A Study on Chaos Theory

Chapters

Non-Optimal Conditions
Minimum Complexities
Failsafes
Dimensions
Interlude: Peer Review, Phase One
Lunar Hypotheses
Evening by Sunset
Resonance
Interlude: Peer Review, Phase Two
Quantum States
Sequence Initiation
Twilight Rendezvous
Observer Effect
Epilogue: Sequence Halt

Non-Optimal Conditions

“I still think you should have kept the tail!” Sunset said with a smirk.

Twilight giggled, pushed up her glasses and dove back behind her wall of books—easily twice her height at this point—around her side of the table.

Moon Dancer rolled her eyes with an annoyed little huff, but she didn't bother to hide the half-smile aimed at Twilight. Twilight seemed to sense it just long enough to peek up and catch a glimpse of the smile. Her cheeks colored and she hid behind her books again.

They’d managed to secure a secluded reading nook in the RCA that had some semblance of privacy. Soft blue light filled most of the room, cast by the magical fireflies fluttering within the half-dozen lanterns hanging from the walls and ceiling. The one downside to the nook was the open door. The shelves in this room held a small number of texts regarding the concepts of Ritual Spellcasting, but Twilight had recommended it over the more formal reading rooms. Apparently, very few ponies came here, which made it perfect for discussing about how to prevent—or potentially cause—future deerifications.

“I’m glad you two are getting along.” Sunset glanced between Moon Dancer and Twilight. “You know, I swore you two were going to kill each other when you first met. Well… met, again.”

“Before or after the awkward hour-long silence?” Moon Dancer smirked and flipped through the pages of A Study on Chaos Theory.

“I’m not good with meeting new ponies!” Twilight squeaked from behind her paper-filled fortress. Sunset managed to catch a brief glimpse of her between a chaotic-based zoology textbook and A Treatise on Friendship.

“I wasn’t exactly new, Twi,” Moon Dancer pointed out.

For a second, Sunset thought she saw the hint of a frown on Moon Dancer’s face, but it had to be a trick of the light. The magical firefly lanterns occasionally did weird things with the lighting.

“And that made it even more awkward!” Twilight said. A few books shifted in one of the four precarious stacks to Twilight’s right. “There isn’t a reference guide to how to reconnect with your first friend after eight years! Or if there is… I haven’t found it yet.” Twilight paused. “I should probably have looked that afternoon.”

“I’m sure somepony has written it.” Sunset chuckled. “What was that 101 book you found the other day, Moonie?”

Moon Dancer rolled her eyes. “Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties, But Were Afraid to Ask.”

“Ooh!” Twilight peeked out from her barricade of books. Behind her glasses, her eyes were huge, reminding Sunset of a kitten staring at a ball of string. “I have that one!”

“You…” Sunset blinked a few times. “You actually have a book on how to have slumber parties?”

Twilight flushed and made a point to look everywhere but at the two mares at the table with her. “Um… maybe?”

Sunset and Moon Dancer both broke into laughter and Twilight ducked back into hiding, but not without Sunset catching a sheepish smile on her face.

“I don’t suppose you ever got to use it?” Moon Dancer hazarded.

Sunset blinked at her. “Hey, come on, no need for that.”

“What?” Moon Dancer protested with a sidelong glare at Sunset. “It’s a valid question.”

Twilight’s neat little striped bun wobbled from within her sanctuary. “No. Sorry.”

“Oh well…” Moon Dancer hesitated for a moment before plowing on. “Maybe I could help you… go through the table of contents? Might be fun.”

Twilight popped back up, though she had to adjust her glasses to stare at Moon Dancer properly. Oddly enough, she seemed shocked. “You’d… do that for me?”

“Yeah!” Moon Dancer replied with a bit too much confidence. “Why not? It’d be great, just the two of us. After all, we’ve been friends forever. Who better?”

“That…” Twilight chewed on the inside of her cheek—a noticeably red cheek. “That sounds wonderful.”

Sunset’s brow furrowed. “Hey, last I checked, slumber parties are normally with multiple ponies.”

Moon Dancer and Twilight jumped, as if they had somehow forgotten Sunset was even there. Both flushed and stammered out rather incoherent apologies.

What is up with them today? Sunset scratched her head in confusion.

“Hey, it’s fine.” Sunset raised her hooves to calm her friends down. “If you want to make it a private party or something like that, I won’t stand in your way. As long as I get the same treatment!”

“Oh!” Twilight blinked a few times, her eyes enormous behind her glasses. She brightened considerably at the idea. “Oh… of course! That sounds fantastic!”

“Well, I asked first,” Moon Dancer said. “So, I get to go first.”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t have even met her again if it wasn’t for me.” Sunset smirked. “So there!”

Moon Dancer narrowed her eyes just a fraction. “Well, I was her first friend, so that trumps everything!”

Sunset opened her mouth to retort, but ended up glowering at Moon Dancer in defeat. “That’s cheating.”

Moon Dancer looked about as smug as a pony could be. “Still valid!”

“Uh, do I get a say in this?” Twilight asked from behind her fort.

“Oh!” Moon Dancer went brilliant red again. Then she turned so fast she almost spun herself out of her chair. “Of… of course! Sorry, Twi. Got kinda caught up in the moment there.”

“No, no,” Sunset sighed dramatically. “Moon Dancer’s right. She gets first dibs. I will do my best to bow out with grace and humility, as I do in all things!”

Moon Dancer and Twilight fixed her with twin stares of incredulity. Sunset managed to hold her somber expression for maybe eight seconds before bursting out laughing. “Sorry, sorry…”

“Well, Sunset’s theatrics notwithstanding,” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe I could do the first at Moon Dancer’s house, the second at Sunset’s house and then, for the third…” She bit her lip and then started nibbling on a bang. “Everypony could come to mine?”

“She snores,” Moon Dancer said, pointing an accusing hoof at Sunset.

“I do not!”

“You do so!”

“Not.”

“So.”

“Not.”

“So.”

“Girls!” Twilight squeaked, looking a little flustered. Okay, a lot flustered. “Can… can you two stop fighting over me? I am right here you know!”

Sunset laughed, then grinned at both of them. “Sorry, Twilight. It’s been a while since I’ve really gotten into it with Moonie. Not since… huh…”

Twilight cocked her head, but for some odd reason, Moon Dancer looked awkward.

“Not since I met you, Twilight.” Sunset blinked a few times and turned to Moon Dancer. “That’s… weird.”

“Yeah,” Moon Dancer replied, not meeting Sunset’s eyes. “Weird.”

“I wonder why." Sunset tapped her chin with her hoof. “I mean, we’ve both spent a lot of time with Twilight.”

In response, Twilight nibbled one of her bangs a bit more, while Moon Dancer nodded distractedly.

“Maybe it’s just that.” Sunset shrugged. “I mean, it happens, right? Life gets in the way of fun and games sometimes. I guess it’ll be a pretty good thing the Princess decided to bring you in on the Spire Project, right?”

“Yeah,” Moon Dancer said. She said it in almost the exact same odd tone she had a few moments ago. Her gaze flickered between her hooves and Twilight, though strangely never to Sunset.

“Moon Dancer?” Sunset said. “Are you okay?”

Moon Dancer blinked a few times, as if she had lost track of her surroundings. “What?”

“Are you okay?” she repeated.

“Yeah, of course!” Moon Dancer smirked as she ran a hoof over her topknot. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m with my best friend and my first friend. Working on some super-important project involving a…” She raised a hoof, blinked at the book before her a few times and then slowly lowered the hoof. “What does this thing do again?”

Sunset snickered. “Seriously? We just spent two hours with the Princess as she unraveled that chaos surge! We talked about it the entire time!”

“I was…” Moon Dancer glanced at Twilight. Her ears twitched a few times. So did her tail. “I was distracted.”

Something close to a giggle escaped from Twilight, but when Sunset glanced at her, she’d gone back to hiding behind her books. Sunset rolled her eyes and settled down. While she could describe the Spire Project, in truth, she couldn’t take that away from Twilight. Twilight lived for moments like this.

“Twilight?” Sunset grinned at the mare in question. “You want to take this?”

Twilight actually pushed aside a few books and for the first time since they’d gotten settled in, she was fully visible. Her ears upright. Her cheeks glowed. Her eyes shone. Her grin was enormous.

Dammit, Twilight! Warn me before you decide to be that adorable!

This thought was immediately followed by another.

No, bad Sunset! Stop that! You’re not supposed to be thinking… about… about… that.

And while Twilight vibrated with excitement, a bit of Sunset’s cheer slipped away like the sun sliding behind a cloud. For the fifth time today, Celestia’s words from two months ago came back to her like some haunting ghost.

“Both of you are just learning to be friends. Do not complicate matters. Such magic tends to magnify emotional states. What you feel at present may not be the truth.”

“You… you really want me to?” Twilight asked, looking like filly about perform her first alteration spell. “You made me promise not to after—”

“Minuette,” Sunset said, her smile never fading—despite the resurfacing doubts, “is brilliant. But advanced magical theorems is not her strongest subject. Moon Dancer, however…”

“I can handle anything,” Moon Dancer said with a cocky little grin. “Anyway, I had to deal with Sunset as a study partner half the time while at GU. I would have run out of the school screaming if I couldn’t keep up with her.”

“Well, you did have that one incident when you tried to replicate my tap-dancing cat spell.”

Moon Dancer’s head swung around and her eyes narrowed dangerously. “We had agreed never to speak of that, Sunny.”

Sunset beamed at her.

“Should I ask?” Twilight hazarded.

“No,” Moon Dancer said before Sunset could get a word in edgewise. “No, you should not!”

“But—” Sunset began.

Moon Dancer’s ears went flat. That surprised Sunset, because that was a blatantly clear sign Moon Dancer wanted Sunset to shut up and to shut up right now.

What is up with her today? She’s acting weird—even for her. Maybe it’s being turned into a doe? I mean, she’s had chaos surges before, but she’s never suddenly become another species. Could be that…

“So… uh…” Twilight nibbled on a bang again. “You… did you want me to…?”

“Oh!” Sunset nodded. “Yeah, go ahead. Give Moon Dancer the full treatment.”

Luminous glee radiated from her friend like the sun itself. Even her glasses sparkled in the light of the magical fireflies. The sheer eagerness was like a physical force. Actual stars appeared in Twilight’s eyes as Sunset gave the mare a free pass to do her favorite thing in the universe: lecture.

Dammit, Twilight! Stop doing that!

“Foundations first. That’s critical,” Twilight began with a raised hoof. Her horn ignited and two dozen books from the multitude of stacks they’d assembled onto the table rearranged themselves for optimal demonstration purposes. “Everypony knows harmony magic—the intrinsic magic of the world itself—is concentrated heavily in specific areas of the world, usually around leyline nexuses, such as Canterlot, the Frozen North, that odd spot in the Everfree Forest and a couple other regions. With full access to pure harmony magic, members of all three races could utilize their inherent magical abilities with no lost energy. A perfect system. The Spire is designed to tap into the leylines to attempt to create a pure harmonic field.”

“A pure harmonic field?” Moon Dancer looked astonished and she leaned forward. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Sunset smirked a little at Moon Dancer’s reaction. In truth, she found it hard not to bask in Twilight’s semi-neurotic brilliance, but she’d been slowly building a tolerance over the last two months.

“Princess Celestia provided the base equations and encouraged us to develop our own prototype. Once we showed it to her, she revealed our prototype was extremely similar to another device with a similar purpose from a long-forgotten civilization,” Twilight said, her voice becoming almost frantic with excitement. “One that could potentially predate Discord! That’s what makes it so fascinating. Of course, the problem we’re running into is the background chaotic magic that’s also omnipresent in Equestria. Many leading minds believe that chaos magic fully counteracts harmony magic, similar to a zero-sum result in magnetic polarity.” Twilight’s face twisted in a grimace of pure academic disgust. “However, I think just blithely declaring chaos to be the opposite of Harmony is a gross oversimplification. This is actually related to Discord and his form of magic. Many see chaos magic and Discord as one the same. And I know the traditional definition of ‘discord’ is ‘a lack of harmony between ponies,’ but I believe there’s more to it than that. In fact, over a thousand years ago…”

Sunset breathed out a small sigh of contentment as Twilight launched into her latest hypothesis on the true source of the interference problems they’d been having with the Spire Project. Sunset couldn’t blame her for being so excited, really. If they could work out the kinks, the applications of this new form of magic were endless. Long-distance communications, large-scale spellcasting and even advanced healing magic… all of it could be completely revolutionized in the wake of their success.

But the truth was… that’s not why Sunset loved working on the project.

Despite Celestia’s words, the heightened emotions caused by that spell back in the Royal Canterlot Archives hadn’t faded. Then again, Celestia had never said how long that effect was supposed to last.

Sunset couldn’t bring herself to ask. Part of this was run-of-the-mill embarrassment. But there was another part. A part that wanted these feelings for one bespectacled unicorn to be real.

And that part, simply put, terrified her.

Moon Dancer asked a question. Twilight clapped her hooves together and made a little squeeing noise as she launched into an extended explanation on the finer details of leyline interference. They were really getting into this.

Of course they are, a snide little voice in the back of her head whispered. They’re even nerdier than you are.

Oh, leave me alone, Sunset thought back at her angry little pony. I don’t need you needling me today.

You sure about that? the voice replied, the tone smug. I mean… have you ever wondered why you can’t make that stupid glowstick work right? It’s based on Harmony. You’re about as unharmonious as it gets.

That’s a lie, Sunset snapped. More than anything, what happened two months ago proved I’m a changed pony. I’m nothing like the pony I used to be. I’m nothing like you.

Pity. If you were more like me, you’d see what was right in front of your muzzle. But right now, you can’t even figure out your own feelings for Little-Miss-Know-It-All. Why don’t you start there, huh?

Nopony asked you, Sunset snarled into the back of her head.

Nopony ever does. Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.

Moon Dancer suddenly burst into laughter and Twilight joined in. Both blushed fiercely, but Twilight didn’t break stride. She expounded on the next part of her exposition, this one about historical precedents of fallen harmonic figures of the past.

Sunset smiled faintly. No matter what, she did love the fact that they were getting along. Moon Dancer and Twilight had almost gotten them all kicked out of a restaurant when they’d first been reunited. If Sunset hadn’t managed to calm them down…

Sunset shivered.

Well, there would have been no way she could have faced the Princess if they’d been kicked out because two of her friends had been screaming at each other about whether the Dewey Decimal System or the Starswirl Decimal System was a superior library cataloguing technique.

Moon Dancer and Twilight had a lot in common. Then again, so did Twilight and Sunset. After all, they’d been briefly bound together by the very same magic that had forged Equestria itself. They both loved learning, magic… for pony’s sake, they both all but worshiped Princess Celestia. Though, Twilight admired Celestia from a distance, while Sunset considered the Princess to be—

Say it, the little voice taunted. Come on. It’s not like your real one wants anything to do with you anymore. There’s nothing wrong with coming to grips with the truth.

Sunset shook her head, refusing to go down that road. Instead, she focused again on Twilight, who’d conjured a leyline map of Equestria and the surrounding nations.

Twilight Sparkle. Neurotic. Panicky. Obsessive. And occasionally, adorable.

No, stop that! Sunset snapped at herself.

Why are you fighting this? Sunset could feel her angry little pony rolling her eyes. I think it’s stupid, but hey, what do I know? I’m just the better, smarter, more powerful version of you. Why listen to me, the only pony who wants to see you actually succeed in life?

You know why, Sunset thought. I already have you in my head. I’m not about to do something that Celestia asked me not to do when I can’t even be one-hundred-percent sure that something else isn’t screwing with the way I think! Twilight deserves better.

You are hopeless, her angry little pony sighed.

Sunset didn’t have a response to that. Instead, she ignored the voice and once again focused on Twilight. While she couldn’t do anything other than be the best friend she could be, she could at least enjoy Twilight’s show. And Twilight put on a fantastic show. Three seconds later, Sunset was grinning again as Twilight—

“Uh… Sunny?” Moon Dancer whisper-shouted.

“What?” Sunset jumped and blinked a few times. “What happened?”

“Uh…” Moon Dancer gave her a deadpan expression. “Twi here needs Chaosbringer.”

“Sorry?” Sunset glanced between the two of them. “Wait, isn’t your special talent finding books?”

Twilight flushed. “It’s kinda hard to when you’re leaning on the book on top of it.”

“Oh!” Sunset glanced down at her copy of Legends of Equestria… and the raspberry glow of the book beneath it. Sunset sheepishly pulled her hooves away from the stack.

Chaosbringer leapt out from under Legends of Equestria and flew to Twilight’s side. She flipped open to a page and smiled to herself.

“As I was saying,” Twilight said with a tone of finality. “In summary, that’s why I believe that on a practical level, despair is the true ‘enemy’ of Harmony. For a lack of hope will result in acceptance of—or resignation to—the status quo. A perfectly realized Harmony is always changing, growing and becoming something more than it was previously. Despair removes that growth. As Meditative State said, ‘Even in chaos, there is always hope for a better tomorrow.’”

Sunset applauded quietly, grinning all the while. She’d heard Twilight’s rather farfetched theory before, but Twilight definitely had a passion for this sort of thing. It was hard to dismiss her. And Sunset really didn’t have an interest in dismis—

Twilight frowned, looking a little hurt. And she was staring at Moon Dancer. “Uh… Moon Dancer?”

Sunset glanced over and realized… Moon Dancer was glaring at her. Actually glaring.

“Uh… did I miss something?” Sunset asked, leaning back. “Moonie?”

That seemed to snap Moon Dancer out of her odd trance. She let out an enormous sigh and shook her head. “Sorry, I… I was thinking of something else. What did I miss?”

“We were just asking you the same thing…,” Sunset said cautiously. “What’s with the glare?”

“What glare?” Moon Dancer blinked a few times as if confused, but didn’t meet Sunset’s eyes.

“Uh… you seemed really distracted at the end there. Did… did you want me to repeat it? Or were you bored?” Twilight asked in a very small voice. “You weren’t bored, were you?”

“No!” Moon Dancer whirled and faced Twilight. “No, sorry! I caught everything. I actually think despair being the opposite of Harmony has some merit. It’s going to require a lot more study, but there’s potential there, Twilight.”

Twilight flushed and beamed at her, though she still looked a little confused.

She just called her Twilight, Sunset thought. I can’t remember the last time she used anypony’s full name.

“Moon Dancer?” Sunset asked slowly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Moon Dancer said instantly. “Nothing at all. Just got lost in thought.”

“Thoughts that led to you giving me a death glare.”

“Sunset, just… drop it, okay?”

Now she’s using my full name? She hasn’t done that in years!

“No, I don’t think I will…” Sunset’s ears folded back as she leaned forward. “I’m your best friend, Moonie. What’s wrong?”

Moon Dancer closed her eyes. Her ears were pasted back against her head. Sunset couldn’t remember the last time Moon Dancer had looked so… frustrated? Angry? Or…

No. Couldn’t be.

“Please don’t,” Moon Dancer said, her voice devoid of any smugness… or any emotion at all.

“Did I do something to upset you?” Twilight asked timidly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I thought you really wanted to know…”

“Gah!” Moon Dancer suddenly exploded, slamming her hooves down on the table. A quarter of the books suddenly tumbled off their piles and onto the ground. “You two are impossible!”

Twilight actually fell out of her chair in shock. Sunset barely caught herself in time to prevent the same thing from happening to her. Both just gaped at Moon Dancer, who looked ready to start throwing books in a maddened rage. Considering Sunset had never seen Moon Dancer treat books with anything other than tender loving care… it was more than a little terrifying.

“Moon Dancer!” Sunset cried. “What has gotten into you?”

Twilight didn’t say a word. She sat in a small pile of books, trembling with shock.

“I’m… I’m sick of… of…” Moon Dancer gestured wildly at Sunset and Twilight. “This!”

“What ‘this?’” Sunset stood and shoved her chair back. “We don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Seriously?” Moon Dancer shot back. She got up so fast her chair went flying halfway across the reading nook. “You don’t? After you’ve been staring at Twilight for so long that she can’t even pull a book out from under you?”

Sunset instantly flushed. “I… I wasn’t… I don’t…”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight squeaked from the floor. “I… I don’t know what… what’s going on… I wasn’t trying to upset anypony…”

“And that’s what makes it even worse!” Moon Dancer threw up her hooves. “You don’t even know, Twi. You don’t even realize it! Sunset though… she does.”

“Can you try to make some sense?” Sunset demanded, slamming one of her hooves on the table. “What’s this about?”

It can’t be what I think it is. Come on, this is Moonie! She’s the one who told me to talk to Twilight two months ago! It can’t be… no, it has to be something else.

“As if you don’t actually know.” Moon Dancer crossed her forelegs.

“I’m lost,” Twilight confessed. She was still shaking.

“Moonie…” Sunset took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “You don’t have to be here. You could have said no to Princess Celestia.”

Moon Dancer’s eyes flashed as she tweaked her glasses with a brief flare of magic.

“Princess Celestia gave me an assignment to help out my best friend and my oldest friend research the underpinnings of harmony magic. You think I’m about to pass that up?” Moon Dancer rolled her eyes. “Real insightful, Sunset. Really. Seriously.”

“Look, you’re obviously not happy about… something…”

Moon Dancer talked right over Sunset. “Anyway, after that little hiccup back in the lab, I thought you two could use the help!”

“Not if you’re going to suddenly start throwing temper tantrums like a little filly!”

Moon Dancer’s glasses fell down her muzzle as she fixed Sunset with a glare that could have vaporized solid stone. “Watch it, Sunset.”

“I don’t know where all this is coming from!” Sunset lied as ice trickled through her bones. “I seriously don’t!”

“And I know you’re lying!” Moon Dancer spat. She pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Ever since the two of you met… I swear to Celestia… every other time you even look at one another, you both go as red as strawberries! Doesn’t that say something?”

Twilight let out an inarticulate squeak. Sunset couldn’t bring herself to come up with an answer. Well, she couldn’t bring herself to give an answer.

“Twilight couldn’t even pull a book out from under you because you were so enraptured in her presentation. It was a great presentation! But I’ve seen that expression before, Sunset! I know it!” Moon Dancer’s eyes went hard. “It’s the same expression Lemon Hearts gives Green Fields when they’re out on a date.”

Sunset physically staggered as if Moon Dancer had slugged her across the jaw. She felt something rip inside of her. She had to clutch the table to keep from falling over. Distantly, she realized Twilight was looking back and forth between them, completely lost.

“Moon Dancer…” Sunset gasped.

“That’s my problem!” Moon Dancer’s voice rose to a level that pushed the edge of the acceptable speaking volume in the Royal Canterlot Archives. “Neither of you want to face what happened two months ago, do you? Maybe it’s time to do us all a favor and actually do something about it!”

“Moon Dancer, you’re not—” Sunset took another deep breath and tried to block out everything around her, from the trembling Twilight to the blood pounding in her ears. “There’s nothing that needs to be done. Twilight and I are just friends who both happen to be students of Princess Celestia.”

“Yeah, right!” Moon Dancer snapped back, her face twisted into a scowl. “Two friends who also just happened to get a glimpse into each other’s souls through the spontaneous ignition of unified harmony magic! After only a few hours together!”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with anything!” Sunset retorted. “You weren’t there, Moon Dancer! You didn’t… you—”

Sunset forced herself to shut up and think. She was better than this. She was a better pony now. She wasn’t about to tear apart her best friend. Moon Dancer deserved better. And Sunset was better.

Liar.

Moon Dancer trembled in barely-repressed fury. Her glare threatened to bore a hole straight through Sunset’s skull. Her chest heaved and… were… were those hints of tears in Moon Dancer’s eyes?

“Um…” Twilight murmured as she pulled herself out of her little pile of books. “Maybe I should go…”

“No!” Moon Dancer and Sunset cried at the same time.

Twilight froze.

Moon Dancer and Sunset stared at one another. That’s when it finally registered. It had been there the entire time.

Somepony please tell me this isn’t happening, Sunset begged to anypony who could hear her.

It’s happening, you idiot mare, said the snide little voice. You should have seen it coming. You would have if you were as ‘better’ as you pretend to be.

Sunset opened her mouth to speak, but Moon Dancer beat her to the punch.

“Actually,” Moon Dancer said as she closed her own book and stuffed it unceremoniously into a saddlebag. “I should get going. It’s getting late.”

“It’s only eight,” Twilight pointed out weakly.

“And I have an early shift tomorrow at the Cosmo,” Moon Dancer replied with the fakest smile Sunset had ever seen. “I know you work off of no sleep, Twi, but I can’t work like that.”

A tiny smile flitted across Moon Dancer’s muzzle, directed solely at Twilight.

“Hey!” Twilight protested weakly. “I need sleep just like everypony else! I just… I just tend to stay up too late reading.”

“Nopony’s perfect,” Moon Dancer replied.

Twilight let out a tiny little laugh. A hint of tension left the reading nook. But only a hint.

I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know! Sunset wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince, because the only pony that could hear her didn’t care in the slightest. That pony just laughed.

Sunset’s eyes darted between Moon Dancer and Twilight. Twilight seemed to be doing the same thing, though she kept biting her lip, never meeting anypony’s eyes. Moon Dancer, on the other hoof, glared at Sunset with the occasional glance at Twilight.

Now I know why Moonie and I haven’t really ‘gotten into it’ in two months, Sunset thought ruefully.

“Actually,” Sunset said, watching Moon Dancer carefully. “Maybe we should all try and turn in early.”

“But I’m only halfway through chapter eighty-three!” Twilight protested.

Despite everything, Sunset chuckled a little. “And I’m pretty sure the other half of the chapter will still be there tomorrow, Twilight. Even we should take a break every now and then.”

“Oh…” Twilight shuffled her hooves, her tail hanging limp. “Well, if you really think that’s for the best.”

Moon Dancer opened her mouth to protest, but Sunset gave her a pleading look. Sunset was a little surprised when her friend actually closed her mouth without saying a word. Meanwhile, Twilight meekly tucked her own book away into a saddlebag and stood up.

“Well… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow evening with the Princess?” Twilight asked, a bit of hope in her voice.

Sunset nodded. “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ve got a few things I need to take care of before heading out. Just do me a favor and get some sleep, okay?”

“I’ll try.” Twilight nodded and just stood there, looking back and forth between Moon Dancer and Sunset. She’d probably convinced herself she’d upset the two somehow.

Ironically, she had, but almost certainly not in the way she thought. And there wasn’t a damn thing Sunset could do until she talked with her best friend.

Away from Twilight.

Finally, Twilight bit her lip one final time and forced a smile. Sunset returned it as best she could, then watched as Moon Dancer did the same. The bespectacled mare rocked back and forth on her hooves a few more times before she finally departed with a mumbled, “See you later.”

Sunset waited until Twilight had turned the corner.

“Listen, I—” Moon Dancer said.

“We should really—” Sunset said.

They both froze. A few tense seconds passed before finally Moon Dancer cracked a silly little smile. Instantly, it was as if the sun had come out from behind a sea of clouds.

She didn’t like—no, scratch that, she hated—being angry with her friends. Despite everything, she wasn’t very good at dealing with it. Once upon a time, she’d been brilliant at handling confrontation. And for some things, she still was. Doing it with friends… well, that was still rocky territory.

“Doughnuts?” Sunset suggested.

“Best idea I’ve heard all day,” Moon Dancer agreed.

They chucked their books into their saddlebags and headed for the exit.

Author's Note

I used to wonder what friendship could be...
Until you shared that magic with me...

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Minimum Complexities

Moon Dancer slammed back the mug of hot chocolate and enjoyed the rich, velvety liquid as it went down her throat. It helped distract her from other, more annoying things. More annoying thoughts. More annoying ponies.

Pony Joe’s was quiet at this time of night. There was one couple in the far corner and a hooffull of single ponies scattered throughout the room. There was even a griffon near the front window, studying one of Joe’s classic white glazed doughnuts with a critical eye.

Across the table sat her best friend. As usual, she looked perfect. Red and gold mane flowing around her face. Amber coat that seemed to brush itself. Teal eyes that were alert and all-too-observant. Teal eyes that had bored into her… even when Sunny hadn’t been looking at her. How she pulled off that particular trick, Moon Dancer didn’t have a clue. But she could do it. Probably had something to do with being Celestia’s successor.

Moon Dancer tore off a chunk of her apple fritter before popping it into her mouth as Sunset helped herself to another strawberry glaze.

That’s the third tonight, Moon Dancer mused. This really is eating at her. Then again, I’m not doing much better. Especially after that little freakout back in the RCA.

Almost ten minutes of increasingly-awkward silence had passed since Joe had brought the order and even now, Moon Dancer could feel his eyes on Sunny and her. That wasn’t helping matters. Still, she didn’t blame him. Some tiny piece of Moon Dancer still cowered at the memory of what she’d just pulled on Sunny and Twi. Well, maybe more than just a tiny piece. After all, usually by this point, Sunny and her were bickering like an old married couple.

Instead, silence.

Silence sucks, Moon Dancer decided.

“So,” Moon Dancer began, shattering the silence like one of those new party cannons. “When did you actually figure it out?”

Sunny didn’t even bother pretending she didn’t know what Moon Dancer was talking about.

“After the spell? Not really sure,” she said, not meeting her eyes. “Couple days? Maybe a week?“

Sunset waved vaguely in the air and took another bite.

Moon Dancer sighed. That was about what she’d expected. “That was two months ago.”

“I know.”

Ugh. She should have had some sort of snappy comeback to that. Instead, she’s just staring into her cup of Earl Grey as if it contained a mildly interesting art exhibit.

“Cards on the table, Sunny. Why haven’t you done anything about it?”

Sunny shrugged.

“Oh, come on!” Moon Dancer cried. “Sunny, it’s not just me. It’s obvious to everypony except Miss Lavender Oblivious that you’ve got a thing for her. And frankly? I think even she’s noticed, but she’s too afraid to do anything about it. Haven’t you noticed I stopped trying to set you up with other ponies? That all of our friends have? Why do you think I was so… so… ticked at you?”

Sunny didn’t even flinch. “Hadn’t crossed my mind,” she mumbled.

“Liar,” Moon Dancer snapped. “Why haven’t you done anything about it?”

“Is that what this is about?” Before she could react, Sunny was matching Moon Dancer stare for stare. “Because I’ve got this wild and crazy hypothesis I’m not the only one holding a torch for a certain archivist.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Moon Dancer snapped between another few savage bites. Crumbles littered the table before her. “You know I prefer stallions.”

“Not buying it, Moony.” Sunny put her doughnut down and shook her head. “Especially after what just happened back there. I saw the look in your eye. And you’ve haven’t tore into me like that… not since…” Sunset trailed off and glared at her tea. “I should have noticed it earlier, but like you said, I’ve been distracted.”

“There’s nothing to notice!” Moon Dancer crossed her forelegs. “Nothing at all!”

“Moony,” Sunny said, her voice growing quiet and intense. “This is me. Come on, talk to me. I know we like to butt heads like a couple of buffalo, but we’re always there for one another. Let me in. Please.”

“Since when are you the one holding out a hoof?” Moon Dancer huffed before stuffing another chunk of fritter into her face. “That’s usually the job of your friends.”

“How about since we almost had a screaming match in the middle of the RCA? Or better yet, since I got my head out of the clouds and figured out one of my friends needed me to do it. I’m still not great at it. But we’ve been friends for seven years, Moony. That’s got to count for something. All I have is what I think is going on… but I need to hear it from you. Now, talk to me.”

Moon Dancer sighed, knocked back the rest of her hot chocolate and savored every drop, because it gave her time. She needed it now. She needed all the time she could get. But no matter what, there wasn’t enough.

Just get it over with.

She sighed.

“I had a fillyhood crush on her way back when,” she admitted. “Before we even started at GU. It was years and years ago, Sunny. It doesn’t matter now. Since then, I found I usually liked stallions more.”

Sunny’s mouth opened and then closed. Then she narrowed her eyes.

“It started the night you re-introduced us.” Moon Dancer groaned, rubbing her eyes at how much of an idiot she’d been that night. “Come on, you remember how much of a scene we made.”

“It’s kind of hard to forget,” Sunny admitted. “I swear that manager would have kicked us out on our tails if I hadn’t been… well, you know.”

Moon Dancer didn’t press the issue. She just nodded. “She reminded me of you, only a bit more… I don’t know, accessible? Fun? Don’t look at me like that. It’s different with Twilight. We’ve run in the same circles for years, but until that night, she avoided me. The few conversations we did have were about as riveting as a lecture by Professor Paper Bin. She… she didn’t want anything to do with me. That hurt for a long time.”

She swirled the dregs of her hot chocolate in her cup and stared into the depths. “Eventually, I gave up on her. I thought she had given up on me forever ago.”

“Wait,” Sunny interrupted. “Then… why’d you point me at her that day? The day Celestia had me looking for The Applications of Unified Harmony Magics?” Sunset paused, her eyes going wide. “In fact, you called her Twilight Twinkle. You didn’t even use her real name!”

“It… it was an old nickname, okay? I… don’t want to get into it.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you suggested I find her! Moony, I can see your hoof behind it. You wanted me to talk to her. You were hoping something would happen.”

Something in Moon Dancer’s chest twisted and she couldn’t stop herself from squirming under Sunset’s stupidly insightful gaze. “I was hoping I’d get my friend back, okay? I couldn’t get through to her and well… I thought… you might.”

“Only that?” Sunny demanded.

Moon Dancer didn’t look her friend in the eye.

Sunny dropped the pretense. “Were you trying to set me up with her?”

“What?” Moon Dancer looked up with a start. “No! Of course… not. I mean, if something happened there, I didn’t think I’d mind… but…”

“You found out you did mind.”

“I wasn’t expecting to have dinner with her that night! And I thought I was over her! But then she just waltzes in there and I’m reminded of all the little things.”

“But…” Sunny frowned. “You’ve always said you didn’t like mares.”

“A pony’s allowed to have exceptions to their own rules!” Moon Dancer huffed. “There’s no law preventing it! Anyway… after Twilight... Well, stallions didn’t remind me of her.”

Sunny lifted her hooves. “Fine, fine. I’m not judging.”

Moon Dancer sighed and shrugged. “So, yeah… I think the real reason I flipped out that night was because… ugh, I wasn’t ready to deal with it, okay? I didn’t want to deal with stuff I thought I put away years ago. And especially after seeing the two of you were making bedroom eyes at each other. The two of you have been inseparable since you’ve met. I’m not an idiot, Sunny. You like her. A lot.”

“It’s not that simple,” Sunny said. She paused and ripped out a giant chunk of her doughnut. “Moony…”

Sunny fell silent and stared into her tea some more. Moon Dancer decided to wait this one out. Despite her own obnoxious feelings, she was smart enough to know when her friend was in trouble. She’d seen Sunny tear herself apart more times than she could count. The mare was so intent on sabotaging herself, it was a miracle she’d managed to accomplish anything.

In truth, Moon Dancer had never met another pony with so many… demons as Sunny. Despite endless conversations about the subject, Moon Dancer knew Sunny hadn’t forgiven herself for the pony she had once been. Seven years after her entire world had been shattered, only to be saved at the last second by Moon Dancer herself… and Sunny still clutched at the guilt like a filly with a safety blanket.

Sure, Sunny still slipped up from time to time, but the Sunny who’d first offered to tutor her and the Sunny sitting across from her were two totally different ponies.

A blind pony could see that.

But Sunny couldn’t.

Maybe I can see when she’s in trouble… but it doesn’t mean I understand her.

“Moony… Princess Celestia knows.”

“Wait… what?” That little revelation threw her. “What do you mean she ‘knows?’”

“I told you the Princess made Twilight her student the night after, right?”

“Yeah…” Moon Dancer nodded.

“Well, that same night, she confronted us about our… sudden feelings. She said it was common for two ponies who had gone through what we’d gone through to be… drawn to one another.”

“I don’t see the problem.”

Sunny growled a little under her breath, but Moon Dancer was pretty sure it hadn’t been directed at her.

“She asked us to take things slowly. That what we felt may not… actually be real. It’s a common superstition when two ponies experience this kind of bond, they’re ‘meant to be together.’ I’ve heard about it, but never realized just what it meant. Moony, you don’t know what it’s like. Every time I look at her, I think about all the things I saw.”

“And… what did you see?” Moon Dancer popped the last of her fritter into her mouth.

Sunny shook her head. She’d tried to explain it before, but Moon Dancer always had the sense it hadn’t been… complete. Sunny could never seem give the whole picture.

“It’s… it’s like trying to describe music to somepony who can’t hear.” Sunny sighed. “We were in that unified harmony magic for only a few seconds… but when I think about it, it’s like I saw her thoughts through a projector going at a thousand times the normal speed. Now, every time I remember it, I remember different parts.”

“You make it sound like you got to see her whole life…”

Sunny stared into her mug again. “I might have. I remember reading through The Application of Unified Harmony Magics a dozen times the next week, trying to understand what I had seen. What it had meant. But apparently, it’s different for everypony. Even she saw something different. You know the theories, Moon Dancer. I remember you lecturing Minuette about them that very day!”

“She saw the mirror,” Moon Dancer supplied.

“The second time…” Sunny said with a nod. “I… I haven’t had the courage to ask if she saw the first time.”

I hope she didn’t. For your sake, Sunny.

“So, tell me a little about what you’ve seen,” Moon Dancer prompted.

Of course, I’m asking purely to help Sunny work out her feelings. No ulterior motive whatsoever.

Sunset took a deep breath and hesitated for a long moment before speaking. “I saw… I saw what she thought was her greatest moment of shame. When she couldn’t hatch a dragon’s egg during admissions.”

Moon Dancer frowned. “I never got a dragon’s egg during my admissions test. Heck, I’ve never even seen a live dragon’s egg.”

Sunny shrugged. “I didn’t get one during my test either. I asked Celestia once about it. She just smiled cryptically at me, telling me I’d find out ‘in due time’ and that she was ‘handling matters quietly.’”

Moon Dancer snickered. “That makes it sound like she’s got a secret baby dragon running around, hiding from the whole of Canterlot.”

“Yeah. I’d love to hear what the Draconic Ambassador thought if he found out if something that crazy was going on.” Sunny smiled back. “No, I think something else happened. Maybe it was a baby dragon and Celestia sent her home to the Dragon Lands after hatching her.”

“Or him,” Moon Dancer pointed out.

Sunny rolled her eyes. “Or him. Jeez. Nitpick, much?”

“Just because ponies are traditionally matriarchal doesn’t mean all races are!” Moon Dancer protested. “I should know. I’ve studied enough of them.”

“Fine, fine, you win,” Sunny replied, holding up her hooves in surrender. “Anyway, we’re getting off topic. What matters is nopony ever told her that her last test was some wild plan cooked up by the professors. She thought…”

Sunny paused and took a gulp of tea. Pony Joe came over with a plate and refilled Moon Dancer’s mug with more hot chocolate and dropped another teapot on the table for Sunny. They both smiled up at him and he departed.

“She thought… she had gotten in as a charity case. That she was subpar from the beginning. She was trying to work off this invisible debt.”

Moon Dancer nodded. It tracked with what she remembered. “That explains a lot actually.”

Sunny peered at her. “I thought you two were close. Shouldn’t you know all of this?”

“She didn’t talk much about herself.” Moon Dancer shook her head. “She was always so focused on the books and the studying. The way her eyes darted over a new book is like the way you go through anything with strawberries in it. She was so… determined. Like she wanted to prove she was worthy of being there.”

Sunny nodded.

Yeah, I’m sure you know that feeling, Sunny, Moon Dancer thought.

“During my first year at GU, we still hung out a lot,” Moon Dancer continued. “It helped since she only lived a few blocks away from me. She would pepper me with questions endlessly about just… just about everything. The school, the teachers, the exams. I thought it was cute, even if she was a year younger than me. I was so happy when she got in. That second year? It was amazing. We got to study again, side-by-side. We were kids, but… she got me. And I got her.”

“What happened?” Sunny asked. She was already wincing, which told Moon Dancer Sunny already knew the answer.

“You,” Moon Dancer replied simply. She managed to say it without any annoyance. “She was terrified of you by reputation alone. And nothing I could say would change her mind.”

“So, the more time you spent with me…” Sunny began.

“…the less time I spent with Twilight,” Moon Dancer nodded. “Yeah. And you remember what happened at the end of it all.”

Sunny laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. “Actually, even now, my memory’s still screwed up from that week.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Sunny said with a shrug. “Since I started hanging out with Twilight, she’s had to correct me a few times about stuff that happened that year.”

“Jeez, Sunny,” Moon Dancer took another gulp and set down her cup. “I know you were sleep deprived, but still…”

“Sleep deprivation plus extensive spellwork equals a loony Sunset,” Sunny muttered. “Hey, notice how we keep wandering off topic?”

“It’s almost like we’re trying to avoid something,” Moon Dancer commented.

“Almost.”

Moon Dancer rolled her eyes, though she wasn’t sure if she was doing it at herself or at Sunny.

“I tried to reconnect with her after I got back from Trottingham that summer—”

“I will never forgive you for what you made me go through with Minuette, by the way.”

Moon Dancer grinned, stuck out her tongue and moved right along. “Anyway, she’d extended her time at the South Archives with Jade Singer, so she was always there. When the next term came around… she just avoided me. Avoided us all. We asked if she wanted to hang out… but she always said she was busy. I tried really hard. Really, really hard.”

Sunny nodded, staring into her teacup again.

“Nopony blames you, Sunny,” Moon Dancer said for what was probably the eight-hundred-and-forty-seventh time. “It was her choice. Twi’s even said as much.”

“Guilt isn’t solved that easily, Moony.”

Moon Dancer sighed and shook her head. “You and guilt. Two of you are on a first-name basis, aren’t you?”

“Something like that. So, what happened?”

“Nothing,” Moon Dancer said with a shrug. “Nothing happened. It hurt a lot to see the filly I had a crush on constantly reject me… so eventually, I stopped asking. I forced myself to move on. At least, I thought I had. All of us moved on, though I think Minuette held out hope the longest. Fast forward a few years… and here we are.”

“Here we are,” Sunny echoed.

I’ve been putting this off for long enough. Stop being such a filly and pony up already.

She threw back the rest of her hot chocolate one more time, just to give her the sugar spike she needed to get the next few words out.

“Sunny,” Moon Dancer said. “Please, just ask her out. We both know she’s not going to make the first move.”

Sunny was silent for a long time. She didn’t look up. She didn’t look around. She just looked into her tea. She could have been the latest addition to the Canterlot Gardens for all the life she showed. Moon Dancer watched as the minutes ticked by on the clock behind the counter. Pony Joe frowned at her. It was a look of concern more than a look of annoyance. Moon Dancer couldn’t blame him.

Still, she knew this wasn’t the time to push Sunny. Moon Dancer might not have Minuette’s freaky ‘right time, right place’ special talent, but she wasn’t totally clueless when it came to interacting with ponies. Despite her flaws, Sunny was very good with ponies and Moon Dancer had paid attention. Over the years, she’d picked up a few things, even if she did tend to be a bit—okay, a lot—more headstrong than what was strictly required to get her way.

Still… when the silence had stretched for going on ten minutes, it felt like ten years. Pony Joe had already refilled her hot chocolate twice and she’d gone through an entire new apple fritter before Sunny finally bowed her head.

“No.”

Moon Dancer blinked.

“You make me wait all that time just for a two-letter answer?” Moon Dancer asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Overdramatic much?”

Sunny didn’t rise to bait. Instead, she just looked up at Moon Dancer with tired eyes and a resigned expression. It wasn’t something Moon Dancer was used to seeing on Sunny. It was a little scary.

“I mean it, Moon Dancer,” Sunny said with a sigh. “It’s… not right.”

“What do you mean it’s not right?” Moon Dancer demanded, slamming her cup on the table. “You two were made for each other!”

“No, we weren’t,” Sunny replied. “I ruined her life.”

“Don’t you dare start—”

“Let me finish!” Sunny interrupted, but there was no anger in her eyes. “I did steal her friends. I know all the explanations and rationalizations. I know it was unintentional. I know she’s even forgiven me for it. But it doesn’t mean I don’t still feel guilty. It doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven myself. It doesn’t mean I deserve to be forgiven. The more I think about it, the more Celestia’s words make sense. I already have a pretty screwed up relationship with Twilight. The last thing we need right now is to throw some stupid dating thing into the mix. And considering that my best friend has a thing for her too…”

“Oh no,” Moon Dancer protested. “You are not using me as an excuse—”

“You’re not an excuse,” Sunny replied evenly. “You’re just the third reason… and I hope the solution.”

“Solution?” Moon Dancer cocked her head and adjusted her glasses, making a note to redo the padding on the bridge sometime soon. “What solution?”

“I think you should be the one to ask her out.”

What, Moon Dancer thought in sheer stupefaction. Her mouth moved silently for a bit before she found words to express her thoughts. In the end, the internal thought was the same as the external expression.

“What?” she finally spat. “You can’t be serious.”

“Completely serious,” Sunny replied.

Her eyes weren’t twinkling. But she didn’t seem sad either. Just… resigned with a hint of determination. It was a strange look. One of those deep looks only somepony who spent way too much time with Princess Celestia could pull off.

“I think you’re missing something here, Sunny.”

“And what’s that?”

“She’s never been interested in me!” Moon Dancer hadn’t meant it to come out as a yell, but when she felt the eyes of every pony—and griffon—in Pony Joe’s on her, she flattened her ears and tried to ignore the stares. “She has never for one moment showed any interest in me!”

A little smile played across Sunny’s lips. It was a familiar smile. It was the smile Minuette used when she was DMing an O&O game for them and they just entered the boss room without knowing it.

Moon Dancer has personally termed it ‘The Smile of Doom.’

“I don’t know about that,” Sunny said, the smile never fading. “After all, how much did she light up when you offered to do a sleepover with her? And now that I think about it, after that explosion in the lab? She went running after you, not Princess Celestia. She needed to make sure you were safe, despite the fact that we both know Twilight all but worships the Princess.”

Moon Dancer shook her head and tried to get a word in, but Sunset wasn’t done.

“After all, she tore into you pretty good the night I re-introduced the two of you. And I seem to remember a lot of blushing back at the RCA. Maybe even a few smiles. I was an idiot not to see it earlier. But she likes you just as much.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re the one she has a special magical connection with!” Moon Dancer protested.

“No, but once I talk to her about it, it should simplify matters. And that’s what disqualifies me.” Sunset nodded to herself, a grim smile on her lips, as if she had come to a firm conclusion. “I’m going to remove myself from the board, Moony.”

“You can’t!” Moon Dancer cried. “You can’t be serious about this!”

The smile hardened, as did Sunny’s eyes. That was a look Moon Dancer knew, too. Another look Sunny had inherited from Celestia. The look that said, “Protest all you want, this is happening.”

Sunny hadn’t used that look on her in a while.

“I won’t make things even more complicated between the two of us,” Sunny said with a thump of her hoof on the table. “So, Moony, you might as well just accept it. I’ve made my choice. I’m going to do exactly what Celestia asked me to. And how better to prove that I can do it than by setting up my best friend with her long-lost love?”

“You’re serious.”

“Serious as the sun.” In a flash of teal magic, Sunny drained her Earl Grey and set it on the table, then levitated out enough bits to cover their tab and a little extra. “So, you might as well get ready, Moony.”

“I haven’t been on a date in years, Sunny.”

“So what? Between the two of us, I’m fairly sure we can come up with something amazing for two little librarians.”

Moon Dancer gaped at Sunny, unable to believe what she was hearing. This… this wasn’t the plan. The plan had been to get Sunny to finally do something about Twi. And this was not the ‘something’ she had in mind!

“You almost sound like you’re going to enjoy this!” Moon Dancer said. “Sunny… how am I supposed to just ignore how you feel about Twi? I’m not about to stab you in the back like that.”

“You’re not stabbing me in the back, Moony,” Sunset said with a sad little smile. “I want Twilight to be happy. And I know you. You’d take on a dragon to make your friends happy. I can’t think of a better match.”

“I can!” Moon Dancer said in a last-ditch effort to put a stop to this insanity. “You.”

Sunset shook her head. “It’s not going to happen. My mind’s made up.”

“I…” Moon Dancer swallowed and finished off what little remained of her hot chocolate. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to yourself, Sunset.”

“Moony, for the last time, I’ve made my decision. I’m not in the running anymore.” Sunny laughed. It was a subdued thing, but it was at least honest. Even if it totally ignored Moon Dancer’s real concerns. “Hey, I might not end up getting the girl, but I will enjoy every awkward minute of you two together.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

I have a bad feeling about this, Moon Dancer thought. How had this all become so freaking complicated?

But she knew Sunny’s expression too well. Sunny really had made up her mind. Granted, there was no guarantees that Twi would actually be interested in this arrangement. But… Moon Dancer had to admit… she wanted to at least try.

I’m so doomed. Now, if only I could decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing...

Author's Note

“Guilt isn’t solved that easily, Moony.”

-Sunset Shimmer

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Failsafes

Sunset Shimmer glanced at the small timepiece she kept by the bed. It was already half-past nine. She didn’t really need to get up. It was Saturday, after all. And it’s not like she had anything to do today until seeing the Princess tonight.

Nothing save for that one thing she wasn’t especially looking forward to.

Did I have other plans today? she wondered idly. Ugh, does it even matter?

Last night’s conversation replayed through Sunset’s head for the eighty-seventh time. She wasn’t deluded enough to think she might get back to sleep. Then again, the idea of just lying here for a few hours wasn’t too terrible. It prevented her from enduring what was probably going to be one of the most awkward moments of her life.

Which, considering my life to date, is saying something.

Don’t get me wrong, an angry little voice from an equally angry little pony growled in her head. I’m all for cutting that wannabe down. But seriously? You’re going to waste your time getting your best friend hooked up with her? You do have issues.

Aside from voices in my head? Sunset asked.

Yes, aside from voices in your head.

Thanks for the pep-talk.

It’s what I’m here for.

With a groan, she threw herself out of bed. Anything was better than lying in bed while that voice gnawed at her. She could at least do something while being gnawed on.

Before she bothered getting ready for the day, she dragged herself down to the kitchen and threw on the kettle for the requisite cup of Earl Grey. Setting the arcane heating unit beneath the kettle to a slow boil, Sunset proceeded to the bathroom for her usual routine.

Twenty minutes later, her mane finally dry with the aid of a new arcano-tech air dryer—she still couldn’t get a proper drying spell down—she padded into her kitchen just as the kettle began to shriek. Her magic practically worked on its own, preparing her tea exactly how she liked it. Less than sixty seconds later, the world regained its proper colors as the first sip of Earl Grey went down.

At that point, she concluded drinking Earl Grey last night with Moon Dancer probably wasn’t the smartest thing she could have done. It certainly hadn’t helped her get any sleep. Or maybe that had been last night’s conversation.

I really need to take the Princess’s advice and switch to chamomile at night. As long as it doesn’t have any mint in it. Ugh. Don’t know how she can stand mint in tea.

With another surge of magic, she energized a small pre-configured matrix she had designed a few years ago to prepare a simple breakfast for herself. It would only result in oatmeal and some fruit, but it was a fire-and-forget spell and Sunset wasn’t in the mood for anything fancy. So, she sat at her small kitchen table and stared at the book lying there while her spell did all the work.

A Study on Chaos Theory.

“This entire thing is going to be a study on chaos theory,” Sunset mumbled as she scratched her mane. “But it needs to be done. Friendship is all about putting others’ needs before my own. Right?”

The book—unsurprisingly—provided no answers on the subject.

“Why me?” Sunset muttered.

She could feel her resolve crumbling. The more she delayed, the more her determination to do the right thing slipped. She hated this feeling. She was supposed to be the confident and strong one. The one with a plan. The one who knew what to do.

Somehow, she’d ended up being the center of her group of friends. Granted, she was Celestia’s personal student. And the Princess had been training her in everything from economics to diplomacy… but still, whenever she thought of herself as in charge of anything, it made her nervous.

Mostly because it made that angry little pony happy. Anything that made it happy made Sunset nervous.

A bell appeared above Sunset’s head and rang softly before vanishing, letting her know that her breakfast was ready. Without even turning to look, she levitated the bowl of oatmeal and the sliced fruit over to the table. She took a bite of oatmeal. It was decent. Nothing special. Just a bit of cinnamon.

She continued to stare at the book while she chewed.

What am I doing? Sunset wondered. Am I really about to throw away—

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. Sunset blinked in surprise and glanced up at the clock. Who’d wander by this early? She stood up with a yawn and wandered toward the set of stairs that led to the foyer.

A second knock sounded. This one was not soft. It was excited and eager.

There was only one pony Sunset knew who had a knock like that.

This is not what I need right now, Sunset groaned in her head as she plodded down the stairs and tossed open the door.

“Hi, Minue—”

It wasn’t Minuette.

Well, Minuette wasn’t in front of the door. She grinned a few feet behind Cheerilee. Cheerilee, on the other hoof, blinked in the light of the morning sun. The earth pony with the soft magenta coat and the two-toned rose mane looked in desperate need of caffeine, but she still had enough energy to give Sunset a warm smile.

“Hello, Sunny,” Cheerilee said wryly. “Apparently we’re having breakfast together.”

“Huh?”

Minuette giggled.

“Miss Perky here decided to pull me out of my very comfortable bed and drag me halfway here before she reminded me we were supposed to get together for breakfast this morning.”

“Oh…” Sunset blinked a few times. So she had forgotten something. Well, at least she hadn’t been the only one. “Right.”

“Both of you forgot?” The blue unicorn with the navy and white mane tsked and shook her head. “Girls, we’ve had this planned for like a week and a half! Cheerilee coming in for her conference? It was the only time she had free!”

“I had… a late night.” Sunset gave Cheerilee a brittle smile. “You look like you need some tea.”

“That sounds simply wonderful,” Cheerilee sighed.

“And you?” Sunset shot Minuette a look. “You get decaf.”

“Aw,” Minuette pouted.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to remind you what happened last time you had a significant level of caffeine?”

“Princess Celestia told me that she’d make it an offense against the Crown for anypony to sell me anything caffeinated ever again.” Minuette hopped through the door, the words sounding rehearsed. Mainly because they were. “I still say she was joking.”

“I’ve learned never to be too careful when it comes to the Princess and her sense of humor,” Sunset closed the door and led her friends into the kitchen. “You never know what you’ll get.”

“To keep everypony safe, she could just banish you,” Cheerilee said with a little smile.

“Or throw you in a dungeon,” Sunset suggested. She fired up the teakettle again, this time set to a fast boil for her two friends.

“Or banish you and then throw you in a dungeon in the place that she banishes you to,” Cheerilee’s smile became a smirk as she sat down at the second chair at the kitchen table. A yawn promptly replaced the smirk.

Sunset sat down as well, going back to her breakfast.

“For drinking caffeinated tea?” Minuette cocked an eyebrow at both of them, then she levitated a chair from the other room into the kitchen. “Yowza, I think that’s a bit much, girls.”

“It’s a worst-case scenario.” Sunset shrugged and popped a sliced peach into her muzzle. After swallowing, she glanced at the teacher. “You look like you had a rough night yourself.”

Cheerilee put her head on the table and sighed. “Well, after a train ride, the opening ceremonies and the first round of lectures at the symposium at the Department of Education last night, I didn’t really appreciate her pounding on my hotel door at eight in the morning.”

“You ponies need to embrace the morning more! Especially Sunny! After all, sunrise is when the Princess’s day starts!”

Sunset shot Minuette a glare. Minuette shrugged it off and settled herself down on her new chair with a grin.

“Why you so eager anyway?” Sunset asked and pointed her spoon at her perky friend. “As far as you know, nothing special is happening today.”

Cheerilee frowned. “I thought we were going shopping on Rodeo Drive this afternoon.”

“Oh, dang it.” Sunset facehoofed. “I’m sorry… I’ve had a lot on my mind lately…”

“See?” Minuette crowed. “And if I hadn’t remembered for both of you, you two would have totally missed out on that awesome time!”

“Don’t tell me this is another one of your ‘right time, right place’ things?” Sunset groaned.

“No, silly.” Minuette laughed. “This is one of my actually remembering things things! ‘Right time, right place’ is something totally different.”

“Cheerilee, I don’t suppose you’ve ever come across anything—”

“Sunny.” Cheerilee stifled a yawn. “We’ve been over this. I teach elementary school in Ponyville. My knowledge of cutie mark magic isn’t any better than yours.”

“I swear, Minuette,” Sunset said as the teakettle began to whistle once more. “One day, I’m going to figure out your special talent. If not for my sake, then for poor Twilight’s sake! Do you have any idea how worked up she was after the first time you pulled your little ‘right time, right place’ stunt on her? It was everything I could do not to let her snatch you in her magic and strap you onto a gurney to start running tests!”

She had been pretty funny freaking out like that. She’d even spent three days trying to prove her wrong… only to end up proving her right. Oh, that just drove her insane. Her pout was simply ador—

Her brain screeched to a halt as the kettle continued to squeal.

“Uh, Sunny?” Cheerilee asked. “You going to get that or did you want me to?”

“Huh?” Sunset blinked a few times and then registered the sound of the kettle. “Oh, sorry. Got distracted for a second.”

“I’ll say,” Minuette said with an odd tiny smile. It didn’t seem like a very happy smile.

Sunset did her best to ignore it as she prepared two cups of tea: a griffin blend of green tea for Cheerilee and a decaf herbal raspberry tea for Minuette. With a sigh, she floated them over to her friends. Cheerilee gulped half of it down like it was a shot of hard cider, while Minuette just sipped hers.

“How late did they keep you out last night?” Sunset asked as she stared at Cheerilee’s half-empty teacup.

“Past midnight, I think?” Cheerilee muttered and took another swing. “Endless Lecture… was his usual oblivious self. Didn’t care about the time. Only the topic.”

“You know,” Minuette commented as she swirled the tea in her cup. “You two always complain about my special talent and forget it’s not that strange in Equestria.”

“Oh, what are you going on about now?” Cheerilee asked. She resettled in her chair and wrapped her tail around her.

Sunset finished her oatmeal and leaned back in her chair. She munched on her last apple and studied the blue unicorn with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh, hello, silly? You just gave a great example.”

“You’re not making any sense, Minuette,” Sunset replied, rolling her eyes. “As usual.”

Minuette rolled her eyes right back at Sunset. “The name of the lecturer at the symposium last night, of course! His name! Endless Lecture? Haven’t you ever wondered about how ponies tend to be named after either their special talent or their future cutie marks?”

“Oh, there are plenty of examples where that’s not true at all,” Cheerilee said with a wave of a hoof. “That’s just superstition. Old mare’s tales like the Naming Dream.”

“I don’t know,” Minuette said. “I think somepony should do a study.”

“Studies have been done,” Sunset interjected. “They’re usually done by some academic group or another every fifteen years or so. They always come back inconclusive.”

“Anyway,” Cheerilee continued. “I could see that working for you or for me… but what about Sunny here? What does the name ‘Sunset Shimmer’ have to do with her special talent?”

Minuette’s eyes locked onto Sunset. “Well, I’ve been thinking…”

“That’s scary,” Sunset said before taking another drink of Earl Grey.

Cheerilee giggled, but Minuette seemed… hesitant?

“I’ve been thinking…” Minuette repeated and shifted a little more in her seat. “What if the names that don’t follow that convention have some other special importance?” She licked her lips. “Say… like, who they were meant to be with?”

Earl Grey sprayed out of Sunset’s mouth as she nearly choked on her tea. Her chest heaved as her body tried to remember how to process air correctly. Cheerilee leapt up and gently patted Sunset on the back. It took almost a full minute before Sunset could finally look up and fix Minuette with a glare.

“Right time, right place, huh?” Sunset growled.

Minuette went red, though Sunset couldn’t tell if it was because Sunset had accused her or because Sunset was right.

“You okay, Sunny?” Cheerilee asked as she rubbed Sunset’s back. Sunset nodded and took a deep, trembling breath.

“I’ll be fine.” Sunset’s voice was harsh and clipped.

“Look, maybe this isn’t the best time for this,” Cheerilee said quickly. “Sunset, you’ve obviously got a lot—”

“Sorry, Cheerilee,” Minuette interrupted, soundingfar more subdued. “But you need to stay. I need to go.”

Sunset blinked. “Really? You’re going to really do this to me? Drop that little number and then leave?”

Cheerilee glanced back and forth between the two of them, though Sunset could see the comprehension in Cheerilee’s expression. That just made it worse.

“I… look, I’m sorry. I… Sunny, this has been going on for—”

Sunset cut her off with a single swipe of her hoof. “So, you brought her over to confront me about something? Is that it?”

“No,” Minuette said, her tail twitching nervously behind her. “No. It really was for breakfast. But… after we got here, I could see it in your eyes, Sunny. And… I’m not wrong, am I?”

Sunset glowered at her. “I think that special talent of yours is a jerk sometimes.”

“Sometimes… yeah, it seems that way,” Minuette whispered. Her ears were down, but her eyes never left Sunset.

Ugh. Okay, fine. Cheerilee probably is the best pony for me to talk to right now. But did Minuette really need to bring it up like that? That was just mean!

Her angry little pony decided now was a good time to let her opinion be known.

Then tell her off! In fact, kick them both out and tell them you don’t need any help! You’re Sunset Shimmer. You can handle this without the meddling of your so-called ‘friends.’

Buck you, Sunset growled in her head. Anyway, I take it as a good rule that anything you want me to do is probably the last thing I should do.

Then you’re even more hopeless than I thought.

“I won’t stay if you don’t want me here, Sunset,” Cheerilee said quietly. “You’ve obviously got a lot going on and if you need time to yourself, I’m more than happy to—”

“No.” Sunset hung her head. “Minuette’s… not wrong. I do need somepony to talk to.”

Cheerilee looked at Sunset and then up to Minuette, who was still watching Sunset with flattened ears and a pained expression.

“You don’t have to go, Minuette,” Sunset offered, her voice still quiet.

“Yeah, I do. I can tell you need a friend, Sunny. I can also tell it shouldn’t be me.”

With that, Minuette stood and plodded toward the door.

Sunset exchanged a look with Cheerilee. Her friend nodded and Sunset jumped up to follow Minuette.

“Cheery?” Sunset called over her shoulder. “Why don’t you relax? I’ll be back in a moment.”

“If you say so, Sunny.”

Without looking back, Sunset walked Minuette down the stairs and to the front door. With a flash of teal magic, she pulled it open for her friend.

“I’m sorry,” Minuette said. “I… I know that wasn’t fair of me to just throw it out like tha—”

“You all really do know, don’t you?” Sunset said. It wasn’t really a question. She already knew the answer. “About all of us?”

“Yeah,” Minuette admitted and bit her lip. “We’ve known for a while. Sunset… I need to ask… have you considered trying to make it work between the three of you? I’ve heard of other ponies doing stuff like that…”

The angry little pony in the back of her head balked, but more at the idea that Sunset should share anything with anypony.

However, the result was the same.

“I’m just not that kind of pony, Minuette.” Sunset sighed. “Right now… I almost wish I was, but that’s… just not for me. If other ponies can do that, that’s fantastic for them. But not me. I just want one.”

“Sunny, I can see it in your eyes. I can tell what happened. What you already did.” Minuette sounded close to tears. “You don’t have to do it this way. I don’t think things will turn out nearly as badly as you think they might...”

If anything, Minuette’s protests helped solidify Sunset’s perspective on the matter. It reminded her why she was doing what she was doing. Even if nopony else understood or even agreed… she knew.

She could be wrong. Sunset was smart enough—smart enough now—to know that. But… right now… it felt like the right thing to do.

“I’m sure, Minuette.” Sunset’s voice was calm but firm. “I need to do this. I think it’ll be good for them.”

Minuette sighed, but she nodded anyway.

“If you need somepony else to talk to… maybe help you laugh and smile a little afterwards, let me know, okay? Maybe I can put together a special campaign for us. I think Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine are available later this week.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Actually, that doesn’t sound half-bad, even if Lemon Hearts always makes me bring the snacks..

But I need to get through today first.

Minuette gave her tight hug, one that Sunset returned with a long sigh. Some of the tension in her body faded in the embrace of her friend. It wasn’t much, but it helped.

“Your technique wasn’t exactly subtle, Minuette,” Sunset whispered. “But… thank you. I never could have asked on my own.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Minuette said as she pulled back. Her smile wavered. “To help you… even when you think you don’t need the help. Especially then, actually.”

Sunset smiled a little as Minuette trotted out the door. With a final wave, she disappeared around the corner, leaving Sunset in the foyer.

It took a few more minutes before Sunset managed to trot up the stairs. Cheerilee was waiting, watching her warily. She didn’t speak up until Sunset had sat down back down at the kitchen table.

“Sunset, you don’t have to talk about whatever’s bothering you if you don’t want to. I don’t mind.”

Sunset ignored the comment. Cheerilee was trying to be kind and give her a way out. It was a nice gesture, but Sunset knew there were times when she needed a push.

Convenient how Minuette had just provided one.

“So, how’s Ponyville these days?”

Cheerilee blinked in surprise, but seemed to be willing to go along with the sudden change in topic.

“I can see why your friend Lyra moved out there,” she said. “It’s quiet and peaceful. You know, I had intended to simply stay out there a year or two. But the town grows on you.”

“You think you made the right call? I know Dean Clear would have loved to keep you at Gifted Unicorns.”

“Professor Clear,” Cheerilee said with a smile, “changed my life when she took me on as a professor at Gifted Unicorns. But you know the tradition.”

“Professor Polish loved to talk about it.” Sunset nodded. “She would go on and on about the two years she taught in… Tall Tale, I think? Always talked about the way it helped keep her grounded to get out of Canterlot. Not everypony follows that tradition, though.”

“I know.” Cheerilee’s smile became wistful. “I remember when I thought ending up as a teacher in a little town was… I don’t know… just confirming I wasn’t worth anything. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my years teaching at Gifted Unicorns for anything. But… there’s something special about the town. I’m happy there. I’m pretty sure I’m going to stay.”

Sunset smiled. “Then I’m happy for you, Cheery. I’m glad you found your place.”

“Minuette didn’t just leave so you could check on how I was doing in Ponyville.”

“No,” Sunset admitted. “No, she didn’t.”

“Twilight?” Cheerilee said. It wasn’t really a question, even if she phrased it as one.

I can’t believe I am that obvious.

Sunset stared at A Study in Chaos Theory, still sitting in the middle of the table. The enchanted RCA dust jacket had protected it from the spilled Earl Grey. Sunset levitated a couple napkins over and mopped up the remains of her tea.

“Do you have anypony out there, Cheerilee? Anypony… special?”

Cheerilee went a little pink and she took a gulp of her tea before answering.

“There’s… um… there’s a stallion I’ve occasionally spent some time with. He’s a quiet type. Honestly, I doubt I ever would have had the courage to say anything if it wasn’t for you.”

Sunset waved the compliment away. “Don’t try to pin anything on me. You more than anypony know how I feel about that. You are your own pony.”

“Not sure if I agree, Sunny. But… well, it’s not like it’s anything official. We see each other every so often. There might be a future there.”

Sunset nodded absently and swirled the tea in her cup.

“You know, that’s what I’ve been thinking a lot about lately… the future,” Sunset said. “I’ll never understand why the Princess asked me to teach Twilight about friendship. Me of all ponies. Even though she knew we had this… forced connection.”

“You don’t know it was forced,” Cheerilee pointed out.

“Yes, I do,” Sunset muttered. “I really do.”

Cheerilee didn’t push the point. She was pretty amazing like that.

“Have you ever had anypony before Ponyville, Cheerilee?”

“Anypony before as in relationship or anypony before as in interest?”

“Number two.”

“Well, it’s funny that you ask…” Cheerilee blushed again. “But I always had a tiny crush on Ponyville’s current mayor. I went to school with her. Nothing ever came of it. It was all one-sided. All me. We’re still good friends. In fact, she was really happy to see me when I arrived to take over the schoolhouse.”

“Why didn’t you do anything?” Sunset cocked an eyebrow at her. “Why do you say it was ‘one-sided?’”

Cheerilee paused for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as if she could find what she wanted to say up there.

“I think… back then I didn’t want to make things more complicated. We were good friends and I didn’t want to lose that.” She hesitated. “And… well, I was scared. Scared of being rejected. Scared she didn’t feel the same way. So, it was easier to be quiet. It was safer. Simpler.”

Sunset nodded. Thoughts bounced around in her head, becoming nothing more than a jumbled and chaotic mess. Finally, she couldn’t take it. She stood up and started pacing. Cheerilee’s eyes followed her every step.

“Yeah, I definitely understand that,” Sunset said after what felt like hours inside her own skull. “That’s… that’s my problem. Things are already complicated enough.”

“Sunny, tell me the truth. What’s going on?”

Sunset stopped and stared at the teacher. “I thought you already knew.”

Cheerilee shifted her mane over her shoulder and looked up at Sunset. “I know from what the other girls have guessed and what I’ve seen. I don’t know from you. I’d rather hear it from you.”

“You’re really going to make me say it?” Sunset groaned.

“Yes, I am.”

Sunset recognized Cheerilee’s expression. It was one of the classic ’dealing-with-a-stubborn-student’ numbers. And Sunset knew she didn’t have a chance against that.

“Ever since that afternoon in the Stack Vaults, I’ve had feelings toward Twilight.” To Sunset’s surprise, it was easier to say than expected. “But the next—”

“No,” Cheerilee interrupted. “Stop. What kind of feelings?”

Sunset gaped at her. “Really?”

“Yes, really. You need to say it for your own good.”

“You know, I remember Minuette doing something really similar two months ago,” Sunset pointed out.

“Then you should be used to this tactic. Sunny, you keep too much bottled up in that head of yours. You need to let this out.”

“Fine!” Sunset shouted. “I’m romantically interested in Twilight Sparkle! There! You happy?”

“Do you love her?” Cheerilee asked with all the subtlety of a brick to the muzzle.

“What?!” Sunset backpedaled until she bumped against a wall. “I’ve only known her for two months!”

“It doesn’t change the question.”

Sunset stared at her friend for a few seconds before her gaze fell to her hooves. “I… I think calling it love would be a bit much. I like her. A lot.”

Cheerilee seemed satisfied with this. Sunset whispered a faint prayer of thanks for that.

“So, the real question… why aren’t you doing something about it?” Cheerilee asked. “Sunset, you’re one of the most stubborn and determined ponies I’ve ever met. When you set a goal, there’s almost nothing that can stop you. Why is a little lavender unicorn making you freeze up like this?”

“Because of the Princess.”

It took almost ten minutes for Sunset to tell the entire story of what Princess Celestia had told Sunset and Twilight in the Royal Observatory. About the fine print of their feelings. About what sort of impact it could have on their friendship.

After Sunset was done, Cheerilee was silent for a long time. She played with her cup a bit, stared at Sunset a bit and stared at her hooves a bit. Finally, she got up and headed toward the massive hourglass in the center of Sunset’s apartment and watched as it turned over when the chimes of the city sounded~~.~~

“Sunset…” Cheerilee began after what felt like a few lifetimes. “This isn’t like you. You aren’t hesitant. I know you’re scared. But—”

“Moon Dancer has feelings for her, too,” Sunset interjected as she moved to the window and stared out at the gleaming white city.

“I know.”

Sunset spotted a few pegasi moving clouds into position for the scheduled rainstorm. Sunset chuckled morosely at the timing.

“And I think Twilight might return those feelings.”

“Probably,” Cheerilee replied in an annoyingly even tone. “It wouldn’t surprise me. But you have to know that you and Twilight have a stronger connection.”

“Cheerilee… I can’t!” Sunset finally shouted as she slammed a hoof against the window. “I can’t ruin this mare’s life again! I won’t do it! You said yourself the reason you didn’t do anything with Ponyville’s mayor back in the day is because you were scared it would complicate things! Look at how complicated things are already!”

“You’ve already said all of this, haven’t you?”

Sunset slumped and pressed her forehead to the cool window pane. “To Moon Dancer. Last night.”

“You’ve made a decision already?”

Not for the first time, Sunset couldn’t help but marvel at the teacher. Cheerilee had an incredible knack for seeing into the hearts of ponies. Even if they were raging about one thing, she could always see where the hurt really came from. It was deeper than anything Coloratura could do.

Rara would confront Sunset with the truth.

Cheerilee would guide Sunset to find the truth on her own.

“I’m going to tell Twilight that I think things would be best if we remained friends.”

“Is that the truth?”

And there it was. The real question of it all. Again, Sunset had a flashback to her conversation with Minuette the morning after that disastrous dinner. Minuette had asked her if she considered Twilight a friend. The answer had been yes.

She was still sure about that answer.

Now the question was if Sunset thought of Twilight as more than a friend.

She’s my fellow student. She’s a pony I hurt for a long time. And she’s a better pony than I will ever be.

Sunset sighed and stared into her tired reflection.

This isn’t about me. This is about her. What’s best for her. And what’s best for Twilight is to be with a pony who doesn’t have an angry little pony in her head. Somepony without the baggage and past that I’ll never make up for.

Her angry little pony was oddly silent. Sunset wasn’t sure what to think of that.

And if I ever… if I ever give in to that voice… Sunset steeled herself. I won’t let her get hurt again. If I let her get too close, she’ll get burned.

She deserves better.

And I don’t deserve much of anything, no matter how many times my friends tell me otherwise.

“Yes. I think it would be best for both of us if we remained friends.”

Cheerilee eyed her. Sunset could see the earth pony in the reflection of the window. Slowly, Cheerilee approached her, almost as if Sunset were a spooked wild animal. Sunset almost felt like one. There was a part of her that wanted to run. A part of her that wanted to retreat into those horrible panic attacks. But nothing good ever came from those moments. She fought back the panic attack, because she knew her angry little pony was waiting for her in there. And when she was locked in her own head…

She feared those moments above all others. She feared them because she was afraid they might break her someday.

Cheerilee’s hoof was gentle as it pressed into Sunset’s shoulder. Something cracked inside Sunset and to her surprise, she found tears falling down her face. Seconds later, Cheerilee had her wrapped in a tight hug as the tears continued to fall. Her friend made faint soothing noises, like one would make to a filly who’d had a nightmare at two in the morning.

“I know this is hurting you, Sunset,” Cheerilee whispered. “We’re all here for you. But we can’t make the decision for you. We’ll support you, no matter what you decide to do… but there’s something very important you need to remember.”

Sunset blinked away a few tears and stared into the eyes of her friend.

“You aren’t the only one involved. It’s her decision, too.”

Sunset broke eye contact.

“I want to set her up with Moon Dancer,” Sunset confessed, staring at her tear-stained hooves. “I… I want them to get together. To make up for lost time. I need them to be together. If they’re together… I just know it won’t hurt.” Sunset swallowed hard. “Ever since that dinner, Moon Dancer and I have been growing apart. I don’t want that. I can’t stand it. I want my friend back. And I think… I think they can make each other happy.”

“Are you sure?”

Sunset closed her eyes. “Please don’t ask me that.”

Cheerilee let out a long sigh. “Okay. Then what do you need?”

“Help me.”

“You want us to help you set up Moon Dancer and Twilight on a date?”

Sunset nodded quietly. “I thought… I felt so sure last night that I could handle this. I can’t. I’m too screwed up inside to do this. I still have to go tell Twilight. I’m going to do that no matter what… but after…”

“Sunset, what are you saying?”

Sunset wasn’t the best of ponies. She knew that all too well. She’d destroyed ponies’ relationships, their lives, even taken their dignity and self-respect. But she needed to prove she wasn’t that pony anymore. She needed to prove it to herself.

And that meant she needed to sacrifice what she wanted for somepony else.

It couldn’t be just a momentary sacrifice. It needed to last.

Sunset opened her eyes, swallowed and looked Cheerilee in the face. Even as her stomach twisted, she said the words. The words that might actually give her peace.

“I want you to help make it work.”

Cheerilee’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.

“Please.”

Hours seemed to pass before Cheerilee responded.

“Okay. Let’s see what we can do.”

“Really?”

Cheerilee brushed Sunset’s mane back from her face. “Really.”

Sunset could see the doubt in Cheerilee’s eyes, but she didn’t care. Maybe, just maybe… she’d get some peace on this.

And Twilight will end up with a better pony than me.

Author's Note

Not even Sunset Shimmer can make a decision like this without second thoughts. At least she has good friends to help her through it.

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Dimensions

Twilight paced back and forth, chewing on one of her bangs and as she tried to figure out what in Equestria she had done to make Sunset and Moon Dancer so upset.

Shortly after arriving in her small one-bedroom apartment—conveniently RCA-adjacent—she’d started pacing near her bed, but that hadn’t helped. Her bedroom was quite small. After all, there was barely enough room for her bed. All the other space was taken up by more important things.

Namely books.

So, an hour after practically spinning in a circle inside her bedroom, she’d stepped out to the living room. The living room contained three times as many books as there were in her bedroom, but there were at least ten square feet of paceable carpet there.

She’d spent most of the night in the living room, constantly in motion, both in body and in mind.

Twilight thought on the potential vectors of problems. She thought on the solutions. She considered how her studies in the last eight weeks might apply. However, she had yet to encounter a lesson in which an unknown rift was causing relationship complications with two individuals who were best friends in addition to being another individual’s friend. That was outside the scope of her new training, at least at present.

Indeed, friendship in general, was far too new of a subject for her to approach with anything resembling rational thought, no matter how hard she tried.

At several points in the night, she had eschewed the traditional back-and-forth pacing and shifted into a circular pattern. If any of her friends had seen her, they’d probably tease her about wearing a rut in the floor. However, upon further inspection, there was indeed a section of carpet that was slightly lower than the rest, indicating she used a consistent path on a regular basis to help with her thought processes.

Apparently, any teasing regarding the nature of her thought processes and their locomotive aspects would be warranted.

She stifled a yawn and looked up at the clock, which indicated the time to be eleven forty-three in the morning. On most days, she’d already be at the Royal Canterlot Archives at this time, either as a patron or in her official role as Assistant Lead Archivist.

She had spent most of her days off there, too. In fact, nearly every waking moment had been spent in that wonderful, glorious collection of books, tomes, scrolls and compendiums. A life of endless words and endless knowledge. Wonder and magic. There was enough there to keep her mind busy for eons.

And then Sunset Shimmer had come into her life again.

Not as a bully. Not as a monster. She’d come back into her life… as a completely different pony.

Despite her complete and utter lack of sleep, Twilight continued her pacing, opting for an elliptical pattern around the coffee table. The coffee table was stacked with books. A Study on Chaos Theory sat at the top of said stack.

Sunset had forced Twilight to develop relationships once more. With both new ponies and ponies from her younger years. It had been a strange experience. It still was a strange experience.

Twilight Sparkle actually had friends now.

The concept was alien, unfamiliar, bizarre… almost illogical. It was also true.

But what was more disconcerting was what these relationships had done to her emotional state.

She forced herself to stop pacing and finish the last piece of fruit from her hastily-constructed breakfast of apples and crackers. It had been made during a brief moment of downtime before the sun had risen.

Then, the pacing resumed.

The most troubling aspect of this new part of her life was the effect she had on her new friends. She had done the research. There were several hypotheses. Many of them indicated these apparent effects to be nothing more than simple coincidences. They were events occurring within the lives of her friends. Incidents in which she had no relevance. Indeed, almost every hypothesis she had developed was a simple explanation. A safe explanation.

One was not.

That hypothesis had come about as a direct result of the rather barbed comment Moon Dancer had thrown at Sunset during their argument in relation to the ongoing behavior of one of their mutual friends, Lemon Hearts.

Despite the fact that the analogy could not possibly be true—though it had to be considered for the sake of thoroughness—the concept refused to stop pestering her. And after the conflict last night in the RCA, Twilight’s concerns had been heightened to the point where sleep—despite Sunset’s instructions—was not possible.

“Nothing about this is simple,” Twilight declared to the empty room. Empty save for her precious books—and a few small pictures and certification plaques. They said nothing in response, which was as it should be. Inanimate objects did not speak after all. Not without the appropriate spells.

She was halfway through her two hundred and twenty-fourth orbit around her coffee table when a knock sounded at the door. This caused a momentary lapse at a critical stage of her hoofwork, as it distracted her and caused her to bang her left forehoof against said coffee table. As a direct result, Twilight Sparkle crashed to the floor, tumbled twice and smacked hard into one of her bookcases.

Twilight had a somewhat mixed view on the concept of destiny. She disliked the concept on principle, as it implied unseen forces at work in her life. However, she was familiar with a particular variant of ‘destiny’ used in many pieces of satire. Namely, ‘narrative causality.’ She suspected she was a victim of this strange phenomenon when two psychology textbooks landed on her head, followed closely by a novel featuring a rather comely unicorn mare with another—

Twilight cursed and immediately flung that book through the door into her bedroom. That book was not permitted to be in public view.

Ever.

A second knock sounded at the door.

“One moment!” Twilight called.

“You okay in there?” came the all-too-familiar voice which immediately brought both a blush and thoughts of that book to Twilight’s mind. She banished both the physical sensation and the errant thought to the depths of space beyond the moon.

“Yes, just… doing some cleaning!”

It was a terrible lie. She knew it to be one. She knew her new houseguest knew it was one as well. However, it was the best she could conjure on short notice. So, she went with it, knowing her guest would likely not question the obvious fabrication.

Still, there was no further knocking as Twilight instinctively reshelved the two textbooks in their proper place. She adjusted her glasses and went to open the door… only to pause just before taking the handle in her magic.

She ran into the bathroom, inspected her mane, brushed it several times, redid the bun, tweaked her bangs just a little, checked her tail, inspected her coat and proceeded to then—and only then—take a deep breath.

In the mirror was the reflection of a unicorn who looked very confused. About everything. About existence itself.

It was also a reflection of a unicorn who was being unspeakably rude by allowing a guest to stand on her doorstep. She almost cursed again as she scampered back out into the living room, took another deep breath and finally opened the door before she lost her nerve.

She froze in horror.

It was raining.

She’d left Sunset Shimmer standing out in the rain.

“Oh my gosh!” Twilight squeaked. “I am so sorry! Please forgive me! I didn’t know it was raining!”

Sunset blinked at her a few times and then glanced up at the teal umbrella-like shield that kept her dry.

“It’s fine, Twilight,” Sunset said. She broke into a wan smile. “It just started a few minutes ago.”

“Still, it’s unforgivable!” Twilight said as yanked Sunset inside her home with a surge of magic.

Sunset was apparently not ready for this, as she almost stumbled face-first into the coffee table, which had apparently decided it was out for pony blood today.

However, Twilight felt her magic get shoved aside by the raw force of Sunset’s own magic. Twilight almost tripped, but managed to catch herself before making an even bigger scene, while Sunset steadied herself on a nearby bookcase.

“Twilight, one of these days, you really need to learn to relax a little,” Sunset said as she shook the water from her hooves on Twilight’s front mat and closed the door. “I’m not going to hate you because you tripped and fell into a bookcase again.”

Twilight stopped and went red. “You… uh… heard that, huh?”

“You do it almost every time somepony knocks on your door.”

“I’m not used to visitors,” Twilight admitted, staring at Sunset’s hooves. “It’s… still new to me. Especially after the first time.”

Sunset sighed. “I already apologized for accidentally knocking a hole through your front door. And I think the new door looks great.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Twilight squeaked.

She looked up only to see Sunset smiling at her with a strangely fond expression. It added further evidence for the one specific hypothesis she had uncovered in her studies.

“I know you didn’t,” Sunset said softly. “Now, please, take a deep breath and stop panicking.”

“I’m not panicking!” Twilight squealed.

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

Finally, Twilight did as requested. She closed her eyes, took a moment and used the breathing exercise Princess Celestia had taught her six weeks ago. It took three tries, but by the time she opened her eyes, her heart no longer felt as if it were going to explode from high blood pressure. It was simply back to what most ponies would consider racing, but she considered perfectly normal.

“Mind if I sit down?” Sunset asked.

“Uh… sure?” Twilight mumbled. Her heart may have settled, but her brain hadn’t. “Look about last night—”

“Last night… wasn’t your fault,” Sunset interrupted as she settled into the cushions of Twilight’s old couch. “It was my fault and Moon Dancer’s fault. I would say it had nothing to do with you… but that’s not strictly true.”

Twilight cocked her head. “I don’t understand.”

Sunset stared at her for a long time.

“Ugh,” she muttered, almost as if she were talking to herself. That was probably the case, since Twilight had witnessed Sunset doing that several times now. “I thought this would be easier after this morning, but it’s not. This is still going to suck.”

“I… I don’t know what’s going on, Sunset. I’m confused.”

“I know. And… that’s—again—my fault. A little bit of Moon Dancer’s fault, but mostly mine.”

“But what is the fault?” Twilight asked. “You aren’t making sense!”

“I know,” Sunset muttered as she glanced at the walls lined with bookcases. “I know I’m not. But it’s… this is hard for me, okay? I thought I was ready for this, but apparently I’m not.”

Twilight slowly moved to the other side of the coffee table and pulled up a chair. Something within her—a new little impulse that had appeared shortly after that moment in the Stack Archives—told her she needed to wait. This impulse came intermittently and it didn’t always come up around Sunset.

But she knew it had started with her.

So, she waited as Sunset gathered her thoughts. Twilight didn’t stare. That would have been rude. But she also didn’t want to appear as if she were bored or not paying attention. That would have also been rude. So, she just glanced at Sunset occasionally between bouts of staring at her copy of A Study on Chaos Theory.

Time passed. Twilight was unsure as to how much. She couldn’t bring herself to look at the clock.

However, at one point, she did look up and see the picture she had framed near her front door. An unexpected gift from Minuette. A picture of Twilight with her new friends, at the end of what Equestria Daily had called ’The Great Failed Snowball Coup,’ which in reality was simply an intense snowball fight that the Princess herself had somehow gotten involved in. All of her friends were there, smiling happily and a little sleepily.

Friends who were so much more important than her.

There was Coco Pommel, a fashion legend and the Design Manager for Coloratura’s stage productions. Next to her was Coloratura herself, the famed pop star whose music was recognized across Equestria and beyond. Minuette—widely regarded as the most brilliant clockmaker in the last two hundred years—was laughing as usual. Off to the side was Cheerilee, a gifted teacher who had actually taught at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns before taking over her own schoolhouse in Ponyville. And then…

Twilight swallowed as she looked at the last two faces in the picture.

One was… her first real friend. The one she had pushed away because she had been scared. The only one who had understood Twilight. Somepony who—even when they were both fillies—could talk to Twilight at her level. A pony who’d only grown wittier and more dynamic in the years they’d been apart. Not only that, but a masterful librarian as well. She could have a position at the RCA in a heartbeat if she wanted it, but Moon Dancer wanted to help others and work her unique magic at the Canterlot Cosmopolitan Library. Twilight couldn’t help but admire just how loyal she was to her patrons.

Then, there was Sunset.

Twilight didn’t even know how to start describing Sunset Shimmer.

How did I end up having six of the most amazing mares in the world as friends? I don’t deserve this. I’m nopony special. Despite the Princess’s assurances… I don’t think I ever will be. I’m just a pony who’s good with books.

“Twilight.”

The name shocked her out of her reverie. She jumped and her glasses promptly fell off. Twilight scrambled for them, but they bounced under the coffee table.

Evil, evil coffee table!

Knowing full well she looked like an idiot, she searched beneath the table with her magic. However, Sunset was faster. She managed to fish them out with a single spell and floated the eyewear back up to Twilight. They landed on her muzzle with the touch of a butterfly.

She even put them in exactly the right position.

Twilight couldn’t have hidden the blush if she wanted to. In fact, she did want to. And, despite her best effort, as she had previously surmised, she was unable to do so.

Truth be told, Twilight wasn’t completely oblivious, despite what she suspected many around her believed. She had noticed Sunset blush during a few awkward moments they had. Or… other kinds of moments.

This was one of those kinds of moments.

But Sunset wasn’t blushing. She looked…

Sad?

“Twilight…” Sunset repeated and licked her lips. “Look, I… can I ask you something?”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Of course, Sunset. You can ask me anything.”

“Did you see anything else that afternoon?”

Sunset didn’t need to say what afternoon she was referring to. A day hadn’t gone by when Twilight hadn’t thought about that afternoon.

“Why do you ask?” Twilight hedged.

“Please…” Sunset asked quietly. “I need to know.”

Finally, Twilight nodded. “I saw a lot of things other than you in front of that mirror.”

“Did you see the first time?”

For a moment, Twilight considered lying. But it was only for a moment.

“Yes.”

Sunset’s ears flattened. “I see.”

Twilight may have been socially inept—especially compared to her newfound friends—but she could see the impact her answer had had on Sunset.

“It didn’t bother me, Sunset,” Twilight said quickly. “I saw a lot of things in those few seconds. When I think back to that day, every time, I remember something a little different. I saw the day you got your cutie mark. I saw you when your mane was about twelve feet long after Moon Dancer’s chaos surge.”

“It was not twelve feet long!” Sunset protested.

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. “Okay, fine. Eleven.”

Sunset rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything else. Twilight took that as her cue to continue.

“I saw… I saw your parents’ reaction to you getting into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. And I saw what you did to Lemon Hearts. I even saw myself a few times.”

“Wonderful,” Sunset sighed, rubbing her face with her hooves.

Twilight cocked her head. Sunset’s obvious discomfort battled her own incessant curiosity in a brief but intense struggle. Curiosity came out the victor. “Why are you asking now? It’s been two months.”

“Because I was afraid of the answer,” Sunset said with a shrug. “Because I didn’t want to find out if you knew just how horrible of a pony I was.”

“I know what you used to be,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “I also saw what you’ve done since. I saw you apologize to Lemon Hearts and keep trying even though she was adamant about rejecting you. I saw you help out Cheerilee when she was at her lowest. I saw you save Trixie from that awful Svengallop. I saw you playing with Philomena. I saw a lot of things.”

“Yeah… apparently you did.” Sunset muttered. Her ears were still flat against her head. “You think about it a lot?”

Twilight nodded.

That particular hypothesis felt more and more likely the longer Sunset was in her home.

“One more question…” Sunset said. The words were slow and she didn’t meet Twilight’s eyes. The rain was starting to come down hard outside. Twilight could hear it against the window. “Do you remember what Princess Celestia said in the observatory the day I introduced you?”

From what Twilight could see of Sunset’s expression, the other mare already knew the answer. But Sunset evidently needed to hear it anyway. Twilight at least knew that much about relationships. But giving that answer proved to be more difficult than she would have thought.

Several long seconds passed before Twilight managed to provide Sunset with the information she had requested.

“Yes.”

Sunset nodded. “Thought you would.”

“Sunset, I—”

She held up a hoof. “Let me get this out, please. If I stop, I won’t ever be able to do it.”

Twilight fell silent, even though there was a rather large sector of her mind that was telling her in no uncertain terms she should not respect that particular request.

She did anyway.

Still, the silence stretched, testing Twilight’s patience. She was about to lose her battle not to speak when Sunset finally opened her muzzle.

“I like you, Twilight. I like you a lot.”

Sunset didn’t meet Twilight’s gaze. She was staring at her hooves. She looked utterly miserable for a moment before the expression faded, replaced by one of calm resignation.

As for Twilight, she found herself unable to process current events in a logical fashion. This was such a deviation from the norm that the sheer astonishment of the situation made her almost miss the next statement.

“And… I think I like you too much.”

Twilight stiffened. Sunset still didn’t look up. Twilight didn’t take her eyes off the mare.

“I think that spell is really screwing with my mind. All that stuff you saw? I think about it and see different things, too. I think about it all the time.” Her voice hitched. “All the time.” Then she forced herself to continue. “And it makes me think we’re closer than we really are. It makes me want to be closer… than we… than we are… or… should be…”

Twilight didn’t know how to respond to this. This was the confirmation of the hypothesis. The single one. The complicated one. Yet, she couldn’t say a thing. Neural impulses from her brain to her mouth seemed to be blocked by an unknown element.

Finally, Sunset looked up and almost met her eyes.

Almost.

“I think Princess Celestia has… well, I’m pretty sure she has the right idea. We’re just now learning how to be friends. We… um… shouldn’t complicate things by trying to go… um… farther than that.”

Twilight found herself unable to interact with the outside world. She couldn’t even determine her emotional state after hearing what Sunset had just told her. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. It was a most annoying sensation. It was also familiar…

I’m having a panic attack, Twilight realized. A mild one. But it is definitely a panic attack. But why? There’s no logical reason to be panicking right now.

“Look, we’ve been dancing around this ever since that afternoon,” Sunset said quickly as she fiddled with her hooves, practically wringing them together. “I… it’s not good for us. And… I think there’s somepony else who might like to get to know you better. I think you’d like her. You might even suspect who I’m talking about. You’re far… she’s a good pony.”

Twilight blinked again.

“Twilight, you’re kinda leaving me hanging here…” Sunset said with a hint of exasperation. “Could you say something, please? I already feel like a total idiot.”

Some friend you are. She’s obviously putting herself in a difficult emotional situation for your sake and you can’t even react. That is not the act of a good friend. The Princess would be disappointed in you.

“I’m sorry!” Twilight squeaked. “I… Well, I guess I should say that this is a surprise, but it’s really not since we both know that there’s been this… this… this… thing between us since that afternoon, you weren’t wrong about that but I didn’t know what to do about it or even if I should do anything about it and I felt so utterly lost because nothing like this has ever happened to me and I never even really expected it to happen to me, especially not from somepony like… like...”

She trailed off before she finished that last thought. Twilight was rather surprised Sunset had not stopped her frantic ramble. Her usual response was to just shove a hoof in her muzzle. That approach tended to be the most effective.

Instead, Sunset smiled a little.

Twilight suspected she knew why Sunset was smiling now. It was illogical. It was insane.

At that moment, Twilight realized Sunset enjoyed watching her ramble like some crazed lunatic.

Maybe… maybe she thinks… Maybe she thinks when I do that, I’m being cu—

No. Down that road lies madness. I can’t think like that.

“So, you’ve felt it too?” Sunset asked in a voice that was barely audible over the rising storm outside.

Twilight nodded. Words wanted to come out, but Twilight was sure they’d be total gibberish.

“Well, that’s some small comfort.” Sunset gave her a wry smile. “And here I was worried that I might be working myself up over nothing. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“It’s not nothing,” Twilight mumbled. “But… I don’t understand. What you’re saying is that you like me… like like me… but you… you don’t want to do anything about it? You don’t… you don’t want anything to do with me?”

Sunset’s eyes nearly popped from her head and she reached forward to grab Twilight’s hooves in her own. Twilight noted in a detached way that she was so confused, she didn’t blush.

Much.

“Oh Celestia, no!” Sunset cried. “I’m not saying that. I’m not saying that at all. Twilight, you’re my friend now. You probably understand me better than any of our other friends. Not only that, but you’re my… you’re my… I guess… peer might be the right word. You’re Celestia’s student, too! She brought you on to study and work with me! As partners! I care about what happens to you. I want to see you enjoy yourself. I like seeing you happy. I love seeing—”

Sunset yanked her hooves back, but Twilight got the sense it wasn’t out of anything Twilight had done, but instead, Sunset was forcibly reining herself in. The other mare took a few deep breaths and continued at a far more controlled pace.

“That’s the problem,” Sunset said with a bittersweet laugh. “I do care for you. And… I’m not good for you, Twilight. I’m not good for anypony, really.”

“That’s not—”

“You’ve seen what I’ve done,” Sunset interrupted. “Some of the things I did I can never make up for. It doesn’t matter that they were years ago. It doesn’t matter if I was young, arrogant and stupid. It doesn’t matter if everyone says it’s over and settled. It wouldn’t matter if every single pony I’d hurt marched up to me, officially forgave me and threw me a party! It doesn’t matter. I’m responsible. It’s my fault. Nothing will ever change that.”

“So… you’re not allowed to be happy?” Twilight asked. She paused and wondered where those words had come from.

Sunset looked just as surprised as Twilight. She hesitated. She hesitated for a long time.

“I don’t know,” she finally admitted. “Maybe it’s my destiny to constantly try and make up for my past. Here’s the truth, Twilight: even if I wanted to…” She laughed. “And even if you wanted to, I’m in no state to be in… that kind of relationship right now.”

“Oh.”

It was the only thing Twilight could think to say. It was currently impossible for her to articulate her actual reaction to this confession. To Sunset’s announcement that Sunset Shimmer—of all the ponies in the world—actually had romantic feelings toward her.

Twilight Sparkle. A regular, boring unicorn who was good with books. Who had somehow become the student of Princess Celestia.

No, it wasn’t somehow. It was because of Sunset. Sunset had given her that chance. Given her a dream she’d kept in a secret place within her for so many years. It was a dream she would take out occasionally in the dead of night and wonder about. She’d think about what it would be like. It was like looking into a snowglobe: looking at the dream, but knowing you could never touch it. It would never be real.

And now that dream had become a reality because of one pony.

That pony was unwilling to risk causing Twilight Sparkle any further harm, despite what that pony wanted for herself. That was amazing.

How does one respond to such selflessness?

In the end, there was only one possible outcome for Twilight. It was a simple one. It was also incredibly difficult.

“I… I accept your decision.”

Sunset stared at her.

“Just like that?” she asked. “But… what about… you said you felt…”

Twilight nodded. “If you think Princess Celestia is right and what we feel is simply a byproduct of a potent spell, acting on it would be foolish. And I… I respect your wishes. I don’t know the first thing about friendship. I know even less about relationships beyond that. So… I trust you… even if I don’t really want to.”

Twilight shrugged sheepishly with a little smile.

“I’m only a pony, after all.”

For a long time, Sunset just stared at her, her mouth slightly open as if she was trying to process the data presented to her and finding it completely contradictory to the known laws of the universe.

Twilight suspected her expression was somewhat similar, as that was her perspective on these events.

“You’re a good pony, Twilight Sparkle,” Sunset said in a very small voice. “A better pony than I could ever hope to be.”

“Sunset, you’re—”

“Nope,” Sunset said with a smirk. “You don’t get to finish that sentence.”

That was the first time Twilight had ever recognized Sunset’s mask. In retrospect, Sunset had used this particular communications technique many times before. She was good at changing the subject. But never once had Twilight ever really seen the mask appear. The change in her eyes, her posture, her muzzle and even her ears. The only thing that didn’t quite change all the way was what was in her eyes.

Twilight could still see pain there. But she knew from what Sunset had said… she couldn’t help.

“Are you sure…?”

“Yep!” Sunset said with a smile that would have made Minuette proud. “Believe it or not… the fact that this part of the conversation is finally behind us is making me a little giddy.” She laughed. It almost sounded genuine. “Still probably one of the most awkward conversations ever, huh?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “I guess. Most of my conversations tend to be awkward.”

Suddenly, Sunset’s eyes changed. They glittered slightly. They glittered the same way they did whenever Sunset was about to pull off something she thought was spectacular.

“I think it was the most awkward conversation I’ve had… but I can think of one more conversation you’ve had around me that was even more awkward.”

Twilight felt herself pale and scooted back a bit, adjusting her glasses. “What?”

“The night we met and your little… shall we say… fracas with a certain librarian?”

Twilight felt herself go from pale to blush in ten microseconds flat.

“I… uh…”

“She likes you, too.”

Twilight’s brain screeched to a halt.

That is completely illogical. I shoved her away in fear and foolishness. She could not like me in the manner that Sunset is suggesting! It’s ludicrous! Madness! Insanity!

Twilight shook her head.

“Ayep!” Sunset cried. “And guess what you’re doing tomorrow night?”

“Finishing my studies on chaos theory and the applications used in the Spire Project?”

“Nope! Anyway, that’s an ongoing project. The Princess never gave us a due date.”

“We’ve only just started on the prototype! And we have so much more studying to do!”

“There’s more to life than dusty old books,” Sunset said, her smirk growing wider.

“They aren’t dusty!” Twilight cried. “I keep my books…”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow at her and glanced around the room.

“Okay, fine, they’re dusty. Doesn’t matter! We have work to do!”

“Consider this your next lesson on friendship.”

“You wouldn’t…” Twilight gaped. “You wouldn’t dare…”

“I can’t think of a better example of friendship. Because I know you like her, too. There’s no use denying it.”

I thought I liked you.

Twilight kept the thought to herself. There was no reason to share it. It would only make things worse.

Then again, Sunset wasn’t—strictly speaking—wrong. The thought had occurred to her. More than once. Especially during her… estrangement from Moon Dancer.

“You’re not letting me out of this, are you?”

“Nope,” Sunset’s smirk hardened into sheer determination. “I even already talked to Moon Dancer about it—”

She suddenly stopped talking and blinked a few times. Then she smacked her face with a hoof. “Ugh, look, that came out… that came out wrong.”

Twilight stared at her, now more lost than ever.

“I… I haven’t been a very good friend. To anyone.” Sunset took a deep breath and released it in one explosive sigh. “If… listen, if you actually don’t want to do this… I’m not going to twist your hoof. I know… I know I come across strong but…”

Twilight watched as Sunset tried to gather her wits around her. The mask she had seen suddenly had cracks everywhere. Sunset rubbed her face with her hooves again and curled her tail tightly around herself, as if it were some sort of comfort or security device.

“Do you actually like her? Put aside the rest. Put aside me and my stupid little production. At least try. Honestly. I’ll stop this right now if I’m wrong. I promise. Do you?”

Twilight’s heart just about stopped as she stared into Sunset’s teal eyes. The mare Twilight thought she liked was actually asking if Twilight liked somepony else. What was wrong with the world? Had Discord, the ancient spirit of chaos, been released and she hadn’t been notified?

But Sunset looked earnest. In fact, Sunset looked almost desperate. Twilight didn’t know what she was desperate for, though. She had a few hypotheses, of course. But she couldn’t be sure.

So, in the end, Twilight fell back on the truth. At least as far as she understood it.

“I…” Twilight looked away from Sunset, unable to meet her eyes. Then she said in a very small voice, “Yes.”

Sunset breathed an enormous sigh of relief. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. Otherwise… I would have looked really stupid. And… you know...” She rubbed her neck. “...kinda forced you into something you didn’t want.”

“I…” Twilight blushed. “I… I’ve thought about it.”

“Before now?” Sunset asked, seeming… oddly insistent.

Twilight bit her lip and nodded.

“Then let’s make it happen!” Sunset cried, her eagerness suddenly back in force. Her smile could have rivaled Minuette’s, if not for the slightly odd look in Sunset’s eyes. “Tomorrow night!”

“So… so soon?”

“No time like the present!”

“Is... “ Twilight felt a little dizzy. “Is this really happening?”

Sunset nodded with a bit too much cheer. “This is happening, Sparky.”

“Sparky?”

“Sparky.”

“You are not calling me Sparky.”

“Pretty sure I just did, Sparky.”

“No.”

“I could go with Twily?”

“My brother calls me that. That would be… strange. Exceedingly strange.”

“Sparky it is then.”

“…you’ve done this before, haven’t you?”

“With Moony.”

“Of course you have.”

Twilight sighed. This was all happening so fast. But in truth… she didn’t have it in her to fight too hard. Because… she had thought about it. Long before Sunset had even shown up in her life. She’d thought about that filly who used to understand her better than anypony. A relationship with her... that could be something really special.

As for Sunset, herself...

It would be a good distraction from other things. Maybe for both of us.? Maybe I’ll help her by doing this? Settle her mind? If she can help me… maybe she’ll forgive herself a little bit more.

Plus, she did say she had spoken to Moon Dancer about this. Moon Dancer obviously agreed, or this conversation never would have occured.

It was worth a shot.

Sunset grinned. Twilight tried to grin back.

“We’re going to need to work on that smile,” Sunset said. “And I think I know just the pony for the job.”

Twilight winced. “You’re… you’re going to unleash her on me?”

“Oh please,” Sunset replied with a wave of her hoof. “Don’t act all terrified. You know you like her.”

“Minuette’s just… she can be a little intense.”

“I’ll tell her to behave then.” Sunset winked at Twilight.

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Will she actually listen?”

“Maybe?” Sunset shrugged. “I guess you’ll find out.”

She did actually want this, right? A tiny cynical part of her wondered if she even had a choice.

Of course I have a choice. If I declined this sudden romantic evening with Moon Dancer, they would accept my decision. These are my friends. They’re not forcing me.

“Wait… what about tonight?” Twilight said, staring up at Sunset with wide eyes. “We’re scheduled for a lesson!”

“Yeah?” Sunset said, but Twilight could see the twitch in her expression.

“Are… are we still… we can’t cancel! We can’t cancel on the Princess!”

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Sunset said with far too much ease. “I’m not going to leave you high and dry. Of course we’ll see each other tonight at our lesson. After all, we need to see if the Spire’s ready for another go.”

“Oh… o-okay.” Twilight whispered, staring down at her hooves.

“Just relax a little. And look forward to tomorrow! Some of the girls will come by to help you get ready. And speaking of getting ready, I need to make some arrangements.”

“Sunset… I…”

“Just have a good time tomorrow night, okay?” Sunset stood and headed for the door. “If you’re really worried about me… seeing you happy will make me happy. Just have a good time and let things happen naturally.”

“You’re sure?”

Sunset nodded and pulled open the door, revealing the rainy street beyond.

“Okay…” Twilight murmured.

Sunset smiled and walked back outside. Twilight watched her go… and couldn’t help but notice that Sunset didn’t bring up a shield to protect her from the rain.

Author's Note

At that moment, Twilight realized Sunset enjoyed watching her ramble like some crazed lunatic.

We all do... but it means something a little different here.

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Interlude: Peer Review, Phase One

“Uh… sure, Princess.” The magical speaker said in Sunset’s voice. “Let me—gah! Let me try that again. Twilight could you…? Uh, nevermind, actually. I’ll get it.”

Raven was worried.

“Ouch! Sorry. Uh… one more time?”

She tried not to show that worry. After all, one did not become the aide to the most powerful pony in creation without developing a healthy sense of decorum. In fact, she had trained herself so well, she kept her poise even when nopony was watching.

Such as now.

“Gah! This worked earlier! We had the runic symbols in perfect alignment with—ow!”

Beyond the observation window, Sunset and Twilight scrambled around the Spire. Princess Celestia stood to the side, looking on. She winced at Sunset’s every yelp, but made no move to assist the two.

There were already at least a dozen scorch marks on the white walls of the the arcane laboratory. After the incident yesterday involving Moon Dancer, Princess Celestia had moved the Spire Project to an advanced spell research facility located beneath the western turret of the castle proper. Raven had wholeheartedly agreed with the decision, as the new laboratory had substantially stronger wards than the previous home of the Spire.

After all, it had taken almost three hours to recover all the teacups from the dish storage facilities located two floors above the laboratory in the south tower.

“M-maybe try… a Haycartes Triangle?”

“I don’t think that will work, Twilight. Maybe… Clover’s Second Perpendicular Rune?” A sharp snap of magic echoed through the speaker. “Or not.”

Despite the latest mark on the wall, the experiment didn’t worry Raven. Sunset and Twilight did. Namely, how they were acting around one another. Something had changed. Something drastic.

Even worse, Raven could see the impact of their new behavior on Princess Celestia.

Raven doubted the two young mares could discern the Princess’s reaction. Sunset might have, if she had been able to focus on anything other than her work—and apparently avoiding looking directly at Twilight. Twilight, for her part, seemed inordinately interested in her hooves when she wasn’t tasked with something.

Sunset had a nearly manic level of energy and gave far more commands than usual. Twilight was far more passive, as if she were nothing more than a junior lab assistant.

All the while, the Princess’s eyes had darted between the two. Celestia hadn’t inquired as to what troubled them. Raven understood why. She didn’t necessarily agree with it, but she at least understood it. Nevertheless, the simple fact that Celestia’s mane had about a third of its usual luster worried Raven more than anything else.

“This is getting too complicated,” Raven murmured to herself as she adjusted her red cravat.

“Wait, this should do the trick! Let me just connect this to the second circle amethyst… then—Princess, stand back a little—Twilight, watch the feedback on the outer shield and…”

Raven took off her glasses and rubbed her forehead. Yes, this would complicate matters.

That’s when the lab exploded with brilliant green light.

“Miss Coloratura! Miss Pommel!” Raven shouted through the bustle of the Midtown Canterlot Train Station.

Even at night, this place tended to be rather frantic. Thankfully, Raven had long ago become used to ‘frantic.’ After all, it was in her job description. The last time her title had been under review by the Palace Managerial Committee, she’d insisted on the addition. Princess Celestia had wholeheartedly approved.

Raven waved the clipboard in her magic at the pair of earth pony mares. Again, they didn’t notice. Another shout was lost in the crowd. It took a few more emphatic waves—and a minor light spell—before they finally saw her. Both wore rather blatant looks of surprise when they trotted over.

“Miss Raven…?” Coloratura stared at her. The light green-gray earth pony looked like she had a few questions.

“Uh…” Coco hesitated, her eyes darting between Raven’s hair and her eyes. “Hello?”

“What are you doing here?” Coloratura asked, peering at Raven while running a hoof absently through her teal-streaked indigo blue mane. “Where’s Sunny? And what happened to—”

“Sunset and Twilight are currently undergoing a procedure to restore their coats—and manes—to their normal colors,” Raven said with a suffering sigh. “They asked me if I wouldn’t mind meeting you when you arrived. It would give us a chance to review the progress on the new stage with you.”

Coloratura leaned back, her eyes never leaving Raven’s mane. Coco had also given up on not staring. “Would this have anything to do with why your mane is currently red with pink polka-dots?”

“Yes,” Raven said flatly. “I’ll spare you the details, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Actually, it gives me a few ideas…” Coco murmured. She pulled out a notebook from her saddlebag. Before Raven could stop her, she started sketching something.

Raven cocked her head. She had to fight back something between a laugh and a sigh. In less than twenty seconds, the small mare finished and showed it to Coloratura.

Coloratura smiled warmly at the cream-colored earth pony. Coco ran a hoof over the bands of her short two-toned blue mane and blushed a little. Then Coloratura glanced at her sketchpad and her smile grew to a grin. “That’s a great idea, Coco!”

“You’re sure?” Coco asked, studying her sketchpad critically. “I’m not sure about the shape. What do you think, Miss—”

Raven lifted a hoof as Coco tried to turn the sketchpad over. She didn’t even want to speculate what sort of idea might come from her atrocity of a mane right now.

“We can work out details later, Coco,” Coloratura assured her and then grinned awkwardly at Raven. “I think Miss Raven might not want to be in public right now.”

Raven chuckled, though there wasn’t a lot of humor in it. “Yes, that would be appreciated.”

After making arrangements to have Coco’s and Coloratura’s luggage delivered to their inn, the three mares set out into the night-shrouded city. The moon rose over the spires of Canterlot as they made their way toward the Castle.

Twenty minutes later, they were walking through the west castle courtyard. Though it was nighttime, the stars were almost invisible due to the brilliant spotlights shining over the framework of the stage. The racket the construction team made would have incurred numerous noise fines if they hadn’t been on the Castle grounds. Then again, if they hadn’t fallen behind yet again, Raven wouldn’t have demanded they work nights.

Raven shot a look at the foremare, a lumbering hulk of a mare named Trig. Trig took one look at Raven and suddenly found she was needed on the far side of the platform. With a sigh, Raven stopped and gestured at the stage.

“What do you think?” Raven asked the musician, her clipboard and quill hovering beside her as they surveyed the site of Coloratura’s next concert.

“Coco?” Coloratura deferred to her design manager. “Thoughts?”

Raven had learned several things about Coco Pommel in the last few years. One was that the small mare tended to avoid the spotlight when possible. Another was she was a consummate professional.

Raven liked her. Though their occupations were radically different, their purposes were much the same: to make sure their charges could do what they do as easily as possible.

“The risers on the north side are a little uneven,” Coco murmured, almost to herself. Still, she rubbed her chin and nodded approvingly. “But the fabric choices for curtains, drapes and trim are perfect. They’re not the original design, though. Who picked them?”

“Miss Cheerilee recommended two mares she knows from Ponyville. She wanted to make sure the consultant wasn’t somepony trying to curry favor with Sunset… again.”

“She still hasn’t forgotten the incident with Dandy Grandeur, has she?” Coco said with a wince as she ran a hoof along the trim of the stage.

“No,” Raven replied. “No, she has not. Since then, she doesn’t trust anypony in Canterlot.”

“Grandeur was always a bit of a peacock,” Coloratura said. “He tried to bump Coco out of a job two years ago.”

Raven coughed to hide her snort. Calling Dandy Grandeur “a bit” of a peacock was like calling Blueblood “a little” full of himself.

Coco burst into giggles. “What did you say to him, Rara?”

The singer laughed. “I told him I didn’t care if he came with Princess Celestia’s personal guarantee. Nopony takes my Coco away from me.”

Coco blushed a little and took some time to adjust the large red and purple flower in her mane. Coloratura didn’t seem to notice as she wrapped a foreleg around Coco and gave her a tight squeeze.

Then they both turned to face Raven… and their expressions of joy froze.

“What’s wrong, Raven?” Coloratura asked. She let Coco out of her hug and stepped toward the older mare. “You look like…”

On the outside, Raven closed her eyes and sighed, but on the inside, she let out a long, frustrated groan. Just a few hours ago, she had been patting herself on the back for her sense of decorum. Now, a single act of friendly banter and affirmation had cracked it to the point where her inner thoughts were visible to the world? Even she was caught in the wake of the complications caused by today’s events.

She glanced up at the construction workers and then waved the two mares over to a more secluded section of the courtyard. The grass was still wet here from this morning’s storm. The lights from the construction site glittered off a few small puddles to their right as Raven guided them to a small copse of beech trees.

Raven dismissed the clipboard and plopped to the ground, ignoring the wet grass. Without saying a word, she undid her cravat with her magic and pulled it off. Then, she stared at it, studying the fabric from various angles.

“Raven?” Coco asked quietly. “What happened? I’ve… I’ve never seen you like this.”

Coloratura nodded. She took a seat on the grass, though Coco had to get a look from Coloratura before she gingerly sat down.

“If I may ask…” Raven hesitated.

This wasn’t her place, yet they deserved to know. There was the distinct possibility the two of them could help Sunset and maybe prevent this whole thing from flying apart at the seams. After all, Raven had already tried to intervene once. There was no harm in trying again. Right?

Raven steeled herself and asked the question she didn’t want to ask. “Are you aware of anything going on between Sunset, Twilight and Moon Dancer?”

Coloratura and Coco gave each other a look, instantly confirming Raven’s hypothesis.

“I see,” Raven whispered. She turned her cravat over in her hooves a few times.

“Something happened, didn’t it?” Coco whispered.

Raven nodded.

Coloratura groaned and put a hoof to her forehead. “I was afraid of this. Once Twilight and Sunny finally got their act together and—”

“It’s not Twilight and Sunset,” Raven said quietly, not meeting their eyes. She felt her ears go flat of their own accord. She decided right then she didn’t care. Some things were more important than image.

“Wait, what?” Coco sounded lost. “How could it not be them? We’ve seen how they look at one another for months! They’re crazy about each other!”

“One of the side effects of the magic they encountered on the day they met is an enhanced emotional connection to one another,” Raven said in a dull tone.

It’s not technically a lie, Raven assured herself. It didn’t help much. The words sounded so hollow, as if she were talking about some lab experiment instead of a filly she’d seen Celestia raise and mold into one of the best ponies Raven knew.

“That’s… harmonic bonds, right?” Coloratura said, eyeing Raven.

“Yes.” Raven nodded. “And they can be… intense.”

“You mean they were under some sort of love potion or something?” Coco asked. For some reason, the tone of her voice indicated Coco found that cute.

Raven wished she did as well.

“No,” Raven replied. “Harmony magic—at least in this context—can only enhance what’s already there.”

“So… if they’re already attracted to one another… why didn’t—”

“That’s not my place to say.” Raven waved away the question. She didn’t want to deal with that. She couldn’t deal with that. “However, you are their friends and you should know. There’s been… a development. Princess and I found out about it this evening after Sunset and Twilight’s lesson.”

“But…” Coco brought out her sketchpad and started flipping through pages, a little nervous tick of the young mare, akin to Twilight nibbling on her bangs. “You’re saying that Twilight and Sunset aren’t together, that must mean…”

Coloratura groaned again and rubbed her face with her hooves. “That… that idiot mare…”

“Please don’t.” Raven looked up sharply and met the singer’s eyes. “I won’t presume to tell you how to be a friend, but do not go in there with preconceptions. Neither of them are handling this all that well.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Coco asked, her eyes narrowing. “It seems a little strange for Princess Celestia’s personal aide to be so worried about one of our best friends.”

Raven almost smiled at the faint hint of reproach in Coco’s voice.

“Because you deserve to know. I suspect all three of them will need your help come morning,” Raven replied. “And I’m asking that you do your best to help them. I’ve already said something similar to Minuette and Cheerilee. Though, I will admit, they appeared to already know.”

“Is this just you asking?” Coloratura asked with a raised eyebrow. “Or is this… coming from a higher authority?”

“Let’s skip the pretenses.” Raven sighed with a shake of her head. “If you’re under the impression that I’m acting on behalf of the Princess, I am… after a fashion. Princess Celestia is very close to Sunset and considers all of you to be friends. Sunset’s actions… I’m just... “ She took another breath and steadied herself. “Let’s just say she—and I—have a vested interest in all of you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Coloratura said, her eyes hardening.

“No, I suppose it doesn’t.” Raven closed her eyes, fighting the desire to twitch her ears in annoyance. “And the answer to your question is no. This isn’t coming from the Princess. This is me and me alone.”

“What, did you think we wouldn’t help our friends?” Coco demanded. She sounded a little hurt. “You should know us better than that.”

“I do,” Raven replied as she affixed her cravat back around her neck. She always felt… wrong without it, but it had felt so tight a few minutes ago. “But, Sunset also asked me to pass along a message to the two of you, requesting you to meet her at her house at nine in the morning. She needs your help with… something. She wouldn’t say what.”

Coloratura’s tail lashed back and forth against the wet grass, almost as if she were an annoyed cat. “Knowing Sunset… I might have a few ideas. If this is really what I think it is.”

“Please,” Raven asked. Despite her best efforts, desperation slipped into her voice. “Help them. All three of them. But… make sure Sunset is okay. At the very least, be there for her.”

“Of course we will,” Coco said. She flipped through a few more pages in her sketchbook and glanced between it and Raven. “She’s our friend.”

Coloratura nodded. “So… are Moon Dancer and Twilight—”

Raven lifted a hoof to stop her. “I don’t know the details. All I do know is when one has worked for Princess Celestia as long as I have, you learn to read ponies. And what I’m reading from both of them is they need their friends. Now, more than ever. What you do with that information is up to you. I likely shouldn’t even be saying this but…”

Comprehension dawned in Coloratura’s eyes and she smiled gently. “You care about her, don’t you? Almost as much as the Princess does.”

Raven hesitated and stared at a few water droplets caught on a fallen leaf. “She… I’ve watched her grow up. And I’ve seen what sort of effect she has on Princess Celestia. She’s… she’s a good pony.”

And she deserves to be free of her demons, no matter how tightly she clings to them.

Raven shivered with the effort it took to pull herself back together.

“I don’t think you’re telling us the whole truth with that,” Coloratura said quietly. “Your feelings—”

“My feelings aren’t important here,” Raven said and pushed herself to her hooves. It was time to be the Aide again. “Sunset’s feelings are. So are Moon Dancer’s and Twilight’s. I’m asking that you try and be there to help. That’s all I really want from you.”

Coco and Coloratura both stood as well. Coco’s sketchpad vanished in a saddlebag.

“Thank you for telling us this, Raven,” Coloratura said, her voice filled with more warmth than Raven expected. Then, to her shock, the singer stepped forward and hugged her tight.

Raven stiffened for an instant. She didn’t know what to do, so she just did what felt natural. She had thought that would be to push Coloratura away. After all, being familiar with the Princess was one thing, but she had spent so long hiding behind the persona of the Aide that sometimes she was worried there wasn’t much else there.

So, Raven was rather surprised when she found herself collapsing into the hug. It had been a very long time since she had slowed down long enough to let a pony hug her in anything resembling a friendly manner.

All too briefly, the moment passed.

Then it repeated itself again when Coco followed Coloratura’s example, though Coco was a bit smaller than Raven herself. It made it a little awkward, but no less heartfelt.

The ghost of the hug stayed with her even as a cold winter wind began to blow through the courtyard.

“We’ll do our best,” Coloratura said with a smile, though Raven couldn’t help but notice it didn’t meet the singer’s eyes. “Though… with Sunset…”

“I know.” Raven nodded and blinked, surprised to find a bit of wetness on her cheeks. Probably water from the trees above. “Believe me… I know.”

Coloratura and Coco nodded. Coco reached a hoof and gently touched Raven on the shoulder. “You’re a good friend, Raven. Not just to Sunset. To all of us.”

“With respect, Miss Pommel,” Raven said, trying to recapture some semblance of her composure. “I don’t know you all that well.”

“You know Sunset,” Coloratura said with a glance at Coco. “And you’re her friend. Aren’t you?”

Raven was quiet for a moment. “I like to think so.”

“Then I think we can count you among our friends, too,” Coco replied.

Coloratura nodded emphatically.

Raven smiled and they headed back toward the city proper so the two mares could get some sleep.

“Sunset is a very lucky pony,” Raven whispered as they stepped onto the cobblestones of Canterlot itself. “I hope she remembers that.”

As they turned a corner and left the castle behind, neither Coloratura nor Coco seemed to have a response.

Raven didn’t blame them.

Author's Note

During the course of editing, I was informed that Coloratura and Coco Pommel didn't really have a good introduction. They just showed up in an upcoming chapter. After bouncing ideas back and forth for a while, I eventually stumbled onto the idea of doing short interludes between previously written chapters.

Not only that, but it gave me the chance to finally see through the eyes of one of my favorite characters, the incredible Raven. Raven's got a major role to play in Wavelengths. We've already seen her with Celestia during The Cloudsdale Report and the first chapter of A Study on Chaos Theory, but I decided she deserved a little more.

I had some trouble with her voice (she came across far colder in earlier versions), but after a last-second save by Beltorn, I'm very happy with the final result. Raven's got her own goals and her own feelings toward Sunset and her friends.

I look forward to showing you more of her in the stories to come!

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Lunar Hypotheses

“All the ponies in this room are crazy!” Moon Dancer shouted as her flank bumped into the corner.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Sunny smirked. “Now, stop fighting it!”

“Never!” Moon Dancer braced herself and reinforced her pink shield with another surge of magic. Sunny rolled her eyes, but Moon Dancer wasn’t about to let her best friend win without a fight. This entire plan had been insane from the start, but now Sunny had roped Coco and Rara into it! And they’d just gotten in last night!

This is ridiculous! Why are they even going along with this? And why are they so obsessed with this stupid part of it! Gah! My friends have all turned into crazy ponies! What, did the Princess of Love get to them or something?

Moon Dancer ran that particular thought through her head again.

No matter how much she’s changed, Sunny would go manticore if Cadenza cast a spell anywhere near her.

“There’s no use in fighting it, Moon Dancer,” Rara said with a little smile. The smile didn’t quite meet her eyes. “You can’t keep that shield up forever. Especially not with Sunny here ready and willing to dispel it.”

“She wouldn’t dare.” Moon Dancer ground her teeth.

“Uh… sorry.” Coco said with an obnoxiously cute little shrug. “She seems… pretty sure about this. And… well, I did work awfully hard on this outfit for you. It was short notice, so I hope you don’t mind I ended up modifying one of Rara’s evening dresses.”

“Now, you wouldn’t want to waste my sacrifice, would you?” The annoyingly-beautiful songstress batted her eyelashes at Moon Dancer. “After all, Coco here was generous enough to simply pour herself into that dress.”

“I wanted to make sure it was perfect!” Coco interjected with a happy little sigh. “After all, the first date is such a big deal! Especially between ponies with such a past…”

“This isn’t one of your romance novels!” Moon Dancer snapped. “I swear, Sunny, I will get you for this!”

“Probably.” Sunny shrugged, looking way too unconcerned about the fact that she had literally backed her best friend into a corner. “I think I can live with that.”

Moon Dancer could feel Sunny’s counterspell. She could see the stored magic swirling around Sunny’s horn! But with a bookcase to her left and an end table to her right, Moon Dancer didn’t have anywhere left to go. She could try teleporting, but teleporting always gave her migraines.

Still might be worth it… although…

Well… did she actually want out of this? Especially after everything that had happened Friday night at the RCA and Pony Joe’s? Moon Dancer still couldn’t believe Sunny had actually gone and done the idiot thing! Not only had she removed herself from the playing board, but she had also put Moon Dancer smack-dab in the middle of it!

Ugh. I shouldn’t be thinking about this like some game. This is for Twilight! She deserves better!

Her only real consolation—other than the tiny possibility that tonight might actually work—was that Twilight was probably getting the exact same treatment right now at the hooves of Cheerilee and Minuette.

Add that to the thought of what Twilight might end up wearing…

Sunny fired her counterspell the moment Moon Dancer’s focus wavered, distracted by all the possibilities.

Which was completely unfair. Totally unfair. Just like Sunny to pull something like that.

She could have fought it. She didn’t have the same level of raw power as Sunny, but she could definitely match her when it came to strength of will. But… there wasn’t much point, was there? No use in delaying it any longer. They would win in the end, no matter what she did. And in truth… Moon Dancer kinda—okay, she really—wanted this to happen.

The shield collapsed and Moon Dancer huffed at her crazy friends.

If Sunny was determined to make this sacrifice, Moon Dancer would be sure it wasn’t made in vain. It was only right, after all.

There was no other reason. None at all.

Five seconds after the shield dropped, Coco pounced on Moon Dancer. Despite Moon Dancer’s half-hearted protests, in a less than a minute, she wore the designer’s latest creation. Sunny beamed at her, looking—of all things—proud.

Moon Dancer had to admit, from this angle, the outfit didn’t look half-bad. Rara was apparently waiting for the distraction, because when Moon Dancer looked back up, Rara struck with pinpoint precision, assaulting her face with a bit of blush, some eyelash curlers and a hint of eyeshadow. With a few deft strokes of a brush floating in Sunny’s magic, Moon Dancer felt her topknot being pulled away and her somewhat frizzy hair being dampened by yet another spell.

Moon Dancer glared at her best friend.

“Since when do you know cosmetic spells?” she demanded as the brush moved to her tail.

“One of Rara and Coco’s ponies taught me a while back. Got tired of going to a salon whenever there was some big important function the Princess wanted me to attend.”

“Really? Does that mean you finally got drying spells down?” Moon Dancer asked sweetly.

“Shut it, Moony,” Sunny huffed.

Moon Dancer snickered and Sunny joined in a second later. Still, Sunny’s smile at the little joke didn’t exactly ease Moon Dancer’s concern for her friend.

Coco tapped her hoof on her chin and frowned. Then, she snatched another brush, darted behind Moon Dancer and did something with her tail.

“Ow!” she yelped. “Careful back there!”

“Sorry,” came the muffled reply of the pony with a brush in her mouth. “Almost got it…”

Before Moon Dancer could respond with any more protests, Coco pronounced her work complete and Sunny conjured a mirror.

Moon Dancer didn’t really have much of a choice, so she looked into the mirror.

And as cliche as it sounded… she had no idea who was looking back at her.

Her mane had been done up with straight bangs, a bit similar to how she used to wear it, but the back of her hair wrapped around her head in a swirl of red and purple. Moon Dancer wasn’t even sure how it stayed up like that. Her tail was brushed back neatly without a single hair out of place. It looked sleek and stylish.

But the dress was something else entirely.

“You… made this?” Moon Dancer whispered as she turned to admire it from a few different angles. “Just… like that? Rara and I are totally different sizes!”

“Oh, it was only an hour or two of work.” Coco blushed, waving off Moon Dancer’s awe. “Really, nothing special.”

Moon Dancer ran a hoof along her chest. The front of the dress was a series of overlapping drapes of purple fabric, several shades darker than the stripe in her own mane. There was a belt of rose-colored threads cinched around her middle that did wonderful things in drawing attention to her figure. A light purple train covered her flanks, while leaving room for her tail to be free. Thankfully, Coco had remembered Moon Dancer hated having her tail all bunched up.

But the thing that surprised her the most was the tiny brooch that bound the whole dress together on the left shoulder. It was an exact duplicate of Moon Dancer’s own cutie mark, made of delicate silver filigree and amethysts.

The whole thing was gorgeous. Moon Dancer had never felt so beautiful in all her life.

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

“Well?” Sunny smirked. “What do you think?”

“Will this be enough to convince you to get rid of that awful topknot?” Coco said, her voice hopeful.

“No,” Moon Dancer grumped, but she had to fight to keep the smile from her face.

Coco saw right through it and beamed at her.

Moon Dancer’s eyes were drawn back to the mirror. They’d even smoothed out her eyebrows and brushed out her coat without her even noticing it.

This was crazy.

But what was more crazy… she liked it.

“Um… do I get to keep it?” Moon Dancer found herself asking, hating herself for her weakness.

“Of course you do, silly,” Rara laughed as she lounged on a pillow, grinning from beneath that wave of indigo and teal hair. “We wouldn’t have it any other way. Anything to get one of our best friends the mare of her dreams.”

Moon Dancer glared at her, but she couldn’t seem to muster up the strength to put any heat into it.

Finally, Sunny floated Moon Dancer’s glasses to her.

They were still her glasses. The lenses had been cleaned and the frames polished. Even the muzzle padding was still there. In fact, it had been replaced with softer padding! But they hadn’t tried to swap the frames with something more ‘stylish.’

“No changes?” Moon Dancer asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sunny shook her head. “She likes you for you, Moony. Always has. Always will. We can make you all stylish and fancy, but we all know neither of you really care about the package. You care what’s in here.”

Sunny tapped the side of her head with a knowing smile.

“And that’s why this’ll go perfectly,” Sunny said with far too much confidence. The sheer amount of forced cheer made Moon Dancer grit her teeth. “You two will have a great time.”

Moon Dancer slipped on her glasses and peered at Sunny, trying to dig past the shields her friend had put up.

“Sunny…”

“Don’t you dare,” Sunny said, her smile still locked securely onto her face. “This is happening, Moony. No point in trying to get out of it. I’ve already set up the reservations for two and what’s more… there may be a surprise for you after dinner.”

“Surprise,” Moon Dancer repeated flatly. “For after dinner.”

“Yeah!” Sunny grinned. “And I just know you’ll love it.”

“I don’t like surprises,” Moon Dancer said.

“Too bad.” Sunny’s grin never faltered. “I’ve done everything in my power to make sure tonight goes great. And it’s going to go great.”

Coco clapped her hooves together. “This is going to be so romantic! I wish I could be there to watch!”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Rara giggled. “You aren’t spying on them, so don’t get any ideas, Coco.”

“Who said anything about spying? I didn’t say anything about spying!” Coco pouted and tried her best to look innocent. She was pretty good at it, but not nearly good enough.

“You’re going to spy on us aren’t you?” Moon Dancer pointed the question right at Sunny.

Sunny was the picture of innocence. “I never said that.”

“You never said you weren’t, either.”

Sunny tapped her chin with her hoof. “You know what… you’re right! I never did.”

Moon Dancer glowered. She pulled out her very best glower. And just like all the other times… it had no effect.

I wonder if the Princess would save me. Probably not.

Moon Dancer took a long breath and looked into Sunset’s smiling face. Except it wasn’t all smiles. There was a little twitch in the jaw, a barely-perceptible swallow and maybe a flicker of her right ear. For just an instant, Moon Dancer caught sight of the mare behind the mask.

Some days, I really wish I could just beat those demons out of her… If it were only that simple. Ugh, Sunset Shimmer: martyr in training.

The cracks in the mask reminded Moon Dancer of the story of how Sunny first met Cheerilee. She’d heard the story at least a dozen times. Cheerilee liked to bring it out to embarrass Sunny whenever she got the chance—or had a few too many hard ciders.

Cheerilee had reached a point in her career where she’d doubted if she was worth anything as a teacher. She’d doubted if she really measured up to anypony around her. Well, it was more than just doubt. She’d all but convinced herself she was worthless! And nothing anypony would say would convince her otherwise.

Moon Dancer had times like that. She was pretty sure most ponies did. But Cheerilee’s… Cheerilee’s doubts had gone pretty deep.

Sunny had all but forced then-Professor Clear to summarize just how bad Sunny had been and just how amazing Cheerilee was. Somehow, she’d even orchestrated getting a note from the Princess delivered by Philomena. And that was back when Sunny and the phoenix barely got along!

It had taken years for Moon Dancer to get the entire story on exactly why Sunny had gone above and beyond for Cheerilee. In fact, Moon Dancer had to drag Sunny out onto a camping trip to the Whitetail Woods before Sunny would come clean.

Moon Dancer could still remember the distracted pain in Sunset’s eyes as she’d told the story.

“I saw the same demons in her eyes, Moony. The same ones that my… ugh, my Mother and Father put in me. Cheery deserved better.”

These were familiar demons. Caused by a dozen different things.

Feelings of inadequacy. Fear. Need for validation and acceptance.

Despite her best efforts, Moon Dancer knew them, too. After all, there was a reason she’d accepted this obnoxious amber unicorn as her tutor seven years ago.

That night in Whitetail Woods, Sunny had looked up in the sky and smiled. She’d said the day Celestia chose her to be her personal student was the day the demons finally left.

Moon Dancer stared at Sunny and wondered when they’d come back.

Assuming they had ever left in the first place.

Somehow, I doubt it.

“Moony?” Coco said, waving her a hoof in front of her face.

“Gah!” Moon Dancer jumped back and almost tripped over her own dress.

Sunny didn’t respond at all. She just stared at her hooves and sucked in a few deep breaths.

“You okay?” Coco asked. “You kinda spaced out there for a little bit.”

“I’m fine,” Moon Dancer said quickly. She glanced at Sunny again, but Sunny still wasn’t looking.

Coco looked a bit confused, but Rara—of course—recognized something. She saw something in the way Moon Dancer had looked at Sunny. Moon Dancer wasn’t really surprised.

“Hey,” Rara said with a gentle smile. “Why don’t you two go make sure the reservation tickets are ready? I want to put the finishing touches on her makeup.”

Sunny didn’t protest. She nodded and departed without a word or a glance back. Coco blinked a few times, but when Rara gestured toward Moon Dancer’s living room, she took the hint. Coco bit her lip, hesitated and finally followed Sunny, closing the door behind her.

Moon Dancer immediately flopped onto her bed—though she was careful not to mess up her dress or mane—while Rara moved a pile of books off one of the bedside chairs.

“She’s finally doing something about it.”

Moon Dancer nodded.

“I’m still having trouble believing she’s doing this,” Rara said as she stared at the door. Moon Dancer stared too. “Well, maybe I can believe it a little.”

“I can believe it all too well,” she muttered.

Rara turned and cocked her head. “What do you mean, Moon Dancer?”

“Don’t play games.” Moon Dancer sighed. “I don’t know how many times we need to tell that pony that she isn’t the same pony she used to be.”

“I honestly think she can’t hear us when we say it,” Rara said as she sat with perfect poise, the posture of somepony used to the stage. “And if she can’t hear us… well, there’s not a lot we can do.”

“Yeah… but where does that leave me?”

Now, Rara gave Moon Dancer her full attention. Those aqua eyes pierced her like spotlights.

“You’re afraid this is doomed from the start.” It wasn’t a question.

“Pretty much,” Moon Dancer said. She pulled a length of string from her nightstand and began to weave it in complex patterns in front of her, not meeting Rara’s eyes.

“Do you want to call it off?”

Same old direct Rara. Never change.

“That’s the worst part…” Moon Dancer yanked on a bit of string a little too hard. It snapped, but a mending spell fixed that. “I don’t. I really do like Twilight. I’ve been holding a torch for her without really knowing it for years. Back at that dinner, everything just rushed back as if nothing had changed. I remembered it all. All the reasons I had this stupid little crush. This stupid, stupid crush.”

“Why is it so stupid?” Rara asked in a warm and inviting voice.

Moon Dancer didn’t know how, but the pony that should have been a demanding diva had become the big sister to their whole little group. No matter what, Rara was easy to talk to. Moon Dancer loved her a little for that. Not in that way, but still. Like family. And without the baggage that came from her own sister.

“Moon Dancer?” Rara prompted.

“Because if I didn’t have this stupid crush, it would be Sunny going out with Twilight instead of me.”

“Moony…” Rara shook her head. “We both know that’s just not true. Sunny—well, Sunny…”

Rara trailed off and Moon Dancer looked up at her.

“Sunny what?” she prompted.

“Raven told us a little about things last night,” Rara replied. “It’s… well, it’s why Coco’s putting it on a little bit thick.”

“Gee, I hadn’t noticed,” Moon Dancer gave her a lopsided grin.

“Oh, sush, she’s a romantic. We love that about her.”

“If you say so,” Moon Dancer smirked and wove a few hearts into her pattern, then sent the string spinning around Rara’s head for a bit.

Rara rolled her eyes, then grew serious again. “When Sunny talked to us this morning…” She shook her head. “She’s not ready. She has to learn to forgive herself before she’s ready to let someone that close.”

“I’m starting to doubt she’ll ever learn.” Moon Dancer sighed and pulled back the string, changing the pattern into a towering thunderhead.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Rara said with a smile. “She’s got a thick skull. Almost as thick as yours.”

Moon Dancer stuck out her tongue at her.

“One day, Sunny will figure it out,” Rara insisted. “No matter what, even if we accept her, she needs to accept herself. Even Princess Celestia can’t get her to do that.”

“But where does that leave me?” Moon Dancer demanded again. And despite what others might say, her voice didn’t crack at all.

Rara watched her quietly for a moment, as if waiting for Moon Dancer to do something.

But the words just spun in Moon Dancer’s head. Finally, she lifted her glasses from her muzzle and rubbed her eyes. She hated it when she got stuff in her eyes. Bad timing, too. Some ponies might think she was crying or something silly like that. Which would be stupid. Plus, it would smudge her makeup.

Rara tapped her hoof on her chin. “Well… the way I see it, you’ve got two options.”

“And what might those be, Miss Drama Queen?” Moon Dancer said as she deftly wove a few dancing ponies into the string pattern.

Rara shrugged. “You cancel the whole thing. Tell Sunny you’re not doing it.”

Moon Dancer’s heart practically seized in her chest. “But… but Twilight…”

“Twilight won’t take it well. She does have a thing for you, Moony. We’ve all seen it. Maybe it’s not as much as the thing she has for Sunny, but there’s something there.”

“How can you be sure?”

Rara smiled. “You’ve never heard her talk about you? Or seen the way she looks at you? From the way she tells it, you were her first friend. And that means a lot to a pony like Twilight.”

“How do you know?” Another part of the string broke, but another mending spell fixed it.

“I just told you. Because I can see it in her when she looks at you. We’ve talked about it occasionally—you know…” Rara hesitated. “Without you three around.”

Moon Dancer’s eyes went wide. “Oh, I don’t believe this!”

“What?” Rara blinked in surprise.

“You… you were…” Moon Dancer sputtered a little and the string almost dropped out of her magic as she jerked upright on her bed. “You were ready for this!”

“I… have…” Rara drew herself up… and refused to meet Moon Dancer’s stare. “I have no idea what… what you’re talking about!”

“Rara, I love you, but you are a horrible liar. You always have been and always will be. You might be able to pull off a lie of omission—occasionally—but you couldn’t do a bald-faced lie if your life depended on it.”

“Fine!” Rara folded her hooves and huffed. “Yes. I was. When you’ve been on stage as long as I have, Moony, you can tell when somepony’s putting on an act. I saw it on day one in that first fight. You’ve been trying to hide it until today. And I like taking care of my friends. So… yes, I did a little digging. But what I told you is still the truth.”

Moon Dancer hung her head. It took a few seconds to get up the courage to speak again.

“You said there was another option,” she muttered.

“Yes,” Rara said softly. “You go out and give that girl the night of her life.”

“But… if you know how Twilight feels—not to mention how I feel—you have to know how Sunny feels! This feels like betraying them both!”

Rara got up off of her chair, walked over and settled herself onto the bed so she could look Moon Dancer in the eye.

“Moon Dancer, I need you to listen to me.” Rara’s teal eyes bored into her. “Sunny won’t be able to do anything until she’s accepted that she isn’t being manipulated into this.”

“And if she’s manipulating us?” Moon Dancer asked, staring at the floor.

“Then confront her. We both know she’ll at least listen to you, Moon Dancer. Even if you ask her to leave this whole thing alone... I think she’d do it.”

Moon Dancer considered it. It would probably make things easier. But Sunny was her best friend. She loved that idiot mare like a sister. “She should be doing this. Not me.”

“Even ignoring how you feel about Twilight? And how Twilight feels about you?”

“Yes!” Moon Dancer cried defiantly as the string snapped again. She tossed the broken threads onto the bed and furiously worked the rest of it into a chaotic pattern of shifting triangles and trapezoids.

“Okay. Ignoring that…” Rara sighed. “She won’t be able to do this until she’s sure she won’t hurt Twilight.”

“But… but… the whole point of dating and… stuff like it is that sometimes that stuff happens!”

“I’m glad you know that,” Rara said and Moon Dancer knew she was telling the truth. “But Sunny still feels horrible for what happened to Twilight because of her. She’s trying to fix it. And she won’t risk the progress she’s made. You already know all of this.”

“So, I’m a placeholder,” Moon Dancer groaned as the string broke yet again. She chucked it onto the floor. “Wonderful. I’m just a placeholder until Sunny gets her hooves back under her.”

Rara forced Moon Dancer to look her in the eye again. “You are not a placeholder. Right now, all that’s happening is that you’re going on one date. For all you know, you may find that neither of you want this sort of relationship with each other. Maybe you barely make it to the salad before you both have a good laugh and walk away. Dates are ways to get to know ponies in different ways. They’re tests! Trial runs…” Rara paused and smiled. “Experiments. You’re testing hypotheses until you can come up with a theory. In this case, a theory of compatibility.”

“Stop that,” Moon Dancer snapped. “You’re no good at science.”

“Am I wrong?” Rara cocked an eyebrow.

“No,” Moon Dancer pouted. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong either!”

“Keep telling yourself that, Moony.”

“I will!”

Rara matched Moon Dancer’s stare without even breaking a sweat. Moon Dancer had to look away first. She sighed and buried her face in her hooves.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“What if…”

“No!” Rara interrupted with a hoof on Moon Dancer’s shoulder. “No what ifs. Moon Dancer, you think too much. You’re just like Sunny and Twilight. You need to finally start acting. Find out if it works.”

“And if Sunny decides the feelings she has for Twilight are real?”

“Then it’s up to Twilight,” Rara said simply. “She’ll need to choose.”

“Sounds like a bum deal to me. For everypony involved.”

“Maybe.” Rara shrugged. “Maybe not. But either way… it’s still Twilight’s choice. That’s the thing I think you might both be forgetting. Twilight has a decision in all of this. And Sunset told her about it. She suggested this date—and only this date—and Twilight agreed. If Twilight were being forced into this, you know that Cheerilee and Minuette would be kicking down your door right now to have words with Sunny.So, I guess the real question is… do you trust Twilight to help decide what happens next?”

“I trust Twilight to overthink this thing worse than me.”

“No arguments here,” Rara replied with a humorless chuckle. “But what’s the truth, Moon Dancer? Do you want to do this tonight or not? Don’t think about Sunny. Just think about Twilight. And you. Yes or no?”

Moon Dancer forced herself to push the worry over her best friend out of her mind. It was a lot harder than she expected. But, she got the job done.

She remembered first seeing Twilight a year or two after magic kindergarten, sitting under an oak tree, reading an academy-level book about advanced telekinetics.

Moon Dancer had been so curious, she’d trotted right up and asked why Twilight was reading a book that was supposed to be ten years too advanced for her. Eventually, after breaking through Twilight’s initial suspicion—by proving that yes, she could keep up with her—she’d finally got Twilight to smile. It had been such a cute smile.

Twilight still had that smile. It had grown. It had matured. But it was still the same smile.

“Yes.”

“Then tonight, make it about her.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“You do realize I’m crazy for doing this right?”

“Well, you said all the ponies in this room were crazy.” Rara shrugged. “You were in the room at the time.”

Moon Dancer opened her mouth to retort.

Then closed it.

“I hate it when you’re right.”

Author's Note

It looks like they're actually going ahead with this... Jeepers.

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Evening by Sunset

Sunset had to admit… Moon Dancer cleaned up pretty well.

It definitely helped they had a professional fashion designer providing the clothing and one of the biggest pop sensations in Equestria providing the makeup.

I’ve got some pretty impressive friends, she thought to herself as she followed Moon Dancer, Coco and Rara toward Restaurant Row.

Haven’t I told you just how useless you are by depending on other ponies?

Sunset wished she could glare at her angry little pony. But glaring at nothing in the middle of evening traffic of Canterlot was probably not the brightest idea. So, she rolled her eyes and moved on.

Look at how hard you’re working just to set up two of your so-called ‘friends.’ When you already have feelings for one of them! How screwed up is that? You really are broken in the head. I don’t know why I even bother with you. Why are you wasting your time on something as stupid and pointless as matchmaking?

Sunset gritted her teeth, focused on keeping her hooves moving and staying up with the other three ponies. They were chatting quietly ahead of her.

Who are you trying to impress? If you succeed, you’ll have thrown away your single chance with the one mare you actually like—for reasons that are still completely beyond me. And if you fail… all you’ll end up doing is hurting your friends. Either way, you’ll end up miserable and alone.

It took a significant force of will not to scream ‘shut up’ in the middle of the sidewalk.

She’s the only one, you know, her angry little pony continued. The only one who will ever have any feelings for you. You’re damaged goods. Broken. No one could ever love you, not like you want. You’ll end up forgotten and ignored. In the end, you’ll stand alone. Because that’s what you deserve. You turned your back on everything you could have been.

And now? Now, you’re as sad as the rest of them.

Sunset’s hooves stopped working. She focused her entire will on not screaming her lungs out at that very second. It took everything she had. Her body trembled. A few ponies looked at her oddly, but nopony did anything. That was a good thing, because if somepony had broken Sunset’s concentration, she would have lost it.

Sunset had long ago stopped trying to figure out how exactly panic attacks worked. Specifically, hers. For example, she couldn’t remember a single panic attack where she hadn’t been completely aware of everything happening around her. Even though they came and went—the last one had been at least four months ago—the results were always the same.

Still, she wondered if this was actually some desperate cry for attention… or if she really was somehow locked inside of her own body.

Sunset fought not to do something stupid. To stay in control. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes and did her best to breathe. She would not ruin Moon Dancer and Twilight’s first date by passing out from lack of air. That would simply be rude.

Rude? Rude?! You little foal! What is wrong with you? I swear I’ll—

“Sunny.”

Sunset’s eyes popped open of their own accord. She could feel the panic in them as they darted around in their eye sockets. Finally, her gaze landed on Moon Dancer’s worried face.

“If I offer to just go home and call the whole thing off, it’ll just make things worse for you,” Moon Dancer said quietly. Her eyes bored into Sunset’s. “So, I’m not going to do that. But I will tell you that you don’t have to come. I can make my way to the Carriage House alone. We’ve been there before.”

She felt a hoof on her left shoulder and then one on her right. Out of the corner of each eye, she saw Coco and Rara flanking her. They didn’t say anything. They were just there. Making sure Sunset knew they were there.

You’re making the second biggest mistake of your life.

“I don’t have the magic words to snap you out of this,” Moon Dancer said when Sunset didn’t respond. “I wish I did. But I’ll stay here until you’re ready.”

You don’t need her! You don’t deserve her! Just like you don’t deserve any of them!

Something clicked in the very back of Sunset’s mind. Something was different this time. The voice… it seemed… wrong.

I’m the only one who can help you, Sunset. Me. Nopony else. They know how messed up you are. Can’t you see just how much they hate you? How much they pity you?

Sunset’s struggled to keep her eyes on Moon Dancer. Shame burned inside her chest like a bonfire. It physically hurt to breathe.

Moon Dancer took a step forward.

“We’re not leaving you,” she said in a quiet voice that penetrated even her angry little pony’s rants. She paused for a moment, as if searching for something.

Then Moon Dancer smiled. “And I am very, very proud to have you as my friend.”

With a short, strangled cry, Sunset collapsed into Moon Dancer’s hooves.

Moon Dancer just held her. Mere moments later, Sunset felt the loving hooves of her other two friends around her, too. The warmth in their hugs was enough to drive back her angry little pony. It wouldn’t last. It never did. But it didn’t need to.

It took about a minute for Sunset’s breathing to go back to normal.

“I don’t deserve you,” Sunset mumbled.

Moon Dancer lifted Sunset’s head and forced her to meet her eyes. “We’re not getting into this debate again. We’re your friends. We think you deserve it.”

“This was supposed to be a fun night,” Sunset muttered, her eyes going back down to her hooves. She ignored Canterlot moving around them. “And my own stupid issues have already—”

“They haven’t done anything,” Moon Dancer interrupted. “Sunny, you’re my best friend. You’re allowed to let your shields down occasionally.”

“Not tonight,” Sunset replied, still not looking up.

“Ponyfeathers,” Rara interjected beside her with a stamp of a hoof. “We’re your friends, Sunny. And we’re going to help you. You made a decision. A hard one, sure. But you made it. And we’ve decided to respect that.”

Sunset finally looked up, looking to all of her friends.

“Really?”

Sunset normally would have hated how small and weak her voice sounded in that moment. In fact, it was almost lost in the hubbub of the sidewalk. But that didn’t matter. What mattered is she knew her friends actually meant it.

“You’ve come a long way since I first met you, Sunset Shimmer,” Moon Dancer said with a smile. Sunset was surprised she actually used her full name. “And you should know by now that I’m always going to be there for you. No matter what. Even when you’re being an idiot. Especially when you’re being an idiot.”

Sunset smiled weakly.

“Am I being an idiot now?”

“Probably.” Moon Dancer shrugged. “You usually are.”

Sunset stuck out her tongue at her. Rara and Coco laughed and just like that, the tension, the panic and the fear evaporated like morning dew.

She knew it was only temporary. The peace this sort of thing gave her never lasted. Within an hour or two, the fear would be back. The effects were always temporary.

She’d never be rid of it. But that was her problem. Not theirs. And she wasn’t about to let it be Twilight’s. She wasn’t stupid enough to think she had to handle it alone. But she wasn’t going to let that thing inside of her get anypony else. It would never hurt anypony again. Well… anypony except her.

Sunset could live with that.

Finally, she shook her head. “I’m not making you late for your first date, Moony. Let’s go.”

And once again, they joined the flow of traffic through the streets of Canterlot. Sunset wondered for a moment how they had been in the middle of a sidewalk without getting shoved aside. Then again, this was Canterlot, not Manehattan.

It only took a few minutes to arrive at the bustling Restaurant Row. As dusk fell over the city, the streetlamps lining the boulevard flickered to life. Sunset stared up at one of them. The magic used inside of the lamp—which only converted the light of the sun into a magical fire that produced no heat—had always fascinated her. It was simple. Only a conversion of one type of energy to another. But there was something elegant in it as well.

Not unlike a few ponies I know...

That elegance spread to the street itself. The best dining establishments in all of Canterlot made their home on Restaurant Row. Each of them was wholly unique, designed to reflect the owner’s sense of style, from the architecture to the clothing of the staff. On this single street, a pony could sample food from Jeddahoof, Griffonstone, Las Pegasus or Manehattan. It was like a tiny slice of the whole world put in a single street.

But their target—something Sunset realized she’d been avoiding looking at—was something a little more urbane.

The Carriage House stood at the entrance of Restaurant Row. It was a two-story establishment, at least a hundred years old. It served classical Equestrian fare with an air of elegance, yet without the sense of pomp so much of Canterlot had. The staff was friendly yet professional and the chefs were second-to-none.

In other words, it was pretty much tailor-made for the perfect first date.

Sunset smirked a little as they came up to the concierge at the front of establishment. Even from here, Sunset could smell the tempting aromas. Still, tonight wasn’t about her. It was about her friends.

Which was why she used a little bit of her pull to get the two reservations. Nothing as crass as using her ‘royal prerogative.’ She’d learned that lesson after meeting Rara and Coco in Manehattan. It just so happened that the head concierge owed her a favor.

Sunset walked up to a young mare in a snazzy dinner coat with a name badge informing the world she was Satin Ribbon. As soon as the customer in front of her was gone, Sunset smiled at the cobalt-coated pony.

“Hey Satin,” Sunset said. Somehow, she managed to push all the baggage she brought with her to the side. After all, she needed this to go right.

“Sunset!” Satin said with a smile. “Finally cashing in, I see?”

“Something like that,” Sunset said with a shrug.

“Well, let’s see if I can swing you a bigger table…”

Sunset shook her head. “Nope. Won’t be necessary. Still going to be the balcony table for two.”

Satin’s eyebrow shot up so fast it nearly bumped her curly indigo mane. Then a sly smirk crossed her lips. “So, which one’s the lucky filly?”

Rara and Coco both laughed. Sunset glanced behind her to see Moon Dancer rolling her eyes.

Then she froze when she saw who was coming up behind them.

Sunset hadn’t seen the dress Twilight was going to wear. She really wished she’d seen it before. She wished she’d had some warning.

In truth though… it probably wouldn’t have helped.

It took everything she had not to just gawk. Okay, it took everything she had not to gawk with her jaw dropped. She still was gawking.

Twilight was fiddling with her glasses nervously while playing with one of her bangs at the same time. Both with her magic. She was barely watching where she was going. It was only by the talents of Minuette and Cheerilee that she managed to navigate through the increasingly-busy street.

The deep violet dress complimented her lavender coat perfectly. The embellishment along the collar a simple and subtle, perfect for the quiet librarian. The train was short, not even touching the ground, yet still wrapped her tail underneath the fabric. She wore no necklace, no earrings… nothing save for the dress and her trademark glasses.

Glasses that were staring down.

Glasses that, yesterday morning, Sunset had fished out from under a coffee table.

Sunset swallowed and forced herself to remember why she was doing this.

Twilight looked gorgeous.

She had to force the next thought into place.

And she’ll look perfect beside Moon Dancer.

Speaking of Moon Dancer, Sunset saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Moon Dancer had turned to see what Sunset was starting at.

Unlike Sunset, Moon Dancer didn’t manage to keep her jaw from nearly falling off.

“Oh, Celestia above…” she heard Moon Dancer murmur.

There was a few other things that Moon Dancer may have muttered, but Sunset pointedly did not hear them. Despite Sunset’s blush, any claims that she did were simply facetious.

That’s when Sunset realized Twilight, Minuette and Cheerilee were only a few yards away. And the last thing she wanted to do was to have Twilight see her first. It would… complicate things. For both of them.

Sunset knew she really had only one shot at this. She needed to make sure this went well.

After all, once the two of them were together, they would definitely find something to talk about. They were both librarians. They had so much in common. Much more than Sunset and Twilight. It was perfect.

Everything was going to be fine.

Sunset still hid behind Rara and Coco.

“We’re here!” Minuette chirped.

Twilight finally looked up.

Moon Dancer was still staring at her, mouth hanging open. Sunset couldn’t help but smile as Twilight instantly went straight past scarlet and into some secret color of embarrassment only used in bad poetry.

Cheerilee tried tapping her chin at Moon Dancer, but it still took three tries to get Moon Dancer to snap her mouth shut.

“Hi,” Twilight murmured. Sunset could barely hear her.

“Wow,” was the first thing Moon Dancer could say. She blinked a few times.

Then she said “Wow” again.

Sunset rolled her eyes.

Gee, I wonder why you haven’t had a date in a while, Moony.

Granted, Sunset didn’t really get to judge. She’d only been on a hoofful of dates, despite Moon Dancer’s best attempts. But still, this was just silly.

Satin sidled over to her. “I’m guessing these two are your ‘guests’ for this evening?”

Even though Sunset wasn’t looking at the mare, she could tell she was smirking.

“Yeah,” Sunset muttered. “Don’t you start with me, Satin.”

“Me?” Satin giggled. “Whatever do you mean, Sunset? I’m a perfect gentlemare, as you well know.”

Sunset threw a sidelong glance at the mare. She’d been wrong. Satin wasn’t smirking. She was outright grinning. It might have even qualified as a leer. Minuette would have been impressed if she wasn’t trying to get the two other bookhorses to actually string together more than two words. That wasn’t going very well.

“I’m going to have to get in there, aren’t I?” Sunset muttered.

“Almost certainly,” Satin commented.

Coco and Rara were too busy stifling giggles to respond. Cheerilee was just smiling her normal warm smile while Twilight and Moon Dancer played tag with their eyes.

“I hate my life,” Sunset grumbled.

Satin giggled.

Coco turned around, a twinkle in her eye. “No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” Sunset sighed. “Still, if we wait for them to actually do something, we’ll be here until next Tuesday.”

So, Sunset did something she hadn’t wanted to do. She’d been hoping just to sneak out and let nature take its course between the two mares. But obviously, that wasn’t going to happen.

Instead, she popped into existence beside them with a flash of teal magic.

“You know,” Sunset huffed. “If you two don’t stop gawking at each other, my friend is going to give away your table.”

This seemed to be enough to snap both of them out of their trances. Moon Dancer and Twilight both blushed, looked at her, glanced at each other and looked down.

You two were made for each other.

“Satin, you ready?” Sunset called.

“Table’s all set!” she declared.

With a shove of her magic, she pushed the two toward the smiling Satin Ribbon. Both of them squeaked in surprise. Twilight jumped and sent her glasses flying.

Before Sunset could act, Moon Dancer caught them in her magic before they hit the cobbles.

“Thanks,” Twilight murmured, then blushed harder when Moon Dancer settled the glasses onto the perfect spot on Twilight’s muzzle.

“Don’t mention it.”

With that, Satin escorted them both into the Carriage House.

Neither looked back.

Cheerilee, Minuette, Coco and Rara all turned to Sunset.

“What?” Sunset asked, glaring at her friends.

“So we going to watch or what?” Minuette asked.

“I didn’t say anything about spying!” Coco squealed.

“No one said you did, Coco,” Rara pointed out, but her eyes never left Sunset.

Minuette just smiled at Sunset. It was the annoying ‘I-know-you-have-something-planned’ smile.

“Ugh. You girls are the worst,” Sunset grumbled.

“We’re not wrong though!” Minuette singsonged.

“Come on.” Sunset sighed, turned around and stalked down the street back toward her apartment. “I set up the scrying spell this afternoon before we went to go get Moon Dancer.”

“Scrying spell?” Minuette asked with a smirk as she fell into step behind her. “Since when do you do scrying spells?”

“Since two of my closest friends refused to do anything about a relationship that needs to happen!” Sunset snapped. “I’m better at them now!”

“So, we’re not going to get a wonderful view into the depths of the Celestial Sea?” Cheerilee asked from behind her.

“I thought the squids were cool,” Minuette opined.

“No thank you!” Coco squeaked. “I’ll be happy never to see those kinds of things ever again.”

Sunset rolled her eyes.

It was going to be a long night.

As she turned the corner, she took one last look at the Carriage House.

Hopefully, not just for me.

Sunset almost tripped.

Well, I’m glad I didn’t say that out loud.

Author's Note

And here we go! Next week, you finally get to see what happens on that balcony!

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Resonance

As soon as Sunset walked in the door with her friends, she fired up the matrix for the scrying spell. Before her visit to Moon Dancer, Sunset had taken the time to set up the reservation and place a small scrying orb in one of the hanging ferns above the balcony where Twilight and Moon Dancer were to have their date. It was a secluded corner of the balcony, too. Good for mostly private conversations and convenient fern placements.

Now, if only she could get the receiving orbs to work again.

Minuette fiddled with one of the arcane devices before whacking it with a hoof.

“That worked this afternoon!” Sunset protested.

“And before then, when’s the last time you actually used these?” Minuette asked, not looking up from the orb as she gave it a second whack.

“Okay, fine, it’s been a while.”

Minuette gave it a third whack… and it burst with light. She clapped her hooves with glee and Sunset breathed a sigh of relief.

The orb at the Carriage House was just a transmitter. The real work was done by the four receiving orbs. She’d found them in a dusty box filled with old school reports that she should have thrown out years ago. After a quick probe, they seemed to still be operational—more or less.

“So, remind me how you know this spell?” Minuette asked, the very picture of innocence.

“Seriously?” Sunset raised an eyebrow as she tried tweaking another orb to get a better signal lock. “Does it matter?”

“You do seem to be going through a lot of trouble to spy on them,” Cheerilee noted. Her voice seemed relatively neutral, but Sunset didn’t buy it.

“I want to make sure they have a good time!” Sunset insisted. “Hey, I put a lot of work into tonight!”

“We’re not saying you haven’t, Sunny,” Rara replied casually as she watched Sunset and Minuette work on the orbs. “In fact, we’re saying that you may have gone a bit overboard.”

“You saw them earlier!” Sunset said. “You can’t tell me you don’t want to watch how this goes!”

“Well… of course I do…” Coco murmured.

“No kidding,” Rara said as she poked her best friend. “You were laying it on pretty thick back at Moon Dancer’s.”

Coco blushed and mumbled something about being cute.

Rara turned her gaze back on Sunset. “You’re not really answering—”

To Sunset’s surprise, Cheerilee cut Rara off. “It’s okay, girls. I’m sure Sunset just wants to make sure they’re happy, right?”

Sunset stared, unable to read the expression on Cheerilee’s face. “Yeah… yeah, that’s it.”

You almost believe that, don’t you? said an unwelcome voice in the back of her head. Tsk-tsk.

“And let’s be honest… we all want to see it, too!” Minuette chirped. “This is going to be great! As long as you tell me how you know the spell!”

Sunset facehoofed. “Can I just say my sordid past and be done with it?”

“Sure!” Minuette offered with a smile.

“Hey, at least I’m using my power for good now!” Sunset flushed. “Mostly.”

It was the best rationalization she had.

The four small crystalline orbs set along the bottom of the wall amplified the image and projected it over the entirety of the window that normally overlooked Canterlot. There was some bustle as the girls moved a few of the sofas so they could watch. As Moon Dancer and Twilight received their menus from their waitress, a knock at the door signaled the arrival of the salads Sunset had scheduled to arrive around this time.. Coco went to go get them while the rest of the girls got comfortable and Sunset tweaked the spell a little.

The real trick was the sound. In the end, she had to use an arcane tether to further amplify the signal. Sunset had pushed herself to get a good connection between the transmitter in the fern and her home, but it had worked in the end. The audio wouldn’t be great quality—since any sort of spellcasting beyond basic levitation would interfere with the signal—but at least it would be better than trying to lipread or something like that.

Anyway, having one of them narrate what the two were saying would be just weird.

Coco arrived with the bag and handed out the girls’ dinners. To Sunset’s complete lack of surprise Coco and Rara plopped down together. Cheerilee took one of the recliners and Minuette took up half of Sunset’s comfiest sofa.

After making sure her friends were situated, Sunset took the old love seat, a battered old thing that she’d had ever since she’d moved in here. It was teal with tan stripes, had more tea stains than she could count and was shabby enough to send her parents into apoplectic fits.

Sunset ran a hoof across the worn surface and remembered how many times she’d fallen asleep reading in this very chair. It helped soothe her nerves. Just a little. Not that they really needed soothing. But it couldn’t hurt.

Sunset flopped down into it and took a bite of her salad. She glared at bland leaves, levitated some pepper over from the kitchen and tried again. Good enough.

She shook her head and stared at the screen. She’d worked hard for this. Yes, it had been thrown together in less than two days. But there was no denying the chemistry between the two. Especially after their expressions on seeing each other.

This was a good thing. Tonight would be good. They needed this. Sunset needed this. Everypony needed this.

She kept her focus and made sure to ignore any disagreements in her skull.

This is fine. This is just fine.

“Turn up the sound, Sunny!” Minuette called.

Sunset rolled her eyes, focused on the rightmost orb and rotated it slightly to the left. As she did so, the five ‘secret’ observers heard the first words spoken between the two that evening.

“You… um… you look…”

Moon Dancer mentally kicked herself. For pony’s sake, you’re better than this!

“You look… amazing, Twilight.”

Moon Dancer wasn’t surprised when Twi blushed again and refused to meet her eyes.

“T-thank you,” Twi murmured, fiddling with one of her bangs. “You look nice, too.”

I only rate as ‘nice?’ Moon Dancer grumbled to herself, especially after what Sunny, Coco and Rara had put her through. Still, at least Twi had been able to get through a few words without stumbling over her own tongue… much.

Sunny, I swear, I’m going to strangle you for this.

Twi peeked up and met Moon Dancer’s eye for just a split second before looking back down at her menu.

Probably.

Moon Dancer tried not to grip the sides of the menu too hard. She’d been here once or twice before. The grilled carrot platter was decent. But was that a good call? Carrots did get stuck in a pony’s teeth after all. And the last thing she wanted was for Twi to lean forward—almost as if she were getting ready to do something else—only to point out there was something in her teeth.

Awkward beyond measure.

That’s when it hit her. She was on a date with Twilight Sparkle. The mare she’d had a crush for pretty much her whole life.

Okay. Forget Sunny and her issues. She made her choice… and I’m being a good friend by respecting that!

Right?

Right! So now, I just need to focus on not acting like a total lunatic in front of Twi. That’s all. Nothing to it!

While these thoughts were going through Moon Dancer’s head, another part of her was repeating the same six words.

I can’t believe I’m doing this… I can’t believe I’m doing this… I can’t believe—

“And what would the ladies like to drink this evening, hm?”

Moon Dancer yelped and threw her menu into the air. Before she could react, it floated over the balcony and dropped to the street below.

Her jaw worked for a few moments, her eyes looked everywhere but at Twi and her entire body tried to vaporize itself on the spot.

The waiter, a middle-aged stallion with a slicked-back mane and a haughty expression that didn’t match the laughter in his eyes, just raised an eyebrow.

“I’d like a glass of sparkling cider, please,” Twi mumbled from somewhere far, far, far away.

“That sounds great!” Moon Dancer squeaked.

“And perhaps a new menu?” the waiter offered.

Moon Dancer tried to glare him to death.

The waiter took the hint and turned to head back inside. Moon Dancer definitely did not notice the smile. Or the faint chuckle.

Unfortunately, without the menu to protect her from Twi, Moon Dancer was now stuck with nothing to shield herself with. The salt and pepper shakers weren’t nearly big enough.

Despite her dress, she’d never felt more naked in her life.

And considering she didn’t usually wear clothes—save for her trademark sweater while working at the Cosmo—that was saying something.

Twi, however, still had hers and she was using it quite effectively as a talisman against the demons of awkwardness that had descended on Moon Dancer.

“Did she really just do that?” Minuette howled from the floor. It was a miracle she could get out the words. She gasped for breath between the fits of laughter.

Sunset’s hoof still hadn’t left her face. Seeing that menu go flying over the balcony… everypony had cracked up at that. Even Sunset.

And for the first time that night, Sunset had actually smiled a real smile about the night’s events.

She wasn’t quite sure why yet. Maybe she’d figure it out later.

To her surprise though, when Minuette finally got up to her hooves, she jumped over to land next to Sunset on her little worn loveseat.

“How you doing, Sunny?” Minuette asked, her voice a little bit more sedated than usual.

“I’m fine,” Sunset answered automatically.

She could feel Rara’s eyes on her and did her best not to squirm.

“Hey, at least I’m enjoying the show.”

That was the truth.

Sunset was sure of one thing: it was only going to get more interesting as the night progressed.

Twilight did not notice the incident with the menu.

Twilight did not notice the way Moon Dancer’s voice kept cracking.

Twilight did not notice just how stunning Moon Dancer looked in that dress.

Twilight did notice that she was a terrible liar.

Especially to herself.

Logically, I am in denial. Simple denial as to the events which have transpired. However, I cannot allow my personal feelings to get in the way of the night’s goal.

Which immediately made her wonder what tonight’s goal was. That was one thing she was still trying to figure out: the precise logic behind the maddening social custom known as ‘The Date.’

Twilight paused and replayed the last few thoughts through her head until she determined the thoughts did not seem quite as coherent as they should have been.

Weren’t dates supposed to be about personal feelings?

Twilight didn’t notice when the waiter brought back the menu and Moon Dancer savagely snatched it out of his unresisting hoof with a flash of magic.

She didn’t notice when Moon Dancer dove behind the menu as if she were hiding from an arrow barrage.

Twilight focused on the menu. She was unsure how long it would take for the waiter to return to take their orders. She should be choosing a reasonably-priced meal. After all, since technically neither of them asked the other out on this date, it was reasonable to assume they would pay separately. Or perhaps Sunset had decided to handle the bill. She should ask the server so she could make an informed decision. However, would that been seen as crass by Moon Dancer? She didn’t want to appear unwilling to financially commit to a romantic relationship with her first friend.

However, these thoughts were in the background of her mental space, despite the fact that they had enough value to be at the forefront. The majority of her mind was trying to determine what had happened in the last forty-eight hours.

Fact: Approximately forty-three hours ago, Moon Dancer and Sunset Shimmer had some sort of social disagreement or conflict involving—or on the subject of—me.

Twilight studied the fact for a moment, accepted it as valid and moved to the next one.

Fact: Shortly before noon yesterday, Sunset Shimmer arrived at my domicile to speak to me and informed me… informed me…

Twilight gritted her teeth and forced the thoughts to come.

…informed me that she ‘liked me too much.’

Twilight looked up at Moon Dancer. Their eyes met. Blushes appeared. Both hid once more.

Fact: Immediately after this information was delivered, Sunset Shimmer suggested I spend some time with Moon Dancer. She didn’t directly state it would be in a romantic fashion, but it was heavily implied. It was safe to take that as a fact as well.

Looked up. Got embarrassed. Looked down.

Fact: I am now sitting across from Moon Dancer at what is—by all appearances and expected social definitions and most importantly logical conclusions—a date.

Twilight blinked. She ran through the data again.

The data was sound.

The data still didn’t make sense.

Nothing about this made sense.

However, she could not ask for further clarification. That would simply compound her errors. It was her fault for not understanding social dynamics. It was a field of which she was woefully ignorant.

Perhaps if she considered tonight to be a field study. Time to get one’s hooves dirty. Seek further information. Actually gain insight.

Perhaps compile a research paper on it. And never let anypony ever see it.

Ever.

Fact: Due to my ignorance of social custom, dating decorum and my own friends, I will likely make a fool out of myself.

She couldn’t find a way to dispute that fact.

Instead, she put down the menu, looked up at Moon Dancer—who was still using her menu as a shield—and said the first thing that came into her head.

“So, Moon Dancer. Tell me about yourself.”

Coco groaned, putting a hoof to her forehead.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this,” Cheerilee said, unable to look at the screen. “After all… this is rather private…”

“No way!” Minuette chirped. “We’re their friends. And what could make them happier than being together?”

“From the expression on their faces, just about anything,” Rara said with a snort.

“Plus, Sunset pretty much told Moon Dancer she was going to be spying on them!” Coco pointed out. “Well, more or less…”

Sunset had to hold back her own snort. The two of them looked so incredibly awkward and terrified of one another… it was cute. It was actually cute.

Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Sunset rolled her eyes as Moon Dancer fumbled for words. Any words.

Assuming they ever actually have a conversation.

“Um.”

Wow, Moon Dancer. Smooth. Seriously smooth. You’re better than this!

Actually… no. I’m not. I’m usually better with Sunny. I’ve been awkward with Twi since that night two months ago. But still! I can handle this!

Moon Dancer snagged her water and took a drink. That made it easier. She didn’t have to talk while drinking. Until she ran out of water.

Maybe she shouldn’t have drunk so fast.

She hiccuped.

Moon Dancer adjusted her glasses with a flash of magic. She took a deep breath.

“Well, I’m a librarian.”

She knows that, idiot!

“Um… yeah. I knew that,” Twi pointed out, not quite meeting her eyes. She played with one of her bangs. She almost started to nibble on it.

Moon Dancer sort of wished she would. She was cute when she did that.

Ugh! Okay, fine! Something! Anything!

“Well, Twilight… we… kinda already know a lot about each other.”

“Oh… right…” Twi’s voice was tiny and embarrassed. Just like the pony. She actually cringed in her seat. And Moon Dancer felt like an idiot again.

Twi tried again. “Um… why don’t… errr…”

What can I talk about that won’t bring up painful memories or bring up Sunset… which for Twi, are probably all the same thing?

Well, I could always go with what she asked me.

“Why don’t I tell you about how I ended up at the Cosmo!” Moon Dancer blurted in a voice that was about five times too loud.

Twi’s ears plastered themselves to her head. She even winced. Just a little, but it was still there.

“Sorry,” Moon Dancer muttered. “I’m… I’m…”

“That sounds nice.”

“Huh?” Moon Dancer blinked.

Confusion caused her to miscalculate. And miscalculation caused Moon Dancer to actually look Twi squarely in the eye for the first time that evening. Moon Dancer’s breath caught in her throat.

She’s the same pony I remember. The one that got away. She’s still hesitant. Still doesn’t have a clue about friends. Doesn’t have a clue how to deal with other ponies.

But she’s still Twilight.

“I’d like to hear that story,” Twi said.

Luckily, Moon Dancer had never secretly read a single one of those C.W. Step romance novels Coco loved. Not a single one.

However, if she had read one, she would have considered how the moonlight was reflecting off of Twilight’s glasses, sending little prisms of stars and light around her head. How her bangs cast trailing shadows on her lavender coat. About how the light caught ever so slightly in Twilight’s gentle raspberry magic flowing around her horn.

Moon Dancer reminded herself that her friends knew, without a doubt, she had never read a single one. And as long as Rara didn’t inquire—or anypony check the Cosmo’s records—they would continue to believe that. Nope. No proof that she had ever read even a word.

Poetic license aside, Twi looked so honest. So earnest. Moon Dancer would have given anything to know what was going through her head. Was this an act? Was Twi really just hoping that Sunny would come along and take her away from Moon Dancer?

Was Moon Dancer just meant to be a placeholder for Sunny until Sunny got her act together?

Neither mare had blinked yet.

No. Moon Dancer realized. No. I’ve known Twilight Sparkle for years. She was my first friend. And I’m pretty sure I was her first friend.

I can make this work.

I can make this work.

I just need to try.

Moon Dancer licked her lips.

“Okay,” she said. It was the first word she had managed all night without sounding like a terrified lunatic. She was sure nerves would overtake her once more all too soon, so she’d better do the best she could while she still had the power of articulate speech. “Okay. I can do that. I think I can do that. I can… I can do that.”

“Are they actually going to have a conversation?” Minuette squealed with glee, bouncing up and down in the loveseat next to Sunset.

“Aww…” Coco pouted. “I wanted to them be more adorkable!”

Sunset stared at Coco. “What?”

Coco smiled, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. “Adorkable. You’ve never heard it before?”

“Uh… not that I can recall.” Sunset frowned.

“It’s something I like to call Coco when she gets embarrassed about little details,” Rara said with a nudge and a smile.

Coco went a little bit more pink. Just a little. But then she adjusted her cravat, fiddled with the flower in her mane and took a deep breath, as if she were about to impart some arcane secret of the universe.

“It’s um… a combination of the words ‘adorable’ and… well... ‘dork.’”

Sunset blinked a few times and turned her attention back to the screen. She studied the two mares critically for about five seconds.

It was exactly four and a half seconds longer than she needed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more apt word,” Sunset muttered.

Cheerilee rolled her eyes.

Minuette snickered.

Coco giggled.

Rara laughed.

And Sunset smiled.

“And that’s when Tight Catalog said, ‘If this is you on two hours of sleep, I’m almost terrified to see what you can do after a full eight.’”

Twilight snorted herself into giggles.

“And you had the job?”

“Yeah. A year before I even graduated on the fast track through—”

Moon Dancer suddenly stopped talking and dropped her gaze. Twilight hadn’t meant to stiffen. She really hadn’t. It was a knee-jerk psychological reaction of which she had next to no control.

That didn’t make her feel any better about it.

Thankfully, as the ratio from pleasant to awkward once more shifted in the direction of awkward, the waiter returned with a small notepad and a self-inking quill floating in front of him. Beside him, another server quickly placed a tray of various breads on the table and refilled Moon Dancer’s and Twilight’s glasses.

“Would the ladies like to order now?”

“Oh, by Celestia yes,” Moon Dancer muttered. “Anything to stop me from putting my hoof in my mouth again.”

The waiter paused and cocked an eyebrow. Twilight’s levitation field around her menu imploded and it flopped to the table.

Moon Dancer swallowed and closed her eyes.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“It is a busy night,” the waiter offered. “I had difficulty hearing you.”

“But she…” Twilight started, only to be stopped by a pointed look from the waiter.

Twilight blinked. She had missed a social cue. Like usual. The waiter wished to pretend he hadn’t heard Moon Dancer’s statement. On closer examination, Twilight found this to be a reasonable—and entirely understandable—desire that she could support, despite it being less than truthful.

“Yes, it was quite loud below a few moments ago!” Twilight nearly shouted.

Moon Dancer winced.

The ponies on the balcony across the street glanced at her.

Even the waiter took a step back.

Twilight wondered what the homelands of the Zebras were like this time of year and calculated how much magical energy it would take to teleport there.

After reviewing the result, she quickly recalculated for Griffonstone.

All while a couple crickets—who Twilight suspected knew of the theory of narrative causality—chirped.

“I’ll have the um… Zucchini Parmigiana,” Moon Dancer muttered while Twilight did her best to avoid the fact that Moon Dancer’s face was still the color of a strawberry.

“Excellent choice,” the waiter said with a little nod and made a scribble in his notepad. “And you, madam?”

Twilight blinked. She’d never been called a ‘madam’ before. At least, to the best of her knowledge. She didn’t run in those type of circles. She wasn’t sure if she qualified to be called such a—

Twilight shook her head and forced her attention back to the menu. It took more effort than it should have.

“Eggplant Parmesan,” she squeaked.

“Ah, you will find our eggplant most wonderful,” the waiter said with a nod of approval. “It is our head chef’s speciality and she is in rare form tonight, if I do say so myself.”

“That’s… good?” Twilight offered in a desperate attempt at using her words.

Usually words were her friends. She loved words. Words loved her.

No, that was inaccurate.

Printed words loved her.

Spoken words were printed words’ rowdy and obnoxious cousin who drank far too much cider when everypony else was having a simple and quiet dinner party.

Fact: my analogies need work.

Still, these spoken words seemed to have the desired effect. The waiter smiled faintly, nodded once more and departed from the table.

Moon Dancer looked at Twilight.

Twilight looked at Moon Dancer.

Twilight bit her lip.

Moon Dancer bit her lip.

Twilight made a decision.

To Tartarus with social protocol. And dating etiquette. And all the rest of that nonsense. Sometimes… a pony has got to do what a pony has got to do.

“Moon Dancer?” Twilight forced her voice into something resembling the voice of a sane pony. She put her hooves on the table top to help steady herself in more ways than one. “Can I ask you something?”

Moon Dancer nodded. She was still biting her lip.

“Why?”

Moon Dancer blinked. “Why what?”

“Why… did you agree to this? Unless this was actually your plan. I mean, I wouldn’t mind if it was. I wouldn’t object. Just that… after everything that’s happened in the last two months and so very much has happened in the last two months that I can barely comprehend where I am right now and honestly wonder if I’m actually having some hallucination or dream which could very well be possible but then again maybe this is real and maybe Sunset actually wanted us together which is strange and I don’t understand because Sunset seemed to—no, that’s not important because I already had that conversation with Cheerilee and I shouldn’t be dwelling on that or else I would just being going around and around and around and around and around and then I’d get very dizzy have trouble thinking and just run my mouth off probably a lot like I’m doing right now only I still don’t understand what’s going here and really hope this is actually happening and I’m not gibbering in the corner somewhere because I’ve lost my mind and that—”

A sudden but gentle physical pressure gave her pause. It was a physical pressure she was unaccustomed to. Indeed, it was so unfamiliar, she wasn’t sure what was actually happening until she saw the faint glow of the magic field near her hooves.

The table was too wide for Moon Dancer to reach her physically. Well, not without jumping atop the table, which was probably more than Moon Dancer was prepared to do at this juncture. So, the other unicorn had improvised.

She was levitating a small sourdough roll against Twilight’s right forehoof.

Twilight stared at it.

Twilight then stared at Moon Dancer.

So, this is real.

Twilight’s mouth snapped shut. Oddly enough, Moon Dancer didn’t remove the roll. As if she were putting it there as a substitute for a comforting hoof. A calming hoof.

Sunset did that occasionally when Twilight went into a panic attack. Did Moon Dancer learn this calming technique from her? Had Sunset put that much effort into helping the two of them connect? To make sure that tonight went well for all involved?

Fact: I have amazing friends.

The thought struck her from nowhere. It was indisputable. Irrefutable. She had physical evidence to this simple truth before her. Further evidence was still being pushed against her hoof ever so gently.

In that simple gesture, Twilight managed to finally break the surface of the ocean of chaos, if only for a moment.

She swallowed her discomfort.

“Why did you want to do this, Moon Dancer?”

Everypony in Sunset’s apartment was leaning forward, eyes glued to the screen. Their ears were perked. Minuette was practically vibrating. No, actually, she was really vibrating. Coco was making very faint squeeing noises.

Rara was grinning widely.

Cheerilee… looked away for a moment.

She looked at Sunset.

Sunset could feel her eyes. She’d learned a lot about Cheerilee over the last few years. She’d learned to tell when the teacher was worried about her.

A passage from A Study on Chaos Theory drifted back to her. It was from one of the early chapters, where the author had waxed nostalgic about the powers of Harmony, even touching on the mythical so-called ‘Elements of Harmony.’ The passage was actually a quote of an even older text from nearly a thousand years ago, attributed to none other than Starswirl the Bearded. While somewhat convoluted, the key phrase went something like this…

“One must sacrifice in order to create Harmony. This is not a sacrifice of the body. It is the sacrifice of self. The sacrifice of pride. Even in the smallest of situations, it is nothing less than the decision to allow others into one’s life.”

Sunset turned and smiled at Cheerilee.

Cheerilee didn’t smile back. Instead, her expression changed to one of pain. Sunset shook her head, trying to communicate a thousand things she couldn’t articulate with a single gesture.

Somehow… Cheerilee understood. She nodded ever-so-faintly and slowly turned her head back to the screen.

The exchange had taken seconds… and it had taken lifetimes. Sunset swallowed even as Minuette scooted forward to sit right in front of the screen—though in a position that wouldn’t be blocking anypony’s view.

“One must sacrifice in order to create Harmony…”

Sunset swallowed again and forced herself to await Moon Dancer’s answer.

Somehow, the act of comforting Twi in the midst of her panic-driven rant had pushed Moon Dancer into some sort of strange realm of serenity. She thought it was pretty stupid.

But here she was.

Now, there were hundreds of ways she could answer Twi’s question. But anything other than the absolute truth wouldn’t be right. It would be a lie. And if she did that, the real motivation behind such an act would be fear.

Fear had driven Twi away from all of her friends for years. Fear of Sunset Shimmer. When Moon Dancer looked back at it, she couldn’t help but feel it was a stupid reason. Even Twi had admitted that.

But it didn’t mean it wasn’t a valid reason.

Twi had wrecked years of friendship because of fear. Moon Dancer wasn’t going to berate her, but she also wasn’t going to repeat the same mistake.

“Because I’ve always wanted to,” Moon Dancer whispered so quietly that Twi leaned forward to hear her. “For as long as I’ve known you, Twi, you’ve been this brilliant… genius of a pony. When I was in my first year at GU, you were already studying books fourth-years had trouble with. You… you’re the one who took me to the Cosmo for the first time back when we were fillies. You introduced me to the world of books. I… adored you.”

Moon Dancer smirked just a little, though she couldn’t meet Twi’s eyes. She could meet her nose though.

It was close enough.

“It didn’t hurt that you were cute. Like… really, really cute. And… well, you’ve just gotten cuter.”

Twi’s jaw dropped open. Moon Dancer looked up for just an instant. What she saw was a stunned pony, unable to process what was going on around her.

To be honest, Moon Dancer wasn’t really processing it either. Some part of her was screaming like a lunatic, panicking and completely freaking out that she was actually saying these things in front of Twilight Sparkle to Twilight Sparkle.

But that part seemed far away.

Twi’s eyes started to twitch ever so slightly.

Sunny does that…

She prodded Twi with the roll again. It was enough to distract Twi before she got lost in her own head again.

“Did you… um… just call me… um…” The last word was almost below the range of pony hearing. “…cute?”

Moon Dancer nodded, suddenly unable to meet Twi’s eyes again. She found herself twiddling the roll a little, making it do little tricks, hops and skips.

“Then… why did you never say anything?” she whispered. The whisper didn’t last long. Her voice grew in volume with every word. “You were my first friend, Moon Dancer. My only one! I knew Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine, but you were the only one who was there with me the whole time!”

Twi’s glasses fell off and landed with a plunk atop the roll. It was enough to force Moon Dancer to look Twi in the eye again.

Moon Dancer’s heart seized in her chest.

Twilight was crying.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” she asked again, her voice little more than a desperate plea.

“Because I was young and stupid!” Moon Dancer snapped. “Because I didn’t deserve a genius like you! And because… because…”

She clamped down hard on the anger that threatened to overwhelm her. It was an unfamiliar anger, one she hadn’t felt in so very long. It had been buried for years. Long enough for it become something else…

Resentment.

Moon Dancer took another drink of water.

The glass was empty within a few seconds.

Fact: I have just ruined my first date ever by being an incompetent, emotional lunatic who can’t shut up!

Fact: I have just ruined my renewed friendship with my first friend because I couldn’t say something easy like ‘thank you.’

Fact: I don’t deserve the friends I have.

And finally, there was one more indisputable piece of data:

Fact: This is my fault.

“You didn’t say anything because I pushed you away,” Twilight mumbled.

Moon Dancer’s head twitched. Twilight took it as a nod. She wiped her eyes, but didn’t put her glasses back on. It was easier if Moon Dancer was a little blurry right now.

It was the act of a coward.

Twilight knew she was socially inept, so cowardice seemed as good a course as any. At least visually. Then maybe she could say the words she needed to.

“I didn’t want to,” Twilight mumbled. “I didn’t want to push you away. You tried harder than anypony to bring me around after that summer. But I came back in the fall and… and… I saw you. I saw you with her.”

Twilight didn’t need to say who ‘her’ was. They both knew. Even she knew. Everypony knew. Everypony knew that Twilight was just a coward. Three months ago, she wouldn’t have cared.

Friendship made life complicated. A part of her missed that simple life. That easy life.

That lonely life.

She didn’t want to listen to that part anymore. That part was mean. It was a jerk. And it needed to go away.

“Twilight…” Moon Dancer said as she grabbed another random piece of bread and fiddled with it in her magic. “One thing I don’t know… why were you so scared of her?”

Twilight laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh. It wasn’t an appropriate laugh for a date. However, any semblance of ‘romance’ had been shattered by her stupid words.

Fact: Moon Dancer will want nothing to do with me after tonight.

She thought about Sunset’s words to her in the depths of the Royal Canterlot Archives. Asking for closure. Asking for Twilight’s help.

Maybe she could get some closure. Maybe she could actually get rid of just a little bit of this guilt.

Even if Moon Dancer hated her after this. Maybe that would be enough.

“In my first year at GU, I heard so many stories about Sunset Shimmer. About what she had done. At the beginning of the year, I was convinced she hated everypony in Professor Polish’s class.”

Twilight poked at the roll Moon Dancer had left in front of her.

“You even used to tell me stories of what she did the year before… during your first year.”

“Oh…” Moon Dancer mumbled. “I forgot about that.”

Twilight shook her head. “That’s not the point. That’s not your fault. I just… I just… got this image in my head of her as this huge shadow, looming over the school like some… some… demon. Then… during the last week, Professor Inkwell assigns me to a summer course at the South Archives. It sounded perfect. I’d wanted to at least say goodbye to you, but… I got so excited I… I forgot.”

Twilight’s ears flattened against her head, but Moon Dancer just chuckled ever so slightly.

“You always did get way too excited about that sort of thing,” she said wryly. “That was just another thing.”

Twilight didn’t have a response to that, so she barreled along like a train with no brakes. The situation could only end in a explosive crash… but she needed to ride it to the end of the line.

“When I came back the week before classes…” Twilight continued. “I had my mark. I knew who I was. Who I was going to be. I wanted to tell you. But… when I came to see you at your parent’s house… you were out. I asked your mom where you were. She told me you were with ‘that Shimmer filly.’”

Moon Dancer’s face fell, then her ears. Her whole body seemed to deflate before Twilight’s eyes.

“I tried to talk to the others… only to discover that you were all out, with ‘Sunset at her place.’ Lemon Hearts’ parents told me something like ‘they have an all-day O&O game every Saturday. We thought you knew.’ That’s when I realized it. That’s when I knew. You’d moved on. You didn’t need me. You didn’t want me. I didn’t matter. I-I wasn’t important.”

Twilight choked back the sob that threatened to bubble out. She was staring at the roll again without even seeing it.

“I ran back to Jade Singer at the South Archives. She did her best to comfort me. She really didn’t know how… so she read me stories. Read them to me all day until I fell asleep in her hooves, still crying. Apparently, she contacted my parents to let me know I was staying over that night. The next morning, I woke up back in my bedroom in the South Archives with her smiling down at me. Told me I was welcome any time I liked and that no matter what, I’d always have a friend there. So… I knew that’s what I wanted. I found out in a single day that friendship with ponies my age just ended up hurting. But with books and with ponies like Jade Singer… I… I could…”

Twilight trailed off. She couldn’t say the last words. She couldn’t do that to Moon Dancer. Moon Dancer would hate her forever if she actually said them. That was an indisputable fact. One she was absolutely sure about.

“You could trust them?” Moon Dancer said in a strange voice.

It was a voice Twilight couldn’t interpret. Couldn’t understand.

She didn’t want to.

She still nodded.

“Books are safe,” Twilight mumbled. “Books are simple.”

“And ponies aren’t.”

Twilight nodded again.

Silence. The street was silent. The world was silent. It was as if she were floating the vacuum of space. No crickets chirped this time. There was simply nothing.

Just like the hole inside of her that she had just torn open to confess her greatest failing to her first friend.

Her ex-friend.

“I… I’m sorry,” Twilight mumbled as she tossed her napkin aside and pushed back her chair. “I… I never should have come here…”

Where once everypony had stared at the screen, they were all now staring at Sunset. She could feel them staring. She could feel their eyes on her. Their worry. Their concern.

Their pity.

And they should pity you. Even after you supposedly ‘changed’ and accepted this ‘magical friendship thing,’ you still failed. You destroyed a pony just by being you. It doesn’t matter how often they forgive you. It doesn’t matter how many hugs or smiles or laughs you get. You’ll always be guilty, Sunset Shimmer. You’ll always be guilty. That fact will never change. But the feeling? That can change. You can stop that. But there’s only one way. The only way to stop that…

…is not to care.

Sunset stared at the screen. She ignored her friends. She ignored everything else. She ignored the world.

She stared at the screen. Because she deserved it. She deserved to know what she had done.

She deserved to know.

And she did. She’d seen it in Twilight’s head. She’d seen the memories that afternoon. But there was just a tiny part of her that had protected her from those memories. Some part of her that didn’t want her to suffer.

That part had just been torn away by Twilight’s words.

By the truth.

So, Sunset Shimmer stared at the screen.

She stared as Twilight pushed back her chair, tears streaming from her face and ran for the doorway.

Moon Dancer’s horn ignited in the cool night air. It flared with a light so bright, it nearly dazzled Moon Dancer herself. She funneled all of her magic into a simple act. A single spell. It was the most basic of spells. A spell almost any unicorn could do.

And the balcony doors slammed closed and locked before Twilight could reach them.

Twilight pulled at them anyway.

“Please, Moon Dancer…” Twilight begged, not looking at her. “Just… just let me go. I know you hate me. I know I’m a coward and an idiot and that you never want to see me again—”

A layer of overglow erupted around Moon Dancer’s horn as she telekinetically spun Twilight in place, forcing the mare to look at her.

“Please… I know you hate me…” Twilight whimpered, still refusing to meet her eyes. “I know I deserve it but—”

Moon Dancer pushed back her own chair and walked forward. Twilight squeaked and cowered in fear.

Then Moon Dancer grabbed Twilight’s head and forced her to look into her eyes.

Twilight’s eyes were puffy and red. Tears still streamed down her cheeks. Her glasses were slightly askew with spots of salty water all over them. Fear had been replaced by resignation, acceptance and self-loathing.

“I’m sorry,” Moon Dancer whispered. “Twilight, I am so sorry. Please… please can you forgive me?”

Twilight blinked a few times. Complete confusion washed over her face.

“Didn’t… didn’t you…” Twilight’s voice broken and she almost choked. “Didn’t you hear me? I ran! And every time you tried to pull me back, I ran even harder! I’m still running! I’m a coward, Moon Dancer! You should hate me!”

“I don’t hate you,” Moon Dancer whispered. “I could never hate you. You’re still a genius. You’re still amazing. You’re still my first friend. And you’re still the pony I’ve had a crush on for longer than I can remember. There’s nothing you can do or say to change any of that.”

“But…” Twilight mumbled. “I don’t… I don’t deserve…”

“Friendship isn’t about what you deserve.” Moon Dancer didn’t let Twilight’s eyes get away. “It’s about two ponies working together. It’s hard most of the time. But it’s worth it.”

Moon Dancer swallowed as a fresh wave of tears came from Twilight.

“I’m not letting you leave here because of guilt. If you want to leave because you don’t want to be here, I won’t stop you. But I’m not about to let you punish yourself for being scared in the past. We were just fillies, Twilight. Just kids. I can’t change what happened. I can’t undo that day to make it so I was there when you needed me.”

Moon Dancer let go of Twilight and took a step back.

“But I can be here now.”

Once again, silence descended, this time broken only by Twilight’s occasional sniffles. Twilight stared at her own hooves.

“Two months ago… when Sunset brought you to dinner… we both freaked out. I freaked out because I realized that all these feelings hadn’t gone away. You freaked out because—”

“—Because I didn’t want to face the feelings for a pony I didn’t deserve as a friend, let alone something more.” Twilight sniffled and tried to wipe her eyes. It didn’t work very well.

“It’s not about what you deserve,” Moon Dancer said, wiping her own eyes. “It’s about what’s right.”

Finally, Twilight looked up. She didn’t look away this time.

“You’ve done nothing that needs forgiveness.” Moon Dancer shook her head. “I should ask forgiveness for not trying harder. I’ve always had feelings for you Twilight. Please… stay. Have dinner with me. Let me make it up to you. Let me…”

Moon Dancer took a deep breath. She was running on automatic, as if her heart had been plugged directly into her mouth. All the old tricks, the snarky comments, the quips… they seemed meaningless now. Those were not for this place. Not for this time.

She remembered standing before an entire class. Before a Princess. Before students and teachers. And telling the truth.

To date, that had been the most frightening moment of her entire life.

It paled in comparison to this moment.

“Let me see if there’s maybe some glimmer of chance that you might end up feeling something for me.”

Another silence, but this one didn’t last nearly as long.

In fact, this one lasted for only a minute before Twilight reacted.

Moon Dancer knew from those stories she hadn’t read, that in this kind of situation, the other pony usually threw herself at the first pony and attacked them with passionate kiss or something.

Twilight didn’t do that.

Instead, she slowly took the necessary three steps forward to nuzzle Moon Dancer once before burying her head in Moon Dancer’s mane and crying.

Moon Dancer’s tears joined her friend’s.

“I missed you,” Twilight mumbled into her oldest friend’s neck.

“I missed you, too,” Moon Dancer whispered as she clung to Twilight.

Neither moved to wipe away the tears.

Across town, in a tower of ivory and gold, Sunset Shimmer stood up. She stepped over to the window showing her best friend and her newest friend, locked in a crying hug.

Then she turned and bucked one of the crystalline orbs through the window.

It sailed out into the city as glass tinkled down the side of the tower.

The picture vanished and the window was restored, save for a small circular hole. Only the sounds of Twilight and Moon Dancer’s sniffles could be heard. She didn’t do anything about that.

She didn’t meet the eyes of a single one of the ponies in the room as she slowly walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Once inside, she gently closed the door and turned the lock.

Sunset Shimmer settled herself into her bed, pulled up the covers and stared into the darkness.

Author's Note

...

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Interlude: Peer Review, Phase Two

“How is she?” Raven stirred in a hint of milk into her tea. “I haven’t seen her since Saturday night.”

“Not a lot has happened in the last four days,” Coloratura replied. Her cup lay untouched before her, while Coco cradled hers in her hooves. “She’s quiet. Very quiet.”

“She won’t leave the house,” Coco murmured. The small mare stared into her tea and watched her reflection. “We never should have spied on them. I can’t believe we did that…”

“Coco, Moon Dancer knew.” Coloratura placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I know she forgot in the heat of the moment… but Sunset would have found out about it no matter what.”

“She found out in the worst possible way, Rara!” To Raven’s surprise, Coco pushed Coloratura’s hoof aside with a grunt. “I saw her face when Twi and Moony started crying! She looked like she’d been… been stabbed or… or something…”

Coco choked up and the tea wobbled in her hooves.

Wincing, Raven delicately lifted the cup from her grasp and set it on the table before Coco with a faint clink. Coco didn’t seem to notice. She just stared at her hooves and shook, though Raven couldn’t be sure if it was from repressed anger or repressed tears.

“Sunset is responsible for breaking their friendship,” Coloratura said slowly, though it looked like the words left a bad taste in her mouth. The singer rubbed Coco’s back with a hoof. “And... the potential for them having something more. But she knew that… well, at least the friendship part! We all did.”

Coco shook her head. “It’s not about the truth, Rara. We both know that.”

Coloratura nodded silently and continued to rub her friend’s back.

Raven glanced to her right and out the window. The small sitting room in the castle west tower overlooked the stage where Coloratura would be performing again tonight. Despite Coloratura’s obvious pain, last night’s performance had been flawless. Everything had gone according to plan.

Save for one element.

It had been the first time Sunset had not been at Coloratura’s Canterlot show since they’d become friends.

When Raven had discovered that Sunset had skipped her friend’s concert, it had worried her. And since she had already talked to the two earth pony mares a little over a week ago, they seemed the best choice.

Raven still wasn’t sure about that choice.

“Truth on its own isn’t necessarily beneficial,” Raven said, her gaze drifting from the stage and back to the two friends. “As Princess Celestia’s aide, I’ve learned that the presentation of truth is just as important.”

Coloratura nodded and poked her teacup. Silence fell upon sitting room again. They didn’t even need the plush tapestries and the sitting pillows to dampen the sound.

Raven listened as a tea trolley paused outside the door before it moved away. By the time it did… nothing had changed. Coloratura still stared down at her teacup. Coco stared at the table.

Raven took a sip. It tasted far more bitter than usual. She added a bit more milk.

“Raven,” Coloratura began, still not looking up. “About what you said before… I’m… I don’t know if we can help her this time.”

Raven let out a long breath and glanced at Coco. The smaller mare didn’t seem to notice, though her ears flicked a bit.

“Is she talking to anypony?” Raven stirred her tea, more for something to do than any real need. “Anypony at all?”

“No.” Coco shook her head. “Even Minuette can’t get much out of her.”

Raven winced. When Minuette failed to bring a smile to Sunset’s lips…

Coloratura rubbed her eyes with her hooves and let out an enormous sigh.

“She knew about it before,” Coco said, almost to herself. She bit her lip before continuing, “But… she’s never really had to see it. Not like this.”

“And now she’s just… stuck,” Coloratura sighed. “All because of this… this…”

Raven winced. “Guilt.”

Coloratura and Coco both nodded and stared at their teacups.

“I think…” Coloratura said, her voice uncertain and quiet. “I think we’re going to have to let her ride this one out alone. We’ll be there, of course. And we’ll keep an eye on her, but…”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Raven asked.

“No,” Coloratura admitted with a shake of her head. “No, I’m not. But… I’ve learned that talking and encouragement can only go so far. All of us have talked to her about her guilt in the past. Even Princess Celestia can’t seem to break through those walls. I think… this one needs to come from the inside.”

Coco finally looked up. Her eyes were slightly red. “I wish there was more we could do for her.”

“Moon Dancer and Twilight might be able to get through,” Coloratura said ruefully. “And only then by hitting her over the head with a stick.”

“I… I still don’t like it.” Coco looked between Raven and Coloratura. “There has to be another way.”

“There may not be,” Raven admitted. “I believe Miss Coloratura is correct. This is a battle between Sunset and herself. In the end, while you—we—can all be there to support her… she’s the one who has to make the decision.”

“It doesn’t make it feel any better,” Coco said as she pushed her untouched teacup away.

“No kidding,” Coloratura said.

Raven nodded to herself, sighed and took another sip of her tea.

It was still far too bitter.

Author's Note

...

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Quantum States

“So, where are you taking me, Twi?”

“Would you please stop calling me that?”

“I like nicknames.”

“I don’t.”

“You didn’t mind before! Anyway, I’m pretty sure it says somewhere in the rulebook that the pony you’re dating is supposed to annoy you in subtle ways, Twi.”

“And how is that supposed to be romantic?”

“I never said it was romantic. I said it was required.”

Twi rolled her eyes and lightly shoved Moon Dancer in their carriage as it headed into the depths of the southern sprawl of Canterlot City. This part of the city was older than the rest. The architecture wasn’t quite as polished and shiny, but there was still plenty of white and gold. Hey, this was still Celestia’s city, after all. Canterlot ponies loved their motif.

“So, where are we going?” Moon Dancer asked again.

Twi rolled her eyes for like, the hundredth time. “It’s a surprise. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Enough times that you stop saying that and just tell me the truth,” Moon Dancer said with a smirk.

“Ugh, you’re impossible.”

“Why thank you!”

“You know, I don’t remember you being this snarky when we were fillies.”

“Blame Sunny,” Moon Dancer said with a little shrug. “She rubs off on you after a while. Kinda hard to resist.”

“No kidding,” Twi mumbled.

Moon Dancer couldn’t figure out how to respond to that. An awkward silence descended upon them for a block or two. Despite the last week, one question still burned in her mind. She’d tried to keep it to herself, but in the end, she had to know.

“You still sure about this, Twi?” Moon Dancer blurted as the carriage driver rounded a corner and they entered the southern civic district. “This whole… you and me thing?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Twi looked really confused.

Moon Dancer stared at Twi. “You’re kidding me. You’re smarter than that.”

Twi dropped the act. It had been a good act. A cute one. But still an act. She sighed and shrugged.

“I won’t pretend this is going to be easy. Not for any of us. Sunset made her decision though. We both know it. She helped make us happen. She wants this to work.”

“Do you?”

Twi’s expression of shock wasn’t an act. “Of course I do! I never would have agreed to the second date if I hadn’t. Or the third, fourth and fifth!”

“But you’ve got this whole… shared life thing with Sunny.”

“I’ve got the same thing with you,” Twi said as she snuggled just a little closer to Moon Dancer. For some reason, ever since the second date, Twi had taken to public displays of affection way more eagerly than Moon Dancer had expected.

Probably read a new book on mating practices of the ancient unicorns or something. Not that I really mind…

“It’s not the same thing,” Moon Dancer insisted to the snuggly pony beside her. “We both know it. You two… you shared your souls… or something.”

Twi looked up at her through her glasses. A flash of sunlight made them to glitter for a second before they passed under an archway.

“She saw my life,” Twi murmured. “And I saw hers. I won’t lie. It was… an intense experience. But the Princess said that this sort of thing is rare. Even married unicorn couples don’t often experience it. It takes just the right set of circumstances to make it happen.”

“I know all of that,” Moon Dancer muttered. “But it’s still not making me feel much better, Twi.”

Twi giggled and rolled her eyes. “But that’s the thing! It’s not like Smart Cookie, Clover the Clever and Private Pansy ended up falling in love after Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

“Heh, you should read some of Coco’s books. From what she says about them, they tell a different story entirely.”

Twi rolled her eyes again, shoved Moon Dancer over and righted herself. “I’m talking about reality. Not fiction.”

Moon Dancer just smirked.

“You were there from the beginning, Moon Dancer. You forced yourself into my life. You kept up with me. And you tried harder than anypony else to keep me around, even when I shoved you away. Just because I didn’t have some magic mind meld with you doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

“And Sunny?”

“Sunset’s a friend,” Twi said with conviction. Moon Dancer couldn’t tell how strong the conviction was… but it was there. “She’ll always be a friend. And I’m looking forward to working with her on the Spire project and all the other things the Princess wants us to do. But right now, I’m here with you. And that’s what matters.”

“What happened to the stuttering, terrified Archivist I remember meeting last week over dinner?” Moon Dancer said as they came out from a tunnel. The carriage began to slow as they made one more turn.

“She realized she didn’t need to be terrified anymore,” Twi said with a smirk of her own. Well… at least as close to a smirk as she could get.

Twi didn’t have as much practice as Moon Dancer, after all.

“So, you’re not afraid, huh?”

“Oh, I’m totally freaking out,” Twi laughed. The laugh bordered on maniacal. “I keep expecting to wake up to find this was all a dream. But right now… I don’t know… I feel…”

Twi swallowed as the carriage stopped in a roundabout alongside a rather nondescript building. Moon Dancer’s heart hammered in her chest as she watched Twi search for the right words.

“I feel wanted,” Twi whispered, staring down at her hooves.

Moon Dancer wrapped Twi a tight hug. Twi responded with a surprising ferocity. As if she’d been alone for a lifetime and now that she’d found somepony, she never intended to let go.

Almost a minute passed like that before the carriage driver coughed politely.

“Sorry!” Twi squeaked as she disentangled herself from Moon Dancer and hopped down off the carriage. As Moon Dancer stepped down, Twi floated a hoofful of bits to the driver, enough to include a sizable tip. “Keep the change.”

The carriage driver nodded, tipped his hat to them and trotted off back the way they’d come. As his hoofsteps faded away, Moon Dancer looked around. A large fountain dominated the middle of the roundabout. Sparkling water sent waves of rainbow light across the cobbles. On the other side of the street were some offices and a few small government buildings. There was almost nopony around, save for a single amber unicorn reading a book down the street outside a small cafe.

“Well, Twi,” Moon Dancer said as she surveyed the scene. “I wasn’t expecting this. You really outdid yourself.”

“Ugh,” Twi groaned. “You’re impossible.”

“You said that already. And here I thought somepony working at the RCA would have a bigger vocabulary.”

Twi nudged her and gestured for her to turn around. Moon Dancer did so with a roll of her eyes and looked up at the wooden structure that dominated this side of the roundabout. It was a least a couple hundred years old, if Moon Dancer was any judge. Older even than the Cosmo. Still, it had the air of a place that had been lovingly cared for. It radiated warmth. Something about it drew Moon Dancer like a magnet. She couldn’t help herself as she stepped forward toward the small unassuming door on the side.

“What is this place?” Moon Dancer asked in a hushed whisper. She didn’t even know why she was whispering, but it felt right.

“Apparently, it was going to be the surprise we were promised last week. But… it’s a little different now.”

Twi took a deep breath as Moon Dancer turned to face her.

“You told me how sorry you were that you weren’t there when I came back after that summer,” Twi said, poking at the cobblestones with a hoof. She was suddenly acting shy again and Moon Dancer couldn’t figure out why. “You promised to be there for me now.”

Twi gently knocked on the door as if she were requesting access to some sacred temple.

“Yes, yes!” came a slightly cranky voice from inside. “I’m coming, I’m coming!”

“I decided it was only fair to show you where it all started for me.”

Moon Dancer blinked as Twilight pointed up at the sign above the door.

“Royal Canterlot Archives… South Repository…” Moon Dancer read aloud, barely able to believe what she was seeing. “You mean…”

The door opened.

“Yes, yes, who is it?” An older mint-green unicorn with a blonde mane blinked in the afternoon sunlight before her gaze landed on Twi. Behind her rectangular reading glasses, her eyes lit up and an enormous smile appeared on her face.

“Twilight!” she cried as she darted forward and swept Twi into an enormous hug. Twi actually coughed a few times, her eyes bulging behind her glasses as she fought for breath. “Oh my, dear! I haven’t seen you in far too long! I knew you were coming, but didn’t expect you this soon! How’s my favorite librarian doing today?”

“I’m wonderful, Jade,” Twi said once the mare had released her and Twi managed to learn how to breathe again. “I actually brought somepony to meet you.”

The mare’s eyes narrowed as she studied Moon Dancer. “Twilight Sparkle, you know how I feel about fanfillies!”

“This isn’t a fanfilly, Jade,” Twi said with a smile. “This is my…”

Twi turned to Moon Dancer, suddenly at a loss for words.

She’d been wondering when this moment would come. When Twi would have to introduce her to somepony new. Or when Moon Dancer would have to do the same. It meant that they needed to ‘define’ their relationship, something neither of them really wanted to do. Moon Dancer knew Twi wasn’t ashamed of her. And Moon Dancer wasn’t ashamed of Twi.

Just putting a label on it… seemed… well, daunting.

Sunny would probably be laughing her tail off if she knew how nervous we were about this!

Moon Dancer then realized Sunny wouldn’t have done anything of the sort. Not at all. That stung a bit.

So, she decided to do what Sunny probably would have done in her place.

“Marefriend,” Moon Dancer said with a small smile at Twi, hoping that it would be good enough.

To her relief, Twi’s smile blossomed into something much deeper and much more appreciative.

“Marefriend… Moon Dancer,” Twi continued. “Moon Dancer, I’d like you to meet Jade Singer, the current head of the South Canterlot Archives and author of—”

Moon Dancer’s heart just about stopped as the name finally registered in her head. No way.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Jade Singer said with a shooing motion at Twilight as she stepped over to eye Moon Dancer critically. “I’m sure she knows who I am. Anypony who would associate with you would have to know who I am.”

Moon Dancer desperately tried not to squeal. It was a very hard battle, but one she just barely managed to win.

Jade Singer adjusted her glasses with her magic and studied Moon Dancer as if she were some trashy pulp fiction novel about vamponies that had been dumped in the donations box.

“Hmmm… padding on the glasses shows she’s more concerned with comfort than appearance. That’s reinforced by that ridiculous topknot…”

“Hey!” Moon Dancer protested, even over Twi’s giggles.

“Mane’s in good condition, tail too. And don’t think I missed the coloring, Twilight, dear. I daresay she almost looks like a recolor of you.”

Twilight just giggled some more while Moon Dancer suffered the ‘abuse.’ She wondered if Twi’s parents were going to be this bad.

Wow… I just thought about meeting her parents. I guess… I guess I am taking this seriously.

Gah! I shouldn’t be freaking out like this! Freaking out is for Sunny and Twi! Not me!

Finally, Jade Singer lifted up Moon Dancer’s right hoof and studied it critically. She mumbled to herself for a moment or two before dropping it and staring intently into Moon Dancer’s eyes.

“Not bad, Twilight,” Jade Singer finally said as she stepped away. “Not bad. Definitely a bookpony. You don’t seem the RCA type, though.”

“Cosmo, ma’am,” Moon Dancer replied.

“The Canterlot Cosmopolitan Library?” Jade Singer said, her eyes going wide. “That I wasn’t expecting. Fancy yourself a social pony, eh?”

“Hardly,” Moon Dancer scoffed. “I just… I don’t know, I feel like I can help more ponies at a public library rather than the RCA.”

Jade Singer’s face was impassive for a long time. “Is that right? Well, my little Twilight here isn’t an elitist if that’s what you’re getting at, young lady.”

“No!” Moon Dancer said. What was with this mare? “That’s not what I meant, I just…”

“Oh, you so can’t even say what you mean? Then how am I supposed to believe anything you say?”

“But—”

“I won’t tolerate that kind of behavior toward somepony who waltzes in here and claims to be my Twilight’s new marefriend! I have standards, young lady! You’d better make sure you’re ready to meet them, or by Celestia, I’ll tan your hide!”

Moon Dancer gawked at her, trying to figure out what just happened. One moment, it seemed to be going well, now she was being threatened with a ‘tanned hide?’ What was wrong with this pony? Why would Twi even want to introduce her to—

That’s when she realized Twi was going red in her desperate attempt to keep from cracking up entirely. The moment Moon Dancer noticed, Twi lost her battle and collapsed, gasping for air as she laughed, her legs flailing in the air. Her near complete inability to breathe did dampen the laughter a bit, though.

Jade Singer cracked a smile a second later, the thundercloud that had been her face breaking like the dawn.

“Twilight, dear,” Jade said in a bemused voice. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t breathe.”

“But… her face…” Twi squeaked as she clutched her stomach. “Her face…”

“Yes, it was quite priceless, wasn’t it?” Jade Singer smirked at Moon Dancer. “I can see why you like her. Though I suspect she’s usually the snarky one.”

Twi nodded as she finally got control of herself and pushed herself to her hooves. “Yeah… but… she needed to be taught a lesson I think.”

Moon Dancer just gaped at the two of them.

“This was planned?”

Twi’s eyes sparkled. “After all the teasing you do to just about everypony I know—especially me—you had it coming, Moon Dancer.”

Moon Dancer couldn’t help but laugh. She sat down and slowly clapped her hooves together.

“Well done,” Moon Dancer intoned. “Now, the student has become the master.”

“Hardly,” Jade Singer scoffed. “I had to do all the work. Twilight just suggested I give you a hard time. I wasn’t expecting you to make it so easy.”

“It’s not everyday a pony meets a living literary legend,” Moon Dancer pointed out with a faint huff. “You cheated.”

“Only been dating her a week, hm, Twilight?” Jade Singer asked with a sly grin. “I think you’ve already got her pegged.”

“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Twi replied with a shrug. “We’re just now… getting reacquainted.”

Twi smiled at her. Moon Dancer smiled back.

“Well, as long as you don’t get too ‘reacquainted’ in my Archive, you’ll be just fine.”

“Jade!” Twilight squeaked, instantly turning red.

“Oh, Twilight,” Jade cackled as she turned and headed into the depths of the Archive. “You should have known you’d get it just as much as her.”

“This was your idea,” Moon Dancer pointed out.

“Don’t remind me,” Twi muttered. “I’ll probably end up regretting it.”

“Well, I don’t,” Moon Dancer said with a smile as she bumped against her marefriend. “So, let’s just enjoy it and see where it goes, huh?”

Twi’s blush actually deepened at that. “Okay… I think I can do that.”

“One day at a time, Twi.”

Twi nodded. “One day at a time.”

They walked inside together, both grinning like idiots. And Moon Dancer loved it.

“You’ve been quiet today,” the Princess of the Sun commented from her large cushion in the middle of her study. “Far quieter than usual for a one-on-one lesson.”

Sunset glanced out the window, unable to meet her teacher’s gaze. Philomena fluttered down and nuzzled her just a little. Sunset stroked the bird absently. She didn’t have anything to say, really.

That wasn’t true. She didn’t trust herself to say anything.

That was an entirely different problem.

Still, she couldn’t just ignore the Princess of the Sun. Even if Celestia did already know the answer to her own unasked question.

“It’s not important, Princess.”

She’d forced herself to go through the motions of normalcy. As if nothing had changed. In reality, nothing had changed, save for one thing. One very special, very important thing. But it didn’t affect her. It didn’t impact her.

It shouldn’t impact her.

“Sunset,” Celestia repeated. “For the last week, you have been so quiet. Don’t think it’s escaped my notice. Please. Would you talk to me about what’s on your mind?”

You already know what happened, Princess. What am I supposed to tell you? That I did exactly what you asked me to do? That I even went so far as to successfully…

Sunset looked back down at A Study on Chaos Theory. She hadn’t turned the page in over an hour. Of course Celestia had noticed. Celestia wasn’t a fool.

A golden glow encompassed the book. With a faint application of magic, Celestia closed it and moved it onto a nearby table. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before getting to her hooves and stepping over to the half-built model in the center of the room. After the latest accident, they’d temporarily moved it up to Celestia’s study—which happened to have the strongest wards and shields in the castle. Gemstones and sigils lined the circumference of the crystalline castle-like object. Sunset watched as Celestia slowly walked around it, studying it with a critical eye.

“I’m proud of you, Sunset.”

For the first time in a very long time, Sunset didn’t get the happy warm surge she usually had at those words. Instead, they were just… words. Nothing more. Dull and flat.

Philomena nuzzled her again.

Sunset stared at the model.

“It’s not done yet,” Sunset replied woodenly. “I’m… I’m not sure if I can finish it anymore.”

“I wasn’t talking about the Spire.”

“I know.”

Celestia stepped over and settled beside Sunset. She gently draped her great white wing over Sunset’s body.

“Just a few days ago, you were in the laboratory with Twilight and Moon Dancer working on the Spire. Talking about unified harmony magics and chaos theory. You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

“It’s easier when we’re just talking about magical theory or constructing arcane leyline taps,” Sunset said with a shrug. “At least… until a pause comes along. Or when Twilight smiles for… ‘no reason.’ Or they both blush at the same time.”

Celestia watched her for a long time, not saying anything. Sunset couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking, but she couldn’t get the energy or the courage to ask.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this, Sunset.”

Sunset snorted. “I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of ponies in my position, Princess.”

“I didn’t say that,” she chided gently. “I said I haven’t seen you like this.”

“It’s just hard right now. I’m sure… in time, it’ll get easier, right? What’s that saying? ‘Time heals all wounds?’”

To Sunset’s surprise, Celestia actually flinched. She stared at the Princess as the alicorn seemed to search for the right words.

“So many ponies misquote that,” Celestia said in a distant voice. “They remember that single statement as simple folk wisdom. Words meant to comfort… but in reality, they mean little.”

“Princess?” Sunset asked, her ears flat. A chunk of fear rattled around in her chest. To see the Princess of the Sun react like that to such an off-hoof statement… It was…

It was wrong.

Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “The Countess Shamrock Rose said it best: ‘It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scars and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.’”

Celestia opened her eyes and met Sunset’s gaze. Sunset’s heart started hammering in her chest, though she felt oddly cold for reasons she couldn’t explain.

“The thing to remember, Sunset,” Celestia continued, her voice still little more than a whisper, “is that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a lesson you’ve already learned time and time again. A lesson that everypony learns. The trials and difficulties we go through in life—the decisions and the consequences of those decisions—they make us what we are. Who we are. If we forget them… if we allow them to simply pass from our minds and our hearts… then we are diminished.”

Sunset gaped at her. She’d never seen the Princess look so… vulnerable. But more than anything, this lesson felt wrong. She needed to know. One question that didn’t work with the rest of this.

“But… then how do I forgive myself for the things I’ve done?” Sunset whispered.

“There’s a difference.” Celestia smiled wanly. “To Rose’s point… time allows us to cover the wound and move on. If you don’t learn to forgive yourself, if you clutch at that guilt… it’s forcing the wound to remain open with no protection. Such an action will always cause more pain. Indeed, such a wound could have dire consequences.”

It’s what you deserve, you freak.

Sunset flinched at the sudden venom from the voice in the back of her head.

“Do you want to talk about them?” Celestia asked. It wasn’t a demand. It was barely a question. It was more like a suggestion. An offer. A shoulder to cry on.

“No,” Sunset said with a cracked smile. “No, I really don’t.”

Celestia’s smile was as gentle as the morning sun on a spring day. She knew what Sunset’s real answer was without her having to say it. As usual.

“They seem happy.” Sunset shrugged. “Really happy. Well, at least until they found out. They were a little… um… miffed… when they discovered we’d been spying on them. At least… until I reminded Moon Dancer that I had pretty much told her we were going to.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. Sunset knew the expression. It was designed specifically to admonish her without saying a word. Sunset just sighed. She felt no shame in watching the beginning of their date. After all… she’d been pretty involved.

Well, she felt no shame for watching it. She’d had plenty of shame for… pretty much everything else.

Still, there was a faint glimmer in Celestia’s eye that told Sunset the Princess would have likely have done the same. It helped a little.

“Apparently, it was after midnight when they left the Carriage House.” Sunset sighed. “Those two had a lot of catching up to do.”

“Time and distance can be a hard thing to overcome.”

Sunset nodded.

“And?”

“And… I’m actually happy for them.”

A tiny little sliver of you is. The rest of you is either jealous or dead inside, Sunset.

Celestia paused before nodding. “As I said… I’m proud of you.”

Something cracked inside Sunset.

“You shouldn’t be,” Sunset snapped. “You shouldn’t be proud of me, Princess. I tore them apart.”

“And you put them back together.”

“But they lost so much time.”

“And now they’ll make up for it.”

“Do you really think it’ll be that simple?” Sunset demanded, staring up at her teacher as she fought back the tears that threatened to overcome her.

Celestia squeezed Sunset with her wing. “No, Sunset. Of course it won’t be that simple. It could never be that simple. Friendships are rarely easy. Indeed, they’re often quite difficult. Romance… even more so. But do you know what I see when I look at you, Sunset?”

“I know what I see,” Sunset mumbled, staring at her hooves again.

A broken-down wreck of a pony who doesn’t give a damn about what she actually deserves. A pony who is everything I wasn’t. You could have been so much more. You could have been me. Now… you’re just you. How pathetic is that?

“I see that my prized student put the feelings of her two friends above her own,” Celestia said gently. “And in the space of two days, rebuilt a long-abandoned bridge between them. You put aside your own desires. Then, you did what you believed was best.”

Sunset frowned. “Don’t you mean ‘what was best?’”

Celestia hesitated for a fraction of a second before she answered.

“No. Because I cannot tell the future, Sunset. I don’t know how this will turn out. You, of all ponies, know that I make mistakes. I have done so in the past and I will likely continue to do so in the future.” She placed a naked hoof on Sunset’s chin and lifted it so their eyes met. “All any of us can do is the best with what we know at the time.”

For a moment, Sunset was a filly again. Back when Celestia had been the entire world to her. Back when she’d been so wise, so knowing, so kind…

Back when Celestia had been her mother in all but name.

Back when things had been simple.

She missed simple.

“Even when it hurts?” Sunset asked in a tiny voice.

Celestia leaned forward to nuzzle her. “Especially when it hurts.”

Philomena took to the air and looped around the half-completed Spire before she settled down on the edge of the table, watching over the two ponies lost in their thoughts.

Author's Note

“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”

―Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Sequence Initiation

“We’re not ready yet!” Twilight Sparkle whined.

“We are!” Sunset Shimmer insisted. “I know you’re scared, but we can do this.”

“It’s not about me being scared!” Twilight took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “It’s about us doing it right!”

“Twilight… come on!”

Princess Celestia watched through the cracked door at the two arguing mares. Sunset gestured wildly at the small crystalline cone sitting atop a table in the magic laboratory. Twilight glared at her and adjusted a hexagonal stone set into the array of runes, focusing elements and magic patterns. Sunset rolled her eyes and crossed her forelegs, her tail twitching behind her.

Celestia could see the aftermath of the last few hours of work on the counters lining the laboratory. Alchemical distilleries, at least a dozen sets of mortars and pestles, several large sample containers and half the contents of the runic spellcasting section of the Royal Canterlot Archive cast strange shadows around the room. Overhead, a small series of arcane sensors continued to swirl in a comforting shade of green.

Celestia liked that green. She’d seen the sensors orange or red too many times when Sunset got a little too excited about an experiment.

All of that—plus the safety gear stashed in the corner—made the room appear somewhat cluttered, especially with the heavy stone table in the center. However, Twilight and Sunset didn’t seem to mind. Instead, Sunset rolled her eyes again and Twilight started another of her lectures.

“Still arguing, I see?” Raven whispered.

Celestia turned and smiled at her beloved friend and aide. The white unicorn brushed back a lock of her brown mane as she studied the clipboard floating in her pale red magic. She adjusted her glasses, glanced at a clock on the hallway wall and then back to the clipboard.

“You should have started with them eight minutes ago,” Raven pointed out.

“And normally,” Celestia said with a wry smile, “Twilight would be in a mild panic at my late arrival. However, she has other things on her mind at present.”

Celestia backed away so Raven could peer into the lab. Thankfully, she’d assigned her two students to a somewhat disused lab in the south tower today. However, the cleaning staff did keep the hardwood floors polished, the various landscapes along the wall dusted and the sconces maintained. Though a bit cramped, Celestia found the quiet—Sunset and Twilight’s argument notwithstanding—to be quite relaxing after another morning at court.

Raven chuckled. “My, they really are quite nervous about this demonstration, aren’t they?”

“It’s not too surprising,” Celestia said with a shrug. “Yet another reason I put Twilight with Sunset. Even after all these years, Sunset is still rather impulsive, though her passion is undeniable. On the other hoof, in the last two months, Twilight has proven herself to be exceedingly—or excessively—thorough in every aspect of her new fields of study.”

“You’re hoping they’ll balance each other out,” Raven surmised.

“Insightful as always, my dear Raven,” Celestia said with a smile.

“Look, if you’re so worried about a 0.0004 variance in the leyline feed, I could ask the Princess to reschedule.” Sunset sighed. “Moon Dancer will be here soon with the book and you can double-check your figures to your heart’s content.”

“What?” Twilight squealed. “We can’t reschedule the Princess of the Sun! That’s… that’s… unthinkable!”

Raven coughed. “You didn’t tell them you’d cleared your afternoon, did you, Princess?”

“I’m sad to say it slipped my mind, Raven.” Celestia didn’t bother to hide her smirk.

“It’s almost unfair, you teasing the two of them.” Raven shook her head and chuckled again. “Considering what you’re trying to accomplish with the Spire Project.”

Celestia’s grin faded. Her left wing shivered almost imperceptibly. A normal pony would never have noticed.

However, Raven was not a normal pony.

“The report still troubles you,” Raven murmured. “The one from Cloudsdale.”

Celestia’s eyes fell upon the lavender unicorn. As Twilight argued with Sunset about a section of the runes, she had to adjust her dark rectangular glasses twice. The pink streak in her purple mane shone in the lab’s lighting as she fiddled with the jeweled hairclip that kept her mane manageable. Despite all these nervous tics, she continued to nibble on one of her bangs.

However, more than anything, Celestia’s eyes were drawn to the mark on Twilight’s flank: a book in a field of magic.

It was rather different from the bright magenta star with five smaller stars in the eight-year-old photograph from Cloudsdale.

“There’s a reason I had all records placed in the Equestria Secret Service Deep Archives, Raven. The information in that report…” Her eyes lingered on Sunset and Twilight. “They can’t know, Raven.”

“I wasn’t recommending you inform them,” Raven said. “But it is still on your mind.”

Celestia nodded vaguely, her eyes still locked on the two young mares.

“Something occurred to me, Princess,” Raven said, her voice still low. “That night… we never did speak of the dragon in the photograph.”

“No,” Celestia said. “And we both know why.”

“As you say, Princess.”

Celestia eyed Raven, but Raven simply looked worried. What’s worse, she knew the origin of Raven’s concerns: Celestia herself.

“I’ll be fine,” Celestia assured her, putting a hoof on her aide’s shoulder. “But thank you for your concern.”

“With all due respect, Princess,” Raven said, meeting Celestia’s gaze. “Keeping this kind of secret is eating at you.”

“We all have secrets, Raven,” Celestia whispered. “But don’t worry yourself overmuch. Having you as a confidant is an invaluable comfort.”

Raven didn’t look entirely convinced, but she changed the subject and nodded at the two ponies in the lab. “To be honest, I’m also worried about them.”

Celestia turned to see that Sunset had wrapped Twilight in a gentle hug. Celestia’s ears swiveled and she heard the telltale sounds of hyperventilation.

Poor Twilight had suffered another panic attack.

That, in and of itself, didn’t concern Celestia greatly. Sunset’s experience with panic attacks—even if she still suffered them from time to time—would be a wonderful help to Twilight.

However, the fact that they were both blushing furiously when they pulled apart did concern her.

“Princess, from the information you shared with me…” Raven hesitated, but only briefly. “Shouldn’t the heightened emotions caused by the spell already have worn off?”

Celestia took a slow breath and nodded. “Yes.”

“If I may ask… did you tell them that?”

If anypony else had asked that question, Celestia would have answered it without a second thought. But with Raven, Celestia again hesitated.

“The risk is too great.”

Raven’s eyes followed Celestia’s to watch Sunset and Twilight. “I see.”

Celestia had always appreciated Raven’s brevity. For example, her gift of applying several layers of meaning on two simple words.

“What are you going to do?”

Celestia straightened herself up and put on her most motherly smile. “Trust my students, Raven.”

“That hasn’t always worked out to Equestria’s benefit, Princess,” Raven said with a raised eyebrow.

“I know.” Celestia studied the two mares and took a single deep breath to cleanse any doubt or hesitation from her face. “But these two are very, very special.”

With that, Celestia opened the door and strode into the lab.

“Princess!” Sunset cried with a smile.

Twilight immediately dropped into a bow—only to stop herself halfway with an awkward smile.

Celestia chuckled. “How long are you going to do that, Twilight?”

“It’s… a hard habit to break, Your Maj—Princess.”

“I can see that.” Celestia strode over to the table and studied the prototype with a critical eye. “But today isn’t about etiquette. Today is about you. Both of you. I’m eager to see what you have in store for me.”

“We’re ready for our first test run!” Sunset declared. She stood straight and tall, her red and gold mane gleaming in the bright light of the magic lab. “We’ve gone over everything a dozen times—and a dozen more,” Sunset shot a glance at Twilight. “We’re confident in the principles of the project.”

“I still think we should wait for Moon Dancer!” Twilight interjected. “That variance could cause an effect similar to a class-three chaos surge! It would overwhelm the table’s containment spells!”

“Twilight, we’ve been over this! This is just a prototype!”

“And prototypes should be safe!”

“Prototypes aren’t meant to be safe!” Sunset laughed. “The only safe prototype is one that doesn’t work!”

“That reasoning is completely illogical. Safety is of paramount importance in any endeavor. Especially when dealing with the fundamental magics of creation itself!”

“Twilight, that cone is about eight inches high. The most we’re going to get out of it is a little ribbon of light. We’re here to make magic!”

“That isn’t proper terminology and you know it! One can’t make magic.” Twilight slipped into her lecturing voice as easily as the sun slipped through the sky. “Like all energy, it cannot be created or destroyed.”

Sunset gave her friend a long stare. “It’s a figure of speech, Twi.”

Twilight blinked and adjusted her glasses with a flash of magic. “I knew that.”

Celestia coughed politely, which served two purposes. First, it reminded the two mares that she was still here, and secondly, it helped cover her own laugh.

“Sorry, Princess,” Sunset said with a sigh. “Despite assurances, somepony is still somewhat nervous about this. She’s worried the amount of energy will overload everything and get one of us zapped. Even if it’s only partially to scale!”

Twilight blushed hotly. “I just want to be sure!”

“I assure you both,” Celestia said—more for Twilight’s benefit than Sunset’s, “there is little danger. You’ll only be linking it to a single leyline, after all. Even if the entire apparatus were to explode in a shower of chaos-charged crystal shards, it would be a small matter to contain it.”

“I just… I just don’t…” Twilight trailed off, blushing even brighter under Celestia’s gentle smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, Celestia saw Sunset blushing and biting her lip as she watched her friend.

I wonder… should I remind them about our earlier conversation on this topic?Celestia mused. If they are still this easily distracted by one another’s presence—

“She’s afraid of messing up in front of you, Princess,” Sunset blurted out.

“Sunset!” Twilight squealed, burying her face in her hooves.

This time, Celestia couldn’t hide the laugh even if she wanted to. Her chuckle echoed off the lab’s reinforced walls. At least It was enough to bring Twilight out of hiding, though her ears were still flat against her head.

“There is no shame in wanting to do your best, Twilight.” Celestia stepped over and put a hoof on the young mare’s shoulder. “In fact, I remember a young unicorn filly who was once as preoccupied with such concepts as you were. Even more so. I recall once having to light a fire under her to get her to break out of that fear.”

“You didn’t have to do it literally,” Sunset pointed out.

Twilight froze. Her eyes darted back and forth between Sunset and Celestia. “Wait. Princess Celestia, are you saying that you actually tried to set your personal apprentice on fire?”

Celestia smiled down at Twilight. “In my defense, it did seem like a good idea at the time. And I recall it being very successful.”

“Only because the fire exploded!” Sunset flushed, her ears plastered against her head as she refused to meet either of their eyes. She looked almost as petulant as she had all those years ago.

“It would not have exploded if you had simply cast the self-levitation spell instead of trying to douse the flames,” Celestia replied calmly, fighting to suppress her smile.

“You’re telling me,” Twilight said, her eyes huge behind her glasses, “that you not only lit your student on fire, but also blew her up?”

Celestia tapped her hoof on her chin as she considered the question. After the appropriate amount of time, she shrugged. “Technically speaking, she blew herself up.”

Poor Twilight didn’t seem to know how to react. Thankfully, Sunset helped by bursting into laughter. It was enough to get Twilight to relax and before too long, break into giggles of her own. Celestia smiled at both of them.

They may have a complex relationship, but they are good for each other.

“I would like to see your progress, Twilight,” Celestia said. “Though if you’re not ready, I understand.”

Twilight looked to Sunset, who grinned and lifted a hoof in a show of support. Twilight turned back to Celestia, swallowed and shook her head. “No, Princess. Sunset’s right. It’s… it’s just a little test.”

“Wonderful.” Celestia beamed at them. Both blushed, which only made Celestia beam all the harder.

Then Celestia took a few steps back as Twilight and Sunset started the initialization sequence for the spell matrix. Teal intertwined with raspberry as their magic sought out the focal points on the outermost magic circle.

As they worked, Celestia studied the two mares carefully. Sunset was all but bouncing on her hooves. Twilight stuck out her tongue in concentration. Both of them had their eyes squeezed shut. And both had moved closer to one another before casting the spell.

Two months since they reconnected after eight years of guilt and resentment. Two months since the principles of unified harmony magics created a bond between them. Two months since I warned them about the dangers of acting on the heightened emotions created by such a bond.

And while neither of them had acted on that temptation, Celestia found herself agreeing with Raven. It was still a matter of concern.

Yet, she couldn’t separate them. Sunset’s second vision in Starswirl’s Mirror had all but confirmed Twilight was critical to Sunset’s future, perhaps even more so than the rest of her friends.

The outermost pattern of magic ignited in a shining circle of brilliant blue. Smaller lines of magic shot inward. The second pattern started to glow.

Celestia looked up to see both of her students bathed in azure light. Her heart clenched, though she refused to show any outward sign of such a petty emotion.

I’ll have to tell her the whole truth one day, Celestia thought. The truth about the alicorn of fire she saw the first time she peered into my old teacher’s mirror. The truth about the seven colored shadows in the second vision.

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, though she could still tell when the second circle burst with light.

And one day—after she comes home—I’ll have to tell her about what happened in Cloudsdale eight years ago. It’ll be so much easier for Sunset if she isn’t involved with Twilight on that day.

Celestia opened her eyes. Both mares were straining to keep the magical connection between them and the small crystal cone. Two layers of overglow burned around their horns. Beads of sweat poured down Twilight’s face—this level of spellcasting was still new to her—while Sunset looked tense, but in control.

She took a moment to capture this instant in her memory and put it somewhere safe, like a treasured painting. There would come a day where moments like this would be rare.

Sunset, I only hope you can forgive me when you finally learn the truth.

The third and final circle flashed a blinding purplish-pink and lines of magic began to pour into the crystalline cone. Lights strobed within the geometric structure. The hum of crystal filled the air, a gentle soothing tone that calmed Celestia’s nerves and fears.

Celestia’s eyes went wide when a small streamer of rainbow light began to flicker into existence directly above the point of the cone.

The door banged open. Twilight yelped. Sunset jumped. Even Celestia blinked in surprise. All three whirled.

“Sorry I’m late,” Moon Dancer gasped, her chest heaving as she clutched three large books in her magic. “You wouldn’t imagine what I had to go—”

The hum changed to a buzz.

Celestia looked back at the prototype just in time to see the fourth quadrant flicker. Twilight and Sunset gasped. Sunset tried to yank the magic back, but Twilight hesitated.

Her eyes were locked on Moon Dancer.

That split-second pause was enough.

The crystalline cone cracked with a sound like a lightning strike and all four of them jumped. A moment later, the outer circle went black. Wild green magic flashed across the room. Only Sunset’s hasty shield spell saved Twilight and her from getting raked by the unstable magic.

Celestia moved to grab Moon Dancer and yank her over, but just as her magic snapped over the mare, a beam of magic as big around as Celestia’s hoof crashed into Moon Dancer.

The magical feedback knocked Celestia on her tail with a whump. It sent Moon Dancer flying backward, crashing through the doors and out into the hall beyond.

“Princess!” Sunset cried.

“Moon Dancer!” Twilight shouted.

Sunset teleported to Celestia’s side and knelt down beside her. Celestia could feel her student’s magic washing over her, checking for injuries.

“I’m fine, Sunset,” Celestia assured her as she climbed back to her hooves. “You should be more concerned about the state of your—”

Celestia and Sunset froze at the sound of high-pitched giggling coming from the hallway.

“That’s… Twilight?” Sunset said, looking completely bewildered.

Slowly, Sunset and Celestia walked to the door and looked out into the hallway, where Twilight leaned on a wall to prevent herself from falling over laughing.

Moon Dancer sat on the floor, blinking up at them with her bright purple eyes.

These days, Celestia considered Moon Dancer a friend. She’d gotten to know the young filly and watched her help Sunset—and be helped by Sunset. Indeed, she was rather fond of the snarky young mare. As she had once said to Twilight, Celestia appreciated those in her life who treated her as a pony, rather than only as a Princess.

Despite all of that, Celestia couldn’t hold back her own giggle.

Sunset didn’t even try. Within three seconds of seeing Moon Dancer, she’d fallen to the floor, laughing her head off and pounding the wood with her hoof.

“Are… are you okay?” Twilight asked, her concern mixed with her giggles.

“I will be,” Moon Dancer said slowly. “As soon as you all stop laughing at me and fix this!”

Moon Dancer glowered at them all—including Celestia herself. That only brought another round of giggles, as her glower didn’t have quite the same effect coming from a doe.

The chaos surge had quite thoroughly transformed Moon Dancer into a deer. Her horn had vanished. Her features were far more delicate. For some reason, the wild spell had transformed her topknot into flowing locks of red, pink and purple that reached halfway to her hooves. Her legs were delicate and slender. She still had the same cream-colored coat, though she now had a white streak running from her chest and down her belly. She was still Moon Dancer… just Moon Dancer the doe.

Moon Dancer pushed herself to her hooves and stumbled. Twilight managed to pull herself out of her giggles in time to catch her. Moon Dancer shoved her away, blushing furiously, while her hooves glowed ever so softly, something Celestia hadn’t seen over six hundred years.

“You enjoying yourself, Sunny?” Moon Dancer snapped.

“Your tail…” Sunset gasped. “I… I can’t get over your tail!”

Moon Dancer turned to peer at her tail. Except it wasn’t there. Now, there was only a small tuft of cream-colored fur on her flank.

Moon Dancer glowered at Sunset. She managed to pick up one of the books she’d been carrying and with something close to a death glare, she threw the book with all of her might.

It landed two feet short of Sunset. Moon Dancer’s new tail twitched in annoyance.

“I think it’s actually really cute,” Twilight said, blushing and biting her lip.

Moon Dancer groaned and blushed even brighter.

Sunset was too busy laughing to notice.

And that’s when Celestia realized what she’d been missing.

That… could simplify matters, she mused. But if I know Sunset like I think I do… once she realizes what’s going on…

Something inside Celestia twisted, but she had to look at the bigger picture. It was the price of leadership. The price of being the shepherd of both sun and moon. The price of over a millennium of experience.

A price that couldn’t reflect her personal feelings on the subject.

So, she put on her best whimsical diplomatic smile and regarded the three mares.

“Come inside, Moon Dancer,” Celestia said. “Let’s see if we can get you back to normal. And I suspect Sunset and Twilight could use your help in researching this minor snag. Unless anypony has any objections?”

“Let her keep the tail,” Sunset giggled as she pushed herself to her hooves.

“Um… I wouldn’t mind that either,” Twilight said sheepishly.

“You’re both evil!” Moon Dancer snapped—though her blush hadn’t faded.

As Celestia guided the bickering friends back into the laboratory, she reached out and fetched the three books Moon Dancer had been carrying.

“A Study in Chaos Theory,” Celestia said to herself as she eyed Moon Dancer and Twilight. “This may be exactly what they need.”

Celestia breathed out a sigh of relief and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

Author's Note

And so, the Dreamers Arc officially begins in earnest!

Welcome back to Wavelengths, folks! I have done my absolute best to make A Study in Chaos Theory a good entry point into the Wavelengths Timeline. It's a hard balancing act, as I don't want to bore long-time readers but I don't want new readers to be confused. I hope both newcomers and veterans of Wavelengths enjoy it!

If you're interested in how all this came to pass, please check out the Wavelengths Timeline Master Guide (Dark Theme Version || Light Theme Version). There you'll find all of the Wavelengths stories in chronological order with a fancy and slick design!

Saddle up. This is where it starts to get real interesting.

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Twilight Rendezvous

Twilight had never willingly worn a dress in her life.

As a filly, she’d been required to wear dresses for special occasions. She had hated every single occasion without exception.

Not because of the occasions. But because of the dresses.

They were impractical. They were immodest. They were useless. How could a species as intelligent as ponies make such a fuss over external attire when most of the population went around without wearing anything for a vast majority of their lives?

It was madness. Total and complete madness.

Yet, here she was. Minuette was bustling around her with the frightening efficiency and precision Twilight had come to expect from the best clockmaker in Equestria. It was akin to being caught in a localized blue tornado, if she were feeling poetic.

Twilight had learned within one week of being introduced to—well, being reintroduced to—Minuette that the blue unicorn was quite possibly the most stubborn creature in all of Equestria. All Twilight’s attempts to refuse her ‘makeover’ had been pleasantly rebuffed and ignored.

How the mare could be so stubborn and so cheerful about it at the same time was yet another mystery Twilight was forced to chalk up to Minuette being Minuette. And that ‘explanation’ was still under review.

However, if she were to be entirely truthful, it was not Minuette who was responsible for Twilight being subjected to this lunacy. The only reason Twilight had let herself be ‘bullied’ into wearing the blasted thing was because of Cheerilee.

Cheerilee had asked nicely.

“You sure about this?” Twilight asked as she studied herself in the mirror. “I… I haven’t worn anything like this since I was a filly.”

“Yowza,” Minuette chirped as she adjusted the hemline of Twilight’s dress. “You really need to get out more, Twi.”

“Dresses make no logical sense.” Twilight frowned and swished her tail, hidden beneath the folds of fabric flowing over her flanks.

Cheerilee smiled from her spot on the couch. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but—despite what Coco says—fashion rarely makes sense. Well, at least not to me.”

“Oh, it doesn’t make any sense to me either!” Minuette replied in her eternally cheerful voice as she brushed Twilight’s mane with her magic. “But it doesn’t mean dresses don’t look pretty.”

“Well… yeah,” Twilight admitted. “I guess it does.”

Twilight tried to remain still, but her eyes were constantly drawn back to the strange-looking mare in the mirror. The mare who would never wear a medium violet dress with intricate lacework that vaguely resembled leaves along the neckline and the trim. The mare who didn’t find herself distracted by shimmering bits of fabric that looked like stars set into the night sky. The mare who looked… well…

Silly. I look silly. That’s it. Nothing else. Nothing else at all!

“Now, Coco said she had to throw this together from one of Rara’s outfits and you’re a bit smaller than Rara is,” Minuette continued. “But I think she did a pretty good job.”

“She has been designing clothes for most of her life,” Cheerilee pointed out. “It’s part of her talent, after all.”

“That’s true,” Minuette said with a shrug. “Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it! Now, about the front of your mane…”

“No!” Twilight squeaked, backing away even as her bangs bounced off her muzzle. “Not the bangs!”

Cheerilee smiled wanly. “You don’t want to do something special for your very first date?”

“I…. I wasn’t expecting to have a date!” Twilight wailed, throwing her hooves in the air. “This happened so fast. I don’t even really understand what’s going on! I… this… am I really… am I really about to go out with…” She swallowed hard. “Moon Dancer? On a date?”

Minuette and Cheerilee shared a look. Twilight went red and stared at her hooves. She’d refused to wear the matching shoes. It just didn’t feel like her. It didn’t feel right.

Most of this didn’t feel right. But, it didn’t really feel wrong either. She wanted to scream. Instead, she just buried her face in her hooves and groaned.

“You don’t have to do this, Twi,” Cheerilee said, her voice gentle. “If this makes you feel uncomfortable—”

“What makes this uncomfortable is that it’s happening so fast!” Twilight cried, flinging her hooves into the air again. “Did you know I was up most of Friday night pacing? Trying to figure out what I had done to Sunset and Moon Dancer to make them so mad at me? At least, I thought they were mad at me. Moon Dancer sure acted mad. Sunset… she was just confusing. But I spent the entire night pacing! And I couldn’t come up with a thing! No, that’s not true. I came up with a ton of hypotheses… including the one that ended up… that ended up being…” Twilight’s voice faded to a whisper. “...the right one.”

She heard one of them shuffle her hooves, but she couldn’t look at them to tell which.

“And then… last night…” Twilight slumped onto her flanks and stared at nothing. “Last night I just stared at the ceiling until sometime after three in the morning…”

Nopony said a word, but she could feel their eyes on her.

“What am I doing?” Twilight whispered, more to herself than anypony else.

Ever since yesterday, her thoughts had wandered back to that afternoon below the Royal Canterlot Archives. Again and again. It never stopped. The place where she’d seen Sunset’s whole life. The place where she made a connection with another pony for the first time in years. And that pony… that pony had feelings… for her.

A pony who’s the personal protege of Princess Celestia herself. She’s the daughter of two of the most powerful ponies in all of Canterlot! Her family is rich beyond imagination! And one day… she’ll be an alicorn.

One day, Sunset Shimmer will be a Princess.

And Sunset Shimmer had feelings for her.

Feelings that were in direct contradiction of a request by the ruler of Equestria. And national leaders didn’t give requests. Not as far as Twilight was concerned. Granted, she may have gotten to know the Princess a little better in the last couple of months, but she was still Princess Celestia for pony’s sake! She’d ruled Equestria for a thousand years. Her knowledge was unmatched. Her kindness. Her insight.

Her wisdom.

The Princess had said she had seen this sort of thing before. She had warned them that the connection might be false.

It was the ‘might be’ that befuddled and vexed Twilight to no end.

Movement caught her eye and she looked up to see Cheerilee sitting across from her, smiling patiently. Minuette was fiddling with something on the kitchen counter.

“Twilight, I know you’re scared. A lot’s changed for you in the last few months.”

“That’s an understatement,” Twilight muttered.

Cheerilee laughed lightly. “It probably is. Tell me something though… what exactly scares you?”

“Everything,” Twilight replied instantly.

Cheerilee’s green eyes didn’t shift in the slightest, but Twilight knew she wasn’t about to accept that as an answer.

“Fine!” Twilight said, throwing both hooves into the air for a third time. She almost sent her glasses flying. “I like Sunset.”

“Do you like Moon Dancer?”

“You’re not exactly being subtle tonight,” Twilight pointed out.

“You’re a grown mare, Twilight.” Cheerilee chuckled. “I don’t think you need me to treat you like a little filly. I’m pretty sure you can take it.”

Twilight swallowed. She didn’t need to think about it. Sunset’s words had made her think about it yesterday. And last night. And most of this morning.

“Yes,” she murmured.

“Why?”

“You did this with Sunset, didn’t you?” Twilight glared at her friend.

“Yes, I did.” Cheerilee admitted without looking even slightly repentant. “And I’m pretty sure Rara is doing it with Moon Dancer right now. Now, answer the question, young filly.”

Twilight didn’t argue with the ‘filly’ comment. After all, Cheerilee was the oldest of Sunset’s little group. A little group that had somehow grown to include Twilight Sparkle, of all ponies.

Twilight sighed and played with the lining of her dress. “She was the only pony who could keep up with me.”

Minuette suddenly stopped pretending to be busy and let out a short bark of a laugh.

“What?” Twilight demanded. Even Cheerilee looked vaguely annoyed.

“Sunset once told Moon Dancer the same thing. It was one of the reasons she started tutoring her.”

Twilight flushed. “Well… it’s still true. She’s the best librarian outside of the RCA. For pony’s sake, I know she could run circles around almost anypony in the RCA. But she works out in the Cosmo. She works with anypony. With everypony. She really cares about other ponies and helping them. She loves reading just as much as I do. She studies just because she loves studying. She was always like that… and… and… she kept trying…”

“Kept trying…?” Cheerilee trailed off, studying Twilight carefully. Twilight couldn’t hold the teacher’s gaze for long before once more her head dropped and she was staring at her hooves.

A few long moments passed before Cheerilee answered her own unspoken question. “She kept trying to reach out to you.”

Twilight nodded.

“When I saw her expression that night at Rosy Quartz? The restaurant we all went to?” Cheerilee had been in Ponyville at the time, but the teacher had heard the story so many times it was like she’d been there anyway. “I knew she hadn’t given up on me. Not all the way. Even though I deserved it.”

“You two are a pair…” Cheerilee mumbled.

“Who?” Twilight blinked a few times, confused. “Moon Dancer and me?”

Cheerilee shook her head. “Nothing, Twilight. Sorry. Got distracted for a second.”

Twilight wasn’t sure she believed her, but at this point, she was so desperate for help, she decided to let it pass. “So… yeah. That’s why.”

“It sounds like there could be something special there,” Cheerilee said. “You two are a lot alike.”

“You’re almost twins!” Minuette chirped from behind the teacher.

“Not helping, Minuette,” Cheerilee said with a suffering sigh.

“But… what about Sunset?” Twilight asked, tapping her hooves together.

Cheerilee took a deep breath as Twilight looked up. Now it was Cheerilee’s turn to stare at the floor of Twilight’s living room.

“Twilight…” Cheerilee paused for a moment before diving in. “Sunset’s in a strange place right now. She doesn’t think it’s a good idea to complicate things. I know you’ve got this magical connection with her, but she’s just not ready for anything. And believe me when I tell you it really isn’t you.”

Twilight swallowed as memories bubbled up to the surface. Only they weren’t hers. They were memories of Sunset’s failures, the times where she’d been berated and called a monster. The times when she hadn’t cared. And worse… the times when she had. Throughout it all, Twilight could feel Sunset’s guilt.

She saw herself a few times, too. She pushed those memories away. She’d already stolen these memories. They didn’t belong to her. She wished she could give them back.

She knew better.

I wonder if these will ever go away? I don’t like having another pony’s memories inside of me. I shouldn’t get to see inside Sunset like this. She paused. Then again… she got to see me like this, didn’t she?

That led Twilight to another hypothesis.

Maybe that’s what’s really going on here. Maybe more of those memories have come up in her head. Maybe she realized that she doesn’t want to have that connection with me and she’s just trying to spare my feelings.

Twilight nodded to herself. She wasn’t sure if that was sound logic, but considering how guilty Sunset felt all the time, it would be just like her to hide something like that. She did care about Twilight, even if she wasn’t interested in her. Maybe it had been an act to spare Twilight’s feelings.

But, all the looks I saw… all the blushes and awkward moments… those weren’t an act, were they? They couldn’t have been!

It still made more sense. Sunset was trying to spare Twilight the pain of rejection. Maybe something new had happened. Maybe Sunset had some sort of insight or revelation.

And she was being a good friend.

“Bit for your thoughts?” Cheerilee asked.

Twilight blinked and looked around. She’d been so lost inside of her own head she’d forgotten where she was. It had been a long time since that had happened.

Actually, no. That had last happened Tuesday.

She usually got lost in her own head on Tuesdays. Now that she thought about it, she usually tripped over her coffee table on Tuesdays too.

Twilight turned to glare at her coffee table. It hadn’t struck again yet, but she knew it was a matter of time.

“Is it strange to name a piece of furniture?” Twilight asked.

“Uh…” Cheerilee sounded totally befuddled. Which was fine. Twilight was in a similar state of mind. She didn’t object to having company there.

“Nope!” Minuette replied. “I have names for all my favorite clocks.”

The logic was Minuette logic, but at the moment, Twilight would take any logic she could get.

“I’m naming my coffee table Tuesday.”

“Uh… why?” Cheerilee asked.

“Because Tuesdays are trouble,” Twilight declared.

“It’s Sunday,” Cheerilee pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter. Tuesdays are still trouble. And that coffee table is trouble. Therefore, I’m naming my coffee table Tuesday.”

Twilight turned to look at Minuette and Cheerilee. Minuette still wore her eternal smile. Cheerilee now looked befuddled, where before she had only sounded befuddled.

“Sounds good to me!” Minuette chirped.

“If you say so,” Cheerilee said with a hesitant shrug. “But, somehow… I suspect you weren’t thinking about your coffee table.”

Twilight’s ears flattened and she shook her head.

“Twilight, please listen.” Cheerilee put a hoof out and touched her shoulder. “No matter where Sunset is right now, you have a choice. You don’t have to do this. Say the word and we’ll put a stop to it. I know Sunset doesn’t want to force you into this.”

Twilight glanced back at her lurking coffee table. She remembered all the pacing she’d done in the last two months. Confusion about who she was. About where she belonged. What she was doing with her life.

She’d never trade her life at the RCA for anything in the world. It was what she was meant to do. Her destiny, though she had somewhat mixed feelings on that particular concept.

But this new life that she had suddenly been thrust into? That was something else entirely.

So yes, she’d done a lot of pacing. A lot of thinking. A lot of pondering.

Because she’d been scared. She still was. She was scared every time she was in the presence of the Princess of the Sun. She was scared of making an idiot out of herself every time she was with one of her new friends. She was scared of Sunset and what she might actually think of Twilight… or what Sunset might actually be doing to herself. She was scared of trying to rebuild that special relationship she’d had with Moon Dancer.

She was scared of everything.

But she couldn’t just hide in the RCA anymore. Sunset Shimmer had ruined that option. Sunset Shimmer had reintroduced her to a thing called ‘friendship.’ She’d even started to teach her about it.

So maybe… this is another lesson. And I can always handle another lesson. I need all the lessons I can get.

Some part of her recognized the rationalizations for what they were. The rest of her told that part of her to shut up and go sit in a corner somewhere.

Tonight scared her. But, if there was one thing she’d learned from Sunset’s lessons, it was that sometimes you needed to do what scared you. In fact, that had been her very first lesson. One first taught by Sunset and reinforced by the Princess of the Sun.

It was time to put it into practice.

“Twilight?” Cheerilee asked, a faint frown on her face. “You’re spending a lot of time in your head today.”

“I know,” Twilight admitted. “I’m sorry. Just… working some stuff out.”

“There’s a lot to work out,” Minuette said. “Sunny’s a confusing pony. Moon Dancer is too, but she isn’t as bad.”

Twilight looked at the two of them. Cheerilee had only been her friend for about two months. Minuette had been her friend before Twilight had even understood the concept, but that had been a long time ago. Both had been completely accepting of her.

One was an old friend from back at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. One was entirely new. And both of them had come here to help make this evening happen.

To help her. And to help their other friend, Moon Dancer.

Twilight’s first friend.

And for the first time since yesterday, Twilight found herself able to think about the potential she had with Moon Dancer. What it might be like to actually go out with her. Not in an abstract manner like some sort of observing scientist… but what it would be like to look across a candle-lit table at Moon Dancer’s pretty eyes.

To Twilight’s surprise, she found herself wondering what the second date would be like.

That’s when she knew. It was simple.

“So, Sunset set all of this up, huh?” Twilight asked. It wasn’t the first time she’d asked it. But it was the first time she’d really wanted to know the answer.

“Yup!” Minuette replied. “Already got everything ready for you. Reservations, a private balcony, the whole nine yards.”

“Sunset really wants to make this happen.” This time, it wasn’t a question.

“She’s doing her best,” Cheerilee replied. “And so are we.”

Twilight slowly pulled herself to her hooves and took a deep breath. Then another. And one more for good measure.

She wondered if there were any spells that could help a racing heart. Maybe a potion? Alchemy wasn’t her strongest subject, but she knew her way around a mortar and pestle. It would be something she’d have to look into.

After tonight.

With one last deep breath, she nodded.

“I think I’m ready.”

Cheerilee and Minuette smiled. With a wave of Minuette’s magic, the door opened and the crisp evening air of Canterlot flooded into the somewhat stuffy living room.

“After you,” Cheerilee said.

Twilight nodded. It took a little effort to take the first step. But the second was easier.

After she got to the eighteenth, even she hardly noticed the hesitation.

Author's Note

“You two are a pair…” Cheerilee mumbled.

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Observer Effect

Moon Dancer almost fell over laughing when Twi faceplanted into the ice. Moon Dancer took a spin around Twi, giggling all the way.

“You,” Twi muttered, her face still against the ice, “are such a pain in the flank!”

Moon Dancer did a flying leap over Twi.

“Why, thank you!”

Inarticulate grumbling came from the lavender heap as Twi tried to get herself back on her hooves. Eventually, Moon Dancer had pity on her marefriend and helped her up.

“Why did I let you talk me into this?” Twi moaned as she wobbled slowly alongside Moon Dancer.

“Because it’s cute to watch you embarrass yourself. And fun. Really fun.”

“Better question: why do I put up with you, again?” Twi asked with a sidelong glance at her.

“Because I’m adorable?” Moon Dancer grinned and fluttered her eyelashes. “Brilliant? Smooth? Generally just… amazing? Almost even… awesome?”

Twi seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking her head.

“No, pretty sure it’s not any those. I think I do because nopony else will. I’m helping Equestria by saving them from dealing with you.”

“Your sacrifice is noted,” Moon Dancer said solemnly. “Future generations will sing praises of your glorious victory against the awesomeness of Moon Dancer.”

Twi groaned, then yanked Moon Dancer’s hat down over her eyes with her magic.

“Hey!” Moon Dancer squawked. “No fair!”

Twi’s giggles were all that she heard for a bit until she managed to pry it off and get her glasses back on straight.

By then, Twi had faceplanted again.

From the other side of the ice rink, Sunny was chuckling at the pair of them, alongside the rest of their friends. More than anything, Moon Dancer knew whatever Twi and her went through tonight was worth it to get Sunny laughing again. Even if Moon Dancer suspected the laughter wasn’t completely real.

For the last month, Sunny had done her best to hide her feelings about Moon Dancer and Twi’s reborn relationship.

To be honest, Moon Dancer still felt a little guilty, even though there was no good reason for it. Of course, she’d been ticked off at Sunny for the whole spying thing for a bit—even if Sunny had warned her—but probably not for the reason she suspected. The real reason was because she knew her best friend too well. She had a pretty strong suspicion how Sunny had taken seeing the reunion with Twi.

She’d tried to bring it up a few times to Sunny, but Sunny each time insisted that she was happy for the two of them.

And somehow, Moon Dancer believed her. Sunny was actually happy for them. She really was. But there were parts of Sunny that weren’t. Those were the parts that bothered Moon Dancer.

Moon Dancer had been raised on logic, rational thinking and critical analysis. Those were her specialties. And she knew none of them would help Sunny work through that part of her.

There wasn’t much she could do.

As she once more helped Twi to her hooves and they began skating in slow, simple circles, she continued to watch Sunny out of the corner of her eye.

Moon Dancer would do anything for Sunny. Despite her own misgivings, Sunny was worth it. But what happened when what Sunny wanted and what she said were two different things?

Even as she bumped against Twi, enjoying the warmth of the pony who’d actually let Moon Dancer get somewhere with a silly fillyhood crush, she wondered. She wondered what would happen.

At the moment, things appeared simple.

Moon Dancer and Twilight Sparkle were enjoying a bumbling night in the Canterlot Garden Ice Rink as their friends watched them.

But she knew better. Things weren’t simple. They were complicated. They would probably get more complicated.

As Sunny turned to show off the latest additions to the Spire project to the rest of their friends, Moon Dancer made a decision.

The future would probably be complicated.

But she was going to enjoy the simple times as much as she could.

With a grin, she grabbed Twi’s forelegs and spun them around, laughing and enjoying every single second.

Fact: I am terrible at ice skating and will never, ever, ever, ever allow myself to be talked into such a stupid thing again!

Moon Dancer finally released Twilight from the enforced spin which had only caused her to feel a great deal more dizzy, making her even more unsteady on her hooves. In fact, the spinning—while fun—had proven that she was not a pony meant to be on anything other than hard, solid surfaces with a proper traction and friction ratio.

Moon Dancer seemed disinclined to acquiesce to this fact, however.

So, she did the best she could. She’d rather be over with Sunset showing off their latest developments on the Spire project. That was something she could handle. Something that did not require constant movement on treacherous terrain.

Yet still, she found a certain sense of exhilaration in the freedom of… well, not being in control. Despite her protests and grumblings, Twilight found the activity of ice skating to be entertaining, if only for the amusement Moon Dancer gathered from Twilight’s bumbling attempts at frictionless locomotion.

She smiled as she once again started to skate toward her friends with Moon Dancer steadying her the entire way. She could feel the other unicorn’s magic on her hooves, keeping them straight—when she wanted to at least. It was a tiny gesture, the equivalent of training wheels. But it was appreciated.

She glanced over at the pony she had decided was her marefriend. Moon Dancer’s face was red from the cold, but Twilight could see blush beneath it. The other unicorn’s glasses were slightly foggy and her breath came out in puffs of frost. Her red and purple mane was mostly wrapped underneath a woolen grey cap while her scarf fluttered behind her. Most of her body was hidden beneath her black winter coat.

Fact: Moon Dancer is definitely beautiful.

But more than anything, the two most attractive things about Moon Dancer were her wide smile and the way her eyes sparkled every time she looked at Twilight. If Twilight hadn’t known better, she’d suspected Minuette had been giving Moon Dancer lessons to better accomplish that smile.

Instead, she knew that the smile was—somehow— a result of Moon Dancer’s involvement with her.

This was a known fact. It had been stated within her mind numerous times. However, she found it helpful to remind herself from time to time. But what was more important was to remind herself of the second fact.

Fact: I am dating my first and best friend.

With snow now falling regularly as Hearth’s Warming Eve approached, they had taken to studying more at each other’s homes. More often than not, they fell asleep with some random book in their lap.

Moon Dancer had even been instrumental in helping them finalize the first stage of the spellwork for the Spire. The Princess had approved Moon Dancer coming on permanently to help Sunset and Twilight in their studies on unified harmony magic, though she had sensed some faint hesitation at first.

And while Twilight could pretend to have no idea why that hesitation had been present, in truth, Twilight knew the source of it.

Despite all that, Sunset had been… amazing.

After the first week, Sunset had returned with a renewed vigor, determined to repair her somewhat atrophied friendship with Moon Dancer and continue developing her friendship with Twilight. After the rather mortifying confession regarding just what their friends had witnessed on Moon Dancer and Twilight’s first date, there hadn’t been nearly as many awkward pauses or faint blushes between Sunset and herself.

Some part of Twilight missed that. But awkward moments paled in comparison to watching the snow fall through Moon Dancer’s front window over mugs of hot cider.

Fact: Three months ago, I could have counted the ponies I called friends on my hooves.

Fact: Today, I not only have more friends than I know what to do with… but I have a marefriend as well.

If she was completely honest with herself—and if she couldn’t be honest with herself, her time studying had been wasted quite thoroughly—she would have to admit this entire thing was moving far faster than Twilight would have thought possible. It seemed ludicrous that a pony who had originally signed on with the Royal Canterlot Archives just to escape these ponies now embraced them as friends. And one as more.

When she stopped and thought about it… she occasionally wondered.

They eventually slid up to the large covered pavilion where Twilight, Sunset and Moon Dancer had put out their prototype of the Spire in the middle of a collection of couches the Princess had been generous enough to have set up for them. Coco and Rara were sitting together—as usual—laughing over something Minuette had just said one seat over. Cheerilee was speaking with Sunset on the far side of the Spire table. All of them were bundled up against the Canterlot snow and had either hot cider or hot chocolate beside them. Even though their breaths puffed with every exhalation, none of them looked even slightly interested in going inside.

Despite Moon Dancer’s complaints, Twilight decided she was done with skating for the moment. She was quite happy to let somepony else make a fool out of themselves. Moon Dancer pouted a little, but she wasn’t putting nearly enough effort into it to actually mean it.

Fact: I’m becoming better at reading ponies through these relationships.

After a moment, she decided to revise this conclusion.

Fact: I’m decent at reading Moon Dancer.

Twilight’s gaze fell on Sunset.

Fact: In the last month, I have become both better and worse at reading Sunset.

This troubled her, but she was also willing to accept it as something she could do little about. While Moon Dancer had attempted to broach the subject numerous times with Sunset, Sunset hadn’t been interested. She’d smiled, assured the two of them that she was happy they were doing so well in their newfound relationship and quickly changed the subject.

No, she wasn’t good at reading most ponies. She knew that Sunset still had unresolved emotions regarding Twilight. However, this was something Princess Celestia had warned them about. And every time she thought about Sunset, and what Twilight had seen that afternoon three months ago, she thought about the following day.

“Both of you are just learning to be friends. Do not complicate matters. Such magic tends to magnify emotional states. What you feel at present may not be the truth.”

Celestia was wise beyond comprehension. She was a goddess in all but name. She was a being of astounding power, with the ability—and responsibility—to manipulate planetary bodies every single day. She had negotiated treaties with Diamond Dogs, fought alongside Dragon Lords, had tea with ancient Griffon Kings and walked the secret places of the Deerfolk.

And when she saw the Princess with Sunset Shimmer, she saw something that boggled her mind. A warmth and love that surpassed all but the expressions she had seen in her own mother’s face.

Twilight knew she would never have that kind of relationship with the Princess of the Sun. And, in truth, she was fine with that. The idea of becoming so intimate with royalty was terrifying. Yet, Celestia had taken her on as a second student beside Sunset. She had set the two of them on a path to friendship… a path Twilight didn’t see an end to. Celestia treated her as an equal to Sunset Shimmer in all ways, save for that special expression.

Twilight had not met Sunset’s parents. From the occasional passing comment from one of her newfound friends or Sunset herself, she had no real desire to do so. Sunset had made it abundantly clear that she wanted nothing to do with her parents and Twilight respected Sunset too much to go digging into her past without permission.

With a lack of evidence to the contrary, Twilight had determined that, at present, Celestia herself was the closest thing Sunset had to a mother figure. Celestia and Sunset both reacted in a way consistent with this hypothesis. This fact continued to astound her.

When Twilight combined the ageless wisdom of the Princess of the Sun with the maternal manner in which she behaved around Sunset Shimmer, Twilight found herself completely unable to object to the Princess’s warning.

“Both of you are just learning to be friends. Do not complicate matters. Such magic tends to magnify emotional states. What you feel at present may not be the truth.”

Sunset had decided to listen to the Princess. Twilight could do no less. No matter the bond between them, she did not intend to complicate matters further. They were already complicated enough.

Fact: What I have with Moon Dancer is complicated too… but at the same time, simple.

And there was a great deal of comfort to be found in that fact.

“Equestria to Twilight?” Moon Dancer nearly shouted in her ear.

Twilight jumped to the side, glad she had put her boots back on and was no longer wearing those infernal skates. “Gah! Wha? What happened? What’s going on?”

Then she suddenly realized everypony was staring at her as if she had been spouting limericks in dragonese.

“You’ve been out of it for a good few minutes, Twi,” Moon Dancer said with a laugh. “Seriously, you need to come up for air once in a while. You’ll drown in that head of yours.”

Twilight just huffed at her, which only made Moon Dancer smile more. For some reason, the other mare seemed to enjoy it when Twilight acted in a petulant manner. So, Twilight played along. She may not understand much about this sort of relationship, but Twilight was a good student and a quick learner.

Moon Dancer levitated over a mug of cider. Twilight greedily took a few gulps, feeling the pleasant warmth rush through her body and beat away the winter chill. With a sigh, she settled herself on one of the unoccupied couches near the Spire.

“So, you ready to show us what this thing can do?” Minuette asked as she peered at the runes. “I have to admit… I really want to see it in action.”

“Despite all this, well…” Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “I’m not sure it’s ready for any sort of test yet.”

“It’s not completed,” Twilight chimed in. “It won’t be for some time. A few months minimum. Perhaps up to half a year.”

Sunset nodded. “But since Moon Dancer here helped with the foundation, we thought you all should at least see it.”

“Oh come on, can’t you try to turn it on?” Minuette pouted, using her best puppy dog eyes on both Sunset and Twilight.

“I’d like to point out that thing turned me into a deer.” Moon Dancer muttered.

“You helped fix that imbalance!” Twilight cried.

“Doesn’t mean I trust it!” Moon Dancer stuck out her tongue.

“To be honest,” Rara said with a smile. “I don’t even know what this thing is supposed to do.”

Coco raised a hoof. “I don’t really know either.”

Cheerilee chuckled to herself, grabbed another mug of hot cider and settled onto a smaller couch.

“I believe your class is getting restless, Sunny.” Cheerilee smiled. “After all, you can’t show off a shiny new toy to the fillies and expect them not to want to play with it.”

Sunset shot her a glare. “More playground wisdom?”

Cheerilee shrugged, but she didn’t disagree. “I’ve found it works no matter where you go.”

Twilight met Sunset’s gaze. Twilight and Sunset both knew what this would take to activate, even in its primitive state. Finally, Sunset seemed to make a decision. She nodded, but gestured to Moon Dancer with her head.

Twilight nodded in response.

Neither of them had said it. Neither of them had even told Moon Dancer.

It wasn’t strictly a lie. It was just an omission that, if revealed, would complicate things even more. And the Princess had said to avoid such things.

So instead, they both turned to Moon Dancer, who blinked in surprise after a puff of steam from her hot chocolate fogged her glasses.

“What?” she asked.

“Looks like we’ll need your help to get things started, Moony.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “As usual, we don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Moon Dancer grinned. “Of course you don’t!”

Twilight rolled her eyes too.

“Thankfully,” Moon Dancer continued as she set down the cup. “You don’t have to worry about ever being without me. You’re all stuck with me. It’s a hard burden to bear, but I’ll take on the responsibility of putting up with you all.”

Twilight tried to pull down Moon Dancer’s cap again, but she was ready this time.

Moon Dancer wasn’t so ready for the snowball Minuette threw at her face.

Moon Dancer laughed as she wiped the slush from her eyes. “You’ll pay for that later, you blue menace.”

“Uh huh.” Minuette teased, her smile never fading. “Just like last time, right?”

“So, you going to help us or what?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on Twi, let’s fire this thing up.”

They’re laughing at you. All of them can see through those shields you try to keep up. They can see just how much this is messing you up inside.

I’m not messed up, Sunset snapped back. I’m fine.

Liar. You can barely look at the two of them without getting jealous. What would your dear Princess think to find that her prized student is positively green with envy?

Doesn’t matter. She’ll never know. None of them will.

Oh yeah, because that’ll go so well. Just keep repressing your feelings, Sunset. Just keep trotting down that path. You refused to come to me like you should have. The fact is... you’ll end up like me one way or another. It’s inevitable.

Sunset bucked the voice as hard as she could. She swore she heard it laughing as it retreated into the depths of her mind. But years of practice with Celestia had taught her how to keep her composure. Well, at least sometimes. So, she didn’t let any of it show. Not a single bit.

She refused to do that to her friends.

Anyway, if this was going to work, she needed to focus. She couldn’t let her angry little pony even near her. She had to do this. Not just to show the project off to her friends.

She needed to know she could still make it work.

Six weeks ago, just a few days after the snowball fight to end all snowball fights, Twilight and Sunset had run their first test. And it had worked. They’d managed to actually generate a localized field of magic using the principles of unified spellwork. For lack of a better term, they had created a field of pure Harmony magic. Granted, their tests beyond the proof-of-concept stage hadn’t exactly met with perfect results, but they knew the theory was sound.

Despite that, there had been… complications.

Only Sunset and Twilight knew the truth, though Sunset suspected that the Princess knew, too.

When they’d tried it three weeks ago—just after Twilight’s first date with Moon Dancer—the Spire had refused to work.

Sunset remembered the emptiness. The failure. The vicious words of her angry little pony. The look in Twilight’s eyes. That last one had been the worst. That had done more damage than anything her angry little pony could say.

So, Sunset had asked the Princess if Moon Dancer could help full-time.

The silence had been painful. As for when Celestia had actually said yes… she still didn’t know what to think about that.

So, Moon Dancer had helped. She’d reinforced the foundation. The framework of the amplifiers. The ley crystal antenna. Refined it. And then she’d—

Sunset shook her head when she realized both Twilight and Moon Dancer were looking at her. Both of them had vaguely concerned expressions. Both so similar… yet so different…

“You two ready?” Sunset asked.

She didn’t explain her hesitation. They didn’t ask.

They both nodded.

“Moon Dancer, fire it up.”

Moon Dancer’s horn ignited and magic flowed into the arcane runes about the base of the half-complete crystalline spire. If Sunset was feeling particularly generous, she could have said it looked like some castle of ice. Granted, a half-finished one that had been trampled by a filly or two, but there was some small resemblance.

It only took a few seconds for Moon Dancer’s magic to stabilize the necessary spellwork. Runes pulsed on and off in a slow rhythm that matched her breathing.

The rest of the girls crowded around, giving ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ as the light show continued. But the spire itself was still inert. Now, came the hard part.

This would be easier if I could pull on the sun…

But the chilly winter night wasn’t going to make things easy on her.

“Ready, Twilight?” Sunset asked.

Twilight adjusted her glasses, moving them up her muzzle, nibbled on a bang for a few seconds and then finally nodded.

“Then let’s do it.”

Bolts of teal and raspberry magic blasted down into the base of the spire. Twilight took a step back, her horn still glowing. She needed to fire only once. Sunset on the other hoof…

Come to think of it, Sunset would be shocked if Celestia didn’t know the truth.

With a deft twist of her magic, she connected the framework of the base to the tower itself, linking Twilight’s magic with Moon Dancer’s magic. She kept her magic there, a tether between the two, allowing raw power to flow into the crystalline core of the arcane device.

Something in the depths of the Spire glowed for a few seconds before a burst of rainbow streamers erupted from with a series of quick hisses. They flickered around, as if seeking something. Sunset ignored the fact that they ended up all pointing at Twilight and Moon Dancer.

Sweating with the effort of keeping the connection going, she nodded at the girls.

“Go ahead, just reach out and touch them.”

Minuette, of course, was first. The moment one of the streamers came in contact with her hoof, her expression changed instantly. A look of wonder passed over her eyes.

“Wow…” she murmured.

That, apparently, was enough. Rara was next, followed by Cheerilee. Finally, Coco tentatively brushed one of the threads of magic.

Each of them just stared at the three unicorns in wonder.

“That felt…” Minuette mumbled. “It felt like… I don’t even know!”

“Reminded me of the night we met Trixie,” Rara said in the same hushed tone.

“Like a hug from my mother,” Cheerilee said, her eyes a million miles away.

“It was like the smiles from the Midsummer Theater Revival…” Coco whispered.

Finally, Sunset felt the magic starting to slip. Moon Dancer quickly tapped one of the streamers with a hoof. Twilight did it a moment later. Sunset darted a hoof forward and managed to catch the last rainbow thread an instant before it vanished.

And for a split second, she felt Celestia’s wing around her.

“What was that?” Minuette asked, staring at the Spire in wonder.

“Harmony,” Twilight whispered, filled with awe and reverence. “What we felt… it was touching the magic of the world itself.”

“You know…” Moon Dancer’s voice was odd. The usual snark was gone, replaced by a calm… almost meditative tone. “You never did say why the Princess had you working on this thing.”

Sunset almost answered, but the sensation of Celestia’s wing around her was far too fleeting. The comfort faded quickly and she was left with a cold shiver down her spine.

“She said it was to help us understand the fundamentals of magic,” Twilight explained.

Sunset nodded in agreement. But she could feel the eyes of Moon Dancer and Rara on her, as if they knew that wasn’t the whole truth.

Still… she didn’t elaborate. After all, repeating Celestia’s cryptic one-word response of “Training” wouldn’t help anypony.

Least of all, Sunset.

Sunset smiled, trying to put as much truth into the expression as she could.

“Hey, I’m going to grab another thing of hot cider. Why don’t you girls stay out here? I’ll be right back.”

“Are you sure—” Rara began, but Coco tapped her shoulder. To Sunset’s surprise, there were tears in the small mare’s eyes, but they seemed to be tears of joy. Rara nodded at Sunset and then turned to her friend.

Minuette and Cheerilee were talking in hushed tones on the other side of the table, with Minuette gesturing wildly.

Finally, she swallowed and met Moon Dancer’s and Twilight’s unreadable stares.

Sunset smiled at the two of them, forcing herself to remember that she was actually happy for the two mares. Her newest friend and her oldest friend. A pony she’d known for years… and a pony who’s mind she’d seen.

They were perfect for one another.

Sunset wasn’t going to let anything ruin that.

Not even me.

She nodded at them and headed out toward the doorway to the castle proper. The snow had started to fall again. Every hoofstep crunched in the white slush. Occasionally, it would crack where a bit of snow had solidified into a thicker patch. She ignored it and focused on her goal.

She could feel the eyes of her two friends still on her, but she didn’t look back. However, she did look up.

The glimmer of white on the balcony above was all she needed to see.

I’ll make you proud, Sunset thought up at her. I promise.

And she headed inside to get more hot cider for her friends.

Author's Note

One final chapter remains. One more viewpoint must be seen before we close the curtains on this tale. I'll see you next week for the finale of A Study on Chaos Theory.

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!

Epilogue: Sequence Halt

The snow drifted down in lazy flakes, but Princess Celestia couldn’t find it in herself to slip back under the patio umbrella. Philomena sat beside her on the railing, enjoying the sensation of the tiny flakes of white bursting into steam upon contact with her feathers. Only Raven remained beneath the umbrella, clipboard floating in a field of pale red magic. At least she had the sense to not stand out in the snow.

“Princess…”

Celestia didn’t respond. She watched as Sunset, Twilight and Moon Dancer triggered the Spire. She watched as Sunset’s friends touched the thin streams of Harmony that curled upward from the device. She watched as they spoke after, their expressions ones of wonder and awe.

She watched as Sunset walked away.

Raven finally joined her and peered down at the group of friends just as Sunset paused and looked up at the balcony.

Celestia didn’t look away. She owed Sunset more than that.

Then, her young student turned and disappeared into the castle.

“Your Majesty, I am concerned.”

“For whom, Raven?” Celestia asked. Her eyes slid back to the ground of friends.

Moon Dancer gave Twilight a little nuzzle and Minuette laughed at something Cheerilee had said.

“Both of you.”

Celestia smiled wanly, though she didn’t turn away from the scene of camaraderie and friendship playing out below her. “You do tend to worry, Raven.”

“I think I have good cause.”

“I never said you didn’t.” Celestia twitched as a particularly cold snowflake brushed against one of her ears. “Tell me, Raven… when I am together with Sunset, what do you see?”

“Your Majesty?” Raven shifted slightly, apparently surprised by the sudden change in topic. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a simple enough question,” Celestia replied smoothly. Her eyes slid to the door through which Sunset had disappeared. “How would you define my dynamic with Sunset Shimmer?”

Raven hesitated. Celestia couldn’t blame her. After all, the first answer likely to have come to her aide’s mind had rather far-reaching implications.

As Coloratura tried to drag a protesting Coco Pommel out onto the ice, Celestia wondered if Raven would attempt to hide her instinctual reaction.

After a long time, Raven finally said a single word.

“Family.”

Celestia smiled again. “You’re disseminating a little, Raven. We both know it. Speak your mind.”

Raven sighed audibly. “Why are you asking this, Princess? It will only hurt you.”

“Because I wish to hear it from the pony in all of Equestria who knows me best. Indulge me.”

Raven didn’t seem happy about it, but she did indulge her. “When I look at the two of you, I see a mother and her daughter.”

Celestia nodded slowly. Below them, both Coco and Coloratura went down in a heap. Philomena chuckled.

“You’ve said as much in the past,” Raven pointed out. “I reminded you of it that night in the Equestrian Secret Service when we discovered the Cloudsdale Report.”

“Indeed,” Celestia replied easily. “What do you think Sunset sees?”

This time, Raven didn’t hesitate.

“She sees you as the mother she never had. Somepony who accepts her for what she is, instead of what she should be.”

Moon Dancer and Twilight joined their friends on the ice, much to Twilight’s consternation.

“And therein lies the greatest irony of all,” Celestia replied. She shifted her wings and two sheets of snow slid to the balcony’s surface. “I accept Sunset wholeheartedly. Both because of who she is and because of who she will become.”

“Then why are you staring at her friends like that, Princess?”

Celestia paused. This issue must concern Raven a great deal for her aide to be so frank with her. Some might call her attitude disrespectful. Celestia knew better.

“I have seen Equestria go through many phases. In days long forgotten, ponies often believed I could cure all their ills. Fix everything from mane loss to a stubbed hoof. When I was far younger, I wanted to. I wanted nothing more than to make life as easy for my little ponies as possible. But, to do such a thing…” Celestia shook her head, remembering the faces of those who had passed beyond. “Creatures cannot grow if they cannot learn. And there is no better teacher than failure.”

Celestia let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as Raven considered her words.

“With all respect, Princess Celestia, I know all of this.”

“Of course you do, Raven.” Celestia chuckled wryly. “But sometimes… it’s helpful to remind myself. Sunset has a hard road ahead of her in the coming years. I’ve said that the secret of Cloudsdale must be kept from her at all costs. But… now I wonder if my concern over her expected reaction to the Cloudsdale Report has… clouded my judgement.”

“Regarding Sunset and Twilight’s relationship?” Raven asked.

Celestia admired Raven for many things. One of them was her ability to speak to her in whatever manner Celestia needed at the time. While Celestia didn’t especially enjoy admitting it, sometimes she needed a direct approach.

“Yes.”

“With respect, Princess, you didn’t do anything,” Raven informed her.

Minuette spun figure-eights around her friends, her peals of delight softly echoing through the snow.

“Yes,” Celestia sighed. “Yes, I did. I allowed all three to remain under the false impression that the heightened emotions of the unified harmony magics were still upon Twilight and Sunset. As soon as I realized dear Moon Dancer’s feelings toward her oldest friend…”

Celestia closed her eyes. She had felt the pain in her beloved student’s voice as she spoke of her fears. Of the healing power of time. Of doing the right thing.

Every word had felt like a buck to the chest.

“I knew what would happen the moment Sunset discovered it for herself,” Celestia said in a soft voice.

“It was Sunset’s choice,” Raven insisted. “Even knowing that the heightened emotions should have faded, I believe she would have made the same choice.”

“I have little doubt she would have,” Celestia conceded, opening her eyes once again. “But I forced her to walk that path with my silence. And now…”

Celestia’s eyes drifted from the frolicking friends to a shadow of a unicorn in the doorframe below her.

“I had a choice, Raven. In one hoof, I had the happiness of one member of my family. In the other, I had the salvation of another. And we both know how many will pay the price if she is not saved.”

Raven didn’t seem to have a response to that. Ironically, Philomena did. She let out a couple soft chirps and Celestia glanced at her beloved companion.

“You are right, Philomena. After, that happiness can be restored. And yet, I fear my actions to ensure Sunset remains on the path just may be the very thing to drive her from it.”

“You can’t know that,” Raven said quickly. She shifted uneasily beside Celestia. “Sunset is one of the strongest ponies you’ve ever taught. She’s become a completely different pony from the one you took on all those years ago.”

Raven paused for a long moment, as if considering her next words carefully. “In truth, Princess, I had feared she would slip into darkness long ago. I was wrong.”

“I did not save her from that fate.” Celestia watched the six friends play, laugh and live on the small frozen lake below. She wished she could join them. “Her friends did that. And my actions—or inaction—may have just drove a wedge between them all.”

“You can’t be sure of that, Princess.”

Finally, Celestia looked up. She peered through large black glasses and into the worried brown eyes of her aide. Spots of snow dotted her brown mane and red cravat. Real fear burned behind Raven’s eyes. Fear not only for Sunset, but also for Celestia herself.

A faint sense of warmth reignited in her chest at the sight, though it did little to quell the cold that had burrowed into her bones.

“Sunset has surprised me before,” Celestia said, placing a comforting hoof on Raven’s shoulder. “She may yet surprise me again. At this point, any action I could take would make the damage irreparable. As I told Sunset, I make mistakes. I am unsure if this was truly one of them, but I will not make it worse. They must decide their own fate. Their hearts are their own and they deserve to follow that path, wherever it may lead.”

Celestia’s eyes returned to the shadow in the doorway.

“I’ve interfered enough as it is.”

“So… what do you intend to do?”

“The only thing I can do, Raven,” Celestia sighed. She allowed a little of the melancholy in her heart into her voice. Raven deserved as much. “Be there for them all. No matter my feelings on the subject, the stakes have not changed. If Sunset Shimmer fails…”

Raven nodded slowly. She knew the cost all too well. A bit of snow fell onto her glasses, forcing her to take them off to briefly clean them.

“Is there no other way? I know there is little time left, but if something were to happen to Sunset…”

Raven trailed off. She didn’t seem inclined to finish her sentence. Celestia was grateful for that.

Celestia took a deep breath and looked out over the snow-wreathed city of Canterlot. Her home for the last thousand years. The beautiful white structures, the golden spires, the colorful banners… all frosted white. The very city itself was a testament to the Princess of the Sun.

She wondered what it would look like if she hadn’t been alone for close to a thousand years. If she hadn’t manipulated certain things. If she had stopped certain myths from getting out of hoof. If she hadn’t taken certain steps to protect the memory of her family.

She looked forward to the day when she saw her family again.

She also dreaded that day more than any other.

Celestia looked up through the clouds. Though none could see it, she could feel the Moon up there. In her mind’s eye, she could see the shadow.

Then, Celestia’s eyes fell onto Twilight Sparkle.

“I do not know,” Celestia admitted. “The pictures we saw seem to indicate that there is another way, but I fear that path is closed to us. I once told them never to sacrifice the present for a questionable future… but our future is anything but questionable.” She let out a low, long sigh. “I must proceed as I believe is best. Just as Sunset did.”

“Princess, I didn’t mean to imply—”

Celestia waved away Raven’s objections. “All I mean to say is that Sunset is our best hope.”

“But, Your Majesty, if you are to prepare her, you will have to interfere.” Raven said. She frowned and used her magic to brush away some of the snow from her mane. “You can’t have it both ways.”

“A forced spark will never work,” Celestia reminded her with a sigh. “It is as true for love as it is for Harmony. Sunset must walk this road without me forcing matters. She must take her place naturally. I will continue to try and guide those steps… but in the end, it will be up to her.”

Raven looked toward the doorway in the palace as snow began to fall in earnest. Even Celestia could barely make out the shadow in the doorway now.

“And what if you’re wrong?” Raven asked in a voice muffled by the blanket of white all around them. Now, she did not speak as an aide, or even as one of Celestia’s subjects. She spoke as a friend. “What if… your actions have driven her from that path?”

To hear anypony address her as a friend was a rare gift. From Raven, it meant so much more. It was a gift Celestia treasured with all of her heart. Even if that heart twisted at the words.

She closed her eyes and fought down the small knot in her throat. Licking her cold lips, she managed to keep any trace of the tremble in her heart out of her words.

“Then I pray she one day forgives me. Both of them.”

Celestia offered Raven a brittle smile—one she knew did a poor job of hiding the unshed tears in her eyes—then turned her gaze back to the doorway where the shadow of Sunset Shimmer had been watching her friends.

The doorway stood empty.

Author's Note

Theme for A Study on Chaos Theory:

And so ends the first book of the Dreamers Arc with A Study on Chaos Theory. This story has been... exhausting. Not only for Sunset, but for myself and the Wavelengths Editing Team as well. Most of us got into it pretty intensely during the course of this story. I'm still learning about that whole "taking feedback with grace" thing (and I have a long way to go). But they, as always, help me take the story I originally wrote to the next level. Thank you, all of you!

Wanted to say a couple things before we wrap up.

First of all, I've read every single comment you've written. I've honestly squealed with glee over the comments regarding just what Sunset, Moon Dancer, Twilight and especially Celestia should be doing, should have done or should do in the future. While I won't reveal what the endgame for all of this is, I do want to emphasize the message of this chapter: Celestia knows. And it's not something she takes any joy in.

But Celestia reminds us of something very important: the stakes are far, far higher. As we discovered in The Cloudsdale Report, there are things in motion. Things that can't be stopped easily... or stopped at all.

This isn't the end. This is the start of a new beginning. But I'm happy to say that the Dreamers Arc will not be as emotionally brutal as this story turned out to be. The next story is going to involve a fun, whirlwind adventure that sends Sunset and Twilight to the most dangerous places in Canterlot: used bookstores.

Seriously. Those places are crazy.

I'm eager to hear your closing thoughts on this chapter in Sunset's life! Let me know what you think! See you folks soon for the next story!

-Amber

Stories set in the Wavelengths Timeline in chronological order:

Origins Arc
The Alchemy of Chemistry
Bards of the Badlands
Grading on a Bell Curve
Habits of the Equestrian Phoenix
How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative

Applications Arc
The Application of Unified Harmony Magics
Princess Celestia: A Brief History
The Cloudsdale Report

Dreamers Arc
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
A Study in Chaos Theory
Teahouses of Saddle Arabia
As the Raven Flies

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!