//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: One chance // Story: When Dating a Sunset... // by ThePinkedWonder //------------------------------// Oh, I really bucked up this time. Diane Heart, in a moment of weakness, kissed me on the lips! It was meant to “coax” me into going out with her. Then the reason I said “no” showed up: my girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer. The look on her face and tears from her eyes broke my heart. “Sunset? I-I know what you’re thinking, but it’s n-not what it looks like!”  The fact that I was stuttering made it look even worse. With another sob and whimper, Sunset ran off toward Twilight’s castle.  What have I done? I jumped off the bench Diane and I were on, and bolted after Sunset, calling her name and begging for her to stop to talk to me. Of course, she didn’t, and if anything, my calls made her run faster and she was pulling away. I hoped I could make up the ground after she was in the castle, and I obviously hoped she wouldn’t go through the portal before I caught up. Didn’t even think about Twilight, Starlight, or Spike possibly being in the castle and hearing Sunset’s side of the story first. I finally reached the castle, sped through its front doors, and then through the doors to the library. There I found Sunset lying face-down on a purple couch. Her forelegs covered her head, and she was crying her eyes out. Part of me was relieved that she didn’t run through the portal yet. But it killed me to see her crying. How could I have let this happen? After I panted a little to catch my breath, I walked closer and started, “Sunset? I can--” Sunset lifted her head off the couch and glared at me. Her eyes were watery and tears ran down her cheeks. She wore a type of frown that’s only worn by someone who had their heart broken. No, shattered. “How could you, Eric?” “But I didn’t--” “You know, I really cared about you! I thought we had something special! I thought you felt that I was special!” “And I really care about you too, and you are special! That was--” “A kiss that you gave another mare?” Sunset asked in a more sarcastic voice, not an angry one. Now comes the part where I act like an idiot. “No, well, yeah, but I--” In a low voice, Sunset ordered, “Don’t talk to me.” “But I--” “I said ‘don’t talk to me’!” Sunset’s horn glowed and I gasped, looked away, and braced myself. But instead of a red beam of magic, Sunset threw a pillow, with her magic, from the couch at me. It got me in one of my arms. I didn’t know what to say next. The last thing I wanted was to make this mess worse. After three uncomfortable seconds, Sunset simply said, “I’m leaving.” Sunset hopped off the couch and walked toward the portal. She was too upset to listen. We were growing so close, she trusted me so much, and Sunset told me how special she felt after we got together. I didn’t know how I made her feel more special than she did before, but it felt great knowing I did. It even made me feel more special. It was still a little hard to believe that I had a pony as great as Sunset Shimmer as a girlfriend. Then she saw me in a kiss with another mare, and it wasn’t like I resisted immediately. I assumed Sunset got to us after I told Diane that I couldn’t go out with her because I was dating Sunset. At this moment, emphasis on “was”. The evidence wasn’t exactly in my favor. I knew how some boyfriends that did cheat on their girlfriends might say anything in this kind of spot, and Sunset knew it too. I didn’t see her geode, so saying that she could read my mind to learn the truth was out. I wasn’t even sure if her mind-reading powers worked in Equestria; something I never asked. There wasn’t anything I could say to get Sunset to calm down and listen. Or was there? There was one thing I could say. It would have definitely grabbed Sunset’s attention, despite her being so hurt and mad. But it would be risky, maybe even dangerous. Saying it could get her to calm down and give me a chance to clear this up. Or, it might backfire and make her not only madder, but more volatile, or even snap. I was unusually aware that Sunset Shimmer is a Unicorn, and a strong one. If Sunset snapped, I had next to no defenses against magic, and Twilight and Starlight weren’t around to step in. Still, I needed to take the chance. If Sunset left before I could explain, I might not have gotten another chance. Maybe it’s the Starlight Glimmer in me that made me willing to roll the dice and take a chance. Wouldn't be surprised if someday, if you look up "risk" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Starlight's face. I clenched my fists, mentally crossed my fingers, and asked, “Sunset, do you remember ‘Anon-a-miss’?” Sunset stopped in her tracks in front of the glowing portal, but didn’t turn around. “Remember how bad it looked for you, even though you were innocent?” Sunset stayed motionless. Could I have gotten through to her? Or was she thinking of what to yell at me, or even which spells to use? “Remember how bad it got when the girls turned on you?” Still nothing from Sunset. I felt that I really needed to pick my next words carefully. “Listen, if Princess Twilight and the others learn what happened and think I cheated on you, I don’t know what might happen. As horrible as things got for you because of Anon-a-miss, at the very, very least, you had the option to return to Equestria if you didn’t get the girls to believe you, or if you never forgave them for turning their backs on you. Princess Twilight believed you, so I'm sure she would have took you in if you wanted to leave that world for good. But I will have nowhere to go if the others here turn on me. I can’t go back to my old world.” Sunset stayed put. Still had no idea what the pony was thinking. I gave it one more try, and hoped I’d get a response. And not one that would hurt. I was tempted to get on my knees. “Please, Sunset Shimmer, please, I’m begging you. All I ask is for one chance, just one. Let me take you to Diane, so you can hear her side of the story. If what she says isn’t good enough, I’ll never try to talk to you again. So please?” I was out of more to say, so I shut up and waited for Sunset to make a move. If nothing I said worked, I would have no choice but to let Sunset go, and expect her to hate me from this point on. The best I could hope for then would be that she’d stop hating me at some point to maybe want to be my friend again, albeit with less trust in me than before. And hope things wouldn’t get worse, since I was sure Sunset would have later told Twi what happened in their journals. I really didn’t think Twilight would get upset enough to kick me out of the castle or otherwise turn on me, or even automatically believe Sunset’s version of the story over mine. Even so, my stupid paranoia was trying to mess with my head again. Sunset finally made a movement by turning her head down, but otherwise stayed still. My eyes stayed on her and my ears listened for any sounds. After what felt like forever, she lifted her head and slowly turned to me. I tensed up, and my attention immediately went to her horn. It didn’t start glowing. Good sign. Once she turned around enough to face me, Sunset said, “Fine. One chance.” We left the castle to head to where Diane and I were when...that happened. Not surprisingly, Sunset wasn’t in the mood to talk, so we were silent as we went. It never felt so awkward walking with someone/somepony before. We got to where Diane and I “kissed” and she was still on the bench. The thought that she might have left by this point didn’t even cross my mind. Good thing, because Sunset might not have had enough patience to track down Diane with me if she already left. I called out, “Hey, Diane, I‘m glad you’re here. Can you tell Sunset it wasn’t how it looked?” Diane looked to me and responded, “I’m not sure what you mean.” “I mean, could you tell her that there’s nothing going on between you and me? She saw us 'kissing', thinks we are having a thing, and is furious at me.” Diane’s eyes got big, and she gasped. “Oh, no, no! Sunset, There’s nothing going on with Eric and me, and I kissed him.” I was a little worried Sunset wouldn’t believe it. But her angry frown softened and her ears drooped at Diane’s words. “Wait, really?” Diane nodded her head. “Really.” Part of me wanted to say “You see?” to Sunset, but I was too glad that she believed Diane to even do it. “Oh...well in that case, why did you kiss him? Didn’t he tell you that he and I are together?” “He did, and I’m sorry, Sunset. I asked him if he wanted to try to go on a date with me and he said no. Then I kissed him, hoping to...change his mind.” “Okay.” Sunset’s calmer look grew back into an angry one. “But I thought you were better than that, Diane Heart! How could you make a move on a guy that you knew had a girlfriend?!” Diane's ears dropped. “I’m so sorry. I usually never do things like that, but I’m just going through a hard time, so I wasn’t thinking straight. I know I was out-of-line, and I will understand if you two hate me now.” At this point, I was too relieved to think of being mad at Diane, much less hate her. “Well, I can’t speak for Sunset because she was hurt the most by it, but I don’t hate you.” I turned to Sunset, and I didn’t know if she would either calm down her scowl or intensify it. Diane tried to “steal” me from her, so I wouldn’t have said anything if she didn’t want to forgive Diane. I wouldn’t have blamed her. But I got my answer: Sunset’s scowl vanished, but was still frowning. “And I don’t hate you either. I don’t like how you kissed my boyfriend after he said he has a girlfriend, and I even thought he was cheating on me. But...I know what it’s like to go through a hard time, and I’ve made my fair share of mistakes.” “You do?” Sunset nodded her head. “Yeah.” “She really does, and I have too,” I chimed in. “Well, is there anything I can do to make it up to you two?” “No, you don’t have to do anything. Just don’t kiss him again and I better not catch you calling him ‘weird’. But, you said something’s wrong. What is it?” I was a little surprised by Sunset’s change in mood. Then again, she’s not one to stay mad at someone after whatever happened that upset her got resolved. Didn’t take her long to forgive Juniper Montage for trapping her and the others in a mirror. “Oh, well, I lost a gem that belonged to my late little sister. It’s all I have left of her, and I just can’t find it.” “Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t have any idea where it could be?” “No, and I looked everywhere.” The fact that it was a gem suddenly registered in my noggin and I facepalmed. Couldn’t believe I didn’t think of this idea sooner! "Wait, you said it’s a gem, right?” “Yes.” “Okay. My friend Rarity’s special talent is finding gems, so she might be able to find it. I can try to find her and ask her for help.” A big ‘ol smile formed on Diane’s face. ”Oh, that would be so great! You really don’t mind after what I did?” “I don’t mind, and I don’t think Rarity will mind helping either. I’ll go get her.” Earlier, Rarity said she was going to rest at home today, so I knew where she was. When I found her, she said to wait for her where Diane and Sunset still were, after I told her where we would be and that the gem was blue. At first, Rarity was hesitant to help. She was still a little mad at Diane, because of how hard I took it when I learned Diane thought I looked weird several weeks ago. But I was able to persuade Rarity to do it. About twenty minutes after I returned to where Diane and Sunset was, Rarity walked to us. She had her purse but wore a frown. Uh-oh. I asked, “What’s wrong?” With a frown full of disappointment, Diane asked, “You couldn’t find it?” Rarity lowered her horn before her horn glowed. A blue gem levitated from her purse. She lifted her head, now with a smile, and asked, “Is this the gem?” Heh, guess Rarity was just messing with us with that frown. Maybe she took lessons from Trollestia. Or maybe I should start calling her “Raritroll” or something; she's done stuff like this before. Diane gave one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen and answered, “Yes! It is! Thank you so much! I don’t know how I can ever repay you!” Rarity waved a hoof. “Oh, it’s no problem at all.” I suggested, “But you could make it up to us by not losing that gem again.” “Oh, I will never lose it again! Again, thank you so much, and I’ll pay you all back someday!” Rarity levitated Diane’s gem to her. Carrying the gem in a foreleg, Diane flew off. After Diane was out of sight, I said, “Well, thanks for the help, Rarity. I wasn’t sure if you were going to help.” “Well, if you’re not mad at her, Eric, I guess I shouldn’t be. Anyway, I’ll see you two later.” Rarity trotted off, leaving Sunset and me by ourselves. I was ready to put that mess behind me, and was already wondering what Sunset and I could do. Games? Get a bite to eat? Bowling? Walk around and talk? Or have that make-out session that we both wanted to have after I got out of the hospital? Wanna take any bets on what I wanted to do the most? ”Whew! I’m glad that’s over, Sunset, and everything’s all right. I was worried that I lost you as my girlfriend or even as my friend. But what happened to all that homework you had?” In a voice with some sadness, Sunset asked, “Hey, Eric? Can we go back to the castle?” Something about that voice wasn’t right. But I answered, “Yeah, we can.” I started to walk toward the castle, but Sunset’s horn glowed, and the next thing I knew, we were in the castle’s library, near the purple couch she was crying on before. After the Cragadile attack, Sunset’s done some re-training to get fully used to her Unicorn magic again, without forgetting how magic works in the human world. Thanks to this, she can teleport more than just herself now. I turned to Sunset, who had her head down. Was she still mad at me?  “Sunset? Is something wrong?” Sunset lifted her head to me with a frown. I thought she forgave me, and we would move past it. But her next words were not anything I thought she’d want to say now. “Yes. Everything is not ‘all right’ and I think we should break up.”