//------------------------------// // A Flash of Calm // Story: Sunset Among Shadows // by RedPegasus //------------------------------// He doesn’t know when or how it happened, but Flash Sentry finds himself staring at Sunset’s apartment door. He raises his fist and, after hesitating a moment, knocks on the door and patiently waits, but there is no answer. He knocks a second time, but as the minutes pass, it seems clear that the door will not open. For a minute, he stands there, thinking about what to do, but before deciding, he hears a voice behind him. "Can I help you?" Startled, Flash whips around to find himself face-to-face with whom he was looking for. Sunset raises an eyebrow as she stares at the boy in front of her door, and both look at each other for a moment in silence. "Su-Sunset... A-Are you..."Flash trailed off. "Yes, I know who I am,"Sunset says, not rudely, but certainly not in jest, either. Both keep their eyes on the other in silence. "I want into my apartment,"Sunset says matter-of-factly.“Are you gonna move?” "Ah! Yeah, sure. Sorry,"Flash stammers. The boy steps aside, and the girl uses her key to open the door. She walks in without sparing him a glance, leaving the door open. He stands at the entrance and watches as she walks through the living room and into another room out of sight. Nervous, he shuffles his feet, unsure of what to do. She returns shortly after. With a sigh, she takes off her shoes and looks at the boy on her doorstep. "It's cold outside. Are you coming in or what?"she says impatiently. He babbles an apology before pushing himself inside. She gestures to the door, and he closes it immediately. As he takes off his shoes, a whistling sound comes from the other room. Sunset silently leaves the living room, returning a few moments later with two smoking mugs. She sits cross-legged on the armchair with one of the mugs, leaving the other on the small coffee table. Sunset stares expectantly at Flash, and he stares back blankly. It takes a moment, but he finally realizes what she’s expecting, and he sits down on the sofa, taking the cup as she rolls her eyes. Both drink in silence for a moment, simply enjoying the sweetness of the hot chocolate. After a few sips, Flash realizes that Sunset’s eyes are on him. Although she does not say anything, he understands what she wants to know. "You've been absent for several days. I... I wanted to see if you were okay,"he begins softly. The girl's eyes grow slightly in surprise, and after another sip, she says,"Word hasn’t got out yet? Weird." "What do you mean?" "Haven't you noticed my uniform?" Curious, Flash looks at Sunset clothes, and now it’s his turn to be surprised as he takes in the vest, skirt, and socks. He looks over at the foot of the coatrack and notices the shoes she had been wearing. "Those…"Flash couldn’t make himself finish the sentence. "I transferred to Crystal Prep." "You...! I... I didn't know..."he said weakly. "That's pretty weird. I thought that everyone would know by now,"Sunset says, looking into her drink. "I don’t thinkanyoneknows, not even your friends,"Flash says, earning a grunt from Sunset. Concerned, he continues,"Sunset—" "Why are you here?"she asks before he can finish. "W-What?"Flash asks, taken aback. "What did you come here for?"she asks again. "It’s just... Like, you weren’t going to school... I got worried..."he says, looking away. "You, worried? Why?"Sunset asks incredulously. "Well, with what happened to you at school... I was afraid that maybe..." "What, did you think I was gonna cut my wrists or something?"Sunset asks, crossing her arms. "No!”Flash says loudly.“More like, you know, that you locked yourself away or something..." Sunset sighs and pauses before saying,"I did, for a while,"surprising Flash. To think that the normally unflappable Sunset Shimmer was beat down so much by Anon-a-Miss that she hid herself away from the world. It was a testament to how much power Anon-a-Miss held over Sunset, and it filled Flash with dread as he wondered who hated Sunset enough to do all this to her. Flash watches her take another sip of her cocoa. Both are silent for a moment before Sunset continues,"But in the end, I got tired of it all. I wanted to fix things, but nobody listened to me. Everyone thinks I'm Anon-a-Miss, and they'll never believe me, so I left. I'd rather forget about it." The silence falls again. With one last gulp, the girl finishes her chocolate. He observes his own, noticing it still almost full. "… I believe you." It is a soft but firm statement. She looks at him with some disbelief."… Why?"she finally asks. Feeling suddenly nervous, he takes a sip of his drink in an attempt to calm down and command his words to respond."When... Well, when we were an item... I told you some pretty personal things about me, remember? Things I never told anyone else." She just nods, crosses her arms under her chest, and leans on the back of the sofa. "If you were really Anon-A-Miss,”Flash continues,“you would certainly have exposed some of them, but that never happened." She looks at him for a moment, not sure how to respond. "Besides, I don't see why you would do something like that. I saw you over the past few months with your friends. You were so happy. To throw it all away... It doesn't make sense,"he finishes. "At least someone noticed,"Sunset mutters. She closes her eyes in thought and crosses her legs, and for a moment, Flash can’t help but notice how snugly her uniform fits the curves of her body. Realizing where his mind is going, he looks away with a slight blush and reins his thoughts back in. "So, you don't think I'm Anon-A-Miss?"Sunset finally asks, opening her eyes. "N-No. I know you’re not,"Flash finishes with a tone of confidence. "That's... nice... Thanks. It feels good to hear someone say it,"Sunset says with a small, sincere smile. Silence covers them once more. She looks towards nothing, while he looks at her, a mixture of sensations running through his head, one in particular. Guilt… "Sunset, I... I'm sorry..."he says softly, his voice shaking. Sunset snaps her eyes in his direction. Just as she thinks that nothing else will surprise her today, he goes and says that."What are you sorry for?”she asks incredulously.“You haven't done anything. In fact, during the whole Anon-A-Miss thing, you're one of the few who never said or did anything to me." "I know, but I... I always knew that it wasn’t you, but even so... I never did anything to help you..." "It’s not like you had to,"Sunset says, looking away. "I did, though. I... I saw how they treated you. I heard the things they said. I saw you cry. And still, I never... had the courage to..." His fingers squeeze the cup hard as his hands tremble slightly, and he finds that he can’t finish his sentence. "You were afraid,"Sunset says consolingly. "What?" "Everyone in the school was convinced I was guilty. If you’d done something to defend me, they would’ve believed that you were on Anon-a-Miss’s side, and they would have targeted you, as well." "I never thought about that, though…"he says softly. "Maybe not consciously, but deep down, you knew what could happen. You have friends and a life there, Flash. This is the first time we've spoken since our relationship ended. By helping me, you’d have had nothing to gain and everything to lose. " The revelation chilled the boy. It was true that he had never thought about it, but what Sunset said made sense. Surely, he would have ended up just like her. "... I'm a coward..." "No, you’re not, Flash. You're smart. You always have been. There was no reason to risk it. That's why you didn't do it." "Even so…" He feels a warmth on his hand. Surprised, he looks up to see Sunset sitting close to him on the sofa, her hand on his. She smiles at him kindly."It's okay,”she says,“You know I didn’t do it, and that's enough for me. Thanks for believing me." Despite the warmth of Sunset’s smile and touch, the gesture freezes Flash in his place, unable to say anything. After a few seconds that go by all too quickly, Sunset withdraws her hand and settles back into the sofa. Flash takes a swig of his drink and forces his mind to think of something to say. "So, uh, how are you doing at Crystal Prep?"he asks, unable to think of anything else to say and mentally kicking himself for it. "Um, fine, I guess. The classes are boring and the teachers are monotonous, but it's very clean,"Sunset says somewhat awkwardly after the sudden change in subject. "That’s cool. Have you made any new friends?"he asks hopefully. Sunset looks away, taking a moment to answer."No, not really,"she finally says. "Oh,”Flash says, disappointed.“Well, I'm sure it’s only a matter of time." "Yeah, sure…"she says distractedly. "Is something wrong?" "No, no, it's nothing,"Sunset answers quickly. Suddenly needing to distract herself, she stands up and stretches her body to remove the numbness from sitting too long. Flash gulps as he again notices how the uniform hugs the girl's body as she stretches, and he has to force himself to look away as she straightens her skirt."Do you want more chocolate?"she asks, seeming not to notice his actions. "No, no! I'm fine,”Flash responds, a little too quickly.“Actually, I think I should go. My parents might worry if I don't get home soon."A tad disappointed, Sunset nods as Flash finishes his drink and walks him to the door."Well, I'm glad to know you're fine, Sunset,"he says after crossing her threshold. "… Thanks,”she replies slightly bashfully. They turn to opposite sides, the atmosphere becoming somewhat clumsy. "Sunset, do you think...?"Flash begins, trailing off. She looks at him curiously, but try as he might, Flash can’t finish his question and instead asks a different one. "Could we exchange numbers? I tried calling your number, but the tone said it wasn’t in service anymore." “Uh, yeah, sure,”Sunset replies, wondering why it was so hard for Flash to ask such a simple request. After exchanging and recording numbers, Flash looks her in the eye and says,"Thanks, Sunset." "It's nothing. Thanks to you, too." "If you ever need something, call me, okay?"Flash says sincerely. "Sure,"Sunset says with a hint of insecurity. With that, they say goodbye to each other, and the young man leaves, giving her small smile as he turns away, which she returns. After he disappears from sight, Sunset re-enters her apartment, pulling out her phone and looking at the newly added number, the only number registered. "... I did well to buy a new one, I suppose." *S*A*S* The sun slowly begins its descent into the horizon as Applejack and her younger sister Apple Bloom finish the last of their farm work. The older one finishes repairing a misplaced board on one of the farm’s many fences, and after giving it a light kick to make sure it’s properly placed, she wipes the sweat from her forehead with a smile of satisfaction. The voice of her grandmother Granny Smith carries from the house. "Applejack! Apple Bloom! Supper’s ready! Come an’ get it!" The older girl laughs a bit at the half-authoritative, half-jovial tone of her grandmother and turns to her sister, who is holding a wooden basket half full of apples. "Come on, sugar cube. You heard Granny,"Applejack says. "Ah'll be there in a minute. Ah gotta put these in the cellar." "Well, don’t take too long. You know Granny doesn't like to start dinner with an empty place." The young girl agrees, and while her older sister returns to the house, she carries the basket to the cellar. With great care, she descends the stairs one step at a time, reaching the bottom safely. She leaves the basket against the opposite wall, smiles in satisfaction, and turns to leave… …only to notice someone in the cellar right in front of her. Confused, Apple Bloom looks up into a familiar pair of eyes. "S-Sunset...?" The presence of the girl confuses her, and the gaze Sunset directs at her scares her. The fire-haired girl looks at the little girl with a serious, cold gaze, and her eyes seem to give off a strange glow. She had seen that gaze before. It was the same one Sunset directed at her at the entrance of the school the last day she showed up. Just like that time, those eyes shook Apple Bloom to her core. "What... What are you doing here...?"Apple Bloom asks shakily. Sunset does not respond, instead just looking at her silently with that frosty gaze. The younger girl takes a few steps back, but never do her eyes break away from Sunset’s. A chill ran through her small body, and her eyes watered as her whole body trembled. She wanted desperately to flee, but the offending woman stood right in front of her, standing between her and the only path to safety. She was trapped. Suddenly she hears a voice in the distance. It begins softly but slowly grows louder. Someone is calling her. "Apple Bloom!"Blessedly, Applejack appears at the top of the stares, fixing her eyes on her little sister."There you are. Ah told ya ta hurry. Supper’s gettin’ cold, and Granny’s gettin’ mad." The little Apple does not respond to Applejack. She looks around, noticing that Sunset Shimmer is nowhere to be seen. The older Apple notices Apple Bloom’s unease and approaches her. "Apple Bloom? What's wrong?" Apple Bloom rushes to her older sister and hugs her tightly as her eyes race around the room fearfully. Applejack caresses the child's head in an attempt to calm her down. "... Sun... Shim..."Apple Bloom mutters. "What was that, sugar cube?" "Sunset Shimmer!" "Sunset? What about her?" "S-She... She was here! Down here!" "Wh-What?"Applejack asks somewhat skeptically. "Yeah! She was in front of me and... she just stared at me... It was creepy." Applejack looks around but sees only baskets, barrels, and bottles, same as usual. "Sunset ain’t here, and there was no way she coulda left without me seein’ her." "B-But shewashere. I saw her,"Apple Bloom insists. The older girl kneels down to look her little sister in the eye and cleans the small traces of tears from her cheeks. "Look, li’l sis, Sunset ain’t here. Ya must’ve imagined it, and no wonder; that snake has caused no end of trouble at school."Apple Bloom’s chest tightens as she hears those words."And you've been working a lot lately, to boot. Your tired mind’s just playin’ tricks on you." "B-But—" "Sunset ain’t here, and she can’t do nothing to ya. I won’t let her,"Applejack says with finality. With a small kiss on the little girl’s forehead, the older one stands up."Now let's go. It’s time for supper, and then, it’s off ta bed. You'll feel better tomorrow." Apple Bloom doesn’t resist as Applejack takes her hand and leads her out of the cellar. She can’t shake the image of Sunset’s glare from her mind, and she silently prays that her sister is right. *S*A*S* Sunset maintains a neutral expression as the teacher drones on, writing down data on the board and quoting phrases from a book in his hands. She glances at the sprawling notes in her notebook and sighs with fatigue. She turns her attention to the other students, all focused on their own books and notes. Eventually, the bell rings, and as if everyone in the class has been trained, the teacher stops talking, and the students begin to put their things away. "Don't forget to study for the exam next week. Have a good day,"the teacher says as the students move to their next class. ‘Another test?’Sunset thinks.‘That’s four already! And all in the same week. Guess the principal was right; no one’s gonna show any pity for the new girl.’ With a sigh of defeat, she begins to store her things and leaves the room with the rest of the students. Without paying attention to anything or attracting attention from anyone, she reaches her locker and begins to exchange her books for the next class. As she finished, she got a prickly sensation on the back of her neck, and she got the eerie feeling that she was being watched. She looks around. Many students walk down the hallway, but no one seems to care what she’s doing. She closes her locker and start walking. Someone was following her, and she knew it. She developed a sixth sense for that kind of thing from her earliest days in that world, when she discovered its dark side. She turns her head, but again, she can’t see her pursuer. She kept walking, but the feeling never left. And maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, but she could swear she heard someone’s steps in sync with hers.She would stop, and the sound of the steps would stop. She would resume her walk, and so would the sound of the steps, only serving to strengthen the feeling of being followed. She speeds up and hears her pursuer do the same. Without running, Sunset hastily begins weaving through the hallway, taking sharp turns whenever possible. Thankfully, no one tries to stop her or pays her any mind. Having gained enough ground on her pursuer, she turns one last corner and hides behind it. Her ears pick up a sound: Someone had started running. As soon as the pursuer gets close, Sunset extends her leg. The pursuer fails to see the obstacle and trips over Sunset’s ankle, falling to the floor with a yelp of surprise. Sunset blinks in surprise as she beholds the fallen girl: There, kneeling and holding her nose with a whimper as she tried not to cry, is the blue Dazzling she had seen on her first day. "You?"Sunset asks finally. The Dazzling’s watery eyes snap up to look at Sunset as she speaks."Are you... following me?" The blue-haired girl looks nervous at first, but she quickly stands and changes her expression to a serious, almost intimidating one, but the effect is ruined as Sunset notices the sweat lining the former siren’s brow. She keeps glaring at Sunset for several seconds in silence, and Sunset, getting impatient, breaks the silence. "Well? Why are you—" "I don't know what you want, but you won’t get it!"the blue girl screams. The interruption and sudden scream only confuse Sunset further."Excuse—" "I'm going to stop you! I may not have magic anymore, but, uh, I know... kung fu! Hyaaa!" As if to emphasize her statement, the girl raises her arms and one leg in a poor attempt to imitate the crane pose. Sunset just stares blankly, well and truly unintimidated, with only a single thought running through her head. ‘I should’ve gone to Trottingham Academy.’ The former siren, seeing the lack of reaction from her adversary, becomes even more nervous. Desperate to defeat her nemesis, she throws herself against Sunset, waving her arms with a shout. Startled, Sunset moves aside, and the blue-haired crashes against the wall behind Sunset. Sunset stares at her as she slowly separates from the wall, holding her now bloody nose. She lets out a sob and turns to glare at Sunset, tears in her eyes. ‘Thiswas one of the sirens that had threatened to conquer the world?’Sunset thinks. With eyes half closed in a deadpan expression, Sunset just looks at the former siren who continues to sob and hold her nose, ruining the glare she keeps up. Rolling her eyes, Sunset puts her hand into her pocket and pulls out a tissue, handing it to the hurt girl. Surprised at the action, the former siren nevertheless takes the tissue and holds it to her bloody nose. "Look, whatever you're thinking, it's wrong,”Sunset says.“I didn't come here to hurt you or anything. I didn't even know you went here when I enrolled." The blue-haired girl stares in surprise and stammers,"You... But then… Why are you here?" The fire-haired looks away and takes a few seconds before responding,"That's none of your concern. The point is, I don't have any business with you. I'm just here to attend class."The raspberry-eyed girl stares more at Sunset, but before she can say anything, the bell rings, signaling the five-minute warning."And with that, I have to leave. Bye." Sunset doesn’t wait for a response as she abruptly walks away from the still-confused siren, who stays in place, eyes darting from Sunset’s retreating form to the tissue Sunset had given her. *S*A*S* Things were quiet at Canterlot High School. The somewhat depressing and extremely heavy atmosphere that had accumulated in the school during the last weeks had disappeared. The students chatted amicably with each other and prepared for their classes as normal. It seemed that everything had returned to normal at school. Apple Bloom walks down the hallway without any hurry. When she reaches her locker, she tries to open it, but it doesn’t budge. Figuring it had gotten stuck, she pulls hard, but it remains fast. Dropping her backpack, Apple Bloom places her foot on an adjacent locker and pulls the door as hard as she can, making use of her entire body. Finally, the door flies open in her grasp, flinging her to the floor. Groaning as she rubs her sore backside, she starts picking through her backpack to put things away. "You hear about Sunset?"a nearby boy says. A conversation between two students draws her attention. "What’d she do now?"the recipient of the question asks exasperatedly. "She left school,"the first person replies. The answer stuns the farmgirl and makes her drop her things, letting them scatter all over the hall. "She left? Really?"came the surprised reply. "Yeah, that's what everyone’s been saying." "Actually, come to think of it, I haven’t seen her the whole week,"the second guy said thoughtfully. "Principal Celestia probably decided to finally expel her once and for all,"the first says, his uncaring shrug audible in his answer. Apple Bloom's eyes open, her pupils dilated in horror. "Well, no more Anon-A-Miss,"the second boy says with relief and some joy. Both guys leave with a chuckle, neither noticing the girl who heard their conversation, who now stood frozen with a lost look in her eyes. *S*A*S* "Expelled?!" The Crusaders, by their leader's emergency call, are meeting under the bleachers on the football field behind the school, out of sight and out of earshot of anyone else. "AB, are you sure you heard right?"Sweeting Belle asks. The younger Apple nods with a look of panic on her face."I heard from some guys a while ago. Sunset hasn’t been to school for days, and they said that she ain’t a student here anymore." Scootaloo's eyes open wide, while Sweetie covers her mouth as her eyes tremble."That... That’s..."Sweetie begins. "This ain’t right. This wasn’t supposed to happen."Apple Bloom looks at both restlessly."Girls, we have to do something. We have to help Sunset." Sweetie Bell nods quickly. Scootaloo, on the other hand, looks away."Why should we?"she finally asks. Her friends look at her in confusion."We did this so our sisters would spend more time with us, right?”she continued.“Sunset was stealing them." "Scootaloo, how can ya say that?!”Apple Bloom says angrily."This ain’t what we wanted at all!"The little athlete does not respond, nor does she look at her friend, so Apple Bloom continues,"Wanting our sisters to spend time with us is fine, but to have them expel Sunset... That's bad, and you know it!" Scootaloo looks down, and her eyes water a little."… I know…" The three girls look at the grass, all with expressions of defeat and guilt. Sweetie Belle rubs her belly with a look of pain. "Ugh... I feel like my stomach is spinning..." "You okay?"Scootaloo asks, concerned. "No…"The girl drops to her knees, holding her belly, as her friends approach and comfort her."We did bad,”she says.“Very bad ..." Apple Bloom puts on a determined look."We have to fix this." "But how?"asks Scootaloo."We can't tell the truth; our sisters would never talk to us again." The three remain silent for a while, until the farmgirl pulls out her phone. "I think that first of all... we have to end Anon-A-Miss." She looks at her friends, as if waiting for some objection, but there is none. In fact, they each nod their agreement to her. The little Apple immediately opens the account, taking in what they had done, what they had published, and the consequences they had brought about. A couple of taps, and a message appears on the screen. - Are you sure you want to delete the account "Anon-A-Miss"? - She does not hesitate even a moment. - Yes - Seconds later, it was gone. The page that had caused so many problems had ceased to exist. She sighs with fatigue, and her friends imitate her.