My foot is beating out a staccato tattoo against the concrete front walk of Canterlot High. It’s the only outward evidence of my nerves, unless you know me particularly well, which Rarity does.
“Darling, if you don’t calm down you’re going to vibrate right through the floor,” Rarity says cooly, eyeing me with a Cheshire smile.
It’s bright and sunny and bearing down on the last month of the school year, which means it’s the earliest days of summer.
“I’m fine,” I mumble.
My white-knuckled deathgrip on the stone stairs I’m sitting on beg to differ but I will be damned if anyone sees me sweat.
And if they do I’ll blame it on the heat.
Rarity chuckles and blows softly against her nails before going back to filing them.
“Honestly, dear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous,” Rarity continues. Her smile stays where it is though. “All you have to do is talk to her. You did plenty of that over the past several months.”
“I was helping her!” I growl. My temper falters as quickly as it comes on though, and I sag against my knees. “What if she thinks I’m doing this to—! I… I don’t want her to feel obligated!”
With aching slowness, Rarity lowers her hand and stares me down. Her sharp, azure eyes bore into me, and one perfectly shaped eyebrow arches skyward.
“Sunset, darling—” somehow she contrives to make that last word sound more like ‘dumbass’— “you were breaking your back for months to help Wallflower get on that housing program… every single free hour you’ve had has been spent doing that.”
“But—!”
“—and I cannot fathom,” Rarity says, speaking over me, “what kind of person could think that anyone would go to that kind of effort just to get in their pa—”
“RARITY!”
“I’m just saying!” She waves off my shout with a chuckle and flick of her wrist before turning to face me properly. “In all seriousness, Sunset, we’ve all seen how close you and Wallflower are, so I doubt you have much to worry about.”
I wring my hands and lean forward, my nerves jangling as I take slow breaths. I’ve never been this nervous about talking to someone before. Certainly not talking to someone I like!
But maybe that’s the problem.
As juvenile as it sounds, I’ve never liked anyone the way I like Wallflower.
Every time I think of her, my heart flips. It’s her shy little smile, her beautiful eyes, the way she hides her mouth when she laughs. And she laughs so seldom that it’s even more precious to me when she does.
“I’ve got it bad, Rares,” I groan, slumping onto my back against the warm concrete and staring up at the sky. “Before it was easier to be around her because I was taking care of her! I had a goal! Now I just keep thinking about how stupid-pretty she is!”
“You’ve the soul of a poet, darling,” Rarity says dryly. “Just ask her out on a date, easy as lace.”
“Where would I even take her?” I say, scowling. “If I’m going to do that I have to show her I’m serious! That I’m not just… ugh, I dunno… looking for compensation!”
“Dinner and a movie, maybe?” Rarity offers with a smile. “It’s a classic for a reason.”
I sit up and lean forward, wracking my brain.
“I don’t really know what movies she likes, honestly,” I say after a moment, then look over at my friend. “What if I get it wrong?”
Rarity sighs heavily, pockets her beauty paraphernalia, and turns to face me properly with her arms crossed.
“Sunset, really, so long as she spends the evening with you I highly doubt she’ll care,” Rarity says firmly, then her expression softens and she puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’re overthinking this, dear, just go where your heart leads, alright?”
I nod sullenly. It wasn’t great advice but it was probably the best I was going to get from Rarity, and that meant it was probably the best I’d get from any of my friends.
Not for nothing, but my friends aren’t what you’d call… romantic.
Dash has the emotional depth of a teaspoon and the libido of five-alarm salsa, so her ideas are an instant no-go where Wallie is concerned. Fluttershy is sweet but the last time she had a date she froze up with nerves fifteen minutes before they were supposed to meet and locked herself in the bathroom.
Applejack might be a good one to ask considering she and Rarity have been an item for months, but I think her advice might be too straight-forward for Wallflower. As for Twilight? I love her to bits but the human version of my Equestrian friend doesn’t have a romantic bone in her body, and if she did she might consider extracting it for study.
A~nd then there’s Pinkie.
Wallflower’s first, and so far only, experience with the Party Cannon puts the kibosh on that idea.
“I’m gonna take a walk and think about it,” I say quietly, standing up and brushing the grit from my pants as I do.
Rarity stands with me, demurely doing the same albeit with far more grace and class.
“Take your time, but not too much,” Rarity says with a wan smile. “If for no other reason than because Wallflower deserves to know how you feel about her. Lord knows that girl could use the ego boost.”
“Agreed,” I reply with a laugh.
I pull Rarity into a fond hug before stepping back and turning to start walking.
Seniors have the mornings off but, frankly, I don’t have anywhere better to go, so I’d asked Rarity to meet me at the statue to ask for advice before school started properly.
I guess I could have asked over the phone but I’ve always been better with in-person conversation. Plus, Rarity probably has one of the better heads on her shoulders between our friends not counting the times when her ‘muse’ takes over.
She can wax a little irrational then.
Overall, though, Rarity had given me good advice. It was mostly what I already knew, which boiled down to me just swallowing my nerves and actually talking to Wallflower. Hearing it from someone else, though, did help.
It’s an outside reminder that at least one other person agrees with me, and that’s cheering to a certain extent. Of course, I was hoping for an absolute answer, but life is rarely, if ever, so convenient.
The problem then becomes actually working up the chutzpah to face Wallflower Blush and not to make myself look like a total cretin.
“Dinner and a movie.” I say the words out loud as I make my way through the halls of CHS. Saying things aloud helps me focus on them, weigh them, and judge them. “It’s too… simple.”
It would be easy, sure, but would it be right?
I feel like because it’s so classic it would just give Wallflower the impression that I’m trying to avoid. I don’t want something boilerplate, I want to show her that I’m thinking of her.
As cliché as it seems, I want it to be special.
I card my fingers through my hair and wrack my brain, but for once my genius IQ is turning up nothing. For better or worse, I think I may have to face the fact that I’m not very romantic. At least, not generally speaking. I want to be romantic for Wallflower, though, because that much feels right.
She’s… soft. Wallflower is gentle and kind, and she deserves to be romanced.
She deserves for me to do this right.
“Hey!”
“AH!”
I jump back about half a foot as my vision fills with the bright, smiling face of Pinkie Pie. Her broad, toothy grin seems to take up half of her face as she giggles brightly to herself while I try to get a handle on my overreacting heart thundering away in my chest, taking several deep breaths and straightening my jacket.
“Hiya Sunny!”
“Pinkie,” I groan. “What have I told you about sneaking up on me?”
She smiles undeterred. “Well, I did call out your name like five times and then tap you on the shoulder, but you looked a little distracted.”
A tiny pang of guilt goes through me, and I grimace.
“Oh.” I sag a little and chuckle weakly. “Uh, yeah, sorry about that, then… I just… I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
I guess asking Pinkie for advice couldn’t hurt.
“Hey, Pinks, if uhm… if I were to ask Wallflower out, where should I take her?” I phrase it as easily as I can. I figure if anyone knows a few fun places to go it would have to be Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie taps a finger against her lips thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging. “I dunno… dinner and a movie?”
I hang my head. “That’s what Rarity said but it’s… it’s just kind of boring, isn’t it?”
Pinkie shrugs. “Well, she likes flowers right? Why not just ask her to prom then?”
A light bulb doesn’t so much go on in my head as it does overload the filament and pop.
“I’m an idiot,” I mumble, slapping my hands against my face and dragging them down. “I’ll just ask her to prom!”
Not only was prom right around the corner, but it’s a tailor-made date! And Pinkie is right! This couldn't possibly be better because the prom venue this year is the Canterlot Botanical Gardens!
I can’t help myself. I drop to my ass and start laughing hysterically, and Pinkie starts laughing right along with me. All of the stress and pressure I’d been psyching myself up for has been for nothing! Asking someone on a date and having basically nowhere to start from is a challenge that I’m not really sure I’m ready for, but the prom does ninety per cent of the work for me!
All I have to do is show up and look good!
Rarity has already made outfits for us all anyway, we paid a little for the materials and a lot of time for modeling, but it was worth it, Now I just…
An idea springs to mind on the heels of my euphoria.
Thanks to my old social worker, Sticky Note, we managed to get Wallflower into a little one-bedroom near the East End via a housing program and a couple of social programs for displaced teens. I was the one who helped Wallie move into the place, and her belongings were pretty sparse, to put it lightly.
She didn’t have anything like a prom dress and definitely didn’t have the money to buy one, but I’m positive I can bribe Rarity somehow. Or just pay her if it comes to it. I’ve got a little money stashed away and this?
This would be worth every penny.
I clamber back up to my feet and wrap Pinkie in a bone-crushing hug that she returns with just as much vigor.
“You’re the best, Pinks!” I’m grinning like a fool as I step back, feeling lighter than I’ve felt in days. “I gotta go talk to Rarity!”
I sprint back the way I came, out towards the front of the school. Rarity isn’t at the steps anymore, but I didn’t really expect her to just hang out. I hang a hard left and start running towards the student parking lot, and give a silent cheer as I see Rarity fitting the key to her car door.
“Rares!” I shout, waving a hand to get her attention.
She looks up as she unlocks the door, but doesn’t open it, and I’m panting by the time I get there. I stop in front of her, bracing myself on my knees as I try to catch my breath, holding up a pleading finger for her to wait.
“Take your time, darling,” Rarity says with a small laugh.
“I’ve got a plan!” I gasp out as I straighten. “But I’m going to need some help.”
“I live to serve,” Rarity says blithely, but she’s smiling.