To Clean Slatesby Bookish DelightChaptersThe New NormalOld vs. NewRenewed BondsThe New NormalTwilight Sparkle hummed a happy tune to herself as she walked to Sunset Shimmer's house. She made sure to keep track of her surroundings as she did so—at the moment, she was exactly five square blocks, or one quarter mile, from her destination. Which, of course, would be on her left. Twilight beamed. Who needed a global positioning system built into their phone when they had the sharpest mind in Canterlot City? She had to admit, it was nice to have whenever she traveled for science and math competitions. But for frequent and favored destinations? The human brain would always prove the most efficient of technologies. As she walked, she was also furiously tapping on said phone, triple-checking the information she was inputting into a website. She finished tapping, and pressed "Send". Confident in her endeavor, she nodded, then kept walking. When she was three blocks from Sunset's house, Marezart sounded from her phone. She looked at the screen. It was a video call request from someone she was expecting—albeit not so soon. This was a whole 17.7 seconds faster than she'd expected. The words "Camp Everfree", overlaid on a picture of a forest, filled her screen. Twilight smiled, then froze as it dawned on her: there was a 58 percent chance of this being more than a little awkward. The symphony continued. Steeling herself, Twilight challenged the odds, tapped the phone to receive the call—and breathed a sigh of mild relief when a crimson-skinned redhead wearing a flower-patterned blouse showed up on the screen, all smiles. The wooden walls of a log cabin office could be seen around her. "Gloriosa! Hi! How are you?" Twilight asked. "Hi! Uh, pretty great, depending on your answer." Gloriosa Daisy glanced over at a monitor visible next to her. "So, Camp Everfree just received a massive donation from some people calling themselves the 'Crystal Rainbooms'." She tilted her head. "Well, I mean, not massive massive, but certainly enough to finally balance our budget. Either way, after doing some digging, I think I may have found our culprits." She moved her phone, and Twilight could see herself and her friends dancing on Gloriosa's monitor in multi-cultural outfits. "Am I wrong?" Twilight smiled and shook her head. "Nope! Your deduction was correct. We won a dance contest at Canterlot Mall using that name, which we entered because we wanted to help you out with the winnings. I'm glad to hear they will." An awed expression crossed Gloriosa's face. She exhaled. "Twilight, I... I-I don't know what to say. Thanks so much. I mean, bailing us out twice? Especially..." Gloriosa looked away, her expression sobering. "Especially after everything I pulled." "Gloriosa..." Twilight looked around. Between her conversation, and carefully crossing streets on autopilot, she'd already made it to Sunset's house. She walked onto the steps, sat down, and gripped her phone in both hands, giving Gloriosa an empathetic look. "Gloriosa," Twilight said, keeping her voice as soothing and reassuring as possible. "You know it's still fine, right? I mean... everything. Everything's fine now. It's all okay, and we're all okay with you. We never weren't." Gloriosa sat in her office chair with a sigh. "I know, but..." her voiced slipped to a whisper. "I still have dreams. Dreams where I'm still that... that thing. With those eyes. And that laugh. And in those dreams... everyone hates me. With good reason, too." Twilight closed her eyes with her own sigh. "I understand. Sunset and I told you—we've been exactly where you were. In every sense. And, honestly, we still are. Those dreams? We... we still have them, too." Gloriosa gasped. "Seriously?" Twilight nodded. "They're nightmares now, in the sense that they don't happen nearly as often anymore as they used to for us. But no, they've never completely gone away." A chilled, fearful look swept over Gloriosa's face. She shifted in her seat. "How do you live with them? How... how do I?" Twilight took a deep breath. "By being the best people we can be when we're awake. That way we know, even when we see the worst of ourselves in our dreams, that we don't have to be what they want us to be. I wish I had an easier answer, but..." She shook her head. "I don't." "It's okay," Gloriosa said. "Thanks for telling me. To be perfectly honest, I'm just glad to know there are people I can talk to about this. Who I can share this with." Her smile returned. "And who care so much about the camp's well-being. Thanks again." Twilight's smile returned as well. "You're welcome. Even if we weren't... 'connected', we would have been happy to help. You have a big responsibility on your shoulders to keep one our city's biggest landmarks and greatest gathering spots up and running. It's never wrong to ask for help when you need it. And if you do, we'll always be glad to do anything in our power. Including just listening." Gloriosa leaned back in her seat. "You know, word gets around. Not publicly, of course, but a little birdie told me what you did that got you and your friends into the Daring Do movie. At this rate, everyone in this whole city's going to be lucky to have you in it." Now it was Twilight's turn to look away. "Well... almost all of the city, I'm sure." Gloriosa peered closer to the screen, until her eyebrows shot up in realization. With a cross between a chuckle and a scoff, she said. "Oh, come on. It's okay to ask, you know." "I—" Twilight closed a fist, forcing herself to face her racing heart, and overwhelming nervousness, head-on. "How's... Timber doing?" Gloriosa chuckled in earnest this time, and rolled her eyes, gesturing to the side with one hand. "Oh, he's on his five-hundred-eighty-sixth tub of ice cream and hasn't moved from the couch for a month. Send help." Twilight recoiled. "What?" she cried, before hearing Gloriosa engulfed in peals of laughter. "No, seriously, he's doing well. I'd put him on, but he's in the city right now. He's actually been taking regular trips there and meeting new people, and I'm pretty sure it's all thanks to you." Gloriosa stared off into the distance. "I may love this forest, but I always knew he felt... a little torn about it. You got him to take a chance on seeing what's out there." Gloriosa looked straight at Twilight, her voice level and earnest. "I've been dumper and dumpee before, so I know how easy it is to feel guilty, but... yeah. Don't worry about it. You two were what you both needed, at the right time. He's happy, and—don't tell him I said this—but he just hopes you are, too." "I am happy," Twilight replied, her heart slowing in relief. "Tell him I'm glad he is, too. Without, uh, telling him it was me who said it? I think." Gloriosa laughed. "I will. All that said, I'll gladly take this cash as payment for utterly demolishing my baby bro's heart." She winked, and Twilight slouched in blushing embarrassment. "Anyway, I'd hug you through this phone if I could. But, well, now that we've got this money, we've got to start allocating for repairs." With a warm smile, Gloriosa added, "Hey. Don't be a stranger, okay? You or your friends." "We won't. I also have a party to attend, so I have to head off too." Twilight waved. "Take care." "You too. And have fun." The feed cut, and Twilight was once again alone on Sunset's steps. She knew she could ring Sunset's doorbell now if she wanted—but talking with Gloriosa had actually left her feeling more than a little nostalgic. She tapped her phone, and opened up her photo album. Best to indulge now—once she got inside, she knew she'd have neither the time nor attention to reminisce. She swiped through the album until she settled on a picture of herself, her Canterlot High School friends, and her new friends—gosh that felt weird to say, even mentally—from Crystal Prep Academy. As Gloriosa had hinted, they'd ended up calling themselves the "Crystal Rainbooms," and with Principal Cadance now in charge of CPA, neither school had objected to the union. Twilight remembered the day it was taken—the weekend they'd found out they'd won the contest, they'd all gathered together for a massive party at Pinkie Pie's house. It was one of the few times in her life she'd seen any of her old classmates smiling towards her instead of sneering at her, and it was only now that she'd managed to get used to the new normal. To say nothing of the "new normal" of her being a social butterfly. It still seemed like only yesterday that she was routinely holed up in her laboratory at Crystal Prep, with only a dog for companionship—not even a talking one!—and having convinced herself that that was how she liked it. No friends. Nobody who wanted to be her friend. And headed off to an institute that would have kept her alone, possibly forever. Friendless, forever. Loveless, forever. She swiped through pictures, stopping on one of herself and a brown-skinned, green-haired boy wearing a Camp Everfree T-shirt. The two of them were posing in front of the Ferris wheel of Canterlot's amusement park. Twilight closed her eyes, a wistful feeling washing over her. Which struck her as odd, because her and Timber Spruce being a Thing(tm) technically hadn't been that long ago. And yet... it still felt so distant already. She'd had all the fun in the world with Timber, and she wouldn't have taken it back for anything. But over time, the "fun" had morphed into... routine. Before Camp Everfree, neither Twilight nor Timber had known the other existed, which admittedly made getting swept up in a storybook summer camp romance all the more enthralling. But once they'd actually gotten to know each other over the course of several dates... well. 'Going through the motions' was a term Twilight associated with machines, and she refused for any relationship she was in to be of a similar nature. She might have been crazy about robotics, but she wasn't that crazy. And so, after consulting her best friend Sunset Shimmer, she'd decided to tell Timber as much. She'd hoped that expressing the desire to break things off as soon as possible, before ennui set in and while they were both on good terms with each other, would be easier on both of them. Sunset had told her it wouldn't be. Sunset had been right. She would have given anything to not feel as if her heart were an empty soda can being fed into a wood chipper. To not feel like the world's worst person who had decided to do the same to her now former boyfriend's heart as well. Timber had certainly put on a strong, bright face as they talked it out, and even shared one last embrace, but she could see the pain in his eyes nevertheless. Sunset had also confirmed that just as much happened with all breakups. Boys always tried to hide it—and thus, ironically, boys always showed it. I'll gladly take this cash as payment for utterly demolishing my baby bro's heart. The words cut deep enough that Twilight would not have been surprised if Gloriosa had meant for them to. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a long exhale. Maybe that was why she'd been so intent on raising money for the camp with the rest of the girls. Maybe she still felt guilty, even after being told there was no reason for her to. Maybe... Twilight decided to jump from that train of thought before it derailed into wreckage all over again. Like when she'd visited Sunset after the big breakup talk, able to do nothing but tearfully babble on and on, plastered on Sunset's couch, curled up in Sunset's arms, about how horrible she felt, and how she had absolutely no idea where to go from what she'd just done. Even with Sunset's warnings, she never could have predicted that the experience would have affected her so deeply. And yet, when she and Sunset had ended up making out on that same couch days later, Twilight couldn't help but feel that something in her heart had seen it all coming, since forever ago. Because since the moment they'd met, Sunset Shimmer had always been a constant. The best sort of constant. The kind of constant where, if Twilight ever felt down, if Twilight ever felt insecure, if Twilight ever was scared, or even if Twilight was in the wrong about something, Sunset knew how to make everything feel right. How to make Twilight feel like everything was going to be just fine. And eventually, Twilight realized that she had, for who knew how long, subconsciously devoted herself to returning the favor to Sunset. Subconsciously devoted herself to spending as much time with Sunset as possible, one rock clinging to another, in life's never-ending storm. Twilight quickly swiped to a picture of herself and Sunset, the latter in her trademark blue dress and leather boots, taken at one of their many dates at Sugarcube Corner. Just one look at that smiling orange face and that wild red hair, was enough to bring a smile to Twilight's face, and set her heart at peace. Looking at the picture just felt... better. More right. Sunset felt more right. Sunset felt like home. Even now, Twilight felt criminally lucky that, of all the girls to exist in two universes, Sunset had picked her for a girlfriend. Her, the Crystal Prep social failure science geek who had been headed to a solitary life in the middle of nowhere. Life was definitely full of surprises, of friendship... and of magic. Twilight took one more deep breath, this time to center herself. Now happy and calm, she got up from the steps, walked up, and rang Sunset's doorbell. No answer. She rang again, still nothing. Refusing to assume the worst so soon after she'd been thinking sad thoughts, Twilight tapped out a text. "Hey, I'm on your steps. You didn't cancel the party, did you? :)" A few seconds later, she got a reply. "course not! lil late tho. sending someone else to let you in." Twilight blinked. Someone else? Twilight heard the door unlock. She looked up. And into a mirror. Old vs. NewPrincess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria was someone Twilight had only met in person once before. Shortly after the Friendship Games, she'd appeared through the mirror portal. At the time it had been an unexpected shock, since Twilight hadn't been fully briefed on what the portal was, or the fact that interdimensional twins were, in fact, real. The whole "magical land of ponies" thing had also taken a while for Twilight to digest. But once she had, wonder of all wonders, both Twilights had found they shared quite a bit in common. All sorts of scientific and magical research texts had peppered their talks, but once the conversation had shifted to Daring Do, they—and Rainbow Dash—came close to being cited for noise pollution. Even if things hadn't turned out the way they had, simply knowing that there really were other dimensions out there, and other versions of herself, would have been enough to delight Twilight's scientific mind for decades. But becoming fast friends with her other self the same week they'd met had been an undeniable plus. Both Twilights smiled at each other, in greeting and solidarity. "Hi, Twilight," Princess Twilight said, wearing an apron that Twilight just now noticed. "You're actually just in time." "Hi." Twilight waved and looked at her phone. It was 4PM. "Wait, really? The party's not supposed to start for another hour." Instantly, Twilight blanched, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, no. Did I forget about Daylight Savings? Was I supposed to set the time manually? Wait, no, that was months ago, and the cloud takes care of the time changes on my phone—" Princess Twilight laughed. "Calm down, Twilight. I just meant that you're in time to help me out. I've been in this kitchen almost all morning by myself." "Oh," Twilight said, tittering. "O-of course." She stepped inside, walking beside Princess Twilight towards the kitchen. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Sunset later, then. She should be helping you out." "Oh, don't get the wrong idea, she totally did! We went shopping together early this morning to pick out foods befitting both human and pony tastes! Which, in turn, involved visiting a... 'supermarket'." Princess Twilight stopped, and, with a dreamy expression, clasped her hands and stared into space. "I have never seen buildings that big with nothing but food in them! All perfectly organized and filed into their own aisles, and with perfectly area-segmented climate control! It was magical, and majestic, and convenient, all at the same time!" With an excited smile, she turned to Twilight. "Do you think I should propose a similar endeavor for Equestria?" "Hmmm," Twilight said, fingers to her chin. "Don't ponies pretty much just eat and even cook stuff that comes from the ground? Very healthy, unprocessed, little need for extended shelf life. It seems to me that a supermarket would be redundant. Outside of storing food during the winter, that is, and even then, it probably wouldn't be very economically viable compared to the small specialty shops you have now." Princess Twilight sighed. If her human form had pony ears, Twilight would swear they would be drooping right now. "I see your point," she said, then with an extra chuckle, added, "Killjoy." Twilight laughed. "Sorry! You did ask me, though." "Of course, I did. And thanks for answering honestly." Princess Twilight winked. "I always trust my own calculations." Both Twilights giggled as they resumed walking. They shortly arrived in the kitchen, where Twilight saw several food platters laid out across the counters. "All right," Princess Twilight said, "let me know if this is okay?" She pointed to the platters, which Twilight quickly realized were ordered. "I was inspired by the 'supermarket' to organize everything by food group. You have your grains and breads here, along with your veggie and fruit salads. Sunset and I will be vacuuming most of those like they're going out of style. Same with the cheeses, probably." Twilight laughed. "No problem. That's why I advised buying extra when I made the shopping list." "And we certainly appreciate it. Now, we've got the beans and nuts over here—though there are also some in the salads—and Sunset handled preparing the meats, which are over here." She scoffed and rolled her eyes in mock haughtiness. "You know. For those who are into that sort of thing." Twilight, being someone who was absolutely into that sort of thing, gasped and squealed as the smell of the freshly baked turkey in front of her overwhelmed her pleasure centers. "It looks and smells fantastic! Ooh, and here?" she said, pointing to the desserts that she'd made and dropped off last night sitting at the far end of the counter. "Oh my gosh, it's everything I made that's totally not healthy for us at all." She turned to Princess Twilight, bouncing with fists raised in front of herself. "Twilight, I couldn't have organized this better myself!" She squealed again. "You're a genius!" Princess Twilight giggled and pointed. "No, Twilight, you're a genius." With a silly grin, Twilight pointed back. "No, you are!" Princess Twilight crossed her arms mock-indignantly. "Hey, now, who's the Twilight Sparkle here?" "Oh, wait—it's me!" they said in unison, before breaking down into uncontrollable laughter. As the two calmed down, Twilight said, "Ohhh, one day that's going to get old—" "But today is not that day," Princess Twilight finished. She held her arms out for a hug, which Twilight gladly accepted. Hugs were found few and far between the two due to the distance between their homes, so Twilight relished them when she could. The familiar feel of how her counterpart felt against her, the familiar shape, the familiar scent, even amidst the small-but-meaningful differences, was stunning. Much like hugging Sunset, it felt like coming home... just in a different way. "I'm so glad you took the time to visit," Twilight said. "Thank you. I know you have a busy schedule as a princess." "I wouldn't turn down an invitation to a party with all of my friends. No matter which world they happen to inhabit." Princess Twilight stepped back, smiled, then rolled her eyes. "Besides, I've come to accept that 'waiting for downtime' in Equestria is pretty much a fool's errand. I mean, even before I was working round the clock teaching friendship to students, I was rehabilitating a rogue unicorn. One with huge magic potential, so much that she almost destroyed all of existence on a temporal level." "All of time?" Twilight's eyes sparkled, and she clasped her hands. "Cooooooool." Princess Twilight looked to the sky, shook her head, and sighed. "That's what Rainbow Dash said. Well, my Rainbow Dash. Trust me, though, neither of you were there. Well, my Rainbow Dash was, again, as a filly, and—look, the point is, there are so many things I've been through where I wished I were just at a party instead." She chuckled sheepishly. Twilight giggled. "Ironically, I wouldn't mind some of your excitement. Your rehab student was Starlight Glimmer, though, right? Didn't she go on to save your life and mine? That just means you're good at what you do." "Oh, stop it." Princess Twilight blushed. "Besides, I'm not the only one here doing well for themselves. I, for one, am so glad you're in such a great place," she continued, "and that you've made so many friends." She grinned toothily. "What'd I tell you last time? They'll take you pretty far... including certain very special ones?" She gave Twilight a slanted look. It was now Twilight's turn to blush. "That's right," she said. "You and Sunset still write each other, don't you?" "A lot," Princess Twilight replied. "And thanks to you, my book's now filled with so many letters of a much... happier, more confident tone." Twilight blinked. "Happier and confident?" Princess Twilight sighed. "Well, without breaching her trust... it honestly wasn't like this before the Friendship Games at all. So many times, Sunset would write to me, and she would always be... so scared. So unsure. So... sad. "She beat herself up so much, Twilight. About what she'd done, about what she was afraid she might do in the future. And I felt terrible about it, because me and the other girls defeating her made it mostly my fault she grew a conscience in the first place. After that, all she could do was search desperately for answers, and I didn't know what to give her at the time, other than platitudes." Princess Twilight looked at the floor. "The day Sunset Shimmer was exposed to the Elements of Harmony was the day she stopped being sure of herself. Stopped believing in herself. Even evil confidence is still confidence." Twilight stepped forward, taking Princess Twilight's hands. "I think we both know that blaming yourself won't get you anywhere. You did what you had to do, and no one could have predicted the effects." She huffed. "All of my encounters with the Elements of Harmony have so far defied any scientific principles I can throw at it." "I understand, I truly do," Princess Twilight said. "Still, that didn't make Sunset's sadness and confusion any less painful to watch. But you..." She looked into Twilight's eyes. "You brought her heart back. You gave her the greatest gift that the rest of us never could. You gave her the ability to hope again. In others, and in herself." She squeezed Twilight's hands. "Sunset told me what happened to you when you first touched Equestrian friendship magic. But no matter what happened that day, Twilight, I promise you: you embody what that magic really stands for, and then some." She wrapped her arms around Twilight's neck, gave Twilight's forehead a light kiss, then looked at her with a sincere smile. "Never let anyone tell you anything different." "W-wow," Twilight said breathlessly, her body temperature now doubled, and her face now almost more red than violet. "Official approval from the Princess of Friendship?" Princess Twilight giggled. "I suppose sometimes, the title comes in handy." "Hey, if it's good enough for my girlfriend, it's good enough for me," Twilight said. "Though speaking of, she's taking an awfully long time to get ready. Especially for her." "Really?" Princess Twilight asked. Twilight nodded. "I've seen Sunset's morning routine. She kind of... doesn't have one. The first day I asked how she does her hair, she burst out laughing." Princess Twilight laughed. "I'm not surprised." Twilight nodded. "Neither was I, honestly. Point is, she should have been down by now—" She was interrupted by a ding from her phone. Both Twilights looked at its screen. It was Sunset. "hey hon you downstairs?" "I am. Princess Twilight let me in. We're talking about supermarkets and redemption." Twilight texted, as she and her counterpart shared shoulder-bumping giggles. "best subjects. tell p-twi i said thanks. could you come up to my room? just you though." "Oh, I see how it is," Princess Twilight teased. "Hey, we share a very special friendship bond," Twilight said, waving and walking towards the stairs leading to Sunset's bedroom. "Time for me to go use it." Renewed BondsUpon reaching the top of the steps, Twilight knocked on the door to Sunset's room. The door unlatched, and opened a crack—just enough for Sunset Shimmer to be able to look through. When she saw Twilight, she breathed a small sigh of relief, stepped back, and opened the door wide enough for Twilight to walk in. Twilight looked around. The last time she'd been in Sunset's loft bedroom was yesterday, and nothing looked out of place since then. The wall-mounted guitars, bed, game consoles, couch, dressers, computer, and even frumpled, thrown-aside clothes were still in their usual places. Confident that nothing was amiss externally, she decided to address Sunset herself. "Is everything okay?" she asked. "It's almost time to come down for the party, so Princess Twilight and I just wanted to make sure you were ready—" Twilight heard the door lock shut, turned around... and saw Sunset Shimmer wearing an outfit that Twilight had never seen on her before, but which instantly captivated her. If Sunset's fiery hair normally stood out from the rest of her usual cool blue outerwear, it felt right at home amidst the just-as-fiery orange and purple hues of the skirt and top she was wearing right now—to say nothing of an even more ornate leather jacket than her usual. A pair of purple-streaked black leather boots completed the ensemble. Twilight stared, wide-eyed, and struggling for words. She hadn't expected any of this. Not that she was complaining in the slightest. "W-... wow," she finally managed to breathe after several moments. "Hmm?" Sunset said, before noticing Twilight's staring at her outfit. "Oh, right. Yeah," she said, blushing. "Yeah." Twilight twirled a few strands of her hair around her finger, averting her gaze, and biting her lip exactly once. "You look... like... really hot right now," she said softly. Sunset looked away just as shyly. "R-really?" Twilight looked straight back at her. "Uh-huh. Gorgeous." "Well, you beat me to answering that question before I could ask it." Sunset's blush deepened. "Th-thanks." Twilight finally overcame enough of her captivation to walk over to Sunset. "But... what's with it? You've always been into blue." "Not always, actually. Only recently." Sunset ran her hands down her outfit. "This," she said with a sigh, "is how I used to dress. Hundreds of Canterlot High students have this image of Sunset Shimmer burned into their brains as the evil would-be queen of the school." She paused, then added in a low voice, "And the world, if I originally had my way." The whole time she spoke, Sunset avoided Twilight's eyes, holding her arm with her other hand. It didn't take a genius scientist to understand what Sunset was getting at, but Twilight did anyway. Stopping in front of Sunset, she put her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Twilight," Sunset breathed, turning to face her. Twilight saw Sunset's geode pendant pulsing with a bright orange glow. She looked into her girlfriend's eyes. They were still normal—not in the tranced state that usually happened when Sunset was occurred into another's heart or memories. Twilight pondered what that could mean, as Sunset's eyes stared back into hers. Before she could say anything, however, Sunset said, "I'm ready to talk about it. All of it. Whenever you want to." With a gasp, Twilight asked, "Are... are you sure?" Sunset hesitated before replying. "If you're up for it. Yes." Noticing Sunset's vulnerable voice, and her deepening breaths, Twilight shifted into giving Sunset a slow, soft hug. "I'll listen to everything." "Th-... thank you," Sunset managed. Twilight closed her eyes, pressing against Sunset's body, gently and firmly. She felt Sunset's breathing slow. She felt Sunset's shivers subside. She felt Sunset's arms wrap around her. She heard the light clink of their geode pendants touching. And then, without any warning whatsoever, Sunset's life flashed before Twilight's eyes. Twilight saw it all. A land full of ponies—unicorns, no less!—with Sunset holding her head high among them. A defiant student. A disappointed teacher—who looked a lot like Principal Celestia? A huge argument, followed by self-imposed exile through a magical mirror. Anger. Resentment. Hatred. Twilight felt everything Sunset did. Then Twilight saw Canterlot High, and saw how one girl, over and over, year after year, turned student against student. Until one day, Twilight's other self came to town, and vanquished the demon within Sunset... while also showing Sunset a glimpse of something better. Which Sunset tried to get to but couldn't. She felt herself, felt Sunset, being bombarded with confusion. Insecurity. Fear. She saw three evil girls infiltrate CHS, holding musical concerts while doing exactly what Sunset used to do. Sunset was scared, but balled her fists anyway, as she strode forward, hardest face she could muster, legs shaking, being driven away once, being knocked down... ...but then getting back up. A leather jacket obscured the heavens. And amidst a haze of song and flames, there was realization, redemption... and, finally, rebirth. Twilight jerked back, the pangs hitting her heart so intensely each of them might as well have been stakes. She gasped for breath, her hand to her chest. "Oh... oh my gosh." Sunset's eyes flipped up. "W-wait, did that actually... you saw?" Twilight weakly nodded, and put her hand to Sunset's cheek. "Sunset, I'm... I'm so sorry. You've been through so much." Sunset looked at Twilight, mystified, then looked down at her pendant, which wasn't glowing anymore. "I can't believe it. I... I was just gathering my thoughts, trying to figure out where to start for when after this party was over—" She jolted. "Oh my gosh, I think she was onto something." Twilight blinked in confusion. "Who was?" "Princess Twilight!" Sunset snapped her fingers. "In our letters, she told me that the Elements of Harmony have been going through some... changes, for quite some time now. Turning into a tree... then turning into a castle... it's complicated. The point is, they've kind of taken a mind of their own lately. "But what Twilight also said is that after they... changed, they were able to zero in on friends who needed help. In fact, friendship magic connects all of Equestria—but as near as any of us know, there are only a few individuals in this world who've been exposed to that same magic. This is assuming a lot, but what if our geodes take more after the Elements of Harmony than we already think they do?" Both girls' eyes widened and shone. Twilight fingered her own geode. "You think... our magic might be evolving as well?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Sunset chuckled. "Well, if nothing else, this makes having long talks easier. But your guess is as good as mine. Even Twilight doesn't know what the Elements are up to half the time, much less figuring our geodes out. We'll take it as it comes, just like with any other magic that pops up in this world." She averted her gaze. "'Cause, you know. My fault, my duty, and stuff." Twilight rested her head on Sunset's shoulder. "Even if it was a few hours early? Thank you for trusting me with everything you just did. I can see now why your past weighs on you so much." "It does," Sunset said, cradling Twilight. "But it's all right. Because I know you're my future. The others, too." The two stayed in the embrace for a short while before Twilight stepped back with a sly smile, looking up and down Sunset once again. "Still, I think I need to get back to my time machine blueprints, because seriously! I think I just realized I'm into leather and that thought both intrigues and scares me," she said, blushing. Sunset blushed as well, and countered, "I don't think you really know what you're asking." Gesturing to herself, she added, "This is the Sunset Shimmer who wanted to enslave two worlds. The one who had Canterlot High so tightly in her grip that not even Principal Celestia could do anything about her." Eyebrows slanted, sneer on her face, Sunset sauntered forward, backing Twilight towards the couch with each step. Twilight did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach or her shortness of breath as she ran out of room, and her calves hit the cushions. With a single fluid motion of her arm, Sunset pushed Twilight to a sitting position on the couch... then bent over Twilight, forcing her backward. Sunset's sneering grin showed teeth as she placed her arms on either side of Twilight, supporting herself on her palms. "The Sunset you're asking for? Never cared about anybody's feelings, anybody's wishes, but her own. And you're saying you want this?" she said sultrily, and leaned her face, her lips in close. "I used to eat girls like you for dinner." Twi caught her breath, then reached up with one arm, wrapping her hand in Sunset's hair with happy, inviting eyes. "Show me," she said in her huskiest voice, and pulled Sunset down for a very long, very quiet kiss, during which Sunset stopped supporting herself with her arms to lay atop Twilight as they enjoyed each other's company. Twilight made a mental note to herself that leather warmed rather quickly under the right circumstances. She slid her hands down Sunset's sides. "You might be able to hide the good girl I know you are, but you know what you can't hide? These hips," she said, her hands settling on both sides of them, caressing, then sliding to Sunset's buttocks and squeezing. "Mmmmm..." Sunset's eyes fluttered, and she exhaled through pursed lips. "Well, maybe when we have more time... I can show you all of the bad girl you missed out on." She placed her mouth on Twilight's neck and growled like a tiger, the vibration causing Twilight to squeal and laugh ticklishly. "I'd like that," Twilight replied, then placed one hand on her girlfriend's cheek, caressing there as well, dancing her fingers against Sunset's blush, and relishing Sunset's revering gaze. "Watch out, though. I just might end up showing a certain 'bad girl' the angel she's always had inside her." She kissed Sunset's lips, then licked them as she pulled away. "I wonder if I can redeem her in just one night...?" Sunset gulped, taking a moaning breath, her sly expression quickly shifting to slack desire. "W-well, it wouldn't be the first time..." she managed. Twilight was going to reply, but just then her and Sunset's phones dinged in stereo, sending the moment to a crashing halt. Sunset got to hers first. "It's Rarity. She sent it to both of us. Ugh, timing never was her strong su—" She stopped short as she read the message. "Oh my gosh! Everyone's here!" "Which would make sense—it's past five," said Twilight, just as alarmed. "We're the only ones not down there. And we haven't been for a while!" "Yeah, not suspicious at all." Sunset rolled her eyes as the two scrambled to straighten themselves up in front of the wall-length bedroom mirror. "All of the jokes. They're going to hit us with all of the jokes." Once they were both presentable again—to say nothing of cooled back down—Twilight stepped in front of Sunset. "You know... a very wise person once told me that happiness is better than regret. I never quite got what Principal Cadance meant by that until I met you." "That is pretty wise." Seeing that Twilight didn't move from where she was, Sunset then asked, "Twi? Everything all right?" "Well," Twilight said, "What I mean is, I may love this outfit, but if, like you said, everyone down there has some pretty bad memories associated with it... then are you sure...?" She trailed off. Sunset nodded, and Twilight was relieved to see the determination in her eyes. "That's why. This is something I have to do. For them, but even more for me. To prove that who I am inside overrides any outward appearance." She pulled at her jacket's lapel. "Besides, I still like this thing, and I need all the outfits I can get." She smiled. Twilight smiled back. "As long as it makes you happy, it makes me happy," Twilight said. "It will, very soon," Sunset giggled, pulling Twilight into a hug. "I'm so glad we found each other, Twilight. Honestly, I think we were meant to. To clean slates?" Twilight nodded, leaning into the hug. "To clean slates. For both of us." They parted, and Sunset took a deep breath, followed by a just-as-deep exhale. "I guess it's time to do this." "Don't worry," Twilight said, stepping to the door. "You'll have me beside you. Now, and always." "Thanks," Sunset said. "And hey." Twilight turned around and found herself on the receiving end of one last, breathless kiss. "I love you," Sunset said. "I love you too," Twilight said with a wink. "No matter which side of the bed you wake up on." She opened the door, and Sunset stepped to Twilight's side. Twilight saw Sunset's smiling face, which never looked more peaceful than it did right now. Maybe this shut-in science girl got some things right after all. Twilight smiled in kind, and took Sunset's hand. Sunset grasped it firmly, and the two of them stepped outside.
The New NormalTwilight Sparkle hummed a happy tune to herself as she walked to Sunset Shimmer's house. She made sure to keep track of her surroundings as she did so—at the moment, she was exactly five square blocks, or one quarter mile, from her destination. Which, of course, would be on her left. Twilight beamed. Who needed a global positioning system built into their phone when they had the sharpest mind in Canterlot City? She had to admit, it was nice to have whenever she traveled for science and math competitions. But for frequent and favored destinations? The human brain would always prove the most efficient of technologies. As she walked, she was also furiously tapping on said phone, triple-checking the information she was inputting into a website. She finished tapping, and pressed "Send". Confident in her endeavor, she nodded, then kept walking. When she was three blocks from Sunset's house, Marezart sounded from her phone. She looked at the screen. It was a video call request from someone she was expecting—albeit not so soon. This was a whole 17.7 seconds faster than she'd expected. The words "Camp Everfree", overlaid on a picture of a forest, filled her screen. Twilight smiled, then froze as it dawned on her: there was a 58 percent chance of this being more than a little awkward. The symphony continued. Steeling herself, Twilight challenged the odds, tapped the phone to receive the call—and breathed a sigh of mild relief when a crimson-skinned redhead wearing a flower-patterned blouse showed up on the screen, all smiles. The wooden walls of a log cabin office could be seen around her. "Gloriosa! Hi! How are you?" Twilight asked. "Hi! Uh, pretty great, depending on your answer." Gloriosa Daisy glanced over at a monitor visible next to her. "So, Camp Everfree just received a massive donation from some people calling themselves the 'Crystal Rainbooms'." She tilted her head. "Well, I mean, not massive massive, but certainly enough to finally balance our budget. Either way, after doing some digging, I think I may have found our culprits." She moved her phone, and Twilight could see herself and her friends dancing on Gloriosa's monitor in multi-cultural outfits. "Am I wrong?" Twilight smiled and shook her head. "Nope! Your deduction was correct. We won a dance contest at Canterlot Mall using that name, which we entered because we wanted to help you out with the winnings. I'm glad to hear they will." An awed expression crossed Gloriosa's face. She exhaled. "Twilight, I... I-I don't know what to say. Thanks so much. I mean, bailing us out twice? Especially..." Gloriosa looked away, her expression sobering. "Especially after everything I pulled." "Gloriosa..." Twilight looked around. Between her conversation, and carefully crossing streets on autopilot, she'd already made it to Sunset's house. She walked onto the steps, sat down, and gripped her phone in both hands, giving Gloriosa an empathetic look. "Gloriosa," Twilight said, keeping her voice as soothing and reassuring as possible. "You know it's still fine, right? I mean... everything. Everything's fine now. It's all okay, and we're all okay with you. We never weren't." Gloriosa sat in her office chair with a sigh. "I know, but..." her voiced slipped to a whisper. "I still have dreams. Dreams where I'm still that... that thing. With those eyes. And that laugh. And in those dreams... everyone hates me. With good reason, too." Twilight closed her eyes with her own sigh. "I understand. Sunset and I told you—we've been exactly where you were. In every sense. And, honestly, we still are. Those dreams? We... we still have them, too." Gloriosa gasped. "Seriously?" Twilight nodded. "They're nightmares now, in the sense that they don't happen nearly as often anymore as they used to for us. But no, they've never completely gone away." A chilled, fearful look swept over Gloriosa's face. She shifted in her seat. "How do you live with them? How... how do I?" Twilight took a deep breath. "By being the best people we can be when we're awake. That way we know, even when we see the worst of ourselves in our dreams, that we don't have to be what they want us to be. I wish I had an easier answer, but..." She shook her head. "I don't." "It's okay," Gloriosa said. "Thanks for telling me. To be perfectly honest, I'm just glad to know there are people I can talk to about this. Who I can share this with." Her smile returned. "And who care so much about the camp's well-being. Thanks again." Twilight's smile returned as well. "You're welcome. Even if we weren't... 'connected', we would have been happy to help. You have a big responsibility on your shoulders to keep one our city's biggest landmarks and greatest gathering spots up and running. It's never wrong to ask for help when you need it. And if you do, we'll always be glad to do anything in our power. Including just listening." Gloriosa leaned back in her seat. "You know, word gets around. Not publicly, of course, but a little birdie told me what you did that got you and your friends into the Daring Do movie. At this rate, everyone in this whole city's going to be lucky to have you in it." Now it was Twilight's turn to look away. "Well... almost all of the city, I'm sure." Gloriosa peered closer to the screen, until her eyebrows shot up in realization. With a cross between a chuckle and a scoff, she said. "Oh, come on. It's okay to ask, you know." "I—" Twilight closed a fist, forcing herself to face her racing heart, and overwhelming nervousness, head-on. "How's... Timber doing?" Gloriosa chuckled in earnest this time, and rolled her eyes, gesturing to the side with one hand. "Oh, he's on his five-hundred-eighty-sixth tub of ice cream and hasn't moved from the couch for a month. Send help." Twilight recoiled. "What?" she cried, before hearing Gloriosa engulfed in peals of laughter. "No, seriously, he's doing well. I'd put him on, but he's in the city right now. He's actually been taking regular trips there and meeting new people, and I'm pretty sure it's all thanks to you." Gloriosa stared off into the distance. "I may love this forest, but I always knew he felt... a little torn about it. You got him to take a chance on seeing what's out there." Gloriosa looked straight at Twilight, her voice level and earnest. "I've been dumper and dumpee before, so I know how easy it is to feel guilty, but... yeah. Don't worry about it. You two were what you both needed, at the right time. He's happy, and—don't tell him I said this—but he just hopes you are, too." "I am happy," Twilight replied, her heart slowing in relief. "Tell him I'm glad he is, too. Without, uh, telling him it was me who said it? I think." Gloriosa laughed. "I will. All that said, I'll gladly take this cash as payment for utterly demolishing my baby bro's heart." She winked, and Twilight slouched in blushing embarrassment. "Anyway, I'd hug you through this phone if I could. But, well, now that we've got this money, we've got to start allocating for repairs." With a warm smile, Gloriosa added, "Hey. Don't be a stranger, okay? You or your friends." "We won't. I also have a party to attend, so I have to head off too." Twilight waved. "Take care." "You too. And have fun." The feed cut, and Twilight was once again alone on Sunset's steps. She knew she could ring Sunset's doorbell now if she wanted—but talking with Gloriosa had actually left her feeling more than a little nostalgic. She tapped her phone, and opened up her photo album. Best to indulge now—once she got inside, she knew she'd have neither the time nor attention to reminisce. She swiped through the album until she settled on a picture of herself, her Canterlot High School friends, and her new friends—gosh that felt weird to say, even mentally—from Crystal Prep Academy. As Gloriosa had hinted, they'd ended up calling themselves the "Crystal Rainbooms," and with Principal Cadance now in charge of CPA, neither school had objected to the union. Twilight remembered the day it was taken—the weekend they'd found out they'd won the contest, they'd all gathered together for a massive party at Pinkie Pie's house. It was one of the few times in her life she'd seen any of her old classmates smiling towards her instead of sneering at her, and it was only now that she'd managed to get used to the new normal. To say nothing of the "new normal" of her being a social butterfly. It still seemed like only yesterday that she was routinely holed up in her laboratory at Crystal Prep, with only a dog for companionship—not even a talking one!—and having convinced herself that that was how she liked it. No friends. Nobody who wanted to be her friend. And headed off to an institute that would have kept her alone, possibly forever. Friendless, forever. Loveless, forever. She swiped through pictures, stopping on one of herself and a brown-skinned, green-haired boy wearing a Camp Everfree T-shirt. The two of them were posing in front of the Ferris wheel of Canterlot's amusement park. Twilight closed her eyes, a wistful feeling washing over her. Which struck her as odd, because her and Timber Spruce being a Thing(tm) technically hadn't been that long ago. And yet... it still felt so distant already. She'd had all the fun in the world with Timber, and she wouldn't have taken it back for anything. But over time, the "fun" had morphed into... routine. Before Camp Everfree, neither Twilight nor Timber had known the other existed, which admittedly made getting swept up in a storybook summer camp romance all the more enthralling. But once they'd actually gotten to know each other over the course of several dates... well. 'Going through the motions' was a term Twilight associated with machines, and she refused for any relationship she was in to be of a similar nature. She might have been crazy about robotics, but she wasn't that crazy. And so, after consulting her best friend Sunset Shimmer, she'd decided to tell Timber as much. She'd hoped that expressing the desire to break things off as soon as possible, before ennui set in and while they were both on good terms with each other, would be easier on both of them. Sunset had told her it wouldn't be. Sunset had been right. She would have given anything to not feel as if her heart were an empty soda can being fed into a wood chipper. To not feel like the world's worst person who had decided to do the same to her now former boyfriend's heart as well. Timber had certainly put on a strong, bright face as they talked it out, and even shared one last embrace, but she could see the pain in his eyes nevertheless. Sunset had also confirmed that just as much happened with all breakups. Boys always tried to hide it—and thus, ironically, boys always showed it. I'll gladly take this cash as payment for utterly demolishing my baby bro's heart. The words cut deep enough that Twilight would not have been surprised if Gloriosa had meant for them to. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a long exhale. Maybe that was why she'd been so intent on raising money for the camp with the rest of the girls. Maybe she still felt guilty, even after being told there was no reason for her to. Maybe... Twilight decided to jump from that train of thought before it derailed into wreckage all over again. Like when she'd visited Sunset after the big breakup talk, able to do nothing but tearfully babble on and on, plastered on Sunset's couch, curled up in Sunset's arms, about how horrible she felt, and how she had absolutely no idea where to go from what she'd just done. Even with Sunset's warnings, she never could have predicted that the experience would have affected her so deeply. And yet, when she and Sunset had ended up making out on that same couch days later, Twilight couldn't help but feel that something in her heart had seen it all coming, since forever ago. Because since the moment they'd met, Sunset Shimmer had always been a constant. The best sort of constant. The kind of constant where, if Twilight ever felt down, if Twilight ever felt insecure, if Twilight ever was scared, or even if Twilight was in the wrong about something, Sunset knew how to make everything feel right. How to make Twilight feel like everything was going to be just fine. And eventually, Twilight realized that she had, for who knew how long, subconsciously devoted herself to returning the favor to Sunset. Subconsciously devoted herself to spending as much time with Sunset as possible, one rock clinging to another, in life's never-ending storm. Twilight quickly swiped to a picture of herself and Sunset, the latter in her trademark blue dress and leather boots, taken at one of their many dates at Sugarcube Corner. Just one look at that smiling orange face and that wild red hair, was enough to bring a smile to Twilight's face, and set her heart at peace. Looking at the picture just felt... better. More right. Sunset felt more right. Sunset felt like home. Even now, Twilight felt criminally lucky that, of all the girls to exist in two universes, Sunset had picked her for a girlfriend. Her, the Crystal Prep social failure science geek who had been headed to a solitary life in the middle of nowhere. Life was definitely full of surprises, of friendship... and of magic. Twilight took one more deep breath, this time to center herself. Now happy and calm, she got up from the steps, walked up, and rang Sunset's doorbell. No answer. She rang again, still nothing. Refusing to assume the worst so soon after she'd been thinking sad thoughts, Twilight tapped out a text. "Hey, I'm on your steps. You didn't cancel the party, did you? :)" A few seconds later, she got a reply. "course not! lil late tho. sending someone else to let you in." Twilight blinked. Someone else? Twilight heard the door unlock. She looked up. And into a mirror.
Old vs. NewPrincess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria was someone Twilight had only met in person once before. Shortly after the Friendship Games, she'd appeared through the mirror portal. At the time it had been an unexpected shock, since Twilight hadn't been fully briefed on what the portal was, or the fact that interdimensional twins were, in fact, real. The whole "magical land of ponies" thing had also taken a while for Twilight to digest. But once she had, wonder of all wonders, both Twilights had found they shared quite a bit in common. All sorts of scientific and magical research texts had peppered their talks, but once the conversation had shifted to Daring Do, they—and Rainbow Dash—came close to being cited for noise pollution. Even if things hadn't turned out the way they had, simply knowing that there really were other dimensions out there, and other versions of herself, would have been enough to delight Twilight's scientific mind for decades. But becoming fast friends with her other self the same week they'd met had been an undeniable plus. Both Twilights smiled at each other, in greeting and solidarity. "Hi, Twilight," Princess Twilight said, wearing an apron that Twilight just now noticed. "You're actually just in time." "Hi." Twilight waved and looked at her phone. It was 4PM. "Wait, really? The party's not supposed to start for another hour." Instantly, Twilight blanched, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, no. Did I forget about Daylight Savings? Was I supposed to set the time manually? Wait, no, that was months ago, and the cloud takes care of the time changes on my phone—" Princess Twilight laughed. "Calm down, Twilight. I just meant that you're in time to help me out. I've been in this kitchen almost all morning by myself." "Oh," Twilight said, tittering. "O-of course." She stepped inside, walking beside Princess Twilight towards the kitchen. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Sunset later, then. She should be helping you out." "Oh, don't get the wrong idea, she totally did! We went shopping together early this morning to pick out foods befitting both human and pony tastes! Which, in turn, involved visiting a... 'supermarket'." Princess Twilight stopped, and, with a dreamy expression, clasped her hands and stared into space. "I have never seen buildings that big with nothing but food in them! All perfectly organized and filed into their own aisles, and with perfectly area-segmented climate control! It was magical, and majestic, and convenient, all at the same time!" With an excited smile, she turned to Twilight. "Do you think I should propose a similar endeavor for Equestria?" "Hmmm," Twilight said, fingers to her chin. "Don't ponies pretty much just eat and even cook stuff that comes from the ground? Very healthy, unprocessed, little need for extended shelf life. It seems to me that a supermarket would be redundant. Outside of storing food during the winter, that is, and even then, it probably wouldn't be very economically viable compared to the small specialty shops you have now." Princess Twilight sighed. If her human form had pony ears, Twilight would swear they would be drooping right now. "I see your point," she said, then with an extra chuckle, added, "Killjoy." Twilight laughed. "Sorry! You did ask me, though." "Of course, I did. And thanks for answering honestly." Princess Twilight winked. "I always trust my own calculations." Both Twilights giggled as they resumed walking. They shortly arrived in the kitchen, where Twilight saw several food platters laid out across the counters. "All right," Princess Twilight said, "let me know if this is okay?" She pointed to the platters, which Twilight quickly realized were ordered. "I was inspired by the 'supermarket' to organize everything by food group. You have your grains and breads here, along with your veggie and fruit salads. Sunset and I will be vacuuming most of those like they're going out of style. Same with the cheeses, probably." Twilight laughed. "No problem. That's why I advised buying extra when I made the shopping list." "And we certainly appreciate it. Now, we've got the beans and nuts over here—though there are also some in the salads—and Sunset handled preparing the meats, which are over here." She scoffed and rolled her eyes in mock haughtiness. "You know. For those who are into that sort of thing." Twilight, being someone who was absolutely into that sort of thing, gasped and squealed as the smell of the freshly baked turkey in front of her overwhelmed her pleasure centers. "It looks and smells fantastic! Ooh, and here?" she said, pointing to the desserts that she'd made and dropped off last night sitting at the far end of the counter. "Oh my gosh, it's everything I made that's totally not healthy for us at all." She turned to Princess Twilight, bouncing with fists raised in front of herself. "Twilight, I couldn't have organized this better myself!" She squealed again. "You're a genius!" Princess Twilight giggled and pointed. "No, Twilight, you're a genius." With a silly grin, Twilight pointed back. "No, you are!" Princess Twilight crossed her arms mock-indignantly. "Hey, now, who's the Twilight Sparkle here?" "Oh, wait—it's me!" they said in unison, before breaking down into uncontrollable laughter. As the two calmed down, Twilight said, "Ohhh, one day that's going to get old—" "But today is not that day," Princess Twilight finished. She held her arms out for a hug, which Twilight gladly accepted. Hugs were found few and far between the two due to the distance between their homes, so Twilight relished them when she could. The familiar feel of how her counterpart felt against her, the familiar shape, the familiar scent, even amidst the small-but-meaningful differences, was stunning. Much like hugging Sunset, it felt like coming home... just in a different way. "I'm so glad you took the time to visit," Twilight said. "Thank you. I know you have a busy schedule as a princess." "I wouldn't turn down an invitation to a party with all of my friends. No matter which world they happen to inhabit." Princess Twilight stepped back, smiled, then rolled her eyes. "Besides, I've come to accept that 'waiting for downtime' in Equestria is pretty much a fool's errand. I mean, even before I was working round the clock teaching friendship to students, I was rehabilitating a rogue unicorn. One with huge magic potential, so much that she almost destroyed all of existence on a temporal level." "All of time?" Twilight's eyes sparkled, and she clasped her hands. "Cooooooool." Princess Twilight looked to the sky, shook her head, and sighed. "That's what Rainbow Dash said. Well, my Rainbow Dash. Trust me, though, neither of you were there. Well, my Rainbow Dash was, again, as a filly, and—look, the point is, there are so many things I've been through where I wished I were just at a party instead." She chuckled sheepishly. Twilight giggled. "Ironically, I wouldn't mind some of your excitement. Your rehab student was Starlight Glimmer, though, right? Didn't she go on to save your life and mine? That just means you're good at what you do." "Oh, stop it." Princess Twilight blushed. "Besides, I'm not the only one here doing well for themselves. I, for one, am so glad you're in such a great place," she continued, "and that you've made so many friends." She grinned toothily. "What'd I tell you last time? They'll take you pretty far... including certain very special ones?" She gave Twilight a slanted look. It was now Twilight's turn to blush. "That's right," she said. "You and Sunset still write each other, don't you?" "A lot," Princess Twilight replied. "And thanks to you, my book's now filled with so many letters of a much... happier, more confident tone." Twilight blinked. "Happier and confident?" Princess Twilight sighed. "Well, without breaching her trust... it honestly wasn't like this before the Friendship Games at all. So many times, Sunset would write to me, and she would always be... so scared. So unsure. So... sad. "She beat herself up so much, Twilight. About what she'd done, about what she was afraid she might do in the future. And I felt terrible about it, because me and the other girls defeating her made it mostly my fault she grew a conscience in the first place. After that, all she could do was search desperately for answers, and I didn't know what to give her at the time, other than platitudes." Princess Twilight looked at the floor. "The day Sunset Shimmer was exposed to the Elements of Harmony was the day she stopped being sure of herself. Stopped believing in herself. Even evil confidence is still confidence." Twilight stepped forward, taking Princess Twilight's hands. "I think we both know that blaming yourself won't get you anywhere. You did what you had to do, and no one could have predicted the effects." She huffed. "All of my encounters with the Elements of Harmony have so far defied any scientific principles I can throw at it." "I understand, I truly do," Princess Twilight said. "Still, that didn't make Sunset's sadness and confusion any less painful to watch. But you..." She looked into Twilight's eyes. "You brought her heart back. You gave her the greatest gift that the rest of us never could. You gave her the ability to hope again. In others, and in herself." She squeezed Twilight's hands. "Sunset told me what happened to you when you first touched Equestrian friendship magic. But no matter what happened that day, Twilight, I promise you: you embody what that magic really stands for, and then some." She wrapped her arms around Twilight's neck, gave Twilight's forehead a light kiss, then looked at her with a sincere smile. "Never let anyone tell you anything different." "W-wow," Twilight said breathlessly, her body temperature now doubled, and her face now almost more red than violet. "Official approval from the Princess of Friendship?" Princess Twilight giggled. "I suppose sometimes, the title comes in handy." "Hey, if it's good enough for my girlfriend, it's good enough for me," Twilight said. "Though speaking of, she's taking an awfully long time to get ready. Especially for her." "Really?" Princess Twilight asked. Twilight nodded. "I've seen Sunset's morning routine. She kind of... doesn't have one. The first day I asked how she does her hair, she burst out laughing." Princess Twilight laughed. "I'm not surprised." Twilight nodded. "Neither was I, honestly. Point is, she should have been down by now—" She was interrupted by a ding from her phone. Both Twilights looked at its screen. It was Sunset. "hey hon you downstairs?" "I am. Princess Twilight let me in. We're talking about supermarkets and redemption." Twilight texted, as she and her counterpart shared shoulder-bumping giggles. "best subjects. tell p-twi i said thanks. could you come up to my room? just you though." "Oh, I see how it is," Princess Twilight teased. "Hey, we share a very special friendship bond," Twilight said, waving and walking towards the stairs leading to Sunset's bedroom. "Time for me to go use it."
Renewed BondsUpon reaching the top of the steps, Twilight knocked on the door to Sunset's room. The door unlatched, and opened a crack—just enough for Sunset Shimmer to be able to look through. When she saw Twilight, she breathed a small sigh of relief, stepped back, and opened the door wide enough for Twilight to walk in. Twilight looked around. The last time she'd been in Sunset's loft bedroom was yesterday, and nothing looked out of place since then. The wall-mounted guitars, bed, game consoles, couch, dressers, computer, and even frumpled, thrown-aside clothes were still in their usual places. Confident that nothing was amiss externally, she decided to address Sunset herself. "Is everything okay?" she asked. "It's almost time to come down for the party, so Princess Twilight and I just wanted to make sure you were ready—" Twilight heard the door lock shut, turned around... and saw Sunset Shimmer wearing an outfit that Twilight had never seen on her before, but which instantly captivated her. If Sunset's fiery hair normally stood out from the rest of her usual cool blue outerwear, it felt right at home amidst the just-as-fiery orange and purple hues of the skirt and top she was wearing right now—to say nothing of an even more ornate leather jacket than her usual. A pair of purple-streaked black leather boots completed the ensemble. Twilight stared, wide-eyed, and struggling for words. She hadn't expected any of this. Not that she was complaining in the slightest. "W-... wow," she finally managed to breathe after several moments. "Hmm?" Sunset said, before noticing Twilight's staring at her outfit. "Oh, right. Yeah," she said, blushing. "Yeah." Twilight twirled a few strands of her hair around her finger, averting her gaze, and biting her lip exactly once. "You look... like... really hot right now," she said softly. Sunset looked away just as shyly. "R-really?" Twilight looked straight back at her. "Uh-huh. Gorgeous." "Well, you beat me to answering that question before I could ask it." Sunset's blush deepened. "Th-thanks." Twilight finally overcame enough of her captivation to walk over to Sunset. "But... what's with it? You've always been into blue." "Not always, actually. Only recently." Sunset ran her hands down her outfit. "This," she said with a sigh, "is how I used to dress. Hundreds of Canterlot High students have this image of Sunset Shimmer burned into their brains as the evil would-be queen of the school." She paused, then added in a low voice, "And the world, if I originally had my way." The whole time she spoke, Sunset avoided Twilight's eyes, holding her arm with her other hand. It didn't take a genius scientist to understand what Sunset was getting at, but Twilight did anyway. Stopping in front of Sunset, she put her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Twilight," Sunset breathed, turning to face her. Twilight saw Sunset's geode pendant pulsing with a bright orange glow. She looked into her girlfriend's eyes. They were still normal—not in the tranced state that usually happened when Sunset was occurred into another's heart or memories. Twilight pondered what that could mean, as Sunset's eyes stared back into hers. Before she could say anything, however, Sunset said, "I'm ready to talk about it. All of it. Whenever you want to." With a gasp, Twilight asked, "Are... are you sure?" Sunset hesitated before replying. "If you're up for it. Yes." Noticing Sunset's vulnerable voice, and her deepening breaths, Twilight shifted into giving Sunset a slow, soft hug. "I'll listen to everything." "Th-... thank you," Sunset managed. Twilight closed her eyes, pressing against Sunset's body, gently and firmly. She felt Sunset's breathing slow. She felt Sunset's shivers subside. She felt Sunset's arms wrap around her. She heard the light clink of their geode pendants touching. And then, without any warning whatsoever, Sunset's life flashed before Twilight's eyes. Twilight saw it all. A land full of ponies—unicorns, no less!—with Sunset holding her head high among them. A defiant student. A disappointed teacher—who looked a lot like Principal Celestia? A huge argument, followed by self-imposed exile through a magical mirror. Anger. Resentment. Hatred. Twilight felt everything Sunset did. Then Twilight saw Canterlot High, and saw how one girl, over and over, year after year, turned student against student. Until one day, Twilight's other self came to town, and vanquished the demon within Sunset... while also showing Sunset a glimpse of something better. Which Sunset tried to get to but couldn't. She felt herself, felt Sunset, being bombarded with confusion. Insecurity. Fear. She saw three evil girls infiltrate CHS, holding musical concerts while doing exactly what Sunset used to do. Sunset was scared, but balled her fists anyway, as she strode forward, hardest face she could muster, legs shaking, being driven away once, being knocked down... ...but then getting back up. A leather jacket obscured the heavens. And amidst a haze of song and flames, there was realization, redemption... and, finally, rebirth. Twilight jerked back, the pangs hitting her heart so intensely each of them might as well have been stakes. She gasped for breath, her hand to her chest. "Oh... oh my gosh." Sunset's eyes flipped up. "W-wait, did that actually... you saw?" Twilight weakly nodded, and put her hand to Sunset's cheek. "Sunset, I'm... I'm so sorry. You've been through so much." Sunset looked at Twilight, mystified, then looked down at her pendant, which wasn't glowing anymore. "I can't believe it. I... I was just gathering my thoughts, trying to figure out where to start for when after this party was over—" She jolted. "Oh my gosh, I think she was onto something." Twilight blinked in confusion. "Who was?" "Princess Twilight!" Sunset snapped her fingers. "In our letters, she told me that the Elements of Harmony have been going through some... changes, for quite some time now. Turning into a tree... then turning into a castle... it's complicated. The point is, they've kind of taken a mind of their own lately. "But what Twilight also said is that after they... changed, they were able to zero in on friends who needed help. In fact, friendship magic connects all of Equestria—but as near as any of us know, there are only a few individuals in this world who've been exposed to that same magic. This is assuming a lot, but what if our geodes take more after the Elements of Harmony than we already think they do?" Both girls' eyes widened and shone. Twilight fingered her own geode. "You think... our magic might be evolving as well?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Sunset chuckled. "Well, if nothing else, this makes having long talks easier. But your guess is as good as mine. Even Twilight doesn't know what the Elements are up to half the time, much less figuring our geodes out. We'll take it as it comes, just like with any other magic that pops up in this world." She averted her gaze. "'Cause, you know. My fault, my duty, and stuff." Twilight rested her head on Sunset's shoulder. "Even if it was a few hours early? Thank you for trusting me with everything you just did. I can see now why your past weighs on you so much." "It does," Sunset said, cradling Twilight. "But it's all right. Because I know you're my future. The others, too." The two stayed in the embrace for a short while before Twilight stepped back with a sly smile, looking up and down Sunset once again. "Still, I think I need to get back to my time machine blueprints, because seriously! I think I just realized I'm into leather and that thought both intrigues and scares me," she said, blushing. Sunset blushed as well, and countered, "I don't think you really know what you're asking." Gesturing to herself, she added, "This is the Sunset Shimmer who wanted to enslave two worlds. The one who had Canterlot High so tightly in her grip that not even Principal Celestia could do anything about her." Eyebrows slanted, sneer on her face, Sunset sauntered forward, backing Twilight towards the couch with each step. Twilight did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach or her shortness of breath as she ran out of room, and her calves hit the cushions. With a single fluid motion of her arm, Sunset pushed Twilight to a sitting position on the couch... then bent over Twilight, forcing her backward. Sunset's sneering grin showed teeth as she placed her arms on either side of Twilight, supporting herself on her palms. "The Sunset you're asking for? Never cared about anybody's feelings, anybody's wishes, but her own. And you're saying you want this?" she said sultrily, and leaned her face, her lips in close. "I used to eat girls like you for dinner." Twi caught her breath, then reached up with one arm, wrapping her hand in Sunset's hair with happy, inviting eyes. "Show me," she said in her huskiest voice, and pulled Sunset down for a very long, very quiet kiss, during which Sunset stopped supporting herself with her arms to lay atop Twilight as they enjoyed each other's company. Twilight made a mental note to herself that leather warmed rather quickly under the right circumstances. She slid her hands down Sunset's sides. "You might be able to hide the good girl I know you are, but you know what you can't hide? These hips," she said, her hands settling on both sides of them, caressing, then sliding to Sunset's buttocks and squeezing. "Mmmmm..." Sunset's eyes fluttered, and she exhaled through pursed lips. "Well, maybe when we have more time... I can show you all of the bad girl you missed out on." She placed her mouth on Twilight's neck and growled like a tiger, the vibration causing Twilight to squeal and laugh ticklishly. "I'd like that," Twilight replied, then placed one hand on her girlfriend's cheek, caressing there as well, dancing her fingers against Sunset's blush, and relishing Sunset's revering gaze. "Watch out, though. I just might end up showing a certain 'bad girl' the angel she's always had inside her." She kissed Sunset's lips, then licked them as she pulled away. "I wonder if I can redeem her in just one night...?" Sunset gulped, taking a moaning breath, her sly expression quickly shifting to slack desire. "W-well, it wouldn't be the first time..." she managed. Twilight was going to reply, but just then her and Sunset's phones dinged in stereo, sending the moment to a crashing halt. Sunset got to hers first. "It's Rarity. She sent it to both of us. Ugh, timing never was her strong su—" She stopped short as she read the message. "Oh my gosh! Everyone's here!" "Which would make sense—it's past five," said Twilight, just as alarmed. "We're the only ones not down there. And we haven't been for a while!" "Yeah, not suspicious at all." Sunset rolled her eyes as the two scrambled to straighten themselves up in front of the wall-length bedroom mirror. "All of the jokes. They're going to hit us with all of the jokes." Once they were both presentable again—to say nothing of cooled back down—Twilight stepped in front of Sunset. "You know... a very wise person once told me that happiness is better than regret. I never quite got what Principal Cadance meant by that until I met you." "That is pretty wise." Seeing that Twilight didn't move from where she was, Sunset then asked, "Twi? Everything all right?" "Well," Twilight said, "What I mean is, I may love this outfit, but if, like you said, everyone down there has some pretty bad memories associated with it... then are you sure...?" She trailed off. Sunset nodded, and Twilight was relieved to see the determination in her eyes. "That's why. This is something I have to do. For them, but even more for me. To prove that who I am inside overrides any outward appearance." She pulled at her jacket's lapel. "Besides, I still like this thing, and I need all the outfits I can get." She smiled. Twilight smiled back. "As long as it makes you happy, it makes me happy," Twilight said. "It will, very soon," Sunset giggled, pulling Twilight into a hug. "I'm so glad we found each other, Twilight. Honestly, I think we were meant to. To clean slates?" Twilight nodded, leaning into the hug. "To clean slates. For both of us." They parted, and Sunset took a deep breath, followed by a just-as-deep exhale. "I guess it's time to do this." "Don't worry," Twilight said, stepping to the door. "You'll have me beside you. Now, and always." "Thanks," Sunset said. "And hey." Twilight turned around and found herself on the receiving end of one last, breathless kiss. "I love you," Sunset said. "I love you too," Twilight said with a wink. "No matter which side of the bed you wake up on." She opened the door, and Sunset stepped to Twilight's side. Twilight saw Sunset's smiling face, which never looked more peaceful than it did right now. Maybe this shut-in science girl got some things right after all. Twilight smiled in kind, and took Sunset's hand. Sunset grasped it firmly, and the two of them stepped outside.
