Pink Skies at Sunset

Chapters

The First Time Waking Up With Her
The First Real Date
Sleepover Weekend
School Gossip
Game, Vent, Chill
PinkieCode
Nightmare Night

The First Time Waking Up With Her

The first rays of sunshine broke past the curtains. In her half-conscious state, Sunset was reminded of the castle, of waking up on a cushion after falling asleep during a lesson, only to find the princess watching over her. Even after living in this world for so long, some mornings she still half expected to wake up in Equestria. Weight shifted against her side and she adjusted her arm around the person next to her. The scent of bubblegum finally got her to open her eyes.

She was lying on the couch in her apartment, looking up at the ceiling. Next to her, curled up and clutching her clothes, was Pinkie, cheek resting on her shoulder and drooling on her hoodie. Sunset's arm was around her waist. She smiled at her sleeping girlfriend as she properly remembered the night before.

"Heeey, girlfriend!" Pinkie hopped in the moment Sunset had opened the door for her, throwing her arms over her shoulder and squeezing her with an excited squeal. She quickly rushed past her into the apartment and put her backpack down.

"Um, come in," Sunset said with a silly smile on her face. She knew it was there and she didn't mind it. She deserved to feel a little silly.

After kicking off her shoes, Pinkie skipped up and gave Sunset a second hug, pressing her lips to her cheek with a giggle. "Hmm, 'girlfriend' is great, but do you think we can shorten it? Girly? G-friend? 'Bestie' was so... snappy."

Sunset chuckled again as she carefully pulled her arm out from under Pinkie's body and replaced her shoulder with a cushion under her head. She wiped at the spot of drool with her sleeve, but it was already dry. She needed to wash this one anyway.

She stepped over Pinkie's backpack on the floor and went over to the tiny corner of her apartment that could be called a kitchen to start making coffee.

Pinkie set the treats she brought on the couch table and sat next to Sunset, watching expectantly as she picked up one to try it.

"It's so good," Sunset said quietly through a half-full mouth after the first few bites. Pinkie squealed and squeezed her hand instead of tackling her again.

"I knew it! I know you like orange and strawberries, so I was gonna make orange-and-strawberry muffins, but I mixed it weird and it came out kind of blegh, so I just made six of each flavour!"

"You're gonna make me fat."

"Aww, that's okay. I'll still like you when you're fat," Pinkie said softly, leaning on her and petting her hair.

Sunset looked back to the couch when she heard groaning. Pinkie stretched her arms up high and her leg off to the side. She then collapsed again with a huff and curled back into the light blanket. Sunset smiled to herself and yawned, waiting next to the coffee machine for it to be done.

"So... what do we do?" Sunset stared down at their interlocked hands, taking particular interest in the new coat of pink polish on Pinkie's nails.

"What do you mean? You play games and I cheer you on and then we watch silly videos. We always do that, silly."

"Yeah, but... we're... dating now." She looked up at Pinkie, who was tilting her head at her, like looking at her from a slightly different angle would make her understand better. "I mean, won't things be... different?"

Pinkie blew air at the strand of hair hanging in her face. "Sure it's different. I can do this now." She grinned and leaned forward, pressing her lips to Sunset's in a superficial kiss. Sunset's eyes drifted closed and she felt the tension melt from her shoulders.

"You know," Pinkie continued after breaking the kiss, though she didn't back off very far, "my sister got a boyfriend and she also says she goes to him to 'hang out'. So it can't be that different."

"Huh. I guess." Sunset thought back to her time with Flash, but using any of that as data on how a relationship should work felt wrong. She also hadn't been friends with him like she was with Pinkie.

"Come on!" Pinkie squeezed her hand tightly. "Don't think so much, girly, let's play!" She cocked her eyebrow for a moment before snickering. "Okay, 'girly' doesn't work."

Pinkie sat up with a groggy smile and tussled hair. Sunset brought over a mug and dropped two sleeves of sugar into the coffee.

"Good morning," she said gently, kissing the top of Pinkie's head, while running a hand through her messy curls.

Pinkie mumbled in response and picked up the mug, holding it closely under her face to just smell the coffee for now. Sunset sat next to her with her own and took a slow, careful sip. After a few seconds, Pinkie took a long sip and opened her eyes wide, seemingly instantly awake. Sunset didn't find it difficult to imagine a mechanical Ping! sound as her mood visibly shifted.

"Morning, G-friend," Pinkie returned and threw one arm over Sunset's shoulders, pressing a firm kiss to her cheek.

"You know, Pinkie, maybe we should stick with 'bestie'. It's not like we're not best friends anymore."

"Hmm, I guess." She shrugged and chugged the rest of the coffee.

"Isn't that still hot?"

Pinkie set the mug down with a quiet thud. "Burning! I need milk." She quickly climbed over Sunset's lap and hurried to the fridge.

Sunset felt her eyes drift closed as the final video in Pinkie's playlist ended. They were already lying on the couch, Pinkie curled up against her side and a thin blanket over their legs. Pinkie reached over her to turn off her laptop, while Sunset yawned into her hand.

"We should go to bed," she said quietly as Pinkie settled back against her.

"Nope."

"What do you mean 'nope'?"

"I wanna sleep here." She nuzzled into the crook of Sunset's neck, resting her chin on her shoulder.

"I can just carry you--"

"Nope!" Pinkie smirked and grabbed her hoodie with one hand and her sweat pants with the other, wrapping her legs around her thigh.

Sunset scoffed quietly and pulled the blanket up a little more. "Fine. Have it your way."

She stared at the ceiling for a while, the only light in the room now the streetlamps shining through the window. She looked down at Pinkie, her eyes closed and breathing evenly. She carefully put her arm around her waist.

"I love you," she said softly. Her heart beat faster as the next second stretched into an anxious eternity.

"Love you too," Pinkie whispered back, half asleep.

The First Real Date

Fall Break would only last a total of six days. Sunset had finally managed her confession the last day before, during the formal. The next day, Pinkie had stayed over. Family obligation kept her away the next two, which meant there were only three days left before they had to go back to school and the last two were covered for plans with the whole group. Of course they'd see each other between classes, but they barely had any together and homework would keep them apart too. So both of them were eager to spend as much time together during their week off as they could.

"So you're ready for your first date?"

Sunset looked up from the text conversation she was having with Pinkie, at Rarity sitting at the table with her. "What?"

"Darling. Your first date," she stressed again, putting her pumpkin spice latte down with enough of a thud to emphasise her point.

"I don't know, I was just going to invite her to... you know, hang out."

"But you just got together! You can hang out anytime, but isn't it time for you to do proper couple things? It'll be a lot harder once we're swamped again."

Sunset frowned down at her phone. She was right. She didn't have a lot of friends in relationships - really only Twilight - but perhaps it really was high time. In fact...

"We're doing this all backwards, aren't we? I mean, Twilight went on several dates with Timber before she called him her boyfriend!" She sat up straight and ran a hand through her hair. "Oh man, we're so overdue!"

"Relax, it's not like it's an obligatory order. Twilight and Timber are just more traditional. It's different when you've already been friends for a while." Rarity put a calming hand on Sunset's shoulder, before picking up her drink again. "That said, you might want to get on that soon."

"Liiiiiiime!" If the yelling didn't tip her off, the hammering on her bedroom door didn't leave any doubt that it was Pinkie. Limestone groaned and dragged herself over, opening the door quick enough that her little sister's hand swiped empty air for a second.

"What do you want, sis?" she grumbled, her headphones still in one hand, the loud rock music faintly blaring from them.

Pinkie bounced in place and just squeaked excitedly while holding her phone in Limestone's face, showing her a text conversation with someone saved in the memory as "💖Sunny💘".

"Do you want to go out tonight. Like, for real. As, like, a couple," Limestone read out loud with an unimpressed deadpan tone, before staring blankly at her sister's face, which looked ready to burst with excitement. "Aren't you already dating her? You were screaming about nothing else for days."

"Yeees!" Pinkie bounced faster, somehow. "But this is a real date, our first real date! We were just friends before - but now we're more than friends!" Limestone grimaced as her sister grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Not that I value any of my friends less, you know, but still! But we were just friends before and so we never had any dates - aside from friendship dates, obvs! - so we totally started dating without going on dates before and now it's finally happening!"

Pinkie's voice had risen into a screech on the last few words and Limestone felt a headache coming on. "And why are you telling me all this?"

Pinkie's expression dropped into concern. "Because I've never been on a date before. Not even one! I don't know what to do or where to take her! And what if I take her somewhere she doesn't like? What if she takes me somewhere I don't like and then I have to lie to her and tell her that I did and then I lied to my super amazing new girlfriend and--mmpfh!"

Limestone grit her teeth and pressed her hand firmly over Pinkie's mouth, pressing her fingers into her squishy cheeks. "Get. To. The. Point."

Pinkie nodded and muffled an affirmation. When Limestone let her go, she took a deep breath, but let it out again slowly. "Help me, please," she said a lot calmer, with the sort of smile that their parents used to deem more acceptable, before they both chilled out about a lot of things.

"Look... first dates are never amazing. They're there so you get to know someone and see if you have enough in common to get along. But you already get along and you already know her. You for sure have a party-planning folder about everything she likes, don't you?"

Pinkie's eyes darted back and forth. "Haha... no I don't. Pffh, that would be... so creepy. Obviously not..."

"Ugh. My point is, you don't need to worry that much. Just go somewhere you both like. And... hold hands and stuff. I guess... think of it as a private party for just you two."

Pinkie's eyes lit up and she quickly wrapped Limestone in a firm hug that could have been crushing, if she hadn't gotten used to her sister's surprising strength years ago. "Oh, thank you so much! I knew I was right to ask you!"

"Yeah, yeah... just text Maud next time or something."

"Oh, you're right! Maud already has a boyfriend!" She giggled and tapped her own head with her knuckles. "Silly me!" She hummed and skipped up the steps to her own room again.

Limestone groaned and closed the door, putting the headphones over her ears again. "I'm not jealous. Absolutely not. Who would be jealous?"

Sunset didn't own any clothes that hit the dating sweet spot. She had dresses, Rarity had made her more than one over the entire time they'd been friends, but wearing one of those felt like too much. And while she liked all her other clothes, she wore them casually, even to school, so it wouldn't seem special enough to go with those.

Her solution was to just combine the least fancy dress - a short red one with a neck halter - with the pants, boots, and vest she wore every day. After messing with her hair for a bit, she brushed it all over one shoulder and tied it into a loose braid.

Thus satisfied, she headed out for the movie theatre ahead of schedule, arriving a good ten minutes before the time they had agreed on. After getting their tickets, she leaned on the wall outside the door and busied herself with her phone until she heard rapidly approaching steps.

"Sunnyyy!" Pinkie ran towards her, the long ribbons of her blue-and-pink dress dancing behind her. She had a yellow balloon tied to her wrist by its string, which bounced back and forth, jerked around by the swing of her arm as she sprinted.

Sunset quickly put her phone away and stood straight, already setting her back foot more firmly against the floor. Sure enough, Pinkie skipped into her waiting arms for a firm hug. After Sunset had put her down, she stuck her hand into one of the pockets hidden between the layers of her frilly skirt and pulled out a party blower, excitedly blowing into it, sending a small amount of confetti drifting into Sunset's hair.

"Happy first date!" she announced loudly, drawing the attention of the other theatre patrons waiting nearby.

"Um, yeah, you too, Pinkie. Wanna head inside?"

"Yup!" Pinkie beamed and confidently took Sunset's hand, holding it tightly as they headed inside.

Subconsciously, Sunset had her back more straight as she stood next to her, showing two tickets to the woman checking for them at the door. With both of them a little dressed up and holding hands in plain view, it had to be obvious to anyone that they were here on a date. With their friends, it was one thing, she'd gladly hold her girlfriend close all day. But they were in public, in front of complete strangers. A slight paranoia snuck its way into the back of her mind.

They were some of the first inside and quickly found their seats. Sometime between heading inside the building and getting to the seats, Pinkie had bought an armful of popcorn and small snacks, distributing them across both of their laps and into the cup holders as they sat down. Finally, she unravelled the string from her wrist and tied it around an armrest instead, letting the balloon bob in the air about the same height as their heads.

"Think you got enough?" Sunset asked with an amused smirk.

"I dunno, we'll see," Pinkie said with a shrug, already reaching into the bucket of popcorn.

Throughout the pre-show ads and trailers, they started kidding around and quietly making joking remarks at each other. Every time Sunset whispered something to Pinkie, her girlfriend giggled and even snorted once, touching her arm and her shoulder like she had to hold on to not fall out of her seat.

They only mostly pulled themselves together when the actual movie started, still whispering amongst themselves during the opening parts, until the action properly started. Sunset could feel herself getting pumped by the well-choreographed fights and snappy dialogue, while Pinkie kept on giggling, trying to stifle herself between snacks.

As the movie slowed down before the climax, Sunset tuned out for a bit. The plot had been the weakest point so far and she was just waiting to get to the scenes the trailer had already spoiled for her. So instead of paying attention, she looked down at Pinkie, who had leaned over and was resting her head on her shoulder, one hand in the bag of gummy snacks in her lap, the other touching Sunset's hand, running the fingertips over her palm and playing lightly with her fingers.

She moved her hand to lace her fingers with Pinkie's and caught her eyes as she looked up. They smiled at each other, their faces only illuminated by the shifting colours of the screen. And without exchanging any words, Pinkie pushed herself a bit further over, closing the distance and kissing her softly on the lips.

Sunset's heart pounded, faster than for any of the action. The paranoia made itself known again, making her think of the people in the row behind her, what they might think if they noticed. But she didn't want to cut this moment short. She raised her other hand, slightly sticky from the popcorn, and ran it through Pinkie's curls, playing with them between her fingertips.

They only parted when the sudden start of the climax made both of them look towards the screen again. But Pinkie stayed close and their hands remained interlocked.

The sun was leaning towards the horizon when they left the theatre. Sunset walked a few steps ahead onto the sidewalk and stretched her arms over her head. Pinkie caught up after handing her balloon off to a child who had just come out of another movie with his parent.

"Sooo, what now?" she asked as she came up next to her, reaching for her hand again.

"We'll find somewhere to eat. At the mall maybe? If you still have room after all those snacks."

"Oh, Sunny. You know I have a separate stomach for snacks." Pinkie shook her head with a smile that almost seemed condescending.

"Good. Because I'm not ready to bring you home yet."

The mall wasn't far from the theatre and it didn't take them long to agree on a place to sit down and eat at. School was still out for a few days, so the mall was packed, even for a Friday night. But they still found a small table outside one of the eateries. Pinkie sat down to make sure no one else took it while Sunset went to order their food. She returned with two big servings of fried noodles with vegetables, sitting down across from Pinkie.

They ate and chatted about the movie. Pinkie retold some of the events in a way that, combined with her facial expressions, made Sunset almost cough up her food a few times, stifling her laughter while holding a hand over her mouth. They got through most of the meal before Pinkie adjusted her position and reached behind her, getting something that was hidden behind the large ribbon at the back of her skirt.

"Here you go," she said cheerfully, having calmed down from the giggle fit she had had almost all evening. On the table she placed a small, flat present, wrapped up in orange paper, printed with little bonfires, and with a red bow. Instead of a name, it was marked with the sun icon that featured on a lot of Sunset's clothes - her cutie mark back in Equestria. "Happy first date!"

"Pinkie..." Sunset looked down at the present and picked it up, an uncertain smile on her face. "You don't have to give me anything. You don't give gifts on first dates."

"You do on a Pinkie Party Date." She grinned across the table and winked at her.

"But, I don't have anything for you."

Pinkie waved it off. "Pffh, that's fine. You don't give gifts on first dates, silly!"

Sunset put the plate aside and opened the gift, doing her best to unfold the paper instead of ripping it. Inside was a simple plastic box, from which she retrieved a hand-woven wristband, made from yarn in different shades of pink. Attached to it was a plastic charm in the shape of a heart, with three balloons in the middle.

Sunset looked up to see Pinkie beaming at her, holding up her own hand. On her wrist was a similar band, orange and red, with Sunset's cutie mark printed on the heart. Sunset stared dumbfounded for a moment, before the smile overcame her again. She quickly put hers on and reached out for Pinkie's hand, looking at the wristbands next to one another on the table as she held it.

"You made this today?"

"Actually... I kinda already made them on the night after the formal," Pinkie admitted with a quiet chuckle.

Sunset looked up at her bright, blue eyes. "I don't deserve you."

"Of course you do. I..." Pinkie hesitated, her eyes drifting away as a deeper blush rose into her cheeks. "You make me happy."

Sunset looked at her, trying to search her expression for the reason of her sudden apprehension. She thought for a moment to read her emotion, through the geode she was wearing around her neck, as always, but decided that was inappropriate.

"I'll take you home," she said finally. Pinkie smiled and nodded and they got up together.

They stopped in front of Pinkie's family home. Which window belonged to her room was plain to see from outside, bright curtains covering the inside and balloons tied to the windowsill, in stark contrast to the heavily subdued colours the house was painted it. They stood in front of the door and loosely held hands, standing in silence for a moment.

"I had fun," Sunset said finally. "I mean, of course I did. I always have fun with you."

"Yeah, thank you for inviting me." Pinkie looked up into Sunset's green eyes. Here was another chance, but she could already tell it was going to pass her by again.

"I'll... see you then. Tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, of course!" She squeezed Sunset's hand. She almost forgot in all the excitement that they were all meeting up. It wasn't a school break without getting together with everyone, after all. "I'll miss you."

Sunset laughed quietly, a bright melody that made Pinkie's heart flutter. "It's only one night, Pinkie."

"I'll do anyway!" She stepped in and wrapped her arm around her, hugging her close. Sunset's hand slipped from hers and both her arms wrapped around her back. She could have spent another hour in the warm embrace, but they both flinched a little as the porch light turned on and the front door opened.

"Hey, sis. You better come inside before you fall asleep out here," Limestone said gruffly, talking to Pinkie but with her eyes fixed on Sunset.

"Okey-dokey." She quickly got on her tiptoes and gave Sunset a quick peck on the lips, briefly feeling her breath on her own, before she walked backwards to the door. "Good night, Sunny."

"Good night." Sunset smiled and waved, before she turned around to walk back home by herself.

She held onto herself until Limestone had closed the door, before she let out a deep sigh, sinking against her older sister and hugging her.

"I guess it went well then," the older girl grumbled, patting Pinkie's shoulder instead of returning the hug.

Pinkie squeaked with tired excitement and skipped on the spot, before she caught a glimpse of Marble, peeking in from the living room. She ran over to her and pulled her little sister into a warm hug as well. "Oh, isn't life wonderful!?"

"Mm-hm," Marble mumbled passively.

Sleepover Weekend

Sunset cast quick, searching glances around her apartment. No clothes lying around, no empty packaging or used dishes. It wasn't perfectly spot free, but clean enough for her to welcome guests. Especially guests who wouldn't judge her much for having a few things out of place.

She went over to the single large window and looked down towards the street, hoping to spot her friends already. It was almost about time now for them to show up and she was excited about this weekend. To see her friends, of course, but to see Pinkie most of all, even though their first date had been less than twenty-four hours ago.

"I'm whipped aren't I?" she asked her reflection in the mirror when she quickly looked herself over in the bathroom. "No, you're right, I'm allowed to be happy. She won't mind if I'm a little messy, right? She never did before. ... Why am I talking into a mirror?"

She would have contemplated her reasons, if the sound of the doorbell hadn't diverted her attention immediately. She quickly went back through the main room and opened the door.

Pinkie was spring-loaded. The moment Sunset opened the door, she leapt into a flying hug, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders. Sunset was, of course, already a master at catching her, taking a half step back and wrapping her arms around her waist to hold her up.

"Uh, everybody come in," she said casually, holding Pinkie while the others filed in, chuckling and making small comments.

"It's gonna be this all the time now, huh?" Rainbow asked drily.

"Oh, hush, let them enjoy their honeymoon phase," Rarity chided with a smile.

When everyone was inside, Pinkie let go and gave Sunset a kiss on the cheek before they joined the others, settling on and around the couch. It wasn't all that different. Pinkie sat beside Sunset whenever she could, always one hand on her arm, or around her back. She cuddled close now and again, but it didn't change the atmosphere much at all. She was never going to neglect any of her other friends, after all.

"Oh, yeah, I left snacks in the fridge," Sunset said eventually, after almost an hour of all of them just chatting amongst each other. Twilight had already laid out her sleeping bag and stashed her bag in the corner, but everyone else had dropped their things once they were in the door and hadn't bothered with them yet.

"Ooh, I got'em!" Pinkie hopped up from the couch to bounce over, crouching down in front of the small fridge. She grabbed the tupperware containers from inside and looked down at them on her way back, trying to guess what might be inside.

Only when she was steps away from the couch did she look up again and her expression soured. "Hey!"

"What's the problem, sugar?" Applejack asked from her spot next to Sunset, though her smirk betrayed the poor attempt at playing dumb.

"Yeah, you love snacks," Rainbow snickered. She had sat down on Sunset's other side, pointedly leaning on her shoulder. "I mean, you've been clinging to this one all day."

"Whoa, hey!" Sunset interjected, though she was smiling and chuckling along with them.

"You're in my spot!" Pinkie insisted, stomping her foot, while forcefully handing the containers off to Fluttershy, who quickly scrambled not to drop any of them.

"You snooze you lose," Rainbow shrugged, turning to fully lean her back on Sunset, putting her legs over Twilight's lap.

Pinkie fumed for a second, but it suddenly fizzled when she looked at Sunset. She was laughing, nudging Rainbow's back, to playfully make the position less comfortable for her. Because this was all in good fun, like everything they did. Pinkie shook off the sudden swell of anger and walked the last few steps over, smoothing her skirt against her legs and sitting down on Sunset's lap, sinking back against her chest.

After some nudging and shifting, they all ended up being more or less comfortable, Rarity and Fluttershy sitting on the floor in front of the couch, eating what Sunset had prepared for them all. Conversations became more fractured and Fluttershy turned on the console for Rainbow Dash - who still refused to move - and eventually they were all focused on the games.

"I hate to say this," Sunset eventually spoke up, buried under Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity, who had switched places with Applejack at some point, "but I have to pee."

The actress' shriek was quickly contested by Rarity, who clung to Rainbow's arm for the umpteenth time, digging her nails into the blue skin.

"Ouch! It's fine, the movie is over, don't skin me please!"

Rarity quickly composed herself again, nervously fixing her hair as she sat up straight. "So sorry, Dashie. But to bring that thing out another time right at the end... that's cruelty to the audience, really."

"Okay, guess we're done with horror movies for the night," Sunset decided, gently moving Pinkie so she could get up and retrieve the disc from her console. Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh of relief, relaxing her hold on her pillow a little.

"So, we watched movies, played video games, had marshmallows..." Twilight counted on her fingers. "Another sleepover activity would be telling scary stories?"

"No!" Rarity quickly said sharply.

"Ya'll know what another sleepover activity is? Sleepin'." Applejack gestured at the clock on Sunset's wall. "Especially when it's already several hours past midnight."

"Oh, that's right. School starts again on Monday, so we better not shift our sleep schedule too much," Twilight agreed, standing up to go to her bag.

"Ugh, don't remind me! Fall break is already as good as over," Rainbow groaned, slumping on the couch while everyone else was now getting ready for sleep, changing if they hadn't already.

"Whoops, I didn't even unpack my sleeping bag!" Pinkie said cheerfully, hopping up to get it. Sunset quickly reached out and gently caught her hand.

"Actually, you could... sleep in the bed. With me. If you want." She looked only at their clasped hands at first, at the matching charms on their wrists, before looking up at her. "I was hoping you would, actually."

A bright grin spread over Pinkie's face, making Sunset's heart flutter, despite the "Oooh~" coming from Rainbow and Rarity, in varying degrees of teasing. She put her hands on both of Sunset's cheeks and gave her a soft peck on the lips. The sweet, sugary scent clinging to her crept into Sunset's nose again.

While Pinkie got her bag and moved it up the steps to the bed, Sunset quickly made sure everyone else was comfortable and didn't need anything else.

"You're so red," Fluttershy noted in a whisper as she zipped herself up in her sleeping bag.

"Yeah..." Sunset couldn't help but smile to herself.

"I'm kind of jealous." Fluttershy closed her eyes with a soft smile of her own.

After checking on everyone, Sunset turned off the main lights, leaving only the fairy lights providing soft illumination around her bed and desk, then went up the steps to where Pinkie was waiting, already sitting under the covers. After a short back-and-forth of mumbled "Good Night"s, they all settled in and went quiet.

Under the covers, Pinkie cuddled up to her almost immediately, wrapping her arms around her back and resting her head in the crook of her shoulder. Sunset put one arm around her waist and looked at her in the relative darkness, before hesitantly moving her other hand to Pinkie's side.

Pinkie's pyjamas consisted of a small shirt and shorts. It almost didn't matter where Sunset put her hands, she could feel warm pink skin under her fingers. The urge to hold her didn't go away even while she did and so she turned on her side and pressed her to herself as hard as she could, at least for a long moment. Pinkie hummed quietly and they shifted a little until they found a comfortable way to hug lying down, their legs entangled and Sunset's hungry heart sated, at least for now.

Applejack was up first and soon everyone else had a mug of coffee waiting for them. Sunset smelled it as soon as it was set down, before AJ tried to go back down the steps as quietly as possible. But she wasn't ready to be awake yet. She was too comfortable.

Pinkie was still clinging to her, and so was she in turn, holding each other close. She was warm, probably too warm soon with the both of them under the blanket. But right now, it still felt just right. Their friends were getting up one by one and quietly wishing each other good mornings, taking turns in the bathroom to brush their teeth, and talking amongst themselves quietly, to not disturb those still resting.

"Are they still asleep?" Fluttershy asked groggily. The answer was no, but Sunset kept quiet.

"I think so," Twilight answered softly.

"It's cute, isn't it?" Rarity asked between the rustling of her make up kit.

"I'm kind of jealous," Fluttershy noted, repeating the sentiment from the previous night.

"Romance isn't necessary to have a full life," Twilight said, then quickly added "Though I guess that's easy for me to say now. And of course I'm happy for them."

"Don't know much about romance or nothin', but if they're happy, I'm happy," Applejack added.

Rainbow Dash contributed with a sudden, sharp snore, followed by shuffling onto her side on the couch, which was met with a few stifled giggles, before the conversation moved to classes and other topics.

Sunset stayed still, listening to her friends chat, and to Pinkie's breath, dozing off again for a bit, before the heat did start to get to her. She pushed the blanket down a bit and carefully disentangled herself from her girlfriend, giving her half of the blanket into her arms when she whined softly.

Author's Note

Yes, I did run out of ways to keep the chapter titles consistent three chapters in, thanks for noticing.

School Gossip

Fall break had passed in a flash, a whole week just gone. Sunset didn't mind starting school again, but she was already looking forward to the next weekend. There were plenty of things she wanted to do with Pinkie, which they just wouldn't have time for on school days.

She didn't even see her that morning. They must have gotten there around the same time, and Sunset could see Pinkie's locker from hers, but they probably just missed each other. They didn't have any early classes together, either. She chided herself for being so disappointed. They had just spent so much time together and just because they were dating didn't mean they needed to be joined at the hip.

Besides, she was still feeling a little nervous about being public with it. During her time in this world, she had seen some nasty things - had done nasty things herself, too - and one among them was relationships like theirs being mocked or harassed. She could take it, she had taken enough to have grown a thick skin already, but she preferred not to expose Pinkie to anything of the sort. So perhaps keeping things low-key while in school was best. Nobody needed to know the details.

Sunset paused and looked at the inside of her locker door. Pictures of her friends and of them as a group covered most of it. Maybe she could get a picture of the two of them, move some around to give it a central spot. She closed the door and headed off to her first class, looking through the images saved on her phone to see if there was a good one.

The only one of just the two of them was pretty silly, which was probably on-brand. Sunset had cupcake icing smeared on her cheek, holding the offending pastry in one hand while trying to reach for the camera phone with the other. Pinkie was only barely in frame, making it technically a selfie. She'd need to take a better one, at some point.

Even the lunch period she spent almost alone. Usually, she'd have Rainbow and Twilight with her, but the former was with the soccer team to plan for the next game, while the latter likely stayed long after class with a teacher again. So she ate by herself for today, or at least that had been the plan.

She hadn't been sitting for even five minutes when someone set their tray down across from her, followed by a stern voice. "Shimmer."

Sunset looked up and cocked an eyebrow at the girl across from her. "Trixie? What's going on?"

Trixie looked both ways before leaning in a little bit, holding a hand beside her mouth, making it completely obvious to anyone looking at her that she was trying to be inconspicuous. "Is it true about you and Pink?"

Sunset felt the need to look over her shoulder as well, but that would just draw more attention. Besides, it was more fun to let Trixie flounder. "Is what true?"

"That you're dating her!" she hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

The anxiety picked up again, but Sunset stayed outwardly calm, taking a moment to chew a bite of her food. "How would you know?"

"I heard Lyra say that Norman was talking to Blueberry, who saw the two of you outside the movie theatre last week."

"So?" She shrugged.

"Pink was screaming 'first date' very loudly," she added flatly, dropping her act.

"Oh." She did manage to forget about that embarrassing detail for a while. She felt herself stiffen a little and when she tried to sound casual, it came out more defensive. "So what if we are?"

Trixie looked around again, but didn't bother lowering her voice this time. "How did you do it?"

"I was honest and open about my feelings."

"That can't be it," Trixie said right away. "You were stuttering and tripping all over yourself for weeks, no way did you just get it straight." She paused. "Well, not straight... you know what I mean."

"Uh-huh."

"Because you're gay."

"Bi. But, thanks, Trixie."

"But seriously, how?"

Sunset sighed and put her fork down. "Look, I don't know what to tell you. I got my shit together. With help from my friends. - Don't roll your eyes like that. - Why do you even want to know?"

Trixie now turned to her own food. It was her turn to try and act casual. "No reason. Trixie prides herself on being knowledgeable about her friend's relationships. You are Trixie's friend. So, actually, shame on you for not informing Trixie."

Sunset smirked and continued eating. For a few minutes, the two of them just ate in silence, before Sunset put her fork down and softly cleared her throat. "So, you're fine with that?"

"Hm? With what?" Trixie was already finished, having eaten a lot faster, and was looking down at a deck of playing cards, practicing with it

"Me and Pinkie," Sunset clarified, a little strained. "That's... okay to you?"

"Is Trixie's approval required for your romantic relationships?"

"No, of course not! I'm just wondering." She cast her eyes down, nervously playing with the fork.

"Of course I don't mind. I told you, you're my friend."

Sunset sighed with quiet relief. But the tension didn't completely leave her. "And... what about others?"

Trixie looked up to frown at her. "Since when do you care what other people think of you?"

"It's not so much about me, it's about her."

"Shimmer, we all accepted that you're from a different dimension. You were a demon that one time. Sparkle nearly ripped reality apart. And you think somebody is going to give you shit for your sexuality?"

Sunset frowned and tapped her finger on the table. It did seem rather silly when she put it that way. "Maybe?"

"You're as much as a dumbass as always. Now, is this your card?" She pulled a card from the deck with a flourish.

"You didn't have me pick one."

Trixie cursed under her breath and slammed the ace down on the table. "You're distracting Trixie with useless concerns!"

Sunset finally did see Pinkie between the last two periods. She rushed at her in the hallway and gave her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, before saying something about her next class and continuing to run, with one of the hall monitors half-heartedly berating her.

Sunset tried to have an eye out for any of the students' reactions, but none of them were whispering or gossiping more than usual. She still had a hard time not thinking the few who were were talking about them, but what were the chances of that, really? After all, Pinkie Pie being overly affectionate to her friends wasn't anything new.

"Can you believe..."
"...I mean, her?"
"...could do so much better..."
"...always thought so..."

Sunset's fingers twitched. She was just imagining it. And even if they were talking about them, what did it matter? But, just to make sure...

Once she had gotten the books she needed from her locker, she headed to her last class, trying to make it look like an accident when she bumped into one of the girls she had seen whispering, her fingers brushing against her arm.

Of course the weirdos would stick together.

She flinched back from the memory and tried to shake it off quickly. "Um, sorry about that."

"Yeah, no worries." The girl smiled at her before chatting with her friend again. Sunset tried to snap up a few words, but they had pivoted to discussing a movie now.

Sunset's jaw tightened and she looked straight forward, pressing her books to her chest and trying to just focus on her last class of the day. And not think about all her confirmed suspicions.

Pinkie perked up when Sunset entered the room, interrupting herself lazily hitting the snare drum over and over. But her mood drooped again when she noticed the air around her.

"Hey, guys," Sunset said as casually as she could manage, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. She was greeted in turn, but most of their friends also picked up right away that something was off.

"What's the matter, darling? You seemed a lot perkier earlier," Rarity asked, a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine. Just getting in my own head again."

Pinkie stood up when Sunset came towards her. They shared a short hug before she went to pick up the guitar she kept in the practice room, half-heartedly starting to strum it. Pinkie locked eyes with Rarity, who shrugged silently at her, then looked to the rest of their friends, none of whom had an answer either.

"Well, if you want to talk about it," Fluttershy began quietly, standing closer to Sunset.

"Thanks, but... I really don't. I just need to get my mind off of it, so... let's play." She forced a smile and the rest of the group agreed, Rainbow taking charge on where to start.

Pinkie still kept her eyes on Sunset for a moment. She caught her looking back and then... look away. Her heart sunk and she nearly missed the opening beats.

After they had finished and set their instruments back, Sunset was one of the first to leave. Pinkie stuffed the drumsticks into her backpack and quickly followed her out. She caught up in the hallway and wanted to reach for her arm, but something stopped her, so she just lightly took her hand instead. Sunset's fingers tightened around hers immediately.

"Sunny? What's wrong?" she asked quietly, looking closely at her girlfriend instead of where they were going. She always looked so strong, with the fiery hair, the studded leather, her confident smirk, plus with how noticeable their height difference was when she got so close. So when she looked shattered like this, the cracks seemed to affect every part of that image.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just stormed out like that." Her thumb gently rubbed over the back of Pinkie's hand, but she stayed quiet after apologising.

Pinkie didn't push, just left the school building with her and started on the way home. They had to leave in the same direction anyway. After a few more minutes in silence, Sunset groaned to herself.

"I'm sorry, I'm really ruining the mood. I didn't mean to get this mopey."

"That's okay!" Pinkie started skipping her steps and swinging their arms a little, hoping the energy would transfer and cheer her up. "Do you wanna come to my place and have some cupcakes? Sugar always makes you feel better."

"Sugar also makes you fat," Sunset said teasingly.

"Pffh, so what if I'm a little chubby. You like me." She leaned on her and wrapped her other hand around her arm.

"I do," Sunset said quietly after a moment, then stopped walking. Pinkie looked up at her, then followed her glance over the shoulder, but nobody was behind them. "Pinkie..."

Sunset took her hands and looked her in the eyes. Her heart fluttered a little at the firm, serious look. This was just like how she had looked at her a week before, on the roof.

"I love you." The words made her heart move from fluttering to skipping. She wanted to squeeze her again, right now, but she had put this distance between them for a reason.

"Y-yeah, I know that, obviously." She tried to lighten the mood with a joke and a chuckle, and Sunset did smile at it.

"And I want you to be happy with me. I mean, I want you to be happy in general, but... I'd like it best if it is with me."

Pinkie tilted her head and pulled at Sunset's hands a little. "What are you talking about? I'm already with you. And I am happy."

"I know! I know that, it's just..." Sunset cast her eyes down. "People are talking about us. Nobody really said anything yet, but... I don't know, they might say some nasty things."

Pinkie looked at her searchingly. After a moment, she slipped her hands free and moved closer, into the spot Sunset was looking to avoid her eyes, wrapping her arms around her. "I don't care."

Sunset loosely put her arms around her and sighed. "Pinkie..."

"I don't care!" she repeated firmly. "I mean, it makes you sad, so of course I care about that. If they're making you sad, they should stop. But I don't care what they say about me."

Sunset's arms tightened around her. She leaned her head down and Pinkie closed her eyes with an excited smile, just before their lips touched. Just for a few seconds, but they were like a dream. And when they parted, a lightbulb turned on in her head.

"Hey, it's only a problem if it's a rumor, right?"

Sunset scoffed and laughed quietly. "No, that's so wildly missing the point."

"Whatever, I have an idea anyway!"

The next day, students were heading into school before the first period, only to find the same flyer scattered in the halls, the classrooms, even the cafeteria. A picture of Sunset Shimmer was printed on it, messily eating a cupcake. Pinkie Pie was barely in frame, beaming at the camera, which Sunset was trying to push away.

"Have you seen my girlfriend?" was printed in bold, pink letters above the picture, continued below it in the same font: "Well now you have!" The phrase "SunPie 4ever" was scrawled underneath that in messy handwriting.

They were quickly the talk of the school, some people laughing about it, others rolling their eyes at the cheesy gesture. But every single person who did come up to them that day expressed their congratulations or made harmless jabs. "You better not mess this up!" one girl said to Sunset during lunch. "Can you make flyers for my club?" a boy whispered to Pinkie during class.

"They were gonna talk no matter what!" Pinkie later explained after school to their friends, sitting on Sunset's lap in their usual Sugarcube Corner booth, "But they can't hurt you if you're boldly confident!" They all agreed, though some of them were obviously biting down arguments about it. But to Pinkie, all that mattered was Sunset laughing and smiling all day.

Game, Vent, Chill

A few days after Pinkie had scattered the flyers, the subject was already forgotten. Three of them were still stuck to the notice board in the main hall, covering the announcement poster for the Fall Formal, which had also not been taken down yet, but everybody had moved on. Their relationship was just part of the common knowledge pool now.

After a week, the gossip circles had moved on to completely new things and nobody looked twice at Sunset and Pinkie holding hands on the way home or stealing a quick hug and a chaste kiss between classes. Even Rainbow stopped teasing them regularly and the two of them sitting together and staying close was the new routine when they were all together.

That weekend, two weeks after fall break, Pinkie had invited herself to Sunset's place again. She was going to have a long afternoon shift at work and wanted to relax together afterwards and Sunset wasn't going to argue against the idea. She cleaned up a little and lit a scented candle, a little while before Pinkie would arrive.

The doorbell made her skip up from the couch right away. She ran to the door and opened it for her girlfriend. Instead of jumping at her, Pinkie just slumped against chest with a relieved sigh. "Hey."

"Hey. Come in." She put an arm around her and stepped back inside with her before closing the door. "Hard day, I'm guessing?"

"Mhyeah," she muttered, holding on for a moment longer before stepping away again. Her hair was still tied back, the way she wore it at work, but several strands had slipped out of the hair tie and she looked tired, something that was rarely apparent with her.

"You wanna talk about it?" Sunset asked casually as she walked back to the couch.

"Nah," Pinkie answered, kicking off her shoes and then settling next to her, leaning on her shoulder. Sunset resumed the game she'd been playing and she stared blankly at the screen, then suddenly sat up straighter. "Actually, yeah. I do."

"Hm? What happened?" Sunset kept her eyes on the game, splitting her attention to listen to Pinkie, who didn't waste any time, getting right to the heart of the matter.

"People are so..." She just made an annoyed grumbling sound. "I bring everyone their food when it's done! Just because you got there earlier doesn't mean you have priority! I'm not gonna make somebody else wait just because you ordered something complicated!" She breathed out, like she was trying to wind down, but started right back into the next complaint. "And I'm nice to everybody! I'm not flirting with you just because I was smiling!"

Sunset tensed up a little at that. "Customers think you're flirting with them?"

"Right!? I left our SunPie flyers around and everything."

"The ones you made for school? You put this out at the diner?"

Pinkie shrugged, sinking against Sunset's shoulder again. "I had leftovers."

"You made way too many of those. I think a few would have done."

"Whatever." Pinkie pouted and crossed her arms.

Sunset endured the silence for a few seconds, before she hit pause and put the controller down, putting her arms around Pinkie from behind. "Hey, I'm sorry that you had to deal with that." She kissed her unusually exposed neck, making Pinkie giggle and pull up her shoulders.

"S-stop it, not there."

"Hm? Not here?" She put her lips back on Pinkie's neck and blew a raspberry on her skin. Pinkie squealed and tried to lean away, but Sunset tightened her arms around her and kept her trapped. "Okay, not there. Got it." She waited for Pinkie to settle down and somewhat relax again. "But what about here?" she said quickly, pushing her lips just an inch further down, closer to her shoulder. Pinkie already yelped again in anticipation and this time Sunset let her escape.

Pinkie pushed herself away and held her neck while fighting off the last few giggles, but soon moved closer again, resting her head on Sunset's shoulder. Sunset embraced her and closed her eyes, lying back a bit on the couch. "There, now you're smiling again."

"Thanks," Pinkie said quietly and picked up the controller to pick up where Sunset had left off. "But I think I'm gonna shoot some zombies to vent anyway."

PinkieCode

Sunset put her water bottle down next to her setup and got comfortable at the desk, before launching her stream client. She'd been letting her gaming channel slide lately, between all the extra time she was spending with Pinkie and a lot of other projects she was pursuing, but she still held herself to the promise of at least one stream every weekend. Her audience was limited but consistent and she could count on most of them to show up whenever she was doing impromptu streams within the week as well.

She cleared her throat before turning on her microphone and giving access to her camera feed. "Hey, everybody. Welcome to ShimmerCode. And thanks for showing up, I know I haven't done any surprise streams in a while. But I'm free tonight and Halls of Unity just went into early access, so I was going to give it a look regardless."

She leaned back as she booted up the game while looking at chat messages on her second screen, making small talk for a few minutes before starting her run. She acted a little extra confident, playing up her denial about the game's difficulty for comedic effect, but settled into a more honest appreciation for a while.

"Okay, that's enough Fs, guys. I'll get it next time, for sure, if I build for damage they'll die before they can kill me." She took a sip from her bottle and was about to start her next attempt when her doorbell rang. She glanced at the time and frowned. It was a little late for random visitors and she wasn't expecting anyone. Hopefully it wasn't her upstairs neighbour, to complain about 'noise' again. "Sorry, guys, give me a minute." She muted her mic and set her headphones down to head over to the door.

She took a peek through the spyhole, directly meeting Pinkie's eye on the other side. She scoffed a quiet laugh and unlocked the door. "Hey, bestie."

"Hey~" Pinkie put her arms over Sunset's shoulders and leaned up to press a chaste kiss on her lips. "I was bored."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sunset pulled her inside to close the door again.

"Aww, I meant for it to be a surprise, though!" Pinkie dropped her purse and turned towards the room. "So, what'cha doin'?"

"Well, I was streaming," Sunset said with playful accusation, walking back to her desk and sitting down again.

"Ooh, fun!" Pinkie followed her and sat on her lap in plain view of the camera. Sunset sighed and put her headphones back on, unmuting the microphone.

"Hey, guys. Guess this is a collab stream now! I'm just as surprised as you are."

"You just said you weren't surprised." Pinkie narrowed her eyes at her. "What's the lie? Why are you lying to me?"

Sunset returned her look for a second, before they both broke out into giggles. "So, she's been on the channel before, but this is my..." She hesitated for just a moment, but bit down her uncertainty. "My girlfriend, Pinkie."

"Hey, guys!" Pinkie waved at the camera, one arm wrapped around Sunset's shoulders.

Sunset straightened her back when the chair suddenly creaked warningly. "Okay, this isn't gonna work like this. I'm gonna switch to the couch setup."

After just a few minutes, they were settled on the couch, Pinkie's legs stretched over Sunset's lap, both of them holding controllers as they cycled through the games installed on Sunset's console.

"Okay, chat, I'll play more Halls of Unity on Saturday. For now, we're entertaining Pinkie, because she gets extra annoying when she's bored."

"And I'm already annoying as is!" Pinkie added cheerfully.

Sunset booted up a minigame collection and after some messing around on the menu screen, they started playing a few, Pinkie's energy quickly taking over, making her goof off right alongside her.

"Ah, shit," Sunset said quietly as she made an obvious mistake. "You don't see that."

"I see that," Pinkie said with a smirk.

Sunset quickly reached down, trying to block her view with one hand. "You don't see it."

Pinkie sat up partway, then ducked and weaved, trying to make her move while Sunset kept trying to cover her eyes, finally slotting her game piece into the correct spot to win. She sat up and leaned up close to Sunset's face, only to stick out her tongue and blow a raspberry.

"Ugh, disgusting!" Sunset laughed, shoving her face away, making her collapse in a pile of giggles. "Okay, you pick the next one, I'm gonna read my donations."

She leaned closer to her laptop, which she was using as a second screen for her stream setup, to scroll through the messages she had received attached to small donations. "Is Pinkie high? No, she's just like that."

"I'm high on fun!"

"Um... how long have we been together?" She looked down at Pinkie, who had shifted onto her side and slid closer, one leg lightly hooked around Sunset's waist. "Like, a month?"

"Um..." Pinkie paused and furrowed her brow. "Thirty-three days."

"There you go. Honestly, we didn't change that much about how we act around each other."

"Uh, wrong!" Pinkie sent an accusatory look. "We make out and stuff! And--"

Sunset quickly put a hand over her mouth. "Not in ways we're going to advertise on the internet."

Sunset took a deep breath to recover from her laughing her fit, while Pinkie was clinging to her, snorting and giggling into her shoulder. "Okay, I think we're unravelling. Thanks for sticking around, guys, it's been fun."

"Bye-bye," Pinkie managed to squeeze out, waving towards the camera, before Sunset ended the stream and turned off the microphone. She sighed and leaned back, putting her arms under Pinkie to adjust her a bit on her lap. For several hours, even sitting on the same spot on the couch could get tiring.

"You good?" Sunset finally asked when Pinkie's giggling still hadn't stopped almost a minute later.

"Y-yeah, hang on..." She snorted again and was rocked by another aftershock of laughter, before she finally calmed down, slumping away from her and sprawling out on the couch. "That was fun."

"Yeah. But maybe shoot me a text first next time?"

"But I like surprising you!" She reached her arms up towards her. Sunset lifted Pinkie's legs to pull her own up onto the couch and lie down next to her, pulling her in by her waist to return her squeezing hug. "And I was actually kinda lonely today... you said I could always come by."

"And I mean that. Thanks for coming to me when you need someone."

Pinkie huffed quietly and pulled away a few inches, looking into Sunset's eyes. With the TV off and the laptop screen on standby, the only light came from the fairy lights on the far wall, leaving the two of them mostly in darkness. Yet, so close, Sunset could make out every single one of Pinkie's lashes. Her eyes moved subtly as they looked at each other, in warm silence.

"What's up?" Sunset asked quietly after a while of just watching her and trying to make out her heartbeat.

"Your freckles. They're still there." She moved one hand from Sunset's back and lightly poked her cheek. "Boop."

"Yeah, they come out better in the sun, but they don't go away."

"Do you have freckles as a pony?"

"Sure, but they're really hard to see."

Pinkie chuckled softly and leaned in again, nuzzling into her shoulder. "I bet you're cuddly."

"Maybe you'll find out," Sunset said quietly, closing her eyes and slowly caressing her back.

Nightmare Night

"So," Rarity began, drawing the word out to indicate that she was going to say something either spicy or exciting, possibly both. "Halloween is only a week away." She looked at her friends, gathered around the diner table, eager to get into the topic.

"You mean Nightmare Night," Sunset interjected. Pinkie and Fluttershy giggled already, knowing what reaction that would get. She did her best not to smirk and just leaned back from her empty plate.

"No, darling," Rarity said firmly, the affectionate word emphasised harshly, "I mean Halloween. It is different."

"No it's not," Sunset asserted casually.

"You dress up in costumes," Pinkie began.

"Children ask for candy," Fluttershy added.

"And ya do all sorts of spoo-hooky things!" Applejack finished, wiggling her fingers in Rarity's unimpressed face.

"To appease an evil moon goddess, by the sounds of it," Rarity said drily. "Which is nothing like Halloween."

"Sure, I guess that's true." Sunset shrugged and reached over to Pinkie's plate, stealing a few fries. "So what are you doing for Nightmare Night?" She couldn't help a proud smirk when Pinkie's giggles led into a sudden snort.

"Well, I was going to offer to make you all costumes. But now that offer only applies to most of you." With a sulky "hmph" she pointedly looked away from Sunset and started nibbling on one of her mozzarella sticks.

"Aww, but we wanted to have a costume together," Pinkie pouted, resting her chin in her palm.

"Couple costume!?" Rarity's eyes widened and she nearly dropped her stick, her playful anger all but forgotten. "Absolutely! Oh, I adore couple costumes! What is it you want? Knight and princess!? Daphne and Velma!?"

"Well, we did have a pretty specific idea already," Sunset said, putting an arm around Pinkie and starting to explain what they had imagined.

Rarity didn't just give it her all on the costumes, she had also spent several days with Sweetie Belle - and volunteers from both of their friend groups - decorating their house. As so often, their parents would be out of town, leaving most of the responsibility with Rarity.

The interior was all laid out for a themed party, the organisation of which Rarity had left almost entirely to Pinkie Pie. The outside, meanwhile, was covered with fake spider webs, torn black curtains hanging before the front door and some of the windows, and a trail of fake blood leading up the driveway, smeared onto the wall in places as well.

"I guess we should hit this place," Diamond Tiara said dismissively, but with the authority that her princess dress suggested. "Anyone who puts this much effort into decorations is bound to have something to give out."

"I think that's Sweetie Belle's house," Silver Spoon noted, herself wearing a frilled suit evocative of old noble wear, with a fake rapier on her hip.

"All the better." Diamond confidently walked ahead, with her courtier quick on her heels. They followed the trail of blood and Diamond lifted away the heavy curtain to find the front door open, the blood leading up the steps and partway into the hall, a chair with a a bowl of candies standing halfway down, near the first set of doors.

The girls looked at each other before slowly progressing in. The home owners had definitely rigged up some kind of simple scare. Silver quickly looked behind the open door, but nobody was waiting to ambush them there. They walked to the bowl and Diamond was just about to reach her hand in when the door to their left abruptly opened.

Silver flinched a little, despite expecting the scare. Not that it was much of one. Holding the door halfway open from the dark room was an older girl, her skin made paler with heavy makeup and her fiery hair tied into a demure braid over her shoulder.

"Oh. Hello, Sunset," Silver said politely, while Diamond just continued taking the candy, dropping a few pieces into both of their bags.

"Hey, girls," Sunset said slowly, her eyes unfocused, looking just past them.

"Um... what are you dressed as?" Silver asked, trying to figure it out while looking over Sunset's clothes. They didn't seem that out there, but definitely weren't her normal clothes either. Instead of the bright punk look, she was wearing a white summer dress and a plain jacket draped over her shoulders.

"Oh, you know..." Sunset started, before being interrupted. She was yanked back, the jacket pulled off of her and her head lulled to the side, making the braid slip away as well, revealing a nasty pair of puncture wounds on her neck, blood covering the entire side and drenching part of the dress.

"My dinner!" Pinkie howled, one arm slung around Sunset's waist, the other hand on her chin, one of her sharp nails pressing against her cheek. She kept her mouth wide open, just long enough for the light to catch her sharp fangs, before pressing her blood-stained lips against her victim's neck. There was a ripping sound and Sunset's eyes widened with a gasp, before Pinkie dragged her away again, behind another curtain.

Diamond and Silver shrieked and both stumbled to run out of the house, but their screams collapsed into laughter once they got back to fresh air. "Okay, that was pretty good," Diamond admitted as they casually walked back to the street.

Pinkie giggled and kept kissing Sunset's neck, eliciting the same from her. After a moment, she playfully pushed Pinkie away. "Okay, okay, you don't have to do that every time."

"But I need to feed!" Pinkie insisted, pretending to bite Sunset's shoulder while making eating sounds. Sunset sputtered and jabbed her side lightly with a finger.

They both quieted down again. Sunset readjusted the braid and the jacket to hide the fake wound and blood, as they listened for anyone else to come in. They'd been at it for a bit and hadn't quite gotten bored of it yet. Sooner or later they'd go back inside to join the rest of their friends around the game table. And Rainbow Dash definitely had her own plans for scaring kids in their place.

"You're terrifyingly cute," Sunset said quietly, after looking over the caped suit again, trailing up to the convincing fangs and sunken eyes.

"Awww! And you're so sweet, I could--"

"Eat me up, I know." She rolled her eyes and leaned on Pinkie, who draped her wide cape over her shoulders.

"Happy Nightmare Night, Sunny."

Author's Note

Yes, Halloween was a week ago. What's your point?