Misty had come to know that Sunny Starscout was a lot of things to a lot of ponies: the alicorn, bringer of magic, the smoothie cart owner, that one old meme mixed deep within their phones’ download folders. No matter how much Sunny denied it, to the ponies, she was an all-star.
To Misty, she was more like a trail of warmth on a rainforest floor, guiding her way out to cooler air and gentle daylight. An emissary born between the sound of the waves against the beach and the grass rolling in the breeze. The beacon at the top of the brighthouse, and the crown jewel of all Equestria.
“Whatcha doin?”
Misty jumped to her hooves in her bed. She slowly craned her neck to the side and found Sunny’s eyes, staring from her bedside. Her smile underlaid a raised eyebrow and pinched face. It must’ve taken her a few times for Misty to notice.
“Oh, sorry,” Misty said. “I was writing stuff.”
Sunny’s ears flicked around. “Ooh. What kinds of stuff?”
“Here! Have a look!”
Misty presented her notebook to Sunny, still flipped to the page she was working on, nearly the last in her notebook. Writing about her adventures in Maretime Bay became a habit. But after a while, Sunny's light started to drown out the pages. Misty liked writing about her the most.
“Dinner’s all set, by the way!” Sunny said as she took the notebook into her hooves.
“Thanks, Sunny!”
When Misty came back from a hearty meal, Sunny was still reading with her nose almost touching the pages. Misty’s memory might have failed her, but she swore Sunny hadn’t moved an inch in the last twenty minutes.
“Hey, Sunny!” Misty glanced past her flank towards the book in her hooves. “You’re still reading?”
Sunny looked up, but it took a moment for her eyes to click on Misty’s face and for her ears to react to Misty’s question. “Oh, yeah,” Sunny answered with a wavy smile. “You’re, uh, very talented.”
Misty smiled. “Thanks, Sunny. I just try my best.”
Sunny returned Misty’s notebook and walked for the double doors out to the foyer. She paused with her hoof against it and turned around.
“Hey, Misty?” Sunny asked.
“Yeah?”
“Are, you, uh, attracted to mares?”
Misty stopped. No one had ever asked her that before. Her mind went blank.
“Nevermind,” Sunny said quickly. “Forget I asked. Sorry. Uh, have a good night.”
Sunny slipped out of sight in seconds, and right then, Misty realized she had an answer to find.
Misty preferred to go to Mane Melody during quiet hours in the afternoon. Her mane tended to take longer for maintenance, and hours of being passed by ponies were never quite comfortable. The quiet of Pipp clinking bottles relaxed her. In the mirror, Misty’s face slowly sagged. The question she wanted to ask Pipp weighed on her more with every passing minute.
A pegasus named Flare sat in a salon chair next to Misty. For whatever reason, Pipp seemed like a safe pony to ask about questions like these, but she preferred it to be in private. Finding a time when Pipp was alone, or not streaming, had been difficult. But Misty couldn’t hold this in for very long. She’d push herself.
Pipp focused on redoing Misty’s rows. Towards the end, as Pipp sized up her impeccable work, her eyes clicked on Misty’s face.
“Hey, Misty?” Pipp asked. “Are you stressed?” She pulled on Misty’s face and inspected it closely. “Your bags have bags, and I’m not talking about purses.”
“I’m okay, Pipp,” Misty answered. “Just, uh. I have a question.”
“Yeah?” Pipp’s face froze. She lowered her voice to match Misty’s volume, “What is it?”
“Um, how do you know if you like someone?”
Pipp glanced at the ceiling. “Well, Jazz started drawing hearts on the walls with Rocky’s face in the middle of them, so…”
“I mean, what if they’re not…” Misty leaned in close and whispered. “What if they’re not a stallion?”
Pipp’s eyes widened as she nodded.
“Is that like, okay?” Misty asked.
“Whae eh, pft, of course it’s okay, Misty!” Pipp said, smiling. “Misty, feeling that way about anypony is perfectly normal. You don’t have to worry. Right, Flare?”
Misty had tried to be quiet enough so Flare couldn’t hear, but the seats were close. Flare smiled at her own long mane in the mirror.
“Right, indeed,” Flare said.
Pipp returned to inspecting Misty’s face. “So, Misty, deeeear, are there any mares you’ve got your eye on?” Pipp asked with a growing smirk.
Misty looked down, away from Pipp and her own nervous reflection. She did look tired. Spending half the night on this question only to think of nothing didn’t help. “Well, I don’t know if how I’m feeling is really like that or not. It’s hard to tell…”
“Mmm. Sounds like you need to take the test.”
“The test?”
“Well, Misty. Why do you like ponycorn?”
“Because it’s, uh, sweet and nice?” Misty asked.
“Well, yes. Obvs. But how would you know if it’s sweet and nice if you didn’t tryyy iiiiiit?” Pipp’s head swung from side to side as she rolled her eyebrows. “Flare, could you be a doll?”
“Course, babe.” Flare reached under her wing, grabbed a spray, opened her mouth and pumped it twice. She turned to Misty with thinned eyes and minty breath. “Pucker up, buttercup.”
Adrenaline dumped into Misty’s body. Her hindlegs shoved her out of her chair and dinged her horn against the floor. Her legs turned to jell and made it hard to stand. A blazing inferno in her chest. Through all of the weakness her adrenaline drew out, Misty pushed for the front door.
“U-uh, Misty? You okay?” Pipp asked.
Misty forced out laughs that came out like croaking sighs. “Yeah I think I left like twenty ovens on back home so thank you byyyyyye!”
Misty made it out.
Flare spun around in her chair and faced the mirror again. “She’s one of us,” she said. “I can sense it.”
As safe as Pipp was to talk to, she was a lot more outgoing. Maybe Zipp would understand. Misty might feel better if she figured out the answer one step at a time instead of all at once. Not that she was stalling.
Right?
Alone at the beach, Zipp practiced her moves in the sky over the water. Misty watched from below for a few minutes; she wouldn’t want to interrupt her flow. Zipp’s wings whipped up flurries of droplets as she dipped through waves and spun around like a dangling rope. Her routine paused when she noticed Misty, and a short, calm, but fast glide brought her down on the beach sand in front of Misty’s hooves.
“Hey Misty!” Zipp said. “What’s crackin?”
“Hey Zipp,” Misty said, smiling. “Uh, nothing much. Just, uh, a quick question.”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“Um, so how do you know if you like stallions or mares?” Misty asked. She forced it to come out fast to avoid making it awkward, but her voice slowed and quieted anyway. Because, um, Sunny asked me that yesterday, and I didn’t know, so…”
“Did you try the test?” Zipp asked.
“U-uuuhahah…” Misty exhaled out nervous giggles. “Isn’t there a way to find out, y’know, without the test?”
Zipp kept her smile. “I mean, the test is the easiest way. But we can try figuring this out old school. So, when did Sunny first ask you this?”
“Yesterday,” Misty answered. She’d already said that. Did Zipp want more detail?
“Did she do anything strange beforehand?”
“Well, she was late to dinner because she was reading my notebook.”
“Uh huh, I remember that.” Zipp’s voice quieted, “Okay. Well, what kinds of things do you write in your notebook?”
“Uh, well, I could show you! Here…”
Misty focused on her horn. She hadn’t performed this spell too often, and it proved to be a strain when she did. It sure beat a whole trek back to the Brighthouse, though.
Misty’s notebook appeared with a flash of light and dropped to the sand between her and Zipp. Misty breathed out and rubbed a little circle on the side of her head.
“Nice,” Zipp said. “Alright, let’s see here.”
Zipp picked up the notebook and froze. A glob of rainbow glue seeped out the pages and hit the sand. Misty hoped it would keep better on the type of paper, but no such luck. Paper hearts and Misty’s favorite pictures of Sunny in her shades slid down after it.
“Uuuuueeeeeeh, wwwwow. “ Zipp’s smile turned crooked. “You made this?”
Misty nodded proudly. “Yup!”
“And Sunny read this?”
Zipp sounded nervous. Misty’s voice shook, “Y-yeah?”
“Yeeeeeeah.” Zipp inhaled through her teeth with a hissing sound. “Okaaaay.”
A picture of Sunny in her Nightmare Night armor fell out. Misty gulped. That one had always been her favorite. Sunny’s soft face and round eyes accentuated the sharp curves, and the dark colors mixed in with her light made for the perfect knight. A rare, sly grin graced the photo with her raw beauty.
Zipp stared down at it. “Well, alright then. Let’s read a few lines.” She breathed in and opened the notebook.
Light exploded from the pages.
Zipp’s screams drowned in a torrent of fire. A tunnel of dust kicked up its wake. The sand under Misty’s hooves chattered from the force and sent vibrations up her legs all the way to her teeth.
Her notebook flew back against her front, back into her forelegs.
Misty stared at the aftermath. The blast cut a rainbow-coated funnel into the sand, and at the end of it, Zipp sprawled out in a heap. Misty ran to her across the newly burnt path.
“Zipp!” Misty shouted. “Are you okay!?”
Zipp’s wings twitched. Her mane had been frayed almost unrecognizable. Her eyes swirled around in her head and settled on the sky before Misty. Her body had been covered in rainbow glitter, heart stickers, and pictures of Sunny rocking her giant ponytail.
“T-the sonnets, Misty…” Zipp sputtered. “The sonnets…” Zipp’s gaze trailed away. “The princess allegories…”
Knight and a princess. So cliché. Misty’s older work needed editing. “A lot of them are first drafts, okay!?”
Zipp cringed in fear. She pushed back up to her hooves and leaned away from Misty, eying the book in her hooves.
“You’re too powerful,” Zipp uttered. “I need backup.”
Zipp called Izzy and Pipp to Mane Melody, afterhours. Misty wasn’t sure about inviting so many ponies to talk about something like this all together at once, but she trusted all of them. They were family, and family didn’t shy away, apparently.
Zipp opened the door, and Misty followed her in. Izzy and Flare helped Pipp clear out the supplies, in record time, it seemed. With the last boxes in their hooves, they had finished the last of storage and set up a row of chairs in front of Mane Melody’s stage.
Misty hoped she wouldn’t have to go on it.
Pipp set her hooves down and walked over to Zipp and Misty as they entered. Her steps slowed.
“Uuuehhh, sis?” Pipp asked. “Why do you look like you got stomped on by the end of a rainbow?”
Zipp walked forward, placed her hooves on Pipp’s shoulders, and shook. “She’s insane, Pipp,” Zipp said. “She’s down bad!”
“Woah woah woah woah, okay sis!” Pipp gingerly pushed her off with a smile. “Got it… Uh, let’s all sit down and talk this over, okay?”
Zipp’s legs were still shaking from the blast, but she breathed in deep and took a seat. Misty hopped on a chair between Zipp and Flare.
“Okay!” Pipp said, hopping onto the stage. “So, Misty, we hear you not wanting to try the first test. So we thought up test number two!”
Izzy walked on from the back of the stage, and Misty didn’t know where she was going with this.
Izzy wore a black leather jacket, matching lipstick, dark pants over her hindlegs, and sunglasses. She swished her mane away from her face and glanced left and right on her walk down. At the front of the stage, Izzy stopped, let her sunglasses fall under her eyes, and met Misty’s stare.
“Hey Misty,” Izzy said in a low tone. “Whatcha think?”
“Is this a fashion show?” Misty asked.
Pipp glanced between Izzy and Misty. “Well pretty much!” she said. “We’re trying to find if anything appeals!”
“Eight out of ten,” Flare said with a low smile. “You always rock in black, Izzy.”
“I don’t really try to look at ponies that way, though,” Misty said. “How would that be fair to you?
Izzy’s face softened. “Well, Misty. This is kind of something you have to figure out with other ponies! I mean, this is all about how you see them. And because you’re my bestest unicorn friend, I volunteered to help!” Izzy gasped and glanced away. “I got just the thing!”
Izzy ran back down the stage. Moments later, she returned in a red cape, a tight blue suit, and with a pair of goggles on. She struck heroic poses facing the distance on her way back down.
“How about this one?” Izzy asked without breaking character. “Superpony is a classic.”
“U-um… I-I don’t know, Izzy.” Misty rubbed her hoof down her other leg. “Isn’t there a more, uh, moral test? You’re my friend. I feel like this is using you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging your friend is attractive,” Flare said. “I think it all the time.” She glanced to the side. “Zipp.”
Zipp rubbed the back of her head. “Ieeeeeuuuh, thanks?”
“All the time.”
Izzy retreated. Pipp tapped her hooves together and ground her teeth during the wait.
The next outfit pinned Izzy’s mane back into a ponytail, added glasses, and covered her front with a white button-up and a black tie. She held her chin high and walked with stiff grace in her hooves. Her stern frown leaked with little smirks and eyebrow wags. At the front of the stage, Izzy slammed her hoof down and pointed at Misty.
“You’re late,” Izzy said. “Get to class.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Flare said with a salute.
Misty grimaced. Seeing Izzy this way made her skin tingle all over.
Izzy broke character. “Uh, hold on!” she said. “I’ve got something else.”
Another try.
Izzy came out in flowing robes with floral patterns. Little spins curled her mane around her neck and cast the light of her smile across the room. She looked down at them with a true, Izzy smile.
“You look pretty,” Misty admitted. Izzy’s face swelled. “But, I just can’t quite see you that way…”
Izzy looked to Pipp for direction. Pipp’s neck stiffened.
“Get the trump card!” Pipp hissed out.
Izzy nodded and turned serious. Pipp’s nervous frown transformed into a confident smile.
Something changed. Izzy walked out in a suit of armor, basic, but functional enough. Misty swallowed at the glint of steel around her powerful forelegs. For a moment, Misty wondered what it’d be like to be held by those hooves. When her eyes trailed up, however, through the slits of a helmet, she only saw the face of her friend Izzy, determined to help her.
“Uh, s-still no,” Misty said. “Sorry.”
Pipp scowled. “Ugh. Okay. Well, we’ll try the power armor next.”
“You sure, Pipp?” Izzy asked, removing her helmet. “If none of these are working, maybe she’s just not into mares. The tests don’t lie.”
“Not possible,” Zipp said. “Nope. Not in the slightest.”
“Well, what happened to start all this in the first place?” Pipp asked with wide eyes.
“Sunny read her notebook,” Zipp answered. “And then she asked Misty.”
Misty’s notebook floated away from between her hooves. Izzy’s horn glowed as it bounced next to her head and stilled.
“This notebook?” Izzy asked, placing a hoof on it. “Lemme have a look.”
“Izzy, no!” Zipp screamed.
Light burned through Misty’s closed eyes until she covered her face with her forelegs. A high-pitched ring lingered, and when it passed, Misty lowered her forelegs from over her eyes.
Zipp had hit the floor and took cover. Pipp and Flare’s chairs fell backward, leaving their shocked faces staring at the ceiling. Rainbow scorch marks were charred onto the floor underneath their chairs’ legs. On stage, Izzy’s pupils swapped sizes every other second. One of Misty’s favorite pictures, Sunny in bunny ears handing out chocolate eggs for Easter, dangled from the tip of Izzy’s horn.
“Mhm. Yeah,” Izzy said. “I’m definitely sensing a little unresolved tension here.”
Izzy’s face went slack. She tipped to the side and fell off the stage, limp and still. Misty’s notebook slapped against the floor and splattered heart stickers and pictures of Sunny in a puddle around it. The mage cosplay picture series rained on Izzy.
“T-the sonnets…” Pipp muttered. “What were those sonnets, Mis-ty!?”
Flare crawled in front of Misty’s chair. New rainbows had been scratched across her body. She placed two of her warm hooves on top of Misty’s and gazed up with tears and shaking lips.
“Teach me,” Flare begged.
“U-uuuuhhhhaha…” Misty glanced away. “I, just uh… It’s just an outlet.”
Pipp groaned and stood up. She shook off a heap of rainbow glitter from the top of her head. “Misty,” Pipp said. “I have outlets too. Like when I’m angry and write a song to belt it all out so I can feel better. Or treating myself to a spa treatment when I’m stressed or confused.” She smiled. “They help me manage all the emotions so that I can go about my day without taking the bad ones with me. But there’s emotions you can manage, and then there’s that.”
Pipp pointed her hoof at the notebook, and in response, a thunderclap echoed from the pages. Zipp sprang up to the ceiling, where she banged her head and fell spinning like a piece of paper.
“And that cannot be managed, Misty!” Pipp shouted. “It had to be addressed!”
Izzy came back to life, rubbing her head and realigning her eyes. “A coat made of autumn scented like spring rains… What happened?”
Misty looked around. What would she do if she stopped writing in the notebooks? The lines would stack up in her mind. Some of them could even slip through out loud when she was distracted. The thoughts would run wild no matter where they were.
There was no way for her to contain it all.
Misty stared at her fallen notebook.“I don’t know what to do with all that…” she admitted. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Well, you talk about your feelings, Misty,” Pipp said. “Face them. Otherwise they’ll hurt you from the inside or turn into outlets that zap ponies into oblivion.”
“It’s, just… I don’t know.”
The room quieted down to Misty’s level. Flare pulled away and hopped back up to her chair. Her eyes remained filled with wonder. Izzy staggered over closer to Misty with a sad smile.
“I get it,” Izzy said. “It’s hard to talk about?”
“No, it’s not… that,” Misty said. “Talking to Sunny is really easy. But it’s like going down a slide, and, when I reach the bottom…” She pointed to her notebook. “This starts happening. And I don’t know what comes after that…”
“You could always just ask Sunny,” Pipp suggested. “I mean, she’s easy to talk to, right?”
“But should I? When things are okay now?”
“If there’s one thing that being on stage has taught me, it’s that there’s a time to let it all out.” Pipp looked back towards the book. “And preferably in a safe area.”
Misty couldn’t run to her books forever, or away from Sunny’s question. Izzy and Pipp each put a hoof on her shoulders. Zipp approached in a wide arc around the book and offered her own supportive smile.
“Okay,” Misty said. “I’ll try.”
Misty checked every last room of the Brighthouse before taking the elevator to the top chamber. Past the rainbow light of the Unity Crystals, Sunny Starscout gazed out at the ocean. Misty cleared her throat to avoid scaring her.
Sunny did a double-take when she saw Misty. She put on a smile that didn’t sit quite right, then gave up on it halfway.
“Hey,” Sunny said. “You guys were out late tonight.”
“Yeah,” Misty replied. “We were, uh, just talking about things, and… Uh, Sunny?”
“Yes, Misty?”
“I feel like I understand you a lot. Because, uh, growing up, I felt a bit…" Misty glanced away from Sunny’s hesitant face. “Alone.”
“Yeah. I know what you mean.”
“And, uh, I thought that was it,” Misty said. “I thought that was why I wrote about you. So, when you asked me that question earlier, I guess I felt a little confused.”
Sunny took steps forward. “Oh, Misty… I didn’t mean to confuse you. It’s just, when you showed me your book, I felt like maybe you didn’t know or realize what it might be. And, you know… I’m your friend. I want you to be able to discover yourself without feeling embarrassed or ashamed, because you have nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed for. I didn’t mean to interfere in you finding this out yourself. I’m sorry.”
Izzy’s voice echoed, “Well, Misty. This is kind of something you have to figure out with other ponies!”
Sunny turned away and stared down at the floor.
“Sunny,” Misty said. “Thank you. For helping me.”
Sunny smiled, but her eyes continued to dart around Misty’s face.
“Y’know,” Sunny said. “I heard from Pipp there’s this test. Not… that I’m testing you, or anything. Uha. But it can be awkward, and, awkward tests can go wrong if you’re not comfortable. And we’re peas in a pod. Or a pot?” Sunny tapped her hoof on her chin. “I forget which one it is. But, anyways, yeah. That.”
It had all started with Sunny in Misty’s notebook. With a little help, Misty could figure it out once and for all.
“Sure.” Misty nodded. “Thank you, Sunny.”
“Alright,” Sunny said. “Uh, follow me real quick.”
Misty did.
The elevator brought them down to the sleeping area. On her way up, Misty had failed to notice a new, drawn curtain around Sunny’s space. Sunny pulled it aside and revealed a layout filled with candles, warm-colored plushies, and a picnic mat. Ice cream sundaes, a plate of donuts, and tarts were laid out, along with a massive bowl of cupcake ponycorn. Even moonlight felt warm with the decorations Sunny set up.
“Uh, did you set all of this up for…”
“Well, w-w-we’ve gotta be accurate here, Misty.” Sunny’s eyes twitched. “We don’t want to have incorrect results just because my breath was bad or the mood wasn’t right or we didn’t try it long enough or passionately enough or because eight hours of studying at the library wasn’t enough time to learn how to kiss, right? Right!”
Misty couldn’t tell if Sunny was scared, or something else. But she was still Sunny.
“Sure!” Misty said.
Sunny’s face relaxed a touch, but her legs remained stiff as she walked Misty over to the mat and sat down. When Sunny’s breath tickled her nose, Misty exhaled and set aside an invisible weight from her shoulders. She and Sunny were the only ones here.
Sunny picked up a bottle, turned her face away, and pumped oral spray twice. She tossed it out of sight and Misty pretended not to see.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Sunny?” Misty asked.
“Yes,” Sunny answered, a little too strongly. She cleared her throat and started over.“I mean, yes. Perfect. And ready. On your mark. Or my mark. I mean, only if, with your mark, you say that it’s on my mark, because, either way is cool with me.” Sunny put on a sly smirk. “I’m chill.”
Misty giggled and held her hoof against her own chin. “You don’t have to do this test thing if you don’t want to, Sunny.”
“Wait, no please!” Sunny’s eyes popped. “I mean! Please… Don’t… Worry about iiii-iiit!” Sunny laughed it off. “Uh, let’s uh, start. If that’s okay.”
“Yeah.”
Misty matched Sunny’s lean forward. The candles behind Misty, reflected in Sunny’s eyes, wavered and flicked. A low creak came between them.
Misty’s breath hitched.
Sunny pulled back. “Sorry. I-I’ll be, uh, slow.”
“No, I’m okay,” Misty said.
Sunny leaned in again,
“Hey Misty?” Sunny said.
“Yeah?”
A warm smile. “This is all pretty silly.”
Good thing they both knew it. Misty giggled. “Yeah…”
Sunny surged forward.
Misty’s giggles continued on in the first seconds, then, bliss came with Sunny’s ferocious heartbeat against her chest and lips against her own. Her coat was soft as a blanket, even more than usual. Another push forward drew out the extra breath Misty had been saving in her lungs.
Sunny rubbed feverish little circles on the back of Misty’s head. Misty’s face burned, and it made her dizzy. She reached her foreleg out to steady herself, only to bury her hoof in Sunny’s mane by accident. Her hindlegs slipped.
Misty’s hoof pulled down. The twist at the end of Sunny’s mane pulled loose. Misty’s chin brushed against Sunny’s front.
“I’m bad at this,” Misty said. “But, I think I learned something about myself today.”
“Yeah,” Sunny breathed out. “Me too… Buttercup.”
Sunny’s hoof tapped Misty’s nose. From under the picnic mat, Sunny’s hoof rustled around and took out a piece of paper. It radiated rainbows. The same color for the highlights Misty used in her mane dripped off its corner as drops of ink.
“I wrote a poem for you,” Sunny said. “It’s a sun-net.” She laughed and snorted at her own pun. “Get it?”
Misty swallowed. “Oh, uh, neat!”
“I’ll read it for you!”
“O-kay!”
There’d be no escape. Sunny leaned in towards Misty’s ear and recited her poem. Misty couldn’t really hear the words. In fact, something told Misty this poem was as cheesy as a stack of Sunny’s puns stapled together. Yet Misty felt everything she said. Sunny punctuated every line with a deep kiss on Misty’s cheek, while Sunny’s loose mane brushed against Misty’s ears. The full-force blast she expected drummed in her chest. Utter bliss set in.
And so, Misty found herself content to sit quietly in Sunny’s hooves.
“Hey Misty?”
Misty opened her bleary eyes. Sunny’s smile lit up and softened at the same time. She pecked Misty’s forehead and traced her hoof over Misty’s rows.
“You belong here,” Sunny hummed.
Warmth on a rainforest floor.
