Friday evening, around almost 3:00 I think... and the end to yet another shitty day for Canterlot High School's resident blue haired guitar player.
Flash Sentry slammed his way out through the back door of the school into the CHS parking lot with a deep set scowl etched across his face. He was frustrated, and he didn't care who in the world knew it. Just a few minutes ago he had been released from detention by Vice-Principle Luna for an a infraction he did not commit. She did not want to hear it however, and refused to believe it was not him who spray-painted Flash Drive, the name of his band, on the side of the school. Of course, she also failed to notice the unfinished word "sucks" written underneath it, so any hope of pleading for his innocence was thrown out the window.
He dug in his pocket and pulled out the keys to his car, the only car in the parking lot now. He assumed the other students who were staying after school for clubs more then likely had their own vehicles parked up front, so they could get on the road quicker when they were done. He pressed a button on his car remote and heard the click of his doors unlocking. All he had to do now was walk the last few feet there without running into anybody he knew, and drive home so could forget any of this week ever happened.
"Hey Dude! Flash!" A voice suddenly shouted from off to the side.
Flash hung his head and groaned dejectedly, "god dammit."
"Hey, Soarin." He called back.
Soarin Skies, vice-captain of the CHS soccer team, top sprinter at the school, and CHS's third best student athlete--just under Rainbow Dash and Spitfire Blaze. He was also one of Flash's less then prominent friends within his social group. The two had met back when Flash first started high school, and when Soarin was sophomore. Back then, the young athlete was one of Flash's closest friend and was the person to actually show him around Canterlot High School until he was able to navigate it himself. Over the years, the two had been growing causally apart, with Soarin's schedule forcing him to spend more time training for the sport clubs, and Flash's schedule forcing him to spend more time practicing with his band. The two still held each other in high regard, but their hangout sessions had been severely dwindled to short conversations in the hallways of CHS. Neither of them could truly say they felt completely broken up about the change however.
Flash turned until he could fully see the blue-skinned teen standing behind him. He was dressed in his usual casual clothing, a sky blue blazer with lightning bolt designs on it, a white t-shirt, and a pair of ripped black jeans and sneakers. He greeted him with a wide smile that couldn't be mistaken as anything other then friendly. For a brief moment, Flash genuinely raised his lips and smiled himself. But the weight of his terrible week, slowly pushed it back down into a frown.
"How have you been doing, man?" Soarin asked. "It's been forever since we last talked."
Flash grimaced and only shook his head in response. "Oh you know, everything's been just peachy." He ended his statement with a clearly irritated grunt. Soarin raised eyebrow and gave him a smirk. Flash groaned inwardly. "Great, here comes the cocky swagger." He thought.
"Yeaaaahhh, things seem real peachy..." Soarin replied sarcastically. "...should just call you Flash Sentry, king of the land of peaches and cream."
"Look Soarin, I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood for jokes." Truthfully, Flash really enjoyed Soarin's sense of humor. Back in the day, they would be able to play off each other almost perfectly. They still did. It's just Flash's funk was keeping him from joining in on the fun, and if he wasn't careful, it could also get him really upset at Soarin and he didn't want that. "Dude, right now, I just want to get home and relax. I'll talk to you if I see you on Monday."
Soarin's smirk grew wider. Flash may have not been in the mood to play his game, but he was definitely in the mood to tease his friend. He knew Flash as a good-natured kind of guy, he'd always laugh with you if he knew you were kidding.
"Heard you and Sunset Shimmer were dating again..." He let that statement sit for a moment as Flash opened the driver's seat of his car and threw in his backpack. "...would have expected her to have the long face, not you."
Flash Sentry stood up suddenly and slammed the car door shut with an unexpected amount of force. "What did you just say..?" Soarin heard him growl.
"Uh..."
Without warning Flash suddenly drove his fist into Soarin's left cheek sending him staggering backwards a bit before regaining his footing.
"DUDE! WHAT THE HELL!" Soarin shouted.
"YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT HER THAT WAY, ASSHOLE!" Flash shouted back.
"IT WAS A JOKE!" Flash obviously didn't think it was funny, because he only continued to stand with his shoulders arched and fists balled.
Soarin was beginning to feel a bit frustrated. "Look man..." He stated in a much calmer tone. "I don't know what's going on, but you need to just walk away. Because you're starting to piss me off."
"Take it back." Flash seethed. "Take it back, now!"
"Is that all you want?" Soarin questioned. "Alright jeez, I'm sorry I insulted your girlfriend. I'll think before I talk next time." Soarin may have meant all that he had said, but his words didn't sound anywhere near genuine. This seemed to frustrate Flash even more.
Suddenly, Flash charged at Soarin and wrapped his arms around his stomach, tackling the taller teen to pavement. Upon having his opponent pinned, Flash began to throw a few more punches to the side of Soarin's face. "SAY HER NAME, YOU JACKASS! SAY HER NAME!"
Soarin lifted his right fist and slammed it into Flash's ribs, knocking him off his chest and allowing both teens to roll to their feet.
Once back standing, Flash and Soarin began to eye each other. Like duelists in a spaghetti western, they measured each other up, both staring through squinted eyes just daring the other to make a move.
"I guess we're doing this then." Soarin stated, taking off his blazer and tossing it to the ground.
"Yeah, we are." Flash replied, lifting his fists in a fighting stance.
Without another word, both teens charged at each other, both screaming determinedly like rival protagonists in a Neighponese anime.
Fifteen minutes later, both Flash and Soarin found themselves laying adjacent from each other with their backs against the pavement. Both groaned sorely in pain as the adrenaline and testosterone slowly ebbed its way out of their systems. They began to feel every bruise and cut the other had given them. This was truly the most pain any one person had inflicted on either of them in their life times...
...and yet, they couldn't stop laughing.
"That was one hell of a punch you gave me back there." Soarin chuckled through some labored breaths. "You totally caught me off guard."
"Don't cut yourself short." Flash replied. "I don't think I'll be able to see out of my left eye for a month." He lifted his arm and groaned as he placed it over his eye. Yep, it was starting to swell.
"Hey, when your able to stand up again, could you come over here and tell me if I'm missing any teeth?" Soarin continued to chortle. "I'm pretty sure you knocked out at least three of 'em."
"Sure thing, buddy."
Their silent snickers, suddenly began to grow until they became two sets of big booming laughter. Like the two had just been told the greatest joke either of them had ever heard, they couldn't help but release every ounce of inexplicable mirth they had somehow acquired.
"Flash!"
"Soarin!"
Two new voiced joined their own as the pair of teens heard the sounds of frantic feet running towards them. They would have turned their heads to see who was crying out their names, but based current experience, the effort would have proven to painful to even attempt.
The two teens continued to stare at the sky, as two new heavenly bodies soon stepped into their line of sight. "Flash! Oh my god, what happened to you?!" Sunset Shimmer knelt down, grabbed Flash by the hand and lifted him up so he could lean on her shoulder.
Rainbow Dash did the same for her boyfriend, and lifted him up onto her shoulder. Her expression was no less worried then Sunset's. "Did you to get jumped or something?!"
Soarin began to chuckle again, much to Sunset's and Rainbow's confusion. The girls lead their boys over towards Flash's car and sat them down tentatively on the hood. Soarin smirked. "Are we dead, Flash? Because I'm seeing angles."
"Dudes, that's terrible!" Flash almost burst into tears. "How have we not been hanging out?! I was just thinking that!"
Sunset and Rainbow Dash shot each other some confused glances, before turning back to their respective boyfriends. "Care to fill us in, what exactly is going on here?" Sunset asked incredulously.
Soarin fought to keep his laughter inside. "Flash and I were fighting."
"Fighting?" Sunset repeated while raising an eyebrow. "Why were you fighting?"
Flash took in a deep breath, finally getting a hold of himself before answering. "I got mad."
"You got mad? You?" Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.
"Uh-huh. He started it, alright." Soarin confirmed.
"May I ask why?" Sunset questioned.
"I don't know really." Flash replied. "I've just been having a shitty week, recently. My car broke down three times in as many days; My shoes blew out on me in the middle of school; I flunked an exam I studied for; That sort of thing." Despite the melancholy of the events he listed, Flash strangely didn't seem anything less then joyous. It was almost as if all his anger from earlier today had just disappeared.
"I think this guy broke me." Flash continued, pointing towards Soarin with his thumb. "He started making jokes just as I was about to go home and sulk. Next thing I knew, I was charging at him with an intent to kill."
"Dude swung at me like a beast." Soarin stated. "And I mean like a literal beast, not that it was epic to watch." He then began to scratch his chin in thought. "Though if I were a bystander and Flash was beating down on some other asshat, then I'd probably call it epic."
"So you both basically kick the shit out each other, and now your acting like your gonna go out and grab a beer. How the hell does that work?" Rainbow asked, smirking derisively.
"A beer actually sounds really good right now." Flash commented. "Might help us numb the pain, and I'm in a lot of pain right now."
"You wouldn't understand Dash, it's a guy thing." Soarin explained. "We fight, we punch each other in face, we say some things, we laugh afterwords, then we all go out for beers. It's just men asserting their dominance like nature intended... nothing more, nothing less."
Sunset only chuckled and shook her head at Soarin's explanation. "I could go for a beer." She exclaimed. "Band practice wasn't to terrible today, but I still wouldn't mind unwinding a bit."
"Same here..." Rainbow Dash agreed lazily.
"Cool." Flash proclaimed. "Do one of you girls mind driving? I don't think either me or Soarin are in any condition to get behind the wheel of a car, much less my car."
"I got you." Sunset said, playfully patting Flash on the head like a lost puppy. "Just one last thing, before we hit the road. What exactly did Soarin say that set you off so bad. You almost never get angry."
Flash begrudgingly shrugged in reply. "I don't really remember." He stated. "Something about you have a long face, or something else stupid like that."
Before he could even continue his thought, Sunset suddenly turned to Soarin, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and threw him down hard onto the pavement. She slammed her foot down into the middle of Soarin's chest.
"Ah!" He screamed. "Still brittle!"
"You don't ever talk that way about a mare's face!" Sunset threatened. "Especially not mine! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!"
Soarin for all intents and purposes looked like he was about to wet his pants. "I'm sorry, okay!" He shouted, sounding definitely more genuine then before, if not a lot more terrified. "It was meant to be a joke!" He whimpered.
Rainbow Dash and Flash Sentry could stop themselves from bursting out into the purest state of laughter either had ever felt, and though Rainbow's laugh clearly expressed how happy she was feeling at that exact moment, it didn't compare to how happy Flash was feeling at that same time. The gripes of the past had somehow been forgot, and he could help but admit to himself in a hushed whisper, "I think this is gonna be the start to a great weekend."