It was a beautiful day in early spring, birds who had recently returned from the south were chirping in the trees above, and the rivers joyfully flowed through the forests after a season of being frozen over. The citizens of the grand city of Canterlot were bustling about, a few hanging out with their friends after a long day of school, others returning home from work, some shopping in one of the many busy malls, and a couple simply taking a walk.
On this particular day, Sunset Shimmer was part of the former, or rather, she was about to be. She had called her friend Rainbow Dash over to meet her at Sugarcube Corner around 5 o’clock. She was going to make a confession she'd been holding back for a long time. It was about her secret crush on Rainbow, and with Valentine's day having passed recently, Sunset decided it was about time to reveal her secret. She was walking along the familiar path that would take her to Sugarcube Corner, nervously glancing around until she finally reached her destination. Taking a deep breath, she walked in, praying she had gotten there before her athletic friend.
After looking around the store for a few moments, Sunset let out a sigh of relief as she had gotten there early enough to prepare. She bought a tea and a coffee for herself and Rainbow respectively. The coffee with some added sugar, just how she knew Rainbow liked it.
After purchasing the two beverages, she sat down at a free table and waited while thinking to herself. Okay, Sunset, you can do this. You've been planning this moment for months. You can't screw up now!...But...what if she rejects you, and after that, we become distant, and then eventually stop being friends!? Sunset bit her lip at the thought and started to panic, but then she took a deep breath and relaxed. Don't worry yourself so much, she is the Element of Loyalty for a reason. Just...try to think about how it could go right! Yeah, that'll prepare me for this. Just gotta think positive! And so, Sunset did just that, thinking happy thoughts for about 10 minutes before Rainbow finally arrived and saw Sunset.
Walking up to her, Rainbow said nonchalantly, "Hey, what's up?" breaking the fiery-haired girl out of her trance-like state.
"Oh, h-hey Rainbow. I'm good, thanks." With that, an awkward silence settled over the two friends for a few seconds, before Rainbow broke it.
"So, you wanted to talk to me?" Rainbow asked, sitting down across from Sunset and noticing the two drinks standing on the table.
"Oh, right. Well..." After a few more failed starts and stumbles, she sighed. "Saaaay, the weather's nice today, huh? I ordered a coffee with a bit of sugar for you, if you want it." Rainbow looked at the drink closest to her, and picked it up, taking a small sip before setting it back down.
"Yeah, yeah, the weather's decent today, but I'm pretty sure you didn't call me all the way over to Sugarcube Corner to talk about that." Sunset gulped. Rainbow was right.
So much for calming myself down, Sunset said to herself, tapping her fingers on the table. "Er, you're right. I didn't call you for that," she admitted. "I wanted to see you here because it would be better if I told you in person...I wanted to say..." Sunset mumbled something Rainbow couldn't hear, and when she asked the former Unicorn to speak up, Sunset raised the volume of her mumbling, however it was still incoherent.
"Come on, Sunset! I don't have all day! In fact, I have soccer practice with Indigo Zap later, as in, really soon!" Rainbow said with irritation, her patience growing thin.
Taking a deep breath, Sunset looked Rainbow straight in the eyes and said, "I love you, Rainbow."
The rainbow haired girl looked at her friend with shock, everything in the world around her seemingly frozen. Her shock only grew when Sunset leaned forward for a kiss. It wasn't a kiss on the cheek, it wasn't a peck on the lips, it was a full on kiss, filled with passion and warmth. Sunset's eyes bolted wide open as she realized what she had done and quickly drew back.
Everything was dead silent for a long time, and Sunset looked away in embarrassment.
Stupid, Sunset, stupid! I can't believe I just did that! Now there's no way she'll-, Sunset's self-scolding was abruptly interrupted when Rainbow, like Sunset, jumped forward and kissed her.
Sunset was taken aback at first, but soon let the moment take her away and she closed her eyes, holding the back of Rainbow's silky, long hair; Rainbow doing the same to her. She, like Sunset, was surprised with herself, but quickly started to relax and focused on this perfect kiss.
After almost a full minute, the two reluctantly separated their lips, and just gazed into each other's eyes longingly for awhile, before Rainbow finally spoke. "Well, that was...something." Sunset nodded her head, a blank look on her face. "Soooo," said Rainbow. "I guess you're asking me out on a date?" Sunset nodded again, her expression now a hopeful one. Rainbow smiled and cheerfully accepted. "Sure! But, before that, I want to tell you a secret." Sunset was intrigued now and leaned forward to hear.
After looking around for a few seconds, Rainbow whispered, "I've actually had a crush on you since before the Fall Formal, back when you were, you know, kind of evil. Don't tell anyone, or else people are gonna start thinking I'm a masochist or something."
Sunset blinked before breaking out into laughter. Rainbow began laughing too, but then she said, "I'm not joking about that first part." Sunset stopped and stared at her.
"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even though I was so cruel to you back then?"
"Yeah, you were pretty bad, but the great things about you more than made up for your not-so-good ones. You were strong, smart, pretty, a quick runner, and overall near perfect. Ever since you've stopped being evil, you've only gotten better." Rainbow spoke with an uncharacteristic softness, her tone along with her words pleasing Sunset.
"So, how about we go see a movie?" Sunset asked, a wide smile on her face. She then recalled something and added, "The new Daring Do movie is in theaters now."
Rainbow brightened up and answered enthusiastically. "Sure! I just need to tell Indigo that I have to cancel practice today." Sunset nodded in agreement, then waited while Rainbow texted her fellow athlete. Tapping the send button, Rainbow finally said, "Alright, let's go see that movie!"
And with that, they left to see the Daring Do movie. After that, the new couple ate dinner together at a fancy restaurant, chatting together in between mouthfuls of food. Following dinner, Sunset invited Rainbow over to her house, where they talked some more, played video games (most of which Rainbow won), and watched some more movies (many of which were previous Daring Do films), until it was finally time for Rainbow to go.
Sunset and Rainbow stood by the door, the former looking at her new girlfriend with a frown, and the latter getting ready to head back home. Rainbow said with sadness in her voice, "I guess this is the end of our first date."
Sunset spoke with equal melancholy, "Yeah, but if you're not busy, maybe we could go out again tomorrow?"
The athlete beamed upon hearing this and hastily replied. "Yeah, that'd be great! Same time, same place?" she asked. Sunset nodded, and so Rainbow began to make her way out of the house, but before that, Sunset gave her a quick peck on the lips.
Rainbow returned the kiss, and afterwards, she waved and began to walk the short distance back to her home. She turned around when Sunset shouted a quick “ Bye!” in her direction and answered it with a smile before continuing on her way home.
Sunset just watched for a few seconds, before reluctantly closing the door. Despite the fact that their date had ended, she grinned, as this was the start of a hopefully long and happy relationship.