Dear Diary, Today in class we were studying English and talking about synonyms, and something really awesome occurred to me: Twilight is a synonym for Sunset, and Sparkle is a synonym for Shimmer! Our names basically mean the exact same thing! How cool is that? I wonder if it means something, especially now that we’re friends? Either way, I’m so glad I met her. ☺ Twilight Sparkle

Twilight stood outside of Sugarcube Corner, hesitating at the flashing lights and pounding bass emanating from within. Even though it was only six or so, the sky was crowded with thick, dark clouds, so the light show coming from the pastry shop stood out.

A part of her wanted to just turn around and go home. There was still a ton of work to do, and the sooner she could finish up the better.

But that was just a convenient excuse. Just what was she so scared of, anyway?

Steeling herself, Twilight pushed open the doors and felt the music wash over her.

“Hey Twilight! I’m so glad you could make it!” Pinkie Pie shouted into her ear, her arms suddenly wrapped around Twilight in a tight hug. “We are going to have so much fun tonight!”

“Gah,” Twilight grunted, trying to extract herself from Pinkie’s grip. “Uh, hi, Pinkie, that’s great and all, but can you—”

“Come on, see what I’ve got set up!” Pinkie Pie grabbed ahold of her arm and forcibly dragged her throughout the pastry shop.

“We’ve got a ton of food of course, most of it baked by yours truly. And a variety of punch. I promise none of it is spiked or anything. Unless Spike gets into it! And we got a TV set up so we can play some video games, and we brought some board games, and I know you like books a lot so I brought some if you feel like taking a break and reading or something!”

Twilight was dragged this way and that until Sunset finally stepped up and yanked Pinkie back.

“Come on, Pinkie, let her breathe a little, okay? Also, those are children's books and cookbooks.”

“Great reads, I know!” Pinkie Pie said, nodding emphatically.

Twilight finally freed herself and took a moment to adjust her clothes. “Thanks. It’s uh…” She paused, to glance around the room. The others waved. “Is it just the six of you? I was kind of expecting half of the school to be here.”

“Oh, I’ve thrown parties like that before, but we figured you’d be a lot happier with something small. If you want a big party, though, just say the word, and I can totally make it happen.”

“That’s… I’m okay with this, but I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“Cool! Now, then, let’s—” Pinkie Pie stopped mid-sentence at the sound of a loud ding, then ran off towards the kitchen. “Cupcakes are done!”

Sunset gave her a wide grin. “She’s hard to keep up with, I know.”

“...Yeah.” Twilight stood in silence for a few moments, idly pulling her hair back behind her ears. “Well, um, I’m here. Now what do I do?”

“It’d be easy to tease you for being naïve about something like this, but truth be told, parties and having friends was a totally new experience for me just a few months ago,” Sunset said, resting a hand on her hip. “It’s not nearly as complicated as it looks, though, believe me.”

Twilight frowned, looking Sunset up and down. She hadn’t really considered their similar positions. “I see. So where did you start, then?”

“Well, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are playing video games over there. Why don’t you go join them?”

“As good of a plan as any, I guess,” Twilight said with a shrug, then headed over to one of the booths where a TV had been set up.

“Hey, Twilight,” Applejack said, passing her back a controller without taking her eyes off the screen. “You much of a gamer?”

Twilight slid into the booth next to Rainbow Dash, controller ready. “It’s not exactly my hobby of choice, but my brother always has to have the latest and greatest, so I dabble.”

Rainbow Dash glanced over at her, then navigated to the character select screen. “Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “If you did, I’d never forgive you.”

“You know, Twilight, I’m rather surprised,” Rarity said as she filled up a cup full of punch and handed it to Twilight. “You’ve got a great sense of style. And those are all designer brands, aren’t they?”

Twilight frowned, glancing down at her clothes. She supposed they looked rather nice, but fashion wasn’t exactly her forte. After taking a few moments to consider her response, Twilight decided she might as well show them off and twirled, eliciting a giggle from Rarity.

“Just because I love science doesn’t mean I can’t look good, right?” Twilight said, flashing a toothy grin. When Rarity’s eyes seemed to light up at that remark, she quickly added, “Er, I’m just kidding. Cadance buys all my clothes for me; she’s the one with fashion sense. I just wear them.”

Rarity pursed her lips and tapped her finger against her chin. “Well, credit where credit is due, I suppose. Still, you wear it well, which isn’t something just anyone can do.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “I’m sensing a hidden comparison to the other Twilight here.”

Rarity blinked, then shook her head rapidly. “No, no, I don’t mean it like that, honestly. Sure, Princess Twilight is more than a little fashion impaired, but I was comparing you to the others here. Besides myself, the only member of our group with a hint of style is Sunset. Well, Fluttershy has got that ingenue thing going on, but that’s different.”

“I see,” Twilight said, her brow furrowed in thought. “I’ll take your word for it. Is, uh, fashion something that’s important to you?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Rarity said, her smile growing wide as she took another sip from her drink. “I like to consider myself a bit of an amateur fashionista. Though I guess that tends to conjure up images of clucking hens talking about the plumage of other birds without actually contributing anything meaningful. No, I sew.”

Rarity did a twirl of her own, the form fitting dress remaining close to her body, and added, “I made this dress myself, though it’s hardly a shining example of my talent. Still, I hope to become a top tier designer someday; it might be a bit of a little girl’s fantasy, but I’m not going to give up on my dream just because it’s hard.”

Twilight felt herself smile. “Wow, that’s incredible. I’ve always had a lot of respect for artists. I mean, I know I’m a genius and all, but creative endeavors have always just fallen flat for me. I’ve tried, for what it’s worth, and the best I can get is a technically sound mimicry of others’ styles. I don’t really have what people refer to as a ‘muse.’”

“Well, we all have our own talents; your credentials are certainly nothing to sneeze at. Plus, the way you organized all of those experiments shows you have a great head for management as well. You’re going to go far, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Thanks…” Twilight said, blushing. There was a brief silence before Rarity raised her plastic cup up into the air.

“A toast. To women with ambition.”

Twilight grinned, clinked her own cup against Rarity’s, and the two of them downed the glorified sugar-water.

“Classy,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes and putting the empty cup down. “Say, Twilight, I don’t suppose you'd be interested in doing some fitting for some dresses I’ve been working on? I’ve had a few designs in mind that I think would look absolutely perfect on you.”

“I think… that I’d actually like that. Sure,” Twilight found herself saying.

Sunset finished washing her hands, dried them off, then opened the door to the bathroom only to find Fluttershy waiting outside.

“Oh, uh. Hey Fluttershy. Sorry, have you been waiting long?”

Fluttershy shook her head emphatically. “No, no, um, I just got here, it’s okay.”

Sunset frowned, looking the girl up and down. She seemed unusually perky. “Something up, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, um, no, it’s nothing, really,” Fluttershy said, a smile betraying her words as she brushed her hair back. “It’s just, um, Twilight agreed to come help me out at the animal shelter next week. I think this party was a good idea.”

“Is that so?” Sunset asked. Fluttershy nodded, then slipped into the bathroom, still smiling.

She made her way back to the main room and found it dark. It looked like they had started watching a movie—one of those superhero ones that was so popular in this world. She saw Twilight sitting by herself on the small couch located in the lounge area, so Sunset made her way over.

“Hey. Mind if I join you?”

Twilight looked up from her phone, smiled, then put it away and nodded.

Sunset flopped down on the couch, kicking her feet up on the coffee table and leaning back. “So, you enjoying yourself?”

“Well…” Twilight mumbled, then looked away, her hands tugging at her pants. “There comes a point when acting cool and aloof is just that: acting. I’m starting to think I may have been unreasonably stubborn in my attitude towards all of you.”

“Well, it’s not like anything about these past two weeks has been even remotely reasonable.”

Twilight barked a short laugh, then pulled her legs up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around them. “That’s just it though. Me, sitting here talking to you. On some deep, instinctual level it all feels so wrong. Like, that by allowing myself to open up and make friends and just enjoy myself, I’m betraying something and deserve punishment. The part of me that’s a rational scientist and the part of me that’s just a normal teenage girl are both in agreement that this is just irrational bullshit, but the part of me that’s broken keeps insisting that everything should stay that way.”

“It’s a hard voice to ignore, isn’t it?” Sunset mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. “Even now, it still gnaws at me sometimes. But the friends I’ve made give me the strength I need to forge ahead. You’ve already got a family who loves and cares for you, Twilight. Letting a few others join them shouldn’t be too grand of a step.”

Twilight turned to look at her, staring with an odd look on her face for several long moments, before she finally sighed and shook her head with a smile. “Yeah, I guess I’ve got it good, all things considered.”

They both turned back to the movie, although Sunset couldn’t bring herself to pay attention. After about five minutes, Sunset finally mumbled, “Twilight, can I ask you a question?”

“Hm?”

“It’s something that’s been on my mind for a while, but you’re under absolutely no obligation to answer, and if it’s not something you want to talk about, I totally understand.”

Twilight turned her attention to her, raising an eyebrow.

Sunset let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair. “It’s just… Can you tell me about her? What was the other me like when you knew her?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she recoiled.

“Seriously, it’s cool if you don’t wanna talk about it, you don’t have to—”

Twilight cut her off by raising her hand. “Stop. It’s fine, you just caught me by surprise.” She turned away, sinking into her seat and staring up at the ceiling. “What do you want to know?”

Sunset twirled some of her hair around her finger, biting her lip. “I dunno. It’s just… the Sunset Shimmer who was able to be friends with you back then. It certainly wouldn’t have been me, so I guess I’m just wondering what she was like.”

“She was... “ Twilight raised a hand into the air, staring through her fingers. “It’s hard to say. We were just kids, you know? We did kid stuff together: ran around on playground equipment, played with toys. She lived near the woods, so we did a lot of outdoorsy stuff together.”

Sunset remained silent, and Twilight continued.

“I didn’t really have the perspective to consciously notice it when I was a kid, but I can see it looking back. When we first met, she was really lonely, but guarded. She had developed a bit of a bad reputation early on, gotten hurt once or twice, and that stayed with her.”

“That sounds familiar,” Sunset said, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“I got paired with her on a class project on my first day as a new transfer student. I guess I must have decided that I was going to be friends with her at first sight. Even then, when I set my mind on something, I wouldn’t give up until I got what I wanted.”

“So you just became friends with her, like that?”

Twilight chuckled, shaking her head. “It took a little bit of work, I guess, but yeah, she eventually warmed up to me. It had the side effect of ostracizing me from the rest of the school, but I was too happy about having a friend to care.”

Sunset wrapped her arms around her stomach. “When I was a filly, I developed a bit of a bad reputation early on, too. The teachers hated me, kids would try and start fights with me, and when I tried to stand up for myself I was always the one who got blamed for it. All I wanted was power and prestige so I could have control over my life, and so nobody would try to mess with me, but when I finally got it, I just became the tormenter instead of the tormented.”

“I suppose I can see the cause and effect there,” Twilight said, taking off her glasses and wiping them on her shirt.

“I guess… that if I had a friend like you growing up, at the right time, I might not have become a monster. You probably saved your Sunset from following in my footsteps.”

Twilight’s face fell into a twisted grimace. “I didn’t save her. I just got her killed.”

“Oh Celestia, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sorry,” Sunset stammered, her eyes wide.

“It’s nothing you have to apologize for,” Twilight growled, shaking her head. “It’s just…” Twilight let out a sigh, sinking back into her seat.

Sunset stayed silent, letting Twilight continue at her own pace.

“It was her tenth birthday. I wanted to do something special for her, to show her that I… how much I cared for her. In my selfishness, I took her miles away from civilization to a dangerous precipice just to show her something cool. She fell.”

Twilight rubbed at her eyes angrily with her sleeve. “And that’s it. That’s my tragic backstory. Looks like we’ve both got one, all things considered.”

Faces of those Sunset had lost in the past flashed through her mind. Memories of warm summer nights, of laughter, of a home she hadn’t visited in far too many years. She opened her mouth to say something—but decided against it. With all the weird parallels between worlds, that was a can of worms she wasn’t sure she wanted to open. This was about Twilight, not her. Instead she smiled, then reached her hand out towards Twilight, but paused, asking, “Can I?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “Oh, what the hell.”

Sunset pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. “Thanks for talking to me about this.”

Twilight squeezed her back. “It sure beats talking to my therapist.”

They pulled away from each other, Sunset wiping at her eyes.

“You know,” Twilight said, grinning, “talking about our feelings is great and all, but I did kind of actually want to watch this movie. This is a party, isn’t it?”

Sunset threw her head back and laughed. “I guess you’re right. That’s probably enough maudlin for one night.”

Twilight stood in the doorway to Sugarcube Corner with four other girls next to her, watching the torrential downpour outside.

“Well, I guess we should have seen that coming,” Sunset said with a smirk.

“And Rarity already left early with Fluttershy and took the car with her,” Applejack said with a sigh.

“You guys are more than welcome to spend the night here! The Cakes have a spare bedroom upstairs they totally let me crash in sometimes. I doubt they would mind!”

Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie, thinking over the offer. “I… think I’ll have to pass on that. Sure, magic of friendship and all, but maybe we can save the sleepover step for another time. Plus, I don’t really have anything for it.”

“Wait, seriously?” Rainbow Dash said, raising an eyebrow. “What happened to us just being your test subjects and all that garbage?”

“Told you it would work,” Applejack said, elbowing Rainbow Dash in the side.

Twilight stood up straighter, and adjusted her glasses. “Don’t get me wrong, science is still my primary goal here. But you girls… well, from an outside perspective, it seems like anyone would be lucky to be your friends. I’d have to be incredibly foolish to pass up on something like that.”

“Tch.” Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and turned her head, before peeking back with one eye. “Don’t think you’ll win me over that easy. Tell you what. I’ll give you the same deal I gave Princess Twilight. Meet me on the soccer field, mano e mano, and play me.”

“It’s mano a mano,” Twilight said, mimicking Dash’s posture. “And no, I think not.”

Rainbow Dash blinked several times before she scowled. “Yeah, whatever. That’s what I thought, and—”

“If we’re going to determine our friendship on a field of physical prowess, it’ll be one of my choosing. Unless you don’t think you can beat me at my own game?”

“I…” Rainbow Dash trailed off, looking Twilight up and down before she finally grinned, and held out her hand. “Alright, you’re on, but it has to be a sport. I’m not going to face you at chess or the math-lympics or anything lame like that.”

“Deal,” Twilight said, grabbing the other girl’s hand. They shook on it, then broke apart.

“So, were you serious about that sleepover thing?” Pinkie Pie asked, coming between the two of them. “How does next weekend sound?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “My schedule seems to be filling up awfully fast all of a sudden. But... since I don’t have school to get in the way, I’ll still have plenty of time to work on my research. Sure, let’s do it.”

“Whoohoo!” Pinkie Pie shouted, running out into the rain and doing several cartwheels. “Whose turn is it to host again?”

“Mine, I think,” Sunset said. “I’ll have to clean a bit, but it’s no trouble.”

Something about the idea of her first sleepover with new friends taking place at Sunset’s house was tragically nostalgic, but what did she have left to lose?

Sunset turned back to Twilight, frowning. “In any case, we still need to get you home. I can give you a ride on my bike if you want, though you’re going to get wet.”

“That’s…” A bike ride, in this weather? But it wasn’t like she had a lot of options. “Shining Armor and Cadance are both working tonight, so I can’t really call and ask for a ride.”

“Same here,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “Big Mac’s got the truck outta town on business.”

“I’m just gonna crash here for the night,” said Rainbow, stifling a yawn. “It’ll stop by morning.”

“Bike ride it is, then,” Twilight said, then began fishing through her purse for her umbrella.

“Alright,” Sunset said. “Let me get my stuff, and we’ll head out.”

***

“You know, I thought you meant the other kind of bike,” Twilight said as the rain thundered around her. The sleek and modern looking motorcycle made for an intimidating silhouette in the darkness.

“Are you kidding me?” Sunset said, laughing. “This is my baby. Rainbow Dash rides a regular bike. This demon is one I’m actually proud to be associated with.”

Twilight squeezed her umbrella tighter and huddled in on herself. “You know, there’s a reason they call them donorcycles.”

Sunset turned to her with a wide grin. “What, are you scared?” After a brief pause, her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Sorry, uh. I mean, if you’re not comfortable riding it, that’s cool, we can figure out another way. But it’s perfectly safe, I promise.”

“Fine,” Twilight said, gritting her teeth. “Just don’t go too fast, okay?”

“No problem. I’ve only got the one helmet, though, so I’ll let you wear it.”

Sunset climbed onto the bike, started the engine, then patted the seat behind her. “Just hold on tight, and lean with me when we turn.”

Twilight gingerly sat on the bike, then, at Sunset’s urging, wrapped her arms around Sunset’s midsection. Without the umbrella, the cold spring rain had Twilight soaked in seconds, but the machine underneath her and the girl in front of her were both warm.

“Here we go!” shouted Sunset, and she took off into the night.

***

“You’re going way too fast!” Twilight screamed, holding on for dear life as Sunset slid around a corner without stopping.

Sunset just laughed maniacally at the top of her lungs, her golden-red hair whipping around in the wind.

***

“I’m sorry, okay?” Sunset said to a shivering Twilight on her porch.

Twilight’s heart was still hammering in her chest at a thousand miles an hour. “You could have gotten us both killed!”

“We made it, didn’t we? But fine, I won’t do it again.”

“You’d better not,” Twilight grumbled, her teeth chattering.

Sunset looked Twilight up and down and then started shaking with silent giggles. “You look like a drowned rat.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You’re not exactly prom queen yourself right now.”

“Come on, you have to admit, it’s kind of funny.”

“It’s not…” Twilight started to say, but found herself hesitating. As terrifying as the ride home had been, there was a certain exhilarating thrill to it. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug, and a dangerous one to let dominate her decision making process.

“I knew it, you liked it!” Sunset said, grinning.

“Hmph.” Twilight crossed her arms over her chest. “Alright, whatever. I’m going inside to take a shower. You’d better get home too. Hypothermia, and all that.”

“Yeah, it’s not that far,” Sunset said, waving a hand dismissively. “I guess we’ll see each other again soon?”

Twilight pursed her lips, then nodded. “Yeah, soon. Drive safe, okay?”

As Twilight made her way inside, and Spike got up to greet her, her heart was still pounding, now from a different fear.

There was no way she could handle it if she lost another Sunset.