Sunset Shimmer walked out of the front school door along with a parade of other students. Today had been long and tiresome, with getting back into the school routine after a week long break and trying to avoid every reminder of that fateful day. Sunset's eyes were heavy and she walked at a slower pace than the other students, a nap and a round of Apex would be wonderful right now, she thought, but the day isn't over yet. She walked over to the pedestal of the old statue, sat down, and leaned up against a side that wasn't the portal. She thought about possibly droning off here but the noise of the students talking, car horns honking, and school buses passing by made it impossible for her sleep.
She looked around to see if Fluttershy could be found, she said to meet here after school, but alas she's no where to be found just yet. She decided to pass the time by catching up on the news. She reached into her bag's front most pocket to pull out her smart phone and a set of earbuds. She held the phone in her right hand and plugged in the earbubs as she opened up YouTube. Flipping through a few videos, she stopped on one, put her buds in her ears, and began to play it. The video showed two men in front of a wooden background. The man on the left was wearing a beige t-shirt with Japanese writing and the man of the right was wearing a black t-shirt with strange figure on it.
"Hey everyone," said the beige t-shirt man, "welcome back to Inside Gaming Daily for Monday!"
"It's Monday, we can clap for Monday," said the black t-shirt man as he began clapping.
Sunset watched the video till it's completion and then started another one. About thirty minutes went by before Sunset could hear footsteps walking towards her. She looked up to her right and saw Fluttershy not too far away from her. Sunset saw that Fluttershy had an annoyed look on her face, and there were only two people who can make her dawn that face.
"Hey Sunset," Fluttershy said in a monotone voice.
Sunset pulled out the earbuds to commit full attention to her friend. "Is everything ok, Flutters," asked Sunset, "Do you wanna talk about it on our way to the shelter?"
Fluttershy gave a heavy sigh, "that would be nice, yes."
Sunset put her phone away, got up, and swung the straps over her shoulders. The two girls began walking towards the direction of the animal shelter. Thankfully, it was only a short fifteen minute walk from the high school. As they walked for a few minutes, Sunset decided to initiate the conversation, "So, who was the trouble maker today, Mr. Discord or Zephyr?"
Mr. Discord is one of the substitute teachers for CHS. He's known mainly for his eccentric and wild character, his seemingly endless knowledge of pop culture references, and his odd teaching methods. His nickname around the student body is "the Lord of Chaos," as he tends to takes things in class off topic and can sometimes unintentionally hinder student's work. While popular among the lower classmen, the upper classmen hold a great amount of disdain for him, as they just want to get on with the day's lesson without interruption. Zephyr Breeze is Fluttershy's younger brother, who is a the hybrid product of a hippy and a hipster. Laid back, always wanting to be unique, and an ego that only Rainbow Dash can rival. He's garnered a reputation for refusing certain classroom and homework instructions simply because "it doesn't fit him." He's also known for convincing other students to do his work for him through expert manipulation, acquiring the nickname "Zephyr Sleaze." Both of these characters are the only ones who can truly bring out Fluttershy's annoyed state.
Fluttershy's eyebrows lowered as she gave a deep groan, "If you can believe it, both."
"Both," said Sunset with surprise, "oh dear Celestia."
"E'yup," responded Fluttershy, "Mr. Discord was subbing for Mrs. Cake today in Home Ed, and since Zephyr and I take that class together, the two of them got along like two old friends. Not a single person got anything done today."
"Oof," replied Sunset, "glad I only had to worry about my core classes this semester."
"Be grateful indeed," said Fluttershy, "just thinking about it makes me so...peeved!" Fluttershy raised both of her hands over her mouth, her eyes widened with shock and her cheeks blushing with embarrassment, "Oh, um, excuse my potty mouth."
"Hey, I read YouTube comments and play Overwatch," said Sunset with an amused smile, "I've heard and...said worse," her cheeks slightly blush.
"You mean like when we saw one of your streams," asked Fluttershy, "Where you talked about dragon--."
"OH LOOK WE'RE HERE," Sunset said cutting Fluttershy off from bringing up that embarrassing moment from last semester.
The two girls entered the shelter and were greeted by a young women behind the front desk with buttercup yellow skin, water blue and sky blue swirled hair, and wearing a white button up shirt and light khaki pants. "Hello girls," she said in a welcoming tone, "if you're here for volunteer work then you should know there isn't much to do today. We had a lot of adoptions last week and so there are only a few animals left to take care of."
"That's so good to hear, Dr. Fauna," said Fluttershy, "just tell us where you want us."
"Some of the empty cages still need to cleaned," Dr. Fauna directed to a door that leads to the back, "I've already cleaned the cages of the animals still here so you don't have to worry about cleaning theirs, but they do need to be fed. After that you can just play with the animals, like I said, not a whole lot to do today."
"You got it," Fluttershy turned to Sunset, "are you ready?"
"Yup, just so long as I get to feed them," said Sunset.
With that said, the two girls walk into the back room where the animals are kept. They enter a long room with two rows of cages stacked two high stretching the full the length of the room, roughly twenty cages on each side. Before the cages, there are two sets of different supplies on both sides, to the right is food for the animals and on the left is cleaning supplies for when the cages get dirty. When the girls enter, the noise in the room is a loud silence, only occasionally broken by a bark or a meow from the far end. Normally there would be a cacophony of noises that would make it nearly impossible to hear another person speaking, but not this time. "I guess Dr. Fauna wasn't kidding about last week," commented Sunset.
"Well we better get to work," said Fluttershy, "those cages aren't going to clean themselves, and I bet the little critters are eager for full bellies."
The two girls set their bags against the wall next to the door. Sunset walked over to the right and pulled out the trolley sitting next to the shelf of various animal feed. She turned her attention to the feed and pulls out two bags, one for dogs and one for cats, seeing as those were the only sounds she heard. She places the bags on the trolley, swings it around 180 degrees, and starts her way down the column.
Nearly all of the cages are empty except for the last three on the left. The bottom two have a chocolate brown dachshund and a puppy golden retriever, the top one has a grey manx kitten. "Hey guys," said Sunset, "you ready for some din-din?" All three of them have their front paws against the plexiglass screen, they can smell the food through the air holes, the dog's tails start wagging like crazy. "I'll take that as a yes." Sunset lifts the bag of dog food, sets it down on the floor, and opens the bag, now the dogs are beginning to drool. She kneels down and faces the cage with the retriever puppy inside. She moves her hand over to a small latch that keeps a slot closed on the plexiglass door. The slot is big enough for Sunset to put her hand in and pull out the dog bowl but small enough that the dog can't squeeze through and crawl out. She fills the bowl up with 2 cups of dry dog food and places the bowl back in the cage, shutting the slot. The dog tears into the food, "jeez, you're eating like this your first meal ever, guess you must have been pretty hungry." Sunset repeats the same process with the dachshund, who is more calm than the puppy partly due to her being a few years older. When the dogs are finally fed, Sunset closes the bag, gets up on her feet, and puts the bag on the trolley, now for the kitten.
Since the kitten was on the top shelf, there was no need for Sunset to get back on her knees. She opens up the slot on the cage, pulls out the bowl, and pours one cup of dry cat food into it's bowl. When Sunset proceeds to put the bowl back into the cage, the cat pounces forward and begins rubbing it's face against her hand, purring while it shows affection. Sunset's heart began to melt, "now I see why Fluttershy loves taking care of you guys. If only my apartment allowed dogs and cats, you'd all have a forever home." The cat finishes purring and begins to eat it's food. Sunset closes the slot, turns the trolley around, and heads back up to the food station.
"So what is your plan after graduation," asked Sunset while she and Fluttershy play with the animals on the floor in the shelter's animal play room. It's a small room with some toys, rugs, and climbing areas.
Fluttershy makes a small giggle, "I'm doing it right now."
Sunset looks at her with a perplexed look, "your plan is to play with animals?"
"Well yes and no," said Fluttershy, "you see, I plan on becoming a veterinarian like Dr. Fauna."
"That sound's like you'll be in school for a while," said Sunset.
"Three years of undergraduate studies and four years of veterinary school," said Fluttershy, "But it will all be worth it in the end."
"Yeah I bet," said Sunset, "you'll be making a lot of money before your 30." Fluttershy pinched the bridge of her nose, "is something wrong," asked Sunset.
"That's not why I want to become a veterinarian," Fluttershy explained, "it's never been about the money for me."
"I thought that was the reason why people here went to college," said Sunset, "to get a good paying job, so they can have financial security in life."
"Being secure and being happy are two different things," said Fluttershy, "Sunset, do you know who the most depressed people in the world are?" Sunset shook her head, "the ones who have everything. We live in a world where we are told that if we buy this or make x amount, then we'll be forever happy, but that's not true. Going to college shouldn't be about getting a job. It should be about learning more about what you love. One person loves teaching kids, so they go to learn to be a teacher; another loves to paint, so they go to learn more about art; Me, I love animals, so I'm going to learn how to properly treat animals. What about you Sunset, what do you love?"
"Well, I...um," Sunset rubbed the back of her neck, trying to think of some answers.
Before Sunset could say anything, Fluttershy got up onto her feet, "hold on," she said as she walked to the door. She left the room and headed towards the lobby.
As Sunset waited, she looked around to see where the animals went. She found them behind her, sleeping all together, they were tuckered out from playing for the past hour. Sunset could feel her heart begin to melt again. She took out her phone from her pocket and takes a picture. She closes the camera app, opens up her messages, and sends the photo to some of her friends, knowing they'll love to see this.
Fluttershy came back into the room holding a small notepad and a number two pencil. She sits down on the floor next to Sunset and hands her the pad and pencil. "Here, why don't you write down all the things you love or love to do. Then we can figure out your passion."
Sunset looks at the pad and taps the eraser against her mouth as she thinks, writing down the first thing that comes to her mind.
Hm let's see...oh I know I've gotta put this.
- video games
What else? Ah of course
- being with friends
Oh I can't forget this
- riding my motorcycle
I can't forget you too my wittle ray of sunshine
- my dragon Ray
And I especially can't forget you
- Flash Sen
NO, erase that you idiot, she can't know yet
- _____ ___
Whew, that was close, now there's gotta be one more...I got it!
- playing my guitar and singing
Ok, I think that's it.
Satisfied with the size of the list, she hands the pad back to Fluttershy, who looks over the list. "Alright, lets see what we've got here, hmmm, 'video games,' have you thought about going into video game development?"
Sunset shrugs, "I mean as much as I love video games, I'd rather just play them than make them."
"What about your streams," asked Fluttershy, "have you thought about going full time?"
"I like to stream every now and then but going full time doesn't sound like a pleasant experience," said Sunset, "I can only tolerate my...aggressive commenters and critiques for so long."
"Ok, what else is on the list," Fluttershy's eyes look down, "hm, 'being with friends,' perhaps family and human services, psychology, may be even sociology?" Sunset raised an eyebrow in disdain, "or perhaps not, let's move on, 'riding my motorcycle,' have you thought of mechanical engineering or perhaps competitive motorcycling?"
"I only know the basics when it comes to motorbike maintenance, any further in and I get confused," said Sunset, "also those competitive bikers are hardcore, and I don't have any desire to do something like that after the Friendship Games."
"Alright, what's next," said Fluttershy, "'my dragon Ray,' well not much to go off from that, unless you also want to be a vet?" Sunset just shook her head, "ok, and last but not least is 'playing my guitar and singing,' what about pursuing music?"
Sunset pressed her index finger on her lips, pondering that idea. "That has crossed my mind a few times today. It's something I'm good at and it's something that I love. Plus I can't see myself without my guitar and singing."
"Sunset Shimmer," said Fluttershy with confidence, "I think we just found your passion."
Just as Fluttershy was getting up and heading towards the door, Sunset spoke up, "but what if no one wants to hear my music? What if I fail at trying to nail a publishing deal? What if I end up on the street playing for tips in order get my next meal?"
"Sunset," Fluttershy said loud enough to get her attention but quiet enough as to not wake the animals, "you can't think about that. Let me tell you a story. When my uncle was in college, a small band came to his campus to play for their spring formal. The band was unknown at that time, they only had a small record deal but no big hits just yet, no one on campus knew who they were. You want to know what the name of that band was? Queen."
Sunset's eyes widen in amazement, "you mean, Queen, with Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon?"
Fluttershy nodded, "they were nobodies back then but they kept playing because they loved playing music and now look at what they are known for. So don't worry about the money, everything will work out well in the end, just keep doing what you love."
"So what do you think I should do," asked Sunset, "should I start making music after high school or go to college and study music?"
"The choice is ultimately up to you, Sunset," said Fluttershy, "but studying music in college wouldn't be a bad idea. What you learn there may give you an edge in the music business."
There conversation concluded when two separate chimes rang in their pockets. They pulled out their phones to see who was texting them. Fluttershy saw a text from her mom asking her when she was heading home, the time above the message read "5:26." Sunset saw a text from Flash asking if she wanted a ride from the shelter and that he thought the picture of the sleeping animals was adorable. They both responded to their messages.
I'm about to leave the shelter, will be home before 6:00, wrote Fluttershy.
Yes please, and can we stop to get something to eat? I'm starving, wrote Sunset.
"I guess we should better get going," said Fluttershy.
The two girls got up on their feet and began to gather up their things and clean up the toys around the room. As they were finishing up, Dr. Fauna entered the room to see how things were going. "You girls getting ready to head out," she asked.
"E'yup," Fluttershy responded, "do you need us to tuck the animals in for the night?"
The vet put her hand on her chest and projected a face of fake offense. "Fluttershy," Dr. Fauna said in an overly dramatic tone that only Rarity could rival, "you would dare rob me of my favorite part of my job?"
Fluttershy felt a rush of awkwardness and embarrassment. She shrunk her head, stroked a part of her hair, and her cheeks began to blush, "oh, I-I-I didn't mean--I w-was just," Fluttershy found herself at a lost for words.
"Fluttershy," said Sunset with a smile and raised eyebrow, "I think she's being sarcastic."
Dr. Fauna chuckled, "It's ok dear, I'm sorry if I scared you," she said, "you two girls run along, I can handle things from here."
Fluttershy breathed a heavy sigh of relief, "thank you for letting us work today, Dr. Fauna. I'll see you tomorrow."
The two girls walked through the door, waving goodbye to the vet. They walk through the shelter, making their way to the front exit. Once outside, they stopped on the sidewalk in front of the shelter to talk for a little bit. "Thanks for sharing all that with me Fluttershy," said Sunset, "you've definitely given me a starting line."
"Anything for a friend in need," said Fluttershy as she gave Sunset a friendly hug, "do you want to stay over at my place tonight, or are you going to head back to the school to take your bike home?"
"My bike is still stuck in the shop," said Sunset, "But I've got a ride coming to pick me up anyway."
"Oh really," a grin and cocked eyebrow of intrigue appeared on Fluttershy's face, "who's your chauffeur?"
Sunset's face began to blush, "oh, just...some...uber driver." Right on que, or with the worst possible timing in Sunset's case, a black Camaro that had a blue shield with a lighting streak decal on the hood pulled up and honked it's horn.
Fluttershy's look of intrigue grew as she knew exactly who the car belonged to, "just some uber driver huh," she said with a slight tease in her tone.
"Uh...yeah," said Sunset as she mentally cursed Flash, "oh boy, look at the time, I better get going, and you should two. Well I'll see you tomorrow." Sunset dashed to the car, threw her bag into the back seat, and hopped into the passenger.
The car drove off into the evening, leaving Fluttershy by herself, though she didn't mind, she was too giddy to care. She collected herself as she began to make a call. She dialed up a number and waited for the other line to pick up.
"Rainbow Dash here," the other line answered.
"Hey Dashie," Fluttershy said as she held back her excitement with every ounce of her body, "do you remember that bet we had about Sunset and Flash?"
"Yes," said Rainbow in a confused tone and a tinge of worry, "what about it?"
Fluttershy cleared her throat, took in a deep breath and said, "I win."
"WHAT," *click* Fluttershy ended the call before Rainbow Dash could say anything else. She then began her walk home, with a mile wide smile that Pinkie would be proud of.