Chapter 1: The Smell of Books.
Twilight Sparkle found herself covering the afternoon shift at the Canterlot library, that meant two things, the first, she would be out late that day and the second, she wouldn't have to deal with many ponies, that last thing made the first thing not bother her so much, she was a reserved pony, she didn't really enjoy any kind of interaction with anyone.
In fact, when she applied so many years ago to work in the library she did her best to be assigned to the basement offices, however her incredible memorization skills and unparalleled organization inevitably led to her being assigned to the main desk, where she had played an exceptional role, at least in the technical duties, in dealing with the readers who came in every day seeking advice or simply to borrow books, In all her time working, she had not had a single conversation that did not go beyond the technicalities of the job, she only received the readers, told them what they needed and dispatched them quickly, in her eyes, it was the best way to prevent anyone from recognizing her, but that was a useless struggle, almost everyone knew who she was.
Twilight Sparkle, the only unicorn, in the history of Canterlot, who had failed the entrance exam for Princess Celestia's school for talented unicorns, this after having demonstrated an exceptional affinity and magical power, a power that little by little was in decline over the years due to lack of studies and practice, Twilight now the only thing she could do was levitate not very heavy objects and create lights, apart from that, her magical handling did not exceed that of a seven year old foal.
There she was, sitting quietly as she read for the eighteenth time “The Chronicles of Star Swirl the Bearded. Vol.17 “lit dimly by a small table light on her desk, she wore a heavy dark green houndstooth knit sweater and a long black skirt that reached almost to the end of her hooves, she wore a pair of small circular glasses, so many years of reading with inappropriate lighting had taken its toll on her eyes, now she needed those glasses to read well, her hair was tied in a tight bun behind her head as well as her tail, next to her was a half eaten margarita sandwich and a thermos with some chamomile tea inside.
The unicorn enjoyed the silence that the evening offered her, looking up from time to time from her book to make sure how little by little the library was getting emptier and emptier, Twilight couldn't help but sigh in relief at that, thankful that this had been a quiet Tuesday afternoon and that no mishap forced her to stay later than her departure time.
It seemed that Celestia herself was listening to her thoughts, waiting for the exact moment when she would let her guard down to send her the greatest of calamities, because just at that moment the main entrance to the library crashed open.
The shrill noise startled more than one, Twilight finally released her book in shock, worried that it was some kind of emergency, to her surprise the only thing she could see was a mare, with yellow fur and bright red mane, noisily enter the enclosure and then run down one of the aisles of the library, Twilight had barely been able to process that when a huge rumble resounded in the direction in which the unicorn had gone.
For a second she thought about ignoring this fact but then she remembered that she had already received a report for allowing inappropriate activities inside the library, if she received another one her position would be at risk, so, letting out a sigh of annoyance and getting up from her chair, she walked heavily in the direction the mare went, under the watchful eyes of the few remaining readers, clearly waiting for the supervisor on duty to do her job and kick the troublemaker out.
As soon as she entered the aisle she realized almost immediately what had caused the noise, one of the carts that were used to transport large quantities of books through the library, and that apparently had exceeded its load limit had overturned, causing an avalanche of books that covered a good part of the aisle, this was undoubtedly the work of the pony, it was not enough for her to run in and make a fuss, now she was also attacking the integrity of the books.
Twilight let out another sigh of annoyance, not only because she now had more work than before, having to organize all those books apart from finding and reprimanding the runaway pony, but also because, having discovered this cart surely abandoned by her morning shift colleagues, it meant that her perfect afternoon shift was ruined.
Flashing her horn she began to lift some of the books, at the very least she had to make sure the aisle was passable, it was at that moment that, as she lifted one of the larger ones a face appeared buried under the avalanche.
“No! Wait, don't remove them..!” whispered the yellow mare.
The surprise caused Twilight to let out a gasp and the books she was holding, dropping them back onto the pile and eliciting a slight “Ouch” from the buried pony.
“But what the... hey you! You did this! You must fix it!” said an annoyed Twilight.
“Shhh! Yes, yes I will fix it, just give me a minute to hide...”
“Hide from what?”
At that moment the library door opened again with a clatter, peeking around the corner of the hallway Twilight noticed that it was none other than two royal guards, dressed in their shining golden armor, both looked tired and sweaty, quickly approaching one of the ponies sitting down reading.
“Hey, do you know where the shift manager is?”
The pony turned to look somewhat intimidated by the bluntness of the question, becoming flustered and stuttering.
“Uh no...I haven't seen her, she's usually at her desk always...”
The guards looked at each other and quickly moved on to another pony asking the same question, just as Twilight was about to leave the hallway to see what they wanted the mare's voice behind her shouted softly.
“Don't tell them I'm here!”
Twilight turned around in disbelief at hearing this.
“What, they're looking for you?”
“Yes, they want to take me back to the castle...”
“Are you a criminal or something...” asked Twilight squinting her eyes.
“No! I'm just a student, I convinced them to let me out for lunch and then I lost them...” said the mare desperately ”Please! I'll help you rearrange all this, just, don't tell them...”
Twilight looked at her quizzically for a second, hesitating about what to do, finally and without giving any answer she turned and walked towards the guards, she approached silently as they questioned a mare.
“Are you sure you didn't see anyone suspicious enter the library?”
“I already told them no, the only suspects here are you..”
At this both guards exchanged worried glances talking to each other.
“What are we going to do?” asked one in anguish.
“I don't know, we can't go back to the palace without her again, we'll get fired...”
At that moment Twilight cleared her throat behind them, startling them.
“Ahem, good afternoon, I'm in charge of the afternoon shift at the library how can I help you?”
It took the guards a moment to recover, finally bowing slightly and responding quietly.
“Please excuse the inconvenience, but estatism looking for a mare we were supposed to escort, we think she may have come in here...”
“A mare? I think you're going to have to be a little more specific” Twilight replied arching an eyebrow.
“She's yellow, with a brighter yellow mane and red highlights...” the other guard replied hastily.
“And it's very important that we find her so we can escort her back to the palace...”
“And why would they need to escort her?” the unicorn asked curiously.
“She is Princess Celestia's protégé, she must return in time to take her afternoon lessons...”
Twilight, upon hearing Celestia's name, felt bad, at that moment she guessed that this mare was a student at the school for gifted unicorns, for a second she was tempted to tell on her, it couldn't be that she would make all this fuss for not wanting to attend a class, but on the other hand, she had promised her to help her organize the avalanche of books, which in turn would allow her to go home much earlier, finally and after much debate she opted for the option that suited her best.
“No, I haven't seen her, and believe me when I tell you that I keep an eye out for every pony that enters my library” A vile lie.
Both guards exchanged glances again before sighing defeatedly and beginning to retreat.
“Please excuse us miss...”
“Librarian.”
“Miss librarian...” continued the guard ignoring the dismissive response ”We didn't mean to barge in like that, we were just trying to do our job...”
“Don't worry, I hope you find her, thank you for your great service...”
And without further ado the guards left, Twilight now let out a sigh of relief, sitting on the ground for a second, despite it not being a big deal, lying to real guards made her a bit nervous, some of her mane had come loose from the bun and covered part of her forehead, she quickly flashed her horn to return the to its place, before heading back to the disaster aisle.
When she arrived everything was exactly the same as she had left it, not a single book had moved, she approached cautiously, levitated the same large book and there it was, the unicorn's face, her huge green eyes sparkled contrasting with the pile of dull colored books.
“Are they gone?”
“Yes, they're gone...” replied Twilight dryly.
At that moment the pony stood up abruptly, stirring the pile of books even more and letting out a giggle, a stupid grin crept across her face as she shook Twilight's hoof and shook it, finally the librarian got a good look at the disruptor of her tranquility, her fur was shiny and she was fluffy to the touch, she was dressed in a ratty old denim jacket adorned with endless patches and a design of a phoenix on the back, her mane and tail were were were tousled, and both were quite short.
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! For a second there I thought you were going to give me away...”
Twilight quickly pulled away from the grip, feeling uncomfortable at the display of unexpected emotion.
“Aha yes whatever, don't forget what you promised, you're not leaving here until we've sorted all these books...”
“Oh creme, just now, I'd like nothing better!” exclaimed the unicorn with relief.
“Well, I recommend you stay here until the last reader leaves...” said Twilight as she walked away back to the main wing.
“What, why?” the mare asked quizzically.
“Because, out there there are still ponies that may or may not have recognized you when you came in, if one of them notices that you share characteristics with the mare that the guards were looking for we'll both get in trouble...” said Twilight with a slight tone of annoyance.
“Oh...well, that makes sense..but what am I supposed to do while I wait?”
“You can start by sorting the books by title, subject and alphabetical order.”
“What! But I thought you said we were going to do it together?”
“And that's right, when you're done you'll have to check to see if you did it right, and then reorganize because you're probably not going to do it right, then there will be putting each book in its place, I'm just trying to get ahead so we both don't stay here until the middle of the damn night.”
The mare didn't know what else to say, it was obvious the librarian was upset about the mess, she decided not to try her luck and just agree.
“Ok, I'll start can you get me something to eat, with the whole escape plan in the end I didn't eat lunch...”
Twilight didn't answer.
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A couple of hours later, it was finally closing time, the last ponies finally returned the books they were reading and headed for the exit, Twilight stamped the last book to be borrowed that day as the last library employees noted their check out time and left.
“Good night Twilight!” Exclaimed the elder Dusty Pages cheerfully “Don't forget to lock up tight when you leave!”
Twilight would have ignored the gesture coming from any other pony, but Dusty Pages was the only library employee who still treated her well and talked to her about things that had nothing to do with work, so she responded with a simple.
“Aha...”
And in a moment the library was silent, Twilight now found herself doubtful about her plan Did she really want to spend the next two hours arranging books with a stranger? She definitely didn't like the idea, as she got up from her desk and walked in the direction of the hallway she thought it would be best to get rid of the mare and finish the work on her own, after all it wouldn't be the first time she stayed late, or maybe even the unicorn would have left by now, taking advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at her to escape, but no.
There she was, in the same spot where he had left her, sitting on the floor with towers of books neatly stacked around her, her horn glowing with sparkling red magic as the remaining books floated effortlessly back and forth as she looked them over, Twilight couldn't help but stand with her mouth slightly open at the spectacle.
At that moment the pony became aware of her presence, turning towards her without letting go of her magic.
“Hi! I'm almost done, just let me put these last ones up and we can start putting them in place.”
It took Twilight a second to react, but when she finally did she shook her head greedily before clearing her throat.
“Uh yeah, yeah...first of all I should check that you've ordered them right.”
“Yeah sure, go ahead.”
Twilight reaches over to the first pile and with her magic pulled out some of the books at random, checking their titles, then moved on to the next, and the next, there didn't seem to be anything out of place.
“Well, to my surprise it looks like you didn't throw it away....” Twilight said somewhat warily ”But that doesn't mean we're done, help me get the first group onto the cart and we'll get started with the organization...”
Before she could finish the sentence, the unicorn shone her horn and incredibly moved all the towers of books at the same time, placing them all perfectly on the cart, Twilight was speechless, for her it would have been torture to have to use her magic to move a single tower of those books and this mare had moved them all as if nothing had happened.
The unicorn then noticed Twilight's incredulous expression, noticing a certain aura of discomfort in the air as the librarian mare kept her gaze fixed on the newly created new tower, at this she cleared her throat slightly, blowing out one of the loose strands of her mane and taking a couple of steps forward.
“Hey...I just realized we haven't introduced ourselves, I'm Sunset Shimmer, nice to meet you!” she exclaimed with a smile on her face.
In response Twilight just turned around, starting to push the cart with all her might, and letting out a low “Aha...”.
Sunset felt somewhat ignored at this, but she supposed it made sense that the librarian was annoyed with her, after all she had caused her to have a lot of extra work, so she simply followed her silently at a slow pace.
The walk was circuitous, aisle by aisle and section by section, Twilight would tell her where to place the books and Sunset would use her magic to put them in place, by the time there were half the books left the yellow unicorn was exhausted, she didn't know how much time had passed but she was sure it was more than late at night, Almost all the lights in the library had been turned off and now they were guided through the aisles with a small lantern in front of the cart, giving the task a gloomy and lonely aura, at this Sunset tried to relax by striking up a conversation with the librarian, whose name she still didn't know.
“Y.... have you been working here long?” she asked nervously.
In response she only received an irritated sigh, Twilight dropped her head in annoyance on the cart, still pushing it, before answering.
“Couldn't you keep quiet for the rest of the time we have left here? Because let me tell you something, believe it or not, spending all night organizing books, isn't exactly how I wanted to spend my Tuesday night...”
“I get it...” Sunset lowered her head in embarrassment “Sorry I...I didn't mean to cause inconvenience...”
“Well, sorry doesn't make it right...” At that moment Twilight came to a sudden stop, startling Sunset a bit by the sound of the cart wheels scraping against the floor “Here we are, this should be the second to last section..and the one with the most books, start by arranging these copies of ‘Ancient Spells in Force’ and then those of ‘Practical Applications of Reptiles in Magic’...”
Sunset sighed and flashed her horn, beginning to levitate the books to their respective places, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she could notice how the librarian, who was holding a book she had been staring longingly at, suddenly reached over to sniff the cover, quickly and closing her eyes for just a second.
“Oh...you like the smell of books too?” suddenly asked Sunset.
Noticing Sunset's look Twilight blushed profusely, pushing the book away back into the pile and stammering a reply.
“Ah! I, no no, it's...It helps me relax okey!” Twilight grabbed a couple more books with her magic, turning around and looking for where to put them ”It's special when there are stray mares that break into my library and make me have to work until the damn wee hours of the morning...”
“Me...I like to smell the books too...” said Sunset after a brief pause ”I don't know why really, but whenever I do it's like going back to a place that never existed, like a made up memory about a very happy time...”
Twilight listened intently, still with her back to the mare, putting the books back in place she thought for a second.
“Or how to go home after an eternity of loneliness...”
Twilight's answer was in a low voice, almost a whisper, but due to the total silence of the library Sunset could hear it perfectly.
“Yes...yes something like that too...” she quickly resumed her task, lifting book after book, knowing more or less where its right place was.
Suddenly, and to Sunset's surprise a strange object levitated right in front of her nose, it took her a moment to realize what it was, a half-eaten margarita sandwich, awkwardly wrapped in a napkin.
The orange unicorn turned to see the librarian with her head down, shining her horn to levitate the sandwich in front of her.
“You...you said you didn't eat lunch...”
It took Sunset a moment to respond.
“Oh emm...thanks” she finally said taking the sandwich with her magic and taking a bite, it was dry on par with tasteless, still Sunset gave Twilight a smile before going on with her work.
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Finally the last book was placed and with it the work was finished, both mares were walking back to the main room of the library with the cart already empty, the walk was silent again, but this time, calmer, so much so that Sunset couldn't help but try to strike up a conversation again.
“So...you didn't answer my question Have you been working here long?”
Twilight hesitated again about answering, but this time she reflected, this unicorn had been resilient and respectful throughout the evening, without pretentiousness or arrogance, she simply helped her without complaining or asking for reasons, so, Twilight thought, the least she could do was to give her the pleasure of answering one of her questions, although perhaps, not in the clearest way.
“Long time...”
“Oh... really? Like how long?” replied Sunset somewhat surprised and with a recovered enthusiasm.
“Nine years...” She said somewhat warily.
“Really!!! Wow seriously that's a long time...”
“Aha...”
Twilight couldn't tell if she was irritated or weirded out by the unicorn's over-the-top enthusiasm, she was used to dealing with less eloquent ponies, though, if she thought about it, the reason all their interactions tended to be so dry and distant was more due to her attitude than anyone else's.
All the recurring library users already knew her and knew that she didn't enjoy any show of sympathy or kindness at all, so it was obvious that, in the long run they would all opt to keep contact with her as minimal as possible, but this mare, she was a total stranger, it wasn't the dynamic Twilight was used to.
“Being a librarian must be your dream job, to have been working here for so long...” continued Sunset, seemingly oblivious to the tide of conflicting thoughts flooding the librarian.
“Not really...” replied Twilight crisply ”I only do it for the books...”
“Well, I really like books too, so I guess it makes sense, I'd be a librarian too if it meant I could read all day...although I think I'm too loud to aspire to the position...”
“Really?” began Twilight now with a twinge of curiosity in the back of her mind ”Well that's funny, come to think of it I don't remember ever seeing you around...” The unicorn's tone was slightly accusatory.
“Well...” Sunset let out a chuckle “It's just that since I started my advanced studies I've had access to the castle library, so I've had no need to come and borrow books here..”
Again, the mention referring to something related to the sun princess caused an uneasy feeling in Twilight's stomach, she remembered what the guards had said about the mare “Celestia's protégé” and didn't want to continue the conversation, remaining in such a remarked silence that Sunset turned around quizzically, noticing the librarian's frown.
“You...you're not jealous because I have access to Princess Celestia's private collection are you?” she asked somewhat nervously.
“No...” replied Twilight through gritted teeth.
“Oh, well, you wouldn't have to be anyway...”
This made Twilight turn around intrigued, touching again with the mare's bright green eyes.
“I mean...” continued Sunset as she got the purple unicorn's attention ”I just noticed that you already have most of the books from that private collection here...”
“Really?” asked Twilight incredulously.
“Yes, and all thanks to this unexpectedly torturous task...” Sunset let out a laugh “In fact the only books you don't have are the ones so old that they turn to dust when you touch them too much.”
Twilight at that moment felt the urge to laugh at the mare's eloquent comment, but restrained herself, more to herself than to her companion, she didn't want to accept that she was, indeed, enjoying the unicorn's company.
“So...why did you run away?” asked Twilight finally, something that surprised Sunset even more, taking an even longer moment to answer.
“Well hehe.... Are you going to say it's absurd but, I wanted some fresh air...”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight this time without hiding her curiosity.
“Well, it's just that I'm nearing the end of my studies and, well...at this point I'm already spending every day cooped up studying...”
“I thought you said you liked books, why would studying bother you?”
“It's just...that's different...” Sunset paused “I used to study only what interested me, but now, my teacher has set me on a path of boredom and tedium...”
“Are you talking about...the princess?” asked Twilight with a lump in her throat.
“Yes, she has been preparing me for years to fulfill an important task in the future...a task that is more and more ready to happen every day...”
“What kind of work?”
Sunset turning around again saw that the librarian's eyes were fixed on her, finally noticing the gleam of curiosity in her purple eyes, feeling a slight tingle of satisfaction at finally breaking the ice Sunset willed herself not to lose that attention.
“Well, you're not going to believe this but...even I'm not sure what purpose he has me contemplating.”
“You're kidding right...?” twilight's disbelief was palpable.
“Nope, I can assure you, Princess Celestia is more mysterious and enigmatic than you can ever imagine, she has always told me that I was born to achieve great things and that what awaits me will be the greatest thing I could ever imagine, but that's all she has ever told me about it...”
Now it was Sunset's countenance that became downcast, lowering her gaze and becoming silent, noticing this Twilight suddenly felt ashamed, perhaps she was too reckless and intruded where she shouldn't have, forcing this mare to reveal personal ailments to her to keep her interested.
“I'm sorry...” said Twilight softly as she lowered her own head.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, please don't apologize...” suddenly said Sunset, surprising the librarian again ”It's not your fault, forgive me you, I got to talking about my problems when surely all you want to do is go home and rest...”
At that moment both finally arrived at the main room, Twilight didn't take a second to put the cart aside, crumpled it on the side of one of the corridors while she walks with a firm step to her desk, determined to end both her and the unicorn's torment, without saying anything she took her saddlebag and her set of keys, together with the book she was reading before and heading to the main entrance where Sunset was already waiting for her.
By the time Twilight finally closed the library entrance behind them both mares stood, facing each other, enveloped in one last awkward silence, one that Twilight eventually broke.
“Well...” began Twilight as she cleared her throat and pulled a large opaque red scarf, also hand-knitted, from her saddlebag, placing it around her neck ”I really appreciate your help you gave me with the books...”
“And I thank you for, well, you know, not ratting me out to the authorities...and for the sandwich” Sunset for her part zipped up her jacket in an attempt to cover herself from the night's chill.
They were silent once again, neither knew how to say goodbye, this time it was Sunset who spoke first.
“Well...I guess, I'll see you around” the unicorn held out a hoof to the librarian.
“I don't think so, you already have a private library...”
To the surprise, not only of Sunset, but also of Twilight, the latter reciprocated the gesture, shaking the hoof, Sunset could feel a tingle as she noticed how, the librarian's fur, in comparison to her own, was warm, surely due to the thick sweater she was wearing and protected her better from the cold.
“You...” began Sunset just as the librarian's touch trailed off ”You didn't tell me your name...”
Twilight pulled her hoof away quickly as she again noticed the softness of the orange mare's fur, which even when cold to the touch still retained that fluffiness that had surprised her the first time, suddenly Twilights embarrassment returned, thinking of how parched and poorly cared for her own fur was, at how surely her touch was rappy and unpleasant, before she could let herself get carried away with those thoughts Sunset's comment snapped her back to reality, taking a little while to realize what she had said and a little longer to think about whether or not she should respond to her.
It was one thing to continue the conversation out of politeness and quite another to give her his name, a name that resonated and was known by the vast majority of the inhabitants of Canterlot, a name that made her feel miserable every time she remembered, a name that once proclaimed greatness and that now was only cause for embarrassment, even so, and without knowing very well why, Twilight did not feel judged or self-conscious by the unicorn, her enthusiastic and carefree tone had been replaced by softness and tact.
“Tw...Twilight...” she finally replied, as a whisper that almost carried on the wind, but managed to reach Sunset's ears ”Just...just Twilight...”
Sunset gave her a wide smile which seemed to glow in the moonlight, before finally replying.
“Well Twilight, see ya...”
Sunset turned and walked away, leaving Twilight alone in front of the library, the violet unicorn stood still, watching her fade into the distance until she disappeared around a corner, then she herself turned and began the slow walk home.
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Twilight entered her small apartment quietly, trying not to wake her roommate, moving through the small living room that also served as her bedroom and kitchen, dodging the few pieces of furniture in the direction of the room where there was a bunk bed on the left side and two desks squeezed together on the right side.
The mare cautiously climbed up to the top of the bunk, removing both her scarf and skirt in the process, laying down and finally covering herself with the sheets, just as Twilight let out a sigh of relief a rough, half-asleep voice spoke from the bottom of the bunk.
“Mñeee...Twilight? Are you here yet?”
“Yes...I'm here...”
“You were really late this time...Did something happen?”
“...No Moon Dancer, everything's fine, I just...stayed up late reading...”
“Ah, well...”
Twilight listened as her roommate fell asleep again in an instant, the unicorn could only stare at the ceiling thinking about how bizarre the day had been, how weird and annoying, but also how curious and strangely pleasant, to her mind came the memory of Sunset's face, dedicating some last words “See ya.” he reflected on it, on the possibility of seeing her again, on how it wasn't something he longed for with all his might, but he wouldn't mind if it happened again either, he wanted to feel that comfort again, that calm, that feeling that there was nothing on his shoulders, at least nothing but the smell of the books.
Chapter 2: The Phoenix Shine.
The alarm clock came to life with a thunderous sound, almost immediately afterwards a perfectly thrown pillow muffled the uproar. The unicorn let out a grumpy grunt as the morning sunlight streamed through the bedroom window and the noise from outside began to become more and more prominent, finally she was forced to open her eyes staring at the underside of the old bunk above, it was beginning to dawn on her how bad an idea it turned out to be to stay up so late in the library.
She reflected on that for a second, all in all it hadn't been the worst night she'd ever had, even with all the extra work and having to deal with the library's archaic cataloguing system, the company had certainly been good, the image of the yellow mare loomed in her memories as annoying as she was intriguing it turned out to be, she had been very kind and Twilight still couldn't believe that she was the protégée of Princess Celestia herself, one would think that such a title would be bestowed upon a pony with a better sense of responsibility or at least one that didn't look and act like a bandala, it wasn't long before a familiar voice echoed outside the room, snapping her out of her reverie.
“Twilight I know you're awake, get up...”
The mare let out another plaintive whimper as she covered herself completely with her sheets, if it were up to her she would stay in bed all day.
“Breakfast is ready” the voice said again, just as a heavy, opaque smell wafted into the room.
Twilight's stomach began to growl belligerently and very prominently which put her in the middle of the impossible dilemma cursing herself for giving her sandwich away the night before.
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Moondancer was sitting at the small table in the main room, she was wearing a half buttoned white shirt while her hair was wrapped in a towel, she kept her gaze fixed on a rather large group of papers which she levitated with her magic, one after another while she levitated a spoon to eat from a prominent bowl of freshly made oatmeal. The small apartment, despite emanating an almost frustrating simplicity between its null decor and its grayish lighting was perfectly tidy, the shelves with books were spotless, there was not a single dirty junk and three small plants rested on the edge of the only window, still damp and so perfect they almost didn't seem real.
The pleasant silence was finally interrupted when Twilight stumbled out of the room, still wrapped in her blankets and dragging a couple of dirty clothes into the room, the mare sat down on the other chair right in front of her companion and without a word began to eat roughly, just dipping her muzzle into the bowl, smearing her face and neck.
“Rough night?” asked Moondancer without looking up from the paperwork as he approached a cat-shaped coffee mug, a mug Twilight received giving it a big sip before continuing to eat.
“What about you, are you grading this early?” The unicorn avoided the question by speaking with her mouth full.
“I'm preparing the exams for this afternoon, someone told me that some students got copies so I plan to surprise them...” she paused before taking another sip of her own coffee ”You didn't answer my question...” Twilight was silent for a second before answering.
“No, nothing serious just, some crazy mare knocked over a mountain of books and I had to stay with her to organize...”
“Who?” asked Moondancer finally dedicating a glance to his companion as he raised an eyebrow, again a second of silence.
“No one just a disrespectful punk, whatever she turned my quiet day into a disaster...” Twilight noticed Moondancer's stare, the kind of stares she detested and yet in this particular situation she couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed “What?” she asked finally hiding behind her coffee.
“Nothing...” Moondancer suppressed a smile as he noticed a subtle change in Twilight's somber countenance, the following he said almost as a whisper “I think you could use a little more ‘disaster’ ”
Twilight pretended not to hear deciding to focus on her breakfast, shortly after that Moondancer finished getting ready she was already at the entrance putting her keys and umbrella in her backpack when she turned around to let out a small scream.
“I'm going to be late today!”
“Are you going to be teaching night classes?” came a muffled shout in reply from the bathroom.
“No, some coworkers invited me out to one of those places full of cheap beer and loud music, apparently a band is playing that is becoming popular in town...I can tell you where it is if you want to come” Moondancer never missed an opportunity to try to get Twilight out of her monotonous routine, though never being too pushy and never taking her rejection too much to heart.
“No thanks, as soon as I get out of the library I'd like to get to sleep!”
“Alright...” said Moondancer letting out a sigh before opening the door to leave ‘I'll see you later then" and without further ado the unicorn left the apartment.
Twilight got under the shower water in an attempt to get rid of the tiredness she felt, her hair completely covered her face while her thoughts flooded her, the image of the mare kept appearing in her mind, not so much because of the memory of their coexistence, but rather because of the position she held, “the princess' protégée” this brought back old memories, memories of better times when she had great expectations and she felt capable of fulfilling them, she thought about how, if things had been different maybe she would have been the princess's protégée, if only she had.... She shook those thoughts from her mind, quickly finished washing and stepped out of the shower, it wasn't worth thinking about.
It didn't take him much longer to straighten up to get out, for an instant he thought about going out in just his favorite sweater since the weather reports had guaranteed that these would be a very hot few days but as the idea was being considered in his head the flash of her cutie mark reflected in the bedroom mirror caught his attention, she looked at it for a long moment admiring its bright colors and symmetrical shape, quickly grabbed one of her many long beige skirts and quickly put it on before tying her hair back into a messy knot, grabbed her things and headed for the library, wishing with all her might that this day would be like all the others.
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Twilight walked slowly through the streets, it was still relatively early so the morning bustle of the great capital city had not been fully unleashed, you could see foals walking in groups to school, vendors starting to open their businesses and one or another passerby hurrying forward with a cup of coffee levitating at his side, yes, it seemed to be a day like any other.
The unicorn was trying to keep her mind distracted with thoughts of work, she thought of the new shipment of new books that was soon to arrive imagining the books she would like to find in said acquisition, she thought of the newest edition of Metallurgic Alchemy or the recently translated Yak, Bullggar the Great, or maybe even the new volume of A. K. Yearling's Daring Doo and the Curse of the Pillar, all those possibilities had relaxed her and even brought a small smile to her face, that is until she turned the last corner on the street leading to the library and her eyes fell on something that shattered her fantasies.
There at the base of the steps leading up to the large main door of the compound was leaning nonchalantly the same Mare from the day before, she was wearing the same threadbare jacket and her messy mane waved in the morning breeze, Twilight felt her whole body tense up stopping in her tracks, what was she doing here, had she forgotten something last night, was she coming to file a complaint about her unprofessional behavior, was she coming to kill her so she wouldn't reveal the truth about her impractical escape, a thousand questions ran through her mind as she tried to decide what to do next, in the end she decided that the best course of action was to back off and wait for her to leave, no matter if that would make her late for work. a thousand questions were running through her mind as she tried to decide what to do next, in the end she decided the best course of action was to back off and wait for him to leave, never mind that it would make her late for work, she took a first step in the opposite direction but it was too late, the yellow unicorn's eyes landed on hers which made Twilight's cheeks feel hot and her stomach churn.
“Twilight hello!” greeted Sunset effusively as she ran in the direction of the unicorn, Twilight didn't respond she just stood there with her body stiff as a rock, it wasn't until she had the other mare right in front of her that her brain and body finally connected and she was able to regain control of herself.
“H...hello..” she said almost breathlessly, the unicorn's face was beaming with a big smile, Twilight could notice how despite this she could see some slight dark circles under her eyes as well as a few leaves stuck in her red hair and what she could have sworn was a bruise on her right eye "Hey...are you okay?" she asked almost without thinking.
“Huh? What? Ahhh! this? it's nothing it's just that I fell face first into the ground while jumping over the fence at the royal gardens” Sunset let out a giggle as she used one of her hooves to brush the dirt off her head.
“You ran away again?”
“Of course! How else could I have found you before your shift started?”
“But how did you know that I...?”
“Oh, I know how the shifts work in the library, those who work afternoon work morning the next day” the mare put a silly expression on her face before clearing her throat ”Well emm I wanted to talk to you because you see...”
Suddenly Sunset seemed to get stuck for words as if she had forgotten her reason for being there, this strangely amused Twilight causing all her tension and panic, or at least most of it, to disappear, letting out a hoarse chuckle which she tried to disguise, this caught Sunset's attention appeasing her own nervousness and returning to her carefree countenance.
“Hehe well the truth is that I wanted to know if you would like to accompany me this afternoon to a place I know...”
The tension immediately returned to Twilight's body, she didn't answer, she didn't know this mare from absolutely nothing, for Celestia's sake she had met her less than a day ago, besides why would she ask something like that, specifically of her... it didn't make sense, unless there was something else behind it.
“Why?” he finally asked.
“Why?” said Sunset in confusion.
“Why would you say something like that to me?”
“Uh well I, I thought I should do something to make up for last night and well...” the unicorn was weirded out, this wasn't the answer she expected, she assumes the ice had already been broken but suddenly she was met with defensiveness on the librarian's behalf so she began to believe that maybe she had misunderstood everything ‘Agh good job Sunset’ she chided herself.
Twilight remained silent, once again her mind was spinning a thousand and one times looking for reasons and hidden reasons for this, but she was frustrated to find nothing, there was no practical reason why this mare would want to invite her to anything, the silence was long enough for Sunset to understand that , indeed, she had been wrong.
Only at that moment Twilight reacted, she could see the regret in the mare's face and her intentions to withdraw as soon as possible, maybe that would be the best thing, she had never been invited anywhere by anyone and she had no idea what she was supposed to do or how to reciprocate, if she accepted the most likely thing would be to find some way to ruin it either with her ungraceful attitude or by her own lack of knowledge, the best thing was to let her go, that was the best thing, but....
“So...” he said almost whispering but loud enough for Sunset to hear him perking her ears up ”Where is this place?”
Sunset couldn't help but smile broadly, her face lighting up again as hope filled her with determination once more.
“Oh it's in the lower town, it's a nice little place, and don't worry two friends of mine will be going too, it won't be just you and me...”
The very idea of being surrounded by more ponies she wasn't used to interacting with was getting on her nerves, more so in the lower city where high society manners and academics tended to be put aside, at least that's what she had heard, but Sunset described the place as nice which somehow helped embolden her and, after a little more consideration she cleared her throat and spoke with a lighter tone.
“I...I guess I can accept the invitation, even if it's just for a couple of hours...”
The excitement on Sunset's face was impossible to hide, the sparkle in her eyes flashed and Twilight couldn't help but get lost in them for a second.
“Great! Then I'll come pick you up when you get out What time is okay?”
“Huh? Oh, well I get off at six...but, you still haven't told me what we're doing.”
“Oh that, well it's just that I'd like you to come with me to...” At that moment a shrill voice echoed in the distance interrupting Sunset.
“Sunset!!! Sunset!!!”
A greenish flash flew down the street stopping just behind the mare, Twilight had to whittle her eyes and blink several times to make sure she was seeing right, a small deep green dragon with eyes as bright as two sapphires narrowly rammed into the yellow unicorn gasping in an attempt to catch her breath.
“Stitch! What's wrong?” asked Sunset ”I told you to wait for me in the room and that I wouldn't be long...”
“You have a dragon?!” asked Twilight incredulously as the little girl tried to answer something meaningful between gasps, Sunset then turned her interest back to Twilight.
“Oh yeah, this is Stitch, she's kind of like my assistant/best friend/younger sister, but she's not supposed to leave the castle without my permission...” the last she said looking with some annoyance at the dragoness who finally managed to articulate words.
“I...I'm sorry Sunset, but you...you told me not to be late and I...” At that very moment the chimes of the great city clock were heard interrupting the dragon announcing that it was already ten o'clock in the morning, at that moment Sunset's face turned pale and her countenance became worried.
“Fuck.....oh fuck...ehhh sorry Twilight I have to go, I'll be late for my morning lessons...” she quickly excused herself while with a hoof motion she hoisted the dragon onto her back ”Hey sorry I'll be here at six okay? I'll see you later” and without another word she darted off and out of Twilight's sight as she rounded the corner.
Twilight was still recovering from the revelation of the little dragon who barely managed to nod as the mare walked away, she really was special, she had passed the egg test, the one that cost her her entire life, once again the memories threatened to drill into her mind unwanted ideas that might have returned her to her lethargic state had it not been for the realization that she had plans to go out that afternoon for the first time in years, slowly the implications of the fact hit her and she could feel seconds as her face turned completely red, standing there in the middle of the sidewalk and with possibly the first delay of her life at work.
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The day felt unreal, for the first time since she became a librarian Twilight Sparkle didn't read a single book all day, she tried without a doubt, but she was simply unable to concentrate on the words on the pages, her mind kept coming back to the same thought, she was going out, really going out, to something other than work, and not only was she going to go out, it was going to be in the company of the only pony with whom she had exchanged more than two words apart from Moondancer, she herself was completely dumbfounded at her own decisions, between that and the abundant flow of the morning's work the day flew by.
By almost six o'clock Twilight had finished filing the last of her shift notes, her afternoon replacement had arrived and she was ready to leave she walked briskly towards the front door but just as she was about to leave a soft voice interrupted her.
“Twilight dear do you have a moment?”
The unicorn turned her head to meet the gaze of Dusty Pages who was walking towards her at a brisk pace, Twilight feared for a second that the affable old woman wanted in good faith to commission her with a little more work, surprising herself again as if this was a day like any other she would have been more than willing to accept it, however the old woman just stared at her with a smiling expression.
“Uh...is everything okay Dusty?” the mare asked quizzically.
“Oh it's nothing dear, I just wanted to tell you that I'm very happy for you, it's so good to know that you finally managed to open that little heart of yours...”
“What?! No! I...”
“Oh please dear I may be old but I'm not stupid, you've been weird all day, I don't think in all the time you've been here I've ever seen you smile so much...”
Twilight blushed not knowing what to reply.
“Don't worry dear I won't say anything to anyone...” the old lady winked at her ”And I'll tell you something else, since you've refused to take a vacation in all the years you've been here whenever you need a day off tell me and I'll cover for you...”
“Wait, no! Dusty I can't ask you to do that...”
“Oh sweet Celestia's, it's nothing, take advantage of the fact that your knees are still good to go running around instead of letting them atrophy sitting in a chair, believe me that's advice from experience.”
Twilight didn't know what to say, it was the first time Dusty had spoken to her so casually, she didn't know at what point their relationship had become like this but it didn't feel wrong either.
“Thank you...” she finally said before heading for the door again.
“Oh and one more thing Twilight...” said the old lady calling again the attention of the unicorn "For the love of Celestia take off that bun, don't misunderstand me you are the envy of all of us who work here but for a first date it's always good to wear your hair loose and that's also an experience advice’ and without further ado she let out a low laugh and left.
As she walked out onto the steps Twilight's face was like a tomato as in her head she kept repeating that last word “Date, date, date” this wasn't a date, it was a make up dinner or something like that, in fact she wasn't sure what it was Sunset hadn't told her but it definitely wasn't a date, she was so distracted that it took her a moment to realize that the yellow unicorn was nowhere to be seen, she went down the steps of the library and looked at both sides of the street, she was so surprised that she had to check her memories in case she had confused the time Sunset had told her, but no, she had said she would be there at six o'clock and she was more than sure that it was already past six five o'clock.
“Maybe she was on time but when she didn't see me she decided to leave? “ she said to herself “Or maybe she forgot she had invited me and left on her own” no, it couldn't be that, surely she was just running late, Twilight decided to wait for her by sitting on the edge of the steps, letting time pass her mind went back to what Dusty had told her, she had just unwittingly unlocked the closest thing to a paid vacation, and all because, apparently, she had looked happier than usual, she really wondered how she had been behaving during the day, had she really been acting so different that others had noticed? And if so, did he really deserve a reward like that? she didn't know and then there was the issue of her mane, but that brought her back to the concept of dating which she wasn't at all willing to face at that moment, it wasn't worth it, as far as she knew dating was for feet that had known each other for a while, ponies that had an intimate and sentimental connection, and as far as she knew she and Sunset didn't share any of that, she remained thoughtful for a couple of minutes about it until, almost without realizing it her horn shone and the bun on her head came undone letting the locks fall to the sides of her head and over her forehead, at this Twilight couldn't help but feel excited.
An emotion that slowly faded as the couple of minutes turned into five, then ten, then fifteen and finally twenty-five, she counted the seconds but the unicorn simply did not appear, there came a point when the afternoon sun began to lower threatening to hide in haste and Twilight felt tears gather and threaten to come out. How could she have been so naïve? It should have been obvious from the beginning that this was nothing more than a cruel game, that mare looked like a typical bully who would go around filling others with hope only to then plunge them into disillusionment and she had fallen for it.
Twilight felt resentful and annoyed, she knew she shouldn't trust, she wiped her tears disdainfully with the sleeve of her sweater as she stood up to leave walking at a slow but determined pace in the direction of her house.
“Twilight wait!” she heard a shout from behind her that stopped her, her head turned slowly and her eyes met hers, panting and extremely misaligned but she was there.
Her denim jacket had been replaced by a black leather jacketin much better condition but with the same fenix design embroidered on the back, on one of her front hooves were now two black spiked bracelets and on her ears now shone a pair of golden piercings, most impressive was her face adorned with black makeup with gold highlighting her eyes and lips, it took her a moment to catch her breath but as soon as she could she spoke in anguish.
“I swear I tried to get there on time but they assigned me an escort again and they wanted to make sure I got to my room and I tried to get rid of them but they wouldn't listen to me and I...I...I'm so sorry Twilight.”
Twilight was speechless, the whole mountain of bad thoughts had come crashing down in an instant, she couldn't believe it, she really had arrived, she had arrived and she looked amazing, suddenly the very idea of having hesitated seemed stupid.
“No I...” she began to say still stunned ”Don't worry...” At that moment Twilight noticed that the pulceras on her hoof seemed to hide a small bandage, though calling it small was perhaps too kind “Are you all right?” Sunset seemed not to understand.
“Oh this? It's nothing, I got a paper cut you know how bad that can get hehe...” they were both silent for another long moment as the street lamps began to light up one by one.
“Oh wow...” said Sunset suddenly.
“What's wrong?” asked Twilight.
“Your mane, I haven't seen it down, it's really very pretty” Twilight again blushed heavily and in response Sunset blushed slightly before clearing her throat "Ahem well...shall we go?" she finally asked.
Twilight also managed to regain her composure just in time to offer a reply that sounded nonchalant enough.
“Yes...of course..."
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The two walked side by side through the streets as the high city nightlife came alive, the fancy restaurants and large signs almost made it seem as if it was still daytime, though slowly this gave way to less neat buildings as she made her way deeper into the lower city until at a last confusing turn between some alleys the shrill sound of muffled music and bustle startled Twilight, this was an avenue almost as prominent as any of the main streets but unlike these same ones this one was full of neon signs and badly done graffiti, there were large groups of ponies milling about, laughing, smoking and drinking outside what appeared to be very permissive bars or restaurants, the purple unicorn then fell into a realization that ruffled all her fur, this as she noticed the sheer amount of ponies that dressed very similar to how her companion did, it took only a brief glance to herself to come to the conclusion that she definitely didn't fit in here.
“Hey..” she said having to raise her voice to make sure Sunset heard her amidst all the commotion.
“What's going on?” the mare replied at the same volume.
“Where is this place we're going to?” she asked naively, wishing with all her might that said place was very very far away from that chaotic street.
“Hmm? oh don't worry we're almost there” she replied with a smile as she pointed her hoof at a ramshackle building at the end of the street, seeing it Twilight could do nothing but force a smile and pray for forgiveness before she died.
They both approached the place and the closer they got the more strident was the noise coming from inside, it was as if the building was having trouble containing the hecatomb inside, finally they landed in front of a small dirty wooden door in which a mural of scratches and stickers of all kinds was displayed, above it a small pink neon sign read “Club Harmony” Twilight gulped as a burly brown furred stallion full of tattoos landed in front of them, he wore sunglasses but the unicorn was sure he was staring into her soul, she cowered in fear behind Sunset expecting the worst until suddenly.
“Bellows! Dude!” Sunset exclaimed as she and the stallion shook hooves and the stallion smiled knowingly.
“Sunset motherfucker I thought you weren't going to make it.”
“Pfff I wouldn't miss it I just had to evade some guards...”
“Who's your friend?” he asked turning his attention back to Twilight who was still cowering in fear and confusion.
“This is Twilight, she did me a big favor yesterday and now I owe her one...”
“And you brought her here to make up for it...you really have no shame...” The stallion shook his head in disapproval.
“Oh , come on!” complained Sunset "There's no better place to settle a debt than Harmony...hey and speaking of settling a debt..." began Sunset somewhat nervously.
“Yeah they're already here...” replied the stallion "And if I were you I'd hurry inside in less than ten minutes" he said as he stepped aside to open the door revealing a flight of stairs leading down beyond sight.
“Oh shit...” said Sunset to herself before looking back at Twilight "Alright let's go...!" at that moment the unicorn realized that her companion was completely paralyzed with fear.
Frozen in place, Twilight was now completely convinced that this was all a mistake, this was too much for her, too much, on scale her life so far had been a close one and out of nowhere she was surrounded by a ninety, she couldn't do it.
It was then that she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder that snapped her out of her panic all at once, her eyes met Sunset's, a sympathetic and gentle look appeased all the hubbub around her.
“Hey, if you feel this is too much I can walk you back home, but, if you're willing, I guarantee this is a safe place, I know around here we have a reputation for hooligans and criminals but in there are only the good guys, trust me.”
Twilight looked at her for a long moment shuffling through all her options, she had spent her whole life locked up in her house, ashamed of her failure and believing herself unworthy of a full life and just at that moment she was being given the chance to take that rejected life by the horns maybe it was worth a try, at least for today.
“It's...it's okay...come on...”
Sunset gave her a sweet smile and escorted her inside, it took Twilight a moment to get used to the frenetic entrance hallway, illuminated by more neon lights that changed color every second, the further down the hallway the louder the noise of what was undoubtedly a crowd, The mare gritted her teeth in an attempt to control her impulse to run away and by the time they finally reached the top of the stairs a spectacle of lights and shadows.
The place itself looked like an old modified basement, the walls and ceiling were adorned with graffiti, but these unlike the ones on the street were beautifully done, with vibrant colors and crazy shapes, on one side of the place had been built a sort of rough wooden bar also covered by paint and stickers, on the sides there were several wooden tables surrounded by stools and chairs of all kinds, and at the back in the farthest stood a huge stage that at the moment was empty, the vast majority of the huge crowd of ponies was in the center jumping and shaking to the rhythm of the music while the rest were scattered around the tables as well as in the bar and each one of them looked more extravagant than the previous one, the unicorn saw everything tattoos, piercings too big to be healthy, clothes too indecent to be in a public place, it was crazy, a madness that left her stunned and completely fascinated.
“Come!” said Sunset almost shouting in her ear to get her attention ”Quick! “ the yellow unicorn advanced through the venue pulling Twilight by the arm, the moment the mare realized they were heading towards the maddened crowd Twilight by instinct tried to resist, thinking she would be crushed to death among the huge amount of sweating bodies but Sunset's grip was firm and she didn't give in for a single second, the instant she entered the mass of flesh the noise outside seemed to fade away, the music was almost overshadowed by the roar of stallions and mares wrapped in a festive trance that had no precedent in the mind of the librarian, she closed her eyes tightly hoping that everything would end quickly and the next moment she felt the pressure of her body disappear, she opened her eyes only to discover that, miraculously she had made it to the other side without a single scratch, of course now she could feel a viscous layer all over her body, a mixture of sweat, saliva, beer and possibly other fluids that Twilight quickly tried to ignore.
It took her a moment longer to realize that Sunset had let go of her and walked away from her and to the side of the stage, afraid that the crowd would drag her back into the horror. Twilight hurried after her, approaching just in time to see the yellow unicorn get punched in the face by a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, wearing a black leather vest very similar to Sunset's jacket, but with the difference that it was wearing a black leather jacket, The difference was that this one had a cloud embroidered on the back with lightning bolts of all the colors of the rainbow, its front left hoof was completely covered with tattoos and its mane was shaved on the sides and raised in a very striking crest, He shouted something to Sunset as she recoiled from the impact and it looked like he was going to hit her again but then a mint colored unicorn came between them, this one looked even more extravagant, her horn was pierced in three different places creating a line of metal spheres that went up to the tip of her horn, She wore a jacket the same as Sunset's but with the right sleeve missing, revealing a heart tattoo on her shoulder and her hair was shaved on one side only, on her jacket you could see the symbol of an electrified lyre.
Twilight didn't know what to do, she couldn't hear anything at that distance either so she just stayed still in her place hoping the discussion wouldn't escalate into a fight, to her relief the pegasus seemed to calm down and move away, although still with an annoyed look on her face, towards the back of the stage and then Sunset turned smiling to tell her to come closer, she hesitated a moment longer when the mint unicorn noticed her presence looking and waving effusively. Finally she gathered the courage to approach and as she did so she noticed how the backs of the two mares were joined by a third pony, this one was a cream colored earthling dressed in a provocative manner, black fishnet stockings on all four legs, an extremely short skirt and a strip of black cloth that functioned as a bandana across the top of her torso, Her mane was wavy with dark blue and pink locks trimmed to shoulder length, she touched the back of her head in a cheeky way to the mint unicorn who was startled and turned to her, when they saw each other they embraced each other and then shared a passionate kiss, a passionate kiss thought Twilight as she finally arrived to where they were.
“Girls, I want you to meet Twilight!” Sunset said as she stood next to the purple unicorn again placing a hoof on her shoulder, Twilight saluted raising her own hoof too intimidated to say anything.
“Hi Twilight it's a pleasure!” Exclaimed the unicorn as she wrapped one of her hooves around the other mare's waist while holding the other out to Twilight “I'm Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings and this is Bon Bon!”
“Hello!” greeted the mare slightly flushed by the unicorn's less than subtle grip on her hips.
Twilight grabbed the hoof and felt it instantly wet with a mysterious liquid that didn't give her time to inquire what it was before a loud scream could be heard from backstage.
“We're on in three!!!”
“Oh shit!” said Lyra pulling away quickly ”Sorry we'll have to save the rest of the presentation for later...!” Lyra then gave Bon Bon another tongue kiss before heading backstage as well.
“I have to get ready too!” heard Twilight beside her watching as Sunset walked away from her again, though this time the mare reached up to grab her jacket.
“What, wait, I don't want to be left alone!”
“Don't worry Bon Bon will take care of you!” she said as the earth pony approached and gave Twilight an enthusiastic smile "Don't worry I'll only be up there for a few minutes then you and I can get on with our date!" Sunset winked finally releasing her grip and disappearing into the shadow of the stage.
Twilight froze, she had used the word, she had, this was a date, her face turned bright red again but thanks to Celestia the place she was in wasn't fit for anyone to even notice.
“Do you want something to drink!” asked Bon Bon who had come to her side snapping her out of her shock.
“What!” she asked still in a daze.
“Something to drink!” he repeated sticking closer to her ear.
Twilight considered it, a drink was certainly what she needed right now.
“Ehhh Yes!” she finally replied letting herself be dragged again but this time in the direction of the bar.
Though the path was cut in half when a large stallion dressed in a vest and gold chains walked past her with a tray of two huge bottles, in one swift motion Bon Bon stretched out his hooves and took both offering one to Twilight who was shocked at the mammoth size incredulous that this amount of alcohol was even possible for a single pony to consume.
“Hey don't we have to pay for this!!!?” Asked the unicorn to the pony who was already steeping the bottle with no problem.
“No, relax, it's the perk of being the guitarist's girlfriend, the drinks are free!”
“Hey! Who the fuck stole my bottles?!” came a thunderous scream from somewhere in the crowd, before Twilight could even react she was dragged away again by Bon Bon away from there towards the front as close to the stage as possible.
At that moment a mare in a dull green color stood at the center of the stage, grabbing a microphone and screaming at the top of her lungs as the music from the speakers stopped.
“SHUT THE FUCK UP BITCHES!!!” That scream accomplished something that for Twilight at that point seemed impossible, appeasing the huge rabid crowd behind her back “NOW!!!” the mare continued “The main show of the night, the band that makes anyone who hears them wet, yes that goes for all of you depraved ponies!!!” an overwhelming collective scream again made the place rumble “But unfortunately this band only eats pussy so I'm really sorry foals!!! !” a scream but this time formed only by mares which was joined by Bon Bon in an exaggerated way scaring Twilight a bit ‘Please burst your eardrums to welcome STARSTRUCK!!!’ at that moment the crowd went back to absolute madness the scream made Twilight's ears ring as all the stage lights came on revealing the three mares at the back of the stage.
Twilight felt like a fool to have finally been able to connect the dots that had so far eluded her, but she didn't have time to beat herself up since just at that instant, a voice shook her to her bones. Until that moment in the very short time since she had met her Twilight hadn't given a thought to the fact that Sunset's voice was incredibly powerful, at least not until she felt it coursing up and down through the power of the speakers, it was so thunderous but at the same time so beautiful, accompanied by Lyra's electric guitar and the pegasus's drums created a harmony that fractured the space around her, the crowd was jumping so hard that for a moment she seemed to feel something like an earthquake, the screams were so intense but at the same time they were completely unable to deafen the music, it was incredible.
The unicorn was hypnotized with her eyes fixed on the yellow mare, the stage lights were so intense that she could see how little by little her mane and fur were soaked with sweat and at the same time it seemed that her vocal cords were tearing because of the noise, everything else disappeared, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest to the rhythm of the music, she felt like she couldn't breathe, her thoughts for the first time in years were clear and uncluttered, for the first time since she could remember, she felt full and present.
The song continued but her trance seemed to fade when a euphoric Bon Bon touched her side, Twilight looked at her the earth pony's pupils were dilated and yelled at her as she pointed to Lyra on stage who was playing the guitar masterfully.
“That's the mare who fucks me!!!”
Twilight suddenly remembered the bottle she held between her hooves, she caressed it for a second as she considered it, the music screamed at her to do so, she looked up to meet Sunset's steady gaze on her, he was tempting her with his eyes, a wicked invitation to get lost, she stuck her tongue out at him, winked at him again and that was it, what remains of that night will be etched in her mind for the rest of her life, or maybe not, it all depends on how much alcohol she could handle.
Author's Note
I was the first to think that I died, but I survived!!!
If you need an auditory input, I think the song that plays is Deceptacon by Le Tigre.
Don't miss the next chapter Sweetness of Nectar
