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The game sounded like a fun way to waste a night at first.
"Okay, the rules are simple !" Rainbow had begun to explain while pacing around the circle of seven girls, tossing an empty liquor bottle she had swiped from Zephyr Breeze earlier that day.
“One person spins the bottle, and then they get in the closet with whoever it lands on, and they stay there for seven minutes !”
She explained in her usual raspy voice, pointing over at the white closet in the corner of Pinkie's bedroom. No doubt, that thing was cluttered.
“Eh… I dunno, Rainbow. Ain't this game supposed to be for- you know. Intimacy ?”
Applejack spoke up from where she was lounging on a beanbag chair. Her queries were met with a scoff as Rainbow tossed the bottle at her.
“Well, yeah. But it's not like anything's gonna happen here. Just watch, we're gonna spin this, and it's gonna land on Pinkie, and then that closet is gonna be full of an explosion of cake and streamers.”
That wasn't too far off from the truth. Because within the first round, after Rarity spun the bottle and got paired with Pinkie, the closet became absolutely covered in silly string. As did Rarity. Rainbow and Pinkie had found it hilarious.
But Sunset wasn't paying attention to any of that.
Sunset Shimmer LOVED sleepovers with her friends. She had done since the Battle Of The Bands. Since she and Twilight had that deep conversation down in the kitchen while dining on whipped cream.
…But that was Princess Twilight Sparkle, the pony princess in Equestria. The mentor who used to consume Sunset's every waking thought when she needed someone to turn to for guidance.
But now, there was an entirely different Twilight taking up space in Sunset's head.
Sunset kept her gaze down at the green bottle as it spun in a circle around the rug. She hadn't been paying attention to Applejack's attempts to get silly string out of Rarity's lavender scented hair, or Rainbow's badgering of fluttershy to spin the bottle. She just knew her name had been called, so it was her turn.
Please don't land on Twilight.
PLEASE don't land on Twilight.
It wasn't that she didn't want it to. God. She wanted that more than anything. But she also knew that if she was locked in with Twilight - or well, SciTwi, as they had started to call her to help distinguish between her and the Twilight of the pony world - that she would make a complete mess of it.
Because SciTwi was always on her mind.
Because if she was crammed in a small space with her, she wouldn't be able to resist the urge to get on her lap to close the space between them.
To kiss her.
But she wasn’t sure if Twilight felt the same.
Which is why the bottle could not land on Twilight.
Sunset tightened her grip on her pyjama bottoms as the bottle slowed to a stop on the purple rug. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe. It felt like someone had reached down her oesophagus and was physically squeezing it to keep her breath at bay.
“Alright ! Sci, Sunset, you're up !”
Rainbow clapped her hands as she opened the door to the closet, making an exaggerated gesture as she motioned inside.
Sunset finally looked up from the bottle on the rug, allowing herself to steal a glance at Twilight. The breath that finally left her lips came out a lot rougher and a lot more drawn out than she intended.
Twilight had her hair down. When did she take her hair down ? Sunset had been so focused on the bottle that she hadn't been paying attention to those around her.
“We-... We don't have to if you- if you're not comfortable.”
Sunset didn't know why she allowed those words to make it past her lips. Self sabotage was going to be her downfall. Twilight was going to back out. She was going to stand up and scream that Sunset was disgusting and she doesn't want to be anywhere near her ans then Sunset would have to switch cities and change her name or maybe jump back into Equestria.
Sunset's thoughts were so loud that she didn't register Twilight's voice until she felt a tap on her shoulder.
At some point, Twilight has stood up and approached her when she failed to answer her the first couple times.
“Sunset. Are you coming ?
Sunset finally stood up, smoothing the creases out of her top. Oh god- Twilight had agreed to it and had been trying to get her in for the past thirty seconds or so.
“Yeah ! Yeah. Yeahyeahyeah I'm ready ! I'm coming !”
The rest was a blur as they settled into the closet, sitting past the remnants of Pinkie's silly string explosion. The closet was cramped with piles of clothes, party supplies and stuffed animals, so by the time they both got into comfortable positions, they were practically on top of each other.
No. Not literally. God, Sunset wished literally.
“So… do we just like… Talk…?”
Twilight asked as she leaned against the wall. That was not the point of the game. At least, not traditionally. Sunset knew that much. And it was hard to believe Twilight didn't at least guess it.
“I mean. Yeah. We can talk about whatever you want.”
Sunset wasn't trying so hard to pretend like she wasn’t absolutely starstruck right now. Here, in this dark, cramped closet, Twilight looked so captivating. In her purple nightdress, with her hair down and unravelled, she had never looked more stunning. The close proximity made the butterflies doing somersaults in her stomach impossible to ignore.
And that wasn't the only issue caused by the close proximity.
Since the battle in Everfree, Sunset had found her palm reading ability to be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because it sure came in handy when finding out someone's true intentions, and a curse, because she had little control over it.
And in this dark, cramped closet, he'd hand briefly brushed against Twilight's.
And that was all it took.
“Sunset, don't - !”
It was an accident. A complete accident. But once her eyes started to glow a bright white colour and the thoughts and images flooded her mind, Sunset couldn't bring herself to let go. Under any other circumstance, Sunset would have the utmost respect for her friend's privacy. But under THIS circumstance, that was hard to do.
Because her friend - her best friend, was thinking about her.
The images in Twilight's mind were of this very closet. Of sunset in front of her, but closer. Breathing down her neck, running her lips along her cheek.
Kiss me. Please. Kiss me.
Those were the thoughts echoing in Twilight's mind.
Sunset pulled away, her eyes returning to their normal oceanic colour, just slightly wider. Twilight tried to back away, but she was already as far against the wall as possible.
“I-... I don't know what you just saw, but- I'm. I'm so sorry - !”
She flapped her hands nervously as she shuffled to the corner of the closet, trying to hide herself behind the jackets and dresses hanging above them. Seeing her friend's shame, Sunset immediately shifted up on her knees and crawled closer.
“Hey. Hey, no. Twilight. Twi. It's okay.”
She stopped in front of her, reaching her amber hand out and brushing a loose strand of hair out of Twilight's face.
“I… I feel the same.” Once again, her throat felt like it was being squeezed as she allowed the words to flow out like water cascading down a waterfall. Because that was exactly what it was. Once the words started, they didn't stop.
“I feel the same. I have done since the friendship games, since you took my hand and let me lead you back to the light.”
Twilight found herself letting her knees go down so they were no longer against her chest. Instead, her legs were flat on the floor, being weighed down by Sunset.
Sunset climbed onto her lap and straddled her waist with her own legs, cupping her face in her hands, just like in the vision.
“Will you… Will you let me…?”
The air within the closet grew thick with the tension of Twilight's unspoken words. With a shaky, hesitant breath, she nodded her head. She didn't even fully get to raise it again before Sunset's lips pressed against hers.
Twilight reached her hands up and grabbed Sunset's bright red and yellow hair, slow, heavy gasps escaping her as Sunset's lips drifted down her collarbone to her neck.
“I love you.”
Sunset murmured, planting gentle pecks along Twilight's shoulder and neck.
“I love you too. A lot. A lot longer than I can say in just seven minutes.” Twilight breathed heavily for no reason other than pure ecstacy. Because Sunset felt the same. Because these feelings were okay.
Seven minutes wasn't long enough. But after this, they would have all the time in the world.