What the Left Hand is Doing

Chapters

Sssh, Twiggles.
Lily
I'm friends with the monster...
The voices in your head
The long and short of it.
A one sided conversation

Sssh, Twiggles.

Author's Note

Inspired by the cover art and name of this story by Dubs rewatcher.
At least I think it was? I don't remember. It was a while ago.
I havent actually read the story, but I have it in my read later bin, and intend to read it very soon. Go check it out.

Sssh, Twiggles.

Sugarcube Corner always has good business on Saturday. That's when all the High School students come in after a hard week of study and part time jobs to spend their money in packs of three to twenty. Sunset, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Twilight were no exceptions, together they waited in a booth in the corner for their final member of their septet.

"I'm here darlings!"

Rarity's sing song voice caused the entire cafÃ© to stop and acknowledge her for the briefest of moments before the general murmur re-asserted its dominance. Rarity strutted to the table clearly trying to show off her new outfit. It was much the same as her usual attire but her pale skin was contrasted by a sleek leather jacket and a pair of black stockings.

"What do you think of my new look? Personally I think it suits me remarkably."

Eyes moved from one friend to the next, daring each other to be the first to answer her. When the silence became too heavy to bare, Sunset spoke up.

"I think you wear it well, but why the change?"

Nods of agreement circled the table, with the notable exception of Twilight and Fluttershy.

Rarity didn't seem to notice, she sat down, extremely proud of her new fashion statement.

"Oh, I just thought a change would bring back a little 'pow' to my appearance."

"um... Rarity? That isn't real leather is it?" came a squeak from next to her.

Rarity scoffed, "Why of course dearie! I wouldn't settle... for... substitutes..." her demeanour changed quickly when she realised who the speaker was. Of course Fluttershy would object to her new jacket, Fluttershy was a firm animal lover, she could barely bring herself to eat eggs, let alone wear the dried skin of a cow.

"Oh, um, sorry Fluttershy... I didn't really put any thought into wear the Jacket was coming from..."

The silence was almost deafening to the group, except for Twilight who was still spaced out at the edge of the table.

Leather, huh? I could think of a few uses for that...

Sssh! Not in front of the girls!

What? They can't hear us! I'm thinking a few straps...

Applejack chose to end the silence.

"Well, ah hope this don't offend anyone, but if we're already eating their meat, then what's the harm of using the leather?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "besides, Sunset's a horse and she wears leather all the time!"

Sunset's groan completely undermined Rainbow's statement.

"Pony, Dash. Pony. And I wouldn't wear leather, but this jacket is special to me."

And then I show up wearing...

"What do you think Twilight?"

"A full leather suit, with high heels to boot, rounded off with a nice bull whi..."

She was cut off by the looks of bewilderment from her friends.

Crap.

Double Crap.

WHOLE BASKETS FULL OF CRAP!

Come on think of something, Midi!

Me! You're the smart one!

Umm... who wears leather?

Cat Woman?

Perfect! Cat Woman!

All hail Cat Woman! Saviour of Social Lives!

"Uh.. Twilig-"

"CAT WOMAN!" Twilight shouted, causing the whole cafÃ© to stop what they were doing and stare at the source of the outburst, including an unsavoury glance from Mrs. Cake. Under the sudden onslaught of attention, Twilight groaned as she slid under the table.

Yes, hide! Under the table! No-one will find you.

Shut up.

Make me.

I'm sure that could be arranged!

Oooh Sassy, me like.

"You all right down there, Sugar cube?" came Applejack's voice from above.

"is it safe?" Twilight replied meekly, holding her hands over her face. Suddenly she was hoisted by her shoulders back onto her seat, one Pinkamina Diane Pie behind her.

"Weeell, people stopped looking at you when you went under the table, buuut we are totally going to ask what the Cat Woman was about." By this time Pinkie's nose was practically rubbing her own.

"Do... do you mean the latest issue?" Twilight asked, hoping desperately that that was the last of the questions.

Pinkie waved her hand dismissively while making a sound similar to a deflating balloon. Â "No, silly! The part about the suit and the whip that totally sounded like..."

The white hand of Rarity covered her mouth and pulled her back, corralling her back to her seat. "Perhaps we should give the dear a chance to explain, hm?"

All eyes returned to Twilight. Her blush was growing stronger by the second.

Sshhh Twilight, calmly does it.

"You see, I always had a *fascination* with all of the 'empowered women' characters." She began. "Mulan, Xena, Professor Mcgonagall, and yes, Cat Woman." She looked wistfully into her drink. "I always dreamed of being powerful enough that no one would dare insult me again. I guess the leather just became part of the faÃ§ade."

Wow. That was...

"Oh, that is just adorable!" Rarity cooed.

Rainbow gave Rarity a sideways glance. "Are you sure? It still sounds a little 'don't visit after dark'-ey." When she saw that the rest of the group was giving her a look like she had just kicked a puppy, she quickly backpedalled. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a sad story. But full leather suit? Bull whip? Sounds a little... iffy."

"hey now, nothin' wrong with an appreciation of whips." Applejack interjected.

"This coming from the girl who packs a lasso in her sleepover bags."

Legend says that the slap Rainbow Dash received could be heard in Equestria.

...

Oh shit, Twiggles. Are you okay!

I-I'm fine, those feelings were just a little personal.

Hey, hey relax. I know better than anyone how much feeling like that hurt. On the plus side, if you didn't have that hunger for power, we probably wouldn't have met.

Don't remind me.

Oh, wow. Rude. I'm here trying to be comforting and you just go ahead and insult me.

You know I'm joking.

Yeah, yeah. Whatever.

The conversation soon returned to normal, and once they had finished their sugar rich beverages the group chose to migrate to the park. Fluttershy and Rarity were feeding ducks, Applejack and Rainbow were playing football, Spike and Pinkie were chasing squirrels, and Sunset...

"BOO!"

Was hiding behind the tree Twilight was resting in the shade of. The cartoonish reaction Twilight had to being startled caused Sunset to fall down laughing.

"Oh my god!" Sunset gasped out between waves of laughter. "What was that?!"

Twilight's face tightened into a scowl before reshaping into a slight grin.

"What are you, three years old?"

"18. 22 in pony years." Sunset said plainly, eliciting a questioning look from Twilight. "Equestrian years are shorter. 300 days." Sunset smiled. "Perks of an immortal goddess controlling the celestial bodies, nice round calendar."

The two sat silent for a few moments.

"Do... do you miss it?"

"What? The calendar? Not really, it isn't that different from the ones..."

It took nearly the entire sentence for Twilight to understand what Sunset was talking about, and when she did, she was not impressed.

"Not the calendar. Equestria."

The smirk Sunset was wearing proved that the misunderstanding was intentional.

"I was just kidding Twilight. I really need to teach you how to relax." She stretched out against the tree. "Equestria. Yeah, sometimes I miss it. It's hard not to miss where you're from." Her mood changed and her face dropped from wistful to regretful. "That being said, my Memories of Equestria are pretty sour. I wasn't exactly the nicest person, well, pony around. I was rude, spiteful and narcissistic."

Her face softened again. She looked at her friends enjoying their time in the afternoon sun. "But here, here I have a lot of good memories, and friends to make more with."

"And I nearly took all of that away."

If Sunset had been drinking, she probably would have drowned.

Oops, I spoke out loud again. Sorry.

Sunset Jolted up and turned to the now both sad and nervous Twilight in an attempt to comfort her.

"Jeez, Twilight. Umm... wow." She sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I... can't magically make you forgive yourself for what you did. Man I wish that were possible. All I can do is tell you that these people..." She stopped and directed out at the others.

Fluttershy and Rarity were laughing while surrounded by ducks.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were arguing, but both were smiling as they did it.

And Pinkie was lying on her back sleeping. Perfectly mirroring Spike.

"They've already forgiven you." She continued. "we know it wasn't really you. Well, kinda. I mean we know it was you, but it also wasn't you, right?"

Great pep talk Shimmer.

Hey! She's trying to help!

I know, I know.

"The point is, they've dealt with this kind of thing before. Heck, you were tame compared to me. I actively tried to kill them, you only tried to indirectly." Â She smiled despite it all. "I guess it boils down to: Chin up. Things are going to be okay. I know from experience that isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

I can think of a few ways to cheer you up...

Is now really the best time?

Of course not, we need to get you home. On the double.

Oh haha.

No, we actually do, the bus should be coming soon.

Twilight jumped to a standing position, forgetting she was under a tree and smacking her head on a low hanging branch.

"...ow..."

Sunset could only sit and watch as her friend hurt herself, and then swear vengeance on the unmoving tree.

"...set your leaves on fire and pour salt on your roots..."

"Woah. Twilight, calm down." Sunset said as she got up. "I don't think the tree did it on purpose."

Twilight paused, quickly shook her head and laughed at herself.

"Sorry, Sunset. I guess I'm getting a little tired." She stretched her arms and yawned. "And I thought I outgrew getting cranky before bedtime." With a whistle she called in Spike. "Come on boy. Time to go home."

"Do you want me to give you a ride? It isn't too far out of the way."

"Thank you, but I'm fine. There's another bus every few minutes, it's not like I'm going to be waiting. Besides..." She scooped Spike up in her arms. The small dog excitedly licked her and yapped. "I can't imagine Spike having much fun on a motorcycle."

"Well, don't say I didn't offer."

Twilight laughed as she said goodbye to Sunset, then she began

Note to self: Sunset offered to kill us.

She didn't offer to kill us, she offered us a nice ride home on her motorcycle.

Yeah, literally the most unsafe way to travel. Besides catapult, of course.

I think you're exaggerating.

Google it.

Fine I will.

As she walked towards the bus stop she pulled out her phone. She began searching the most dangerous forms of transportation, but paused when she noticed the time.

Hey Twiggles, what time was the bus meant to arrive?

4:15

Mhm, and doesn't that say that it's 4:21?

Yes.

And isn't that the bus there, closing its doors?

Yes.

And isn't that the last bus until tomorrow?

...

Should we sprint?

YES!

Lily

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

Twilight continued screaming, somehow managing to increase in volume without taking a breath. Sunset was forced to put her fingers in her ears to stop the sound, if only so she could here herself think.

Probably should have seen this coming.

"Twilight. Relax. I got to get to work, so text me when you can."

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

Good talk.

“Okay, Twilight I’m going to leave… Try breathing soon.”

“-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“

On that note, Sunset left the still screaming Twilight and her house. As she mounted her motorcycle Twilight stopped screaming and fell silent.

Is she going to be okay?

“aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”

Sunset put on her helmet and drove away.

She’ll be fine.

Fancy Pants could do a lot of things. He could speak five languages fluently, and another six with some hesitance. He could recite the entirety of McBeth backwards and forwards by heart, stage directions to boot. He could operate every vehicle from a golf cart to a space shuttle, and uses a helicopter as his primary mode of transportation.

Fancy Pants could not handle crowds.

He could certainly try, but attempting to please everyone at once always made him frantic beyond belief. His head would start sweating, his hands would shake, and everytime he tried to focus on one thing something else would catch his attention. His normally calm exterior crumbling under the weight of his panic.

And that is exactly how Sunset found him, desperately trying to book in as many visitors as possible, and when his eyes locked with Sunset’s, she could feel him begging her to take over.

So she did, and she was far better suited for the job than Fancy Pants.

It still took her the better part of two hours just to get all of the bookings sorted, and another hour of she and Fleur de Lis doing a check of the rooms, but they got it sorted. All that was left was to fold all the towels ready for tomorrow's room service.

The entire time she couldn’t help but think of Twilight situation.

“So… Who are you thinking about?” Came a voice from beside her ear.

Sunset yelped, dropping to the ground, as if to avoid a pouncing animal. When She looked up at who the attacking beast was, it was merely Fleur.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that Fleur.” She said gripping her chest, willing her heart to slow down. “One day, your going to give me a heart attack.”

Fleur didn’t seem worried by the prospect.

“That didn’t answer my question though, did it?” She asked with a devilish smirk. “Come ooooon, you’ve been grinning to yourself all night. That just screams juicy gossip!”

“It’s nothing like that, I just had a great time with my friends is all. I’m in a good mood.” She turned back to folding the towels and sheets, praying that Fleur was satisfied by the answer.

She was not

“Oof”

Two arms wrapped around her torso, and hoisted her into the air. Sunset flailed wildly in attempt to break free, knocking towers of neatly folded towels to the floor.

“What happened to you Sunset? You used to be such a good liar.” There was almost a hint of sadness in her voice. Only a hint, most of it was mockery. “What happened to the hardened street rat we plucked out of the alley four years ago?”

“Are you really encouraging me to lie?” She asked between fits of laughter, “Some role model you turned out to be.”

“Aww you see me as a role model? That’s so sweet!” She then started vigorously shaking Sunset. “Now spill! I want details!”

“Okay, Okay. Just put me down.” Fleur dropped her unceremoniously to the floor. Luckily, the Towels that she had been folding for the last 10 minutes broke her fall. “Now, promise me you won’t tell anyone. Not even Fancy.”

The grin Fleur had been sporting through the entire exchange vanished in an instant. In its place was the teary eyed face of a little girl who was just told that her pony had been turned into glue.

“But… But… You know he'll make me talk! He’s just so charming and handsome, I’m putty in his hands Sunset! Putty! Hands!”

Sunset pushed Fleurs hands from her face and made a gagging gesture.

“You guys are sickly, you know that?” Her face became stoic again. “But I mean it. This is serious Fleur. I need to know you won’t go sharing this around.”

Fleur placed one hand on her chest and raised the other in a three finger salute, giving herself the appearance of an overgrown girl scout.

“Ahem. I solemnly swear that I will not speak of what happens from this point until the end of this conversation to anyone, barring the possible exception of one Mr Fancy Pants. If I do fall to the charms of this man I will endeavor to make sure that he will not spread any sensitive information. Should I fail in my promise, may eagles the size of school busses swoop down and feast on my pancreas, like Prometheus who shared the secret knowledge of the gods.”

There was a brief silence between the two, one could almost hear a cricket despite their location in the city.

Haaaaa… That’s the best we’re going to get isn’t it?

“Okay, that’ll do. So, you remember Twilight right?...

Twilight woke up in the middle of the floor, and her head was killing her. Since she knew she hadn’t been drinking, there was only one explanation.

That actually happened, didn’t it?

Yep. I think it did.

And we screamed until we fainted, didn’t we?

Yep. I think we did.

And now Sunset knows about you, doesn't she?

Yep, I think she does.

So what do we do?

... Well, I can think of three options.

And they are?

We could try pretending that she was never here. Make like everything she says is make believe.

That isn’t likely to work. For one, they’ve known her longer than us, they’ll trust her word more. And two, look, our bag is here, that was probably the reason she was ere in the first place. She has evidence to prove she was here!

I know, that’s why I said that one first. It’s the least likely to work.

Then what are the others?

Well, we could go off radar. Disappear to somewhere like Marexico. Live the rest of our lives alone, just the two of us.

But I don’t want to leave! I like it here, and you do too. Even if you won’t admit it.

Then we’re left with one option.

What?

We make sure Sunset doesn’t talk.

“So now that friend that you used your horse magic to cure has a second personality living in their head?” Fleur tried to clarify.

“Yep, and by the sounds of it, she has no intention of getting rid of them any time soon.” Sunset replied in a dismissive tone.

“Isn’t that-”
*vrrt* *vrrt*

Sunset’s phone vibrated in her pocket, cutting Fleur off mid sentence.’

“Huh, speak of the devil.”

*Sunset,
Please come back as soon as possible,
I feel we need to talk out what happened earlier.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle.*

“Wow, she writes texts like shes writing a letter.” Fleur said as she read over Sunset’s shoulder.

“Yeah, she’s a geek like that.” Sunset laughed. “But looks like I’ve got to go.”

“Absolutely not!” That was possibly the first time that Fleur’s had taken used an authoritarian tone against Sunset, and yes it had the desired effect. Sunset stopped in her tracks.
“You are not driving your motorcycle this late at night! It’s already the second most dangerous way to travel, right after catapults. I’ll drive you there in the limo.”

“Okay, fine. But no listening in. This is a private conversation.” This clearly wasn’t the first time Sunset had caught Fleur snooping. “If I catch you outside the door with a cup, I swear…”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly. That’s what your friend says right?” Fleur said, winking.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Great. Let’s go.”

Sunset stood at the front door, ready to knock. The limo was now doing laps around the block, Sunset having made Fleur promise not to park outside and spy on them.

She knocked, but contrary to what she expected, the door just opened as if it wasn’t latched to begin with.

“Twilight?” She called, but she got no response. She tried to look inside, but the only light entering the house was coming through the door, as a result the room was filled with an inky void.

Well, here goes nothing.

Despite any of her doubts, she entered the building. It’s not like Twilight would hurt her, right?
The door slammed behind her, cutting off her only source of light.

“Hello, Sunset.”

Author's Note

Is it still Christmas any where?
No?
Well, Merry Boxing Day everyone!
Have some raw, inedited What the Left Hand is Doing. 100% off!

Try to work out what part I wrote while drunk on Christmas eve.

I'm friends with the monster...

An unseen force pushed Sunset onto the chair she had been seated at hours earlier, but unlike last time, when she tried to stand up, she found herself restrained by some form of strap across her torso. She looked around, but it was quickly apparent that her captor did not want her to see anything. The streetlights form outside failed to trickle in through the windows, as if the curtains had been taped to the walls. The only light came through the gap between the door and it’s frame, which only allowed Sunset to see very scarce silhouettes.

“I’m glad we’ve been re-acquainted, Sunny.” The shadows spoke, malice dripping from every word. “A shame it’s due to such, pressing circumstances.”

Sunset instantly recognised the voice, of course, and it wasn’t a surprise either. Why would anyone other than Twilight be here at Twilight’s house? What was surprising was the edge in her voice. Twilight was normally quite reserved, and would speak with a clear hesitance. The authority present in these words made i clear that this was more than just Twilight.

This was Midnight Sparkle.

“Listen Mi-”

A cold hand pressed against her lips, and slowly closed her mouth.

“No, no. The adult is talking.”

The hand removed itself and Sunset could here the soft pacing of shoes on carpet.

“Now... what are we going to do with you?” Midnight let the question hang in the air, as if waiting for an answer, but the ice in her voice made it clear it was not Sunset’s turn to speak.

“We can’t kill you. That wouldn’t be good for our reputation, now would it? That being said…”

Sunset could hear the sound of metal instruments scraping together as one was drawn out.

“I’m sure we could get away with it”

Due to her time in the darkness, Sunset’s eyes were beginning to adjust. She could almost make out Twilight’s entire body in the shadows. Not that that did her any good. She could see the glint of metal in Twilight’s hand.

“But, that wouldn’t stop the girls from falling apart in grief. I think it’s beneficial for everyone, especially you, if we keep you alive.”

The would be weapon was returned to its home, which Sunset assumed was in the cabinet the TV rested on.
“Smuggling you out of the country wouldn't work too well either, I suppose. Believe me, the idea of tossing you back to Equestria in a burlap sack crossed the mind, but I’m sure your pretty pony head could see the issue with that.”

Midnight turned around, her hands raised in a shrugging gesture.

“In the end, the only option left was to capture you, and attempt some… mental reconditioning.”

This did not elicit the response Midnight had been expecting. Instead of begging, or screaming even a gasp, Sunset remained unfazed.

In fact, she laughed.

“You know Midnight,” she began, “I take it you expected me to hurl obscenities at you, maybe plead that you let me go. I bet you expected a rushed ‘I promise I won’t tell anyone, I promise. Just please don’t hurt me!’”

In the darkness, Sunset’s smile grew.

“The problem with that is, I see right through your little charade here.” Sunset easily raised the strap over her head, revealing that she had been loosening it while Midnight had been trying to scare her. “Nice job with the lighting by the way. Very atmospheric.”

She stood up, and in the almost non-existent light locked eyes with Midnight

“Midnight Sparkle.” She said, “You are a monster.”

The lights clicked on, revealing a very scared Twilight in her pajamas, gobsmacked by Sunset’s bravado. This was not going to plan at all.

“That’s the appeal, isn’t it? Strong. Motivated. You know what you want, and won’t hesitate even if it means hurting others. You are everything she’s not, and everything she wants” She turned away wistfully. “In a word, perfect.”

Her eyes aimed back at the figure cowering on the floor.

“Isn’t that right, Twilight?”

She laughed at the face that Twilight made, somewhere between fear and confusion. Pinkie would call it Confear, or fearfusion. Confearsion?

“But don’t worry, I get it. Your the seductress. The temptress. She’s the heavenly angel sent down redeem you,” Sunset leaned down and brushed a hair from Twilight’s face. “And your the demon desperately clawing at her. Honestly, I think it’s wonderful.”

Sunset stood up with and stretched, instantly becoming the relaxed teenager she normally was, as if the whole ‘strapping her to a chair and threatening her’ never happened.

“And you can relax, I’m not going to go spreading word that you're insane, or that we didn’t properly heal you of the form you took at the friendship games. That would be cruel.

There was a brief pause before Sunset started up again with a definite excitement in her voice.

"I just want you to explain everything! This is just too good!”

Both Twilight and Midnight were floored. Figuratively and Literally.

Things were supposed to be simple. All they had to do was keep people from finding out about them for the rest of their lives. A simple task.

Then came the spanner, happily finding a home within the works.

The separation between the conversations they had in their head and what they said out loud was blurring making their secret even harder to keep. It was only luck that had saved them until now.

But now that spanner seems to have gotten comfortable, and decided to invite it’s friends around, resulting in a whole tool box gumming up the works.

Sunset Shimmer. Not only did she break into their house, but she found out about their little secret. Of course all they had to do was intimidate her into silence but nooo, now Sunset is the one standing above them while they were on the floor.

Whatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedo

I would tell you to calm down but I have no ideas either.

Maybe if we believe hard enough she’ll disappear?

What on earth makes you think that would work?

We nearly imploded the universe once! Making one person disappear shouldn’t be too hard!

We’re not doing that… yet…

Is it too late for Marexico?

“What… Why… How?” They stammered, the mental screaming match still very much alive in Twilight’s head.

Sunset stroked her chin, as if deep in thought

“Well, I guess we have something in common then, Midnight.”

What?

What?

Her eyes caught the light so they shined red when they met Twilight’s gaze. Like a feral beast staring down at its prey.

“I’m a monster too.”

Author's Note

Poll

The voices in your head

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”

Oh good, this is happening again.

Maybe we went a bit overboard.

Twilight was still screaming, and getting louder.

“-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”
What was that? I couldn't hear you over the person screaming at our feet, maybe we went too far.

Would you say…

No. don't you dare.

...That you can't...

Nooooooo

Hear yourself think?

And that's enough of that.

“Twilight!” ‘Sunset’ said as she knelt down to the girl. “Twilight, snap out of it. You have Sunset making bad jokes, and I want that to stop.”

A few gentle slaps were enough to bring the girl back to reality.

“Wha-but you, how, whe-” ‘Twilight’ stammered before freezing up entirely

Twilight would like to think that her mind was one of the sharpest in the world, able to take in and process information as fast as the best and brightest, but every now and again it… didn’t.

Now was one of those times.

Sooo…

Soooooo….

Sooooooooooooo…

Meanwhile, outside of her head, she just stared blankly in front of her.
Sunset rolled her eyes.

“Do I really need to spell it out for you Twilight?”

She poked the side of Twilight’s head which, because of the meltdown going on inside, rocked back and forth like a bobble head.

“That little voice in your head? I have one too.” She said, but then hesitated.She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Actually, I suppose I’m the voice in the head. Sunset lost speaking privileges after that terrible joke.”

Apparently this was enough information to kick Twilight’s mind back into gear.

Wait, she has a me too?

Well it wouldn't be a you, because you’re me, so I have you. She would have a her.

So there’s two shes, you and one me.

Yes.

But where did she come from? And who is she?

Only one way to find out. We ask her.

Which her?

Yes.

“Smarty-Pants.” twilight grumbled, very much confusing the other occupant of the room.

“What was that?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide when she realised that Midnight had just spoken out loud accidently again.

Woops, I guess that makes three times today.

“Uhhh… nothing just talking to myself Sunse-” Twilight began, in an attempt to avoid having to explain her secret, but she stopped when it occurred to her that Sunset already knew her secret.

Moreover, in an attempt to keep that secret safe, she doubled down on revealing that secret, only for it all to backfire spectacularly.
There was absolutely no reason for her to try to cover it up.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Sunset happened to find this situation very amusing.

“Talking to yourself huh? Very nice choice of words.” She laughed.

Twilight sighed.

“Sorry, every now and again it just slips out. We’re trying to keep it under control but, well, it’s not going well.” Twilight sighed. “At this rate, it won’t be long before I shout ‘Oh hi everyone, I’m Midnight Sparkle! Would you all like to participate in a thrilling round of murder?’”

Sunset could only stare at her.

“Do… do you have that thought a lot?”

Twilight began to shudder, and her breathing became more rapid.

“I-If they find out, what's going to happen?” She said shakily, her voice alternating in pitch like a speaker on its last legs.

“Twilight you’re starting to scare me.”

It was clear that Sunset’s words are falling on deaf ears. Twilight was no longer talking to her, instead it seemed that Twilight and Midnight were talking to each other, and their shared fears were creating an endless cycle of panic.

“Would they run us out of town? Or maybe they would get us locked up in a loony-bin?” She curled into a ball before rolling onto her side. “Maybe they’ll hit us with another friendship laser and finish the job.”

Twilight started sobbing into her knees, still lying on the floor

Okay, I might have messed that up. Tag in?

Wow, she looks absolutely terrified. Did we ever go through a phase like that?

I don’t think so. First you were afraid you were going insane, then that you were still evil. Once you got over that we were only afraid that our friends wouldn't understand.

We still need to help her.

Sunset knelt down beside the crying twilight, and helped her upright. Once she was up, Sunset wrapped her friend in a comforting hug. With Twilights knees still between them, it was uncomfortable, but it was enough.

“There, there, Twilight. Just breath. It's going to be okay.”

Soothing noises.

Did you really just say “soothing noises”? In our head? Where she can’t hear us?

Yes. Now you translate that into something useful.

Sunset was about to try when Twilight broke her train of thought.

“You promise you won’t hit us with another friendship laser?” She whispered into Sunset’s shoulder.

Sunset tried her best to suppress a giggle.

“Twilight, I… We promise no friendship lasers. You can trust us… me… no, us.”

With a sniff, Twilight stretched herself out of the ball she was in.

“Now, I imagine you have some questions…” Sunset said as she guided Twilight onto the side the bed before taking a seat on the chair in the entrance way. “But first things first, we need to work out a system to know who’s talking.”

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure I lost track of whether it was Midnight or Twilight talking, and you’re going to be struggling to, so we need to sort something out. Maybe we could just open each sentence with our name?” She shook her head. “That’s a silly idea. Sunset. No it’s not, look how well that works! Yeah, but listen to how silly that sounds. Sunset. You didn’t do it. I AM NOT SAYING MY NAME BEFORE EVERY SENTENCE.”

While Sunset argued with herself, Twilight, and by extension Midnight, sat by and watched. It was a bizarre sight to see, and it wasn’t made any less bizarre by Sunset’s insistence on injecting her own name every time she spoke.

Yeah, she’s right. This is hard to follow, and saying your name over and over is ridiculous.

It’s not a terrible idea…

Do you want to say Twilight 1,000,000 times?

No. Absolutely not. But we need something. Something that doesn’t impede conversation.

Like a gesture or something?

Eureka!

“Stop it. Sunset. I refuse. Stop it.” Sunset continued to ‘herself’, and the grin on her face made it painfully clear she was enjoying it.

Twilight cleared her throat.

“Sunset!” She interrupted, but when the pair of emerald eyes were levelled back at her she lost her confidence evaporated. “-sss….” She trailed off.

Come on, you got this. Show her who has all the brilliant ideas.

You’re not helping!

“Maybe we could raise our hands.” She forced out. “To show who’s who? Right for Twilight left for Midnight?”

Why do you get to be the right hand?

Because it was my idea. Also, I’ve had it longer.

You've had the left hand longer too…

Sunset blinked, then blinked again.

“That’s… actually brilliant. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Because you were to busy arguing with yourself to come up with any good solutions.”

The sentence had a sharpness to it that hung in the air. The tension in the room that had begun to fade with Sunset’s monologue reasserted itself.

Twilight sheepishly smiled.

“Oh, right. The hand thing.” With a robotic, over exaggerated wave of her left hand, Midnight revealed it was in fact her who had spoke.

As Twilight and Midnight waited to see how the ‘guests’ in their home reacted, silence returned.

Unil Sunset giggled, and raised her left hand playfully.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Midnight, you can call me.... Sunburn.”

Author's Note

3 things:
Numero uno, Read this It's wonderful and funny and all good things.

Numero doso, this chapter achieved nothing so I've added another chapter to my plan shouldn't take long to do, won't be a big one.

Numero treso, here's the first draft of this chapter:

"Okay, we need to make have a way of working out who's speaking" Sunset said.

Twilight shrugged.

"that's easy, just talk in red like you did last chapter."

"That's silly, you can't make your voice sound a colour." Sunset retorted

"Sure you can." Twilight replied innocently. "See, I'm Midnight Sparkle, and I speak purple."

Sunset gagged.

"Everything you just said has made me violently ill"

If it makes you feel any better, I can speak red.

No you can't

"but I can"

"See, simple"

And then the planet exploded

The long and short of it.

“Sunburn? Wow, great name. Did you come up with it during your daily trip to Hot Topic?” Midnight laughed.

Midnight!

What? It's a joke! She's a big girl, she can handle it.

That doesn't make it okay, she's still our friend.

And friends have exclusive rights to mock each other. I don't see your point.

Fine, but don't you think mocking the person who just found out what we had hoped to take to the grave with us might not be the best plan?

“You're right, not the best approach.” Midnight said stroking her chin. “Good for you, using that pretty little head of yours.”

All it took for Sunset to alert Midnight to her slip up was a light giggle.

“That accidentally talking out loud really is a problem. I assume that was Midnight, you didn't do the hand thing.” She ran her fingers through her red and yellow hair, the fingers on her left hand. “Also, you're one to talk, ‘I am evil. I am Darkness. I am Midnight’”

Her laugh was completely innocent, lacking any of the malice you would expect following a genuine insult

See, she’s tough.

Didn’t she and the girls come up with Midnight?

“Names aside, we have so much to talk about.” Sunset continued, picking up right after Sunburn. “How long has this been a thing? I mean, I know when Midnight first showed up, we were there, but when did she start talking to you? When did you realise you were… interested in her?”

Alright, Twiggles, you’re up. Some of those could be for me, but I feel like if we ask who she’s asking she’s going to say ‘yes’.

Twilight cleared her throat.

“Well, do you remember just after I transfered to Canterlot High school, and the other Twilight came through the portal?”

The six friends and still talking Spike were having a in the courtyard, when suddenly a frantic Princess Twilight Sparkle from Equestria burst out of the statue/portal.

The Twilight from this world froze, completely stunned by the sight. She watched in equal parts confusion and wonder as the splitting image of herself rambled something about a time loop.

Suddenly the doppelganger locked eyes with her, and the world grew silent, waiting as the two sized each other up.

The princess was the first to speak.

“Make that the second strangest.”
The mind of the human Twilight was working overdrive to process the situation.

What am I supposed to do? Do I just greet her like a new friend? How do I greet a new friend? The others said she was a princess, am I supposed to bow? I have so many questions! Would it be rude to ask?

But among her clustered thoughts, there was a voice that was definitely not her own. Similar, but not the same.

She is not wrong, this is really weird.

Sunset was floored, clearly expecting something different from the recount.

“But that was right after the friendship games! Why didn’t you have to wait so long?”

“You’re joking, right?” Midnight asked, scratching her head. “Those couple hours were killer.”

The response Midnight got was a laugh and a shake of the head. Sunset raised her left hand to indicate that Sunburn was speaking.

“It took me six weeks before it got to a stage where Sunset could differentiate my thoughts from her own.” She sighed and lowered her hand. “It was pretty rough, particularly since during those six weeks you wouldn't stop giving THE WORST advice for every situation.”

“Wha.. me?”

Sunset blinked.

“You? No! Sunburn.”

“That was misleading sentence structure and you know it.” Midnight said with a harrumph, forgetting to raise her hand. Opting to cross her arms instead.

“Only from Twilight’s mouth could that be so scathing.” Sunset, or possibly Sunburn, said while shaking their head. “In any case, when it comes to waiting for our little mental roommates to show up, we definitely drew the short straw. Or long straw, depending on how you look at it.”

“Fat load of use that did.” Came the distinct grumble of Midnight Sparkle. “I can’t go two sentences without saying something I shouldn’t. Meanwhile, everyone sees you as a confident, attractive, intelligent, completely sane human.”

Excuse me! Did you just call her attractive?

Twilight, we share a head, I know you see it too.

I- wha- no-... She possesses many traits that someone interested in pursuing a relationship with someone else may find attractive, her physical appearance included.

Wow, i just said that she was attractive. I didn't even mention her body. Is there something you want to tell me Twilight?

OH COME ON!

Oh. She's been talking all this time.

The pair tried to tune in to what their friend(s) were saying, they heard something about ‘more practice thinking’ and ‘less trust’, but just as they managed to focus in on what was being said, Sunset said something shocking.

“... the only time I, she, we ever slipped up was in front of Fleur and Fancy.”

“Wait, hold up.” Midnight said making the classic ‘ssh’ gesture “The perfect Sunset Shimmer made a mistake?”

That’s rude!

“She did it, not me!” Sunset replied. “And besides if I hadn’t, Fleur probably wouldn’t have driven me here.”

This caused ‘Twilight’ to leap up.

“WHAT DID YOU TELL HER!”

Sunset raised both hands defensively.

“Woah woah woah, relax. I told her as much as I knew before I left”

“AND THAT WAS?”

“That you might be dealing with the same ‘relationship issues’ I’ve been dealing with.”

Twilight paced back and forth, muttering to herself. The size of the room meant she could only go a few steps before hitting the wall and needing to turn around. Despite this, she did so without flinching, or breaking the conversation she was having with herself.

Sunset watched in amazement as her friend took the impacts with the wall in stride.

I suppose if she doesn’t like that, she probably won’t like that Fleur’s been spying on us the whole time.

Fleur promised she would stay in the car. She’s not spying on us.

This is FLEUR we’re talking about. Staying in the car just means she needs to be more creative. She could probably listen in using the Microwave if she wanted too.

She would’nt do that.

We could ask her.

I’m not asking her.

Do it.

No!

Doooooo it.

NO!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Okay, fine!

Whipping out her phone, Sunset quickly found Fleur’s number, right between Flash and Fluttershy.

*Fleur, how much have you heard?*

It wasn't long before she got a reply, and despite the buzz of the phone Twilight remained oblivious.

*Ye of little faith! … Okay most of it. Can you tell Twilight to speak up? The muttering is difficult to hear.*

“Dammit Fleur!”

Twilight whirled around, awakened from her trance.

“What was that?” She asked.

The look on Sunset’s face probably gave away that she was hiding something, or at least it would have had Twilight been better at reading people.

“Oh, nothing! Just Fleur telling me she’s here to pick me up. Ha ha.” Sunset tried nervously. “It looks like I’ve got to go.”

There was a palpable silence as Twilight eyed her suspiciously. Sunset bit her lip, cursing herself for losing her previous talent for lying.

Man Fleur was right, we are out of practice.

SHUT. UP.

Twilight sighed.

“Okay, I still have so many questions, but i guess those will have to wait.” She said as she followed Sunset to the door. “I’ll see you at school, but please don’t tell anyone about this.”

Whew, still got it.

“My lips are sealed.” Sunset said followed by the accompanying mime.. As she stepped from the house into cold night, and saw Fleur de Lis waving from the front seat of the limousine, thought occurred to her.

“Hey Midnight.”

“Yeah?”

“It might be a good idea to practice raising your hand when you speak. Maybe if you do that you’ll get more control of when you do and don’t speak out loud. Just a thought.”

Twilight’s eyes fell to her left hand. She flexed it a bit, as if only just now realising it was attached to her body. Then, she raised it gently.

“Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Sunset laughed, and raised her own left hand as she walked to her transportation.

“Don’t you mean minds?”

This time it was Twilight’s turn to laugh.

“Very funny Sunburn.”

Sunset stepped into the limo’s passenger seat, and as the car drove off, she waved to her friend until they rounded a corner. Once they were out of eye shot, Sunset slapped Fleur over the back of the head.

“Ow, what was that for!”

Sunset hummed.

“Oh, gee. Why on this earth might I have done that?”

Fleur grimaced, and glanced at Sunset sheepishly.

“Was it the spying?”

“YES!”

Author's Note

I promise this is the last chapter in Twilight's bedroom.

Also, I'm sorry it's late. I think I kept up with the one a month promise though right? maybe? I mean, it's April 1st for me so I guess not, but I don't know Time zones.

Also Also, It's Easter/Passover(I think?)/Poisson d'Avril/April fools day! So that's nice!

A one sided conversation

Author's Note

Big thanks to chuck-vic-norris for editing this. It wouldn't be readable without the help.
Sorry it's late, I am objectively an awful person.
Midnight's voice is now in bold. I'm only doing it from Twilight's perspective, because she doesn't change her voice. Example:

"You said it, not me."

"The sass today! I am a bad influence on you."

Another alternative could be this:

"You said it, not me."

"The sass today! I am a bad influence on you."

but, from memory, coloured words don't show up right on mobile. Let me no what you think.

A one sided conversation

The lock clicked open as Twilight opened her door. Spike ran in excitedly, but Twilight was less enthused. As she closed and locked the door behind her, she let out a sigh.

"Twice today, three times yesterday..."

"A record six times on Wednesday..."

"This week was our worst yet, wasn't it?"

She sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped her shoes off.

"We've got to do something about this, or someone is going to realise something is wrong."

She pressed her hands to her face and groaned. The bedding bounced as she flopped backwards, her arms spread out like a starfish.

"Who do you think will figure it out first?"

"Well, I think Rarity will be one of the first to realise there's a secret relationship, but I doubt she'll work out how weird it really is."

"True, and I think Rainbow already thinks we live a double life as a dominatrix."

She chuckled.

"It's as close to the truth as you'll get with her."

Her smile flattened.

"I think Applejack might have noticed something's up."

With that she bolted to her feet and began pacing the back and forth. Panic as clear on her face as it was in her head.

"What!? Applejack knows?"

"Shhh... Twiggles. No, Applejack doesn't know. I just think she's noticed how weird we've been acting over the last few days. On the plus side, she isn't going to bring it up in front of the others. She'll wait until it's just her and us."

Twilight's breathing steadied. She pressed her hand to her chest as her heartbeat calmed down.

"We still need to be careful. Applejack is a terrible liar. If she finds out, everyone would bombard her with questions until either A: She eventually crumbles and tells them what's going on, or more likely B: We get into a ridiculous situation that results with us telling everyone the truth."

There was a pause as both parties as both parties consider possible solutions to the problem at hand.

"We could kill her."

"No! Bad Midnight! No killing the friends!"

"I was joking and you know it! Also, 'No killing the friends'? Really?"

"It was funnier that way, I can joke too you know."

Twilight took a deep breath in and relaxed.

"I don't think we need to worry about it for now. So long as we get things back under control, Applejack will probably ignore it. Fluttershy either won't notice or be too afraid to ask us."

"Pinkie could be a problem, though."

"Yes, but Pinkie exists in a state where she is simultaneously all possibilities until she decides to be one of them. There's a very real possibility that she already knows about us and is deliberately messing with us. I don't think it's worth stressing ourselves over."

"Did... you just describe Pinkie as a sentient quantum particle? You are a nerd."

"You said it, not me."

"The sass today! I am a bad influence on you."

"Maybe, but I like the new me."

"Aww, you make me blush."

"We still need to work on your 'public speaking' problem, though."

"You're right, but the only one of our friends we really need to worry about is Applejack."

"That may be true, but we still need to be careful. It wouldn't take much for one of them to get concerned."

"Yeah. Could you imagine how Sunset Shimmer would react to this?"

"How would I react to this?"

Twilight's head spun round fast enough to give herself whiplash. There, in her lounge seat, rubbing Spike's belly, sat Sunset Shimmer.

*beeeeep* *beeeeeeeeeeep* *beeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

Sunset reached into her pocket and shut off her phone's alarm. It was quarter to five, which meant she needed to get back to the hotel if she didn't want to be late for her shift.

"Hey girls!" She called out to her friends, who were still spread out across the park. They weren't really all that far away, so the shout was enough to startle them and make them stop what they were doing. Rainbow Dash cupped her hands around her mouth.

"What?!" She replied, using her hands as a makeshift megaphone.

Sunset rolled her eyes.

Very funny.

"I just wanted to tell you guys I've got to go. My shift starts at five." Sunset said in her casual speaking voice, not needing to project since everyone was already listening. She raised her hand to her forehead, in a gesture more expected from Rarity than Sunset. "Forgive me for wanting to say goodbye properly."

"Yeah, yeah, see ya later. AJ, let's get back to the game! I want make it a nice, round thirty-point lead." This remark earned her an elbow to the ribs from Applejack.

"First, you're only up four points, and second don't be rude."

Sunset could only laugh at Rainbow and AJ's antics. Once the others had said goodbye, she made her way back up the hill to her motorcycle. On the way up, she noticed a bag by the tree she had been at earlier.

"Is that... Twilight's bag?" She asked herself. "It's not like her to forget something like this, even more so when it has books in it."

She looked at her phone. It was twelve minutes to five.

Twilight's place isn't too far out of the way, and Fancy Pants probably wouldn't mind one or two minutes tardiness.

She tapped her chin. She didn't have to get it to her today, but at the same time, twilight would want it back sooner rather than later.

Better send a text just to be safe.

*Hey Fancy Pants. On my way now, just going to swing by a friend's place to drop off her bag. Might be a little late.*

She pressed send, and put the phone back in her pocket. She leaned over and picked up the bag. It definitely had books in it. If Fancy Pants needed her urgently, she would just drop it off tomorrow.

*Bzzt* *Bzzt*

Sunset checked the reply

*Hello Sunset. Don't rush, we've been having a slow day today. Be here when you can, there are a few bookings we are still waiting to check in.*

Cool. Twilight's place it is.

Sunset crossed the road to where her bike was parked. As she got closer, she noticed the slip of paper stuck to the windshield.

Oh good. Parking tickets are always welcome.

Sighing, she stuffed the ticket into her pocket. It could wait until tomorrow. She turned on the engine and pulled her helmet on. With a flick of her wrist, she was on the road.

With the hum of her bike beneath her and her helmet covering her ears, the world became silent to her. She was alone with her thoughts.

Twilight doesn't normally forget things. I mean, yeah, she's more than a little oblivious, but not forgetful.

The trees whipped by faster as she accelerated down the road, turning onto the Canterlot-Fillydelphia Friendship Expressway.

She was pretty flustered today, though. Maybe she just had a lot on her mind.

Cars flew past as she weaved through traffic.

Come to think of it, she's been acting strange for a while. She had just become more comfortable around us, and suddenly she's back to being nervous around us again.

Exit.

Took the first exit from the expressway without slowing down. Coming up the off ramp placed her clear on the other side of Canterlot.

What could it be? It would have to be pretty big.

Crush?

Relationship?

Maybe...

025, Golden Oaks Drive.

Sunset pulled into the driveway. It wasn't much, just a little one-bedroom house nestled between a couple of apartment buildings. Still better than most students living away from home could hope for

She took off her helmet and made her way to the door. Through the window she could see Twilight pacing back and forth, talking to herself.

Well, that's not a surprise.

Sunset knocked on the door, but got no response.

That is.

"Twilight!" She called out, but still got no response.

What is she talking about?

Sunset put her ear to the window to hear. It was quiet but she could make out a few words

"... kill her. No! Bad Midnight. No killing the friends."

Wait, Midnight? Isn't that what Pinkie was calling who Twilight turned into?

... This is going to be good.

Sunset ran back to her bike and pulled open the seat. In the compartment beneath, was a case of tools she thought she would never use again.

"Oooh lock picking, how I've missed you."

In a few seconds, she was in the house. Spike barked and ran up to her, but still Twilight didn't react to her presence. Luckily for Sunset, that meant she could listen to the rest of the conversation. She scooped Spike up in her arms and sat down on the seat, rubbing his belly.

"There's a very real possibility that she already knows about us and is deliberately messing with us. I don't think it's worth stressing ourselves over."

That sounds about right.

*Vrrt* *Vrrt*

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Sunset fished it out and checked it. It was Fancy Pants. Apparently not only were they hit with a sudden flood of convention goers looking for last minute reservations, but Feather Duster called in sick. The urgency was punctuated by a very uncharacteristic HELP!

Right, work.

"...Could you imagine how Sunset Shimmer would react to this?"

Perfect.

Projecting her voice as much as she could without shouting, Sunset interrupted her monologue.

"How would I react to this?"

It did the trick. Twilight heel spun like she had just stepped on a spinning tile. Her eyes widened as her brain struggled to take in what she was seeing.

Then she started screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-