Author's Note
It’s been a long time since I last wrote a OneShot, but after seeing Monday Blues I just couldn’t resist doing something with it. With this fic, I’ve tried to something a bit different from what I usually do. Please let me know your thoughts on it, positive or negative, as I really value all feedback I can get. If there’s something you particularly like or dislike, let me know, and let me know why you liked it or didn’t like it. I’d like to become a better writer, and any feedback can help me with that. In any case, enjoy!
The Warmth in Cold Rains
The Warmth in Cold Rains
Sunset woke up to the sound of rain thundering against her windows. It was a far better sound to wake up to than an alarm clock, but it did mean it was going to be one of those days where nothing was actually going to happen. Sunset’s friends were off to various places and wouldn’t be home all weekend, and with the weather being what it was, it also wouldn’t really make sense for Sunset to leave the house. October rains weren’t as refreshing as spring and summer showers. It was a bit of a shame that the weather was so bad. Sunset loved to take walks through the park, looking at the red and orange in the trees and on the ground. Seasons here just…happened. There were no Pegasi to change them, no ponies running a race to make the leaves fall. When Sunset had first gotten to this world, the self-changing seasons had freaked her out a bit because the only place where that kind of thing happened in Equestria was the Everfree Forest, not exactly the friendliest place around. She’d learned soon enough, though, that other than the seasons changing on their own, they still had a certain magic to them.
Sunset got out of bed and looked out over the street down below. The standing water stubbornly refused to drain properly, courtesy of the orange mulch that had once been leaves, clumped together in the storm drains. There weren’t many people outside, and those who were looked decidedly unhappy to be there.
Sunset sighed and headed into her ‘kitchen’, or rather, the stove and small counter that had been haphazardly attached to the wall opposite her desk-slash-table and fridge. She opened the cabinet above the counter and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that she still had some instant noodles left. That would spare her a trip to the grocery store in the rain, anyway. For a moment, Sunset thought about how weird it was that she was actually a pony from another dimension, who had first become a demon, then helped defeat a bunch more, and then befriended a girl who was the exact double of another magical pony from another dimension, who had also become a demon thanks to the power of stolen magic…and yet here she was nearly celebrating the fact she still had some instant noodles left. She wondered if the superheroes from comic books had these kind of off days as well. No crime to fight, just hanging out in their secret lair in pajamas eating instant noodles while idly channel surfing. Sunset smiled lightly at that thought as she dropped onto her sofa with her cup of noodles and grabbed the remote.
The life of a Princess was one Twilight had always imagined to be one filled with grandeur, and ceremony, and dignity. Sure, Princess Celestia had told her, time and time again, it really wasn’t all that glamorous, but it wasn’t until she’d become a Princess herself that Twilight had realized just how…normal…life was as Equestrian royalty. There was no better example of that, Twilight thought, than this very day. It was time for the scheduled fall rainstorm in preparation for Nightmare Night, which was only a week away.
Twilight’s friends weren’t in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was with the Wonderbolts for training, Applejack was off to visit another branch of the Apple family and Pinkie had gone along. Rarity was in Manehattan for an important fashion show and managed to convince Fluttershy to help her out with a particularly difficult dress, Starlight was on a tour with Trixie, and Spike was visiting Ember in the Dragonlands by himself, something Twilight wasn’t exactly fond of but she felt that Spike should be given the chance to see his own culture without somepony sneakily following him around all the time. Besides, Ember wouldn’t let anything happen to him.
That did mean, however, that she was stuck in her castle with absolutely nothing to do. Now, for an ardent student of magic like Twilight, that didn’t really have to be a problem, it was just that her new copy of ‘Advanced Magical Formulae and Incantations Vol. CXI, as compiled by Moonbeam the Elder’ hadn’t arrived yet and she really needed that one book, since it contained a series of incantations used in a particularly difficult (yet strangely useless) spell.
It never occurred to Twilight that she had several dozens of other spell books that might contain useful information, and so she was sulkily staring out of the window of her throne room, occasionally switching to another window in the vain hopes something interesting would reveal itself. She half-hoped the Map would locate a friendship problem for her to solve, even if that meant she’d have to go out in the pouring rain.
While she was pacing from window to window in growing frustration, Twilight tried to think of a book in her vast collection which she hadn’t read a dozen times already, but every single one that wasn’t purely meant for study had been read more often than even Twilight would care to admit. Just when Twilight was considering reading the Daring Do series backwards, she heard a very welcome and familiar sound behind her. She turned around and looked up at the magical portal. The book in the small pedestal at the top was glowing and vibrating wildly. Even though the book didn’t have to be there anymore for the portal to work, now that the magic was properly attuned, Twilight still kept it there since the prominent location made it easy to see when Sunset Shimmer and her friends from CHS needed her help…like it appeared they did now! Twilight teleported the book to her from across the room and greedily opened it.
“Dear Princess Twilight,
I hope you’re doing well. I’m not writing you because of any trouble; everything is quiet here. I guess you could say, though, that the quietness is exactly my problem. The weather in the human world is absolutely terrible and all of our friends are off doing their own things. I’m writing to you know because I wanted to ask you if you’d like to come and visit, just for fun. I know I just said the weather is terrible, but I know a great place downtown where we can grab a hot chocolate. I understand if you’re busy with royal duties, of course. I hope to hear from you soon!
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer”
Before Twilight had even properly read the final words of the letter, she’d already gotten out her quill to write a reply.
The rain still wasn’t letting up, but Sunset didn’t mind much as she walked towards CHS. It would just make the hot chocolate even better if she was properly cold and soaked first. She wasn’t exactly sure why she had decided to write a letter to Twilight. It had been a while since they’d last spoken, but Sunset hadn’t ever written just to ask her to hang out, mostly because she feared Twilight would be far too busy for such things. She’d been more than a little surprised when Twilight had answered her letter almost immediately asking when she should be there.
With her hands deep in her pockets and her hood pulled up as far as it would go, Sunset arrived at the statue in front of the school, where the portal to Equestria was located. A passerby with a dog looked at her strangely, and Sunset gave him an awkward smile while still keeping an eye on the statue. The man and his dog had just rounded a corner when the portal flashed up and Twilight emerged from it, clad in the skirt the portal always gave her…and which was far too cold for the time of year. Fortunately for Twilight, Sunset had come prepared. She’d stuffed a raincoat, her warmest and widest jogging pants, and an oversized sweater into her backpack before leaving home, which she immediately handed to Twilight when she came out of the portal into the soaking rain. A few minutes and partially soaked jogging pants later, Sunset and Twilight were ready to go into town.
“Thanks again for the spare clothes,” Twilight said, shivering as they walked through the rain under an umbrella just too small for two people to comfortably be under.
“It’s nothing, really,” Sunset said, “I’m sorry they’re not really your size. That’s kind of my ‘I am not going to go anywhere’ outfit. I’m sure Rarity would have a fit if she saw me in them.”
Twilight chuckled. “I think even Rarity has something like this somewhere in her wardrobe. There’s just no way she’s ever going to admit that,” she said, huddling deeper into her faintly sweet-smelling coat and sweater. “Besides, I think I kind of like that it’s so big.”
“Ah, I see you’re a mare of culture as well,” Sunset said with a sage smile on her face and feeling rather clever for her little pun.
Twilight looked at her blankly and Sunset smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s…it’s an Internet thing. I sometimes forget that Equestria is so different from this world.” She looked at the cars and traffic lights on the road and sighed. “It’s strange. This place feels just as much like home as Equestria has ever done. And when I was back in Equestria just a short while ago, I didn’t even remember to walk on all fours or to use my magic.”
Twilight glanced at her from within her fortress of coat and sweater. She heard the faint frustration and uncertainty in Sunset’s voice, but she wasn’t sure how to respond. She had only ever been in this world for a few days on end, but never longer than that.
“I can’t really imagine what that’s like,” she said. She pulled one of her hands from her pocket and looked at it. “I mean, to me it’s strange to have these, and to not feel my magic or my wings. I don’t think I’d ever fit in here as well as you do,” she went on.
Sunset chuckled softly. “I think you’d be just fine. You would probably get along well with the Twilight from this world. She’s really beginning to get over her fear of magic.” She smiled ruefully. “It’s probably better for the stability of our worlds that the two of you don’t meet often, though. We’re here, by the way,” she said, gesturing to the door of the coffee shop Sunset and her friends often visited.
It wasn’t very crowded inside, so a few minutes later Sunset and Twilight sat in wide, comfy chairs next to a window, holding mugs of steaming hot chocolate richly covered in whipped cream. Their coats, still dripping, hung from the back rests of their chairs. This use of the chairs wasn’t, strictly speaking, allowed, but judging by the stains in the back rests, caused by years of coats being hung over them, the owner of the coffee shop had long since given up on enforcing this particular rule. Twilight shoved her legs as far underneath the heater as she could and hoped that the bottom halves of her jogging pants would soon dry out.
“I’m glad you were able to make it here,” Sunset said after a moment.
Twilight smiled at her. “I’m glad you asked me to come over,” she replied. “I was starting to go a little crazy in the castle, actually.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what does the Princess of Friendship do when she goes a little crazy?” she asked teasingly. Before Twilight could say anything, Sunset held up her hand. “Wait, let me guess, you went out and made a situation for you to solve,” she said, knowing fully well that Twilight would never do something as stupid as…
“I…may have done something like that once.”
Sunset blinked stupidly. “You…what?”
Twilight flushed and looked away. “I wasn’t a Princess back then,” she defended herself.
Sunset cocked her head. “I’m not sure if that makes it better, actually, but you’ve got me curious. What did you do, and what in Celestia’s name put you up to it?”
Twilight sighed. She wasn’t very proud of what she did that day and to make matters worse, Smarty Pants was still missing and Big Macintosh denied any involvement in it. Even so, she saw no reason to keep it a secret from Sunset, so she took a deep breath and said, “I was afraid that Princess Celestia was going to send me back to magic kindergarten if I didn’t send her my weekly friendship report but there were no friendship problems so I decided to make one and I enchanted my favorite doll with a Want-It-Need-It spell and the whole town got into a riot and the Princess had to fix it.”
Sunset managed to keep a straight face at that…for all of three seconds. Then she burst into a laughing fit that had tears streaming down her face, while Twilight was awkwardly smiling at the few other patrons of the store, who were giving the two girls questioning or disturbed looks.
Eventually, Sunset came to her senses again. “I’m sorry, it’s just that, well, I’d never expect you of all people to do something like that. I’d always figured you to be above that kind of stuff,” she said.
Twilight shrugged, a gesture that was much easier to do with hands than with hooves. “I’m not perfect, Sunset. You know that. When the Sirens were threatening everyone, I couldn’t do anything to stop them. When Queen Chrysalis returned, I didn’t even get a chance to try anything to stop them.”
Twilight looked out the window. The rain was still pouring down every bit as hard as it had earlier, and the sky was still just as dark and forbidding, if not more so.
“Not too long ago, I foolishly set an ancient evil free because I wanted to meet Star Swirl the Bearded so badly, despite Starlight’s warnings. Then I got caught trying to steal a powerful magical artifact, because my friends were driving me up the wall. There are times when I wonder…should I really be the Princess of Friendship?”
Sunset had listened to Twilight full of surprise. She hadn’t expected their conversation to go from lighthearted to serious so quickly. She took a swig of hot chocolate and sighed contentedly as its heat spread throughout her body, then looked back at Twilight, who looked downcast.
“We all make mistakes, Twilight. Even the most powerful people or ponies or whoever have messed up big time. I don’t think making mistakes disqualifies you as a Princess. I think what qualifies you as a Princess is that you, despite all your power, never abused it for your own gain. Your cutie mark is for magic itself, isn’t it? Your potential is greater than that of literally any other unicorn out there, yet you would only use your power to help your friends. You didn’t get greedy for glory; you didn’t seek to surpass and supplant Princess Celestia like I wanted to, nor did you use your power to forcibly reign over a village like Starlight. You only ever use your true potential when you’re fighting with and for your friends. Isn’t that exactly what the Princess of Friendship should be like?”
Sunset smiled warmly at Twilight, who returned the smile. “Now,” she said in a stronger tone, causing Twilight to sit up a bit straighter. “What did you just say about meeting Star Swirl the Bearded?!”
Twilight laughed, relieved that Sunset changed the subject. She told her the tale of Stygian and the Pillars of Old Equestria, how she’d undone the barrier put in place long ago to seal away the Pony of Shadows, all because she wanted to meet her idol, and how she ignored Starlight’s advice throughout, until the very end.
After Twilight’s story, Sunset told the story of how she had seen a vision in the mirror of her as an alicorn, and how that had driven her to abandon Princess Celestia and eventually led her to steal Twilight’s crown in order to use its power to take over Equestria.
Before either of them knew it, several hours had passed, and several empty mugs adorned the table in front of them, leading Sunset to idly wonder why no one came by to pick them up. She glanced outside and noticed that the sky had cleared up and the sun had set. Only a very faint glow of dark blue was still visible above the buildings.
“So…I don’t think you’ve ever seen my house, have you? If you’ve still got time…” Sunset said.
Twilight smiled. “I’d love to see your house, Sunset. All I’d be doing at home right now is reading the Daring Do novels backwards, anyway.”
“…Why?” Sunset asked, entirely mystified.
Twilight smirked. “I told you I was beginning to go a little crazy,” she said.
Sunset laughed and shook her head. “You are one strange pony, Twilight.”
With their hands deep in their pockets, Sunset and Twilight walked along the storefronts. Many of them were still brightly lit, hoping to entice unwary passersby to buy various items, some more useful than others. Given the time of year, many of the displays were decorated with skulls, tombstones, and other kinds of spooky decorations. Curiously, Twilight studied the assorted zombies and spiders and pumpkins as they walked by.
“Does this world have Nightmare Night too?” she asked.
“They call it Halloween here, but yeah, it’s more or less the same thing,” Sunset said, “Their holiday has nothing to do with Nightmare Moon, though. For them, it’s about spirits and demons in general, I think. The kids still dress up and collect candy, though, so it’s really not that different.”
Twilight looked thoughtful as they walked on. She glanced up at the sky, in which only a few very bright stars were visible despite still being clear. She shivered as a light breeze blew past.
“It’s so strange. This world and Equestria are so alike, but so different. The stars are different, the air is different, but it all feels familiar, too.”
Sunset nodded quietly. In all the time she’d been here, she had noticed the same things Twilight was now describing. It was a bit uncanny because everything was just a little bit off, but also strangely comforting because it was so much like home…at least when the streets had cleared out a bit and the smell of burnt gasoline was mostly gone.
Sunset stole a surreptitious glance at Twilight. She was the only one in either world who knew how Sunset felt, although in Twilight’s case her first trip to this world hadn’t been entirely voluntary. And yet, here she was. Someone who Sunset had seen as an enemy for a long time despite never having met her, now probably her closest friend.
Twilight, meanwhile, was thinking about Sunset’s situation. Like Twilight, Sunset had been a prized pupil of Princess Celestia’s. Like Twilight, her talents with magic were largely unmatched by any of her peers. But despite that, Sunset chose to remain here, in this strange-yet-familiar world where there was only the faintest trace of the magic that was abundant in Equestria.
Twilight knew that Sunset sometimes longed for the feeling of Equestrian magic, but she didn’t want to abandon the friends she’d made here, and the eager student of magic she’d once been was fascinated by the energy that now existed in this world. Energy that shouldn’t exist in this world. What, Twilight wondered, would Sunset do if this world threatened to go the route of the other mirror world? Would she stay here, forever cut off from Equestria, or return and give up her friends?
She was shaken from her musings when Sunset stopped walking and looked at Twilight. “We’re here.”
Sunset and Twilight were lounging on her couch. After giving Twilight a quick tour of her house, Sunset had made dinner with things she happened to have in her fridge, which turned out to be a cucumber, a bell pepper, an avocado, and some mozzarella.
When they’d finished their dinner (eaten on the couch, since Sunset owned exactly one chair and no actual table) Sunset suggested to look for a scary movie on TV, knowing that in the approach to Halloween there just had to be a channel broadcasting one. And so, with a large bowl of microwaved popcorn and a bottle of soda on the small table in front of them, Sunset and Twilight were ready to enjoy the movie, which was supposed to be one of the scariest ones to have come out that year. It soon turned out, though, that for two interdimensional ponies who had on several occasions fought actual dark magic, the movie was mostly boring. It didn’t take long before both were fast asleep.
When Sunset woke up, she felt someone leaning against her. She opened her eyes and carefully turned her head. Twilight was slumped against her shoulder, still asleep. A light blush spread over Sunset’s cheeks. She looked very cute like that, still dressed in the oversized hoodie Sunset had lent her.
Sunset glanced at the TV. The movie was long over and the small clock on her digital decoder told her it was fifteen past one in the morning. Loath as she was to disturb Twilight, she still knew she had to. Her couch was comfortable, but not to sleep on while sitting upright. She gently shook her friend to wake her up.
“Just five more minutes…” Twilight mumbled sleepily, before realizing where she was. “Oh! I’m sorry, Sunset, I didn’t mean to…”
Sunset held up her hand. “It’s fine, Twilight. I fell asleep too. Anyway, it’s kind of late. We can go back to the portal if you want to, but you might as well spend the night here. I’m sure I’ve got an extra toothbrush somewhere.”
Twilight considered that for a moment and was surprised to realize that she didn’t actually want to go back at all at that moment. She was tired, and Sunset’s hoodie was warm and soft. Just like Sunset herself. The thought shot through Twilight’s mind before she’d even realized what she was thinking. She quickly shook her head to clear her mind.
“Are you…okay, Twilight?” Sunset asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, I’m, I’m fine,” Twilight stammered, “I, uh, I think I’ll stay here for tonight, if that’s okay. Spike’s not going to be back until tomorrow evening, anyway.”
Twilight was glad Sunset hadn’t been touching her when she’d thought that strange thought, or her magic would have allowed her to see it. Where did that come from, all of a sudden? She was tired, that had to be it. Unless…no, that was ridiculous. She couldn’t possibly have developed a…a crush on Sunset, could she? But if she had…would that really be such a bad thing? Twilight took a deep breath. Get a hold of yourself, Twilight, she told herself. You’re just tired, that’s all. Nothing more.
“…you listening to me?” she heard Sunset say.
“I’m sorry Sunset, I didn’t get that. I’m…a bit tired, that’s all. What did you say?” Twilight asked sheepishly.
Sunset looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I said, we’ll have to share the bed. I’ve fallen asleep on the couch before, and that is not a place you want to spend the whole night,” she repeated. “I’ll go find you some pajamas, you go ahead and brush your teeth.”
Sunset walked up the stairs and pulled open her wardrobe. Unbeknownst to Twilight, Sunset had in fact felt that one rogue thought from her, from a minuscule touch of their fingertips. Because Twilight was so flustered, she hadn’t noticed that Sunset was quite red as well. See, Sunset didn’t really mind that Twilight had had that thought. It weirded her out a little that she felt that way about her friend, but it definitely wasn’t a bad feeling, on the whole. She smiled faintly, pulled out a pair of pajamas, and followed Twilight to go and brush her teeth.
A few minutes later, Twilight and Sunset were lying in bed. For a moment, there was something of an awkward silence between them, as Twilight was trying not to think about her sudden strange thoughts and Sunset was debating whether or not to tell Twilight that she knew. Eventually, Sunset made a decision.
“Hey, Twilight?” she said. Twilight gave her a questioning look. “I felt your thought, just now.” Twilight paled a bit, so Sunset hastily added, “I don’t mind, really. I must admit, I kind of liked it, having you leaned up against me. It felt…safe, somehow.” She sighed. “That probably sounds stupid. I don’t know, but I know it felt right, and that’s good enough for me.”
Twilight was silent for a moment before replying. “It doesn’t sound stupid. It’s just…I don’t really know where that thought came from. I’ve never…had any thoughts like that for a mare…girl...before.” She shook her head. “But it’s true. It did feel right, somehow.”
Another silence fell, as both tried to figure out the implications of that exchange. Twilight was glad she didn’t have to worry about keeping her thoughts secret anymore, but she also wasn’t sure if one stray thought from a tired mind truly meant anything. Sunset, for her part, was glad that she’d spoken up to Twilight and admitted having similar thoughts. She, too, didn’t really know what else to make of it for now. After a short moment, she once again broke the silence.
“We don’t have to do anything with this, not yet. We’re friends, and I wouldn’t risk that for the world. Let’s just get some sleep, carry on like we usually do, and…we’ll see how things go, I guess. We’ve got time.” She felt awkward saying the words, unsure if they were the right ones, if they sounded too resigned, or reluctant, or…
“That sounds good to me,” Twilight said, interrupting Sunset’s worried thoughts. “I don’t want things to change between us, at least not for now.” She stared at the ceiling for a moment and then turned back to Sunset, a small smile on her face. “I once spent an entire week worrying about a disaster that would hit Ponyville, because a future version of me showed up looking completely disheveled; she even wore an eyepatch and everything.”
In her mind’s eye, Twilight recalled the moment, both moments, really. Her smile widened a bit when she recalled herself saying that that situation was not scientifically possible. Sunset, meanwhile, wondered where Twilight was going with this, though she had a vague idea. Twilight resumed her story.
“I got worked up to the point where I went to the Star Swirl the Bearded wing of the Royal Archives to find a spell that could stop time. Instead, I found a scroll that would let me go back, for just a minute, and the spell would only work once. I went back to warn myself not to worry about anything…but over that week, my frantic worrying had left me just as disheveled as Future Twilight had been. I’d become Future Twilight, and set off the chain again for my past self.” She fell silent for a moment. “I know, it’s a bit of a tangent, but the point of that whole story was to say that it taught me that it’s no use worrying about what the future holds in store for you. I’m here, with my close friend, and that’s all that matters now. Everything else…will come when it will.”
Sunset smiled at her. “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” she said, and turned off the light.
With a sigh, Sunset dropped onto her couch. She’d just returned home after walking back to the portal with Twilight. They talked about their friends a bit, about the magic of the human world, and the magic of Equestria. Nothing had hinted at their little conversation the night before…or had it? Perhaps they had walked just a bit closer together than they would usually have done. Perhaps the hug they’d shared before Twilight stepped back through the portal had been a bit longer than strictly necessary. And perhaps…perhaps…
Twilight sat in her throne, idly staring at a wall. Her mind was racing, her heart not far behind. She’d just said goodbye to Sunset and hugged her. But then… Twilight smiled. She blushed lightly, feeling lucky no one was there to see it. The tactile memory was a bit strange now. After all, human lips aren’t really the same as equine ones…