//------------------------------// // A Tender Moment // Story: Homeless Sunset Shimmer // by Sunny Solaire //------------------------------// With her arms folded across her chest, Fleur Dis Lee smirks at you in her usual snobby, bitchy way. Man, she makes your blood boil. Back when you were okay with being rich, she was nice to you. She likes guys with expensive tastes. But ever since you willingly gave up your life of luxury, she thought of you like she would a pile of dog shit. Occasionally, she liked to 'check in' on you, just to see how you were doing. If you were doing well, she would try to fuck everything up, just for the sake of being mean. "I didn't expect to see you here..." You say. She steps towards you, still grinning her smug smile. "Well I didn't want to miss your little homecoming! How have you been since leaving civilized society?" You continue to glare at her. "Fine." "Really? Last I heard, you were picking up garbage for a living!" She takes a quick glance at Sunset, looking her up and down, unimpressed. "Hmm... Looks like you still are..." Oh, that was low. Even for her. Sunset recoils slightly, looking offended, which makes Fleur grin again. You clench your fists and grit your teeth. Never hit a woman, Anon... Never hit a woman. "That was extremely uncalled for, Fleur." You growl. She gives a playful little chuckle. "Oh, Anon! You know I'm just teasing!" No she's not. You know her too well. Almost like she knew you knew she was lying, she extends her hand out to Sunset with a sly smile. "Fleur Dis Lee. A pleasure to meet you." Sunset looks at her hand and then to you. You shake your head a little, trying to tell her not to play along as subtly as possible. Sunset hesitates for a moment before smiling back at her. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. Happy to meet you too." She takes her hand and shakes it. Dammit, Sunset, don’t believe her lies. Sunset continues. "By the way, thanks for not minding all the poor person germs on my hands, since I can't afford soap. It means a lot. Especially, since I used to live in a dumpster." Oh snaps. Sunset, what are you doing? Fleur's smile vanishes. Sunset's doesn't. In fact, Sunset places her other hand on top of Fleur's and shakes harder. She doesn't let go. Holy shit, Sunset is making Fleur visibly uncomfortable. She's no longer the dominant female in this situation. That's never happened before. Fleur is now straining to yank her hand away. "Okay... Ew... Let go. Now." Fleur says. Sunset eventually releases her grip. Fleur looks at her hand nervously for a moment before looking back at Sunset, who's still grinning. "Well Fleur, I'd love to stick around and get to know you more, but Anon and I have trashcan fires to huddle around, and used food to steal." Sunset walks over and locks arms with you. "Shall we?" You smile back at her. Damn, you love this girl. "Let's!" You say happily. Turning toward the exit, Sunset looks back at Fleur, who is still just standing there. "Ta-Ta, darling!" Now she's mocking her with a bad posh accent. Sunset laughs and faces forward once again, walking with you and leaving Fleur behind. She doesn't move. She just looks at you two as you walk away. You've seen that look on her face before. She knows what Sunset was doing, and she's mad about it. Now she has beef with both of you. It's totally worth it though. She finally turns back and briskly walks into the bathroom. Probably to wash the 'poor person' germs off. You both walk outside into the cold. As soon as you're outside, you both burst out laughing. You grab Sunset and pick her up, spinning around. "Sunset, that was incredible! I've never seen Fleur at a loss for words like that before!" You both laugh some more and you set her down. "Well I had to do something! You looked like you were about to explode!" She says. You laugh. "I WAS about to explode! Believe me!" She laughs and hugs you. "Well, I'm always happy to help out my Nonny." Oh, your heart. It's too much. "Thank you, Sunny. You're wonderful." You stay there a moment longer. "Listen, Sunset." You break the hug and look into her eyes. You've got to tell her you love her now, Anon. There's no way you can hold it in after this. What she did was amazing. "I need to tell you something important. I wanted to tell you this the other night, but I just couldn't bring myself to for some reason." She blinks and continues looking at you. Come on, Anon. You've got this. "I, uh, I just... I need to tell you this now... Sunset..."She keeps staring at you, her beautiful eyes wide with anticipation and curiosity. "I'm... I'm in l-" "ANOOOONYMOUUUUUS!!!" A cheery voice from behind cuts you off. ...It's Pinkie Pie. You shut your eyes and sigh. "...One sec. I think our ride is here." You turn around and, sure enough, you see your hyperactive pink-haired friend running up to you with a huge smile on her face and her arms outstretched. You only get a glimpse of her before she slams into you like a freight train and begins her usual hug that could suffocate a bear. "You're back to see us!" Pinkie shouts. "This is wonderful! We need to have a super duper funerrific awesome party to celebrate! Ooh! There can be balloons and cake and confetti and..." Despite being very happy to see Pinkie as well, she's hugging you too hard. You can't breathe. "*Pinkie!*" You wheeze. "...and a clown that does magic tricks and then I'll come in on a unicycle! Anon! Did you know that I got a unicycle?! Its so much-" "*Pinkie! I can't breathe!*" Her eyes shoot open and she quickly lets you go. "Oops! Sorry Anon! I'm just so excited to see you again!" You gasp and wheeze for air for a second and start laughing with her. "It's okay, Pinkie. I'm happy to see you too. We were-" "ANON, I GOT YOU A PRESENT!!" She reaches into her hair and pulls out a big stuffed moose that was somehow stored in there. There was a tag on its ear that read "To: Anon. Love: Pinkie". "Isn't he cute?!" She says. "I named him 'Anonymoose!' Heehee! Get it?! Because he's a moose!" You laugh and take the moose from her. "I love it, Pinkie. Thank you very much!" She smiles and looks over at Sunset, who is standing there with an awkward half-smile on her face. "Hi!" Pinkie looks her up and down real quick. "You're pretty!" Aww. Sunset smiles and gives a little giggle. "Thank you, miss..." Pinkie grabs Sunset's hand and shakes it hard and fast. "I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm one of Anon's bestest best friend in the whole world!" You smile and pick up on the introductions, wrapping your arm around Sunset. "Pinkie Pie, this is Sunset Shimmer." Sunset waves at her. "Nice to meet you, Pinkie Pie." Pinkie stares at you two and the gears turn in her head. She gasps and covers her mouth a second later. "Anon! Is she your girlfriend?!" She asks. You and Sunset look at each other. You smile and give her a little squeeze. "Pretty much." Pinkie squees and jumps up and down in place. "Oh that's so cuuute!!! Oh my gosh, everyone else will be sooooo happy to meet you, Sunset! EEEEE I cant wait!! Lets get going!" Pinkie grabs you and Sunset's hands and pulls you both hard. You both nearly lose balance and trip as you are forced to follow Pinkie across the street into the airport's parking garage. "Is everyone else here too?" You ask. Pinkie smiles. "Nope! They're all at Applejack's! She sent me to come pick you up!" "Just you?" "Eeyup!" Pinkie giggles. "Applejack said I was doing such a good job helping get everything ready for you when you came home that she said I could be the one to see you first! Which is weird, because all I did was sing 'I Will Survive' in the helium voice for a couple of hours, so I don't see how I helped. But it must've helped out in some way because I'm here now!" You laugh and shake your head. Oh, Pinkie. So wonderfully carefree. You've missed her. You quickly make your way past an assortment of cars until you reach a big bright pink jeep. It has balloons taped to the back, colorful stickers everywhere, and poka-dots painted all over it. It's an eyesore. "You got yourself a car, huh?" You smirk. "Yep yep yep! Hop in!" Pinkie pushes a button on her remote and it makes a clown horn sound. "Oh, this'll be fun." You chuckle. Pinkie skips happily over to the driver side while you walk Sunset over to the passenger side. Sunset turns to you. "Anon? Is she... always like this?" "What, crazy? Childish? Over-the-top weird?" You ask. "Yep. That's Pinkie." She looks way confused, and a little worried. You give her a reassuring smile. "You'll get used to it. Pinkie is, well... Pinkie, but she's really nice and cares a lot about her friends." Sunset looks at the car again for a moment. "She doesn't even know me though. Are you sure she'll be nice to me too?" You give her a hug and look down at her. "I'm positive that all of my friends will be. Trust me. I've known these girls for a long time. Any friend of mine is a friend of theirs." She smiles back and nods. "Okay. I believe you." You reach the passenger side and open the door for her, letting her ride shotgun. "I still don't know if I feel really comfortable in the front seat of her car though..." Sunset says. "Especially if she's driving." You just give a small chuckle as she climbs in. You don't want to tell her that you're feeling the same way. You shut the door and climb in the back seat. Pinkie looks at you both. "Alright, you two cuties.~ Ready to go?!" "Ready as we'll ever be, Pinkie." You reply. You quickly buckle your seat belt and look up to the dash. There's a note taped next to the radio. Sunset notices it too. She grabs it. "What is this... 'Brake left, gas right'?" Pinkie looks over and giggles. "Oh yeah! That's my cheat sheet!" You and Sunset exchange worried looks. You lean up to look at her feet on the pedals. "Okay, first of all, Pinkie, you have six pedals down there. How can you tell which one is left and which one is right? And second of all, why in the blue hell do you have six pedals when there's only four directions?" You ask. Pinkie cocks an eyebrow and looks back at you with a grin. "Anon, sometimes you just have to go for style points!" As Sunset almost frantically buckles her seat belt, Pinkie inserts the key into the ignition and the jeep loudly roars to life. Along with the radio... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZS0WIQI7UU Pinkie throws the jeep into drive and you hold on for dear life as she presses the accelerator and practically flies out of the parking garage. --- You are now Sunset Shimmer, and you're clinging to your seat for dear life and screaming at the top of your lungs with your eyes closed. Anon's friend is insane! She keeps screaming stuff like "Wheeee!!" and "I've never gone this fast before!" It is making you scared out of your freakin' mind. On top of dealing with her reckless driving in bad weather, and the accordion music blaring on the radio, she hasn't kept her eyes on the road for more than a few seconds before turning to you and Anon and telling you about something like parties or pet alligators or whatever. Anon has been screaming and yelling at her to pay attention and slow down too. Apparently, this is also his first time riding in Pinkie Pie's car. As the music ends, so does the violent movement of the car. "You can open your eyes now!" Pinkie says. "Are we off the bridge?!" You scream. "Yes!" "Is the old man with the walker still alive?!" You scream again. "Yeah! He got right back up!" You shakily open your eyes and see you're in a driveway in front of a huge red house. "See?! Got you here safe and sound!" She smiles wide at you both. You just stare at her, dumbstruck. Anon is panting hard behind you. "Pinkie.... What... the hell... was that?" "Those were my driving skills!" She says. "Pretty good, huh?" Anon takes a few more deep breaths, but Pinkie interrupts him before he can answer. "Oooh! I'll go inside and let everyone know you're here!" She exits the car and runs up the snowy steps to the front door, leaving you and Anon in the car. You both sit in your respective seats, not moving, still trying to catch your breath from the ride. You still haven't let go of your seat. Anon takes a deep breath behind you. "We, uh... *ahem* We better get inside." You gulp. "Oh- Okay..." "You alright?" He asks. "Y- Yeah... I'm fine now." You sigh and release your seat. It hurts to move your fingers, you were gripping it so hard. You bend your fingers back and pop a few joints in them. The rear door opens and Anon walks over to your door. You get outside and take a step in some fluffy white snow. Sweet Celestia, it's cold. You shiver a little and zip up your coat. "Brrr! Its freezing out here!" Anon smiles and shuts the door behind you. "Yep, it sure is." Ooh! Perfect opportunity to be cute! You put on your best puppy-dog eyes and look at Anon with a small smile. "...Keep me warm, Nonny?" He gets an "aww" look on his face right when you said that. You're getting good at this, Shimmer. "Oh, of course I will, Sunny Bunny!" He smiles. Sunny Bunny? Oh shoot! That's a new nickname, and you love it! Looks like he won this round of "who's cuter?". You'll get him next time though. You blush and leap into his arms. "Yay!" You hug each other tight. He's such a sweetheart. You can't believe how much you love him. He rubs your hair and you look up at him with a smile. He smiles back and moves some of your hair out of your face. You get on your tippy toes and close your eyes as your lips meet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-c0R7WPUFY You move your arms around his waist and pull yourself closer to him as you kiss. He places a hand behind your head and gently strokes your hair. You both slowly end the kiss and look into each others' eyes after a few long moments. Everything is calm; silent. The snow falling around you makes the world seem like its standing still. Frozen. It's almost surreal how much you can't hear right now. Nothing else exists right now. Nothing, except you and Anon. Anon... The one who's done everything for you. He took you in, clothed you, fed you, kept you warm, and showed you compassion. He didn't have to, he chose to. He makes you feel happy. Loved. He's your new dream come true. He's your everything. --- She's so beautiful. Especially right now. This is probably the most beautiful you've ever seen her since you've known her. Nothing could take her away from you. You don't say anything to each other. You just stare at her beautiful face. In spite of everything bad that's happened lately, like losing your home and your job, none of it matters now. Because now, you have her to help you. With her, you can make it through anything. She's your everything. --- Now, Sunset. Tell him now. --- Now, Anon. Tell her now. --- You slowly wrap your arms around his neck and rest your chin on his shoulder. --- You take her in your arms and cradle her head softly. "I love you." "I love you." You shut your eyes and smile. She said it too, right when you did. At the same exact time. You continue to stroke her beautiful hair and softly kiss her cheek. "I love you, Sunset Shimmer." You feel her squeeze you tighter. "And... I love you." She pulls away and looks at you. She's crying, but it's a happy cry this time. She smiles and lets out a small laugh. "I love you so much, Anonymous." She comes in for another kiss, and you immediately return it. You're on the verge of tears yourself. You hold each other in your arms and lovingly kiss each other right there in the snow. You're both cold, but neither of you care. After a few minutes of kissing, you break away and look at each other. A few tears did manage to escape, and you wipe them off your cheek. She smiles and does the same. You spend another few moments just looking at each other silently. You sniff and give a small chuckle. "Thank you, Sunset." She smiles and hugs you again. "Thank you, Anon." You hug for a few more moments before she releases one arm and goes to your side. "Lets go inside, love." You smile at her and give her another kiss. "Alright, love." You both start walking toward the Apples' front door. Upon reaching it, you look at Sunset's beautiful face one more time and smile. You turn the doorknob and enter the house.