//------------------------------//
// The Somber Descent of Fall and Love 
// Story: The Seasons of Earth and Love 
// by RainbowSparkle3 
//------------------------------//

It was a magnificent day near the end of autumn. The leaves falling to the ground were painted in a brilliant mixture of red, yellow and orange. Accompanying the descending leaves was a hint of snow that marked the transition from fall to winter. Students had recently returned to the monotony of school life, and between sessions of stuffing their heads in a textbook, they glanced outside to witness the awe-inspiring dance of multi-colored leaves and pure white snow.
On this day, after school ended, Sunset walked out the school doors alongside Rainbow, the two holding hands. "Wanna come over to my place today?" asked Sunset.
Rainbow smiled, then answered, "Sure, I've got nothing planned today, so we can spend the whole day together." Sunset also smiled.
"Awesome! Alright then, let's go!" With that, the couple walked over to Sunset's home, and Sunset quickly unlocked the door before opening it. "Welcome to my home for just about the millionth time!" she announced, making Rainbow chuckle. The athlete then entered the humble abode, and as always, was amazed at what she saw.
Everything was perfectly tidy. Objects that could potentially be cluttering the rooms were all stowed away. Whether they were in neat piles, stacks, folded, etc., the room was the tidiest thing Rainbow had ever seen. "Nice job!" Rainbow said, causing Sunset to look at Rainbow confusedly. "You always keep this place well-kept. I don't get how you do it." Sunset smiled at the compliment, then pointed to the television. "How about we watch some TV?" Rainbow nodded, and so they went over and sat down on the comfortable couch, making sure there was barely any space between them. Sunset then switched on the TV with the remote controller.
While the show they were watching played, the couple had a casual conversation. "You know, I heard that back in Equestria, Twilight and her friends had some trouble with something called 'The Pony of Shadows.' It sounded pretty bad," Sunset said, acting as though a major threat to Equestria was nothing more than small talk. "Of course, they won, so no need to worry." Rainbow's eyebrows had creased when she heard about The Pony of Shadows, but then she sighed in relief at the good news.
"I was playing sports with Indigo a couple of days ago, and I beat her!" Sunset looked confused, which prompted Rainbow to elaborate.
"We've been playing to see who could win 100 games first. We were neck to neck, trading point for point, and Indigo was actually ahead by 99-98.  I didn't give up though, and I managed to win two straight games in a row, crowning me the victor!" Rainbow finished with enthusiasm and obvious pride, raising her hands in the air.
Sunset looked at her girlfriend with amusement, chuckling lightly before replying. "That's great, Rainbow. You know, I haven't seen Indigo since the Friendship Games, we should probably meet up sometime soon."
"Oh," Rainbow responded, her features now displaying discomfort. "Best if you didn't. You see, she's still a little bit...unfriendly towards the girls from Canterlot High. Definitely better than before, but it still took me a long time to get Indigo to actually befriend me, and that was made a lot easier by us being so similar. With you being one of the main players of our team in the Friendship Games, and someone so different from her...yeah, not gonna turn out well." 
Sunset sighed. "Okay, but that's too bad. I was kinda hoping that our schools would’ve gotten along by now," she said, slumping sadly into the couch as she did so.
Rainbow patted her back before proceeding to reassure her girlfriend. "It's okay, They'll get along someday. For now, though, at least I've gotten friendly with one Shadowbolt. Victory for me!" Rainbow pumped a fist in the air. Sunset couldn’t help but sigh and roll her eyes. The immense focus on winning and achieving Rainbow possessed was something Sunset initially thought was kinda cute, but after all those months it just started being obnoxious.
"Really, Rainbow, you're always talking about winning. It'd be nice to hear about something else for a change," Sunset lectured.
"Hey, winning is what I’m all about!" Rainbow complained.
"Well, actually, you're all about loyalty. You literally represent The Element of Loyalty," Sunset argued.
"Doesn't matter," Rainbow said, shrugging her shoulders. "Winning is still my thing. And It was definitely a victory when I got you as a girlfriend." Rainbow smirked at Sunset, though that smirk rapidly vanished once she saw Sunset’s reaction.
"Wait, are you saying I'm just a prize you received, another achievement to brag about?" Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms, slight irritation making itself apparent in her voice.
"What? No!" Rainbow passionately defended. "I was just saying that I'm glad I got you."
"There it is again, you 'got me.' As in I'm just something you obtained?" Sunset asked, a little more annoyance in her voice.
"Are you-? Uhhhhh!" Rainbow angrily said, slapping a hand on her face. "I'm just bad at wording things, I'm basically saying you're a good girlfriend, though honestly, you’re not acting the part right now," she scolded.
Sunset raised her eyebrow even further. "Yeah, not convinced. And now that I'm not acting perfect, you’re upset that you’re prize isn’t shining as brightly anymore! You know, after all these months, I think you should view me as more than a trophy!" Anger was very clearly piercing through her voice now, and she scowled at Rainbow.
"But you are more! You're just not letting it get through that thick skull of yours what I'm really saying!" Rainbow shouted, trying to reason with the girl next to her.
"NO!" Sunset yelled. “You’re not getting that you can be insensitive and come off as very rude and mean spirited! You always talk about everything like it’s a competition. You give everything, apparently even people the value of an object and I’m tired of it!" Months worth of pent up annoyance and stowed away frustration now surfaced and flowed freely through Sunset’s mouth.
"YEAH!? WELL-!!!" Rainbow was screaming, when all of a sudden, she face palmed and sighed, then turned away to look back at the TV.
Sunset glared at her girlfriend, who was now ignoring her, and was about to speak, when realization hit her. I've been over reacting. I let my petty complaints get the best of me. Rainbow was actually just trying to be nice. Dammit, now she's mad, and for good reason too. I really screwed up on this one. Sunset now face palmed herself, and with a sad expression, she turned to watch TV.
The couple sat in silence until the end of the episode that was playing. After a few very awkward and rather depressing moments, Rainbow got up and spoke in a calm yet cold tone. "I...need to go. I'm busy today." Both knew that was a lie, but Sunset nodded anyways. She had no idea how to salvage this mess.
They walked to the door, and without saying anything, without any gestures even, Rainbow left.
Sunset frowned while watching Rainbow walk back to her own house, thoughts of guilt and regret filing her mind.	
What have I done?