//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Asking The Weirdest Questions // Story: Love in a Flash // by SolaceStone //------------------------------// Most students were waiting impatiently for their class to end, eyeing their gaze towards the counting hand of the clock to reach the 12 on top. Rainbow Dash in particular was thumping her feet in excitement, ready to dash out to play in the field. The only known exception would be Twilight Sparkle, who didn’t want the class to end for at least another hour or two. Or three. Now, however, unbeknownst to all, Sunset Shimmer was with Twilight Sparkle in not wanting the class to end as well. It wasn’t that she was just as eager as Twilight in learning more things; on the contrary, she was confident that she’d pass every class with flying colors, being only second to the lavender girl in terms of overall scores. Compared to the application of magical enchantment and Starswirl’s theory on spell construction, something like physics or chemistry was a walk in the park. No, what she dreaded was sitting right beside her; a white girl with the most luscious violet hair. Knowing her best friend, once Rarity craves for something, there is no stopping her, and what Rarity craved for at this moment was a sweet, one-on-one chat with Sunset Shimmer about a certain blue-haired guitarist. She turned to peek at her, who was looking back at her with her smooth chin resting on her palm. Her eyes were like that of a hunter waiting for its prey to make a move. The redhead wanted to desperately run away, but there was nowhere to hide. Rarity knows every corner of this school. Plus, she knows where she lives, and that alone was a very scary thought. Maybe she could run towards the portal? No, that wouldn’t work. Even if she were to escape to her home dimension, Rarity would simply chase after her, and that would cause a whole new problem. Thus, once the counting hand reached its mark, a prismatic blur dashed out of the classroom even before the bell rang, followed by a flood of excited students. Sunset began to walk out of the classroom, trying to think of something, anything, to get her out of this predicament. Wait, that’s it! She thought. If we’re together with the other girls, there won’t be enough privacy for me and Rarity to chat! Just when she thought of a possible means of escape, a marble white arm suddenly wrapped around hers, sealing her fate. “Gasp! Is there something troubling you, darling? Why, yes, Sunset! I’d absolutely love to have a heartwarming chat with you and hear your troubles!” Rarity declared aloud, making sure the rest of their friends could hear her. Sunset looked at her fashionista friend in despair. The other girls looked at her with raised eyebrows but nodded in understanding. After an exchange of goodbyes and see-you-laters, before she knew it Sunset was alone with Rarity at the gym bleachers, which was shared by other groups of students, chatting away to their own gossips. The two were seated at a good distance from everyone else, so there was no problem of them being overheard. “Now then, darling. Tell me your troubles.” The fashionista smiled tenderly to Sunset, though her eyes didn’t show the same tenderness. “Gee, Rarity. What’s there to talk about? No troubles here.” Sunset laughed dryly. “It’s no use hiding from me, darling. What happened back in the cafeteria was clearly not normal. And for heaven’s sake, darling, you were even acting like Fluttershy! Our Fluttershy! Clearly something definitely happened with Flash aside from a leisurely talk.” “But I already told you what happened!” The redhead exclaimed. “Me and Flash just talked over a cup of coffee and tea and— “ “Ah-ah-ah! Details, darling. I want the details!” Rarity interrupted with a wagging finger. Sunset grunted and lifted her head to the ceiling. It’s not that Sunset doesn’t want to share with her friend, explaining it is the hard part. The fashionista then looked at her anxious friend with a serious face. “I know this might be a tad of invading privacy darling, but keeping this ‘feeling’ to yourself with having no clue to what to do with it isn’t helping anyone, especially to you. I don’t just want gossip, Sunset. I want to help you.” She smiled at her tenderly once more, her eyes matching the smile this time. “We’re best friends, darling.” Sunset turned to her friend, a little surprised. With a long, relaxed breath of air, she smiled. “Thanks, Rarity.” “Now, exactly what kind of talk did you have that made you so… fidgety when you see him?” “We… I…” Sunset mumbled a bit at first. After a while, she succumbed with a heavy sigh. “Remember how I said that I dreamt of my break up with Flash?” She began, her friend listening intently in silence. “That dream was a memory of the day Flash broke up with me. I was so angry at that time but Flash… Flash was…” She bit her lower lip and gripped her knees tight. “You’d expect he would be angry with me after how much of a terrible girlfriend I was.” She chuckled dryly, as though she was pitying her past self. “He was the one who broke up with me, yet he wasn’t angry at all. He was hurt.” Sunset then felt the hand of her best friend on her shoulder. She saw her smile that seemed to tell her, “you don’t have to say anymore, darling.” But she urged herself to continue. “So I called him to meet up at the Sweet Shoppe, and then we… talked. We talked about our break up. I told him that I realized how much I’ve hurt him, how terrible he looked, and I just didn’t want to see him like that again. But then he said he forgave me. After all I did to him, he forgave me.” She smiled, teardrops leaking out of her eyes. “He told me that I really did change for the better, and that he's glad that I have real close friends by my side. He's happy for me, and wants to start over with me as friends." She smiled to herself warmly, remembering the kind words from the blue-haired boy, and finally the firm handshake, signalling them not as exes, but as friends. This earned a heartfelt smile from her fashionista friend. "That's lovely to hear, darling, and I'm proud of you." Sunset smiled to her friend in return, but before she could say her thanks, Rarity spoke up again. "And as much as I love a beautiful redemption story, I have a feeling that's not the only thing that's happened." She cornered her friend with dazzling eyes. "So? What did you talk about afterwards?" Rarity expected Sunset to hide her flushed face like Fluttershy, but to her surprise, and perhaps to the redhead's as well, she continued to talk about her time with Flash, the memory still fresh and vibrant in her mind. "We pretty much talked like any two friends after that. We talked about my world; the kinds of ponies, and how Twilight and the Princesses are special kinds of pony. And he was really intrigued by it. Heck, we even had a debate about it." She giggled from the memory, which, unbeknownst to her, Rarity was silently squealing in place. This is getting good. "And gosh was he witty. He made a joke about what he would do if he learned that his pet dog might actually be a giant dragon on the other side and I thought that was adorable. Is it weird that I think his idea on dragons is cute? And then he, he... I'm saying this out loud, aren't I?" The fashionista nodded with enthusiastic glee. Sunset gave out a small groan as she buried her flushed face in her hands. Unable to hold it in, Rarity let out a squeal so loud it disrupted everyone in the gym, to which a basketball player tripped as a result, the ball flung surprisingly to the hoop, earning that player's team a score. Sunset wanted to apologize to the teens around her, but she couldn't as her friend took a tight hold on her shoulders. "That. Is. The--" ""MOST ADORABLE THING I'VE EVER!!!"" For a moment, it sounded as though Rarity's comment made an echo. But to the realization to both Sunset and Rarity, a bright girl in pink popped out of what seemed to be under the bleachers right in between the two. "AHH! PINKIE!!" Sunset felt like her heart leaped right out of her chest in shock, and Rarity felt the same. "Goodness, darling! How long have you been here?!" Pinkie Pie, taking no form of apology whatsoever, nonchalantly replied to her friends. "I heard a squeal of delight, so I have arrived in response." "But, where did you come from?" "The home economics room." "But that's on the other side of the school--" "So, what's the squeal emergency? Is it a cute baby photo of Bulk Biceps? Is Mr. Doodle getting married? Has Sunset finally realized that she likes Flash? Ooh, ooh! Is Principal Celestia finally implementing my proposed National Cupcake Holiday?!" Sunset retracted with an immediate rise of body temperature. "Wait, what?! I-I don't like Flash! I mean, I like him as a friend, but I don't like-like him!" Feeling a sense of déjà vu from the cafeteria, Pinkie replied with a bubbly laugh. "Of course you do, silly!" she exclaimed with a grin, "You've been acting fidgety towards him since Monday! You've avoided eye contact with him, sneak a peek at him when he looks away, and you even sketched his signature mark during history class!" The redhead retracted even further, with an even hotter temperature. "W-what?! No I didn't! I-I don't know what you're talking about," she said so as she shrank to her seat, clutching on to her bag, which inside contained a history notebook that has a peculiar mark, a wide lightning bolt over a shield, with no connection to their class whatsoever. Rarity, who was just as surprised as Sunset, felt a sudden sense of defeat as Pinkie apparently noticed a whole lot more about Sunset's romantic feelings than she ever could. Nevertheless, she agreed with her pink party friend. "But she's right, darling. You've clearly started developing a...*ahem*, an attraction, towards Flash." She said, minding not to say the c-word, else she'd set her poor friend to spontaneous combustion. She looked to her friend in reassurance. "You can't just keep those feelings inside you forever. That's not like you, darling. You'd always express what's in your heart, be it in the form of art or otherwise. So why not take the leap?" "Besides," Rarity continued, "if you ask the other girls, they'll tell you the same thing: go for it. Why, I'm positive that even the Twilight over there will most certainly agree." Sunset looked down to her bag, reminded to her history notebook that was tucked inside. But not only that, but also a certain journal with a mark of a warm sun. She let out a long sigh. "Say that you girls are right," Sunset began, "And that I may start feeling something for... *ahem*, him." Which you do, thought both of her friends. "But, I'm his ex. Isn't there, I don't know, some kind rule against that sort of thing?" "Actually," Rarity stood up and smiled to Sunset, and then to Pinkie, to which the bubbly girl immediately responded by taking out a tiny book from her hair. She lent the book to the fashionista, to which she began flipping through its tiny pages. "It says here on article 14 that a break-up from a couple grants them courtship-immunity for three whole months to either ex-partner. The partner who is, on most witnessed accounts, the one at fault--*ahem*, pardon me, darling--is however granted a courtship-immunity to four times the amount, equaling to a whole year." The redhead could only stare at her two friends slack-jawed. Her friends returned the look with a smirk and a sassy high-five to each other. "And since it's been two years since you guys broke up," Pinkie continued, "that means you two are back in the market, and that you should TOTALLY ASK HIM OUT!!" Her excitement almost brought the attention to everyone at the gym. Sunset panicked a little and worried that rumors would spread, but fortunately for her the teens who did hear misunderstood the party girl's excitement. Pinkie Pie has eyes on someone?! I never knew she had a thing for romance. Really? I feel sorry for the guy she's interested in though. No one could ever keep up with someone like Pinkie. Who could it be then? *Gasp!* Do you think it's that boy who was here a few months ago? Who? The one with the accordion? He was pretty cute, I guess. Coincidentally, the basketball player that tripped before wouldn't have it their way however, and continued dribbling the ball and took the shot while the others were distracted. He missed. Once it was clear that the teens in the gym returned to their own chatter and play, with a relieving sigh from Sunset, she turned back to her two friends. "Ooh! Speaking of Flashie, his birthday is coming up soon! *Gasp!* That means, if you two get back together, I get to make not only a Happy-Birthday-Flashie cake about also a Congrats-on-getting-back-together cake!!" "I-I'm not gonna ask him out!" Sunset declared. Her face had blushed for so long now that she couldn't care less of it anymore. It was still embarrassing, however. "A-anyway, you said his birthday's coming up?" Sunset felt bad about not remembering Flash's birthday, but in her defense there weren't that close as friends up until a few days ago. "How'd you know?" "I know everyone's birthday, silly!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Plus I just saw a thread about it on the Flash-forum!" "Wait, forum?" She looked to her pink friend inquisitively. "Um, Pinkie dear, I don't think Sunset needs to know this right now," Rarity laughed nervously. "Know what, exactly?" Sunset turned to her fashionista friend suspiciously, to which she suddenly found an interest on the gym's window, clamping her lips shut. Pinkie, however, remained undeterred and answered her friend without pause. "The Flash-forum, silly! That one forum where fans and admirers of Flash talk about him." She blurted out, her eyes still on her phone. This left Rarity smacking her forehead and Sunset in a very confused look. "Flash has a fan-forum? Let me see." Suddenly curious, she looked over the part girl's phone. On top of the screen was a title in blue and yellow: The Flash Sentry Fan Club, together with his signature mark on each end. She scrolled down on the screen and noticed how active the forum is. Posts and comments were flooding out quickly from anonymous users (though some not so anonymous from looking at the usernames, such as HiMyNameIsPinkiePie), talking about Flash's activities, songs from his band, as well as picture thumbnails of him. Some of the pictures looked like they've been taken stealthily (to which the redhead felt a little bit creeped out), but others showed him in a good shot, such as Flash rehearsing with his band, Flash messing up a science experiment and Flash sharing his half-burnt cookies to his classmates during home economics class. Oh no. Sunset thought. He looks cute in this one. "Wow, I know Rainbow Dash has a fan club of her own, but I've never actually thought he'd get one too." "But, pardon my assumption darling, isn't that why you dated him?" asked her fashionista friend. "Well, I did date him for the popularity, but when we met I could tell that he was already popular. Plus, I was still getting a hang of the whole smartphones and computers thing," she reasoned. In fact, it was upon learning the brilliance of the social media did Sunset realize the possibilities of controlling the school faster, though of course that was a long time ago. This forum, however, seemed fairly recent, at least after her encounter with Twilight Sparkle. If not, then she would've used the forum to her own advantage. At the top of the forum was a thread called "FS Bday in a couple of weeks!" On the thread were various comments on what one would give to Flash on his birthday to prevent anyone from giving him the same gift. One commented to give him a guitar pick. Another commented to give a greeting card, to which others agreed to contribute their messages for him. Pinkie's gift was going to be, as anyone would have guessed, a party. With lots of cake. "What this essentially means, darling," Rarity explained, "Is that although Flash may be single now, with his large popularity, a chance of him going out with another girl isn't low in any means. This could be a big opportunity for you, darling!" Sunset put what the fashionista said into thought. This was a big opportunity, true. But it's also an opportunity for the other girls of the school as well. It has been, in fact, for a long while now. But more importantly, Sunset wants Flash to be happy; if someone else could do that for him better than she could, she would immediately let that person take it. This then reminded her of something else: so far, only one person was able to make Flash happy after their break-up, and she achieved it all in a week; and that person is a magical pony princess from another dimension. So what if, then, she would come back? Would there be an opportunity for her, perhaps much, much bigger than anyone else? Sunset's imagination grew wild as she imagined Flash and her dating; them watching a movie together; them talking over a cup of coffee at the Sweet Shoppe; them walking around a school fair, enjoying the sights, hand in hand. She imagined their smiles, especially Flash's, and although it made Sunset feel warm inside, it also felt strange to her that the heat inside slowly grew uncomfortably hotter, becoming an all too familiar feeling she felt in her dream a few nights before. And stranger still, it didn't feel wrong. "Sunshim, are you okay?" Pinkie Pie called Sunset back to the surface from her imagination, the tone of the party girl's voice sounding worried, and that was a tone of voice rarely anyone hears. "H-huh? Oh, sorry." Sunset apologized. With her thoughts now clear from wild imaginations, she looked at her friends, who looked back at her with worry. With a sigh, (gosh has she been sighing a lot today), she spoke up to her friends. "I don't know, girls. I mean, I was the one who hurt Flash, so us going back together would most likely be the last thing on his mind right now." The two looked at each other. She's got a point. "Also," she continued, "I'm finally friends again with Flash--like, honest-to-good, official friends. I just... I don't want to ruin our friendship like I did before." Rarity and Pinkie looked at their redhead friend with sympathy. Out of everyone in their group--or in the whole school for that matter--no one cherishes friendship more than Sunset Shimmer. "We understand, Sunset darling. We're sorry for pushing this silly thing on you." "Yeah, we're sorry, Sunset." "Thanks, girls." Sunset smiled. She was of course grateful for her understanding friends, but she also felt quite relieved. Glad that's over. "Alright then," Rarity began, "since I've had you share your troubles with me, darling, it is only fair that I share you mine as well. You would not believe the day I've had yesterday at the mall!" And so the three continued their friendly chat in the gym. Soon the other groups of teens picked up their bags and ready for home, while the basketball players on the court are finishing up the day's practice. The team with the player who tripped won by a miraculous shot on the last few seconds, astonishingly enough. After a couple more shared laughs, the girls readied their belongings and made their way to the hallways. _________________________________________________ As the sun lowered deeper into the horizon, more and more students flowed out of the school, with fewer groups each time, until finally the trio stepped out as well. Sunset told her friends to go on ahead, as she wanted to chill by the school statue for a bit longer. As they said their goodbyes, Sunset watched her friends go, and sat at a comfortable position on the cool, stone floor by the statue. She thought about maybe writing to her when she noticed another group stepping out of the school. She recognized that messy blue hair, slung guitar and hooded jacket anywhere; Flash Sentry, walking out together with his band, Flash Drive. She watched them say their own goodbyes to each other, the other members heading home while Flash turned to the other direction to the parking lot. But in the midst of that turn, he caught the attention of Sunset, and Sunset caught his. They stared at each other for what Sunset felt like hours, with the time reverting back to normal speed when she noticed Flash giving her a small smile and wave. Upon realizing that she had been in fact staring at him for what she felt like hours did she made an awkward attempt to smile and wave back. Oh gosh that was so awkward. Now I feel obligated to say hi. No you don't, Sunset. That was just a normal, friendly greeting. We smile and wave at each other and go our separate ways. Just look away and you'll be fine. Why is it so hard to look away? And oh my gosh why are you walking towards him?! OK, fine. Nothing I can do about that now. Just gonna say hi, no big deal. But we just did! Silently! Through nonverbal gesture! This is a big deal, Sun-- "Hey, Sunset." AAAAAAAAHHHHHH "H-hi Flash, just finished practice?" "Yeah, it took a little longer than we expected. I kept feeling the lyrics to the song is missing something, but I'm not sure what." "Oh? What's it about?" Flash then shifted his eyes away from Sunset. "It's uhhh... I can't actually tell you since it's not finished yet." Sunset raised her eyebrow. This got her curious, and Flash knows that look she's giving him, so he gave out a nervous chuckle. "I'll tell you about it once it's done. Wait no, even better--I'll let you be the first to hear it once it's done." This earned a Sunset a smile. "I'm looking forward to it." She then saw Flash blush a little, "Y-yeah, thanks." Flash blushed just now, didn't he. He totally did. He blushed. To me. I'm really curious to the song he wrote now. Oh great, now I'm blushing too. SUNSET COULD YOU JUST STOP "Anyways, enough about me. What are you still doing here? Waiting for someone?" "Oh, no. Sometimes I just like to chill by the statue before I head home. It's actually quite soothing, if you try it." "Really?" Sunset watched him look over to the statue. "Huh. Guess I'll give it a shot next time." They stood there quietly. Flash looking to the statue and Sunset looking to him. She saw the expression on his eyes looking somewhat reminiscent as he continued to look at the statue; more specifically, at the base of the statue. Sunset suddenly felt heat welling up in her chest once more. At that moment, she couldn't tell exactly what kind of heat she was feeling, but she does know what he's thinking, or rather, who he's thinking of. And she doesn't want him to think of that. Of her. She knows it's wrong to think that--she feels ashamed for even thinking of that. But the thought was still there, and she needed to get it out of her head. She called to him. "Hey, Flash?" "Yeah?" "Can you drive me home?" What. "Oh, uhh, sure thing." WHAT. "Thanks." FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA AND ALL OF EQUESTRIA SUNSET WHAT ARE YOU--