//------------------------------// // Saturday // Story: The Sun and the Shy: Shadows Rising // by Knight Light //------------------------------// Sunset had gotten up early despite it being a Saturday to get showered and ready before having to wake Fluttershy. Their date last night kept replaying in her mind, while nothing major happened, especially since they didn’t have school, it was still one of the most memorable nights Sunset had had in months. It started with a simple meal at the new Italian Restaurant where they were lucky to get seats, though Sunset suspected it was more because of her father. It didn’t matter though since Fluttershy and enjoyed the experience, excited to actually be able to dine in a place like that with non alcoholic champagne and a nice dinner with both avoiding stressful topics. The one takeaway Sunset had from the meal was that she learned Fluttershy’s interest wasn’t just from looks or a type of Stockholm Syndrome. Fluttershy had actually known things about Sunset, some maybe coming from what was in the materials about past indiscretions, but most being things she had never written down. Things that touched Sunset’s heart that the girl found out about her and remembered. The movie afterward was nice Sunset guessed, even if she was looking forward to see the new Daring Do movie. Seeing Fluttershy looking at a poster about the new animated movie about a panda doing martial arts. Seriously, a freaking panda doing martial arts! Yet it was obvious it was something Fluttershy wanted to see and to see the excited look when Sunset bought two tickets was worth sitting through the thing. It turned out not to be half as bad as she feared, and the obvious fun Fluttershy was having made it all the more worth it. When they got home though, it was late and time to head to bed really so Sunset had seen Fluttershy to the girl’s door and surprised her with a goodnight kiss. Saying their goodbyes, Sunset had retreated to her room to think about the night until getting a text from Chrysalis. Sunset and Fluttershy was expected to meet her for breakfast at the Pancake House to talk about something important. Knowing who the woman’s daughter was combined with Sunset and Fluttershy’s current plans, it didn’t take much to figure out the motive behind the meeting. Sunset was a little surprised it was Chrysalis and not Sombra contacting her, but in the end she realized once again it was probably because of who the woman’s daughter was. “Good morning Sunset.” Fluttershy greeted cheerily, reminding Sunset how much a morning person the girl could be when she wanted to while Sunset usually hated morning. “Morning Shy.” Sunset greeted with a kiss, “Get ready, we need to meet Chrysalis for breakfast.” “Please don’t tell me you are going to kill her in the middle of breakfast, blood doesn’t go well with, well anything really.” Fluttershy joked earning a smile from Sunset. “Don’t worry, I believe this is about our transfer. Chrysalis’s daughter is the vice-principal there, though everyone calls her Dean for some reason. Guess it sounds more fancy.” Sunset said rolling her eyes. “Well, let’s not keep her waiting then,” Fluttershy said, “Just give me a few minutes.” “Don’t worry, we have an hour before we have to leave. If you need help with your hair let me know,” Sunset said watching the over exaggerated sway in Fluttershy’s hips as she sashayed off to the bathroom with a grin thrown back over her shoulder. Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! When they finally sat down in the booth at the Pancake House, Sunset and Fluttershy sat next to each other while Chrysalis sat down in front of them with a knowing smile on her face earning a blush from Fluttershy and a glare from Sunset. Even with pancakes topped with whipped cream and strawberries didn’t keep Sunset from being a little ticked off with the woman despite her earlier reassurances to Fluttershy. “I’m happy to see you both seeming to get along so well. Sunset here really needed someone to be with, I’m happy she found someone who seems to care about her.” Chrysalis said as she dug through her briefcase before handing over two folders to the girls. “What’s this?” Sunset asked sliding the manila folder in front of her opening to see the contents. She had to admit she was impressed, everything she needed for Crystal Prep was already inside such as locker assignment, map, class schedule which consisted of the same classes she was already taking though the few that she took that matched Fluttershy’s were arranged to be at the same time with the same teacher. There were even student Id’s along with parking passes. “That is everything you both need to get started on Monday. There are just a few things I need to ask of you,” Chrysalis said as she sighed, visibly firming her resolve in preparations for an argument. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan to cause Cadence any problems.” Sunset said getting a shocked, yet relieved expression from the woman. Looking over to Fluttershy with a smile, “I’m trying to have a fresh start here, and I want to put that anger and resentment to rest. It’s time I grow up, right?” “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that, but there’s one more problem. Not really a problem, more like a simple fact. A small chance that you may run into somebody there that you may not like much,” Chrysalis said nervously, getting an impatient roll of the hand from Sunset signaling for the woman to get on with it. “I’m not sure if I should mention it before present company, no offense dear.” “Relax Chrys, Shy knows everything though she doesn’t exactly believe all of it.” Sunset sighs, getting a confused look from Fluttershy. “Mmm, going all out for your girlfriend, good for you.” Chrysalis purred, licking her lips seductively earning a kick from under the table. “OUCH! Fine! Fine! This world’s Twilight Sparkle goes to Crystal Prep!” “Twilight Sparkle?” Fluttershy asked trying to remember where she heard the name before, then remembered the journal. Especially how Sunset’s mother started drifting away and either ignoring Sunset or snapping at her. Sure it might sound stupid to some people, but suffering from both physical and emotional abuse from her father, it was easy to sympathize knowing both could hurt deeply in their own ways. And while Fluttershy wasn’t entirely sure of the whole story, or if Sunset’s mother even realized how bad of a mother she was being, she knew it didn’t change the fact that the actions pretty much related to emotional abuse. “She’s the one who changed everything,” Sunset said as she sighed, tears building in her eyes. Sure it was in the past, and it wasn’t even the same Twilight, but it still hurt, “Once my mother saw the magical flare Twilight produced and the cutie mark, I became just an afterthought. It was always about Twilight, about getting her ready while there was still time. It didn’t matter that I was her daughter, all my mom cared about anymore was Twilight!” “Maybe we should find another school.” Fluttershy said taking Sunset’s hand in her’s and leaning against her. “No, it’s fine. I know this isn’t my Twilight Sparkle. I don’t know if I can be friendly with her, but I can at least be civil,” Sunset said as she sighed again earning a proud look from Chrysalis. “I’m happy to see how much you have matured over such a short time.” Chrysalis said, taking on a serious though happy expression. “Thank you Fluttershy for pulling our little Sunny out of the darkness she seemed to enjoy wallowing in. OUCH!” “Keep it up, Auntie, and see if I don’t come up with something worse than last time,” Sunset growled after delivering another kick. “If I find more itching powder in my bra, I swear I will break out the embarrassing stories,” Chrysalis threatened making Sunset’s face pale in terror. She knew the woman across from her had more than enough stories on her to have Fluttershy laughing at her for years. “Fine, I’ll forgive you this one time, but next time you pull a stunt like you did I will have my revenge,” Sunset growled. “Sure you will,” Chrysalis giggled as she got up leaving a wad of money on the table to pay for all their food and a tip. Patting Sunset on her head, she gave them both a smile, “I have other stuff to take care for now kids, I will see you later.” “Are you okay there, Sunset?” Fluttershy asked getting a nod from Sunset. “Yeah, I’m thinking we should head to Crystal Prep and look around,” Sunset suggested getting a confused look from Fluttershy. “But it’s Saturday.” Fluttershy said slowly wondering if Sunset wanted to explore a mostly empty campus, or even if they were allowed. “Crystal Prep is different than CHS Shy. It’s a private school whose campus is open on Saturdays so students can pursue projects for class or for the different clubs. Though I’m not so sure about the clubs since I heard Cinch doesn’t really like them unless they tie in with academics,” Sunset explained, “Besides, we can get our uniforms from the campus store.” “You just want to see me in it, don’t you?” Fluttershy teased getting a smirk from Sunset. “Not going to lie, I bet you are going to look beautiful in it,” Sunset said smiling suggestively and wiggling her eyebrows earning a blush and giggle from Sunset. “Are you really okay with Twilight going there though?” Fluttershy asked with worry. “It’s a big school, I seriously doubt we will even run into her except in passing,” Sunset said brushing off the idea as the two finished up and left to head for the school in Sunset’s car. Fluttershy couldn’t help ducking down a little as they pulled onto the camps earning a lot of attention since Sunset’s car was worth more than a lot of people made in a year. Something that bothered Fluttershy, though she didn’t say much about it. “So, here’s Crystal Prep, how do you like it?” Sunset asked with a nervous grin while turning the car off. She herself had been there twice before when Chrysalis had given her a tour upon Sombra’s request. She didn’t really pay much attention to the students and surely didn’t remember mention of Twilight attending, but she didn’t really care who was there at the time. “It’s pretty nice,” Fluttershy remarked, looking cautiously out at the campus. It really was more than nice though, truth be told CHS had a nice campus. Crystal Prep had a great campus really and by the looks of Fluttershy’s growing interest as they walked one of the many paved paths after buying their uniforms. A uniform that Sunset couldn’t help burning in her mind after seeing it on Fluttershy. Something about it just wanted to make Sunset mutter, “Damn it!” over and over again. They were about to leave after avoiding most of the students when they walked up on two boys and a girl making fun of another girl as they circled her. Seeing Fluttershy’s worried expression, Sunset took a few moments to decide a course of action since she wasn’t sure how involved in trouble she should get the first day on campus when they haven’t even had their first official day yet. And then there was the fact that the bullied girl seemed to spark something in Sunset that she no longer seemed to like feeling since her time with Fluttershy began in that alley. Seeing the bullied girl about to cry after having her escape blocked off by one of the boys taunting her again settled any internal debate. Before she even knew what she was doing she stormed over to the four. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” Sunset demanded as she stood just a few feet away now taking up an intimidating stance as she glared at the three bullies. She couldn’t help holding back a twinge of guilt realizing she had hurt many others like this just weeks ago, including Fluttershy. “Mind your own business,” the first boy snorted as he glared at Sunset. “You idiot! Do you know who that is?” the second boy snapped out fearfully as the color drained from his face. “What are you doing here Shimmer?” the girl bully asked, glaring at Sunset though a hint of fear could be seen. “The Wonderbitch?” the first boy snorted, apparently knowing she was from CHS even though she was now a Shadowbolt technically. “So you three know who I am?” Sunset smirked, “So this will make things easier. Leave the girl alone, or deal with me.” “You think you scare us? Your school is shit and so are you,” the first boy said as the second one seemed to be shaking like crazy. “Just because you are top of the class there don’t mean anything since you’re off your turf!” “That’s funny seeing how I just bought my uniform for my new school,” Sunset replied showing the bag with the Shadowbolt’s school store’s logo on it. “You idiots! That’s Sombra’s daughter!” the second boy finally managed to get out shocking the two other bullies as they stared at him in shock. It seemed not only did her CHS reputation follow her, so did her familial ties despite nobody was supposed to really know except for a few. Just how bad of a secret was it? “Yeah right, you have to be kidding me,” the first boy laughed as he turned to look into Sunset’s serious expression. “He’s not kidding is he?” “Afraid not,” Sunset said with a sigh, deciding to go ahead and confirm it to make things easier. “So if you three would be so kind to leave my friend there alone, we will be going.” “Come on,” Fluttershy said motioning to the scared girl who hurried to Fluttershy’s side. “Look, we’re sorry; we didn’t know she was your friend,” the first boy said, fear beginning to creep into his voice. Not the way she wanted a fresh start to go, but Sunset admitted it gave her the results she was looking for in dealing with these bullies. “Just scram!” Sunset snapped causing the three bullies to jump and hurry away, scampering like scared little mice before a tiger. “Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her hair a little earning a nod from the bully victim. “That’s good, my name is Fluttershy and this is-“ “I’m Fluttershy’s girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset said, taking over for Fluttershy who gave her the biggest smile she has given yet. “What’s your name?” “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said making Sunset go stiff as she swallowed her anger, though with great difficulty. She kept reminding herself about the pitifully sad scene she and Fluttershy had walked into moments before. “Nobody here has ever stood up for me like that before.” “Well, we don’t like seeing someone getting bullied,” Fluttershy said, shooting Sunset a thankful glance for not having a meltdown at learning who they just rescued was. “You don’t?” Twilight asked skeptically while looking at Sunset with a little fear. “We don’t… not any more,” Sunset confirmed while giving a strained smile to this look-alike that had destroyed her chance of having a happy life with her mother. Yet if it didn’t happen, Sunset would never have met Fluttershy so maybe somehow it was for the best. “Would you like to get something to drink? Or maybe a ride somewhere?” Fluttershy asked timidly, giving a worried yet pleading look to Sunset who rolled her eyes with a quirk of her lip in good nature. Even trying to control her more negative feelings for Twilight, Sunset wasn’t going to punish Fluttershy for it. Thankfully Sunset had introduced her to another of her vehicles, a Maserati Quattroporte so they had more room for their purchases. “You want to get a drink…with me? As in hang out…with me?” Twilight asked, obviously skeptical. “Well yeah, that usually is what people do when getting a drink together,” Sunset quipped with a teasing smirk. Twilight shrunk in on herself a little before nodding slowly. “Okay,” Twilight squeaked out. It was hard to believe anyone could match Fluttershy for shyness when around others, yet it seemed that Twilight was able to do so as they went to a small café across the street from campus. As they walked over Twilight did send a message to her ride so they knew where to find her before the trio ordered their drinks and found a small table with a large umbrella overhead near the street providing them plenty of shade with a nice breeze blowing through. “So you are, uh, well new to Crystal Prep?” Twilight finally managed to ask as the three had been silent. Fluttershy had been keeping a close watch on Sunset from the corner of her eye gauging her mood while Sunset herself was trying to reconcile this version with what she was sure the one in Equestria was. This was a pathetic excuse for a replacement for the pony who stole her place with her mother. A pony who had probably had everything given to her and made a princess when Sunset’s own mother wouldn’t even announce Sunset as her daughter to most, claiming instead that she was her personal student. This version of Twilight seemed beat down and scared, though different from what happened to Fluttershy. From what Sunset had observed Twilight’s troubles came from the school though that left the question of what kind of idiot left their daughter to suffer in such an environment? “Yes we are, Fluttershy and I are transferring and start classes on Monday,” Sunset replied cautiously, watching Twilight’s strange expression while watching Fluttershy reach over to squeeze Sunset’s hand. “And are you two, like together?” Twilight asked growing a little worried. “Is that a problem?” Fluttershy asked, a little upset thinking that Twilight may not approve of it. “Not to me, there are a lot of couples that are girl-girl on campus. Just don’t let Principal Cinch know or see any PDA,” Twilight said, blushing a little as she sipped on her drink. “She’s very strict and personal relationships like that are banned. Any romantic relationships are highly frowned upon since it takes time that you could use to be studying.” “She doesn’t sound very nice,” Fluttershy said, though the steel Sunset knew could fill Fluttershy at anytime was making an appearance. It was easy to see what she was thinking, that she wouldn’t back down from their new and still developing relationship. “I’ll deal with Cinch if it comes to it. I’ve meet her a couple times and I’ve seen worse than her,” Sunset said shaking her head. “Please be careful, I’ve heard that Adagio was almost expelled just for standing up for one of her sisters,” Twilight said now getting a little worried. “Let’s not worry about that for now, let’s just relax and enjoy ourselves. Get to know each other,” Sunset suggested throwing back her drink and draining it quickly before waving down a server. “Can I please get another? And maybe some pastries for everyone?” “I don’t have enough on me for that, I had my money stolen earlier,” Twilight said looking down at her ice water making Sunset realize that Twilight was drinking a free water. “Don’t worry, it’s my treat,” Sunset said brushing Twilight’s concern for lack of funds off before turning back to the server, “And please bring my new friend here a chocolate shake.” “Sure thing,” The server said hurrying off to fill the order for Sunset. “Why did you do that?” Twilight asked in shock. “Better not to worry about it, I’ve learned when Sunset wants to treat those she likes she won’t take no for an answer,” Fluttershy smiled earning a huge blush from Twilight. “Not in that way!” Sunset cried out smacking her face in embarrassment as Fluttershy giggled, soon the other two joining in. With the ice broken, the three spend the next half hour just chatting away until a familiar woman came hurrying up toward them with a worried expression. Sunset noticed her look of disbelief at hearing Twilight giggle again at a joke Fluttershy had just told her. “Sunset…and Twilight?” Cadence asked, looking completely in shock. Being Chrysalis’s daughter, Cadence knew all about Sunset and her dislike for the pony who stole her life. All at once realization dawned on why Cadence always tried changing the subject when she was around and Sombra suggested a transfer to Crystal Prep before. “Cadence!” Twilight cried out jumping up to hug the woman. “There are my new friends Sunset and Fluttershy. Girls, this is my sister-in-law Cadence.” “Charmed,” Sunset said smirking to Cadence who looked nervous while her eyes darted back and forth between Sunset and Twilight. “Pleasure to meet you,” Fluttershy managed to squeak out hiding behind Sunset a bit, especially after sensing the friction between Cadence and Sunset. “Cool your jets there Caddie, I grew up and moved on from that crap thanks to Fluttershy here,” Sunset grinned pulling Fluttershy in front of her, hands on her hips smiling. “It’s nice to meet you Fluttershy,” Cadence said slowly, studying Fluttershy’s shy expression and Sunset’s amused grin. There was a spark in Sunset’s eye though that made Cadence herself smirk seeing the truth of the girl’s word. After all, she was known as the love doctor by some with an uncanny knack for setting people up successfully. “So you have been spending time here with little Twily?” “Caddie!” Twilight groaned with a huge blush hiding her face behind her hands. “We’ve become fast friends, isn’t that right?” Sunset said, getting a nod from Twilight. “I’ve never met someone else who knew as much as I did about scientific theory as Sunset. She’s a genius!” Twilight declared happily. Sunset couldn’t deny how fun it was talking with the girl at first about it before Fluttershy and Twilight actually managed to hit it off chatting about animals. It seemed Twilight’s family was a huge supporter for the local shelter making both girls surprised that it was where Twilight rescued Spike. It seemed the Sparkle family usually only donated money to them though which was probably why Fluttershy and Twilight never met before. It didn’t help that Cinch frowned on outside activities like jobs unless it increased a student’s academic standings in some way with the job request forms very difficult to get approved. “Well, I have to say it was nice hanging out with someone who could talk science,” Sunset said, genuine in her claim. “Shy here is smart too, but her field of choice is medicine and biology.” “I plan to be a veterinarian,” Fluttershy squeaked out, embarrassed from all of the attention. “A very good one I bet,” Sunset said hugging Fluttershy to her, resting her chin on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Can we maybe hang out again sometime?” Twilight asked earning a shocked expression from Cadence. “Sure thing, maybe next time we will meet under better circumstances,” Sunset said, waving as the two started walking away from them. “Wait, better circumstances?” Cadence cried out, her voice easily carrying back to Sunset and Fluttershy. “So, you seemed to like her. Should I be worried?” Fluttershy asked turning around in Sunset’s arms, a teasing grin forming. “After all, aren’t you both ponies?” “Different Twilight Shy, besides I thought you didn’t believe in magic,” Sunset said hugging Fluttershy a little tighter. “It’s not that I don’t believe something is going on, but you have to admit that without proof it is a little hard to believe in a pony world filled with magic,” Fluttershy said. “Well either way, there’s only one girl I care about in this way and it’s you. I’m afraid you are stuck with me,” Sunset said with a grin making Fluttershy squeal in delight before kissing Sunset passionately, happy the girl returned it. It wasn’t an admittance of love, but to Fluttershy it was the next best thing since she knew it was only a matter of time.