//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: The Hammer Drops // Story: The Wall Between Us // by Godslittleprincess //------------------------------// The next morning, Flash stood by Twilight’s locker, biting his lip as he nervously clenched and unclenched his fists. No turning back now, he was doing this. Flash saw her coming up from the hallway. The six other Rainbooms were with her. She looked up, and her eyes locked with Flash’s. Something akin to electricity seemed to pass between them. Flash felt his palms begin to sweat and his heart begin to race. “So,” Twilight whispered to her friends, tearing her eyes away from Flash’s gaze, “which one of us is going to break the news to Flash?” “Pass,” Rainbow Dash yelled, zooming away with her super speed. “Oh, well, I guess I could try,” Fluttershy volunteered, stepping forward. “Flash really needs to know the truth, and if I do it, I’ll save you the trouble of having to do it yourself.” But then, she stepped back. “Oh, but what if he gets upset that we eavesdropped on him. It’ll be so nerve-racking.” Then, she stepped forward. “Oh, but if I don’t tell him, you will have to, and he’ll get upset with you, and then you’ll both be upset.” Back. “Oh, but if he does get upset, I won’t know how to comfort him.” Forward. “But what if no one else volunteers and—” “Fluttershy, stop,” Applejack commanded. “Twi, I hate to break it to you, but you’re going to have to be the one to tell him.” “What? Why?” Twilight protested. “Telling him was your idea.” “Yeah, but you agreed to it,” Sunset pointed out. “Besides, we’re not the ones Flash is confessing his feelings to.” Flash stared as the six remaining Rainbooms continued to talk to each other. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he had a feeling that they were talking about him. He checked the time on his phone. He only had a little over five minutes before he had to head to class, so it was either now or never. He took a breath and began walking towards the girls. “Hey, ladies,” Flash greeted. All six of them suddenly stopped talking and jerked up in attention. “We weren’t talking about you,” Sunset denied a little too quickly. Flash kept his expression completely blank. “I never said that you were.” Sunset clenched her teeth as she inwardly screamed. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Twilight alone,” Flash requested, his expression still inscrutable. All the girls shared a look with each other. Then, Applejack nudged Twilight with her elbow and tilted her head in Flash’s direction. “Tell him,” her eyes said to Twilight. “You tell him,” Twilight nonverbally countered. And so, Twilight and Applejack continued their silent back and forth with each other. After maybe ten seconds, Pinkie Pie interrupted. “Cupcake?” she offered suddenly, practically shoving the petite confection in Flash’s face. Where she got the cupcake from nobody knows. “Uh, sure,” Flash hesitantly accepted. “Thanks, Pinkie.” “Oh, no problem. Just remember to break the cupcake in half before you bite into it. I baked a little surprise inside just for you. Now, if you excuse us, we’re going to leave you alone with Twilight now. Bye.” Before either Twilight or Flash could blink, the two of them were in the hallway with only each other and the cupcake for company. The other five girls just seemed to vanish from right in front of them. Twilight frantically looked to her left, then her right, and finally behind her, but she couldn’t find her friends anywhere. She looked in front of her and found herself meeting Flash’s eyes again. The realization that she truly was alone in the hallway with Flash caused her breathing to quicken and her knees to knock together. Flash stepped forward, releasing a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding, and opened his mouth to speak. “Twilight—,” he began. “Don’t!” Twilight cut him off, once again turning away from him. “But you don’t even know what I was going to say,” Flash replied, confusion creeping into his face and voice. Twilight inwardly groaned as she forced herself to face him. “Actually,” she said to him, “I do. The girls and I heard you, Derpy, and Micro Chips yesterday at the music room.” Flash’s eyes widened, and his face became a shade redder. “Oh. Well, okay then.” “Flash, look, I’m sorry that we eavesdropped on you. We shouldn’t have done it, but please, please, please don’t tell me what you want to tell me until after I figure something out. What I’m going through right now is hard enough without having other variables to think about.” With that, Twilight rushed past Flash and began running as fast as she could away from him. Flash could only watch her go before slinking away sadly. As he was walking away, Flash looked down at his hand and noticed that he was still holding the cupcake that Pinkie had given him earlier. Curious about what Pinkie’s surprise could be, he broke the cupcake in half and found a folded note baked inside. Flash unfolded the note and read what it said. “Everything is going to be okay. ;-)” School had ended, and Twilight was hurrying to the cozy, little café near the school, the Sweet Shoppe. She tried to focus on what she had planned to do this afternoon, but her mind kept going back to the look on Flash Sentry’s face that morning just before she ran off, the hurt and confusion. She will admit that she had handled that situation rather poorly and that she will have to apologize for hurting Flash later, but right now, Twilight had a boyfriend to break up with, and the sooner she got that done, the sooner she can sort things out with Flash. She entered the establishment and found Timber waiting for her at one of the tables. He waved her over with a big smile on his face. Twilight gave a small smile back and walked over to him. “Miss me already?” he flirted. “Uh, Timber, I didn’t ask you to meet me here for a date,” Twilight explained as she sat down across from him. “Oh.” Timber blinked twice in surprise. “You see,” Twilight bit her lip as she began talking, “you’re a nice guy, Timber, and I liked dating you, but—” “Wait,” he interrupted, realization setting in, “why does it sound like you’re breaking up with me? Are you breaking up with me?” “Well, yes,” Twilight managed to squeak out. “Look, it’s not you, okay? I’m just not as invested in this relationship as I was when I started out, and—” “Twilight, I don’t know how you found out, but I swear none of it meant a thing,” Timber interrupted again, his voice taking on a frantic tone. “I was only doing it because I liked the attention.” Twilight’s eyes widened at Timber’s sudden declaration. Then, she just stared at Timber, her face twisting in total utter confusion. “What in the hay are you talking about?” she exclaimed. Timber’s jaw dropped as he realized what just happened. “You mean, you don’t know.” “Know what?” “Uh,” Timber’s eyes darted away from her as he replied, “nothing.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed as her gaze transformed into a hard glare. “Timber, this relationship is going to be over regardless of what you end up telling me, and since you have nothing to lose anyway, you might as well tell me everything,” Twilight stated sternly. Timber whimpered in fear. Then, he took a breath and morphed his face into an obviously forced version of The Smolder from Tangled. “I know you say it’s over, but are you sure I can’t change your mind?” he purred. “I mean, I’m sure whatever the problem is it’s nothing that time and my natural charm can’t fix.” Twilight blinked twice before her glare intensified. “Didn’t you hear what I just said?” she tried not to shout. “The problem is that I’m not as invested in this relationship as I used to be, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to take more than just charming me to fix that. And you know what? What if I want more out of a relationship than a whole lot of charm?” Timber opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, he was suddenly doused with a hot liquid. Judging by the smell and the slightly sticky feel, it was probably Earl Grey with cream and sugar. “What the hay?!” he screamed before turning towards his assailant. He turned to his left to see a light blue-skinned girl with short, layered, pink and lavender hair. She was dressed in what looked like a uniform made up of a purply maroon jacket, a plaid skirt with pleats, and a bowtie. Her red-violet eyes glared at him so intensely that if the laws of physics didn’t exist, Timber would have literally caught fire. “Sunny Flare?” Twilight asked, recognizing her as one of her old classmates from Crystal Prep “Um, do I know you?” Timber asked Sunny innocently, still dripping with tea. “No,” Sunny replied with an anger-tinged calm, “but I believe you know my friend.” She pulled out her phone and showed a picture of her with four other girls. Then, she pointed to the one with pink skin, citrus-colored hair that fell below her waist, and a pair of pink headphones over her ears, practically shoving the image into Timber’s face. Timber’s pupils shrunk as he looked at who Sunny was pointing at. “I’ve never seen that girl before in my life.” “Oh, really? Then, I suppose that you have also never been a lifeguard at the Canterlot Beach either,” the uniformed girl bitingly remarked, crossing her arms. Twilight’s eyes widened in realization. “You were cheating on me?! With Lemon Zest?!” “I did not cheat!” Timber shouted back. “There was no cheating involved!” He inwardly groaned, realizing that he just admitted to having met Lemon Zest. “Lemon Zest thought that he looked cute and started flirting with him,” Sunny informed. “He flirted back.” “It never went past that. I swear,” Timber pleaded. “He also never mentioned that he already had a girlfriend.” “It never came up in conversation!” Sunny turned toward Timber, bringing her furious glare closer to Timber’s trembling eyes. “Well, considering that she wants to ask you out the next time that she sees you, you probably should have volunteered that information.” “Well, tell her that I’m not interested,” Timber retorted. “Actually,” Twilight spoke in an unusually calm tone, “if it would make you happy to go out with Lemon or any other girl for that matter, you’re free to do it. Because you and I are done.” “What?!” Timber shrieked. “We are done, and this relationship is over,” Twilight continued as she got up and began to leave, “just like this conversation.” “Twilight, wait!” Timber called, but Twilight had already walked out the door.