“Flash!” Sunset shouted, marching toward the boy with alarming speed. Flash slowly closed his locker, not taking his eyes off the fuming red-head as she stormed toward him.
“Yeah, girlfriend!” someone shouted. “Go get yo’ man back!”
Sunset briefly hissed in the student’s direction before stopping in front of Flash, who took an involuntary step back.
“Flash—”
“I made you mad,” Flash realized in horror.
Sunset’s eyebrows knitted. “What? No. I’m not mad. Well, I am mad, but not at you.”
Flash still looked wary, hugging his books tightly to his chest. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
The smoldering glare in Sunset’s eyes quickly diminished, and she shook her head. “Ahh. Sorry. Sometimes when my inner emotions change so fast, my face has yet to catch up.” She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Flash's posture slowly relaxed, giving Sunset an odd smile. "What’s going on?”
Sunset sighed. “It’s just been a trying day. Since you started dating Ditzy, everyone here thinks that I’m jealous or something.” She placed her hands on her hips and gave Flash a firm, direct look. “I came here to say—for the record—I don’t care who you’re dating. I mean, of course I care—we might be ex’s, but that doesn’t mean we have to hate each other’s guts…” She paused, uncertain. “…Right?”
“I used to hate some of your guts,” Flash admitted. “But after all we’ve been though, I’d say that all your guts are in the clear.”
“Oh…cool. And—no offence, Flash, truly I mean it, but…I was never really in love with you in the first place. I just wanted to cover my grounds.”
She saw the look on Flash’s face and quickly backpedaled. “But there were moments! There really were. You were good to me. Really good. I was just too blind and stupid to notice…or return the favor.”
Sunset looked even more nervous now.
“Well…” Flash began. “I—”
“I mean, you and I… we never kissed once, and I wouldn’t even let you because I was in my early twenties when we met—”
“WHAT!?”
“I mean, here, we’re fine, but—well—I—uh—” She flushed deep red. “Look, I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea, okay? Ditzy is one of the best people I know, besides you and the girls. I think you’d be great together.”
“Hey, it’s lover boy,” a student sneered, flanked by two of his snickering friends. He walked over and flicked Flash’s nose. “What, got too lonely so you settle for leftovers?”
Heat crept up Flash’s neck, and he curled his first, but Sunset beat him to it. “Get lost,” she growled, giving him a harsh warning glare. The student sneered at her, but moved on. With a sigh, she turned back to Flash. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck to hide his trembling hand. That was the third time today. Even though he thought himself as a thick skinned guy now, it was admittedly rougher than he thought it would be, but the insults about Ditzy is what really upset him the most.
“Well, don’t let them get you down. Your relationship with her is what matters, right?”
“Sunset…me and Ditzy aren’t dating.”
“…. You’re not?”
“No.”
Sunset squinted her eyes, and touched Flash’s arm. Her eyes glowed for a moment before turning back to normal. “Okay,” Sunset said, stepping back. “Just making sure.”
Flash was taken aback by the flicker of disappointment in her eyes. “You wanted us to date?”
Sunset shrugged. “Well…why not? She’s more girlfriend material, no?”
Now it was Flash’s turn to blush.
A random girl swooped in from behind Sunset. "You poor thing," she cooed, rubbing her hand on Sunset's back. "It’s okay…I’ve been there before. But there are plenty of other fish in the sea. You could have any guy you wanted!" She turned to glare at Flash. "Why waste your time with a Womanizer?”
Flash winced involuntarily, and Sunset shrugged her off. "He isn't a Womanizer."
The girl snorted, walking away. "Keep telling yourself that," she called with a wave of her hand. "He couldn't last a month without a girlfriend. It's how he functions."
Sunset and Flash stared after her in silence. "Well," Sunset said lightly. "Shall I turn her into something small and squashable?"
Flash made an attempt to raise his shoulders. "No," he coughed. "Don't think that'd be a good idea."
"You sure?" Sunset asked, nudging his shoulder. "I won't get in trouble. I've saved the world more than once, you know. My friends and I have killer super powers now. No one would notice."
Flash was grinning now. He sniffed. "I'm positive." He folded his arms and gave a nod. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Her eyes tinted with concern. "Are you gonna be alright?"
"Yeah. Of course. Vocal minority, right?"
Sunset smiled. "Right. Well, you know who your friends are, Flash. If you need me for anything...anything...you tell me, okay? And Ditzy, well...romantic or not, she's the breath of fresh air that you needed. Know that, okay?"
As if on cue, Ditzy came running up to them, breathing heavily. "Flash! Oh, Sunset! We're gonna fix everything, I promise you!"
Loud gasps filled the air. Flash, Ditzy, and Sunset glanced around. Every single student had stopped in their tracks, staring at them with wide eyes.
“Ohh,” said a student, looking at Sunset. “It’s about to go down.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. "I'm going to class."
Ditzy and Flash looked at each other exasperatingly.
“Well, you tried,” Carrot Top said that afternoon. The school basement wasn’t as scary as some students rumored it to be. It was more of a medium sized, poor-looking closet; wooden brown walls, ripped carpeting, musty smell; but there were also a few instruments and music equipment set up. Someone practiced music here.
Ditzy gave Carrot a bemused side glance from her place on the floor. “Hey, I did you a solid! Not only are you going to the dance with Mr. Hotness, but you’ve also managed to steal his heart. Freakin’ romantic. Meanwhile, I’m still stuck with the chess team. You wanna switch places? I can switch you places.”
“We should switch places! He’d be much better off being seen with you than with me!”
“Whoa, hey,” Carrot said, frowning. “What’s with all the negativity lately? You know, you haven’t said one good thing about yourself since all of this started.”
“But it’s not about me! It’s about Flash! Sure, half the students here are happy about our…relationship…but the other half thinks that Flash is losing his mind!”
Carrot slipped her hands in her pockets as she leaned against the wall. “Well, I have heard some people talk about him today…and it wasn’t all good. So you sort of have a point…but who cares? Probably just jealous because you snagged him first.”
Ditzy threw up her hands. “But I didn’t snag him first! I didn’t snag him at all! It’s all lies! The Party Committee members keep giving me congratulatory cupcakes. People are giving me pats on the back. Even my teachers are telling me how wonderful it is that I’ve found someone! And I have to smile, and nod, and it’s driving me crazy!”
She grabbed fistfuls of her mousy blonde hair. “I’m living a lie, Carrot Top! And the lie will go on! It won’t stop at High School, no sir! We’ll lie and lie, and soon we’ll be married and having a hundred babies, and sending them off to college—then we wait until they get married and have a hundred more babies, and then we’ll both be on our deathbeds, left with nothing but the memory of all the LIES WE TOLD!”
Carrot Top stared at her friend as her loud pants filled the room. “I…don’t think it’ll go that far.”
“It might!”
There was a knock at the door. “Flash?” Carrot Top called, craning her neck.
“Yeah,” Flash grunting pushing the heavy door open.
Ditzy shot up from the floor. “This must end!”
Flash approached them. “I know. But I’ve tried everything. No one believes me! Thanks, Carrot Top!”
“Oh, don’t go blaming me! Yeah, it was my idea, but you didn’t have to go along with it! No one was pulling your leg. I only did it because I was trying to protect Ditzy!”
“Well, so was I!”
“I don’t need protecting!” Ditzy shouted. Flash and Carrot both looked at her in surprise. The blonde folded her arms, glaring at them. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
Flash dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. With a sigh, he raised his head again. “I know you can. And you’ve been taking care of me, too.”
He cleared his throat and swallowed. “You’re always looking after others…me especially. People…they think that I’m the cool guy with a guitar. I’ve got great friends, slightly above average grades, and a nice car. I’m in a band. I’ve got everything going for me. That’s what I wanted people to think. But Ditzy, you’re only person that sees me, really sees me. And you’ve always been there for me when it really counted.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, focusing on anything else in the room but Ditzy.
“I just wanted to do the same for you. You’re sweet…caring…selfless. I don’t want anybody thinking you less than that.”
“Same here,” Carrot Top said, quirking a small smile. “I know you can take care of yourself. But if there’s anyone you can count on to back you up, you know it’s the people who love you the most.” She did a little bounce on her tip toes, her small smile stretching across her face. “Course, we went about it the wrong way, but y’know. Nobody’s perfect.”
Ditzy bit her lip to keep the tears from forming in her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know,” she giggled. “You two are coming pretty close. Oh, heck." She threw her arms around them. "I can't stay mad at you guys for long."
The three shared a warm hug, but it didn’t last long.
“Okay!” Carrot Top trilled, clapping her hands once. “We need to figure out how to get you guys out of this mess.”
Ditzy wiped at her eye and smiled at Flash. “Well, Flash, despite all the sweet things you said to me…” She clasped her hands together with an air of definite finality. “We’re gonna need to break up now.”
“I concur. But how?”
Carrot Top rubbed at her chin. “Hmm. This could be tricky. If Flash breaks up with Ditzy, he’ll be roasted alive. If Ditzy breaks up with Flash, it’ll still hurt his reputation, which is something I doubt the two of you want.” The trio lapsed into deep thought, going through every possible scenario in their minds.
After a few minutes ticked by, Carrot finally snapped her fingers. “I got it!”
Smirking, she placed her hands on their shoulders. “Tell me, what’s more heartbreaking than star-crossed lovers?”
Flash and Ditzy shared a look of confusion.
The next day, Ditzy, Flash and Carrot Top stood in front of Canterlot High. They stood near the road, waiting. “Are you sure this’ll work?” Flash asked, glancing around nervously.
“Of course, it will. Look around you. It’s Lunch, and people love to eat and hang out outdoors.”
She wasn’t wrong. Several students were spread out across the front lawn. Some were sitting and talking on the front steps; others were eating their lunches or reading books underneath the trees.
Two small freshmen were tossing a yellow frisbee in between them nearby. “There’s plenty of people here to witness.”
“They all look busy,” Ditzy observed. “We’ll have to really sell it.”
Two cars pulled up before Ditzy finished her sentence. Carrot Top moved three steps away from them, giving them room to prepare. “Remember what I said about projection,” she said, casually examining her nails.
Flash Sentry’s mother was the first to exit her car. She wore a fancy black pantsuit and white pearls around her neck. Her short blue hair just reached her chin, and her lips were painted bright red. Her high heels clacked against the sidewalk as she crossed over to them with a paper bag in her hand.
After her, Ditzy’s father hopped out of his truck and slammed the door shut. He was a short and portly man, but he still had muscle. He didn’t really look like Ditzy, with his coral colored skin, green eyes, and thin mustache. But they did share the same blonde hair. With a lunch box in hand, he marched over to them, adjusting his cap. “Alright,” he grunted, briefly eyeing the sun. “What’s all this about?”
“Did you remember your lines, Daddy?” Ditzy asked.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Flash’s mother nodded at him. “Hello, Gizmo,” she greeted in her soft and pleasantly raspy voice. “How’s your wife?”
Gizmo returned the nod. “Hello, Glint. Fine, she’s fine.” He turned back to Ditzy. “I don’t get why I’m doin’ this, honey. I don’t care if ya date Flash. He ain’t too bad lookin’, eh?”
“I agree,” Glint smiled. “To tell you the truth, Flash, I was actually hoping you’d ask Ditzy out one of these days.”
Flash’s cheeks burned. “Mom!”
“Just trust us, Daddy,” Ditzy said. “It’s really important. Please?”
Gizmo sighed. “Alright, fine. I don’t get it, but alright.”
“This is a bit exciting,” Glint said a bit giddily, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I haven’t done anything like this since College.” Clearing her throat, she rolled her shoulders and straightened up. “Here’s your lunch, sweetie,” she said loudly, handing Flash the paper bag. “You’ve forgotten it this morning!”
“What a coincidence,” Gizmo said, rolling his eyes. “My daughter has also forgotten her lunch. Here you go, sweet pea!”
Ditzy accepted her lunch box. “Thanks, Daddy! Say! Since you’re both here, we might as well tell you the truth!”
“What truth would that be, my dear?” Gizmo sighed.
“The truth about us,” Flash said, putting his arm around Ditzy. “Mom…Mr. Doo…we’re dating!”
Glint gave a loud, exaggerated shriek while Gizmo groaned and rubbed his big hands against his face furiously.
“FLASH SENTRY!” Glint swooned. “My SON! Say it isn’t so!”
“It’s so, Mother!”
“OOOHHH!”
“I can’t believe it, Ditzy! You, dating this Bozo? Unacceptable!”
“He’s not a Bozo, Daddy! He’s my boyfriend!”
All the chatter from behind them had stopped. The campus was eerily silent now.
Encouraged by the silence, Flash pressed on. “Me and Ditzy love each other. And soon, we’ll get married! And to support my beloved, I will skip college and work long hours waiting tables—perhaps at Sugar Cubes!”
“Oh, no you don’t young maaaan!” Glint wagged a thin, polished finger. “Think about your future! Think about…erm…shoot,” she muttered, bringing up her hand and tilting it. She squinted at the black ink scrawled across her palm, quietly running over the words under her breath. “Think about your future, think about…ah! Yes.”
Clearing her throat, she rose her voice significantly. “Think about your family! What would your Father think?”
“I stopped caring about what he thinks long ago!”
“Well, that’s too bad! As long as you’re still under my roof, you will do as I SAY!”
“BUT MOTHER!”
“NO BUTS! I forbid you to go out with the likes of this blonde punk!”
“Who’re you calling “Punk’, Punk?” Gizmo shouted, turning to look up at Glint.
“Did I STUTTER!?”
“That’s it! Ditzy, if I see you holding hands with pretty boy again, you’ll be in big trouble, understand?”
“But Daddy, I love him!” Ditzy shrieked.
“Bah! You’re seventeen! You don’t know what love IS!”
Ditzy howled and went weak at the knees. Flash managed to hold her up, gathering her in his arms.
“This is more pain than I can bear,” he said huskily. “Please…I beg you…at least allow us…one last dance…the Spring Fling Dance. Then we will never date again.”
“We promise,” Ditzy squeaked, Flash being the only thing keeping her from falling on her butt. “One dance. Then we will be no more!”
A pregnant pause.
“Fine,” Gizmo, pointing a meaty finger at them. “One dance. Then the two of you are through!”
Glint tossed her head. “Hmph! Finally, something we can agree on!”
They waited. The silence was deafening now. Gizmo checked his watch. “Alright,” he said quietly enough so that only they could hear. “I gotta bounce. Chop shop’s waitin’. Later, Pumpkin.”
Ditzy stood up from Flash’s arms and leaned forward. Gizmo gave her cheek a quick peck. “Bye, Daddy!”
“I have to get going too. Bye, my sweet,” Glint whispered, blowing Flash a kiss. “Hope this helped with whatever you’ve got going on!”
“Thanks, Mom,” Flash waved. “One last thing,” he whispered through his teeth as their Parents pulled away in their vehicles.
Ditzy covered her face with her hands and walked away from Flash. Moaning, she fell into the waiting arms of Carrot Top. Carrot made a show of rubbing Ditzy’s back as the pair walked off in sorrow. Peeking through the cracks of her fingers,
Ditzy looked up. “How’d we do?” she whispered.
Carrot risked a glance and bit back a smirk. “Not one dry eye in the house, hon.”
Flash watched them go, shoving his hands in his pockets. Aware of the silent, multiple stares, he dropped his head and sighed heavily. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“We saw the whole thing, man,” Ringo said. He and Brawly both regarded him with deep concern. “Are you…like…okay?”
Flash gave a weak smile. “Not really…but I will be, someday.”
Brawly shook his head in disgust. “Parents ruin everything, Bro,” he said, his eyes misting over. “I swear, that’s their only joy in life. Making their kids’ lives miserable!”
“And how,” Ringo agreed. “This is…. wow. How’re you gonna cope, Flash?”
“Well,” Flash replied, “Our time on earth is so short, so fleeting. And our Parents’ lives…even more short and fleeting. I just want to make the best of what time we have left together. And if letting the girl of my dreams go makes my Mom happy…then so be it.”
Ringo snatched the sunglasses from his face. For the first time, Flash found himself staring into Ringo’s violet and strongly passionate eyes. “You’re a damn good Son,” he whispered. “Damn good.”
He gave Flash’s shoulder a firm squeeze. “Respect.”
Flash loosened his tie and sunk back against the Flash Drive bass drum. Up on the stage, he watched as the Party Planning Committee cleaned up the last of the waste that students had left behind. Conversation was light, but most of it was being drowned out by the roar of a vacuum nearby.
The Spring Fling was a success, as usual. Although for him, most of it consisted of several sympathy pats and sorrowful condolences. Even the students who doubted Flash and Ditzy as a couple thought their forbidden love was messed up. But Flash couldn’t complain. Thanks to Carrot Top’s plan, he and Ditzy were able to put the kibosh on their romance, both emerging scot-free.
Just then, someone had slid onto the stage next to him, startling him out of his thoughts. “Heya,” Ditzy greeted with a girlish grunt, resting her back against the other half of the bass drum so that they were side by side. Her hands went to her stomach, and she winced. “Ugh. I ate too many macaroons.”
“I told you to ease up on those things,” Flash tsked, shaking his head.
“I knooow, but they’re so goooood.” She sighed, and turned her head to look at him. “You played great tonight.”
“Thanks.” He raised his hands, showcasing his ten bandaged fingers. “Probably won’t play much for a while, though. I’ve been practicing my fingers raw for the past two weeks!”
Ditzy chuckled. “Well, at least you still look like a million bucks.” She gestured to Flash’s Midnight blue tuxedo.
Flash smiled. “And you look like a billion bucks.”
She really did. With her blonde hair pinned up with a silver clip, and her simple lime green dress, Ditzy looked like she had jumped right out of a fairytale book.
Ditzy flushed at the compliment. “Stop,” she giggled, giving her hand a wave.
They lapsed into silence, watching the remaining students taking large trash bags out of the gym and taking down the last of the flowers that hung on the walls. Pinkie Pie led them all, her hands making waving and halting motions, as if she were directing traffic.
On the far side of the gym, Ringo and his girlfriend were having an apparent argument on the bleachers, but due to the sound of the vacuum, Flash couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Brawly Beats was leaning against the wall near the one of the exits with his phone held to his ear.
“I’m sorry that I overreacted,” Ditzy said suddenly, her face twisting with guilt.
Flash gave her an odd look. “You didn’t overreact. What makes you say that?”
Ditzy looked down at her lap. “I don’t know…I guess I was so jumpy and panicky. I’m usually never like that. But I was just so afraid for you…and with all that you’ve been through…you’re one of my best friends, Flash.”
Flash reached over and took her hand in his. “One of your best friends?” he grinned.
A laugh bubbled up from Ditzy, and she hovered her free hand over her mouth. “Well, if I have just one best friend, Carrot Top wouldn’t be too happy about that. I can have two, right?”
Flash squeezed her hand. “Right.”
Ditzy smiled and continued to watch the other students while Flash uttered a soft yawn, and closed his eyes, still holding Ditzy’s hand. “Flash?”
Flash’s eyes remained closed, though he was slightly startled from his quiet descent into sleep. “Hmm?”
“Are we really as blind as some people say we are?”
“Mmm, blind how?” Flash mumbled, stifling another yawn.
“I mean…there’s more than one way to love someone…right?”
Flash opened his eyes and turned his head. “Of course there is.”
Ditzy looked down at their joined hands and ran her fingers along Flash’s bandages. “I just don’t want there to be…I don’t know…confusion between us.”
More alert, Flash looked Ditzy dead in the eye. “I do love you, Ditzy. That much is true. No confusion about that.”
“I love you too,” Ditzy nodded. “In the friendliest way possible. Is that…okay?”
Flash smiled. “Of course, it is. And you know…all this time, I’ve been focusing on is finding someone to love. I used to think that if I had a girlfriend, everything would be great. But everything already is great. I do have people who love me, and I them.”
Ditzy brightened; Across the Gym, Ringo’s argument began to escalate, while Brawly threw his head back in laughter, still on the phone. Flash regarded them fondly. “It just took me a while to realize that.”
He turned back to Ditzy. “We’re only young for so long. We should make then best of it while we still can.”
Ditzy nodded. “I agree. Good for you, Flash.”
The person working the vacuum finally stopped and turned it off, leaving a deafening silence behind. The soft and colorful spotlights used for the dance shut off, and the Gym lights flicked on. Everyone present groaned and hissed at the sudden brightness.
Ringo grumpily approached the stage and hopped on. “We broke up.”
“Why? What happened?” Flash asked, perplexed.
“Busy Bee was cheating on me, man. Happened outta nowhere.”
“Gosh…I’m really sorry, Ringo.”
Ringo waved a hand. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I kinda always hated her anyways. Consider it a mixed blessing.”
Flash and Ditzy shared a look. “But…I don’t understand. You were so upset!”
“You would be too, if your girlfriend was cheating on you with your brother. Of all the guys in the whole school and she had to pick him. Now I have to keep seeing her every day.” He grabbed his base guitar from against the wall and strapped it on. “Like I said. Mixed blessing.”
Brawly joined them, shoving his phone into his pocket. “Uhm, yo, Flash, can I get a ride when we’re all packed up? My Aunt’s not gonna be able to make it back here.”
“Aw, shoot,” Ringo muttered. “I probably should’ve broken up with Busy after she dropped me off. She was my ride home. You think I should run back out and reconcile before she pulls out?”
Flash waved a hand. “Guys, don’t worry about it. I’ll take you all home.”
“Cool,” said Brawly. “It’ll probably be a bit before we can leave, though. The traffic’s still bad out there. People are still trying to get out and go home.”
“Still gives me time to vent the only way I know how,” Ringo said, strumming his bass. “Hope you don’t mind.”
Flash yawned again and stretched his arms above his head.
Pinkie exchanged goodbyes with the last group of people before they exited to go locate their cars in the chaos. “Well, that’s a wrap!” she declared, crossing over with a broom in hand. “You totally rocked your first dance at the Committee, Ditzy!”
“Thanks, Pinkie Pie! And thanks for having me on!”
Ringo continued to play his base, and Brawley Beats sat behind his drum set. With a shrug, he tapped his drumsticks twice and joined in with Ringo’s brooding melody.
Bobbing her head to the beat, Pinkie began running around the gym, sweeping up the last bit of trash on the floor. Ditzy stood up and extended a hand to Flash. “Come on. We might as well stretch our legs and wake ourselves up before we get ready to go!”
Flash grabbed her hand and stood up. “Might as well,” he echoed. “This is, after all, our last dance as a couple.”
Ditzy laughed. They both hopped down from the stage and began waving their arms and shaking their hips. Ringo and Brawley increased their tempo.
Pinkie swept next to them, a thoughtful expression on her face. “It’s really too bad you can’t date,” she sighed regretfully. “You really would be the cutest most adorable couple ever.”
“Uh…Pinkie,” Ditzy said as Flash spun her around. “We’ve never dated. It was all just a big misunderstanding.”
Pinkie blinked. “….Oh.” After a moment of looking disappointed, she shrugged. “Eh, well.” She tossed a handful of confetti over Ditzy and Flash’s heads before sweeping it up.