Principal Celestia, Sunset's adopted mother, had already been there when the girls had got to Sunset's hospital room, and they had all stayed in near complete silence as Sunset slept in front if them. Eventually, most of them had been called away for the day, which resulted in Celestia and Pinkie staying that night with Rainbow and Fluttershy to relieve them the next morning.

And so Twilight found herself walking silently alongside Fluttershy towards Sunset's - well, Celestia's - house, later in the day. It was a relatively nice but simple building, in terms of things, with 2 floors, an attached annex and a garage as well as a spacious front garden and driveway space for 3 vehicles, usually Sunset's motorcycle, Celestia's sedan, and Luna's SUV, but it looked scarily empty with just Luna's SUV there. She took a breath before knocking at the door, and as they waited they could hear shuffling inside before they were greeted by a teary-eyed Vice Principal Luna, although she insisted on being just Luna outside of school. Luna wordlessly allowed them in before showing them through the dining room and living room to Sunset's annex, then shuffling back through the kitchen. Even if Twilight wanted to say something to her, she wouldn't have known what to say, so she instead elected to stick to thank you, which earned her a nod from the aunt.

Pushing open the door revealed a chalet-style room, as instead of roof storage there was a raised bedroom which overlooked the rest of the annex. In the front of the room was a living space leading to the front of the house, with it's own TV and sofas. There was a small area in the middle with an L desk, boasting a small computer setup on one side and a collection of school work and gadgets on the other. Pride of place went to the small studio Sunset had underneath her bedroom, the walls decorated with both wooden and orange soundproof paneling which contrasted with the black painted walls around the rest of the annex. There were a few guitars hung on the walls as well as a single-seat sofa, a stool, a microphone and easel, a few pieces of production technology and some other art supplies., as well as a pair of cameras pointed at the stool from different directions. There was also a door out to the back garden nestled under the staircase leading to Sunset's bedroom, where the small porch area where Sunset kept the barbeque the girls had gotten her when she'd moved in with Celestia was, and the front facing skylight window with a half-drawn blind cast light over the living space, hiding the rest of the room in shadow.

Twilight wasn't sure how long she spent looking around Sunset's living space from the door, but when Fluttershy walked across her field of view, headed into the kitchen space. She shook her head and headed for the desk, settling into the desk chair and picking up one of the devices sat on the desk. She recognised it as a half-dismantled radio, and recalled loosely that Sunset had told her about beginning efforts to gain a better understanding of the world's technology, but there were also a few modifications on the motherboard. Before Twilight could begin a closer investigation, however, she noticed the computer was still turned on, and moving the mouse awarded her with Sunset's desktop a few moments later.

She wasn't quite sure why the open tab caught her eye, as, after all, she'd simply intended to shut the thing down. But she opened it anyway, and found herself looking at the latest post by Flanksy, that one street artist the girls went on about all the time. It was another moment before she realised the account that Sunset was logged into was Flanksy. Which meant...

She rolled back on the chair, looking over to Sunset's studio area, where, sure enough, there was a duffel bag with a few cans of spray paint peeking out of the top. She felt her eyes widening before closing the tab, which resulted in it flicking open to another tab, this time a YouTube page. It was Sunset's this time, but not the one she had associated with the Rainbooms where she did most of her music or gaming videos. She'd never seen this channel before, and open was a video uploaded from the previous night, and now that she thought about it she remembered Sunset having her laptop out for a little while when they'd been sat next to each other. She looked at the title.

'Midnight Sessions: Essie & Paul.'

Glancing around the desk, Twilight located a set of headphones and pulled them on, making sure they were connected. Fluttershy was playing with Ray on the coffee table, and she didn't want to disturb them. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she pressed play.

"Hey, I know a lot of people have been after more music from me and the Rainbooms, but we're currently on a break, dealing with some... 'IRL' stuff. But rather than sit here and do nothing, I decided I could resume an old series from this channel, the Midnight Sessions."

Twilight watched as Sunset shifted on the stool, adjusting her grip on the guitar as the camera changed to be pointed at her side instead of her face.

"It's about Quarter Past Midnight as I record this, so uh, hopefully I don't wake anyone up. This is an accoustic cover of Essie and Paul, by Bastille."

She went to begin playing, but hesitated.

"Actually, uh, the other Rainboom's don't know about this channel, so I'd like to take the chance to dedicate this to one of them. I won't say her name, but she means more to me than she'll ever possibly know."

She paused again, taking a sip from what looked like a glass of red wine.

"I just hope one day I have the confidence to tell her."

Pinkie's words from the last night echoed in her head.

"You, Twilight. Sunset has a pretty big crush on you. She'd do anything to make you happy."

Twilight's breath hitched in her throat as she tried not to cry, and Sunset began to sing.

Twilight sighed as she laid back into the grass, the soft sounds of the forest and the small stream bubbling away filling her ears.

"How did you find this place, anyway?"

Sunset chuckled.

"A lot of searching. My last thinking spot got built on, so I needed somewhere new."

"You have thinking spots? Why not just stay at home?"

"I wasn't really comfortable at ''home'' before I found this spot."

"Oh. Right."

Silence.

"Sunset, why..., why did you never tell anyone you were homeless?"

"I didn't want anyone to think less of me again."

"Again? Oh, right. Anon-A-"

"Yeah."

More silence, but Twilight could tell it wasn't awkward, just comfortable.

"Sunset, can you promise me something?"

"Sure, Twi. What's up?"

She shifted onto her knees and grabbed Sunset's hands, and surprised teal eyes met her own.

"If you ever need help with something again, no matter what, tell me."

Twilight stared deep into those eyes as she spoke, finding herself fighting not to drift away into them forever, but she was saved by a slow blink from Sunset as she drew in a breath and let it out slowly.

A slight nod.

"Okay."

"You're such an idiot!"

"Hey! You forgot it too!"

"I didn't think I needed to remind you we kept the present at your house!"

The duo laughed as Sunset fumbled with the keys for her front door, sliding them in and unlocking it before pulling off her motorcycle helmet in one smooth tug. Twilight couldn't find her breath as she watched Sunset's hair fall out over her back, fire and sunshine caught in soft threads that blew lightly in the spring breeze.

The girl was almost teasing her as she shook her head, sending cascading waves down her hair and giving Twilight a view of her neck, if only briefly. She was snapped out of her trance by speech, but she wasn't fully awake again yet.

"If you wait here I'll go and grab it. Shouldn't be more than a minute."

"Uh huh, okay."

"Twilight? You alright?"

She shook herself out of her daydream fully now.

"Oh, yep! I'll, uh, let the girls know we'll be late."

"Okay! Be right back."

Sunset dissapeared through the doorway, headed to the back of her room, and Twilight could see some photos of the friends on the wall. But then, after a moment, she realised they were photos of them. Just her and Sunset. There were a couple with the others in, but mostly just her and Sunset.

Did...

Did Sunset like her?

No, there's no way. She's probably not even gay.

Sunset was to Twilight's right, eyes closed as she leaned back in her chair, guitar in hand.

"I dunno, Rainbow. I think this might be better acoustic."

Applejack spoke up in agreement from across the firepit, where she sat next to Rarity, who was on Sunset's right. It was a warm summer evening, and the first sleepover Sunset had hosted. It must have been about one AM by now, but it was still warm out even without the fire the girls had started. The sky was clear, and Twilight could happily sit and count the stars if it wasn't for the fact she had already. They were talking about the latest song Fluttershy had written, trying to decide the best way to go about it instrumentally. They were still trying to be relatively quiet for Celestia's sake, as Luna was still awake playing games.

At least, according to Sunset. There were no lights on in her window, but Sunset was the one that lived with the sisters, so they couldn't exactly dispute her assessment.

"I see what you mean, but it doesn't fit any of our voices in acoustic."

"Maybe not one of ours..."

Twilight sat up straight as Sunset looked at her.

"No. No way."

"Come on Twi! Your singing voice is amazing, it's like listening to an angel-"

"No! I couldn't, I'd get too nervous, I'd ruin it, I-"

"Twi. Twi, look at me."

She felt hands on her own, and her eyes snapped to Sunset's.

"You can do this. You are one of the bravest, most talented souls I have met, and you have a beautiful voice."

Twilight felt a blush on her face, and was glad the fire was hiding it.

"It's just like doing backup vocals, and me and the others will be singing with you anyway. You won't even notice."

"I don't know..."

"I'll be with you the entire time. I'll even sing the whole thing with you if you want."

"...Can you?"

"Of course, Twi."

Sunset reached over and mussed Twilight's hair, upsetting her glasses and causing a giggle. Sunset's voice dropped to a tiny whisper, and Twilight wasn't entirely sure Sunset had intended for anyone to hear her.

"I'd do anything for you."

They were all a little bit drunk, and Twilight knew they shouldn't be, but Applejack was hosting, so not drinking was basically off the table. To fit the theme even further, they were all wearing varying degrees of southern attire, but between Sunset and Applejack, no one could get close to them in levels of accuracy. The girl in question was chatting with Rainbow while she had an arm around Rarity, the pair having finally got together at some point in the last few weeks, though she couldn't remember when exactly. Fluttershy was laughing with Pinkie Pie about something to do with Sugarcube Corner, and Sunset...

Where was Sunset?

She got her answer a moment later as she felt her arm get grabbed and tugged towards the door.

"C'mon! I need to show you something."

Twilight giggled slightly as she was pulled along.

"You're strong tonight."

Sunset laughed, although a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I think that's just the alcohol making you unsteady, Twilight."

"Mmmm, nooo, it's youuuuuu~"

Sunset laughed again and Twilight smiled. She loved Sunset's laugh. It was bright, it was bubbly. It made her day.

"Your laugh is cuteeeee. Hey, how come you're not drunk like meeee?"

"Because I can take a drink?"

Twilight pouted.

"Prove it."

This lit a fire in Sunset's eyes, and the grip on her arm loosened as Sunset stalked back over to the drinks table.

"Okay then, m'lady. What'll it be?"

Twilight's challenge had been heard by the others, and they were now gathering to watch too.

"Uhhhhh, four shots. Vodka. Straight."

Sunset let out a low whistle and Rainbow and AJ shared looks.

"Okay."

In what seemed like a few moments, Sunset had poured out the first shot and slammed it back, reaching for the whiskey bottle again. By the third, most of them, bar Pinkie, were watching wide eyed as Sunset poured out the fourth shot without hesitation. Sunset raised the glass, smiled at Twilight, and drained it before slamming the glass back onto the table.

"Now, can I show you what I wanted to?"

Twilight nodded wordlessly. Sunset seemed fine. Four shots of Vodka, on top of whatever else she'd drank, and she was barely slurring her words and seemed confident in her balance.

"Great. Come on!"

Twilight wasn't sure what this feeling was, but it wasn't one she liked. She didn't know why she felt so bothered by Flash Sentry being sat so close to Sunset, but she was. It was a Thursday night, mid summer now, and Sunset had finished her set playing at the local bar about fifteen minutes earlier, and so was now sat in the corner booth with Twilight, Flash, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy and Pinkie would have been there, but Fluttershy had gone out for a Family dinner while Pinkie had been called in to cover a shift. So while the side with Rainbow and Flash did have less people sat on it, she'd still felt a twinge of sadness when Sunset had sat next to Flash instead of her. But this new feeling that had emerged when Flash had scooted closer to Sunset? This was new, and she didn't like it. Sunset shot her a concerned look from across the table as she lifted her glass, asking non-verbally,

"Are you alright?"

Twilight appreciated the concern, but given that she couldn't figure out what she was feeling, she waved the Amber girl away with a nod and a smile. She felt a bitterness in her mouth as Flash reached an arm around Sunset and began messing with her hair, and felt it raise when Sunset smiled at the guy. She hadn't even been listening to the conversation, so she didn't know why Flash was doing this, but it still... upset her, was the best way she could describe it.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Twilight stood after speaking, quickly making her way out of the booth and towards the bathroom, but at the last minute veering to the outside door when she'd gone around the corner. She needed the fresh air.

Just to clear my head.

She sighed as she stepped outside, and was immediately glad the parking lot was empty. The sky was darkening, and there were some clouds just visible gathering on the horizon, threatening rain for the next day. It was still warm out, though if she tried, Twilight possibly could have felt the first chill of autumn. She wasn't trying, though, instead content to enjoy the warm sunset air. She heard steps behind her, but didn't think anything of it until Rarity's voice sounded.

"It's perfectly fine to be jealous, darling."

"Wh- what? I'm no-"

"Pfffff, Twilight, please. I could tell the moment Sunset sat next to Flash."

"Huh? You- how-?"

"Please, Twilight, I've known for months. You two are about the most obvio-"

"I'm not jealous of Flash!"

Rarity let out a sigh, halfway between amused and disappointed.

"If you say so, dear. Now come on, Flash went for another drink. If you hurry, you can steal the seat next to Sunset."

"I'm not-"

"Twilight, please. The amusement wears out very quickly."

Twilight huffed but said nothing, knowing full when that Rarity was right. She was jealous, so very jealous of how close Flash and Sunset had been sat. How she'd smiled.

She would've given anything for it to be her she'd been smiling at.

It wasn't often that Twilight enjoyed total and complete silence, but laying on a hill with Sunset, staring at the stars? That was good. She enjoyed that. Late Summer meant the beginnings of a chill in the air that was undeniable now, and so Twilight had a jacket on, but Sunset was still in just a t-shirt, though her leather jacket was tied around her waist. Twilight felt her attention slip from the sky to Sunset, and the month or so since the... 'incident' with Flash and Sunset at the bar had left Twilight well and truly stuck in the self admittance that she had a crush on Sunset. She was crushing bad. Twilight had never really felt like this before about someone, and even Timber was more, well, mellow. It hadn't taken that long after Camp Everfree to call it quits, but Twilight would've married Sunset in an instant.

Sunset had her hair up in a ponytail, a style she only used when she went running, but she always looked breathtaking when she did. Twilight had called her during a late-night run asking to meet up, so the girl had jogged to the hill and apologised, but Twilight couldn't care less. She had on a tight sports crop-top and running shorts, but had her leather jacket tied around her waist in case she got cold walking home. Twilight didn't dare look at her legs, because she was half sure she'd faint. So instead, she looked back into the sky, letting out a contented sigh. Fire spread through her hand as Sunset grasped it gently, and gave her a smile.

There were a lot of things Twilight knew about the world, for example that perfection was a moment that could never truly come. But that moment? On the hill, just her with the girl of her dreams lying next to her, stargazing?

Twilight thought that this was pretty close.

Video Sunset stopped, smiling sadly as she wiped a tear from her eye.
'Thanks for watching.'

Twilight cried.

Author's Note

Important:
In case you didnt see it in the long description, this chapter was written around lyrics which had to be removed to meet FIMfictions requirements. For the full effect, go read this on the Archive itself. Use the link in the long description to get to my account.

[Note copied from archive]

So correct me if I'm wrong but this one chapter basically DOUBLED Dying Rays so far??? Like, huh???
I mean, I enjoyed writing but don't expect most chapters to be this length. I think it mostly just came from the focus on Twilight and Sunset throughout this fic.
So this is where you all get to laugh at me because all subsequent chapters are 3000+ words...
As well as that, I will need to update the tags over the next few days, but I still kind of suck at tagging so if you have suggestions do let me know. I'm also lazy and it will take a while.
ANYWAY PEOPLE.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
DYING RAYS IS PART OF A SERIES.
This being my main world I write in, Dying Rays is part of the Where The Sun Goes series. Currently, it has two prequels and they're pretty important in establishing character backstories and motives, like, for fucks sake, Broken Promises (Current part 1 (As of Dec. 21st 2024)) talks about Sunset's backstory and motive in this world. Pretty fucking important.
SO YEAH, GO READ THE PREQUELS.
Oh, uh, final thing, the formatting between chapters will probably change quite a bit. Sorry not sorry, but until I can settle on what I like the most there'll be experimentation.
Anyway now I'm done angrily shouting at you,
(AO3 Author shouts at clouds!)
I hope you enjoyed reading and please go check out some of my other works if you feel like it or have time. Just before this chapter, I posted 'The Bar and the Bands, Side A', which is currently a standalone but that might change.
Anyway, I love you all, don't stay up forever, get some sleep, and GOODNIGHT <3