re always doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff for fundraisers and dances, right?”
“You know me?” Amethyst gaped at her.
“Well…” Sunset flushed. “I remember you organized a lot of community service events. And… I may have helped at a lot of them. You know… after past misdeeds?”
“Oh.” A few unpleasant memories surfaced, but the pain in Sunset’s teal eyes burned through them all. “That’s okay! You’ve totally changed now and everything, right?”
“I’d like to think so,” Sunset shrugged. “Now… would you mind telling me if I was at least any goo—”
“Nothing happened!” Amethyst stood up so suddenly several coats soared across the room… including one directly at Sunset’s face.
“Sorry,” Amethyst winced, but Sunset was already laughing from behind Amethyst’s debate club jacket.
“Wow. I didn’t realize I was that bad—”
“No! I mean— you’re not— we didn’t do—nothing happened! I would never take advantage of someone like that!”
“Oh?” Sunset pouted a little. “You weren’t just a little tempted?”
Something inside of Amethyst’s head went ‘boing.’
Sunset burst into laughter so hard she doubled over, clutching her sides. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just kidding. Jeez! Loosen up, Amy. And for the record, no, I’ve never ended up in a drunken one-night stand.” Sunset shook her head, wiping away a tear from the laughter. “Look, would you mind telling me why I feel like I was just decked by a minotaur, at least? Last thing I remember was seeing the word ’Cranky’ come right for my face.”
Amethyst winced and used her foot to shove her wedding binder away.
“I… um… I may have accidentally knocked you out with my wedding binder when you… appeared.”
“Really.” Sunset snorted. “You took me down with a wedding binder?”
Sunset’s eyes dropped to Amethyst’s foot. The binder hadn’t gone far.
“Wow.” Sunset sounded impressed. “Okay, that’s more like getting backhanded by the omnibus edition of ‘Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy.’ Damn, girl.”
“I didn’t mean to!” Amethyst cried as she approached the bed cautiously. “I swear! I just… I just panicked! I didn’t know you were using your freaky magic powers to walk out of freaking statues!”
“Look, it’s fine.” Sunset snickered and rubbed her jaw again. “It’s not the worst hit I’ve taken. Though I’m guessing you brought me here instead of taking me to a hospital because…”
Amethyst hesitated for a second before blurting it all out in two enormous breaths. “At Flash’s birthday party after Camp Everfree, he told me that you and that other Twilight were actually magical ponies from another dimension. Okay, yeah, he was three sheets to the wind at the time.” She took another giant lungful of air. “But if he was actually right—and considering all the freaky magic stuff that’s happened in the last year or so, I think he might be—I didn’t think it was a good idea to take a transformed magical unicorn to a public hospital.”
“Well, then.” Sunset paused to consider her. “That was a pretty good call. Thanks. Owe you one.”
“You mean… he was telling the truth?”
“Pretty much.” Sunset shrugged. “I thought everyone knew by now. No big deal.”
“No big deal?” Amethyst cried. “But… but…”
“Look, I appreciate you tucking me in all nice and snug after laying me out, but I should probably be heading back home. You probably don’t want to explain to your parents why a strange girl is lying in your bed.”
“They’re out of town for the week.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
“That… doesn’t mean… um…”
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re cute when you’re flustered?” Sunset snickered again as Amethyst felt her entire face light up like the sun. “Anyway, thanks for the assist, but I should get out of your hair.”
With a yawn, Sunset swung her legs out over the bed and tried to stand. This proved to be a mistake. Sunset went crosseyed and swayed precariously. Amethyst jumped forward to catch her, but Sunset was a bit bigger than her. After about three seconds of wobbling, they tumbled back onto the bed.
With Sunset on top. About three inches away from Amethyst’s face. Plus there was the whole bodies mashing together thing.
Something else in Amethyst’s brain went ‘boing.’ Once again, she found herself completely unable to speak and blushing furiously.
“You know, I don’t usually mind when cute girls throw themselves at me,” Sunset said from just a few inches away. She smelled like cinnamon and roses. “Though I prefer some warning if they’re going to do it literally.”
Sunset smirked a little more and rolled off of Amethyst. It took a full minute before Amethyst’s brain rebooted and she was able to scramble to her feet. Sunset sat on the side of the bed, head held in her hands and generally looking pretty miserable.
I can’t believe I gave freaking Sunset Shimmer a concussion!
“I’m sorry…” Amethyst mumbled. “I didn’t mean to actually hurt you…”
“Hey,” Sunset smiled wanly, but didn’t meet Amethyst’s eyes. “Like I said… I’ve been hit by worse. Come to think of it, I meant to ask Principal Celestia for hazard pay after the Friendship Games. Then again, she’d probably just take it all back to make up for the Fall Formal repairs.” A shadow passed over her face for a moment, then it was gone, replaced once again by that smirk. “And I think everything turned out pretty well after that. You know, the whole ‘redemption arc’ thing.”
Amethyst settled down next to the other girl and glanced around her bedroom, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious. But thankfully, her room looked like it always did: ordered. Everything on her dressers and nightstands were in their places. The mirror above the vanity was clean, save for three sticky notes lined up perfectly. She’d even dusted last night. In fact, the only things out of place were the coats and Sunset’s jacket hanging from a hook on the back of the door.
“Where were you?” Amethyst blurted out. “What happened? Why did you come through a statue?”
“Oh.” Sunset waved a hand dismissively. “That thing is just the dimensional portal between here and Equestria. As for what I was doing over there... Well, while I may have redeemed myself over here, there’s still a lot of mistakes I’m trying to fix back home. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”
Amethyst nodded weakly.
This girl treats jumping through dimensions like she’s popping down to Sugarcube Corner. She sighed and her eyes wandered to the girl beside her, unable to help herself from admiring the streaks in her hair. Maybe Rarity was right at the Spring Fling committee last week. Everyone actually is just a little in love with Sunset Shimmer. Well, she said it a little differently, but that’s because she’s Rarity.
Her brain replayed those thoughts once again before ejecting them as fast as possible. No! I am not getting wrapped up in Sunset Shimmer and all the craziness that happens around her! She can’t go more than a month without something insane happening!
But… Amethyst was still responsible for giving her a concussion. She had to make up for that.
“Don’t you ride a motorcycle?” Amethyst asked.
“Yup,” Sunset nodded and winced.
“And I apparently gave you a concussion.”
“Yup.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to ride that motorcycle tonight.”
“Yup.”
“Are you going to just keep giving me one word answers to everything?”
“Nope.”
Amethyst glared at Sunset, who snickered yet again. Her eyes glinted in the bedroom’s lights and her expression grew into something… a little different. As if Sunset was vaguely curious.
“Look, if you’re still feeling bad, all you need to do is just drive me home. Then we’re even.”
“What?” Amethyst stared at her. “Sunset, I gave you a concussion! That can have a serious impact on your health! For all we know, this could be with you the rest of your life!”
Sunset’s eyebrow crept up her forehead with a speed that would have impressed Applejack.
“You do know I survived getting shot in the face with a magical rainbow laser comprised of happiness, friendship and harmony, right? After being turned into a raging she-demon bent on interplanetary conquest?”
Amethyst raised a finger. Okay, she kinda has a point. But still!
“Doesn’t matter! I need to make it up to you!”
“And how exactly do you intend to do that?” Sunset asked.
Amethyst closed her eyes, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to handle saying this looking Sunset in the eye. “Stay here tonight. If you’re still having trouble after a day, you need to see someone, even if that means going back through that interdimensional whatsit for medical care.”
“You want me. To stay here. Tonight.”
Amethyst was positive Sunset was grinning. The emphasis in her words simply rejected all other options. Yet some horrible part of herself still opened her eyes to look.
Sunset wasn’t grinning. She looked… surprised more than anything. And that strange curious expression was mixed in there too.
“I don’t want you to move more than necessary,” Amethyst continued. “You can stay here in my bed and I’ll take the guest bedroom. I even have an attached bathroom!”
“You’re serious about this?”
“Yes!” Amethyst cried. “I knocked out the greatest heroine of our school! If I don’t fix this… I’ll… I’ll…”
“Okay!” Sunset held up her hands. “You win! I’ll stay the night.”
“And tomorrow! It’s Spring Break!”
“Fine,” Sunset groaned. “On one condition.”
“Yes?”
“I haven’t eaten yet on this planet.” Sunset’s stomach growled. “Help a girl out?”
Amethyst sighed. “Yes. I’m pretty sure I can do something about that.”
“Vegetarian okay?”
Amethyst stared at her. “The great heroine of CHS and the former terror of said school is a vegetarian?”
“Well…” Sunset smirked that damn smirk again. “She also happens to be a magical talking unicorn from another dimension.”
“Right. Vegetarian it is.”
Spot did his best to get in the way, as he usually did when Amethyst was cooking.
“You never can take a hint, can you, boy?”
Spot let out a little bark. He’d been annoyed at not getting his favorite position on her bed last night, but after some patient explaining—and an excessive amount of belly-rubbing bribes—he’d accepted a place with Amethyst on the guest bed.
Amethyst stifled a yawn before flipping the pancakes over. Not sleeping in her own bed wasn’t the only thing that had kept her from a solid night’s sleep. She kept having bizarre dreams most of the night. Half of them had been the crazy events that followed Sunset and her friends. The other half were even more surreal.
That half had involved Amethyst actually joining Sunset and the others. A fistbump from Rainbow Dash after Amethyst had used her magic diamond fist—whatever that was—to deck some ugly chimera thing. Rarity had discussed possible gemstone accents they could use for the Spring Fling. Applejack had tossed her an apple after defeating the Sirens… again. Twilight Sparkle had levitated Amethyst out of a sandtrap caused by some Aztec monster. Fluttershy had called a flock of giant eagles to save them from a centaur. And Pinkie… had asked for help opening a peanut butter jar while everyone else stayed well clear.
Sunset had just been there the entire time, smirking with that same confident smirk as if she knew things no one should ever know. Even then, somehow, Amethyst hadn’t been afraid of the smirk. If anything, it made her feel confident. Like she could do anything.
Still… she’d never dreamed about anything like that before. Her dreams were usually about weddings. Dresses. Flower arrangements. Seating charts. Measurements and designs. Occasionally helping Fluttershy at the animal shelter. Once in a while, Rarity—or Pinkie—might pop up, since they always did so much work for the school events.
Jeez, maybe I’m already caught up in Sunset’s crazy life and just don’t know it.
Amethyst blinked and brought herself back to reality just in time to save the current batch of pancakes from becoming charred disks. Spot whined a little and unleashed the full force of his puppy dog eyes upon her. Amethyst had built up an immunity over the years… but it wasn’t perfect.
Spot thoroughly enjoyed his extorted pancake and trotted after Amethyst as she put everything on a tray and headed upstairs. It was a strange thing to knock on her own door, but she didn’t want to catch Sunset unaware or in any sort of inappropriate situation… again.
“Come on in.” Sunset’s muffled voice said from inside. She turned the knob and Spot wiggled in before Amethyst could react. With a cheerful bark, he leapt up onto the bed, where Sunset had been typing on her phone next to the overnight bag Amethyst had picked up from Sunset’s apartment last night after dinner.
You know, I never did get an answer on how exactly she has an apartment to herself.
The red and gold haired girl put the phone down and beamed at the puppy, scratching him behind his little torn ear.
“And who’s this little guy?” Sunset asked with a smile. “Didn’t get to meet you last night.”
“That’s Spot,” Amethyst said as she settled the tray down and divvied up the pancakes. “He usually likes to stay in the backyard when I’m not home. I forgot to let him in before you went to sleep.”
“Well, he’s adorable,” Sunset said as Spot fawned as only Spot could. Amethyst giggled slightly and Sunset glanced up at her. “What?”
“Just seeing the great heroine of CHS scratching a puppy under his chin…”
“What? You’ve never heard of the heroine’s faithful companion?” Sunset demanded in a dark and imperious voice.
The effect was somewhat ruined by Spot leaping into Sunset’s lap and settling down as if he never intended to leave.
Amethyst burst out laughing while Sunset glared down at the dog, a glare that convinced absolutely no one.
“Here, made you some pancakes,” Amethyst put a tray in front of Sunset. It had the usual condiments like syrups, butter and honey, plus the requisite glass of orange juice.
Amethyst sat down at her desk and took a sip of her orange juice, pausing halfway through to see Sunset staring at her again with that same little curious smirk.
“What?”
“Nothing!” Sunset sing-songed. “Nothing at all.”
It was Amethyst’s turn to raise an eyebrow. Sunset just laughed and dug into her breakfast. After the first bite, she looked back at Amethyst, who was already a quarter through hers.
“These are good,” Sunset said. “Almost as good as Pinkie’s.”
Amethyst blushed. “It’s just my mother’s recipe. I’m good at following directions.”
After another pancake, Sunset commented, “From what I understand, you’re even better at giving them.”
“I don’t know about that,” Amethyst shrugged. “I’m just good at planning stuff. Pinkie handles all the big parties and dances, but someone has to deal with the fundraisers, charity events and all the other things.”
“And that’s you?”
“I guess,” Amethyst shrugged again. “I’ve always done that. It’s not a big deal. I’m not in it for the spotlight. Anyway, you’ve been to my events before. I’ve seen you at the animal shelter with Fluttershy for the Adopt-A-Friend Days.”
Sunset tapped her fork on her chin. “That was you?”
Amethyst grinned. “What, you think Fluttershy is the type to organize a city-wide pet adoption campaign?”
Sunset finished off the last of her pancakes with a twist of her fork and smiled. “You’re probably right. But I’ll bet it was her idea.”
“Of course it was her idea!” Amethyst laughed. “I’m just glad to help her out.”
“Huh…” Sunset eyed her over her glass of orange juice. “So, how does planning weddings fit into all this?”
Amethyst flushed as she looked around for the binder. To her shock, it wasn’t on the floor anymore. It was on the nightstand.
“You… looked inside?”
“Well, you did bash me over the head with it. Seemed only fair.”
“Good point.”
“So, spill.”
“My parents broke up when I was five,” Amethyst didn’t meet Sunset’s eyes. “I didn’t take it very well. Eventually, they managed to work things out and got back together. They even wanted to get remarried. I figured out I was sick of ignoring them, so, I helped plan the wedding. The whole thing went really well. So well that… I don’t know. I just knew it was what I wanted to do.”
“So, you’re big into the whole love and romance thing, huh?” Sunset’s grin was back in full force.
“N-No!” Amethyst sputtered, pulling her headband off and playing with the little gemstones embedded in them. “Well… I guess? I guess it’s like… Okay fine, yes!”
Amethyst glared at Sunset, who cracked up laughing so hard Spot started barking. Sunset winced, holding her hands over her ears. Spot took the hint and quieted down instantly.
“Your head?” Amethyst asked, a twist in her gut at Sunset’s pained expression.
“Yeah,” Sunset muttered. “I… I wasn’t going to tell you, but I borrowed some painkillers from your bathroom. The sun was really bright this morning.”
“You should see someone,” Amethyst put her tray down and stood.
“Come on!” Sunset whined. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions! I’m not eager to go back through the portal if my head is killing me!”
“Oh,” Amethyst froze. “Well… do you want me to call one of your friends to come get you? I realized last night that asking you stay…”
“Naw. No point.” Sunset shook her head with a little sigh. “Anyway, you’ve got a comfy bed. I like it.”
Amethyst’s eyes narrowed. “No point?’”
“Hey, who’s the injured one here?” Sunset protested. “Just because I’m your prisoner doesn’t mean you can just demand answers!”
“Well, if you’re my prisoner, that means I make the rules!” Amethyst declared, put a foot up on her chair in her own version of ‘imperious.’
Sunset fell over laughing. Spot proceeded to lick her face until she got up again.
“Come on, you seven are like… inseparable. Why didn’t you call one of them last night?”
Sunset’s laugh faded and Amethyst saw something beneath the jokes and the smirk. Something she hadn’t expected. Then the words just spilled out.
“AJ and Dash went camping and won’t be back until the wedding. Rarity and Twi decided to do a beach getaway for their Spring Break. And Pinkie and Fluttershy went to the National Baking Finals in Baltimare. I wasn’t about to force myself on any of them, so I hopped through the portal to Equestria.”
“You mean… they’re…”
“Oh, come on,” Sunset scoffed. “Everyone in school knows about AJ and Dash.”
Amethyst grinned and shrugged. “Okay fine, yeah, everyone knows about those two. But Rarity and Twilight? Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy? They’re night and day!”
“Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy might be a little wishful thinking on the part of Rarity and me. But I think there’s something there, even if they don’t want to admit it. As for Rarity and Twi… well, that’s kinda complicated.”
“Well, you are my prisoner.”
To Amethyst’s surprise, Sunset didn’t fight it. But she also didn’t meet her eyes.
“Twi… may have had a crush on me,” Sunset said, looking awkward and fiddling with a strand of hair. “But… it was too weird for me with her looking just like Princess Twilight… who I may have had a thing for once upon a time. But she’s now going out with this bookworm named Moon Dancer—and yes, I know the irony of calling someone else a bookworm in relation to any Twilight Sparkle. So, after I turned down Twilight, Rarity ended up asking her for some help with her new business. Next thing I knew, they were a thing.”
“But that leaves you alone.” Amethyst winced, realizing how she must have sounded.
“Hey, you’re the one who said there were seven of us. Assuming we get paired up… someone’s going to get left out. And I don’t think any of us are really in the market for one of those more… ‘open’ relationships like Cloud Kicker.”
Amethyst shivered. “Yeah, the less said about that girl, the better.”
“The three of them seem happy, at least,” Sunset muttered. “Anyway, to make a long story short, they’re all out of town. I… um, didn’t actually plan on coming back here until tomorrow night, right before the wedding, but it got a little awkward over there.”
“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to pry.”
“Naw,” Sunset shrugged it off, but it didn’t fool Amethyst for a second. “I’m fine. Well, besides being pummeled half to death with a wedding binder last night.”
Amethyst rolled her eyes.
“Look, if you’ve got light sensitivity and sound sensitivity…” she shook her head. “That could be bad Sunset. You might have something serious.”
“You’re not going to let up on this, are you?”
“No!” Amethyst shouted. “I feel terrible as it is! If you’re seriously hurt, then… I don’t know, I can’t just leave you like this! I’m not just driving you to your house and abandoning you there. Who knows what might happen?”
“So, I guess I am your prisoner, huh?”
Amethyst stuck out her tongue at the red and gold haired girl. “Yeah. You are. So the big heroine gets to take it easy!”
“Fine!” Sunset groaned. “I’ll give it one more day. If I don’t feel better by the wedding, I’ll head back to Equestria and see what they can do. Deal?”
“Deal!” Amethyst nodded eagerly. “But speaking of the wedding…”
“What?” Sunset asked suspiciously.
“Well… I do have to get things finished up. I’ve still got a lot to do for Cranky and Matilda.”
“Wait a minute,” Sunset lifted a finger. “You’re worried about leaving me at my place alone, but you’re going to run off and do wedding prep? I’m only the best student in school—besides maybe Twilight—but you’ve lost me on your logic there.”
“Uh, don’t you have a cell phone?”
“Yes.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “I may be a magical unicorn, but I still can use basic technology. I’m not hopeless.”
“Then I check on you with texts. You live at the edge of town. I live less than fifteen minutes from the school. This way, if something does go wrong, I can be here quick.”
“Eh,” Sunset shrugged. “If I’m going to be getting this kind of food, I guess I’ll survive. But still, you’re just going to abandon me here to my cruel, lonely fate?” To her surprise, Sunset seemed genuinely disappointed underneath the drama she’d probably learned from Rarity.
“Yes, but I’m willing to throw you a bone.”
Sunset perked up. “And what’s that?”
“Spot will keep you company.”
Sunset glared at her.
“That wasn’t even remotely funny.”
“That was hysterical,” Amethyst informed her. “Utterly hysterical.”
“No, it really wasn’t,” Sunset shook her head. “Even Twilight does better puns than that.”
Amethyst’s eye twitched ever so slightly. “Okay, that’s just harsh.”
Sunset suddenly grinned and rubbed Spot’s belly. “What do you think?”
Spot yawned.
“Traitor,” Amethyst muttered.
A few hours later, Amethyst swung back by her house with a pair of two large hoagie sandwiches from Rising Yeast. It was a little tradition of hers whenever she got down to the wire for any big event to get lunch at his place. Yeah, it cost a little extra, but Yeast made the best sandwiches in the city, hands down. And because the final cake testing had gone perfectly—as if anything the Cakes made wouldn’t be amazing—she’d snagged a few carrot cupcakes from there. Assuming everything went well with the wedding—and Amethyst knew everything was going well, save for the whole ‘knocking out Sunset Shimmer thing’—she decided that getting carrot cupcakes would have to be added to the list of traditions.
Amethyst liked her traditions. They were another thing to check off. And there was nothing quite like the thrill of checking something off in her binder. It made her all warm and tingly in all the best ways.
When she came up into Sunset’s cell—also known as Amethyst’s bedroom—Sunset lounged in bed with Spot curled on her lap. To Amethyst’s surprise, Sunset had borrowed one of Amethyst’s gemstone-blue bathrobes, something she didn’t fit in very well since Sunset was a fair bit—ahem—bigger than her. Amethyst didn’t stare though. Because doing that would be stupid. After all, she’d never be interested in anyone like Sunset Shimmer… even if Amethyst swore she heard creaking stitching when she came into the room.
After spotting the hoagie and the carrot cupcake on a tray, Sunset gave her another one of those curious little smirks. Amethyst didn’t pry. For all she knew, those looks could be a result of the head trauma.
Instead, Amethyst directed the conversation to the gem that hung around Sunset’s neck. After Sunset recounted the events at Camp Everfree—Amethyst had been trapped inside one of the cabins with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna when all the big stuff had gone down—to Amethyst’s surprise, Sunset offered her the gem.
“Is it safe?” Amethyst asked, unwilling to pluck it from Sunset’s hand. “I mean… this is like some crazy magic gemstone thingy! Who knows what it’ll do if someone else touches it!”
“Well, I’m pretty sure you’re not about to turn into Gaia Everfree.” Sunset rolled her eyes. Spot barked in agreement.
Wow, you just totally sided with her, didn’t you, boy? Even dogs are all in love with Sunset Shimmer. Not fair.
Amethyst reluctantly picked it up and braced herself for whatever crazy shenanigans were about to begin. Then she continued to brace herself. A few moments later, the bracing intensified dramatically.
All the bracing happened to the sounds of Sunset enjoying her carrot cupcake.
Amethyst finally opened her eyes.
“Told you.”
For some odd reason, Amethyst was almost disappointed. She had no idea why.
Amethyst left Sunset and Spot alone while she finished her afternoon checklist. She felt vaguely annoyed at herself for allowing so much time to slip by during lunch, but she made up for it by speeding through most of the streets and narrowly avoiding getting pulled over twice.
I’m getting reckless. Sunset Shimmer is definitely a bad influence on me.
Still, the Flower Trio’s arrangements for the wedding were even better than they had been for the Winter Ball. Larkspur and easter lilies had been a stroke of genius on her part, another thing Matilda had raved about when she first saw the combination. They were the perfect compliment to the dresses of Matilda and the bridesmaids. In fact, Rose, Lily and Daisy had made Amethyst a little bouquet of larkspur and easter lilies with a single firebird dahlia in the center as a special thank you for giving them their first big wedding order.
She let out a little squeal upon leaving the florist, dancing around with her bouquet and probably looking like a total idiot the entire time. She didn’t care. Everything would be perfect for the rehearsal tomorrow and then came the wedding when Amethyst would finally see all of her hard work pay off!
Next came a quick stop to Rarity’s boutique, which was being managed by Coco Pommel while Rarity was away. The thrill upon checking off the dresses from her checklist made her almost giddy. The gowns for the bride, the maid of honor—Pinkie Pie, of all people—and the bridesmaids were all prepared and nigh perfect. Almost dizzy with glee, Amethyst pointed her car in the direction of home as the sun sat low on the horizon.
She almost forgot to pick up dinner, remembering only at the last moment that she needed to grab food for two. She felt in the mood to celebrate. It might be a little premature, but that was okay. She knew everything was going to be perfect. If anything, having Sunset Shimmer locked in her house was probably the safest thing for the wedding, since she seemed to be a magnet of magical mayhem.
On a whim, she dropped by Tuna Roll’s Sushi Shoppe. It was one of those hole-in-the-wall places you only learned about from a friend, but Amethyst swore it was the best sushi this side of anywhere. As usual, Tuna Roll’s grinning face greeted her. The one thing that threw her was the little sparkle in the old man’s eye when Amethyst ordered more than double her usual—making sure Sunset’s portion was vegetarian. But she was too happy to care about odd looks.
The sun had just hit the horizon when she turned onto her street. She found herself humming ‘Shine Like Rainbows’ as she pulled into her driveway. As she tried to juggle the bouquet and the sushi, she found herself idly wondering what those adorable pony ears the girls got felt like.
Amethyst laughed at herself, managed to juggle her keys into her hands and unlocked the door.
To her mild shock, Sunset was on the living room couch, Spot curled up on her lap. She turned off the television the moment Amethyst came in and beamed at her.
“What… what are you doing down here?” Amethyst sputtered. “You’re supposed to be resting upstairs!”
“Oh, you worry too much.” Sunset waved a hand dismissively as Spot’s good ear twitched. “Anyway, I only fell down the stairs twice.”
Amethyst froze and almost dropped the sushi.
Sunset managed to keep her deadpan expression for almost half a minute before bursting into laughter.
“You’re evil!” Amethyst groaned.
Without anything else on hand—aside from the sushi—she chucked the bouquet at Sunset’s head. The girl snatched it out of the air with a confidence that was supremely unfair. Sunset glanced at it and that smirk of hers froze, then it grew into that stupid, annoying curious version of a smile. Only this one had softer edges, combined with a hint of a blush.
“That’s a firebird dahlia,” Sunset whispered.
Amethyst knew Sunset was playing with her again, so she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, good job noticing, Captain Oblivious.”
“Don’t you mean ‘obvious?’”
“Eh, close enough.” Amethyst shrugged as she put the sushi onto the living room table. She headed into the kitchen, grabbed a vase for the flowers and some plates. After getting everything separated for the two of them, she plopped down next to Sunset, who was still staring at the flowers.
“Nice arrangement, huh? The Flower Trio do really good work. You should see what they have in store for us at the wedding!”
That seemed to snap Sunset out of her daze. She shook her head and let Amethyst pull the bouquet from her hands and put them in the vase on the coffee table. Spot woke up and greeted her properly.
“Guessing you’re feeling better?”
“Huh?” Sunset asked. Amethyst was a little worried. Sunset hadn’t been this out of it even after waking up. “Oh, yeah! Actually, headache’s mostly gone. Still kinda sensitive to light though.”
Amethyst groaned. “My big moment to shine and I beat up Sunset Shimmer two days before. Ugh. I’m never going to live this down.”
Sunset nodded solemnly. “You’re absolutely right. There’s no hope of anyone in this entire city forgiving you for something as massive as the horrible crime you’ve committed. Truly, you are a lost soul.”
Amethyst raised an eyebrow, but Sunset kept her deadpan expression almost as well as that odd sister of Pinkie Pie’s.
“Would it help if I mentioned you are going to be damned for all eternity?”
Amethyst tried. She really tried. But she broke first, much to Sunset’s delight.
Halfway through the sushi, Amethyst flipped on the television to a rerun of Mystery Science Theater 3000. To Amethyst’s horror, Sunset had never seen them before. She decided to fix this travesty and pull up the entire series.
A few hours later, Spot slept between the two of them. Sunset had fallen asleep on the other side of the couch and Amethyst didn’t have the heart to wake either of them.
You know, for a girl who’s saved the world and school a few times—plus the whole magical alien pony bit—she’s actually pretty normal.
That was the last coherent thought she had before she drifted off to sleep on the couch.
The next morning, Amethyst made homemade waffles in a bit of a hurry. She wanted to give Sunset breakfast before she had to scramble out the door.
Sunset had other plans. She kept protesting that the headaches were gone and the light sensitivity barely bothered her. Despite Amethyst’s objections, Sunset had decided her time of isolation was at an end.
“Amy, I’m going stir-crazy in here!” Sunset cried. “Don’t get me wrong, Spot’s a great conversationalist. Almost as good as Spike.”
Spot barked and leapt up onto Sunset’s lap.
“But if I don’t get out of here, I’m going to lose it worse than Pinkie Pie the last time she ran out of balloons.”
“But your head—”
“My head is fine… mostly.” Sunset rubbed her jaw a little. “But I’m not staying cooped up in here with nothing to do but watch—ugh—daytime television!”
“It just doesn’t feel right!” Amethyst snorted with a stomp of her foot. “I want to be sure you’re okay! This is all my fault!”
“It’s adorable just how worried you are about me.” That damn grin was back and Amethyst just barely managed to fight down the blush.
“Adorable or not, you made me a promise!” Amethyst retorted. “I take care of you until the wedding. And after that, if you’re still having issues, you go back to magical pony land and get magical healing done by your magical horse doctors of magic!”
“You forgot the part with the magic,” Sunset quipped. When Amethyst’s expression didn’t change, she sighed. “There’s no getting out of this, is there?”
“No, there is not!” Amethyst crossed her arms over her chest and put her nose up in the air. “My decision is final!”
“Wow, you’re really getting off on this authority thing, aren’t you? Next thing I know you’ll be waving around a bridle—”
“Sunset!” Amethyst almost shrieked. This time she did go scarlet, but she managed to keep her glare on the red and gold haired girl. Finally, Sunset groaned and put her head in her hands. Spot wiggled and tried to lick her face.
Finally, that’s settled.
“Okay!” Sunset suddenly shouted, making Amethyst jump. “New plan! Rehearsal’s tonight, right?”
“Um… yes?”
“Then take me with you!” Sunset said, her voice tinged with a note of desperation. “If you need to run around before the rehearsal, I’ll stay here, but tonight you take me there. You get to watch me and all your lovemaking plans all in one go. I’m sure a few of my friends will be there to keep me out of your hair.”
For some reason, an odd little bit of emotion popped up at those last words. But that was silly. And stupid. And… a lot of other things she wasn’t going to waste time thinking about!
Sunset studied her and that cocky smile reappeared, but Amethyst wasn’t about to let the girl distract her. Well, at least not again.
“You promise not to try and sneak off? Amethyst narrowed her eyes. “Or get your friends to smuggle you out?”
“And miss the free room and board?” Sunset laughed. “Plus, I happen to enjoy seeing how many times I can make you blush.”
Amethyst didn’t blush. Much.
“Seriously, I just need to get out for a bit.” Sunset tried to unleash something resembling puppy dog eyes upon Amethyst, but she’d seen much better from Spot. Still, there wasn’t much harm in taking Sunset.
Except for…
“On one condition!” Amethyst stabbed at her with a finger. “No crazy magical shenanigans!”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that I only had control over one of those incidents.”
“Promise!” Amethyst snapped.
“Amy, I really can’t—”
“Promise!”
“Fine, okay! Jeez!” Sunset rolled her eyes and lifted up a hand. “I promise to not intentionally attract any ‘magical shenanigans’ to the rehearsal or the wedding. Filly Scout’s Honor.”
“Filly Scout?” Amethyst cocked an eyebrow at her.
“You don’t break the Filly Scout’s code.” Sunset looked as serious as Vice Principal Luna at seven in the morning. “Bad things happen to ponies who do that.”
“If you say so…”
“Satisfied?”
“Not really,” Amethyst admitted. “But I suppose it’ll do.”
“See?” Sunset beamed at her. “I’m not an unreasonable girl!”
“No, but you are a bit of a pain.”
“I do try.”
Amethyst just groaned.
I’m probably going to regret this…
No matter her doubts on Sunset’s little promise, she still double-checked to make sure Sunset had everything. The whole time, the other girl just watched with that same annoying, curious grin. The only time it stopped was just before Amethyst left the house. As she turned back and told Sunset goodbye, the other girl’s eyes had drifted to the flowers before smiling at her in an oddly genuine way.
Despite her claims, I’m pretty sure there’s some brain damage there.
The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Every time she checked something off her list, her squeals got a little louder. Her schedule allowed two hours to hang out with Sunset during lunch—this time nothing more than a simple homemade egg flower soup—but then Amethyst was off again.
Amethyst always kept herself just at the edge of running herself ragged. Anyone else would have been panicking. But Amethyst had something no one else did: her binder. So she was completely prepared when five forty-five rolled around. She fired off a text to Sunset instructing her to be ready. Amethyst refused to be late for the dry run of the wedding and she was more than happy to leave Sunset at home if she wasn’t prepared.
’I’m 14 minutes out. Be ready.’
‘It’s a date ;)’
Amethyst laughed. Only Sunset Shimmer could be flirty with a few words. She really did get a kick out of this. Well, that was fine. She didn’t have any problem with Sunset having a little bit of fun, even at Amethyst’s expense. It was the least she could do. She’d even made a few adjustments in her checklist to account for it. Though that may have been just to give her something else to check off, namely ‘Get teased by Sunset.’
Amethyst left the car running in the driveway and walked up to the front door. With a jingle of her keys, she flung it open. “Okay, Sunset. I’m not waiting around—”
Amethyst hadn’t been ready for Sunset to be sitting there waiting for her. And she definitely wasn’t ready for what Sunset was wearing. The other girl had actually taken the time to dress up a little. Her jeans had been traded for black slacks, though she still wore her trademark teal and gold blouse. Her magical necklace thing hung around her neck and she’d swapped out her dark jacket for a black peacoat which was just a hair too tight on her.
Of course, she still wore her heeled boots.
Amethyst stared and realized Sunset had actually put on a little makeup too. Just a hint of blush, mascara and the faintest coat of lipstick, but these subtle touches made lights flicker in the back of Amethyst’s head.
“Wow,” Amethyst murmured. “I didn’t even know you had any of that in your bag.”
“Oh yeah.” Sunset shrugged. “I was originally going to head up to Manehattan for Spring Break before I changed my mind and went with Equestria. I didn’t really need the bag for Equestria, so I didn’t get a chance to unpack it.”
“Well… um…”
Sunset’s eyes sparkled. She struck a pose that would have made Rarity green with envy. “Like what you see?”
Still, the look on Sunset’s face—some weird impression of a duck—was enough to snap Amethyst out of her… thoughts. She laughed, shook her head and headed back out the door.
“Come on!” Amethyst called. “I’m not waiting for you!”
“As you wish,” Sunset replied as she closed the door behind her. She even did a bow.
Amethyst just shook her head again.
The drive to CHS didn’t take long. Half the parking lot was already full when they pulled in. Amethyst parked her car next to Cranky’s old beat-up station wagon and Matilda’s classic towncar. She shut off the engine and glanced at her passenger.
“Now, if you get dizzy or something, let me know.”
Sunset studied her magical gem thing with a strange intensity. “That’s odd.”
“What?” Amethyst felt goosebumps. “Don’t tell me that—”
“Oh, I’m just thinking that this doesn’t look like a collar with the name ‘Amethyst’s pet’ on it.”
Amethyst stared at her.
“Would a crack about ‘a short leash’ have been better?” Sunset asked, the very picture of innocence.
“You know, I still have that binder,” Amethyst pointed out, reaching behind her seat and pulling out said weapon of blunt force trauma.
Sunset laughed and held up her hands. “I’ll behave.”
Amethyst cocked an eyebrow.
“Mostly?”
“Well, at least I know now you’re being honest.” Amethyst smirked as she jumped out of the car.
Sunset followed suit and wobbled only a second before she steadied herself. She caught Amethyst’s look and rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“Sunset!” cried a distinctive voice from an oncoming pink comet. Amethyst’s smirk grew a bit as the blur returned to something approaching mere human speeds before crashing into Sunset Shimmer with the ferocity of a ball of cotton candy.
“Flutters and I totally missed you!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “You would have had so much fun in Baltimare with us!”
Sunset’s smile turned a bit coy as she saw Fluttershy approach. Amethyst didn’t miss the faint blush on the quiet girl’s cheeks. She was sure Sunset didn’t either.
“Oh, I’m sure you two had plenty of fun without me,” Sunset said in her most innocent tone.
Amethyst snorted a bit too loud. It was a bit too loud because it drew the attention of Pinkie. She blinked in surprise and then smiled broadly. “Hey Amy! Why you driving Sunset around? Did she get pulled over again? Did Shiny finally take away her wheels?”
Sunset winced and rubbed the back of her neck. “Hey, he threatened to do that only once.”
“Actually, there was a little mishap the other day,” Amethyst said as she locked the doors and stepped around the car, binder in hand. Fluttershy gave both Sunset and her a shy little wave before stopping at Pinkie’s side. “Sunset… err… well…”
“She freaked out and beaned me with her wedding binder. One step out of the portal then bam! Book to the face,” Sunset quipped. Said face showed no mercy.
Both Fluttershy and Pinkie gaped at Amethyst.
“Look, you’re all professional magical monster duelers or something!” Amethyst protested. “Some of us mere mortals who don’t get pony features every time they belt out a tune are still a little freaked out by all of it!”
“If it helps,” Fluttershy replied with a meek smile. “I don’t really enjoy it all that much.”
Amethyst smiled. “Thank you, Fluttershy. It’s nice to know one of you girls is still a little weirded out by this.”
“I think someone here has a serious case of pony-ear-envy,” Sunset said.
“What?” Amethyst cried. “That’s— That’s… that’s utterly absurd!”
“I think you might be on to something, Sunny!” Pinkie said as she blew a bubble from a pipe that Amethyst was sure wasn’t there a moment ago.
Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Listen, Pinkie, Fluttershy, mind keeping Sunset company for a bit? I need to make sure everything’s in place for the rehearsal itself.”
“Sure!” Pinkie cried. “We can tell her all about every single treat we got to try out!”
For the first time in her life, Amethyst got to use a Sunset Shimmer-esque smirk. And on Sunset Shimmer, no less. It felt delightful.
It didn’t take all that long to make her rounds. The bride and groom looked as happy as could be and most of the friends and family seemed to be having a good time. Big Mac had set up a small refreshment stand—free to all guests—and the attendees looked like they were enjoying themselves. In fact, within about fifteen minutes, she had all but three things checked off on her list.
“Okay,” Amethyst said to herself as she did a little skip. “Now, where’s the flower girl?”
It was supposed to be Honey Blossom, one of Cranky’s nieces. Amethyst had just seen Honey’s parents speak with Matilda before driving away, so she asked the bride-to-be what was going on.
“Oh there’s nothing to worry about, dear,” Matilda replied as she put a hand on Amethyst’s arm. “They’re just going to pick up little Honey’s brother from a friend’s house. They should be back in a few minutes. Honey’s playing with the other children in the atrium. Apple Bloom and her friends are looking after them.”
She thanked Matilda and headed for the front doors to the school, trying not to think about the wisdom of letting the Canterlot Motley Crew watch over a bunch of kids. Thankfully, when she stepped inside, the warm air of Canterlot High greeted her.
“Well, look who it is.”
Amethyst glanced to her right to see Sunset leaning against a wall, a playful smile on her lips.
“Did you manage to escape the dessert list?” Amethyst said, completely failing to keep the smugness out of her voice.
Sunset waved off the comment and gestured to the atrium, where Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and the CMC were playing with a dozen or so younger kids.
“Though for that little stunt, you’re buying me dessert on the way home. I’m hungry.”
“I’ll think about it,” Amethyst said as she flipped through her binder to the tab marked ‘Flower Girl.’ When she glanced back up, she frowned.
“Something wrong?”
“I don’t see her,” Amethyst murmured.
“Huh. That’s weird. I swore I saw her here a few minutes ago,” Sunset scanned the room, but there wasn’t much in the way of hiding spots in the CHS atrium. “She’s the pretty blonde girl with the pigtails in blue ribbons, right? I remember she was carrying a basket.”
“Yeah, that’s her… wait, what?” Amethyst shook her head. “A basket? Did it have the flower petals in there?”
“Maybe?” Sunset shrugged. “I wasn’t really looking all that closely. Pinkie Pie was doing her impression of Principal Celestia. I forgot just how good she is at that.”
“She shouldn’t have her basket yet,” Amethyst flipped to her checklist of the night’s plan. There was no entry for any actual flying flowers. Nope. Not part of the plan
Something wasn’t going according to the checklist. But my checklists are perfect!
“Hey, Amy? You okay?” Sunset actually sounded concerned. She reached out and put a hand on Amethyst’s neck… and then jerked.
Amethyst felt… something.
She whirled just as Sunset pulled back, blinking her eyes. For a split second, Amethyst could have sworn the other girl’s eyes had been stark white.
“Oh… uh…”
Amethyst’s heart hitched when she realized Sunset’s little gem was glowing.
“Did you… did you just use magic on me?” Amethyst hissed through gritted teeth.
“No!” Sunset cried far too quickly. Amethyst pinned her to the spot with the sheer force of her glare. “Okay, fine, yes…”
“And who gave you permission to do that?” she snapped.
“I’m sorry!” Sunset said, backing away. “You just looked like you were about to freak out and I didn’t know! I was trying to help.”
“Well, if you want to try to help, find Honey Blossom.” Amethyst forced her voice to remain low. She would not have this wedding rehearsal disrupted because Sunset decided to break her promise and sweep Amethyst into her magical shenanigans! “In fact, since you’re feeling well enough to start slinging around your magic powers, while you’re looking for Honey, why don’t you find someone to take you home? Namely to yours!”
Amethyst stalked off, determined to find Honey Blossom and get as much distance from Sunset Shimmer as possible.
After a couple questions to Fluttershy—who didn’t remember seeing Honey Blossom wander off—she began searching the school’s east wing. It proved to be a good distraction, since she wasn’t thinking about how Sunset had just used freaking magic on her!
Okay, maybe not that great of a distraction.
Still, the east wing was completely deserted. She checked every class room and in about ten minutes, she was having to fight back a mild case of hyperventilation. She dashed up the stairs to check the second floor, but there was still no sign of her.
She didn’t hear the quiet crying until she reached the west side of the school’s second floor. Light spilled from a cracked door with Cranky’s name on a battered brass plaque. When she opened the door though, the office lights were off. Instead, she was seeing the light streaming through the window to the adjacent science lab.
Honey Blossom sat in the middle of the room on a stool, staring at the basket of flowers, tears streaming down her cheeks.
What in the world…
Amethyst had just opened the door connecting the office to the lab when the lab’s main doors opened to reveal Sunset. Amethyst froze for a moment as Honey Blossom looked up with wide eyes.
“Hey there,” Sunset said in a surprisingly gentle voice. “You’re Honey Blossom, right?”
The little girl nodded meekly. Then she went back to staring at the flowers and sniffling.
Sunset paused for a moment. So did Amethyst. She could go in there, but she admitted she was curious to see how Sunset would handle a sad little girl. Especially after that stunt she just pulled. Would she just use her magic to get a read on the kid so Sunset would know exactly what to say?
Probably. At least I know Sunset won’t hurt her. Might be worth letting this play out though.
Amethyst settled herself near the door so she wasn’t illuminated by the window, but still could see Sunset and Honey.
Finally, Sunset grabbed a stool and plopped herself down beside Honey in her pretty white and blue flower girl dress. The girl brought her wide blue eyes to bear on Sunset.
“What’s wrong?” Sunset asked. “Are you okay?”
Honey just shrugged in response.
“Come on, you can tell me,” Sunset prodded. “After all, anything that could upset a girl as pretty as you has to be a pretty big deal.”
Amethyst just barely avoided facepalming. Thankfully, Honey had better comedic sense than Sunset and the joke flew right over her head.
“The flowers are wrong,” Honey mumbled. Amethyst could just barely make out her words.
Sunset peered into the basket. “Look like flowers to me.”
“They’re wrong!” Honey huffed a little and shook the basket. A few dahlia petals of white and blue floated up before settling back down into the basket.
Amethyst glowered a little bit. How are they wrong? The Flower Trio had to special order those blue dahlias! That took three weeks!
“So, what’s wrong with them?” Sunset asked, her voice curious and soft.
“Aren’t the right color.”
Amethyst’s frown deepened. Why was some little kid questioning her design decisions? Matilda had thought they were beautiful. And they matched the theme perfectly!
“Well…” Sunset’s voice remained perfectly calm. Amethyst didn’t know how she did it. “What color should they be?”
Honey looked up at Sunset like she had just asked about the color of the sky.
“Red and pink, duh,” she muttered.
“And why’s that?”
“They’re my favorite. And they’re romantic! Weddings are supposed to be romantic!”
Honey went back to staring at the basket, as if trying to will the flowers to change color from the sheer force of her glare.
“Why can’t white and blue be romantic?” Sunset asked as she shuffled a little closer and plucked a couple of petals. She turned them over a few times in her hands.
“Because everyone knows that red and pink are the most romantic colors in the world!”
“Hey,” Sunset shrugged. “You won’t get any argument from me. I really like red.”
Sunset gestured to the gemstone around her neck with the little sunflare. Honey’s eyes went wide. “Ooh. That’s pretty… can I?”
She reached out to touch it, but to Amethyst’s surprise, Sunset gently dodged the little girl’s questing fingers. She smiled apologetically.
“Sorry, kiddo. I made a promise to a friend that I wouldn’t let anyone touch it tonight. And I already kinda messed that up. You don’t want to get me in even more trouble, do you?”
“No.” Honey pouted just a little before shaking her head. “Mommy says good girls keep their promises.”
Sunset winced for a split second and fiddled with her hair. “Good girls do. And I know you’re one of them, right?”
Honey nodded emphatically, as only a little girl could.
“So, Honey, how do you know Cranky and Matilda?”
Honey poked the flowers. “Cranky’s my uncle.”
“Do you get to hang out with him a lot?”
“Sometimes,” Honey shrugged.
“You know… I’ve taken classes from Cranky. And I have to say, Honey… can you imagine him and pink flowers together?”
Amethyst had to hold a hand to her mouth to hold back the snort. Honey didn’t. She just giggled.
“No, of course not!” Honey chirped. “His favorite were these colors. I think he said they were his girlfriend’s favorite, too.”
“Well, we want to make sure Cranky doesn’t get in trouble either, right?” Sunset wiggled her eyebrows. “Trust me, getting in trouble with a girlfriend is no fun at all.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Honey muttered. “Still don’t like ‘em.”
Sunset paused for a moment, looking over the flower petals in her hand before a spark ignited in her eyes. She smirked just a little—though somehow it was a completely different smirk than any Amethyst had seen before—and poked Honey on the shoulder. She looked up.
“Tell you what…” Sunset gave the little girl a conspiratorial look. “I’ll make you a deal. If I make you laugh, you gotta bring these flowers back down and put them back for tomorrow.”
“What happens if I don’t laugh?”
“I’ll talk to Matilda and ask her if she’ll change the flowers.”
You can’t promise that, Sunset! Amethyst wanted to scream. These are part of the plan! They’re on the checklist!
“So, what do you say?”
Honey thought it over before shrugging. “Okay.”
Sunset closed her eyes as if focusing for a moment, popped them open and held out her hand. Amethyst’s eyes widened as Honey shook it. But Sunset’s little gem didn’t glow. There wasn’t even a flicker.
Did she just… prevent herself from using magic?
“Now, you got to watch very closely,” Sunset said in a whisper as she leaned down and smiled at the girl. “Watch these petals. Okay?”
Honey stared at them as if they were solid gold. There was a tiny little smile on her face, as if she was ready to make sure she didn’t laugh. After a lengthy pause, Sunset suddenly threw them into the air. They flittered around for a bit and Sunset leapt from her stool…
And caught both of them in her mouth. She snapped down, chewed for a bit, nodded and swallowed.
Honey stared at Sunset.
Amethyst stared at Sunset.
Then Honey burst into giggles so loud, it nearly knocked Amethyst out of her chair.
Sunset grinned like a master magician, giving a little bow to her one-girl audience. She snatched a couple more petals and offered them to Honey.
“Want to try them?”
“You eat flowers?” the girl said between giggles.
“They can be pretty tasty!” Sunset’s grin widened.
Hesitantly, Honey picked up the petals and popped one of them in her mouth. She blinked in surprise.
“They taste like apple peels!” she squeaked.
“Make sure you try the white one too,” Sunset said. Honey did so and beamed at her.
Amethyst’s jaw just hung open as Sunset and Honey spent the next couple minutes nibbling on flower petals. And just like that, Honey Blossom was beaming as bright as her name. Amethyst couldn’t believe it. She just couldn’t believe it.
After a few more minutes, Sunset reminded Honey of her promise. Honey nodded emphatically, but offered Sunset a half dozen petals first before giving her a tight little hug around the waist. Then she was skipping back out of the room, looking for all the world like the poster child for flower girls.
Sunset just sat on a table in the science lab, chuckling to herself and playing with the petals.
Amethyst finally opened the door and leaned against the frame. “Okay, I’m impressed.”
Sunset jumped a full foot in the air and whirled, clutching her chest.
“Amy!” she cried. “How long have you been standing there?”
Amethyst smiled she approached the red and gold haired girl. “Long enough. What in the world possessed you to eat flowers for her?”
Finally, Sunset’s own grin returned. “Uh, interdimensional magic pony, remember? Anyway, these are really good. You should try some.”
Sunset stepped over and popped a couple petals into Amethyst’s mouth. Despite every instinct she had, she ended up trying a few experimental chews.
Sunset waggled her eyebrows expectantly. “Well?”
“Okay, fine, they aren’t half bad.”
After that minor hiccup, the rest of the rehearsal went precisely according to plan. Cranky had looked terrified the entire time… until Matilda had shown up. Amethyst grinned at his dopey expression, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist save for Matilda. She could almost see the little hearts popping into existence around his head. She surreptitiously checked off that box on her list and made a little squeeing noise.
Mayor Mare put everyone through their paces with the same amount of diligence and efficiency she did for everything. After Pinkie Pie’s soul-crushing hug on just how ‘supertremendafantastariffic’ everything looked, the mayor herself congratulated Amethyst on how well she’d handled everything.
Amethyst could have flown home on those words alone. But there was one last thing she had to deal with first.
She stepped into the gym. In the center of the room, Matilda gushed over just how adorable Honey Blossom looked while her parents chatted with Cranky. Amethyst’s eyes scanned the rest of the faces until she found a faintly smiling one watching the couple from near the punch table.
“Sunset?”
“Hm?” She turned to see Amethyst and held up a hand. “I’m fine, Amethyst. Haven’t had a dizzy spell since arriving. You don’t need to worry. And Pinks is going to take me home tonight. I’ll pick up my bag from your place after the wedding, if that’s okay.”
“About that…” Amethyst swallowed and stepped up to her, holding her binder in front of her like a shield. “I need to ask you something first.”
“Shoot,” Sunset shrugged. Amethyst couldn’t help but notice the other girl looked… almost hopeful?
“Why did you use magic on me?”
Any hope Amethyst thought she had seen was gone in an instant. Sunset stared at her boots and shifted from foot to foot.
“Look, I know a panic attack when I see one,” Sunset admitted. “And I know how hard you’ve been working on the wedding. I didn’t want you freaking out so… I went with my gut. It was a dumb spur-of-the-moment thing. I know. I know. I broke my promise.”
It was Amethyst’s turn to shift her feet. “You really just wanted to help?”
“Well… yeah!” Sunset shrugged. “I know it helps when someone knows what the panic attack is about. I… may have had them once. In a previous life. But I’ll deny it if you say that to anyone!”
Amethyst laughed and looked up at Sunset. She thought about all the crazy magical shenanigans that had gone on since the Fall Formal. Besides that first time… Sunset had always tried to help. It may not have always worked as intended, but she tried.
That had to count for something.
Plus… she’d been outright adorable with Honey in the science lab.
“Come on, let’s get going,” Amethyst said with a sigh.
“What?” Sunset looked lost.
“I forgive you, okay?” Amethyst huffed and fiddled a bit with her headband. “Anyway, you still have stuff at my house. You might as well stay one more night.”
“You’re sure?”
“Not if you don’t move those fancy boots of yours!” Amethyst snapped.
Sunset jumped and took a step forward to stand at full attention. “Ma’am, yes ma’am! Though… I do need to tell you one more thing.”
“What?”
“I don’t know how to say this…” Sunset put her hands behind her back and actually rubbed one of those fancy boots on the gym floor, “but I was never in the Filly Scouts.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Come on, we’ll stop by an Italian place I know on the way home.”
“Italian, huh? I don’t suppose I could convince you to get some tiramisu?”
“Don’t push it.”
She got the tiramisu.
Amethyst also couldn’t stop talking about how great the wedding was going to be. Apparently, her attitude was infectious, since Sunset beamed at her during the entire drive home. When they parked, Amethyst grabbed the extra bottle of Sweet Apple Acres sparkle cider she’d snagged from the rehearsal and made Sunset carry the to-go bags. She didn’t protest. She did, however, laugh when Amethyst practically danced her way through the front door.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” Sunset chuckled as she set down the food and leaned down to scratch Spot behind the ears.
“Everything is awesome!” Amethyst crowed. “Tomorrow is going to be perfect!”
“So, I was a bit confused on the drive home,” Sunset deadpanned. “You’re saying you think tonight went well?”
“Oh my gosh, Sunset!” Amethyst squealed, ignoring Sunset’s quip. “Tomorrow is going to be the sweetest thing! Best wedding ever!”
“Jeez, you almost sound as bad as Pinkie Pie,” Sunset snorted.
Amethyst paused for a moment and then shrugged. “Don’t care! Go sit down and I’ll get dinner all sorted.”
“You know, you could actually let me pay you back for this one.”
“Nope!” Amethyst chirped. “Don’t you try and ruin everything by insisting on paying! I knocked you out, so I need to pony up the dough! Speaking of ponies… and dough…”
Amethyst opened a bag to reveal a massive bundle of breadsticks. She smirked at Sunset and waggled her eyebrows.
Sunset facepalmed. “At least that was better than the bone joke.”
“Why thank you!”
“So… Amy.”
“Hm?”
It was the first words they’d said after two more hours of MST3K. Spot was curled up between them. The vase with the larkspur, easter lilies and the single firebird dahlia was still on the coffee table. The sparkling cider was long gone, though the remnants of the tiramisu they’d shared still lay on a single plate with two forks.
“Are you just waiting for me to ask, or what?”
Amethyst blinked her eyes a few times and refocused her attention on the girl across from her.
“What are you talking about?”
Sunset gave her a flat stare. “Come on, I’m not blind.”
“Blind to what?” Amethyst yawned and ran a hand through her violet hair. “Sorry, Sunset, it’s been a long day. I’m sort of out of it.”
“Which is why I’m asking now instead of waiting any longer.”
Amethyst sat up and stared at her. “You’re not making any sense.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Look, it’s pretty obvious what you’re doing.”
“Still not following.”
“Really?” Sunset groaned a little and started ticking off her fingers. “First, you demand I stay not only in your house, but in your bed. Granted, you knocked me cold, so I could maybe chalk that one up to guilt. But then, you’ve either made me meals or brought food from some of the most expensive places in Canterlot… all of which happen to be among my favorite restaurants. Then you manage to pick up my sole weakness: carrot cupcakes. To top it all off, you get me a bouquet with a firebird dahlia in it!”
“Uh… but the flowers...” Amethyst must have been more tired than she thought. “I don’t get it.”
“You refuse to let me pay for a single thing and you demand I continue to stay in your house even though the aftereffects of your little beat down have been all but gone for a day and a half.”
“Uh… yeah? I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“Come on, Amy! I even felt just a hint of it when I touched you with my magic!” Sunset threw up her hands at Amethyst’s blank stare. “Ugh, you’re really not going to do it, are you?”
“Do what?” Amethyst cried. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
Sunset jumped to her feet, gently scooted Spot over and plopped down next to her. Amethyst was suddenly quite aware that she was alone, in her house, sharing a couch with Sunset Shimmer.
Amethyst licked her lips, trying to figure out what Sunset was getting at, even as Sunset stared at Amethyst with those enormous teal eyes of hers.
“Oh, screw it,” Sunset snapped.
Sunset’s head darted forward and she kissed Amethyst full on the lips.
Amethyst let out a strangled squeak of shock. It felt like her entire brain went ‘boing’ all at once. Her body seemed to have both gone numb and gone white hot at the same time. Her hands and arms flopped about, as if trying to figure out what to do. Then to her surprise, they decided what to do: they wrapped themselves around Sunset.
An idle thought wandered through the ruins of her brain: Huh, I didn’t think concussions were contagious.
Finally, Sunset pulled away. Reluctantly, Amethyst let go and stared at the girl.
“There, does that answer the question?” Sunset asked with a grin and a cocked eyebrow.
“Did you...? How? When? What?”
“Gah, fine! You want to hear it out loud, huh?” Sunset let out an enormous sigh. “The answer is yes.”
“Yes… to what?” A few neurons valiantly tried to boot her brain back up. They had a hard time of it.
“Yes, I’ll be your date for the wedding! Come on, I’m not stupid, Amy. Any doubt I had was silenced the moment I realized that you got me a damn firebird dahlia.”
“But… that was… just a…”
For the second time in a week, some part of her brain threw up her hands and stormed out a metaphorical door muttering something along the lines of “I don’t get paid enough for this.”
“That’s… my flower. I’m guessing Flash told you, huh? That sap.”
“Errr…”
“So, you happy now? You have a date for Cranky and Matilda’s wedding.”
“But… you… your friends… you… they…”
“I told you all about my friends. Nothing’s going to happen there. Anyway, you’re cute. And generous. And the dog helps. Who knows, maybe we’ll have some fun?”
Spot barked, wildly wagging his tail.
Amethyst wasn’t really sure what was going on. There was no entry on her checklist to get a date to the wedding. This wasn’t on the list! But… a part of her suddenly wanted to pencil it in.
Rarity’s right. Maybe everyone is just a little in love with Sunset Shimmer.
“Sure?” Amethyst squeaked.
“There, was that so hard?”
“Uh… yes?”
Sunset fell over laughing. She just barely missed bashing her head against the coffee table.
The wedding was perfect.
The company was even more perfect.
After Cranky and Matilda had their first dance—as was right and proper—the floor was open to all couples, both old and new. Rarity and Twilight were pressed together tightly—though Amethyst wasn’t sure if that was because Twilight was terrified of dancing or for other, more pleasant reasons. Rainbow and AJ were spinning gently in a circle, lost in each other’s eyes. Even Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were together, both blushing and looking nervous as hell.
And somewhere in all of that were Sunset and Amethyst, much to the amusement of everyone around them. Apparently, it had somehow gotten out that Amethyst had managed to snag the most gorgeous girl at CHS only after giving her a concussion. Amethyst would bet it was probably Pinkie’s fault. She would also bet she’d never live this down.
Ever.
Amethyst waved at Honey Blossom on the side of the dance floor and giggled when she realized the flower girl was nibbling on another petal. That was the third time Amethyst had caught her tonight.
I should probably talk to her about that. Later. Or better yet, make Sunset do it.
Still, Sunset did make the night seem more—dare she say it—magical. The other girl had ponied up about halfway through the ceremony, all while holding Amethyst’s hand. Amethyst would have never guessed that Sunset would be one to cry at weddings.
Just after the vows, Amethyst had the chance to learn that pony ears were really soft. They also twitched a little when caressed… and tended to cause severe blushes. Amethyst was determined to put this information on a new private checklist. Probably in a special binder.
As the song began to wind down, Sunset pulled away from Amethyst just long enough to smirk at her. That damn smirk. That annoyingly gorgeous smirk.
“Oh… we almost forgot something. Something really important,” Sunset said.
“What?” Amethyst felt a flutter of panic. She was sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She’d had everything meticulously planned in her wedding bin—
Sunset reached around and smacked her hard upside the head. Amethyst squeaked, more in shock than in pain.
“What was that for?” Amethyst growled.
Sunset smiled. There was plenty of mischief in it, but some real warmth there too.
“Now, we’re even.”
Amethyst would have berated her if Sunset hadn’t pulled her in for another kiss.
Finally, Amethyst just gave up any attempt at protesting and surrendered.
Eh, this is worth a concussion or two.
Author's Note
Theme for Unexpected Hazards of Interdimensional Transit
Well, I do hope you've enjoyed this silly little shipfic between Sunset "Everyone's Hot for Sunny" Shimmer and Amethyst "Best Organizer Before Twilight Showed Up" Star.
Originally, this story wasn't going to happen. I had intended to do this round's WriteOff Association's contest "Under the Sun" based on an adorable picture of Filly Tia doing a flying tickle attack on Filly Luna. Something about Tia stalking her for eating her favorite cake or something.
Then Oroboro needed a bit of help spinning his story for the Writeoff and he decided he wanted to do a story that would fit both the Writeoff and Jake's Contest. Ironically, he didn't go with his original idea. He went with a backup idea that was--fittingly--based on my little piece of artwork. Well, during the conversation, I eventually ended up wanting to do a fun shipfic. But only one picture spoke to me. One with a bodywash called "Amethyst Sunset." I'm not kidding. It was a photo of a McDonalds Twilight and Celestia with a Suave bodywash called "I'd like you to meet my new student."
Those WriteOff people are a little strange. 
Anyway, this story was originally going to be set in Equestria. Twilight hires Amethyst to be her receptionist after seeing her organizational skills. She explores the castle and comes across the portal just as Sunset is coming through and totally freaks out and smashes her over the head. Oroboro's the one who suggested flipping it to the Equestria Girl side. I'm actually happier with this one, because it gave me a bit more creative freedom with the characters.
For example, did you know that Amethyst Star (or Sparkler, whatever name you want for her) has never actually shown up in the movies? Or the three recent (or future if you're avoiding spoilers) EqG Shorts? She's appeared once. In "Life is a Runaway," the Rarity musical short they did before Friendship Games. She's one of the models during the 'fantasy' sequence and shows up in the shop at the end of the piece.
It was a pain in the tail to find a good vector of her. Thankfully, there were two, but I did have to do some color adjustments to it to make it suitable. The first one was lineless, so it never looked right. Still, I'm really happy with how the cover turned out.
The whole story was based on Amy being nice and Sunset misinterpreting it. And jeez, it was fun to write. I've never written such a flirty Sunset before. Then again, Sunset is almost a Maud Pie compared to Rarity in Diamonds Amidst the Stars. So maybe that's why it came across so easily. Still, it was great to write yet another version of her. Let's see, I've got Wavelengths Sunset (my true Sunset), Sky's Sunset, Diamond's Sunset, Dreaming's Sunset (probably my most canon Sunset) and now this Sunset. 
Honestly, I felt like I was channeling Sunset more from Oroboro or Albinocorn this time around. Which, by the way, is why Rarity and Twilight are together in this story! This story is an unofficial sequel (unless Oroboro decides it's official) to 404: Romance Not Found, which was his entry to the Interwoven Colours RariTwi Contest by Monochromatic. I decided to fill in the gaps on why Sunset didn't want to be with Sci-Twi (since my favorite ship will always be Sunset and Princess Twi. She was there first, dangit!) because she had a crush on Princess Twi, who had decided to get together with Moon Dancer before Sunset could do anything on her feelings. So it would have been too weird for Sunset to end up with Sci-Twi.
By the way, to quote Rarity from 404, "I don't think there's a woman alive who wouldn't go a little gay for Sunset Shimmer." Mine's a bit tamer. 
Why AppleDash? Because Tchernobog is my friend and he's infected me. That's why. Why FlutterPie? Because I think it's cute. And Tchernobog too, because he did it in Felt Heart. Just blame him for it all.
Spot was dimensionally cloned (AKA stolen) from the Long Road of Friendship/Spectacular Seven Universe created by The Albinocorn. No Spots were harmed in the creation of this story. And no spot remover puns were used either.
Another fun fact? The Rehearsal Scene wasn't originally in the story. It was just two paragraphs and then Amy brought Sunny home some Italian food. But after a few comments and some idea bouncing with Oroboro, I settled on the flowers. And by the way, if you think that a child wouldn't throw a fit over something like this... it's completely true. My own daughter has flipped out because she couldn't get her markers in lie exactly in the place she wanted.
End result: we got to have Sunny and Amy nomming some flower petals. Yes, by the way, the dahlia's petals are edible (though it's more common to eat the roots/tubers) and have a huge range of tastes.
The story's evolved quite a bit from the original WriteOff version, which only had the barest of edit passes done on it. It also grew from just shy of 8,000 words to over 12,000 words. It was filled out a lot and I think it only benefited from the depth.
I would be completely remiss if I didn't signal boost Oroboro's own entry to Jake's contest, A Rock Facing West, which I had the privilege of beta reading and editing, plus creating the cover design (three times because he couldn't pick a dang title).
As usual, special thanks to Beltorn, Cursori, Little Tinker, and Ebon Quill for their editing expertise. Ebon especially a great job at the beginning, though needed to bow out at the end. Special thanks to Oroboro for his edits (and helping me kill my thrice-damned ancient enemy Passive Voice.)
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the ride. I've got a few more stories in the pipelines, as usual. I'm actually at a total of 6 stories (at time of publication) that are in editing phase with the first draft (or higher) complete. With all the stress, I needed something fun and fluffy. This might well be my fluffiest piece to date.
And let's be honest? There's nothing wrong with enjoying some good ol' fashioned fluff from time to time!
Until next time, this has been Amber Spark! Have fun out there!
