Sundays before the exam week in Crystal Prep usually went without any drama, other than for first years who didn't have time to get used to rigorous educational standards that put most high end universities to shame. Anyone who passed their first year was already used to sacrificing an entire day studying for the upcoming week and not even an hormone fueled emotional rollercoaster could disturb it. The Shadowbolts wondered if it was enough to divert the attentions of Sunny and Coco just long enough for them to get over their differences.
It wasn't.
From morning until the lunch break nothing shook up the recent status quo, with the two girls actively avoiding each other, never looking at the other for longer than two seconds, and remaining relatively silent even without the other one nearby. If someone was looking for a silver lining, at least Coco regained half her appetite and kept sighing over half a plate of her leftover spaghetti, before quietly excusing herself and pushing the leftovers toward Lemon Zest, who happily accepted it without a question, not once leaving her eyes off her phone. Once she left the cafeteria, the Shadowbolts (except Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest) finally let out a massive groan.
Sour Sweet hit the table with her forehead. "I don't know how much more of it I can take!"
"That's a good question," Sunny Flare said "how long does it usually take to get over a broken heart?"
Sugarcoat shrugged. "It depends on the person. It took me two weeks to get over my ex-boyfriend."
Sour Sweet buried her face in her hands. "Ugh, I don't think I can stand two more minutes!" She said, Sunny Flare and Indigo Zap both nodded.
A few seconds passed.
"Wait," Indigo said "YOU had a boyfriend!?"
Sugarcoat blinked, then looked away. "Yes, in the middle school. He was a jerk, so I don't like to talk about him. Lemon Zest had one too, in case you wonder... a different one, so you don't need to make weird comments. He wasn't that big of a jerk, though." She pointed at their absent friend, then noticed a very surprised look on the other three's faces.
A few seconds passed.
"Don't tell me none of you had boyfriends before?" She asked, but instead of answers she only got diverting eyes and quiet whistling. She nodded and made a note to herself if she ever needed some leverage against her friends.
Not long after that revelation, Sour Sweet caught something uncomfortable nearby.
"Uh, oh!" She prodded her friends and discreetly pointed at their least favorite awkward scene.
A meek, spooked Coco stood stiff a short distance away from an equally stiff Sunny, with a face that found a compromise between stubborn ignorance and inner hurt. Neither had their gaze set straight, both avoiding eye contact, yet somehow always found themselves in random places, no matter how much both tried. It was times like these they hoped this would be the one time one of them spoke up, no matter which one, and at least say a single word that would hopefully push them one step toward making up. They didn't. It always ended up just like today, with Sunset Shimmer being the first one to start walking forward past Coco, who fought hard not to turn after her.
The Shadowbolts collectively groaned.
"Ugh, I swear they're made out of magnets!" Sour said, then Sweet added with a smile. "I can't wait for this to be over already!"
"I wouldn't let my hopes up high." Indigo Zap said, watching as Sunset Shimmer went right past their table, also avoiding their sight as well, though at a cost of bumping into Lemon Zest, almost making the other girl fall on the ground, only miraculously grabbing the edge of the table to keep herself balanced. Sunny only cast a cursory glance back, before rushing away without a word.
"WATCH IT, WILL'YA!" Lemon Zest yelled at the running girl, lowering her headphones to her neck. "Sheesh, at least say sorry or something," she rolled her eyes and looked at the other four "can you believe her? What got into her all of a sudden anyway?"
She was met with four deadpan stares. Sour Sweet couldn't roll her eyes harder if she tried. "Gee, I wonder..."
"I mean, I know she doesn't like us all that much, but she's been extra bitchy lately, for no reason whatsoever!"
The other four looked at each other and exchanged tired and annoyed expressions.
"Yeah, no reason at all."
"Talk about being clueless."
"I'm torn whether Lemon Zest should stay in her world longer or get out more often.
"Like, seriously..."
Lemon Zest blinked and looked at her so called friends. "And on that note, you four have been acting extra rude lately as well."
Sour Sweet gagged and looked away. "Geez, you think?"
Lemon pointed at Sour. "Yeah, that's what I mean! I'm used to occasional sarcasm and all that, but this is getting out of hand! You don't even talk to me anymore (not like we talked much in our room anyway, but still). Did I do something wrong that I don't remember?"
Sour Sweet didn't even bother to turn to her when she started talking. "Oh my god, how dense can you be? Read the mood sometimes and think before you do something." She didn't notice Lemon Zest's eyebrow when it started twitching. "Or, if you're incapable of thinking, just don't do or say anything. For our sake." Or her teeth clenching until it was too late. "How can one of the top 5 students be so stu--"
SLAM!
The talk, all the talks in the cafeteria, stopped the moment Lemon Zest's hands slammed with the loudest crash on their table. Whatever squeeks all other Shadowbolts (and most other students) made in response were drowned in the echo made by a really angry, green haired girl.
"THAT'S ENOUGH! I've had it with all these passive aggressive jabs and silencing everything I do! If you have something against me, then either straight up tell me here and now what the hell is wrong straight to my face so I can apologize, or tell me to get the hell out of your lives already so I can find friends that actually talk to me!"
All eyes went wide at Lemon Zest's uncharacteristic behavior, not only from her four friends, but the rest of the students in cafeteria. The few smart ones quietly distanced themselves, while the less savvy ones stood by and observed... until her eyes glanced at them, at which point they quickly retreated away from her potential wrath. The other Shadowbolts didn't say anything for a moment, too shocked and scared of Lemon Zest. Even Sugarcoat, despite her everchanging pokerface, couldn't form a sentence.
A voice behind Lemon was the first to break the silence.
"Miss Zest, yelling on the school's property goes against the rules and I need to reprimand you for disru--"
"NOT. NOW!" Lemon interrupted, standing tall with her hands crossed and eyes still drilled into other Shadowbolts. "We're having an emergency friendship meeting right now! Please don't interrupt us, thank you very much!"
Non-Zesty Shadowbolts blinked. Students that didn't escape blinked as well. Dean Cadance also blinked. She raised her finger and opened her mouth, but decided against doing anything else. She cleared her throat and stepped back.
"I-I see," she scratched her head, still looking at the back of Lemon Zest's head "w-well then, do carry on. A bit calmer, i-if that's not a problem..."
"Sure thing."
"R-right… as you may." Dean Cadance looked around, then slowly turned and walked away very confused.
Few seconds after she was gone, Lemon Zest still towered over her four petrified friends. "Well?"
They looked at each other and shrugged. Sunny Flare answered first. "You mean you really don't know?"
"YES!" Lemon Zest yelled exasperatedly. "I mean, no! That's why I'm yelling!"
A few more confused glares were exchanged. "You really don't know anything? About Sunny not me and Coco?"
Lemon raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"
Even more even more confused looks were exchanged.
Sour Sweet asked. "Wait, really? You really don't know about their fight?"
Lemon's eyes widened. "They did what? When did that happen?!"
As most of them tried their hardest not to fall off their chair, Sugarcoat fixed her glasses. "I think we should start from the beginning..."
One long explanation, with detailed exposition of events happening since thursday evening until this morning later...
"...and then she bumped into you. And that's where we are now." Sugarcoat finished, taking a sip of her juice at the end.
Over the course of the story Lemon Zest's anger slowly melted away, as she sat down and listened carefully with wide eyes until they got to Saturday's mall adventures, during which she started massaging her temples and did so for the rest of the tale. She didn't interrupt her fellow Shadowbolts as they alternated telling the story and it wasn't until about ten seconds after they fell silent that she said anything.
"So, all this time Coco was hanging out with us...?" Lemon asked.
"It's because she didn't want to be near Sunny. The other one, not yo-"
"WE GET IT!"
"Okay, I have one question," Sour Sweet asked sweetly (finally!), then turned sour "how on earth did you miss all that!? We've been talking about this for DAYS!"
Lemon's eyebrow twitched. "Because THESE," she pointed at the giant headphones on her neck "are really, really loud! We've been over this many times before, if you want me to know something, you tell me when they're not on!"
Indigo crossed her arms looking at Sour Sweet. "You mean you didn't tell her anything?" The others joined in on the Sourgazing.
"What, Lemon not knowing things is my fault now?" Sour Sweet asked, getting four annoyed stares in returned.
"But seriously," Sunny Flare rolled her eyes and went back to Lemon "it didn't strike you as weird that Coco has been hanging out with us all this time?"
Lemon shrugged. "No. We've been meaning to include her in our group since we came back from the Friendship Games, but someone," she eyed each of them one by one for a few seconds "thought the timing was never right. And that someone wasn't me. And then Sunset Shimmer happened and it was all fine and dandy... until you broke it."
"And how is that OUR fault?" Sour Sweet protested.
"Everything was going fine until you pushed her into confessing!"
"Oh sure, cause if it happened later everything would've turned out so much better!"
"You don't know that!"
"Neither do you!"
"At least I didn't tell her to ruin her friendship!"
"You didn't do anything except ignore everyone around you!" She stood up and pointed her finger at Lemon Zest. "Like you always do!"
The girl in question recoiled, then shook her head and stood up. "W-well, I-I... I wouldn't be avoiding you if you weren't such a... such a... such a bitch half the time!"
Sour Sweet gasped, her eyebrow twitching. "I-I... well, now I'm pissed all the time thanks to you!"
"At least you're consistent now!"
"You were more bearable when you were silent!"
"Then maybe we should stop talking altogether!"
"Maybe we should!"
"Fine!"
"FINE!"
SLAM!
"ENOUGH!" Sunny Flare yelled as she slammed her hands on the table. It wasn't nearly as shocking or scary as when Lemon did it before, but it did the job, as Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest sat on their chairs, hands crossed and looking away from each other.
They went silent for a longer while. Lemon Zest almost reached for her headphones right then and there, but resisted the urge, just as Sour Sweet opened her mouth, but closed it after some thought. Indigo sighed heavily at the two and remained silent, as did did Sunny Flare.
After a minute of agonizing silence Sugarcoat was the first one to break it.
"We are really awful at friendship."
The others snickered and nodded, the tiniest of smiles of ironic defeat appearing on their faces.
Indigo spoke first. "You'd think that after helping save the universe from collapsing on itself we would've been better at it."
Sunny Flare smiled. "In all fairness, the people at school became a lot more bearable since Friendship Games."
"It didn't take much for that."
Sour Sweet shrugged. The table became silent again, though for a short moment this time.
"Sour Sweet?" Lemon Zest said first. "I'm sorry I called you a bitch. You're actually really cool if given time to know you better."
Sour Sweet blushed. "Thanks. And I'm sorry for not telling you anything and assuming you're the worst. You could still leave your world a bit more often, though."
Lemon smiled. "So, we're good again?"
"I guess we are."
"Hugs?"
"Don't push it!"
She didn't push, but was a little disappointed anyway. Their other two emotionally able friends chuckled at the two and Sugarcoat was just glad this was over with. A few moments after that, Lemon's smile faded again as she realized something.
"If I had known what was going on I would have never given her that unicorn!" Lemon said, her head buried in her palms. "She probably thought I was mocking her!" She was surprised to feel a hand patting her back.
"We know you wouldn't do it on purpose," Sour Sweet said gently "you're clueless, but not cruel."
Lemon blinked at her unusually Sweet roommate, then at her other friends who nodded back at her.
"Thanks, I guess..." She wasn't used to warm fuzzies, but wasn't against them at all.
Indigo suddenly stood up. "Okay, enough talking about friendship," she announced and started slowly walking away from the table "time to start acting on it!"
The other Shadowbolts looked at each other and shrugged.
"Where are you going?" Sunny Flare asked.
"To find Sunset Shimmer. This thing is getting out of control and I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" She announced coldly, making the others sweat cold at the thought.
Sunny Flare stood up and quickly followed her. "I'd better follow her and make sure she's not getting any weird ideas!"
The others nodded and let the two leave the cafeteria. After a few moments in silence, Lemon Zest finally spoke.
"Indigo's right! We started this whole mess, in a way, we should at least try and fix it!"
Sour Sweet crossed her arms. "Do you really want to risk messing something up again?" Pause. "Not saying you will, but the last time we got involved..."
Sugarcoat answered instead. "I can't stand watching them be miserable apart any moment longer."
"Didn't you say to give them more ti--?"
"I know I said we should give them more time, but I changed my mind. The sooner they get back together, as lovers or friends, doesn't matter, the better for everyone." Pause. "I don't want to see Coco depressed anymore."
There were so many ways to express their surprise at their friend's sudden display of empathy, so many ways to tease her or turn it into some sort of joke at her expense. That's what the old Shadowbolts would've done. That's what didn't cross the new ones' minds. Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.
"Then I guess we should go find her!" Sour Sweet announced, getting Sugarcoat's attention. "Indigo and Sunny not that one are after Sunny that one, so that leaves us to deal with Coco... wherever she is."
Lemon Zest put a finger to her chin. "We have classes in twenty minutes, so she's definitely not back in the dorms, so she's somewhere in the school. But where?"
"SHIMMER!"
Sunny stopped on her tracks and sighed. She didn't want this and would rather keep walking. Running. Teleporting away from Indigo Zap calling her in the middle of the hallway. Unfortunately, not only there were witnesses around, but she was pretty sure Indigo was the type of person who wouldn't stop until she finally caught up to her, no matter the time and distance. Sunny took a deep breath and turned toward the goggled girl.
"What do you want, Zip?" She spoke through her teeth.
Indigo's eyebrow twitched. "It's Zap! Indigo Zap!"
Sunny rolled her eyes. "Awesome. Whatever. What do you want? Wait, don't tell me, I don't care!" Then she turned around and started walking again, hoping this would discourage her.
It didn't.
"Why are you running away?" Indigo asked. "Are you scared?"
Sunny stopped on her tracks... but only for a second, before resuming her walk.
She snorted. "If you're going to call me a chicken, then don't bother. I don't want to talk with anyone, much less with you!"
Indigo watched Sunny increase the distance between them, but it didn't stop her from smirking as she said one more thing.
"I never said I wanted to talk!"
Sunny stopped again. She slowly turned her head back, one eyebrow raised in confusion. Indigo stood where she originally was, hands crossed and smirking slyly. Sunny Flare was just a few feet behind her, massaging her temples, resisting the urge to say 'you gotta be kidding me'.
Coco sighed deeply. The warm, spring wind touching her skin and hair felt very pleasant and relaxing, but she couldn't shake the bad thoughts off of her head. The panoramic view from the roof over the streets did very little to distract her mind. She turned around and leaned over the rails and looked at the small garden on the rooftop. She wanted to forget, even if for a short while, yet still subconsciously picked one of the many places that reminded her of... her. This is where they became friends. This is where she extended her hand, despite knowing her for less than a combined hour at that point.
She turned back to the streets of Canterlot City and leaned even lower. Anything in the school reminded her of Sunset Shimmer, her Sunset Shimmer. Sunny. Even Suri's lonely Fashion Clubroom would've found a way to bring back Sunny to her mind (easy: that's where she complimented her dress for the first time). Even the sidewalk down below waited to show her a detailed ghostly image of a clumsy, overworked and overslaved little girl when she first saw her hero.
This is literally the worst, she thought looking deep down over the railing I should've known it was going to end like this from the beginning. That's what I get from asking the universe for more than I dese--
"STOP! DON'T MOVE!"
Coco squealed as she heard someone shout at her, but didn't even get time to turn around...
SLAM!
...when she was suddenly tackled face straight into the ground! After the initial shock wore off, quite quickly, and adrenaline took over she began trying to squirm away from... whoever was atop her back, holding her by the arm to boot!
"Ugh, what, I-I'm sorry, I-I mean, let me go!"
"Trust me Coco, this is for your own good!"
Coco stopped squirming. "Lemon Zest?" She turned her head as much to the side as she could, but only caught a glimpse of familiar lime green hair above her.
"I know life seems pointless, but please think this through!"
"Wha-what are you--"
"I mean, it sucks to be shot down by your first love, and best friend, but I promise you it gets better!"
"I don't understand--"
"You will understand someday, I promise! Look, we don't know each other too well, but think of how we'd feel if you just ended your life here!"
"...wait, what? I wasn't--"
"So before you jump and create a scandal for Crystal Prep, let us help you and be the frie--"
"I WASN'T GOING TO JUMP!"
A wind passed by, making Lemon Zest's hair dance chaotically.
"You weren't?"
"YES! I mean, I wasn't going to jump, or do anything like that," she sighed into the concrete "I don't want to create any more problems for everyone..."
"...oh. Good. I'm glad. Tehe... whoopsies!"
A facepalming sound could be heard just a few meters away. Coco couldn't see who it was, but she quickly recognized them when they started talking.
"I tried to tell you," a Sweet voice started, before ending Sour "but why would you ever listen to me?"
"I was going to say the same thing, before you rushed without warning" Sugarcoat said "Coco isn't the sort of person to do something so selfish in a way that would inconvenience her peers or create a reputation shattering controversy for the school, and most of all make Sunset Shimmer feel guilty over her sui--"
"SUGARCOAT!"
"...I'm sorry. I said too much."
One awkward pause later, Lemon Zest coughed. "Anyway, I admit it was dumb of me to assume something this... grim. But I'd rather make a stupid mistake and look like a fool than do nothing and let a tragedy happen!"
Coco couldn't help but smile. "That's... that's very sweet of you. Unsettling, but sweet nonetheless."
Lemon laughed weakly. "Hey, anything for my friends. If you want to call me that, that is..."
Despite not seeing her face, Coco could imagine the kind of hopeful and shy face Lemon was no doubt making. She couldn't say no to that mental image.
"Yeah, I would call you that," she said, hearing a gasp of joy in response "and speaking of doing anything..."
"Yes? What do you need?"
"Get off me. Please."
Sour Sweet sighed deeply and turned away, while Lemon Zest let Coco's arm go, helped her stand up and frantically pat the dirt off of her uniform, apologizing all the while. Here's hoping Indigo and Sunny Flare are doing better than us...
Sunny, as in Sunset Shimmer of Crystal Prep, contemplated quitting. She looked at her hands, covered by the small, red boxing gloves she was wearing, which matched the color of the faceguard she had on her head, right below her long, wavy hair now tied neatly in a bun. Instead of her usual uniform she wore spare gym clothes, consisting of a long grey jersey pants with red lines running on them, a matching zipped long sleeved hoodie of the same colors, ending with white running shoes on her legs. Standing in front of her a few meters away was her opponent. Indigo Zap wore a similar getup, with red color switched to blue, obviously. Further to their respective right and left was Sunny Flare, still in her uniform, carefully watching the two girls with her arms crossed.
"For the record," Sunny Flare said when her gaze meet the other Sunny "I'm just here to make sure you don't kill each other. And probably call an ambulance after it's over."
Sunny, not Flare (this is getting REALLY confusing!) shrugged and looked back into how this all started... about ten minutes ago.
When Indigo said she didn't want to talk, Sunny was curious enough she somehow got herself provoked into accepting a duel with Indigo Zap, to see which one of them is stronger. That's it. There was no other reason, at least that was what Indigo claimed. Sunny was just about to turn on her heel and walk away, but Indigo brought up one good point that made her reconsider.
"I will never stop asking!"
Sunny Flare attested to that. Apparently it took Indigo a full month of pestering to become Sunny Flare's friend, though the full story was shrouded in mystery. If ignored, Indigo wouldn't stop pestering her no matter what and she had the eyes of someone who would absolutely dedicate her life to that! Begrudgingly, Sunny accepted the challenge on the condition that no matter who was the winner, there wouldn't be any rematches. Indigo was more than happy to accept those conditions, only asking for a fair fight. While the thought of letting her win was a tempting easy solution, the prospect of breaking her nose was even more attractive.
And that's how they ended up in the small practice room in the basement. It had a hard wooden floor, white walls and a giant mirror with railings on the wall. It was thankfully bright with electric lighting, since no sunlight reached this place. What was once exclusively a ballet room was eventually shared by other clubs, like drama, kendo, archery and yes, even Muay Thai. Indigo was the only girl in it, but it still had two sets of female uniforms, just in case someone joined or picked a fight with Indigo. She wasn't sure if she was the first one it happened to.
"No grappling or hitting when down." Indigo explained the rules. "We fight until one of us is knocked out cold or knocked down off their feet three times. You got that?"
"Yeah, sure. Let's get it over with."
"Oh yeah, and one more thing: no magic!"
Sunny rolled her eyes. "Geez, fine! I don't need magic to beat you! I don't want to kill you. All that much..."
Indigo snorted and looked at Sunny Flare. "I don't think she's treating me seriously!" She got an indifferent shrug in response.
Once ready to fight, the two stood a few meters away of each other, bumped fists and assumed combat stances, awaiting for Sunny Flare's signal.
"Ready? Three, two, one... FIGHT!"
The moment Sunny Flare finished saying the last word, Sunny was about to jump forward and start the offensive, but before she moved a single muscle, an impossibly fast fist flew right at her. Unable to dodge or block, Sunny took the hit right in the face. She recoiled back, shocked by the realization that the facemask and gloves might've been the only reason she wasn't knocked out cold, only stunned momentarily, but long enough for a follow up kick into her stomach, sending her flying backwards and hitting the floor.
She coughed a few times while massaging her stomach. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!
Sunny Flare announced the current score. "Indigo: 1; Sunset: 0."
Indigo chuckled, offering Sunny a helping glove. "So, do you wanna start over, or...?"
Sunset growled, smacking Indigo's glove away as she stood up on her own. She licked her teeth, making sure none of them were broken or chipped, then her lips. She tasted some of her blood and looked at the mirror to her right. Her upper lip was cut, but not enough to cause a concern. She took a deep breath and angrily turned to Indigo.
"IT. IS. ON!"
Indigo smiled viciously. Sunny Flare groaned, but didn't dare come any closer.
Meanwhile, a few vans parked just outside Crystal Prep school. As the door slid open, a young boy walked out and looked at the imposing building. He had a light yellowish skin and snow white, messy hair. He was dressed in all black: suit pants and black vest over a long white shirt.
"This is it, gentlemen," he said to the group of adult men only just leaving the van "the moment I've been waiting for." He smiled as he turned towards the entrance, with almost a dozen imposing, adult men behind him.
"I've been dying to meet you... Sunny!"