The mood between them had, thankfully, calmed down considerably from what it had been mere moments earlier. Twilight Sparkle, having finally made some clear and understandable arrangements with her boyfriend, Timber, now had a smile upon her face as she accepted a soda from the nearby waitress. The older woman smiled back, before giving an inquisitive look to Twilight's companion, Sunset. The former unicorn, who was already busy with a mug of coffee, gave her thanks, before watching her go off to tend to other customers. The two girls shared this quiet moment together, slurping down their drinks, looking just like any other pair of friends in this place. But, after they'd done this, Twilight paused, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone yet again. She stared at it for the longest time, before then glancing up to Sunset. After just a brief moment of hesitation, she spoke.
"Hey, um...Sunset?"
The Equestrian turned to look at her.
"Hmm?"
Twilight considered her words before finally speaking up.
"That was...pretty great, you just talking to Timber like that."
Sunset chuckled to this.
"I already told you, Twilight, it was no big deal."
But Twilight, leaning closer, seemed to think otherwise.
"But it was a big deal! I was completely out of my depth there, and you just sorted it all out like it was nothing!"
Thinking on that, Sunset shrugged her shoulders.
"Sometimes, all you need to do if you're confused is...well...just talk to the other person. If you'd kept on trying to send emoji messages you didn't understand, all that would have done was make you even more confused later."
Twilight sighed.
"I know...you're right. I may use this phone a lot, but that doesn't mean I know everything about it. I mean, take a look at this one."
She leaned over, making sure to give Sunset a clear look at the screen of her phone. Upon it was yet another emoji message, this one having been sent to her by, of all people, Lemon Zest. Sunset, after looking to it, turned her gaze up to Twilight, before cracking a smile.
"Well...now that Timber's has been done, you know what you can do here, right?"
But Twilight shook her head again.
"Sunset, everyone uses these things! If I go around just constantly asking people, they'll think I'm, you know, behind the times! I'll be a social outcast! People will point to me as I walk down the street and go, look! There's Twilight Sparkle! She doesn't know how emojis work! Look upon her, children, and despair!"
Sunset stared at her friend, raising an eyebrow at the overly-dramatic way she'd said that, all while Twilight herself seemed oblivious to those looks. So, after taking another sip of her drink, Sunset just spoke up again.
"Twilight...do you really think people will think that about you?"
Sighing, the spectacled girl leaned back into her chair.
"Okay, maybe not. But you know what I mean, right?"
Smiling, Sunset reached forward, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"Twilight, it's fine. Nobody's gonna give you a hard time if you struggle with this kind of thing. We all have stuff we're not that great at. But that doesn't mean we have to be ashamed of it. And it doesn't mean we can't get better at it later. There's no rush with that sort of thing."
Her smile widened.
"And hey, since you're going to be spending time with Timber anyway at that golf place, maybe you can ask him about emojis and stuff while you play a game?"
Twilight looked to her, thinking on that suggestion, before taking a sip of her own drink.
"Huh...I guess...I hadn't really thought of that."
Again, Sunset chuckled.
"Trust me, sometimes the simplest solution to a problem is the best thing you can do. The more you complicate stuff, the more chance you have of being worried."
Turning away briefly, a nostalgic smile came to her.
“That was something Princess Celestia used to teach me a lot back in the day. You know, before I turned into a horrible student for her. I’d try and think up big and clever ways to solve the problems she gave me, pretty much because I was young and I thought doing so would impress her. And she’d just smile and tell me about how going simple is often the best way to go, or at least the less stressful way anyway.”
She chortled a little.
“It was a good message then, and it’s a good message now.”
Looking to her friend, Twilight smiled.
"Thanks, Sunset. I...I appreciate all that."
Giving her a playful punch on the arm, Sunset replied.
"Hey, that's what friends are for."
Twilight, still smiling, leaned over and gave her a hug for her help, which Sunset was sure to reciprocate. But, as they parted, Twilight adjusted her glasses a little before speaking up again.
"You know, it's funny. Out of all our friends, I think you’re probably the only one who wouldn't have done something technical to solve my problem."
Leaning back a little herself, Sunset mused on that.
"Don't forget, I grew up in a world of magic, not machines. All this technology was a pretty big shock for me when I first came here. So much so that, quite honestly, I avoided a lot of it for the first few years of my time here."
Folding her arms, she thought back to those days.
"I guess...finding non-technical solutions to problems just became second nature to me after a while."
Twilight nodded, understanding that position. But, as she thought more and more on it, a slightly mischievous smirk came to her.
"And...I guess it also helps that you're the kind of girl who tends to be more...well...direct than others?"
Looking to her, Sunset returned the smirk.
"Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but one doesn't become the feared and unchallenged Queen of the whole school for years on end by being subtle."
Together, the two laughed, and then, at the same time, they took further sips of their drinks, letting out contented sighs after having done so. When they set their can and mug down, however, a look of curiosity came to Twilight.
"You know...I do wonder how this might have gone if I didn’t come to you about this. Rarity and Fluttershy offered to help too, remember? I wonder how they would have approached this?"
Sunset looked away briefly, considering that valid question herself, before then looking back to Twilight and resuming her smile.
"Well, whatever they would have done, I'm sure things would have worked out for you. They know a thing or two about handling problems too, after all."
Giggling, Twilight nodded.
"Good point. Now then..."
She tapped her chin, pondering.
"...if you'll excuse me, I've got a weekend golf session to plan."
As she looked to her phone, pressing buttons and creating a digital list of stuff she planned to do with Timber, she paused, thinking back over this whole incident and looking just a touch embarrassed.
“Ugh! I still can’t believe that one of my friends is able to talk to him more easily than I can! And I’m his girlfriend! That’s just...ugh!”
Smiling, Sunset spoke in a reassuring tone.
“Hey, this is still early days for you two, remember? Give it time and you’ll be pretty good at being open with him yourself.”
Twilight smiled back to her, appreciating those words, before getting back to her list.
“In that case...here’s to weekend pirate golf.”
Shrugging her shoulders again, Sunset took a big gulp of her coffee, before looking to her with a knowing smile.
"Hey, as long as you have fun, that's what matters."
Then, she muttered under her breath.
“Just...try to avoid emojis while you’re there.”
