Competitive Edge

by Craine

Rating: teen
Tags: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle (EqG), Starlight Glimmer, Romance, Drama, Equestria Girls, Profanity
Length: 8706

Twilight Sparkle learns more about Equestrian habits--and herself--than she's ever wanted to.

As the end of Summer Vacation draws near, Twilight suddenly realizes how finite it all is; how easily Sunset Shimmer can just... leave. And how a certain unicorn can make that nightmare real.

Twilight also realizes her greatest error: learning next to nothing about Equestrian habits and culture.

But tonight, Twilight will change that. She'll change everything, and keep Sunset where she belongs...

No matter how physical she has to get.

(SET BEFORE SEASON NINE PREMIERE)

Story is complete. Shall be updated weekly.

Rated 'Teen' for profanity, suggestive themes and Starlight Glimmer being a cock.

Enjoy with my blessing, friends!

Published 2019-09-24 20:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2019-10-08 18:27:38 UTC

Chapter 1

Twilight Sparkle was not jealous.

She wasn’t glaring at Starlight Glimmer’s back. She was… studying her, searching for answers. Yes, that’s it.

Surely, there was a logical, reasonable cause for this. Sunset Shimmer wasn’t the type to just… ditch friends for other friends; she made friends--she made those friends friends.

Yet, in the twilight weeks of Summer Vacation, Sunset and Starlight were subatomically fused at the hip. A fact that remained as they walked along an unpopulated sidewalk.

Twilight glared--no, no, studied--harder. Even an impulsive, spontaneous lout like Starlight should’ve know about personal space. But the way her arm clamped over Sunset’s waist…

No. Twilight Sparkle was not jealous.

“So whaddya say? Think she’ll go for it?”

Starlight’s voice made Twilight’s mouth twitch. What was so special about her? Why had Sunset practically abandoned all her friends just to be with her? And skulking around in the dead of night?

Starlight was a horrible influence.

Twilight shivered at a sudden breeze. She offered paranoid glances at the buildings they passed, moonlight glinting in the curtained windows.

Everybody was asleep. Twilight knew they were asleep. She should have been asleep.

“That sounds like a horrible idea that could very easily backfire.”

Twilight looked at the back of Sunset’s fiery hair. It was so easy to forget that Sunset wasn’t really human. Starlight wasn’t human. They were Equestrian ponies. They talked magic. They studied Magic. They ate hay. They ran in open fields until they dropped. Of course they'd be drawn to each other.

“Whatever happened to living in the moment?”

Still, she didn’t understand it. Why couldn’t Sunset discuss magic spells in ‘Old Ponish’ with Twilight? Why couldn’t Sunset nessle and nuzzle against Twilight's cheek at any given moment? Why, oh why, did Starlight put those grubby, greedy, little hands all over Sunset? Why did Sunset allow it?!

Twilight didn’t understand.

But she was going to.

Even if it killed her.

“Maybe we should ask the girl in question,” Sunset said.

Twilight crossed her arms for the fifth time since they left her house, and had kept several paces behind for just as many minutes.

Twilight couldn’t talk to them. Either of them. She still had to figure this out. She had to decide if she hated Starlight Glimmer. If Starlight would truly take Sunset away from her.

“Whaddya say, Sparks? That is, if you’re still up for the main event. Hehe. Get it?”

Twilight refused to scowl. She’d avoided doing so all throughout the day. A faux smile here, a forced laugh there. She’d done so well.

Then Sunset knocked Starlight’s hip with her own, and that scowl came crashing in force.

“Ugh. Dork,” Sunset laughed, stumbling back into stride.

The main event. How could she forget. Afterall, Twilight was curious about Equestrian pass times. She’d said as much at least.

But wrestling? All that… touching and gripping? All that pain?

Twilight had to remind herself, late into the night, that her friends were ponies. If equine similarities ran deep between worlds, roughhousing was natural.

And Twilight wanted in. She wanted to learn.

The purple teen forced a smile and said, “I’m still game.”

Starlight gave a breezy exhale and grinned. “See, Shim? Told ya she’d go for it--”

Another bump of the hip. The trio stopped walking and faced one another.

Sunset cleared her throat and glared. “Details, filly.”

Starlight rolled her eyes. Twilight did the same for a different reason.

That cock of the hip. That cock-sure smirk. That cocky flip of smooth, amethyst hair. Starlight Glimmer was a total cock.

“Details, huh?”

Sunset shrugged, amber face stained with red. Twilight tried to ignore that much harder than she wanted.

“You’re really gonna make me say it?”

“You know what? I’ll say it, Starlight,” Sunset said.

“Say what?” Twilight's eyebrow started twitching.

Sunset's smile was now a tad forced. “Well… I, uh…” She took a deep breath, though that did nothing about her still-present-blush. “Okay. You know Starlight and I are ponies, yeah?”

Twilight nodded. “Mmhm.”

“And you know clothing isn’t really a necessity in Equestria.”

Another nod. “I gathered that.”

“And… a-and you know how rough ponies can get when we play.”

Twilight shrugged. “I’m no expert on the subject, but I--Sunset, what are you getting at?”

Sunset ran a hand through her fiery hair.“Well… I… I, uh…”

“Oh, for Discord’s sake!” Starlight said. “We wrestle in the nude, Sparks. We roughhouse with no clothing and want you to join us.”

Twilight suspected that Sunset and herself were now an identical shade of red.

“Starlight!” Sunset cried.

“What? You were beating around the bush. You know I hate that.”

Sunset socked her in the arm. Starlight just rubbed the sore spot and giggled.

Twilight regained enough of herself to scowl again. “Ab. Solutely. Not.”

Sunset sighed in what sounded like relief. Starlight, on the other hand, stepped closer.

And Twilight was sure that Starlight wasn’t so… tall. Maybe if she stood a little straighter… Nope. She still felt the spicy, oat scented breath on her forehead..

Twilight kept her head straight, but she looked up to meet that challenging gaze.

“Oh, come on, Sparks?” Starlight jeered. “What’s so wrong with a little competition?”

Twilight kept her arms crossed, leaning on her hip. “I said I was game, Starlight Glimmer. But the clothes stay on.”

Starlight leaned on her own hip, a hand clutched to it. “Uh-oh. Using full names. Should I be worried, or should I be laughing, Twilight Sparkle?”

Purple nostrils flared. Out of sheer impulse not felt since her Crystal Prep days, Twilight’s eyes hit the ground, then slowly, deliberately raked upward. They stopped at those daring, indigo eyes again.

"Ah, Starlight, lay off.”

The pink girl ignored Sunset Shimmer and smirked, an eyebrow raised.

“You like that? I promise, it gets better underneath. Sure you wanna decline our offer?"

"Um, hi? Your offer!" Sunset barked.

Twilight said nothing, flat-cut bangs dancing with the gentle night winds.

“Well, we have all night to… explore,” Starlight said, her voice low and… threatening, Twilight decided. “But why wait for the school gym? How ‘bout we go right here? Right now?”

Twilight reached up, and slowly removed her glasses.

Sunset shoved herself between them.

“OKAY! That's our cue to get this night going!"

Sunset turned on a swivel, facing her startled fellow pony.

“You.” A word punctuated by the finger jabbing the left breast. “March.”

Twilight snorted at the muffled squeak.

“Aw, come on, Shim. I was just having some fun,” Starlight protested, hands raised. “If she wants to keep these restricting rags on, who am I to judge?”

Sunset shoved that same breast, and Starlight stumbled back.

“Move it, jerk! I swear. Why do I put up with you?”

Starlight turned on her heal, and sauntered ahead. Twilight frowned at that trying-way-too-hard sway in the hips.

“Like I really need to answer that. See you on the mat, ladies.”

Twilight was shaking. Shaking with hands at her waist, balling into fists.

She both felt and heard shifting *crack* in her grasp.

“Oh no!” she cried.

Sunset sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Ooh… ”

Twilight unfurled her hand, staring sadly at her now-mangled glasses.

She carefully bent the onyx frame back in place, slipped them on and hoped for the best. They slanted to one side.

Sunset snorted, and Twilight glared at her.

“S-sorry, Twi.” Sunset said, righting herself. “I can help pay for another pair.”

Twilight pushed up her mutilated glasses. They slanted right back down. With a sigh, she crossed her arms for the seventh time that night.

There was nothing for it. So Twilight turned toward their destination and walked.

“I have needle nose pliers at home. I’ll fix them after… whatever this is.”

Twilight winced into the night. That came out far more venomous than she wanted. She listened for another set of footsteps, and sighed with relief as they came.

“Twilight?”

“I’m sorry…”

Uncomfortable silence passed between the walking pair. Sunset rubbed the back of her neck.

“She was only teasing you, Twi. I hope you know that.”

Twilight hesitated to answer.

“Yeah… I do.”

Sunset quirked a brow. “Then what’s with the frown-y eyebrows?”

That worried Twilight. Sunset was normally reserved and patient with her. She never pried, or demanded answers. Unless a friendship was in danger, or if she needed answers. Usually both.

“Just… What is it, Sunset? What do you see in her?”

To her credit, Sunset looked a bit miffed at the question.

“W-what does that mean?”

“It’s been two weeks, and I barely see you anymore.”

“Well, yeah. That’s becau--”

“I know why, alright? It’s because of her!”

Twilight’s hands shot to her mouth as Sunset recoiled.

Both girls stopped walking, and faced one another. Twilight righted herself with another deep breath.

“Ever since Starlight came back you’ve… I don’t know, you’ve changed.”

Sunset snorted, and that was starting to piss Twilight off.

“I haven’t changed. Starlight and I… well, she just knows how to get under me, ya know?” Sunset smirked at crooked glasses. “Yeah, you know.”

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” Twilight said, futilely adjusting her glasses.

“Nothing’s funny. I just really think Starlight might be good for you,” Sunset replied.

This time, Twilight snorted..

“No I’m serious, “Sunset continued. “Being around a gal like that? I mean, I can be pretty competitive but… damn, she just does something to me.”

“And you think she affects me too?”

“Are you saying you weren’t about to take her on right here? On the street? In the middle of the night?”

“You’re actually enjoying this…”

Sunset shrugged with a quirked eyebrow. “I’m just saying, cut loose with her. Mess with her, egg her on. For Equestria’s sake, give her a taste of her own medicine. Starlight likes to… derail everything. Serious or not.”

Twilight frowned hard. “Yeah, serious. Like turning your personality inside out.”

Sunset erased her smirk with a frown of her own. “That’s ridiculous. I’m still me.”

“Really? You’ve never gushed about eating hay, or running in open fields . Heck, you’ve barely talked about magic spells--that I’m pretty sure aren’t possible in this world--before Starlight came.”

“Okay, what’s your problem, Twilight?”

Twilight did not appreciate that tone.

“Let’s start with the crime we’re all about to commit.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, reached in the back pocket of her skirt, pulled out a loop of keys and jingled them.

“It’s only breaking and entering without these. I thought we were passed this.”

“Oh, we were. Until I came to my senses!” Twilight’s glasses slanted further, but were ignored. “Let me guess; Starlight put you up to it. Because breaking into CHS after hours isn’t you.”

Twilight tried to ignore the dark shift in her friend’s eyes. Sunset seemed to notice as she looked away.

“You don’t know everything about me, Twilight…”

A three-second pause…

“T-then how about what I do know? Naked wrestling is not normal. I can’t believe you thought I’d go for that. Oh, wait. That was Starlight’s idea too, wasn’t it?”

Sunset’s face twisted up like she’d been punched in the sternum. That same face slumped with the rest of her features.

“It… it is normal…”

That’s when Twilight’s brain caught up to her words.

“No, wait a minute… T-that’s not what I... “ She took a tentative step closer. “I’m so sorry. It’s just… so easy to forget, you know?”

Sunset frowned at the concrete sidewalk. “Forget what? That I’m a pony?”

Twilight slowly nodded.

“Right. Well, I am. I get homesick, and miss doing pony things every now and then. Is that normal?”

Twilight flinched at the snark. “Sunset, I didn’t mean--”

“She gets me, Twilight,” Sunset said, now leering at the bookworm. “With her, I don’t have to pretend!”

Twilight reached for Sunset’s shoulder, but thought better of it. “But you don’t have to pretend. You never did. Not with me, or any of our friends!”

“No, you don’t get it. In her, I have everything I’ve missed for nearly seven years. I have my old life back!”

“God dammit, I know that! I JUST WISH…!” Twilight deflated, suddenly very tired. “I just want to be part of it.”

Sunset’s eyes widened, jaw slightly agape.

“I miss you,” Twilight whispered. “I miss you so much, and you’re just… drifting away. I can feel it.”

Her hands were taken into Sunset’s.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not.”

Twilight stared at the hands gripping her own.

“I thought you were homesick…”

Sunset tightened her grip. “That’s not fair, Twilight. Seriously, why did you even ask to join us? I wouldn’t have agreed if I knew how much you hated her.”

Twilight’s breath hitched at that.

“You even went the extra mile and fitted for matching unitards? A little late for second thoughts, right?”

Twilight pulled at the stretchy, breathable spandex beneath her skirt and blouse. Rarity did work extra hard on those measurements. Nevermind creating the garment on such short notice.

She just wish it didn’t ride up so much. Or so often.

“I… I-I don’t hate her.”

“Mnh.”

“I don’t! I just don’t want her to… take you away from us.”

Sunset pressed her forehead against Twilight’s.

“Stop talking…” Sunset whispered.

“B-but I still--”

“Shut up.”

Twilight meeped and fell silent. Sunset nudged Twilight’s forehead back with her own, then pulled away.

“Shut up and listen to me, okay?”

Twilight nodded without a word, eyes locked with shimmering turquoise.

“Starlight Glimmer is… special to me. I can be a pony without leaving. All thanks to her.”

Twilight wasn’t feeling any better about this.

“But you? Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash… You saved me from myself. How could I ever leave you?”

It still happened. Here and there, Sunset would confuse her with the quirky, confident princess that actually did save her. But she didn't get mad about it. Not anymore.

“I didn’t save you, Sunset… You saved me.”

Sunset’s forehead pressed unto Twilight’s again, light and life dancing in her eyes.

“I would’ve killed the entire world, all for magic. That monster… I… I let her take me, whisper sweet nothings to me. But you brought me back. You taught me things about magic that Midnight Sparkle never could.”

A shadow of a smile pulled at Sunset’s lips. Somehow, Twilight felt unworthy to return it.

“You accepted me at my worst. And if I ever lost you, I’d--”

Twilight’s breath hitched again. She closed her eyes at the nose and lips pressing hard against her cheek.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Sunset whispered against that soft face. “My place is here, right where I should be. Starlight won’t change that. She can’t.”

New instincts flooded every cell in Twilight’s body. Instincts that didn’t belong to her. She knew they didn’t, and that scared her. But she listened to them, anyway.

She closed her eyes, nuzzling Sunset right back.

There, they remained beneath the starlit blanket of night. Chirping crickets their only company..

When they pulled away, Twilight’s face was hot for multiple reasons.

“Okay. What was that?” she asked with a growing smile..

“That, Twilight, was a natural pony gesture. Hello. Goodbye. Good luck. Cheer up. Good work.The list goes on.”

“And… what did that one mean?”

Sunset closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Twilight was quite sure the brimming sincerity would melt her.

“Thank you. For accepting the real me. And… I’m sorry. For never giving you the chance before.”

The chest-filling, stomach-twisting flutters that followed were not new to Twilight. She’d felt it once before--several times--when she dated a young camper named Timber Spruce. But that ship had sailed. Now?

Now, Twilight didn’t know how to continue. Or even if she should have.

Her eyes willed themselves down to the mouth oh so close to hers..

“Are ‘You’re welcome,’ and ‘It’s okay,’ expressed the same way?” Twilight asked.

A smirk sharpened those amber lips. An inviting smirk. Daring, even.

“Uh-huh…”

Doubt melted away with their intermingled breaths. She wanted this. Twilight wanted to lean forward and kiss Sunset Shimmer right on the mouth. Hard.

It was risky. It could’ve very well ended the first real friendship she’d ever had. And she didn’t even like girls!

A cold grip clutched at her heart. A grip that loosened when she stared around Sunset’s neck. No geode. No magic. No empathy. Sunset couldn’t see the wanton impulses ripping through Twilight’s head.

But that damnable smirk. She could probably read Twilight like a book.

A new respect bubbled and festered to life in Twilight’s chest. A loathing respect for ponies.

To be this close on a regular basis? Without clothing? Without jumping each other’s bones the very next instant?

How did they do it?

“Hold on a sec. I feel like we’re forgetting something.”

Sunset’s eyes clicked wide.

“Gee. Imagine that…”

Both girls whipped their heads to a fuming Starlight Glimmer.

“Ah, yeah, that’s right,” Sunset said..

Starlight crossed her arms with a blushing pout that Twilight may’ve actually found the slightest, barest possibility of being cute.

In some other reality.

In another part of the Multiverse.

Ten thousand life times from then.

“You could’a told me you’d hang back twenty minutes to make out.”

Twilight and Sunset unlatched from one another, the former stammering like she’d been caught cheating on a chemistry test.

“W-we were just--”

A hip bumped into hers.

She looked over to Sunset, and got the hint.

Twilight crossed her arms and mirrored her best friend’s smirk, gaze averted to the street.

“--totally about to suck face,” Twilight said as crassly as she looked.

Sunset’s cheeks blew out as she stifled a laugh. “Adda girl.”

The way Starlight’s fingers squeezed her own arms. The pursing lips. The slowly narrowing eyes. Twilight wished, with everything in her, that Starlight was jealous.

“You two are so gonna get it. Forgetting about me like that…”

Starlight shoved herself between the pair, and draped an arm over Twilight’s neck and shoulders.

Twilight offered the offending cock-of-a-girl a sidelong, lidded glare.

“But I can’t be too upset,” Starlight continued, smirking down at Twilight. “Sunset accomplished her mission, afterall.”

“And what mission was that?”

She was answered with a face pressed against her cheek. Then her ear. Her breath hitched, no differently than it had with Sunset.

“Showing you how us ponies get down.”

Twilight didn’t mean to shiver. Starlight didn’t deserve that satisfaction. But her voice was so low. So… husky.

Twilight pulled away as far as Starlight’s confining arm allowed her. She regretted, for perhaps the third time that night, leaving her telekenisis-granting geode at her house with Sunset’s.

Though, she couldn't help but wonder just how much Starlight had heard...

“God. Did anyone ever tell you you’re an enormous cock?”

Both Starlight and Sunset laughed at that.

Twilight couldn’t see it--she didn’t want to--but she knew Sunset was on Starlight’s opposite side. And she knew that other offending, detestable, breakable arm was slung around the waist again.

Starlight led them both to walk with her before Twilight could protest.

“So…” Starlight began, “which of you meatbags are eating the mat first?”

Sunset scoffed. “That would be you, sweet teats.”

Twilight smiled at that.

“Pah! Your head still swollen from your last lucky-ass win? And I do mean ‘last.’”

“Luck? Making you tap out three consecutive times has nothing to do with luck.”

The confining arm left Twilight, and she shivered.

“Oh, I’m gonna suplex you into a wall, Sunset Shimmer!”

Twilight glowered as Starlight tormented Sunset. Yet another reminder of how close they had gotten.

How much closer they were to each other.

Without her.

A point driven home when Sunset laughed.

That pony-ish laugh she almost never let out. The one with a faint, nickering undertone. A laugh Twilight had heard more times today than for the length she’d known Sunset.

Twilight never got her to laugh like that.

It wasn’t fair.

“And you.”

Twilight reeled back too late to escape that returning, confining arm. “What about me?” she asked, eyes roaming the ground again.

“After I make Shim tap out like the little bottom she is,” Starlight grunt-laughed at a strike to her ribs, “it’ll be your turn. Hope you stretched.”

Twilight latched onto Starlight’s wrist before she even realized she did so. Whatever power Starlight possessed, Twilight didn’tlike it.

Luckily, Sunset provided the knowledge with which to fight back.

“And I hope you brought a toothbrush. It’ll help you wash the taste of my cat-snack out of your mouth.”

Twilight foreswore the decency to cover her dirty little mouth, instead, smirking at the gaping indigo eyes thrown down at her. That smirk sharpened as wide, bright and proud turquoise joined in.

Laughter exploded into the echoing night. The girls nearly toppled over as their walk devolved into a collective stumble.

Sunset wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh, wow.”

Twilight felt Starlight’s arm constrict around her neck and shoulders, hand clawing vicariously beneath her breast.

“And here I thought I should take it easy on you,” Starlight said through the last of her laughter. “I’m gonna make you scream, princess.”

Twilight dared not say another word. But she held a solid smile, which was much harder than she let on.

Not for the teasing she was in for; Sunset had never forgotten the cat-snack comment.

No.

But because she couldn’t not ignore the prowess of the smug little girl-cock binding them all together.

Twilight knew it when she sized her up only minutes before: how lean, lithe and fit Starlight was.

She felt it in the arm holding her fast.

She saw it in the way her ankles dipped so smoothly up into solid calves.

In how tall she carried herself.

In how confident she was.

How magnetic.

And that she was only minutes away from wrestling with this creature.

Twilight Sparkle knew she didn’t have a chance.

But it didn't matter. The longer Starlight remained in her presence, the more certain Twilight became. She had to do this.

She didn't care what Sunset claimed; Starlight was whisking her away. How could she not be?

The way Sunset's eyes lit up when Starlight laughed… How her eyes narrowed when Starlight teased her… How her face dimpled out so gloriously when Starlight made her smile…

It wasn't fair.

But if Twilight could prove her strength, if she could topple Starlight Glimmer in the ring…

Maybe Sunset would stay home.

With her.

Right where she belonged

Chapter 2

When Sunset asked Twilight to play referee, she didn’t know how to answer.

There wasn’t much to it, really; sit tight, stop the ‘main event’ if things got too rough, enjoy the show. Short and simple.

Except it wasn’t simple. Not one bit.

Shaking on the edge of the school bleachers, Twilight watched with bated breath.

“Come on, Sunset!” Twilight shouted, eyes vivid and bright. “Get out of there!”

Granted, cheering exclusively for Sunset seemed a little unfair. And dangerous if Starlight’s performance said anything.

And it said quite a lot.

“Yeah, Shim! URG!” Starlight grunted, tightening her grip on the arm twisted into both of hers. “Get outta there!”

“Get. Off. OF ME!”

Sunset thrust her backside skyward. Starlight yelped and stumbled over her mount, grip unlocking. A more powerful thrust threw Starlight face-first into the mat.

“Get up!” Twilight shouted again. “Get up, get up, get up!”

Both girls scrambled for balance on the mat. They resumed their starting position: crouched down, one fist on the mat, the other over a bent knee. Sweat-drenched unitards clung even tighter to every inch of them.

Sunset fell to one knee.

Starlight laughed through her short breaths. “What’s that all about? Huh, Shim? Ready to quit?!”

Sunset, her own breaths even shorter, rose back to a full crouch. “Shut it! You’re only hyped… because… audience!”

Starlight’s smile took a dangerous curve. She leaned in, prepping to lunge.

“And I can’t wait to break you in front of your girlfriend! LET’S GO!”

Both former ponies charged at once.

Twilight felt a heart attack coming on. She even let the ‘girlfriend’ comment slide. If a single thought strayed from what was happening right then and there, Twilight would’ve missed it.

And, as referee, that was dangerous.

Sunset. Was not. Joking.

When ponies played, they played rough.

Shouts and insults thrown like weapons, the two tackled, slammed and threw one another around the blue mat for minutes on end. Sunset showed the first signs of slowing.

More than once, Twilight nearly jumped in when a limb was twisted a tad too far, or a scream was a tad too loud.

Honestly, Twilight could barely even stand. If she had, she’d probably collapse right back on her rump. She was shaking profusely.

The tension--so thick she could mold it like clay. The constant, unending physical contact--so hard and so swift, she could hear bones collide.

The fact that they literally, actually started glowing.

Pink and amber-colored hands collided, entwined and locked. Squeezing. Straining. Pushing.

“You’re not… beating me… this time!” Starlight grunted through clenched teeth.

Sunset grunted in return. “Then you’d… better… pick it up!”

Arms bent outward. Torsos shot forward. Foreheads collided. Faces strained and dripped with sweat.

Twilight tucked her fidgeting hands tightly between her thighs, eyes like dinner plates, breath shallow.

Then something changed. Twilight saw it coming, yet she still couldn’t believe her eyes.

They ponied up.

It was so sudden and so quick, the roughhousing girls didn’t seem to notice. That, alone, made the dangers much more real.

Sunset dipped under and tackled Starlight’s waist. The latter squealed and grunted to keep balance, legs staggered in a much wider gait. Sunset pushed and pushed, muscles cracking as her opponent pushed back.

“Come… on! FALL!”

Starlight’s arms hooked under Sunset’s torso. Twilight’s hands shot to her mouth.

Starlight teetered backwards, taking her now-screaming opponent with her. A fiery-haired head crashed into the mat.

“Sunset!” Twilight screeched, shooting to her feet.

Sunset flopped listlessly onto her belly, a panting Starlight sitting wide-legged beside her. Twilight was about to intervene. But then…

“MINE!” Starlight roared.

She mounted Sunset again, whom only just blinked back into consciousness. Grunts and curses bounced along the empty gym room again, and Starlight twisted that same arm within two of her own.

“No!” Sunset screamed.

“Now tap out like the bottom bitch you are!”

Starlight gave sharp twist. Sunset screamed louder, shoving the last of that scream into the mat.

Twilight wanted to scream too. To shout for them to stop. To throw caution to the wind, tear off everything that wasn't spandex, leap off those bleachers and tackle Starlight off her savior. But she sat there. She sat there and she watched.

She was a horrible referee.

Sunset slammed the mat with her free arm, lifting her backside as much she could. Starlight bounced, and her mount hit the floor again.

“Stay down!”

Twilight gulped, tugging the neck of her unitard. She'd only just realized she'd been staring hard and deep from directly behind.

She tried and failed an embarrassing number of times to look away from Sunset. But the lascivious spread of those legs. That hard body pressed and forced down by another.

Twilight was a horrible friend.

Sunset cursed and tried to rise again, face twisted with rage, effort and pain.

Twilight gasped, and Twilight meeped. Twilight fidgeted, and Twilight tensed. Every twist of Sunset’s arm sent the bookworm into tizzies of fear. Fear that only grew with Sunset’s every attempt to rise.

Sunset would throw her backside up into restraining loins. Those loins would cast her right back down.

Eventually, she did rise, if only to her knees. But Starlight held fast, kneeling right behind her.

“Tap… out!”

“Never!”

Twilight’s jaw dropped at what Starlight did next: She bit Sunset’s pony-ear. Turquoise eyes flickered with rage, but then rolled back into the head.

“Uhn! F-fuck you…”

Twilight shouldn’t have been surprised.

Every creature, sentient or otherwise, established dominance in many different ways. But ear-biting? Equines didn’t do that. Being human must’ve changed that somehow; an omnivorous adaptation, perhaps.

She really should’ve brought her notebook.

Starlight muttered something Twilight couldn't make out, lips nudged into that twitching ear.

“Tap out. I don’t wanna hurt you.”

Sunset struggled harder, wide eyes desperately flitting around for an escape. Teeth raked along her ear again. Eyes rolled back. Muscles shook with weakness.

Another hard, final twist.

Sunset cried out and assaulted Starlight’s knee with light taps.

“That’s it! She’s done! Let her go!” Twilight shouted.

Starlight released Sunset and fell back on her butt. Sunset crumbled onto her side, hissing in pain, cradling her shaky arm. Twilight moved to step off the bleachers, but stopped again. Again.

Why did she hesitate at Starlight’s every twitch? What was it about this girl?

She watched Starlight scramble around Sunset to face her. She remained on all fours, knuckles on the mat.

“Are you okay?”

Sunset didn’t answer, eyes dark and narrowed upon Starlight. She also rose to all fours. Well… all threes; her shaky arm curled up into her chest.

Starlight crawled closer, face nearly touching the other. “Sunse--”

Sunset thwacked Starlight’s face with her own. Starlight sputtered with a blink. Then Sunset nipped at her. Right on the neck. Starlight yelped and recoiled, eyes wide.

“That hurt…” Sunset’s voice was so low. So ashamed.

Starlight tried to shake off the tension with a smirk. “Heh. No way you were beating me a fourth time.”

Sunset just stared at the mat.

Starlight lunged forward all the same, and nuzzled that little bacon-pony-girl like her life depended on it.

“Don’t be mad at me, okay?” Starlight's smirk was completely gone.

Sunset pulled away, but Starlight shuffled closer, now nuzzling beneath her chin.

“Sorry… ” Starlight whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Sunset released a long-held breath and her glare. She returned the nuzzle in kind.

“It’s okay,” Sunset whispered back. "You earned that win."

Twilight froze in place. This was sacred. This was real. This was what it meant to watch ponies. To be a pony. To be close without reserve or shame.

She started to understand true companionship since her transfer to Canterlot High School. At least, that’s what she thought. But this?

She wanted this.

She envied this.

It was magic of a different sort.

And she wanted to understand it all.

If she could share such a thing with Sunset… with anyone...

Twilight blinked back to reality. She was staring and she didn’t mean to. She was content, though, watching them make up. If just for a bit longer.

That is, until their lips brushed over one another.

Twilight cleared her throat, and her companions sputtered away from each other. She grinned as they blushed.

“Right. Audience,” Starlight muttered.

Sunset gave a quiet nicker.

Twilight was quite certain she’d never get used to that.

Both girls rose, Sunset being helped to her feet. Starlight’s lips hovered next to that pony ear again.

“Better luck next time, scrub.”

Another nip at the neck. This time Starlight chuckled. She caressed the nipped spot and slapped the other pony-girl’s butt as she retreated to the losers’ seat. Starlight smirked at the lidded glare thrown back at her.

Different friends, different dynamic. Nothing to be jealous about. Twilight Sparkle was not jealous.

Because Twilight had a better dynamic with Sunset. A true dynamic. She didn’t need to touch and rub against her all the time. Not like Starlight Glimmer.

She just wished Starlight wasn’t so… liberal about it. Surely, asking permission wouldn’t have killed a girl.

Twilight shut her eyes.

Different friends. Different dynamic. Different cultures. Short-sighted ignorance was not friendship. And Twilight had to remind herself an unsettling number of times.

“Hey, uh, Sparks?” Twilight’s eyes snapped open, and blinked at a cross-armed Starlight. “You sure you’re up for this?”

Something broke inside Twilight’s head.

Of course Starlight--arrogant little girl-cock she was--would question Twilight’s resolve, question her strength.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Twilight tried and failed not to sound offended.

“Well, not to say you’re losing your nerve, but, umm…”

Starlight pointed, and Twilight’s eyes followed, then widened at her own shaky legs.

Jaw setting behind pursed lips, Twilight willed her limbs to be strong and solid again. She tried, at least. Wait, were her teeth clattering too? Gods, they were. And her arms? Her chest?!

This was going swimmingly…

A hand fell on Twilight’s shoulder. She turned to Sunset Shimmer, and balked at the determination creased along her face. She noted the single, twitching ear--the one that was recently bitten.

“Demolish her…”

No words of encouragement. No offers of surrender. No patronizing pats on the back. Not even frets about her well being.

Just a girl who hated losing as much as she did.

Something else broke inside Twilight's head, and she completely stopped shaking. And right then, Twilight knew what Sunset had done to her; she’d taken a sledge hammer and smashed the dam that staunched all her courage.

Sunset… believed in her.

Even when Twilight didn’t believe in herself.

Like she always had.

She just wanted to nuzzle that pony-girl into oblivion whether she liked it or not. But that would’ve been silly. That would’ve been a cock move, and that job was already taken.

Twilight unbuttoned her blouse.

An infuriating snort interrupted her. “Kind of a tall order, huh, Shim?”

Twilight clenched a fist without realizing it.

“And why’s that, Starlight Glimmer?”

Of all Twilight expected--a smirk, another snort, an arrogant scoff--Starlight actually frowned. Twilight squashed the newly-hatched butterflies in her belly. On a normal day, Twilight found it difficult to read people. Former social pariah, and all that.

Ponies on the other hand? Their little ears gave them away quite shamelessly, and Starlight’s were no exception. Oh, how Twilight loved the way they folded back…

She should’ve felt proud. She did feel proud. Proud to get under Starlight’s skin.

Starlight smirked through her frown.

“You’re playin’ with fire, you know that?” she warned. “I’d watch my tone, if I were you…”

A smart girl like Twilight knew the dangers of leaping before she looked. Logical people didn’t do that. But logic wouldn’t have put this girl-cock in her place.

So she removed the rest of her casual clothing, rolled them up and tossed them in a pile of other discarded clothes.

She stepped off the bleachers, ignoring the biting cold on her chest and nethers. She marched right up to Starlight. And she stared, no differently than she had on the walk there. Head straight and level. Eyes leering upward. Arms crossed.

“You’re going to make me?”

Starlight’s smirk now seemed a bit forced, left ear giving a solid twitch.

“Alright, Lunch, get on the plate.”

Twilight’s eyes followed the finger pointing to the mat. She turned to that direction, and obeyed, eyes now closed.

“Whatever you say…”

Is this what ponies did to each other? What they did to her? She felt so… free. Wild, even. That the word ‘consequence’ suddenly had no meaning. That she could sway her every step--in a God-forsaken unitard--and feel the exact opposite of shame.

Twilight saw some jimmies in dire need of rustling. And she was socially conscious enough to know exactly what rustled another girl’s jimmies.

She used to think it was stupid. Even petty. But not now. Not anymore

Twilight straightened her posture at Sunset’s deep, shuddering laugh from the bleachers.

“So help me, I’m gonna break that ass…” Starlight said.

Spoken like a true girl-cock, Twilight thought.

Then something occurred to her. More of a feeling, really. She’d felt it constantly through the halls of Crystal Prep, so it wasn’t exactly new. But now it was different--the eyes she felt on her.

Eyes that no longer narrowed with contempt. Eyes that didn’t break her down to her absolute weakest, and scrutinize her every fear. Eyes that didn’t mock her.

No.

These eyes made her feel sought.

Enviable.

Desired.

She stopped on the mat, and spun on her heel to present herself. Twilight could hardly believe the eyes shooting upward to meet hers.

Starlight was totally checking her out just then.

She would’ve written the notion off in a heartbeat, were it not for the bitten lip and single, squinted eye.

“Lunch is served,” Twilight said, hand on her hip. “You’re really gonna need that toothbrush.”

Starlight approached the mat with a wide gait. Twilight felt a new bundle of butterflies hatch in her stomach. And she burned them alive without remorse.

They took their places opposite each other. A whole nine feet apart, but Twilight could clearly see the red stained on that pink face.

The former unicorn scoffed. “You think you’re so hot… Don’t you, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight shrugged in triumph at the jimmies officially rustled. It was a good night.

Starlight crouched down, a fist upon the mat, the other pressed over her knee. Twilight mimicked her, and felt her muscles crack with tension, heart beating faster.

They both stared without blinking, and Twilight felt her limbs start to tremble.

“Tonight, ref!” Starlight said.

Twilight kept focused on her opponent, but snorted at the sputter from the bleachers.

“R-Right, right.” Sunset collected herself. “You know the rules: no hitting, no mane--er--hair-pulling. First to submit or throw the match loses. Clothes stay on. Ready?”

Twilight could already feel her muscles burn. And immediately she started to think this was a horrible mistake. Perhaps if she’d analyzed the occasion a bit more objectively--

“GO!”

Twilight mind was thrown into a whirlwind of terror and doubt.

No build up.

No pause for dramatic effect.

Twilight had once thought there was a process for this kind of thing. Or at least a checklist explaining more vital rules. She needed a plan. But there was no time. This was utter madness.

Wait, is she still ponied u--

Starlight smashed into her like a truck.

Author's Note

When the night ends, it's not over.
We fight through to get closer.
Like a silver bullet piercing through.
I throw myself into you.

Chapter 3

Twilight screamed.

That was a skosh humiliating in itself.

Twilight normally screamed when something frightened her. Spiders, inner-she-demons, quesadillas--those cheesy little monsters--and seeing a pony-face in her reflection.

However, Starlight Glimmer added another fear to that list: snapping bones.

This whole event, indeed, was a horribly miscalculated error on Twilight’s part. She should have never agreed to join Sunset and the brute that tossed and slammed her on the gym mat.

If Twilight were honest, however, she’d hoped to at least hit some kind of stride. To find her inner warrior as the pain set in. To rise and fight back. To break her limits and topple her superior.

That. Did not. Happen.

Instead, her glasses flew off in the turmoil.

And she screamed.

Constantly.

Sure, she’d achieved a few good licks--out of pure desperation, if not skill. Every arm bar, Starlight twisted out. Every headlock, Starlight slipped out. Twilight even managed to ground her, and bend her entire left leg in a boston crab.

To say Twilight didn’t enjoy the pained shout would’ve been a total lie. To feel Starlight wriggle and writhe underneath her. To straddle her down and hold the power.

But, that same leg had thrown the lanky bookworm face-first into the mat.

For Twilight, hours passed. In reality, it was only two minutes. Two minutes, trying to find and maintain her footing. Two minutes, feeling and dreading Sunset’s eyes on her. Two minutes, knowing that Starlight showed her mercy.

That was the worst feeling of all.

Whenever those screams became louder, Starlight would let her go. She would lightly slap Twilight’s head and say anything from ‘On your feet, princess,’ to ‘You should’a tapped out.’

Somehow, those taunts egged the egghead on. Spurred her to charge and fight with all she was worth. Starlight knew that too.

Twilight had been tossed and twisted ever since.

And she screamed every time.

Now and then, Twilight would glance at Sunset. That face. That deplorably worried face.

Twilight could’ve accepted getting manhandled before a captive audience, if said audience didn’t look like someone was stomping on her pet gecko.

At least, that's what Twilight thought she saw. Without her glasses, Sunset was a mere splotch of orange, red and yellow. The crimson red freaked her out before she remembered that Sunset wore a unitard.

Twilight was disgracing herself.

She knew it. She did.

But she couldn’t stop.

She had to prove herself.

Twilight had to show Sunset that she could stand and fight. To show Sunset she was strong. At least strong enough to avenge a fallen friend.

First, she had to pry Starlight’s arm from around her neck.

The good news? Twilight wasn’t screaming anymore.

The bad news? Twilight couldn’t scream anymore.

“Come on, princess! MNH! Tap out!”

Twilight sat on one knee, her other leg splay uselessly aside. No chance to regain her footing. No chance of escape. But Twilight tried anyway, curled hands pawing and clawing at Starlight’s tensed arm.

Starlight tightened her grip with a sharp twist. Twilight’s blurry vision snapped with white. And her struggles weakened.

“Th-That’s enough, Starlight! Stop the match!”

Twilight frowned. And that alone made her more light-headed.

“Up. To. Her!” Starlight declared with another tightening twist.

She had a point, Twilight knew. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. More so, that Sunset doubted her. But… why wouldn’t Sunset doubt her? Why wouldn’t anyone doubt her? If anyone else saw this…

It was Crystal Prep all over again.

The weak little mouse: All brain and no brawn.

The slowpoke who puffed and wheezed after a two-yard run.

Twilight could barely lift fifty-pounds. What on Earth made her think wrestling was a good idea? She knew the answer. And that answer was staring right back at her.

“Twilight, please! Give up!”

Twilight could barely hear Sunset, could barely hear anything. It was just her slow, inadequate breaths, squeezing passed a constricted windpipe. Her once-erratic heartbeat, now slowed and calm.

Give up…

Is this what Sunset Shimmer really thought of Twilight? That she was some wimp? Some twig who should’ve quit while she was ahead?

Well… she wasn’t wrong. Twilight was nothing like Sunset. Nothing like Starlight for that matter.

A gentle whisper filled her ear.

“You like ice cream? Twenty-four-hour-shop a few miles in town. Loser’s treat.”

Twilight would’ve laughed if she could have. Starlight already won and she knew it. She was just gloating now… With a sincere, friendly offer.

Starlight Glimmer.

Patronizing girl-cock.

...

She was something special.

She challenged Sunset. She pushed Sunset. She inspired Sunset to be spontaneous, to focus on the positive despite the worry, or danger. She stirred old instincts that Sunset buried for years just to fit in.

She made Sunset feel at home, away from home.

All things that Twilight couldn’t hope to do.

Twilight felt herself relax, that confining arm now… comforting somehow.

Maybe this was right.

Maybe Starlight should’ve stolen Sunset away. To be with her people, her roots. Her true self.

Maybe Twilight was just being selfish. Yes, unfair to the last person who deserved. And surely, Starlight didn’t deserve it.

Because Starlight was a hero. Twilight’s hero.

If not for her, Twilight and all her friends might’ve still been trapped in limbo behind Juniper Montage’s mirror. To this day--months later, they might’ve still been falling.

Starlight is the one who stopped that.

Twilight owed her everything.

She was… a true friend.

Twilight’s eyes twitched open, her heart beating louder in her ears. A fresh flood of air filled her lungs. The numb tingle left her now-stiffening muscles. But the most notable change of all?

Twilight could see. Clear as day.

This… Twilight knew what this was. A force she’d once feared. A vice she’d grown to accept. A weapon she’d used to protect herself and her friends.

The Magic of Friendship.

New strength ripped through her limbs. She reached up and pried Starlight’s arms from her neck.

“W-what the…?!”

Twilight slinked away with a feline’s grace, body twisting around. She was on all four now, legs wide apart, fists pressed firmly on the mat. She stared right into Starlight’s now-shocked eyes and smirked.

She flexed her back, smiling wider at the flaring wings.

She twitch the alien--yet oh-so-familiar--ears on her head. And heard every rasp in Starlight's breathing. She heard her pulses, quickening by the second.

The brush of extra long hair along her backside confirmed it.

Twilight ponied up.

A droplet of sweat rolled down Starlight’s brow. Twilight’s smirk became a grin. The former unicorn just looked so… defenseless. Sitting there all wide-legged, leaning back on stilted arms.

“Um… o-okay, then?” Starlight muttered.

Twilight muttered right back, “Mine…”

Then she pounced.

Before anyone knew, Twilight was behind Starlight, her own arms constricting that slender neck. That felt good.

Twilight’s grin faltered at the flailing struggles that met her.

“Let… go!”

Twilight locked her other arm over her own wrist. And squeezed even tighter.

“Not so fast,” Twilight whispered, that pony-ear twitching against her lips. “Ready for that cat-snack?”

Starlight struggled harder, and Twilight reveled in her own bolstered strength. The harder Starlight fought, the tighter those arms squeezed.

Then Twilight got an idea. An awful, wonderful idea. She eyed that twitching pony-ear. Once again, alien instincts tempted her, mingled with her own. And once again, she listened.

Twilight bit the little ear.

Her tongue prickled at the salty taste, and she grinned fully again, teeth raking along flesh as she pulled back.

“Oh, no FUCKING WAY!”

Starlight tripled her efforts to escape. Twilight grunted and squealed for control as Starlight jerked and thrashed about.

Twilight lost her grip and watched Starlight slip and tumble away. Both girls righted themselves and faced one another, one smiling fiercely, the other gritting her teeth.

Both girls resumed their starting pose: crouched down, a fist on the mat.

Twilight’s fierce smile morphed back into a smirk, and Starlight didn’t like that. Not one bit.

“For the record,” Twilight said. “I love ice cream. Hope you can afford a sundae.”

“Oh, that is it!” Starlight shouted. “You wanna go, princess?! LET’S GO!”

And so they did. And Twilight couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

This feeling--this competitive edge… It did things to her that science never could. No, that wasn’t true. The numbing surge through her heart. The blood rippling through her veins. The very thought of making Starlight act in any desired way.

This was science. Chemistry at it’s finest. Psychology in the works.

Yet again, the gym echoed with grunts, shouts and bodily contact. Gripping, pulling, spinning, tossing. Twilight loved it. Twilight needed it. She would’ve never known she needed it, if not for Starlight.

Before CHS--before Crystal Prep, for that matter--touching was taboo for Twilight.

A notion, later abolished, yes, but she'd never forgotten.

How she would tense when another's skin brushed against hers.

How her breath fell nauseatingly short after a hug. Excluding her family's, of course.

That all changed when she met the girl cheering her head off on the bleachers.

Twilight could simply kiss that wily mare-in-a-people-suit. Hell, she could kiss Starlight.

The way she handled her. Squeezing, crushing and throwing.

Hands all over her.

Straddling her down only to be thrown right off.

Feeling her.

Where once, it made Twilight cringe with lingering pain--and minimal disgust--it excited her now. It gave her the strength to fight back. The need to fight back

It made her strong. Strong enough to break that girl-cock in two.

A lofty goal, however. Yes, Twilight found it easier to break from Starlight’s holds. Even the more painful ones. But after several more minutes, an impasse was reached. Both girls knew that as they stood and faced each other again.

Breaths heavy.

Muscles worn and shaky.

And yet they smiled.

Twilight tried something daring. Starlight was very good at catching her unawares; when she was focused on anything but the opponent.

So Twilight looked aside, but not at nothing. She saw Sunset at the bleachers, no longer sitting, but standing. Shuddering. Lip-chewing. Hands tangled in her fiery hair. Eyes so wide they’d have fell out after any wrong move.

A stark difference from the jumping, whooping and cheering nut-case she’d become when Twilight ponied up.

Starlight charged like a bull. Just like Twilight wanted.

The book-worm-turned-roughhousing-savant snapped back to attention, and stepped aside.

Starlight's confidence was scrubbed clean off her face.

Brow furrowed, Twilight latched her arms around the slender waist with a loud *thwap*.

“Oh, shit…” Twilight heard from the bleachers.

With a leg-shuddering stomp, an abdominal-burning hoist, and a roar befitting a beast of legend, Twilight threw all of her weight up behind her. And a shrieking Starlight Glimmer along with it.

“OH, SHIT!” came another, louder cry from the bleachers.

Starlight hit the mat, and folded like a lawn-chair. She rolled back onto her knees. She remained there a while longer, face and eyes hollow.

She swayed…”Ow…” Then fell motionless to her back.

Twilight remained on the mat, body twisted round to see her handy work. She couldn’t hope to wipe that proud grin off her face. But it fell anyway, as the job wasn’t quite finished.

Twilight scrambled to her feet. Then collapsed to one knee. She was winded, but decidedly better off than her opponent. A huff escaped her, and she staggered to her feet without falling.

She hobbled forward just as Starlight regained consciousness.

Then she saw the fear.

Fear that only worsened as Twilight got closer.

“W-when? How??” Starlight shuffled backward at a snail’s pace.

All movement stopped when Twilight reached and stood over her prey. They locked eyes, one’s narrowed, the other’s pleading--desperate even. A swift, wordless message passed from person to pony. A warning and a choice glinting through Twilight’s scathing gaze.

She caught Starlight’s eyes flitting below several times.

“O-okay, wait a minute, I...” Starlight held up her palm, as though to stop an impending onslaught. “Just… wow…”

Twilight slapped a tight grip onto Starlight’s forearm.

“No, wait! I GIVE UP!”

Every thought paused. Twilight was going to twist that arm the same way Sunset’s was twisted. But seeing those glimmering eyes, on the verge of tears. It pulled something in Twilight. Something she couldn’t quite explain.

There had been many of those today.

“What did you say?” Twilight asked in genuine wonder.

Starlight averted her eyes. “I… I-I give up.”

The rush of disappointment surprised even Twilight. Surely, this was cause for celebration. But Twilight could only gawk, for her eyes deceived her not; Starlight was actually afraid of her.

The clattering teeth. The falling sweat. The ragged breaths. The constant failures to maintain eye contact.

Twilight Sparkle was having none of this.

Starlight shifted where she lay. “W-what are you staring at…? If you’re g-gonna gloat, get on with it.”

Twilight realized she was still holding Starlight’s arm.

Her breath hitched as those annoyingly alien impulses stirred again. The fear. The submission. The permission to flaunt her superiority. All alien to a girl who had only known defeat up until recent months.

Alien things that terrified Twilight. Not that it stopped her acting on them all night.

Twilight tightened her grip. She reached down with her other arm, hoisted Starlight by the collar of her stretchy unitard and brought their faces close.

Twilight drank in the expression: akin to a child awaiting punishment. Twilight released her arm, but held fast to that collar.

Then Twilight kissed her.

A simple, dispassionate thing. Starlight’s breath hitched--eyes wide with shock. Twilight pulled back, tongue gliding over her chops.

Twilight hummed with a growing smirk. “So that’s what I taste like.” Then she dropped Starlight back onto her butt and sauntered toward the exit. “Don’t forget to brush.”

Twilight’s eyes flickered to Sunset Shimmer, who’s own eyes darted aside. Twilight noted the red tint painted on that face. She reached the exit, grabbed her clothes and left without a word.

It was all she could do to keep from fainting.

Author's Note

All of these voices inside my head
Blindin' my sight in a curtain of red.
Frustration is gettin' bigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pull my Devil Trigger!

The final chapter is afoot. Prepare yourselves.