Dear Diary, Sunset is mad at me. I thought she had been okay with it, but I guess she was really upset that we couldn’t spend spring break together. Ever since I got back from the trip, she’s been kind of grumpy and won’t talk to me. I guess I didn’t text her much on vacation either, because I was so busy. She didn’t actually say anything, but she’s been acting like what mom calls “passive-aggressive,” and I’m pretty sure this is the reason why. I’ve got to find a way to make it up to her, and to let her know I missed her as much as she missed me. ☹ -Twilight Sparkle

Sunset sat frozen as Twilight pulled away from the kiss, the younger girl’s eyes lidded in a sort of dreamy haze. “T-Twilight!” she finally managed to blurt out, her voice cracking as her brain struggled to reboot itself. “What are you doing?”

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as if she had been slapped in the face, and she clasped her hands over her mouth. “Oh gods. What am I doing!?”

Sunset brushed her fingers against her own lips. Did that actually just happen? Had Twilight really just kissed her out of the blue?

“No no no no!” Trembling, Twilight scrambled backwards to the edge of the bed. “What the hell is wrong with me? How could I possibly—? I’m so sorry, Sunset, I didn’t mean to…”

Reality came crashing back in full force for Sunset as she watched the terrified girl in front of her slide off the bed and back towards the wall, shaking her head and muttering to herself.

“Twilight, wait!” Sunset said. “It’s okay, I’m not mad or anything, I just…”

She just what?

“It’s not okay!” Twilight crouched down on the floor, covering her head with her arms as her eyes began to fill with tears. “There’s nothing even remotely right about what I just did! I just forced myself on you without permission. You probably don’t even like girls. Or humans, for that matter!” She let out a soft whimper and closed her eyes. “Like always, I’m just a terrible selfish person who thinks her own issues are more important than everyone else’s.”

“That’s…” Sunset’s heart caught in her throat. At least one of those problems had an easy answer, so she found herself spouting a basic fact instead: “Actually, pansexuality is the norm in Equestrian society. Most ponies don’t really see gender as a barrier to relationships.”

Twilight sniffled. “That still doesn’t…” She stopped mid-sob, looking up with her nose scrunched up in the way that Sunset was beginning to recognize meant Twilight was considering a problem. “Hold on, that doesn’t make any sense; social acceptance is one thing, but biologically speaking, a pansexual majority should have serious problems maintaining population growth.”

Sunset shook her head. “Same-sex couples are just as capable of starting families as any other. Adoption is always a staple, but sperm-donors and surrogacy are used on a pretty regular basis. For those who can afford it, magic is also an option, producing results similar to the most advanced reproductive science available in this world.”

“Hrm.” Twilight pursed her lips, drumming her fingers on the carpet. “I suppose that makes sense, but I’d like to see some actual census data before I…” Her eyes went wide again, and she clapped her hand against her forehead. “Argh! Totally not important right now!”

The distraction in the conversation had allowed Sunset to get her head on a little straighter. “Twilight, hey, it’s alright. You took me by surprise back there, but we’re both reasonable people. Can we talk about this?”

Twilight turned away from her and buried her face in her knees. “Can’t I just run away and hide under my bed for about a year or so?”

Sunset reached up and clutched at the fabric over her heart. She found her own hands were shaking. “I would really hate it if you did that, and I think everyone else would too.”

There was a short snort of laughter from Twilight, but it soon melted into a whining moan as she started to rock back and forth.

She wanted to say something more comforting to the girl, to assure her that everything would be alright, but… would it? Twilight had just kissed her out of the blue. That meant something, didn’t it? That Twilight liked her in the romantic sense. Did she feel the same way?

“I’m a lesbian,” Twilight blurted out, her voice laced with bitterness. “Always have been, as far as I know. Had a stupid girl-crush on the other Sunset, and now I guess I have a stupid girl-crush on you. Talk about projecting.”

Sunset sucked in a deep breath, and she felt herself heat up. She had sensed something about Twilight in their previous interactions that had seemed a little off. The way her eyes seemed to linger, the way she seemed to brighten whenever Sunset entered the room—in retrospect, it should have been obvious.

“Twilight,” Sunset began, as she racked her brains for the right words, “I… I’m not really sure how to respond to that, but what I said earlier still stands: I haven’t known you for very long, but you’re a lot of fun to be around, you’re a good friend, and I do like you.”

Twilight pulled her knees in against herself even tighter. “Maybe it would be better if I just went home, and we pretended this never happened. Do you think we could still just be friends in the morning?”

Sunset paused, then moved to step off her bed and sat down on the floor behind Twilight, who was still curled up into a ball, facing the wall. “Is that… really what you want?”

“What I want?” Twilight snorted, then shook her head. “No, what I want doesn’t matter. Relationships are supposed to be between two people. If one side doesn’t feel the same way, then who cares what the other half wants? The ideal outcome at that point becomes a desperate grab to salvage a working friendship out of a catastrophic mistake.”

Sunset swallowed, then reached out to place her hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “I never said that I didn’t feel the same way.”

Twilight stiffened, then turned to look at her, her mouth hanging open and her eyes alight with a spark of desperate hope.

Sunset quickly shook her head. “I never said that I did feel the same way, either. I just… I do like you, Twilight, and the gender thing isn’t an issue to me, but I don’t really know a lot about romance.”

Twilight began to tremble, but then stopped, frowning. “Didn’t you date what's-his-face? The guy with the blue hair?”

“Flash Sentry,” Sunset said, letting out a sigh and reaching up to rub at her temples. “Technically yes, though date is a term I’d use loosely. ‘Trophy Boyfriend’ might be a better way of putting it. He was the cool, popular guy in school who played guitar, and as ‘Alpha Bitch’ I figured that I should probably have someone like that around to boost my own image. There was never anything that anyone would actually call romance.”

“I see.” Twilight sniffed, then wiped at her eyes before looking up to meet Sunset’s gaze. “Okay, fine. I’ll spell it out: Sunset Shimmer, I like you. Do you want to go out with me and be like, girlfriends and stuff?”

Sunset cracked a smile at Twilight’s sudden bluntness, but an answer still eluded her. “Us being together, as a couple… it seems like it’d be a terrible idea on paper. I’m already cringing thinking how awkward that would make things for me with Princess Twilight. And with your own issues… I can’t imagine I’m a healthy outlet for your feelings.”

“Yeah, but…” Twilight trailed off, her face falling. “No, you’re probably right. I’ve known that from the start.”

There was an uncomfortably long silence that lasted for what seemed like an eternity as they both stared down at the floor.

“Do you,” Twilight finally mumbled, her voice barely a whisper, “maybe want to give it a shot anyway?”

Sunset bit her lip, her heart hammering in her chest as her brain fired a confusing cocktail of emotions off through every synapse. “...Okay, sure.”

They both looked up to meet each other’s eyes, each of them wearing a shy smile that quickly turned into a grin, and finally gave way into a fit of giggles.

Twilight wiped at her eyes, still smiling. “Well. Now what?”

Sunset shrugged. “Beats me. I just told you I don’t actually know anything about romance.”

“Well, I don’t exactly have a lot of personal experience on the subject, but I have grown up in a media culture that glorifies it, and I have known more than a few positive relationships that have lasted. Most of my family, really. So I at least have a general idea.”

Sunset stood up, then reached down to help Twilight to her feet. They sat back down on the bed next to each other, but Twilight kept Sunset’s hand clasped in hers. It felt a little strange, but Sunset didn’t mind.

“I suppose,” Twilight said, her eyes distant in thought, “relationships are supposed to be, like, friendship-plus, you know? They’re built on a strong friendship between two compatible people, plus all the kissing and the hand holding and…”

A strange chill ran up Sunset’s spine at those words, and she found herself squeezing Twilight’s hand tighter. “I guess that doesn’t sound too hard.”

Twilight turned to look Sunset in the eyes, leaning closer. “Um… would it be okay if I kissed you again?”

Sunset’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt her mouth grow dry. “We’ve been officially dating for maybe five minutes, Twilight…”

“O-oh. I guess you’re right. Sorry,” Twilight mumbled, her eyes lowered.

Sunset smiled softly, and placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulders. “That wasn’t a no.”

“I…” Twilight licked her lips. “Okay.”

As Twilight closed the distance between them, and Sunset closed her eyes, their noses bumped together painfully.

“Ow!” they both cried.

Sunset took one look at Twilight as they both rubbed at their noses, and burst out laughing again.

“Well,” Twilight said, blushing slightly, “teenage romance is supposed to be awkward and stupid, I think. I’m sure we’ll make plenty of mistakes, but that’s okay, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Sunset said, nodding.

Twilight placed her hands on the side of Sunset’s head. “It’s like an experiment. If the first method doesn’t produce the desired results, you alter your approach and try again.”

“You’re such a nerd, Twi—”

Their lips pressed together, properly this time.

Twilight eventually pulled away, breathing heavily. “Everything I hoped it would be, turns out.”

Sunset’s heart threatened to pound its way out of her chest. “Mhm.”

Something occurred to Sunset, and with a nervous laugh that bubbled from her throat she turned away, rubbing at the back of her head. “You know, if this was one of those romance novels that Rarity keeps lending me, I think we’d be at the part where we start tearing off each others clothes and making love until morning.”

Twilight stiffened, her eyes wide as dinner plates. “I guess, that makes sense. I, um. Seems a little fast, but I suppose we could…” Hands trembling, Twilight reached up to her collar, as if to start unbuttoning it.

Sunset grabbed Twilight’s hand, rolling her eyes. “I’m just kidding, Twilight, jeez. There’s no way I’m ready for something like that.”

Twilight sighed. “Of course. Sorry.”

Sunset couldn’t tell if Twilight looked relieved or disappointed.

With a giggle Sunset flopped down onto the bed, pulling Twilight with her so they both lay side by side staring up at the ceiling.

“Sorry,” Twilight said, squeezing Sunset’s hand tightly. “It’s just… I’m really happy. It feels like I’m dreaming. Maybe I’m still carrying a bit of baggage from my past, but… I’m here in the present, with you. I’ll do my best to make this work, regardless of my handicap.”

Sunset raised her hand into the air, staring through her fingers. Twilight. Her girlfriend. They were in a relationship together. It had been decided on almost a whim. She wasn’t just going along with this because she didn’t want to break Twilight’s heart, was she?

She turned to look at the girl beside her, and received a smile in return. No. Maybe she wasn’t madly in love with Twilight, but she cared for her, and she loved spending time with her, and… this kissing thing wasn’t so bad, either. Maybe that’s all a relationship really needed to start off with. As for the so called handicaps… well, she had beaten far greater odds in her life before. This wasn’t that much of a long shot, was it?

“What do you think we should tell the others?” Twilight asked, yawning.

Sunset snorted. “Twenty bucks says one of them noticed you were crushing on me, my guess is on Rarity, and they set up this sleepover so that something like this might happen.”

Twilight frowned. “Huh. I didn’t think I was that obvious.”

“Well, we’ll tell them the truth, I guess. I doubt it’ll be any issue. The only thing that does bother me is telling Princess Twilight.”

With a voice slightly imitating Sunset’s, Twilight said, “Hey, by the way, I’m dating your alternate universe counterpart. It’s not weird, I swear. I don’t have feelings for you or anything, just her.”

Twilight sat up suddenly, turning to Sunset with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t secretly have feelings for the pony Twilight, do you? Because if this is going to turn into some kind of crazy love triangle, I take it all back.”

Sunset laughed, shaking her head. “No. She’s a great friend and all, but no, there’s nothing there. Although I guess if she had asked me like you just did, I probably would’ve said yes.”

“Hmph.” Twilight flopped back down on the bed, then wrapped her arms around Sunset’s midsection and buried her face in her shoulder.

Sunset snaked her arm under Twilight’s shoulder, and squeezed her back.

“Everything is going to be different now, huh?”

Twilight woke up to warm sunlight and the smell of strawberry shampoo.

Grunting, she squeezed the pillow she was holding tighter and buried her face into it.

Sunset…

Twilight’s eyes snapped open, and she looked down at the pillow that was definitely not her new girlfriend, even if it smelled like her.

A surge of panic overtook her as the previous night’s memories returned. She had kissed Sunset out of the blue! And… instead of making fun of her or rejecting her, Sunset had said yes. It all seemed like a dream, and yet they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

Although Sunset not being here lent slightly more credence to the dream theory.

Yawning, Twilight stretched and sat up. No matter how she tried to analyze the situation, she just couldn’t get a good read on how she was supposed to be feeling right now. She was giddy with excitement, nervous, scared, a little disgusted with herself, and there was that sick feeling that she was doing something wrong by the other Sunset’s memory. It all melded together to form a swirling vortex of emotions that Twilight carefully pushed into a dark corner of her mind.

She would be way better off if she just tried to focus on the moment, rather than trying to navigate that minefield.

Yawning again, Twilight made her way out the door. It was a little awkward, since she didn’t know her way around the place, and in general the house still felt like it belonged to someone else, not Sunset. But she could smell fresh food being cooked, and she had a pretty good idea on where to find her new girlfriend.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Sunset said, turning to smile at Twilight as she shuffled her way into the kitchen. “I made pancakes.”

“Cool,” Twilight said, yawning yet again as she flopped into the tacky green and yellow pleather kitchen chair. “Got any bacon and eggs to go with that?”

Sunset bit her lip. “Um, sorry, Twilight, but I’m a vegetarian. I don’t have any.”

Twilight blinked, then shook her head. “Oh, right. Horse. Sorry, I should’ve thought of that.”

“It’s not just that,” Sunset said, letting out a long sigh. “Most hooved mammals are sapient in Equestria.”

“Oh. Huh. That’s… awkward.”

Sunset dropped two pancakes onto a plate and set it in front of Twilight, along with a bottle of syrup. “Tell me about it. I’m used to it now, but I was pretty horrified when I first got to this world.”

Twilight cut up a bit of pancake and began to eat. It wasn’t anything special, but pancakes were pancakes. “Really? I thought you were some evil villainess.”

“I’m not a...” Sunset gripped her spatula, then turned around to face Twilight, crossing her arms. “I guess I lost any right to say that when I literally turned into a monster, but still. That’s a little far, Twilight.”

“Wait…” Twilight swallowed her pancake, then washed it down with some water. “Wait, are we being serious here? Sorry, I’m still not really awake.”

Sunset opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it again, staring at Twilight in silence.

Twilight mentally backtracked through their conversation, and it finally clicked on what she had said wrong. “Oh. I’m sorry, Sunset. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Apology accepted,” Sunset said, turning back to the stove.

“Cool.” Twilight frowned, then poked at the second pancake with her fork. “But, um, I actually really do love meat. Is that going to be an issue?”

Sunset let out a long sigh. “No, Twilight, it’s fine. Like I said, I’ve gotten used to it, and I’m not here to try and change anyone else. Just don’t try and change me either.”

“Alright, I can respect that.” With a frown, something occurred to her. “Did we just have our first fight as a couple?”

“...I guess we did,” Sunset said, giggling. “Less than twenty-four hours. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Twilight shrugged. “Beats me. That kind of thing usually takes a few episodes in sitcoms or whatever, but it’s probably good to get stuff like this out in the open early. Speaking of, are you full vegan? Are eggs okay?”

Sunset grinned, then loaded some pancakes onto a plate of her own and sat across the table from Twilight. “Eggs are fine, but there aren’t any in the fridge, so you’re stuck with pancakes for now. Unless you wanna go polish off the leftover snacks from last night.”

“I see.” Twilight drummed her fingers on the table, resting her palm on her chin. “In that case, anything else we should know about each other? Bad habits or preferences or whatever. Did you sleep okay last night? I didn’t snore, did I?”

“If you did, it didn’t wake me up,” Sunset said. “I can’t really think of anything off the top of my head. I mean, I’ve been living here for four years now, but there’s still a lot of cultural differences that aren’t immediately apparent that still trip me up occasionally, and I can see us butting heads in the future, but I don’t think it’ll be anything major.”

“In the future, huh…” Twilight said, smiling wistfully. “A few weeks ago, I never would have thought the future held so many possibilities.”

Sunset blinked, then blushed, looking down at her food. “You can say that again.”

“Well… I mean, we’re a couple, right? A relationship in motion stays in motion, unless acted on by an external force. Or an internal one.” Seeing Sunset’s smirk, she frowned. “Okay, the metaphor isn’t perfect, sue me.”

“Either we break up, get married and live happily ever after, or I guess until one of us…” Sunset’s eyes got wide, and she quickly started to shake her head.

“Dies?” Twilight said, her voice only slightly bitter. “There, we’re even now. We’ve both made terrible faux pas towards each other this morning.”

Sunset grimaced, then bowed her head. “I’m sorry…”

Twilight waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Although if you think you can manage it, not dying would be a pretty swell thing for you to do, and I would appreciate it a lot if you made the effort.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Sunset said, cracking a strained smile.

After licking the last bits of syrup off of her plate, Twilight stood up and brought it over to the sink, rinsing it off. “So what do you wanna do today, anyway?”

“Well, we could hang out for a bit longer, but I imagine you’ll want to get home eventually. I think we could both use some time to ourselves to think all of this through a little more thoroughly.”

“I dunno,” Twilight said, turning to face Sunset, “I can get a little out of hand when it comes to overthinking things, but we’re not in any hurry. I do still have that research to work on.”

Sunset stood up and moved her own empty plate to the sink. “I don’t have the greatest grasp on human science, but I was a magical prodigy back in Equestria. Let me know if you need a hand with that.”

Twilight smiled. “Sure thing. I’ll focus on my work then. Let me know if we all need to get together for ‘friendship activities’ or whatever. Also, I guess we should maybe go on a date or something?”

“A date? What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I was going to say McDonalds, but now that’s a bust.”

Sunset snorted, then elbowed Twilight in the side, both of them breaking into a fit of giggles.

“But seriously,” Twilight said, grinning, “I have no idea. I’ll figure it out later and let you know.”

“That works.” Sunset turned the water off and dried off her hands. “Anything in particular you wanna do for the rest of the morning?”

“Nothing comes to mind immediately.”

Sunset wrapped her arms around Twilight’s stomach and leaned into her ear. “Y’know, this is all still new to me too, but I hear making out is pretty popular with the kids these days. We could always give that a shot.”

Twilight’s cheeks burst into flame. “Uh.”

“Is that a yes?”

Twilight nodded.

“I’m home!” Twilight called out, kicking her shoes off.

“Hey, Twilight!” Cadance called back, her voice coming from the bathroom. “There’s leftovers in the fridge.”

Twilight let her bag slip to the floor, then rounded the corner down the hall. Cadance stood in front of the bathroom mirror, leaning forward and doing her makeup.

“Nice dress,” Twilight said, looking her sister-in-law up and down. “What’s the occasion?”

“Got a hot date with your brother tonight,” Cadance said, not taking her eyes from her reflection. “How did the sleepover go?”

Twilight felt her stomach twist itself into fluttery knots just thinking about what had happened. “G-good. It was good, I guess. I had fun.”

Cadance’s ears twitched and she turned to Twilight, her lips curling into an almost cat-like grin. “Good, huh? Is that all? What did you girls do for fun? Watch movies? Play Twister? Truth or Dare?”

“Movies. You know, sleepover stuff.” Twilight tugged at her collar, and she suddenly had a hard time looking her sister-in-law in the eyes. It was stupid, hiding it. Cadance was going to figure it out eventually, but it was still so new and unreal to her that she was having a hard time approaching this with her usual detached logic.

“Your hair is a bit of a mess,” Cadance noted, pursing her lips and stepping towards Twilight.

“So? I haven’t showered yet, and I forgot to bring my brush.”

“Mmhm. Your clothes are pretty wrinkled, too.”

Twilight crossed her arms. “Again, what’s the problem? I spent, like, half the sleepover in my pajamas.”

“I suppose you’ve got a point there.” Cadance said, leaning in close She reached out a long nailed finger and lightly flicked Twilight on the neck. “But that hickey sure tells a different story.”

“What!?” Twilight lunged into the bathroom and craned her neck to try and see her reflection. “That’s impossible, there’s no way that she—”

There was no mark. Cadance burst out laughing.

Twilight let out a long sigh. There was definitely no point in trying to keep this hidden from Cadance.

“So, who’s the lucky lady?” Cadance asked, grinning. “Or dare I say it… ladies?”

“Oh, of course,” Twilight muttered, rolling her eyes. “You know kids these days. Always having those wild lesbian sex orgies. Get real, sis. No, the others couldn’t even make it. It was… just me and Sunset.”

Cadance’s smile softened, and she placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “So what’s your actual status, then? Should I be happy for you?”

Twilight wrapped her hand around Cadance’s and squeezed tightly. “I think so. We’re dating now, I guess. I dunno. It all happened pretty fast, and I’m not really sure how it’s all supposed to work.”

“Congratulations, honey,” Cadance said, leaning down and pulling Twilight into a hug. “Sunset seems like a really nice girl, and I’m sure you two will do fine. Though I’m sure your therapist would have an aneurysm if you ever told her about this.”

Twilight snorted and leaned into the embrace. “Don’t I know it. But maybe modern psychology is ill-equipped to deal with problems of a supernatural origin. I dunno. It feels wrong, in a way… but somehow right at the same time.”

“I trust your judgement on this,” Cadance said, pulling out of the hug. “Just as long as you know that should you need us, or should things get too hot to handle, we’ll be here for you with whatever you need.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said. She closed the toilet seat and sat down on it, resting her chin in her hands.

Cadance stepped back up to the mirror and returned to applying her makeup.

“What makes a good first date?” Twilight asked after about a minute of silence.

“Well, for starters, don’t do what your brother did,” Cadance said as she carefully applied eyeshadow. “Don’t get me wrong, Ogres and Oubliettes can be a lot of fun, but it is definitely not first date material.”

Twilight giggled. “I do have a standing offer to get Sunset to play that, but I’ll have to see if Shiny would be willing to run something, and I’d want to invite everyone. Where are you guys going tonight, anyway?”

“Dancing,” Cadance said with a shake of her hips, her dress swaying provocatively. “There’s a place up in the city that does ballroom classes followed by general social dancing. It’s not something we do often, but it’s a lot of fun. Plus, I love showing off my moves.”

“I see.” Twilight tapped her foot, then reached in her pocket to dig out her phone. “Do you think Sunset would be interested in doing something like that?”

“I think she would enjoy spending time with you,” Cadance said, pulling out a pair of earrings. “Learning to dance tends to be awkward at first, but unless she’s secretly a master dancer, you’ll both be on even footing.”

“I see.”

“Or, if you want a date that doesn’t involve tripping over one another’s feet, I’d recommend a picnic in the park, perhaps with a homemade lunch? It’s quite pleasant.”

Twilight pulled open the notes app on her phone and jotted the suggestions down. “I’ll definitely keep those in mind, thanks.”

“Other than that, do what you feel is right. Like I said, she’ll enjoy spending time with you, and you with her. So find a way to do that, and you’re ninety percent of the way there.”

Cadance finished fixing her earrings and took a step back, looking herself up and down. “How do I look?”

“Like a princess,” Twilight said, grinning, “who’s way out of my brother’s strike zone.”

“Oh you,” Cadance said, rolling her eyes. “I mean, I am quite the catch, but I’m super lucky to be with your brother, and you know it.”

Twilight stuck her tongue out.

It was true, though. Her brother and Cadance really were the perfect couple. Could she be like that, someday? Was that the kind of future that awaited her?

Or was it all more likely to end in tears?