In the Dark of the Night (It's Never Too Late For Second Thoughts)
Twilight lay in her bed, feeling she might never get a good night's sleep ever again.
Above her a vision hovered, partly a drowsiness-spawned dream and partly Equestrian magic. "Admit it," the bat winged creature sneered, its eyes glowing an unnatural blue-green. "It's all your fault. YOU killed Sunset, by denying her your friendship. By rejecting her completely and utterly, when you thought she was Anon-A-Miss. When you refused to return her calls or reply to even one text message...you ghosted her, and now she's dead. A tragic suicide, thanks to you and her other 'friends.'"
Twilight murmured, "I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to! I didn't want her to die!"
"And you know what else?" the monster said. "After you killed your best chance of ever finding a girlfriend...you'll be alone forever. Even CATS won't love you."
"Noooo!" Twilight moaned. "Not even cats? Wait, what about Spike?"
"Spike won't love you either. He knows what you did."
Twilight tossed and turned, getting tangled in her bedsheets. Outside her bedroom door, Spike whined and whimpered. "Let me in, Twilight. Sounds like you're having a nightmare. Wake up!"
But lost in her dark dream, Twilight didn't hear. Instead, Twilight listened to the eldritch vision that seemed to float above her bed, and nodded.
~~ *** ~~
"You should do it tonight," the voice whispered to Twilight. "While everyone is asleep. While the body is still good and fresh."
"I don't even know where she is," Twilight whispered, as she dreamily climbed out of bed.
"Just use Hoofle Maps, and search for 'morgue.'"
Twilight tiptoed out of her bedroom, past her sleeping dog. She pulled on a jacket from the coat closet, donned a pair of shoes, went out to load the car with supplies from her backyard laboratory, and drove.
~~ *** ~~
At the building's front entrance, Twilight improvised an electronic lock picking device. In minutes, she was inside. She padded softly down the halls, looking for a sign.
MORGUE
"This is it!" she cheered.
"Hush!" the voice whispered inside Twilight's head. "You don't want to get caught!"
Twilight winced. "Sorry. You're right, of course."
"I'm ALWAYS right. Now let's go inside."
Inside the cold storage room, Twilight didn't even think to look for a light switch. Somehow, everywhere she turned her face to look, her view seemed softly lit by blue light. It wasn't enough to make a conspicuous glare, but enough for one increasingly magic-wreathed teenage girl to see by.
Twilight scanned the drawers. "I just see numbers, not names. No, I can FEEL something. THIS drawer is calling to me."
"No time to waste," the voice whispered. "Open it."
Twilight pulled on the drawer until Sunset's dead, naked body lay in front of her. "Wow," Twilight said. "She looks so...dead."
"So fix that!"
Twilight connected metal clamps to Sunset's earlobes, and squeezed a small plastic box.
With a soft 'zorch!" and arcing of mysterious energies, Sunset's body jerked.
"Again!" demanded the voice in Twilight's ears.
Twilight squeezed again, watching Sunset's limbs wriggle.
"Again! Third time's the charm!"
Twilight squeezed, and Sunset barely moved at all.
"Don't give up yet!" the voice whispered. "Remember that story from when you were a child. When Snow White lay in a glass coffin, and nopon--I mean, NO ONE could rouse her. Or so it SEEMED."
Twilight narrowed her eyes at the dead body, puckered her lips, and leaned forward.
A moment later, arms closed around Twilight's back and shoulders.
"AAAAAA!" Twilight screamed, suddenly fully awake. "I just had the WEIRDEST DREAM, and..." she blinked in the cold darkness. "WHO'S GRABBING ME? WHO IS THAT? LET ME GO OR I'LL SCREAM! I'LL SCREAM SO LOUD!"
Sunset's voice asked, "Twilight? What kind of date IS this? And I had a really weird dream too. I dreamed everyone thought I was posting embarrassing secrets on the internet about all my friends, and no one liked me anymore, not even you. I was so upset, I took one of Fluttershy's venomous snakes and a rope of Applejack's and..."
Twilight screamed again.
Sunset added, "That wasn't a dream, was it? But how did I get here? And why is it so COLD?"
Twilight shook her head. "Sunset...I think we need to get out of here before we get caught."
"Where IS here?"
"We're in the Canter County morgue. You were dead, Sunset. But...I was in my bedroom trying to sleep, and I thought Midnight Sparkle was floating above my bed with her bat wings and giving me advice, and...one thing led to another."
Sunset laughed nervously. "We're in the county morgue?"
"Yes! I think so. And I don't want to have to explain why I'm in here kissing a dead body that isn't even dead anymore."
With a metallic rattling and a dull thud, Sunset accidentally fell out of her drawer onto the hard floor. "Ouch! Why don't they at least have some CARPET in this place!"
Twilight sighed, reaching down to help Sunset get to her feet.
"Ok, that was a silly question," Sunset admitted. "So how do we get out of here?"
Twilight put her hand on Sunset's arm, and guided her out of the building.
As the two girls walked across the dew-damp lawn, a bright light shone in their eyes. "Halt! Someone reported a break in, and...TWILIGHT?"
The dark skinned girl winced. "Hi, Shiny. Sorry about the fuss."
"Why are you out at this time of night with a naked girl?"
Twilight took a deep breath. "Sunset, meet my brother Shining Armor. He's a Canter County sheriff's deputy. And Shining, this is my new girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer. She died yesterday afternoon...but just a few minutes ago she got better."
~~ *** ~~
At the Canter County Sheriff's Office, Sunset sat on a bench, wrapped in an old gray blanket. Twilight sat beside her, holding her hand.
"I'm sorry," Sunset said. "I didn't even know grave robbing was a crime in this world. I mean, what use is a dead body anyway? Who would want one?"
"Present company excepted?" Twilight added softly.
"Grave robbing is considered VERY disrespectful," Shining scolded, "and it hurts the feelings of the deceased's living relatives and friends. But since it turns out Sunset isn't really dead, we don't have a corpus delicti to charge either of you with."
"So we're free?" Twilight's eyes brightened with hope. "We aren't grave robbers because it turns out there wasn't any grave to rob! Yay!" She waved one arm in the air. "I'm so glad we aren't criminals!"
"Well...I COULD charge you with trespassing, if I'd seen the two of you inside the building. But fortunately, I didn't. So I guess I'll let you off with a warning."
"Yay!" Sunset echoed Twilight.
Shining shook his head. "The trouble my little sister gets up to." He sighed. "When my shift is over, I'll give you a ride home. Both of you."
Sunset called out, "Thank you so much, mister policeman!"
"But now I have REAL work to do." Shining walked away. "Kids these days."
~~ *** ~~
The next morning at CHS, at the time when classes would normally start, Principal Celestia's voice echoed through the halls from the public address system.
"To all students, faculty, and staff: may I have your attention please? This is Principal Celestia.
"Ten minutes from now, I expect to see everyone gather in the main auditorium for a general assembly. I have a very important announcement, which I expect will be a relief for many of you.
"I'll see you there shortly."
The phones of Twilight's best friends at CHS chimed and played little alert tunes, as they received text messages from her.
assembly might be confusing but good news about me and sunset is true
As everyone filed into the auditorium and found seats, students speculated what the meeting could possibly be about. More than a few thought it might involve Sunset Shimmer's very recent death...but Celestia had said the announcement would be 'a relief?' What could that possibly mean?
As students murmured and wondered, Principal Celestia walked out onto the stage. "Welcome, everyone!" She smiled and waved. "I have very good news. The rumors of a fellow CHS student's death have been greatly exaggerated."
"What?" asked a student down below. "There's ANOTHER one? Because Sunset couldn't possibly be..."
Sunset and Twilight walked onstage, hand in hand. "I'm alive!" Sunset said. "I wasn't feeling well at all, but then I got better!"
"I'm doing ok too," Twilight added. "Just in case anyone was wondering. Also, as you might already have heard yesterday, Sunset isn't really Anon-A-Miss after all! Anon-A-Miss was just a big hoax by people who were jealous of her. And I went on a date with Sunset last night, kind of, and I think now we're girlfriends!"
Sunset squeezed Twilight's hand, and nodded. "I hope we can all get past the whole everyone hating each other and hating me most of all until I wished I was dead thing. Because it turns out, I'm very glad to be alive. And I'm not dead."
"Me either!" Twilight concurred. "Wait, ME being dead wasn't even a thing, right? WAS it a thing? I can't even keep up with the rumors in this place."
Principal Celestia hefted her own microphone. "In view of recent events...even though Sunset is NOT really dead...I do have a few changes to school rules to announce.
"The following items are banned from this school for the rest of the semester.
- Ropes longer than six feet...EVEN if your name is Applejack.
- Venomous snakes of all kinds. And yes, Fluttershy, this rule DOES apply to you too.
- Firearms over .50 caliber. I wanted to ban ALL firearms, but when I had an emergency meeting with the school board yesterday evening, this was the best compromise I could get."
Vice Principal Luna stepped out next to Celestia, who handed over the mic.
"Vice Principal Luna here, wishing you a VERY good morning.
"On a related note...if you EVER find you are having thoughts about harming yourself, you should come to the office to discuss those thoughts with a qualified counselor."
Luna waved to the assembled students. "I know ALL ABOUT dark thoughts and nightmares and suicide! So be sure to bring those thoughts to me. Don't rely on Falsebook or Instatalk to give you bad psychology advice, when you could get that advice from me instead. GOOD advice, I mean." She cleared her throat.
"Remember, there's always someone who cares about you. Please don't make Sunset Shimmer's recent...close call mistake. Thank you."
One student nudged another. "I literally read Sunset Shimmer's obituary in the morning paper. Because Pinkie Pie was so depressed about Sunset's death, I even volunteered to take her place on the event planning committee for the funeral. So how can Sunset be alive, and people saying, 'oops, we thought she was dead but it turns out not really?'"
"You know..." the friend beside him remarked, "this IS the same school where magical demon girls wrecked the front lawn not once, but TWICE in the same year. And with a few magic friendship beams, we were all saved from getting sucked into another universe or being turned into an army of evil flying monkeys or whatever."
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm just saying...this place has a real gift for insane crises followed by last minute happy endings."
"Yeah." The first student shrugged. "Guess you've got a point."
~~ *** ~~
In the halls on the way to classes, in covert whispers and passed notes DURING classes, and more openly during lunch period, Sunset and her friends caught each other up on recent events. Sunset confirmed time and again: she really WAS alive.
As people came to accept Sunset hadn't (probably hadn't?) been turned into a dangerous zombie or vampire, the girls even exchanged hugs.
After school, the Rainbooms (aka 'the Friendship Beam Seven') met in their usual band practice room.
In this somewhat more private venue, Sunset asked probing questions about what had happened the prior afternoon. She cross-checked and double-checked, collecting extra confirmations for good measure. Everyone agreed: Sunset really HAD been found hanging by the neck, and declared dead by paramedics after all attempts to revive her failed.
"You don't remember dying?" Pinkie asked.
Sunset readjusted her leather jacket's collar. "I remember WANTING to be dead. I remember gathering the supplies, and stepping up onto a chair to tie the rope, but...that's the last thing I remember. I don't remember the moment of my death itself."
Fluttershy looked at her sympathetically.
Rarity waved the issue aside with one perfectly manicured hand. "That might be for the best, darling. I don't know if a person could handle remembering their own death."
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded. "Then you'd probably get people asking if you could remember what happened AFTER you died, if you went to heaven or hell or wherever. You might accidentally become the leader of your own cult."
Sunset grimaced. "That sounds terrible."
"But very informative," Applejack remarked. "People could finally get the honest truth, from someone who'd really been there."
"Sorry."
When Twilight walked into the living room, she found Sunset staring admiringly at photographs on her tablet.
"What's this?" Twilight asked.
Sunset laughed nervously. "It's just a website Fluttershy showed me. The human world has a special, extra-cute breed of ponies called 'miniature horses.'"
"Huh."
"They don't look the same, really. But I guess they're the closest thing this world has."
"The closest to what?"
"The closest thing to Equestrian ponies. Closest in how they look, anyway. I know they don't have pony minds...Equestrian pony minds, I mean...and they don't have proper pony magic either."
Twilight laughed. "You look funny as...heck."
"Funny how?"
"You look like a twelve year old blushing over a picture of a cute pop star."
"Gosh, thanks."
Twilight put her arms around Sunset. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you feel like I'm laughing at you. You're just so adorable. I love you."
"I...love you too, Twilight." Twilight didn't even seem to notice the catch in Sunset's voice.
~~ *** ~~
In the middle of the night, laying chastely in bed beside Sunset, Twilight awoke. She was sure of it.
Above her, a shadowy form hovered, its nakedly membranous wings beating to keep it aloft. "Hello, Twilight."
"Hello...Midnight."
The form grinned, exposing sharp fangs. "You and Sunset and your friends did a pretty good job of defeating me, at the Friendship Games. I think I even feel a little proud of you."
"Oh."
Midnight scowled. "But THIS!" She waved her arms in the air. "I can tolerate not getting to have an army of brainwashed, demonic teenagers, and not gaining all the magical power of two worlds for myself. But...how can you just lay there and let THIS happen?"
Twilight blinked. "Let WHAT happen?"
Midnight lowered a claw-tipped hand, and she almost, but NOT quite, touched Sunset's fire colored hair. "How can you let this one girl, a girl who I KNOW you love, slip away from you? You SAW how she was looking at those pictures today. You know what she wants...and you are NOT it." The demonic looking form slowly licked her lips. "But we could give it to her. By letting her have what she wants...we could truly possess her. We could make her ours forever!"
"What are you trying to say? Are you talking about demonic possession? Because THAT is EVIL! How DARE you?" Twilight pointed an accusing finger.
"No!" Midnight said. "Think about what we did in the past, when I used Equestrian magic to get us what we wanted. Do you regret it?"
"Ruining the Friendship Games? Yes, I DO regret that."
"I don't mean the Friendship Games. I mean when we brought your little Sunset back to life. She's been SO grateful ever since."
Twilight felt a chill. "I suppose she has been."
"But gratitude isn't enough to make her your girlfriend forever. She needs MORE than that."
"What are you getting at, you jumped up leftover from a Halloween party? Get to the point!"
Midnight leered. "We could arouse Sunset's lust like no other creature. No other creature in THIS world at least. She wouldn't be able to keep her HANDS off us." Midnight cackled.
"You're...creepy. Lust isn't love."
The shadowy form nodded. "But lust can help A LOT. Just give me...one hour. You don't have anyplace urgent to go tomorrow. The first hour after you wake up, that's all I ask." She giggled softly. "You'll thank me for showing you what we can do when we...work together."
~~ *** ~~
That morning when Sunset woke, her face was pressed into her girlfriend's mane. She sniffed. "You smell so good, Twi. I haven't smelled anything like this since..."
"AAAAAAA!" Twilight shouted, staring at her own forelimbs. "All my things are HORSE things! How did this happen? How can I be a horse? I'm not supposed to be a horse!"
Sunset sat up. "You're a pony."
"I am? I'm a pony?"
"Yes!" Sunset stroked Twilight's coat. "You're the cutest pony I ever saw. I...I have feelings I haven't had in YEARS. I want to touch you all over, and then..." Sunset whispered.
"Oh." Twilight blinked. "That does sound...nice. VERY nice."
Both of Sunset's hands massaged Twilight's fuzzy flanks. "Let me show you just HOW nice it can be." Her lips tickled Twilight's ear. "You won't regret it."
"Oh, Sunset. Ohhh...WOW! I know I should try to fix my sudden new 'being a horse' problem...but I don't want you to stop. I like this so much. Oh, PLEASE keep doing what you're doing. It feels SO good. I don't think my human form can even DO some of these things."
Twilight added, "To quote Ox Gusty of Hippo: 'O Harmony...please help me to control my own body, to be seemly and proper...but not yet. PLEASE not yet!'"
Exactly an hour later, Twilight's torso grew longer and skinnier, her human arms and legs sprawling out across the bed.
"Hey!" Sunset complained. "Just when I was showing you another way we can..." She sighed. "Oh well. Guess you're back to normal."
Twilight examined her own body. "Am I one hundred percent back to a regular human again? No pony ears or tail, not even a little one?"
Sunset carefully inspected her girlfriend from head to toes. "Yes. You're just a regular human again. And that's...ok, I guess." She sighed again.
Twilight snorted, and caressed Sunset's hand. "I think my dream last night must have been a true one."
"What did you dream of?"
"I dreamed of Midnight Sparkle again."
"Like the way you dreamed about her...or you THOUGHT you were dreaming...the night after I made that terrible mistake with a noose?"
"EXACTLY like that night. But different too. This time...Midnight was upset because, she said, you wanted a pony girlfriend, not just a human."
Sunset nestled her lips against Twilight's cheek. "You DO make a very adorable pony."
"Am I a sexy pony?"
"You are the MOST sexy pony. Just looking at your pony form drives me wild."
Twilight turned her head to kiss Sunset's lips. "That's what Midnight said would happen. She said the way things were going, I would lose you, and she refused to let that happen. So she said, for the first hour after I woke up today, she would...take measures. To show what our magic can really do, if we want it to."
"Hmmm." Sunset squeezed Twilight. "You know, I never used to like Midnight. I thought she was evil, power-mad and irresponsible. But now...?"
"Now what?"
"I think I could learn to like her."
"Mmmm." Twilight kissed Sunset's face again. "Me too, maybe."
Somewhere, deep inside Twilight's inner essence, a shadowy form cackled with glee. "Yes! There's NOTHING better than making the horses kiss!"
