“Please. C’mon. You’ve humiliated me enough already, right?” Rainbow Dash pleaded, pupils small as she looked to the other.
“I’m sorry it had to be this way, Dash. Really, I am.” Sunset Shimmer shook her head.
“Sunset, please! Even after all we’ve been through together?!” The prismatic teen nearly begged, “It shouldn’t have to end like this!”
“Might I remind you that you are in fact the one that chose this path?” The fiery-haired girl grinned wickedly, rolling her neck out as she prepared to deliver the blow.
“Sunset, no!”
But it was too late. Far too late. Sunset proceeded to input the combo on the controller, her avatar in the game delivering a devastating finishing combo on Rainbow’s character, decapitating him with extreme prejudice.
“Player 1 wins!” The game boomed ceremoniously as the words appeared on screen to congratulate her.
“Noooooooo!” Dash declared dramatically, falling on her back with her hands grasping at her hair. She didn’t stay this way for that long whoever, quickly breaking down into entertained snickers.
Sunset quickly followed her friend, solemn expression melting away from her face, “Looks like I win again, Rainbow.”
“Dammit, Sunset! Ya know, I never have this kinda trouble with AJ!” She sat back up, attempting to defend her pride, and wrecked winning streak.
“That right? That why you accidentally knock the console whenever she starts to win?” Shimmer shot back with a smirk and raised eyebrow.
Rainbow Dash only crossed her arms, looking away in some attempt to hide her crooked smile. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about!”
Sunset rolled her eyes in amusement, “Right, right.” She shook her head, “Anyway. Thanks again for letting me stay over.” Glancing outside, she could see the sun peeking over the horizon. The snow glowed gently under the growing sunlight, illuminating the neighborhood in a gentle glow. No matter how many times she saw it, Sunset couldn’t help but be rather amazed by how humans managed to get along without controlling the weather. Especially given the sudden snow storm last night.
“No worries.” Dash replied with a grin, “Wasn’t about to let ya leave after that storm hit. I mean, your place is like...uh, how far away did you say your house is again?”
“Couple miles.” She lied with ease, “And my bike wouldn’t really do too well on the icy roads.”
“Then yeah, letting you stay was a no brainer. Besides, my dad thinks keeping you around might get me better grades or somethin’.” Dash snickered.
“What, do you want me to tutor you or something?” Sunset stood, checking the clock. 7:00. School was in an hour.
“Pssh, I know everything I need to know. It's just the ‘curriculum’ demands me learning more! Its bull!” Dash pouted.
“...science?”
“Science.”
“Yeah, that’s not my strongest subject either.” Sunset attempted to make Dash feel a bit better.
“You have the excuse of being from another world, and it's still an ‘A’ for you.” She responded, deadpan.
Sunset blushed a bit, “Well...okay, yeah.”
“I know where I stand, what I’m good at.” Dash shrugged, “Even still, not the kinda stuff I’d wanna be known for.”
“I guess I’d know all about that.” Sunset joked. Pinkie did say jokes were the best way to get over an awkward subject.
“No-I mean, that’s not where I was gonna take that.” Dash doubled back on herself. Sunset had made a point to talk to them about the ‘no offense’ thing they had been tossing around during the Battle of the Bands. Needless to say, they were being more careful about what they said.
Sunset shrugged, chuckling, “I know. I did. I’m no element of laughter, but I can try to be funny.”
Dash sent a sideways grin, “Well, could you try harder then?”
Sunset shoved her back to the floor, the blue girl cackling at her friend’s pout.
“Dash! Sunset! Are you two ready?” A voice called from another room in the house, “School’s soon! You two better not be asleep!”
Rainbow laughed, “We’re cool, dad!”
“We’ll be out the door in a moment, Mr. Blaze!” Sunset added, stretching, “Probably shoulda slept more and gamed less.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Rainbow shrugged, waving it off, “Had fun, got the science project done, we good.”
Sunset nodded, changing back into her regular attire that she had brought in her bag. “Yeah, glad we did too. Told you we shouldn’t have put it off so much. Would’ve saved us some much needed stress.”
“Noted for next time. For now, we should probably get out of here before we’re late.” Dash tugged her t-shirt over her head, “Don’t need another tardy detention.”
Sunset just shook her head, “C’mon, we need to head out. No way we’re driving on roads like that.”
“You’d think they’d close school for a day or two.” Rainbow snorted.
“Blame CISD for that. They may as well be the post office when it comes to operation.” Sunset rolled her eyes, pushing open the door into the main hallway.
Rainbow lived in a fairly sized house in the Cloudsdale district in the northern area of Canterlot. Single floor, three bedrooms, two baths. Quite a bit more plain than she would’ve expected from Rainbow Dash of all people. Despite feeling a bit awkward about, Sunset did eventually ask about it.
‘Eh, my dad’s the type that doesn’t spend more than he needs to.’ Dash had explained, ‘Besides, the folks like it up here. S’cozy, I guess.’
Rainbow Blaze came across as a pretty easy going guy, especially given Sunset’s experiences with Dash from before the Fall Formal. He was a retired sports star in his mid-forties and frankly, it wasn’t hard to see where Dash had gotten her athleticism from. However, given his rather relaxed nature, Sunset could only assume her friend’s temperament came from her mother...whoever she was.
Dash scarcely mentioned her mom and never by name. It almost seemed cryptic at times. All Rainbow had ever really said was that she traveled a lot and her line of work could be a bit perilous at times. When pushed further, Rainbow would just chuckle and reinforce the fact that she was “really cool”.
As the two exited into the foyer, Rainbow Blaze called from the kitchen, “Dashie! Don’t forget your lunch!”
“Daaaaad! Not while my friend’s over!” Dash blushed violently, pouting heavily as she swiped the brown sack.
Blaze chuckled, tousling her hair, “Lunch is important, Dashie.” Sunset had the decency to hide her laugh as Rainbow practically dragged her out the front door.
“Goodbye, Mr. Blaze, thanks for letting me stay over!” Sunset called behind her.
“Anytime, Sunset! Now try not to be late, you two!” He smiled after the two, going back to his cooking after the door shut.
Rainbow groaned, “Ugh, dad, why?”
“It seems like he means well.” She shrugged back.
“He does, it's just...ya know. Parents.” Dash rolled her eyes.
“...no.” Sunset admitted with a frown, “I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh, uh...right.” Dash reprimanded herself. It was times like this she wished she could be as eloquent as Rarity, or at least remember not to say things like that.
“Its...it's alright.” Sunset smiled, “It doesn’t really bother me that much.”
“Right...but, you had...someone in that role, right?”
“I suppose that would be Princess Celestia.” She admitted, “Before we started fighting that is.”
Dash rubbed the back of her neck. On the bright side, it suddenly felt a whole less cold outside. Sunset seemed to notice her discomfort.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. It was a few years ago. I’m not really...over it, but you shouldn’t feel bad for bringing it up. You’re only making conversation.” She smiled disarmingly.
Dash felt herself sigh in relief. She was never exactly the most socially skilled person in CHS, and she had a bit of track record for pissing people off in just a few sentences. In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t so unbelievable that Sunset had managed to split the five of them up with just a few fake texts.
“Even so…” Sunset sighed, glancing up at the snowy landscape. “It almost makes me miss Canterlot, my Canterlot. I haven’t been home for the holidays in a...long time.”
“Almost?” Dash asked, confused.
“Even if Twilight says I’ve been forgiven…” She scrunched her eyes closed, shaking her head, “The things I said to the Princess before I left, the things I did since then. I’m just not ready. Besides, I’d hate to put a damper on her holiday spirit.”
“Oh c’mon Sunset. Damper, you?” Dash wrapped an arm around her shoulder, chuckling, “You’re the life of the party! Remember that party Pinkie held before Thanksgiving?”
Now Sunset blushed, rubbing her arm and looking away, “How could I forget…?” She had been sure to double check from that point on to see if Pinkie had decided to make the refreshments more ‘fun’.
Rainbow laughed, “Relax! It's not like you were alone, but damn! Had no idea you could dance like that!”
“Didn’t know you were such a lightweight.” She fought back with a matching laugh. Pinkie Pie may have been the Element of Laughter, as Twilight had fully explained, but Dash still usually had a way of getting you to laugh with her.
“Hey! She didn’t say it was 192 proof! I enjoy it, I never said I was a drunkard like AJ!” Rainbow defended with a huff. “...don’t tell her I said that. Don’t wanna start shit this close to her annual party.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, Apple family Christmas party…” She nodded.
“Yeah, been awhile since I’ve gone.” She shrugged, “Lookin’ forward to it.”
“I may pass.”
“What? Why?” Rainbow asked in utter bewilderment, “We’re all friends, we’ve had parties, sleepovers, and crap before.”
“Well, this is beyond just friends.” Sunset frowned, “Its family.”
“And what? Do you think you’re not family to all us?”
This gave Sunset pause, glancing across Dash with a look of utter bewilderment. “I...what?”
Rainbow laughed, “You are family to all of us, Sunset. A close enough friend is family.”
Sunset smiled, if not a little haphazardly. “You think of me that way?”
“I think I speak for all the Rainbooms when I say, ‘hell yeah’!” Dash grinned, “Sure we had a rocky start, but that’s behind all of us. You mean the world to us, Sunset.”
Sunset smiled, nothing big, but something plenty honest and happy, “That...that means a lot, Rainbow Dash...thank you.”
Dash’s phone buzzed in her jacket pocket, “No worries, it's true. Hey, hang on a sec.” She nodded, pulling her phone out and checking the text. Something from Applejack. Friendship something, secret meeting, library, don't tell Sunset… Rainbow shoved the phone back in her pocket.
“One of the girls?”
“AJ sent a group text. Wanted to know if anyone had the English 4 homework.”
“I didn’t get anything."
"That’s ‘cause you’re an egghead in AP English.” Dash stuck out her tongue.
She rolled her eyes in response as they neared the school’s front entrance. “Not my fault the normal class is so easy.”
An orange freshman stood by the stairs leading up to the front doors. “...Rainbow Dash! Hey, hey, Rainbow Dash!”
“‘Sup, squirt?” Dash looked up, smiling at the freshman.
“I’ve been practising this new trick on my scooter! It even works in the snow! Can I show you?!” Scootaloo bounced.
“Maybe later, I gotta do some stuff right now.” Dash shrugged apologetically.
“Oh, okay, maybe after practice then?”
“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll catch ya later.” She nodded with a grin that the freshman returned. As Rainbow walked in and Scootaloo caught sight of Sunset waving a hello to her, the smile melted into a light frown, turning and walking away.
Sunset sighed, shaking her head. Even after defeating the Sirens, she still had an issue or two. Nearly everyone in her grade no longer seemed to have issues with her, same went for most below her. However, there were still a few harsh glares sent her way, the odd passive-aggressiveness earned from the other students, the younger ones especially. Not that Sunset blamed them of course. She had terrorised the school for nearly four years, and the freshmen had seen her at her apex. It wasn’t too surprising that they held a bit more animosity than the rest.
Entering the school, her gaze shot to the trophy wall. Dead center was the trophy case for the school. Band, sports, the odd spelling bee, they had at least one for every subject. Sadly they were mostly 2nd place, but that was the ire of the rest of the school rather than her's. To the right was the pictures of each graduating class, photos going back years. To the left however… Sunset groaned in annoyance.
“Again?” Dash noticed too. Four pictures hung on the left side of the cabinet. Each was dedicated to the winner of a newer CHS tradition, the Fall Formal. Three of these pictures however had been taken down five times now by Sunset herself.
“I swear when I find however keeps putting those back up…” Sunset ground her teeth. A few nearby students made their berth around her a bit wider. Reformed or not, a mad Sunset was still on the top 5 list for the scariest things to experience at Canterlot High, right above finding ash marks on the desks of Professor Discord’s 2nd class for the day.
“Eh, don’t let it get to you. They'll win that way.” Rainbow shrugged, “It's not a big deal anyways.”
“No.” Sunset sighed, giving the fourth image a passing glance, “I guess it's not.”
“That's the spirit, sort of. Anyways, gonna go tease AJ over not getting her work done for once.” Dash grinned, “Catch ya at lunch?”
Sunset nodded, “See you then.” With the final goodbye, the girls parted ways. Sunset to her locker, Dash taking a detour to the library.
“Hey! Girls! Over here!” Pinkie Pie called, waving enthusiastically.
“So what’s this big friendship emergency, AJ?” Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, was talking with Sunset on the way here from my place. She seemed fine...maybe a bit put out, but-”
“That’s exactly what’s wrong Rainbow.” Applejack nodded, tipping her hat back, “I was talkin’ to her jus’ the other day about the holidays an’ it got me to thinkin’. She’s been here on Earth for several years an’ she’s never gotten to spend this time of the year with friends or family!”
“That’s...an excellent point, Applejack.” Rarity raised a hand to her chin in thought, “Given her, well, situation in the past, she wouldn’t have anyone to spend it with! How awful!”
“So what’s your plan, AJ?!” Pinkie bounced in her seat.
“Well, she has us now, right? Of course we’re all gonna be celebratin’ Christmas at mah place, but what if we spent each night leadin’ up to the break at each other’s?”
Pinkie gasped, “Consecutive. Sleepovers!?”
“Why, that’s a lovely idea!” Rarity agreed, clasping her hands in delight.
“Oh, I’d love to!” Fluttershy agreed in her usual reserved demeanor.
“Yeah! That sounds like a great way to deal with some homesickness!” Dash pounded a fist into her palm, “...ya know...I don’t think I’ve ever been over to your place, ‘Shy.”
Fluttershy’s expression suddenly turned dour, “There’s...reason for that. Let me just check if he hasn’t come back yet.” She muttered to herself, texting her parents. An image of a certain blond art student flirting with her friends popped into her head. A second image of the same man passed out on the floor patterned with bruises came to mind. Fluttershy sighed.
None of the other four noticed this however, as Pinkie had jumped in before Fluttershy had finished her first sentence. “OOH! OOH OOH OOOOH! ME FIRST!” She bounced excitedly, “You girls all know parties are my LIFE! I should start us off!”
“Uh-sounds good to me, Pinkie!” AJ blinked, momentarily wondering why the bubblegum colored girl never jumped that high when in gym class.
“GREAT! I’ll tell Sunset!”
“You may wanna wait til-” A pink blur zipped by Rainbow, out the door. “Passing period...She does know that class is in 5 minutes, right?”
The others just shrugged in confusion.
Sunset sighed as she tossed her backpack into the locker with a metallic clang. She grabbed the rightmost book from the locker’s shelf and shut it with another clang.
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” The pink one behind the green door had her fists raised, body vibrating in time with the high pitched noise. She looked ready to explode.
Sunset’s face remained passive. ‘Don't engage, Sunset. Don’t engage.’