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fluttering-lillies · 2 months

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Afterparty Chapter 5: All Together Now

Words: 3,736

Pairing: SunDash

Rating: T

Warnings: Talk of excessive drinking, mentions of sex

“Found it!” Rainbow called from the master bedroom. She was face down on the carpeted floor, stretching her hand under one of the charcoal gray end tables. She had no memory of her phone falling there, and no idea how it could have gotten there otherwise. Her pants had been several feet away when she’d picked them up that morning. It didn’t matter much now that she was securely snatching the phone from the floor. She just hoped it hadn’t been damaged in last night’s misadventures.

She flexed her muscles and twisted her body back up into a sitting position, phone in hand. Fluttershy’s name and picture still flashed on the screen, but Dash was more interested in looking for cracks. She turned the phone this way, then that, and finding none, hit the end call button.

She rose to her full height then, stepping out of the room, device held aloft triumphantly.

“Where was it?” Fluttershy asked from the bottom of the stairs. Applejack, large trash bag in hand, stopped to hear the answer too.

“Under the nightstand. Not sure how it ended up there, but it isn’t broken so,” she shrugged dismissively.

“Are ya gonna call Sunset?” Applejack asked.

Rainbow watched as Fluttershy rapidly shook her head, but it had already been asked and it wasn’t like Fluttershy was hiding her attempt at dissuasion. Still, Applejack rubbed at her neck with one hand and averted her eyes. “Whups. Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

Rainbow sighed. “Yeah I’m gonna call her, okay? Up here. So you girls can’t-'' her phone, still in hand, blasted out a couple guitar riffs. Each girl froze. Then their friend’s voice followed the electric notes. Power. Was all I desired. But all that grew inside me was a darkness I acquired.

Rainbow tilted her eyes down at the screen, blinking in disbelief as she looked at Sunset’s smiling bright face.

“Well? Pick it up, Dashie!” Fluttershy insisted.

“B-But… what do I say?”

“Say what we talked about! Tell her the truth! About what you want and how you’re feeling.” Fluttershy encouraged.

“But…”

“Girl, if you don’t pick up that damn phone then I will.” Applejack said flatly.

Rainbow hit the accept call button.

“Hey Rainbow.” They all heard Sunset say into the empty, silent air. Dash looked at Fluttershy, she waved her hands in a ‘go on’ sort of gesture.

“Rainbow Dash?” They all heard Sunset say again.

Rainbow scrambled to put the phone up to her ear. “Heyyy Sunset.” She rasped into the receiver.

“Phew. I’m glad you actually picked up.”

“You are?” Rainbow said without really thinking that question through.

“Of course I am Dash! I-“ Sunset stopped suddenly, almost as if she cut herself off from finishing that thought. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

“In person. If that’s alright.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah. Okay yeah.” Dash nodded along. That made sense. This wasn’t really an over the phone kind of conversation.

“Can you meet me at CHS?”

Rainbow frowned a little. She just expected Sunset to come back here. Then her eyes wandered to the bottom of the stairs. Fluttershy and Applejack were still looking at her curiously. At this point, Twilight had joined in too, looking slightly perplexed for a moment, before it dawned on her who Dash was probably talking to.

No, Sunset had the right idea.

“I’ll be there.” She said definitively. Then, after a pause. “When?”

“As soon as you can get here?”

Rainbow barely noticed the hesitant lilt in her voice. Instead, she walked back into the master bedroom and searched for her van keys. They hadn’t been in her pants either, but this time she luckily didn’t have to go scrounging for them. “Here? Are you already at CHS?” Rainbow asked as she swiped her keys off the nightstand and turned back toward the stairs.

“Yeah. I…” Sunset cut off again, a little bit longer of a pause this time. “It’s complicated. I’ll tell you about it when you get here, okay?”

“Okay. Heading over now.” Dash said as she took the stairs two at a time.

“Great.” Sunset said, and the relief in her voice made it clear that it really was. Dash smiled at that.

“Be there soon.” Then she hit the end call button and rushed past her friends and toward the door.

“Where're ya goin, Dash?” Applejack called after her.

She opened the door and called back as she slipped out of it. “School!” Before the door could close all the way behind her, she whipped around and caught it with her elbow. She wasn’t surprised to see AJ heading toward her. “No following. This is between me and her, okay?”

Applejack scowled, Fluttershy didn’t look super pleased either, but they both stopped and waved Dash out the door.

Satisfied, Rainbow rushed to her van and hopped in. Then, tingling with excitement and nerves, she twisted the key in the ignition, and sped off toward Sunset Shimmer.

—

Rainbow Dash saw the gleaming marble base of the destroyed statue first. Then she caught sight of Sunset, leaning against it and shining just as beautifully. She nearly planted her face into the wheel at that thought. That lame, lame thought. Instead of cringing into her bones, she focused on spinning the steering wheel, parking in one swift, fluid motion. Now still, she pushed away the gooey, mushy nonsense thoughts that had caught her off guard when she’d seen Sunset again and shored up her confidence and cool.

There was no need to be intimidated or scared. She was Rainbow goddamn Dash after all. She just needed to make things clear and be direct. Chicks were into that sort of honest, confident approach, or the ones she’d flirted with in the past had been anyway.

One more centering breath and she stepped out of the van, the sound of the door slamming closed drew Sunset’s attention and ocean blue eyes. She smiled when they landed on Dash, and Rainbow felt something reverberate in her chest. Not painful like before, when Sunset had left, but deep and resonant, like a bass note on a blaring concert’s dance floor. “S-Sunset! Hey!”

“Dash. Good to see you.” She said as she pressed away from the statue into a proper standing position. Sunset’s grin was infectious, and she found herself matching it without thinking. Rainbow walked toward her, intending to give her a friendly greeting hug, but on the way she remembered why she was here, what had happened earlier today. So she stopped a good foot or so away, putting her hands in her pockets. Sunset stopped too, and they both stood there silently. Rainbow rocked back and forth on her feet. Sunset rubbed at her arm.

Confidence. She reminded herself. “Sooo… you wanted to talk.” She offered. It wasn’t the best start, but at least she was taking the lead. At least it wasn’t just awkwardly silent.

“Yeah…” Sunset responded, still rubbing at her arm, still taking her time. “About last night.”

All of Rainbow’s senses focused in on Sunset and only Sunset. This is what she wanted: answers, or at the very least a look into what Sunset was thinking.

“I think I’d like to… try that again?” Sunset was still smiling, and a blush crept onto her face.

The bass resonated through her chest again, down her body, and pleasant, happy warmth followed the chord. She almost giggled. Almost. But really what had she expected? She was the Rainbow Dash. Star athlete, rockstar, and all around total babe. Who wouldn’t want another chance with her? She smirked. The confident approach had already paid off, so it only made sense to push it. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.” She hooked her thumbs into the loops of her jeans and leaned forward a little. “I mean. Few women can resist my charms.”

Sunset, instead of stammering or blushing more, snorted and rolled her eyes. “Really now?” She said with an amused, crooked smile. Ah. It was a game. She was playing hard to get.

“Really.” Dash said as she took a step forward, closing the distance between the two of them. “I mean I’ve got girls lining up around the block to get in my bed, Sunset. You’re one of the lucky few to actually manage it though. Even luckier that I’d wanna do it again.”

Sunset’s smile fell and now she just looked… confused. “Was that a compliment?”

Dash felt like she might have misstepped somehow, but it was fine. Sunset had left a perfect opening for her to correct it. “Well. Duh. Sunset you’re a total babe. Like, smoking hot. Of course I’d wanna roll around in the sheets with you again.” She had finally closed the distance enough to touch Sunset, and chose to walk her slender digits up Sunset’s arm as she spoke.

Rainbow got another smile, but it wasn’t as brilliant this time, not as bright. “So… is this a friends with benefits sorta deal then? Is that… is that what you want?” Sunset asked.

Rainbow paused, realizing she only had a blank spot in her mind where the answer to that question should be. She had wanted answers, she had wanted another kiss, and… she hadn’t thought much farther ahead than that. She honestly hadn’t expected to get this far. To push for anything more than she was getting seemed dangerous, seemed stupid. Sunset saying yes to them kissing, and touching, and pressing their warmth together was already so fucking awesome. No. No, Rainbow wasn’t going to be greedy about this. “That’s... yeah. I mean. Sounds good to me. If it sounds good to you.”

“Oh uh… yeah! Totally. If that’s… I mean. Yeah.” Sunset was still smiling, but it wasn’t reaching her eyes. They weren’t gleaming like the marble anymore. “But uh… not right now? If that’s cool. I mean. I still stink from last night and I’m assuming you haven’t showered either so…”

“Yeah no totally. I’ve been at Pinks’ all morning so. Need to get back home and stuff.”

“Right.”

There was more silence, and this time Rainbow didn’t know how to fill it, didn’t know what to say. Sunset finally did instead.

“Maybe… next weekend though? We can… I mean without all the alcohol and stuff.” Sunset moved her arm forward, like a small, unsure offering. Then she dropped it just as quickly.

“Right. Yeah. Totally.” That definitely sounded good. Nothing muffling the experience, just Sunset’s body against hers, their heat exchanging. It sounded hot. It looked hot, when she glanced at Sunset and imagined her bare curves and soft, smooth skin that hid beneath her leather jacket and t-shirt. But…

But then Sunset started to walk away. She didn’t say bye, just sort of waved weakly, and Rainbow saw her heading toward her stylish, sleek motorcycle. She didn’t know why, but she’d expected some kind of kiss: either soft, slow, and romantic or heated, passionate, and frantic. Instead, Rainbow got a half wave.

The deep base faded from her body and was replaced with some sort of whimpering pain. It hurt to realize, she still wanted Sunset, even though she already had her. The half measure wasn’t enough.

What do you want…?

Fluttershy had asked her that, and at the time Rainbow thought she knew. She wanted whatever Sunset wanted, whatever would make her friend happiest, she just wanted the answers on how she could make that happen. Asking for more felt like it led to a road of a strained, then broken friendship. It felt like a betrayal, just one that took place in slow motion, and Rainbow Dash would never do that to a friend. Watching Sunset walk away felt so wrong though. She could feel that invisible awkward distance she’d feared spreading between them, pushing them apart like an unstoppable force.

“Sunset! Wait!” She’d been steps away from her bike and Rainbow had panicked. She had no plan of action, no big speech prepared, she just didn’t want Sunset to ride off, to spread that distance impossibly, insurmountably wide.

Tell her the truth! About what you want and how you’re feeling!

Fluttershy had insisted on that, but was it really so simple? Rainbow Dash knew from Twilight, Princess Twilight that is, that honesty was AJ’s bag, not hers. She knew from her own mind that opening her heart, spilling every whiny, sappy, lovey-dovey emotion sounded incredibly lame. The exact opposite of the cool, confident girl she was supposed to be.

Though, she did also know that Applejack, though stubborn and bossy at times, was an amazing friend. A friend that would never bullshit you, a friend that wouldn’t lead you astray. She knew that every one of them together, all of the elements, equaled amazingly powerful, crazy awesome, magic rainbow beams.

“Rainbow Dash?” Sunset had been waiting patiently and at this point decided to speak up. She looked confused again, more so than before.

“I…” She could only really get that out. She was standing at the edge of a pool she didn’t really want to jump into. Fluttershy’s voice shoved her in. Tell. The. Truth.

“I’m super scared.”

“Scared?” Sunset stepped away from her bike, back onto the curb.

“Yeah. I mean. Terrified… actually?”

“Should we not…” Sunset was frowning now. “I mean, Dash, if you just wanna be friends I totally get it. I’m not going to push you into anything.”

“No!” Rainbow blurted. “No. I… I mean.” She covered her face with her hands, groaned, and then swore. When she dragged her hands down her face enough that she could see beyond them, Sunset was still there, looking at her expectantly.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip, breathed in deep, and dove down into the water that Fluttershy had pushed her into. “I’m so scared that you don’t want what I… what I want. Or that you do, but that someday you won't anymore. And then we'll fight and break up and things will become weird and then we won’t be friends anymore, but… but I also! I can’t take back what I did last night and this,” she gestured emphatically between the two of them, “this, right here, right now is already happening. It’s already becoming awkward and shitty and I’m scared that no matter what I do things are going to change. So!”

Rainbow threw up her hands. “Fuck it! Right?” She tried to laugh, but it was a pitiful, dead sound. So she stood a little straighter and gulped down the weak chuckle, her fear, and her pride. Then she let honesty spill from her lips, like any good friend should. “I… I want you Sunset. I want sex, yeah sure, but not just that. I want to play guitar with you in my basement, and I want to kiss you when I see you between classes, and I want to do dumb, cliché study dates with you and not just because you’re way better at pre-calc than me, but because doing pre-calc with the hottest girl I know makes it sound way more bearable. Still bad, I mean it's pre-calc but, whatever.” She tried to just smile this time, but Sunset was staring at her with wide, brilliant sea-green eyes. So she swallowed again and went on.

“I wanna. I don’t know, get on your bike and drive like two hours just so we can hit up the beach. I want you to come to all my games. I wanna kick your ass in like every fighting game ever because somehow that’s like the one thing you don’t absolutely rock at.” She gestured at Sunset helplessly. “I want you. I don’t know if I’m… in love, or anything, but I know I want you in my life. And I want you there as not just my friend, not just my fuckbuddy, but as… my girlfriend? My date? My… you get it right?” She swore in her head, why was she so bad at this of all things? Why couldn’t she just string all her mushy emotional thoughts together properly?

Sunset, thank the summer sun above them, nodded in understanding. Rainbow nodded back, a quick jerk of her head more than anything, the stiffness of the movement brought on by the nerves building in her stomach and chest.

“So. What… what do you want, Sunset?”

Sunset responded by rushing forward and giving Rainbow that kiss she’d been wishing for. Only it was better than what she’d been dreaming of. Hot and passionate, but not hurried, not panicked. A slow, sensual exchange of tongues and wetness and heat, of exploring limbs and skin touching skin. Rainbow didn’t want it to end. She just wanted to stay there and explore every inch of Sunset that her alcohol addled mind had forgotten. Still, it did end, eventually. With panting from Sunset and one whispered “awesome…” from Rainbow Dash.

Still, there was a voice nagging. “But…” she couldn’t tell if it was Fluttershy’s or her own. She suspected her mind was too fuzzy from the kiss to separate that out. “I do… I want to hear it in your own words. Exactly what you want.”

Sunset looked down at her quizzically. She had never noticed exactly how much taller Sunset was until they were pressed together like this.

“I know, I know it’s… I just… I mean I already almost fucked things up by not spelling things out and you’re always saying that Pony Twilight harps on the ‘communication is the key to good friendships’ thing and-“

Sunset put a finger to Rainbow Dash’s lips. “C’mon. Have a seat with me, and I’ll tell you.”

—

The sun was starting to descend by the time they both got situated on the statue’s now free base. Not quite setting, but starting to turn the sky that slightest bit darker.

Sunset wanted to pull Rainbow close where they sat, wanted it to be all cheesy and romantic, but this was new and really she didn’t know if Dash exactly went for that sort of thing. So she compromised by reaching her hand out, placing it just over where Dash had rested hers.

Rainbow jolted when skin touched skin, and for a beat Sunset had worried even this had been a step too far. The rare, soft smile that Rainbow gave her chased that notion away though, and Sunset smiled back when their fingers twisted awkwardly for a second before intertwining.

“I want you too.” Sunset said. “I was…” She debated exactly how much she wanted to tell, but Rainbow Dash had been painfully, awkwardly honest, so she would be too. “Twilight. Princess Twilight. She saved me when she first came to this world, she turned my life around, was the first one to reach a hand out to pick me up after I hurt all of you so much. After I hurt myself so much. That still means so much to me, but she’s happy in her world and I think I need to try to be happy in mine.”

Rainbow scowled and quirked a brow. Then put a hand to her forehead and let out a soft “Ohhh…”

“Yeahhhh… I didn’t really realize I was still sort of holding a flame for Twi til today. I talked it out with her though. She helped me realize a lot of things actually.”

“Talked it out? Wait! She was here?”

Sunset laughed. “Why do you think I’m at CHS?”

“I thought it was like… neutral ground or something.”

Sunset laughed harder, doubling over where she was sitting. “Wh-what?” She exclaimed between guffaws.

“Y’know! Love and war and all that.” Rainbow shrugged. She was starting to blush, a line of pink painting her blue skin. It was cute as hell.

Sunset scooted closer, and kissed her cheek, which made Rainbow’s cheeks go from pink to red. “You’re a dork.”

“Y-You’re a nerd.”

Sunset shrugged. “Can’t argue with that.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while then, watching the sun sink lower, feeling the late spring day grow colder. There was a slight breeze, birds chirped, the sky grew more beautiful with each passing minute. This was nice, Sunset thought. She could get used to this.

“So… what? You confessed and she just wasn’t into you?” The question seemed to have been burning at Rainbow because she blurted it out into the silence.

Sunset let out a short snort of amusement and shook her head. “Nothing like that. She’s dating her world’s Rarity and… she’s really happy. Like, stars in her eyes, mushy gushy happy.”

“Blegh.” Rainbow responded, tongue stuck out.

“I know, right?”

“We can’t be one of those couples.” Though as she finished her sentence Sunset turned to look into her eyes. They both smiled, then kissed. It was a soft, quick thing but Sunset still had the same big grin on her face when they separated.

It only faltered when she thought of what else Twilight had told her. “I was scared too. That’s why I took off. I… didn’t think about our friendship changing, about the awkwardness. I think… you were more optimistic.” She’d been staring into Dash’s eyes, but at that she turned back toward the setting sun.

“I’ve hurt you before. I was afraid I’d do it again.”

Rainbow got out a syllable of protest before Sunset put her hand up. “I know. Trust me. Whatever you’re going to say Twilight already told me. I’m not that person anymore, I’m different, better. And neither of you are wrong…”

There was a short pause. Short because Rainbow blustered in again. “I feel like there’s a but coming.”

Sunset shrugged. “But I can’t pretend I’m not still worried. Not nearly as much as I was. I… I don’t think I’ll do anything. I don’t think I’ll slip back into my old ways. Really I don’t. But those memories are still always simmering in the back of my mind. What I did, who I hurt. Twilight helped so much, but she can’t fix everything with two heartfelt speeches and a rainbow laser blast.”

Rainbow didn’t hesitate. She squeezed Sunset’s hand and offered, “Let me help then. Let me… I don’t know, make you think about something else? Twilight’s back in Equestria, but you’ve got me now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Sunset Shimmer smiled softly, felt her heart swell into her throat with emotion, before swallowing it down. “I know. I’m not going anywhere either.”

#sundash #sunsetdash #sunset shimmer #mlp #my little pony equestria girls #rainbow dash #my fanfiction #I'm so so so so so so sorry I'm posting this so much later than I meant to ;;

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fluttering-lillies · 3 months

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Afterparty Chapter 4: Sunset

Words: 3,226

Pairing: SunDash

Rating: T

Warnings: Talk of excessive drinking, mentions of sex

With twenty minutes to work with, Sunset had just enough time to grab milkshakes from Sugar Cube Corner and make it in time to watch Twilight step out of the statue’s base. They didn’t say anything at first, didn’t even greet each other. Sunset just handed Twilight her vanilla shake and they both sat on the stairs leading up to Canterlot High, each of them sipping silently.

Sunset got through half of her shake before Twilight finally spoke. “So, Rainbow Dash huh?”

“Yep.” Sunset had a million questions running through her head, but could only manage that one word. This was already so awkward and she was sure that anything she said would only make it worse.

Twilight seemed to be stuck in her head too. She had that scrunched up look she’d often get when she’d been trying to write the musical counter-spell during the whole battle of the bands fiasco. Sunset couldn’t help but smile at it. She’d missed the princess, and more than that, was grateful she was taking this so seriously.

She rose out of her thinking haze suddenly, back straightening and voice taking on a strict, teacher-like tone. The voice she usually used when lecturing someone. Sunset remembered it vividly from her first encounter with Twilight. “So!” She raised a hand and a finger along with it. What was this? Super lecture mode? “I do have some experience with friendships… uh developing like this. Into romantic relationships. You’d still do better talking to Cadance of course but I’ll-“

“Wait, you do?” Sunset cringed into herself. One of her most insistently poking questions burst out of her. “Please tell me you aren’t dating your Rainbow Dash and this isn’t… super awkward.”

Twilight gaped for a second, rapid blinking completing the dumbfounded look. “Rainbow Dash and me?” She recoiled a little where she sat. “Inconceivable really. We’re great friends but I think our way of communicating wouldn’t work in a romantic context.” She finally seemed to relax a little and Sunset watched a blush creep up her face. “No uh… Rarity and I haven’t told many ponies but… we’ve been together for about a month now? Really only you and Fluttershy know. She… noticed before anyone else did and I’m only telling you because well, it’s rather pertinent to this situation.”

“You haven‘t told any of your other friends?”

Twilight shrunk into herself, looking guilty now, suddenly finding the straw of her milkshake very interesting. “I want to, of course. Rarity told me she wants to as well. It’s just... complicated.”

Sunset‘s face twisted up in confusion. “I haven’t been to Equestria in a bit, but last time I checked ponies were pretty comfortable with the whole same sex relationship idea. More than here anyway.”

“It’s nothing like that.” Twilight leaned back on the stair behind her, propping herself up with both her elbows, and tilting her head toward the blue early summer sky. “If I were still just Celestia’s student it wouldn’t matter. Maybe I’d get a few questions, but Rarity and I would just be two mares who happen to be in a relationship. Nopony would bat an eye. But now that I’m a princess…” She lifted her shake to her mouth and drank for a moment, then two, before letting it drop from her lips.

“Well, there are some ponies, I won’t name names, who already question how much preferential treatment I should be giving my friends. Rainbow got into the Wonderbolts a little while ago and there were stories made up about me using my influence to get her in faster. Somepony even said she would have never had the flight skills to get in by herself if I hadn’t ‘helped’ her! Which is just! Rainbow became a Wonderbolt entirely on her own merits. I helped her study I guess, but all of the recruitment tests are either skill based or involve publicly available information. More than that, you know who taught me how to fly when I became an alicorn?” She waved her drink around as she spoke, using it to emphasize certain exclamations.

“Rainbow Dash?” Sunset said mildly. The answer was a little obvious but she wasn’t about to interrupt a ranting Twilight.

“That’s right. Rainbow Dash. And she’s just a friend. I don’t know what ponies will say when they find out about Rarity and me. She doesn’t either. All her sewing skills, networking, and business sense have gotten her so far. I don’t want to steal credit from her like that.” She seemed to relax a little after getting that off her chest. “And while I know my friends wouldn’t run to the papers or anything, everypony makes mistakes. Says something to the wrong pony. Or just can’t keep a secret when asked directly. What kind of friend would I be if I asked them to lie for me anyway?”

Sunset frowned. She couldn’t really imagine dealing with all that pressure, all those eyes on her, and having that spread to her closest friends too. She didn’t envy Twilight’s crown.

That thought made her freeze, then let out a weird sort of half snort.

“Huh?” Twilight looked over at her. “Are you… laughing?” She sounded shocked and maybe even a little hurt.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Sunset half said, half giggled. “Not at you. It’s just. Just…” She covered up another chuckle, and stuffed down the amusement until she could explain. “I… when I was Celestia’s student all I wanted was to be a princess. I yearned for it, strived for it. The six or so months before I stumbled into this world it was all I could think about. I was obsessed. But now… sorry, but it kind of sounds like it sucks?”

Twilight looked aghast at first, like she couldn’t believe Sunset would even say that, then she relaxed and smiled. “It’s not all bad, but yeah, this one part? Does suck.”

Sunset smiled back, looking hopefully more sympathetic than amused now. “I’m sorry Twi. But hey you’ve still got great friends to support you. And… a marefriend now too, right?” Sunset nudged her a bit with an elbow.

Twilight blushed, but her laughter made it clear she didn’t mind the ribbing. “Yeah, Rarity’s been amazing. She always knows how to say the right thing and pull me back down when I start to spiral. I don’t really know where I’d be without her. She definitely makes what might come in the future worth it, even if it’s bad or invasive.”

“Well, I know this world’s Rarity, and if they're as alike as you say then you’re a lucky mare Twilight.” Sunset nudged her gently again, and this time when Twilight smiled back there was no hint of blush, no hint of embarrassment.

“Yeah. I really am.”

Sunset was caught off guard by that smile, by the shimmering brightness of it. There was something that throbbed in her chest, some twitch of something old finally being let go. Twilight was happy, beautifully so, and that was amazing.

“So, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said with a bit of her princessly authority. Whatever part of Sunset’s heart that had just collapsed into defeated relief shifted, revealing a new, strange, flickering ember.

“Rainbow Dash.” Sunset sighed.

“How… was she?” Twilight ventured cautiously.

“A-Are you curious?” Sunset stuttered out, cheeks heating up. She hadn’t expected such forwardness. Not from Twilight.

“N-no! I mean yes? Not like that though! I’m very happy with Rarity, she really knows what— Well… I mean… ugh! My point was, how…” Twlight grasped at the air in front of her like it would magically produce the word she was looking for. “How were… how did she make you feel? Did you have fun? Did you feel good? Or were you bored? Was there… anything… there?” Twilight had lost all of her authoritative tone and just looked frazzled now.

“Oh. Right.” Sunset said simply. “I don’t remember.”

“You don’t… remember?”

“I was drunk. She was too.”

Twilight stared at her for several moments. “I thought humans weren’t allowed to drink here until they’d turned twenty-one.”

Sunset didn’t say anything, just gave her a look.

“I see.” Twilight steepled her hands together. “And you got so drunk while drinking illegally that you do not remember what you did last night?”

“Correct. Before Pinkie said anything we weren’t even sure we uh… did… that.” Sunset answered lamely.

Twilight rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Honestly I think what we should do first is have a conversation about responsibility but considering we’re past that…”

“And that I didn’t ask you here to tell me to drink responsibly?” Sunset said with a smirk.

Twilight glared at her for a moment.

“You drank at this little get together too. Well not you. The other you.”

Twilight looked absolutely horrified, eyes wide and mouth agape. “She did not!”

Sunset nodded through a fit of giggles, then her hands as she tried to stifle the laughter.

Apparently sensing a losing battle, Twilight shook her head, sighed, and asked, “So you don’t remember, but how about now? What are your thoughts on last night? Not actual events but the fact that it happened at all.”

Sunset’s smirk dropped into a confused frown. “I mean… does that even matter?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. She blinked once, then twice. “What do you mean does that even matter? Of course it matters!” She spluttered. “Your feelings and thoughts are what will determine how you proceed and how you want your relationship with Rainbow Dash to change or stay the same. That and the key to any relationship, friendship or otherwise, is communication. If you don’t care to know how you feel, how can you communicate with Rainbow?”

“I…” Sunset slumped, resting her chin on her knees and hugging her legs with both arms. “I understand that, I do but… I don’t know the first thing about relationships Twilight. The only guy I’ve ever dated was a tool to me. A means to an end. The last person I loved sent me away because I ruined our relationship so much it couldn’t be repaired. I want… I called you here to get advice on how not to let this ruin everything. Again. I just…” Sunset gripped the sleeves of her leather biker jacket. “I don’t need her to love me. I just want her to not hate me. How do I do that?”

Twilight slumped too. “Sunset…”

That sad, cloying voice made Sunset want to huddle up even more. She didn’t want Twilight’s pity, Twilight’s care, especially now that she knew it wasn’t really hers to take. She wanted to hide inside her spiky impenetrable walls long enough so she could calculate how badly she’d fucked up and fix it logically.

Twilight didn’t say anything. She just reached over and touched Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset turned slowly and saw carefully measured comfort in the princess’ eyes. She watched Twilight’s small smile, felt her sure grip.

She wanted so badly to clamp shut, cut the tether, the hand gripping her, off. But she knew that was how she’d ended up bitter and angry before. She’d stubbornly gone it alone, trudging forward no matter how much she needed a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. So she let her shoulders drop, let her crossed arms open. “I’m… I’m scared. I’m scared I’ll hurt her. Scared I already have.”

Twilight sighed heavily again and shook her head. “You know you’re not that person anymore.”

“I know but— But sometimes it feels so easy to slip back. Someone says something that makes me angry and my first response is lash out. To yell. To hurt. I have to step back and… rewire myself to not just blow up.” She gripped the concrete stairs, doing her best to not just close in and up again. “It’s easier with the girls, they’re so nice, forgiving, but even they snap sometimes and I have to try so hard to not snap back.”

“And that’s the difference, Sunset. That’s what changed. Do you think you would have hesitated before? Do you think you would have cared?” Twilight grabbed her other shoulder, applying light pressure until they were staring each other in the eyes. “Friends fight. AJ and Rarity bicker all the time. Sometimes Dash doesn’t take Fluttershy’s feelings into account. Pinkie is too much for me every once in a while. It happens. It doesn’t make us bad friends or bad ponies.”

“And… marefriends?”

Twilight grinned and nodded, amusement dancing in her eyes. Then she pulled her hands away before launching into a story, switching her princessly lecture voice back on as she did. “Years ago, before I became a princess, Rarity made us all dresses for the grand galloping gala.”

Sunset hadn’t heard about the gala in years, but remembered it vaguely from the time she was Celestia’s student. She always thought it was too stuffy, full of ponies who only cared about money and social status. Not important things. Like magic and power.

“They were all gorgeous of course. Rarity’s only gotten better over time but she’s always been a fashion genius. All of us had our… own ideas about what made a good dress though. I wanted an accurate star map on the skirt because back then I was… very persnickety about accuracy, about how important that was. I still enjoy when things are perfectly in place, perfectly correct, but I know now that a friend’s happiness is more important than things being just so. Rarity was different back then too, not as confident in her design sense and desperate to make us all happy. So she followed our crazy instructions, making change after change to our gowns and when it was all said and done… she almost got booted from the fashion scene when she showed our designs off.” Twilight said the last part in a rush, cringing slightly.

Sunset gasped. She didn’t know pony Rarity, but her world’s Rarity was always looking for opportunities to get her foot in the door as a fashion designer. Apprenticeships, projects, even small boutique jobs. If Rarity was black booked or something, Sunset couldn’t even imagine how much that would hurt her.

“It was a long time ago and it all worked out in the end.” Twilight continued quickly when she saw Sunset’s wide eyes. “She never held it against us either, but… well… having an accurate, portable star map is really useful.” Twilight was playing with her straw again.

“You kept it?” Sunset exclaimed.

“Yes, I kept it! Do you know how much getting a perfectly accurate star map costs? Let alone doing it in fabric? I couldn’t just throw it away, especially when my friend turned marefriend made it for me. I get it now of course, but at the time it seemed harmless. Honestly, the obvious choice to me was to keep it.”

Sunset slowly absorbed that, lips pursed. “Soooo… she found out… when exactly?” Twilight wasn’t avoiding her marefriend as they spoke, was she?

“Last week. She was pretty upset, asked me to throw it away, said she had never wanted to see it again. Gave me the silent treatment when I explained how much getting something like it would cost, how valuable it was. After that I took the time to think it through and I gained the understanding I’d been lacking. I’m not an artist, but I can understand not wanting to look at your previous work. I thought I was so magically astute when I was younger. I didn’t boast but I knew I was good. Now those spells seem like foal’s play.” Twilight smiled a little at some unknown memory. “I almost got rid of it. It was worth a lot of bits, but not her being angry and hurt. Before I could, Rarity… decided to stop sulking? No, that sounds mean. She’d thought it over too. Was still… grumpy, but she realized something I didn’t even see.”

“And that was?”

“It was the first thing she ever made for me.” Twilight smiled softly, her eyes looked a little wet. “More than that it was, well… me. A completely accurate star map skirt with a royal flowing train? She said there was nothing in existence that was more Twilight Sparkle. It became… sentimental because of our love. A little piece of our history. We compromised on it too. I could keep it, could use it, could even display it in the castle’s astronomy tower, so long as no one ever knew she’d made it.”

Sunset burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry sorry!”

“No, you're fine. I thought it was kind of funny too. I mean I agreed! Of course. Because why wouldn’t I? But she was so insistent, so grumbly about it. It was cute. We ended up putting it up together in the tower and I showed her the stars that night. She loved that, the hopeless romantic.”

“Awww that’s… tooth rotting kinds of sweet.” Sunset smiled at the image Twilight’s words and smile conjured in her mind. Then she frowned a little. “But that… was just a dress right? I mean it can’t all be that easy.”

Twilight shrugged. “I guess so, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t hurt her feelings, Sunset. She was so mortified, so upset when she first found the thing. But in the end we talked, we compromised, and came out the other end better for it. Stronger for it, both individually and together.”

Sunset rubbed at her leather sleeves, played with the little strings that were fraying at the stitched shoulder seams. Twilight didn’t touch her this time. Just asked gently, “Sunset. Look at me?”

She did, staring into the deep amethyst of Twilight’s eyes. “You are going to hurt Rainbow Dash. Whether you stay friends or start dating. It’s inevitable. Friendship and love means being vulnerable, means opening yourself up to disappointment and hurt and even betrayal. That’s the magic of it. That’s what makes it special. The fact that we can give ourselves to another person, that we can rely on them, that we can be that close. That trust is what makes a bond like that strong, and repairing it, linking all those threads back together through communication and understanding after they’ve frayed or broken. That just makes them stronger.”

Sunset felt warm wetness in her eyes and Twilight blurred a little. “And if she doesn’t want to repair them with me?” She was still so scared, still so prepared for the day Celestia had, Rainbow would, they all would realize she was too fucked up to salvage, and cut her loose.

Twilight took her hands. “Sunset Shimmer.” She said the words with a steady, heavy, sure rhythm. “You are preparing for a catastrophe, a future, that doesn’t exist. Rainbow Dash is the element of loyalty. She won’t abandon you. Not unless you ask her to go away. And even then she might be too stubborn to listen. So long as you meet her half way and work with her, she will always be willing to fix things, okay?”

“Okay.” The word came out choked, but laced with a smile.

“Now, how do you feel? What do you think about last night?”

“I think…” Sunset sniffled. Then reached into her pocket, and pulled out her phone. “I think I want to talk to her.”

#mlp #mlp:fim #my little pony #20 percent queueler #sunset shimmer #rainbow dash #sundash #sunsetdash #my fanfiction

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