Dear Diary, I guess I didn’t have to do anything after all? After this weekend, we met up again at school and started talking and hanging out like we normally do. When I tried to ask her if anything was wrong or apologize she just laughed and changed the subject. It’s nice to be having fun with her like normal, but I think something’s bothering her. I’m not sure what to do. ☹ -Twilight Sparkle

Twilight leaned back in her desk chair and stared up at the pill bottle in her hands as she twisted it back and forth.

Antidepressants. “Happy pills.” An assorted conglomeration of chemicals that, once absorbed by her body, would subtly alter the chemical input and output of her brain, changing the way she thought, the way she felt.

Sunset had told her she had been hit by a magic rainbow, and that led to her reformation. Was there a physical component? Had Sunset’s brain chemistry been altered subtly? Was the difference between the magic of friendship and her pills only the amount of rainbows?

The ‘magic’ in Twilight’s bottle had helped bring her out of a very dark place when she was younger. With the help of therapy, she had risen out of that slump, found an ambition to strive for, and had done her best to move on.

But now…

Had she moved on? Was it all over and done with, just like that? Her problems all started when Sunset had died, so did replacing her with a new one mean that she could just pick up where she had left off? Where they had left off?

Twilight tightened her grip around the bottle. Those were some horrible and stupid things to be thinking. She was better than that. Sunset—both of them—deserved better than that.

Was Sunset enough to replace the magic in the bottle? Or better yet, since healthy relationships probably shouldn’t be based around codependence like that, was Twilight strong enough to break free on her own?

Twilight shrugged, shook her head, then popped open the bottle and gulped down two pills.

“One step at a time,” she muttered, setting her chair back on the ground. “Might as well take it slow, right?”

To somehow forget years and years of mental issues in less than a month—the idea was ridiculous, even with someone as miraculous as Sunset by her side.

Still. Meeting Sunset, making friends with the others, and this new romance, whatever it was or ended up becoming; it all made her feel better. Happy. It was a bit strange, but she liked it. It was possible that she was rushing into this, that she wasn’t ready, that it was all a huge mistake that would crash and burn spectacularly.

But she wanted to believe in herself. She wanted to believe in Sunset.

Twilight pulled out her phone and checked the time. Sunset was still in school. She wanted to text her, but she was probably busy in class. The downside to having unlimited free time with which to pursue her interests was that the rest of the world still operated on a schedule, and if she wanted to include them she had to work on their timeframe.

Spike whined and scratched at her closed bedroom door.

Twilight sighed, then stood up and dug out her jacket from the closet. “Come on, Spike, let’s go for a walk. It’s not like I’m getting any work done today anyway.”

“I’m telling ya, it ain’t even natural. Even you were less of a demon than Apple Bloom and her friends are when they get together, I swear. Barely got a wink of sleep all weekend trying to make sure they didn’t burn the house down, but they came out of it just as energetic as could be.”

Sunset nodded absentmindedly as she listened to Applejack’s griping. The two of them walked through the halls of Canterlot High, navigating past the crowds as they headed for the entrance.

Applejack yawned and rubbed at her eyes. “Well, that’s how things went on my end. 'Course, the real question is how things went with you and Twi.”

“Well…” Sunset mumbled, biting her lip. The two of them exited into the open air and sunshine. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. Sure, they had agreed to tell their friends, but how? Should she just drop it casually? Get everyone together and make a big announcement of it?

Her thoughts were still pretty muddled on the issue, too. Was she making a mistake, by going along with Twilight? Celestia knew the girl had suffered enough already, and the last thing Sunset wanted to do was add to that pain. Would it have been more kind to just push her away gently?

Probably.

Yet, odd as it was, Sunset kind of liked the idea of being in a relationship. And if Twilight wanted it, it wasn’t Sunset’s place to decide whether or not Twilight could handle it. She had to trust her.

She was saved from her internal meandering for the moment by the high pitched barking of Spike as he came bounding up to her and jumped onto her legs with a big doggie grin.

“Hey there, Spike!” Applejack said, kneeling down to scratch the dog behind the ears. She picked up the loose leash dangling from his collar and frowned, looking around. “Is Twilight with you?”

Spike barked happily, and slobbered at her fingers.

Sunset looked up, peering through the horde of students exiting the building, and spotted a familiar mop of purple hair.

She was crouched down in front of the statue that served as a portal to Equestria, notebook in hand.

Twilight didn’t turn around until their shadows blocked her light. She adjusted her glasses and peered up at them.

“This is the portal to your world, yes? Is there something special I have to do to activate it?”

Sunset crossed her arms over her chest. “Princess Twilight has it closed from the other side. Small animals kept wandering through and getting into her basement. I don’t think being used repeatedly was very healthy for the portal—or her lab equipment.”

Twilight rubbed at her chin, her eyes distant in thought. “She keeps her portal in her basement? Odd. Interesting, though. Is the portal tied to the physical reality of the statue, or merely to a fixed point in space? Well, I suppose it would have to be a fixed point relative to the position of the earth, since we’re flying through space at thirty kilometers per second. Could that have been the reason the portal used to operate on a lunar cycle?”

“Twilight…” Sunset began, unable to keep her smile from forming. She pinched her left arm to keep herself from laughing. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“There’s got to be a significance to the lunar calendar… perhaps it’s related to tidal pressure? No, that doesn’t make much… Oh!” Twilight suddenly snapped out of her stupor, looked up to meet Sunset’s gaze, then blushed.

“You’re really cute when you science,” Sunset said, grinning. “But seriously, if you were coming to visit you could have at least texted me or something.”

Twilight rubbed at the back of her head, fidgeting. “I was just… I dunno, it seems kind of stupid now, but I wanted to surprise you by being outside waiting for you when school got out. I guess I got a little distracted and ruined it.”

Sunset shook her head. “You’re still here, aren’t you? What’s ruined?”

“Well…” Twilight leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips against Sunset’s cheek. “I also wanted to do that.”

“T-Twilight,” Sunset stammered, her face turning crimson. “We’re…”

Applejack let out a low, long whistle. “Well I’ll be. So, Sunset, you were about to tell me how your sleepover with Twilight went?”

Twilight turned to look at Applejack, blinked as if she was noticing she was there for the first time, then looked down at her shoes, her blush tempered by the nervous giggles bubbling out.

Sunset let out a long sigh, but followed it up with a deep breath and grabbed Twilight’s hand, intertwining their fingers together. “Long story short, we’re dating now.”

Applejack clapped her hands on both of their shoulders. “Well, congratulations to the both of ya! A bit of an odd couple, all things considered, but as long as y’all are both on the same page, it ain’t my place to pry.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said, beaming.

“Say,” Sunset began, narrowing her eyes. “It was awfully coincidental that everyone cancelled Saturday night. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Me?” Applejack asked, snorting. “I already told you I was watching after Apple Bloom and company, didn’t I? Besides, do you think I’m the type to come up with and implement a scheme like that?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. She knew enough about the art of deception to recognize a masterful truth dodge when she saw one, but there was no point in prying further.

Applejack pulled out her phone. “I don’t think anybody quite expected this, but hey, we’re all your friends, so we’ll support ya. Y’all want to tell everyone else yourselves or should I just send out a mass text?”

Twilight looked up at her, and they held each other’s gaze for a moment, before she turned back to Applejack.

“Just go ahead and send it,” Twilight said. “There’s no point in making it a big ceremony.”

Applejack nodded, went through the motions on her phone, and pressed send. About five seconds later both Sunset’s and Twilight’s phones vibrated simultaneously.

Sunset got hers out first, and checked the message. “It’s from Pinkie Pie,” Sunset announced, grinning. She showed Twilight the screen, which was now filled with an undecipherable mess of exclamation points and emoticons.

“I got a sneaking suspicion there’s gonna be a party in your future,” Applejack said, chuckling.

“Guess we should have seen that coming,” Twilight said.

Applejack twisted, stretching her arms from side to side. “Welp, I’ll leave you two to it then. Gotta be getting home soon anyway. Big Mac’ll be waiting with the truck.”

They said their goodbyes, and Applejack headed off towards the parking lot.

“So,” Sunset said, turning back to Twilight. “Did you really come all the way here just for a peck on the cheek?”

“Not entirely. You still up for that date?”

Sunset frowned, then looked down at her clothes and sniffed. “Uh, if we’re going to go on a date, can I at least go home and shower first? Put on a nicer outfit?”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s nothing fancy. I just wanna go somewhere with you; it’s not far. We could take your bike?”

“You sure? I thought you didn’t like that thing.”

“I don’t. You’ll have to drive slow. But first I gotta walk Spike back home. Meet me there, okay?”

“Come on, Twilight, it wasn’t that bad…”

Sunset helped her trembling girlfriend down off of the motorcycle. When Twilight’s feet touched the ground she stumbled, leaning into Sunset for support.

“I told you to drive slow!”

“I did! I was going the speed limit the whole time!”

Twilight gripped Sunset’s arm tighter. “You were going the regular speed limit, in a construction zone.”

Sunset bit her lip. “There weren’t any workers present.”

“Whatever,” Twilight grumbled. She stepped back, smoothing her skirt. “We’re here, but now the mood’s all ruined.”

“Is it now?” Sunset grinned and sauntered back over towards Twilight, throwing an arm around her shoulder. “A couple riding together on a motorcycle, clinging to each other tightly as they lean in sync with every turn. That’s how it goes in all those movies, right?”

Twilight flushed, but snaked her own arm around Sunset’s hip regardless. “I do get the appeal, you know. It’s just that I find the actual execution of the idea to be somewhat more harrowing than I’d prefer.”

Sunset chuckled, then looked up at her surroundings. “Canterlot Park, huh? Can’t say I’ve been here in a while. What’s the plan?”

“It’s nothing special, like I said earlier,” Twilight said, pulling out of the embrace and shouldering her bag. “I mentioned that I have actually visited this town before, haven’t I? I always liked coming here. It’s a nice place to think.”

“I guess.” Sunset grabbed her own bag, and the pair started walking down the cobblestone path together. As far as parks went, it was pretty standard fare: lots of wide open space, playground equipment for children, scattered trees, a bike trail, a small river. Idyllic. Picturesque.

An old pang shot through Sunset’s heart as she looked around, and she had to hide her grimace. It was a nice park. But the nicest park in this world would never compare to anything back home.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She needed to be focused on this date, here and now.

“There,” Twilight said after a few minutes of walking. She pointed to a spot down by the river. “That should do, some nice shade and everything.”

Sunset leaned against the tree and watched, smiling as Twilight unpacked a large picnic blanket, then carefully set out a pair of plates and some baggies with sandwiches in them. After she was done, Twilight sat cross-legged on the blanket and patted the ground next to her.

“A scenic lunchtime picnic by the riverside, complete with homemade food,” Twilight said. “That’s a good date, isn’t it?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “It’s nearly dinnertime, Twilight.”

“Still the same atmosphere.”

“Well, can’t argue with that.” Sunset opened up the baggie, and tore open a small bag of chips. “I see that crustless PB&J is on the menu. Is that the limit of your culinary prowess?”

“Yes.” Twilight said bluntly. “Cooking is not a skill I have invested time into learning, and… Cadance said I needed to make my own food for this or it didn’t count.”

Sunset shrugged, then bit into the sandwich. “It’s a lunchtime staple for a reason,” she mumbled with her mouth full.

They ate in silence for awhile, and Sunset found herself entranced by the scenery. The light spring breeze tickled her, the sun warmed up her face. Her ears were full of the sounds of the nearby river babbling, with the various insects buzzing by as they went about their business. It was relaxing. Peaceful. She could probably stand to get out into nature more often. Even when she was a filly, she spent most of her time in Canterlot proper.

Sunset leaned back, glancing over to Twilight, only to find that her girlfriend had a troubled look on her face.

“What’s up?” Sunset asked, sitting back up and cocking her head slightly. “Everything alright, Twi?”

Twilight blinked, glanced over at Sunset, then looked away. “It’s… nothing.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow, then rested her chin on her fist. “Really?”

“I…” Twilight sighed and shook her head, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“This date. A setting like this is supposed to be cute and romantic, isn’t it? But we’re just sitting here, eating. I don’t know what the difference is between us doing this and just eating at McDonalds or something. I have to be doing something wrong.”

“Is that all?” Sunset reached over and tweaked Twilight on the nose. “You’re overthinking this. Honestly, I don’t know what makes a good date either, or what you’re supposed to do, but does it really matter? Can’t we just be ourselves?”

Twilight bit her lip. “I’d be more confident with some strictly defined guidelines and boundaries.”

Sunset rubbed at her chin, thinking it through for a bit, until finally snapping her fingers as a thought came to her. “Alright Twilight, you wanna try something romantic…” She adjusted her position until she was sitting directly in front of Twilight.

“Stare deep into my eyes and whisper my name.”

Twilight’s cheeks colored, but she swallowed, then looked directly into Sunset’s eyes and whispered, “Sunset…”

“Twilight…”

“Sunset….”

“Twilight….”

Sunset wasn’t able to keep a straight face anymore. She snorted loudly, and when Twilight scowled, it only made Sunset fall onto her side in a fit of giggles.

Twilight huffed, but couldn’t keep the smile off her face for long, quickly devolving into laughter herself.

“Okay,” Twilight said, wiping at her eyes. “What the heck was that supposed to prove?”

“Beats me,” Sunset wheezed. “Guess I have no idea what I’m doing either, but it was still funny, huh?”

Twilight grinned, and reached down to grab Sunset’s hand and squeezed. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. I’ll try to keep myself in check.”

Sunset stared up at the clouds, the occasional chuckle still floating from her lips. “I said we should just be ourselves. If there’s a part of you that likes to obsess about doing things the ‘correct’ way, then that’s a part of you too, isn’t it? We’ll figure this out, one step at a time. I’m sure when I give it a shot I’ll make plenty of my own flubs.”

“It’s still all so hard to believe,” Twilight mumbled, shielding her eyes against the sun.

Sunset opened her mouth to offer what she was sure would be a poignant metaphor, but was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone.

“Oh hey, looks like we were right about Pinkie wanting to throw us a party. Friday good for you?”

Twilight nodded, then shifted her position so her head was resting on Sunset’s shoulder. “Yeah, that works.”

Congratulations, Twilight and Sunset!

Twilight stared up at the banner strung between the rafters of Sugarcube Corner. In the middle sat a crude crayon drawing of Sunset and Twilight surrounded by a heart.

Just how often was she going to find herself blushing because of this? Was it all really necessary?

Yet, at the same time, she felt a strange sense of pride welling up inside her. She had taken a chance, leapt out of her comfort zone, and landed straight into the sort of romance she had always dreamed of, but had assumed would never happen. Why shouldn't she celebrate it?

She watched, hiding her grin behind her hand as Rainbow Dash elbowed Sunset and leaned in close to make what she could only assume were some incredibly suggestive comments, given how red Sunset and the nearby Fluttershy turned.

“Hey, how's it going?”

Twilight jumped backwards at the sudden burst of pink obscuring her vision. As she straightened herself, she had to adjust her glasses before she was finally able to parse what was happening.

“That much blood flowing to your brain isn't healthy, you know,” Twilight said. She reached out and lightly pushed Pinkie Pie so that she began to swing back and forth as she hung on the rafters upside down.

Pinkie Pie giggled and windmilled her arms wildly, before reaching up to her knees, letting go, and spinning in midair to land with the grace of an acrobat.

“Ta-da!”

Twilight clapped politely. “I'm impressed. Must have taken a lot of practice.”

Pinkie Pie shrugged, then flopped down onto the nearby couch. “I climb a lot of trees. Plus, pratfalls are way funnier.”

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight began, taking a seat on the couch as well. “Are you really as random as you act all the time?”

“Beats me! You're the scientist. What do you think?”

Twilight frowned, tapping a finger against her chin. “There's an argument to be made for the lack of random chance entirely: that since the trajectory of every particle at the advent of the Big Bang was fixed, all seemingly random events are born from that first explosion, that all events are predetermined and free will is an illusion.”

Pinkie Pie blinked several times, then waved her hand over her head and made a whooshing sound. “Wowza, Twi, that sounds pretty intense! Is that true?”

Twilight shook her head. “It's just a theory, and not one I really subscribe to. There are too many forces in the universe we don't fully understand to go ahead and pin the results of reality solely on the Big Bang. Besides, I’m a big fan of free will.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said, giggling. “It makes things way more fun! But I'm just me, Twilight. Even if I'm random or predestined, Pinkie Pie is here to party!”

“Can't argue with that,” Twilight said, then raised her cup of punch in a salute.

“So, what's your favorite part about dating Sunset?”

Twilight coughed, rubbing at her throat. “It hasn't even been a week yet. I don’t know.”

Pinkie grinned, leaning in close. “I dunno. Sunset has been awfully tired at school recently. I bet you two are having a lot of fun at night!”

Twilight gritted her teeth, trying not to blush. “Get your mind out of the gutter. We've just… been talking on the phone a lot. That's all. I guess maybe I've been keeping her up late.”

“D’aww, that's adorable!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping up to crouch on her feet. “You'll win cutest couple at prom for sure!”

Twilight let out a long sigh, cradling her forehead. “I don't go to Canterlot High, you know.”

Before Pinkie could say anything else, Twilight was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone.

“Hold on,” Twilight said, standing up and moving towards a quiet hallway. “I have to take this.”

“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie Pie said, flopping back down onto the couch.

“Hey there, champ! How's my favorite soon-to-be best scientist in the world doing?” her Dad asked as she answered the call.

“Science isn't a competition, Dad, it's about the pursuit of knowledge and understanding for the sake of itself. If you can achieve that, you've already won.” Twilight leaned against the wall, resting one hand on her hip. “Besides, ‘soon-to-be’ nothing. I’m already the best.”

“Atta’ girl,” her Dad said with a chuckle. “I hear you’ve been pretty busy out west.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Twilight said, glancing over her shoulder at the party. Sunset caught her gaze, smiled, and Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. Gods above, that smile was killer. “I mean, uh, yeah. It’s good. Busy is kind of an understatement, really.”

“Your brother has been keeping me up-to-date, but I’m still looking forward to reading your paper when it’s finished.”

Twilight paced down the hallway and back. “It’s pretty incredible. Honestly, it could change the world. But, uh, I’m kind of in the middle of something at the moment. Is there any reason in particular you’re calling?”

Her father chuckled, and she could easily picture him shaking his head, his smile reaching far up his weathered face. “What, can’t an old man just want to talk to his daughter for a spell?”

As Twilight said nothing, there was a loud crash from the kitchen, followed by the ringing of a platter spinning on tile for an awkwardly long amount of time.

“Fine, fine. Truth is, Spring Break is coming up, and your mother and I were hoping you’d come back to visit. I’ll have to spend most of it grading papers, and I know your brother can’t get work off, but it would still be nice to see you again.”

Home for Spring Break. Twilight felt twin pangs in her heart, both a brief sense of homesickness, and dread at the thought of leaving Sunset.

It was a silly thing to worry about, but it existed all the same. Fortunately, Twilight wasn’t one for half-measures.

“Would it be okay if I brought some friends with me?” Twilight asked, biting her lip.

There was a pause on the other end, followed by some muffled words as her Dad held his hand over the mic. After a short conversation with whom Twilight could only assume was her mother, her dad spoke up again.

“You’re welcome to bring whomever or whatever you’d like, sweetheart. This is… the other Sunset we’ve heard so much about?”

Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah. Plus some others. But Sunset, she’s… it’s complicated, really, but at her heart she’s just a normal person, like anyone else. And she’s her own person, distinct from the other Sunset.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Glad to know the world is a fascinating place as always. It wouldn’t be any fun if we knew all the answers, right?”

“Right. I’ll need to ask if they actually want to come, of course. I’ll text you the details later, but I should really be getting back to this party.”

“Hah. Words I never thought I’d hear you say. Have fun, Twilight. Love you. Mom says she loves you too.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

Twilight took a deep breath as she ended the call. A vacation back home with her friends. This would definitely be something.

“Surprise hug!” a voice called out, wrapping her arms tightly around Twilight’s midsection from behind.

Twilight stiffened, but then relaxed as she caught the familiar scent of strawberry shampoo.

“So what’s up?” Sunset asked, letting go and standing back.

“This,” Twilight said, grabbing Sunset’s hand and dragging her back into the living room. “Hey!” she called out, whistling to catch everyone's attention.

“You are all cordially invited to spend spring break with me and my family in Baltimare, at my cousin’s beach house.”

“Oh, hell yeah!” Rainbow Dash yelled, pumping her fist. “I am so in!”

“I’ve never seen the ocean before,” Fluttershy mumbled.

“Depends,” Applejack said, nodding in thought. “Would have to work something out with my brother regarding the farm and all, but I’m definitely interested.”

Rarity nodded, then pulled out her phone and opened up her calendar. “Hm. Like Applejack, I might have to work things out with my family, but I could definitely use some sun.”

Sunset grinned, squeezing Twilight’s arm. “I’ve got nothing else holding me back; of course I’ll come with you.”

“Yes!” Pinkie Pie screamed, loud enough to rattle the dishes on the countertops. “I’ve never gotten to throw beach parties before! I’d better do some research!”

Twilight beamed, and squeezed Sunset back. “Thanks. It’ll be a ton of fun, I promise.”