//------------------------------// // Carnival Night // Story: Life’s a Beach // by Auto-Buscus //------------------------------// There were many things going through Flash’s mind as he stood outside of the door, waiting for Sunset to come out of the hotel room that she and Twilight were now sharing. She’d told him it would take her about fifteen minutes to get ready, but he’d been standing out in the hall now for about twenty. He figured it best to not take her literally in this case, especially since, even though this wasn’t technically a date, she was probably still trying to look good for the evening. Flash didn’t mind. He was just looking forward to what the night would bring. After the kerfuffle that was the room arrangements from the previous night had been taken care of, everyone now had an appropriate roommate. Flash had been paired up with Singer, Dusk with Ray, Twilight obviously with Sunset, the siblings Fluttershy and Zephyr shared a room for obvious reasons, AJ and Rarity, and Rainbow with Pinkie. And everyone seemed to be happy with their placement. Everyone except Zephyr, but his opinion wasn’t taken in any regard due to the nature of his presence on the trip in the first place. “Hey Flash” a voice said from behind. Flash turned around to see Ray standing there. Like him, Ray had also changed out of his swimwear and into regular clothes. He’d changed into a light gray t-shirt, accompanied by jeans and tennis shoes. Similar to what Flash himself had been wearing, apart from the color of his shirt being blue. “Oh, what’s going on, Ray?” “Nothing much,” he replied. “Just waiting on someone.” “Oh yeah?” “Yep, fun stuff. So, I know you said that you and Sunset just wanted to hangout by yourselves tonight, and that’s totally cool, but you don’t mind if AJ and I tag along for the bus ride over there do you? She’s getting ready as we speak, and I got roped into going along. No pun intended, of course.” “Not a problem, man.” Flash replied. “But, something tells me that you don’t mind too much.” “I don’t mind at all, really. AJ likes carnivals, and I think they’re fun too. Though I get a sense that a fun night out isn’t the only reason why you wanted to go with Sunset tonight.” “It’s that obvious, huh?” Flash said, nervously scratching the back of his head. “Super obvious. Like, I’m pretty sure all of us know what’s going on, you know? But I don’t think there’s anyone rooting against you in this case. Though, I must give you an obligatory warning. Sunset is my friend, so if you hurt her, you’ll have to answer to me. Got it?” Ray said in a jesting fashion, but there was an undertone of seriousness there that Flash picked up on. “Oh, I got it.” Flash said with a smile. “I’m not looking to repeat the mistakes I made in the past.” “I wouldn’t know about that, but given what I do know, for at least as long as I’ve been around, I think you’ll be alright. You two seem to get along well enough.” “Thanks Ray.” “Don’t thank me yet, it’s up to you not to mess this up. But in all seriousness, I hope everything goes well for you two tonight.” “That’s assuming that she ever wants to actually get back together. I still have to live with it if she doesn’t. And if not, she’ll always be my friend. And for what it’s worth, it’s enough.” “You’re a good guy, Flash.” Ray said. “Hang in there.” Flash nodded to him right before their attentions were diverted to an opening door. It was Applejack. She popped out and shut the door behind her and with a grin, addressing Ray as she came out of her room, dressed in her normal country style attire such as a bandana, her long sleeve t-shirt and some faded denim jeans. “Howdy, y’all! What’r you two out here gossipin’ about?” “Nothing much.” Flash replied. “Absolutely nothing. No gossiping at all. Just chatting about guys stuff, you know.” “If you say so…” AJ said. “Sure is a nice night out. Ah hope y’all don’t mind us going out to the Carnival at the same time, Flash.” “Not at all.” Flash said. “Ray explained everything to me. No issues here.” “Good. Ah already talked with Sunset about it so she knows too. Speaking a’ which. She should be comin’ outta there any minute now.” No sooner did Applejack say that, the door handle on Sunset’s room began to jiggle and the door suddenly flew open. “Sorry I’m late, guys.” Sunset said as she burst out of her hotel room with her hair brush in hand before throwing said hair brush back in the room before closing the door. Sunset had her long red and yellow streaked hair styled in a ponytail while wearing a long sleeved t-shirt featuring art of a Phoenix on it, as well as a dark blue pair of denim jeans and her white tennis shoes. “My hair took forever to finally dry.” “No problem. Uh, you look nice, Sunset.” Flash smiled at her, grimacing nervously. Sunset returned it. “Thanks for waiting for me, sorry it took me so long. You uh, you look nice too, by the way.” She said with a blush. “Thanks, you too… gah!” Flash returned, whispering that last interjection, before mentally slapping himself for basically repeating what he’d already said. Applejack and Ray looked on at this with a bit of concern, but once Flash and Sunset regained their composures, they too relaxed as it appeared a crisis or a meltdown had been averted. Like Ray, AJ had been privy to what was going on with Flash and Sunset and was hoping that everything would go smoothly for them, no matter what happened between them. Flash and Sunset were still blushing a bit afterwards, but they quickly recovered and started out to the lobby where they’d exit through the front entrance. Once outside, they waited for the bus to come, which it did. And the four friends all boarded the bus and off they went. The bus ride had been a brief five minute ride, giving them little time to chat, but they’d arrived and promptly exited the bus. There would be plenty of time for hanging out at least. Once off the bus, AJ and Ray waved at Flash and Sunset before they took off. There were a lot of things going through Flash’s mind as he and Sunset stuck together while they walked. But he knew that he probably better keep his expectations in check. They would each take brief glances at each other before swiftly looking away and blushing. Both laughed almost every time it happened as if they were playing some silly game. The setting sun had brought the outside temperature down to a nice less hot temperature, which, accompanied by the coolness of the sea, made the air very pleasant to be in. Sunset and Flash walked over to the edge and leaned on the railing and looked out at the ocean as the small waves would slide across the surface and land on the shallow surrounding beach. “So, are you as excited as I am?” Flash asked her. “I am. Thanks for asking me to come with you. It means a lot.” She replied with a smile. “Hey, it was my pleasure. I was hoping you’d say yes when I asked you to come with me.” He stopped himself, realizing that he might have just started to sound desperate. “Uh… I mean… You know what I mean… oh man.” Luckily Sunset appeared to be in a very understanding mood tonight. She put her hand on his shoulder, knowing how hard this had to be for him. “I know you were. Look Flash, I just want to say I appreciate you and your feelings towards me. But I also appreciate you taking my feelings into consideration after our conversation last night. You’re a good friend.” “So are you. Which is why I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to persuade you to go out with me, still. I just wanted to spend time with you tonight, even if I’m still holding out hope a little bit. Just thought I’d be honest about my intentions.” “I’m going to be honest with you, too…” she said as she looked down at first but then she turned to face him. “I’ve had time to think about what you said last night, throughout today.” Flash nodded and looked at her attentively and somewhat hopefully. He could see her fidgeting nervously with her fingers in her hair. She shuffled off to the side as Flash stood there with his hands in his pockets. “I’ve also taken the time to talk to some really good friends about this, you might know them.” She was playfully referring to her conversation earlier with Dusk, Rarity and Twilight, and she tittered as she continued. “And they brought up some good points about how I’ve been treating myself lately. I’ve been hiding from my feelings because I didn’t feel like I deserved another chance, but I don’t want to just string you along just because of my fears.” She’d moved back closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’re not stringing me along, your feelings are just as important as anyone else’s.” “Thank you. But the truth is, after you told me what you told me last night, I realized that I also wanted to give us another chance. It was just happening so suddenly that I internally freaked out and was trying to make sense of things. I’m sorry about that. But I really do still like you.” “Wait, seriously?” His eyes widened a bit as his right hand came up out of his pocket and found itself resting on the crown of his head. “Seriously. But I was afraid to act on it. But now, I’m not afraid anymore. I have always wondered what could have been had I not done the things I did.” Her demeanor turned somber for a brief moment, remembering what she’d done to her friends before and how she was awful to Flash when they were a couple the first time. But Flash was quick to chime in again. “We were both immature, Sunset. I wish you would stop putting all the blame on yourself. I didn’t help matters much either with how hot headed I was… and at times can still be. Remember I wasn’t completely innocent either.” “I guess, but you wouldn’t have if not for me.” She expressed a bit of forlorn in her features for a brief moment, before she looked up at him. “Well, now we’re here, and I really don’t care about that anymore. You’re not the same as you used to be.” Flash said as he moved closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’d even argue that you’ve never been a better person than you are now. And I really admire you.” Flash smiled at her reassuringly as he told her this. Sunset threw her arms around him and wrapped him in a hug. Flash returned it. “You really are the best…” “I’m sorry about the guilt you’ve had and the way you’ve been made to feel, Sunset. Even though you may feel like you deserve it, you don’t.” He said as he slightly tightened his arms around her. “But it’s time to let it all go. For good.” With a sigh of relief, Sunset released Flash from her embrace, and Flash did the same and she held his hands. “Flash? Can this be a date? I think I’m ready to give this another shot.” “Wait, for real? Oh… um. Yeah. But only if you’re absolutely sure you want to.” He said as he casually scratched the back of his head. “I am. I’ve never been more sure. I’m tired of the awkwardness and trying to hide how I feel. I want to go out with you again. And I want to have fun tonight.” “Well then, uh, I guess I’d better make it official then, um… Sunset Shimmer, will you go out with me… again?” Flash asked with a grin. He’d been in disbelief at first, but it was becoming more and more real the longer they talked about it, and now she’d confirmed it. “Yeah. I will.” She nodded, and walked beside him, and wrapped her arm around his side and across his back and halfway embracing him. “Lead the way, Mr Sentry.” Flash was elated, so much so that he pumped his fist out of excitement, in which Sunset responded with a laugh at his display. He couldn’t believe it! And all this time she’d felt the same way that he felt. He knew that he didn’t want to mess this up. She’d overcome her fears and put herself out there again. It was a bit of a risk, something that Flash didn’t take lightly. In his mind, he made it his personal mission to make this night fun. Sunset’s thoughts were similar in nature to Flash’s. The idea of dating her ex again made her a bit nervous, but in her mind, his patience and persistence had earned him this second chance. It would be a second chance and a new and better beginning for the both of them. Besides, she knew that she wanted this too. It was time to stop denying it and give it a chance. So far, she could say that she made the right choice. Once they had finally entered the fair, through the ticket purchase line, they wandered inside, unaware of what was following behind them. A large group of muscle cars and some motorcycles had made their way to the designated parking area that lie just by the starting point of the pier, and off to the side. The rear bumpers and windows of each car and the backs of the motorcycles had one thing in common. Bumper stickers colored purple and emblazoned with the gold ‘Mu Pi’ logo. Unbeknownst to our rather large group of protagonists, this would be the start of what would make this trip to Waytona Beach a memorable one. Ray and Applejack had made the most of their time out. Neither of them had felt like lounging around like everyone else had wanted to and for lack of any better ideas, they thought that Flash’s idea sounded fun. Well at least Applejack did. Ray warmed up to it once he’d gotten there, but seemed indifferent at first. Once he saw all of the food stands, games and rides, it didn’t take long for him to get into the mood. He and Applejack had just exited out of the big roller coaster and took a minute to catch their breaths and chuckle at each other’s appearance, in particular their hair, as Ray’s messy light silver hair had all been pushed back to where you could actually see his forehead, and Applejack’s hair had come undone by virtue of her hair bands falling off during the ride, causing her yellow hair to flow freely. AJ, being in a playful mood, ruffled Ray’s hair back to its former messy glory while they were still cutting up. “Not the most intense roller coaster I’ve ever been on, but it was still exhilarating.” He remarked as he tried to catch his breath. “Yup. Though Ah’ve ridden broncos that packed more a’ a punch then that.” She said as she pulled out some extra rubber bands to fix her hair back. “More than a roller coaster? Yeah, not likely.” “Anyway…” AJ said, dismissing Ray’s comment. “How about we play some games?” “Well, we’ve already established that I’m a ski-ball master, so there’s no point in challenging me at that.” Ray said with a smug look. “In yer dreams, Strike…” AJ retorted as she looked around at all the games and food stands that was around. And there was a multitude of selections to be made. But it wouldn’t be long before one game booth in particular caught her eye. “Ah bet Ah can beat you at that there target shootin’ game.” “I’m game. Let’s do it.” Ray said as he followed her. He matched her steps as she walked over to the Target Game booth. But his pace slowed almost as quick as Applejack’s did when he noticed her stop for a double take. “What is it, AJ?” Ray asked as he stopped and looked over at her as she was squinting her eyes. “Somethin’ seem familiar about that feller ta you?” Ray looked ahead and noticed that the attendant at the game wore a familiar white and red striped shirt with a light brown brimmed hat, and he was currently turned with his back facing them. “Now that you mention it, that man has a terrible taste in fashion. And there are only two people I know who dress like Vaudeville rejects…” “But… it can’t be, can it? Not all the way out here!” AJ exclaimed, before taking a few more steps closer. When the man turned around, AJ couldn’t believe her eyes. “Well, well, well… if it isn’t Applejack and her comical sidekick.” The tall slender man with yellow skin, curly orange hair with thin yellow streaks through it, said as he’d turned around to see Applejack and Ray staring right at him. It was Flim of the Flim Flam brothers. The one without the bushy red mustache. “Pfffft… sidekick. I’ll show you sidekick…” Muttered Ray as he rolled his eyes. “Hey Flam, dear brother, you’ll never guess who just showed up!” “Why I do declare!” Flam, the mustachioed one, said as he came around from behind the booth. “If they weren’t standing here looking at me, I wouldn’t believe it!” “What’r you crooked sidewinders doin’ all the way out in these parts? Finally get bored with tryn’a steal our cider recipe?” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Flim said with the most innocent looking face he could muster. “So what con are ya tryn’a pull now?” She said with a snarl to her voice. “No con, honest to goodness.” Flam said, making a cross motion across his heart. “We just decided to widen our horizons into new ventures. Waytona Beach is prime territory for making a quick buck.” “Non discriminatory patronage opportunities, yes indeed!” Flim threw in. “So you decided that running a carnie game would be an honest venture? Yeah I call bull on that.” Ray said as he crossed his arms. “What? Are you saying don’t think you could beat the game?” Flim said with a smirk. “Admitting defeat before you even give it a chance, eh? Where’s the sport in that?” Flam threw in. “Now who said that?” Applejack said. “Ah can beat this game like it was nothin’, and Ah can do it fair and square!” “I don’t know, Applejack.” Ray said. “A lot of these games are rigged. And given your…'' he stopped himself when she turned to him, shooting a glare his way. “er… our history of getting duped by these guys, I think we’re better off not even entertaining it.” No sooner did he say this, he noticed the two brothers mocking him by making chicken wings of their arms. How juvenile, he thought to himself. And by now, Applejack had dismissed his concerns and began to get that look in her eye. The look of someone who disliked losing. And yet again, Applejack had gotten herself swept up in yet another competition. Like she’d done with Rainbow Dash and even Rarity multiple times, The Flim Flam Brothers were another of her fiercest rivals, and they weren’t friendly rivalries like with her friends. Applejack couldn’t stand these two, nor could they, her. And both parties knew the feeling was mutual. “Strike, Ah ain’t backin down from this. Ah’m gonna show these two that ya can’t pull one over on Applejack!” This was no longer about a friendly game. This was war. “Gosh…” Ray sighed exasperatedly. “You are one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met.” “Takes one to know one…” AJ retorted. “Fine, go ahead.” Ray said. “But don’t expect sympathy when they rob you blind.” “They ain’t gonna rob me blind, because Ah have the best aim of anyone within a hundred miles.” She said as she slid a dollar over towards the Flim Flam brothers. Flim handed her the dart gun, while Flam went behind the podium to access the control panel that made the game operate. “Ready when you are, ya charismatic charlatans.” The two brothers smirked as Flim remained behind the podium and Flam manned the controls. AJ apparently didn’t notice this as she slid a dollar over to them, but Ray did. They were a little bit too jolly about this. He figured he’d humor Applejack and not argue any further, but also watch the twins. He wanted to know what was going on here. Applejack, paying no mind to what they were doing, put all of her focus on hitting the targets. She got a total of seven shots per round. In her mind, she didn’t think she’d need all of them. However, as accurate as her shot was, she had nothing on the machine as the darts she shot at the targets bounced right off and didn’t fall over like they were supposed to. There were three rows. The top and bottom row were larger targets going from the left to the right, while the smaller targets, worth more points, went from right to left. They were all shaped like rabbits. The prize? A few different sizes of raccoon stuffed animals, the biggest ones were for the ones who scored the most points and so on. However in Applejack’s eyes, beating the Flim Flam brothers at their own game was her prize. Shot after shot after shot after shot, Applejack just couldn’t seem to knock any of them down. Her mannerisms became slightly more strained the more this happened and the more irritated she got as a result. “You gotta be dadgum kiddin me!” She blurted out in irritation. “Ah demand a do over!” “Absolutely!” Flim said. “We just need a little bit more green, if you catch my drift.” He held out his hand and Applejack begrudgingly slapped a dollar bill onto the palm of his hand. Ray got a brief bit of enjoyment out of watching Flim shake his hand as a result of AJ’s hand force slapping the money into his, leaving his hand slightly stinging. The enjoyment of this sight would be short lived, however, as AJ’s game of pain continued and Ray would have to begrudgingly continue to watch on. Flash and Sunset held hands as they continued on with their night of fun. They’d already rode on the roller coaster, raised some cain on the bumper cars in a two seater, challenged each other to a friendly game of ski ball which Sunset smoked him at, and now they’d just finished making goofy faces in a photo booth, before she would surprise Flash with a kiss on the cheek in the last photo. “I’m definitely saving this one.” Sunset said as she held the strip of pics in her hand. “That is, if you don’t want it.” “By all means, it’s yours.” Flash said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re having fun.” “I am, I really am.” She beamed. “Flash, this night has been one of the coolest nights I’ve had in a long time.” “Shucks, I didn’t bring my jacket or I’d offer it to you.” Flash said with a smirk, which earned him a light punch to the shoulder by a giggling Sunset. “Smart Alec.” She said with a continuing giggle to her voice as she stopped and sat down on a nearby bench. She looked off to the side and ran her fingers through her hair. “Good call, I could use a quick sit down.” Flash said as he sat down beside her. “We really couldn’t have picked a nicer night for this. It’s going way way better than our first date went, if you’ll remember.” “Right?!?” She said with a loud laugh as she recalled. “At least Trixie isn’t around to ruin it this time.” “Oh yeah, that’s no lie.” Flash held back a laugh as he remembered that on their very first date at a similar venue to where they were on this night, Trixie had been showboating to impress a guy she liked that was nearby and accidentally threw her nachos all over them as they innocently passed by. To counter this, they’d had to immediately go on a water ride to get good and soaked in order to get the cheese and chip crumbs off of them. “Then again, it wasn’t all terrible.” Sunset giggled. She’d recollected how funny they both had looked drenched after that water ride, and how they’d practically laughed at themselves for ten whole minutes. “What a fun time that was. We should do it again.” “Maybe we should.” She winked at him. “There will be plenty more opportunities for that now.” Flash said as he placed his arm around her. Sunset leaned over and they touched shoulder to shoulder, she then rested her head against his before letting out a sigh of content. Flash did the same as they both sat in silence under the stars. There were a few more moments of silence between them as they just sat and took a moment to take in the night. Flash’s eyes darted to his left side where Sunset was sitting and noticed that she appeared to be thinking. “You alright?” “Um, yeah. I'm fine I just…” she sighed again, but this one was more of an irritated sigh. “I’ve had this thought that I just can’t get out of my mind. This, what we’re doing tonight, and setting up, does feel right, but at the same time, I’m still a little nervous about the future.” “Of us?” “In a way.” “I don’t follow.” “What if…” she sat up and looked at him with a seriousness in her tone. “What if something happens? Something that forces me to go back to Equestria? For good! Flash, I don’t even want to think about it, but it is a possibility. I’d rather not think about it, but also I don’t want to lose you again.” Flash nodded and thought about it for a brief moment, and then looked at her, his eyes locked on hers. “You won’t and you won’t have to choose. Trust me, I’m not about to let that happen. I’ve waited too long for us to get back together. If that happens, I will go with you.” “I couldn’t ask you…” “You’re not asking, I’m saying… Sunset, I don’t want to live in a world without you. I’m willing to go wherever you go, no matter what life throws at us. Promise.” “You do realize that we would both be ponies, right? And no cell phone service or phones of any kind exist in Equestria.” “I can live with that. It’d take a little bit of time, obviously, but… I can adjust. Plus, it kinda sounds cool from what little you’ve told me about it. And I’ve been dying to go on one of your adventures for quite some time.” Sunset’s eyes widened at this. She pulled him close, shutting her eyes as she hugged him tightly. “Flash… thank you.” His willingness to go to Equestria if need be definitely made her feel a bit better about the very thought of the possibility, but she’d hoped that she wouldn’t ever have to go back permanently. A visit here and there, but she’d grown to love this world, and was not keen on leaving it anytime soon. “You’re welcome. I’m not losing you again.” “Are you sure you’d be okay with being a pony?” “Sure. I mean, from what you’ve told me about it, it sounds like walking on all fours could be fun. Who knows? Maybe we can visit there some day.” “Eeeh, we’ll see. I’ll have to find another portal first before I can really think about it too much. But enough of that. Sorry to bring the mood down with it.” “It’s alright, I’m sure we won’t ever have to worry about it. From the sound of things, your friends back home seem to have things well taken care of.” “You’re right, you’re right… Look at us, getting all mushy again…” Sunset said, wiping a tear from her eye and taking a couple of minutes to recollect herself. “Let’s get back to having fun, shall we?” After a minute of making intentional eye contact with her, giving her a reassuring smile, Flash stood up and extended a hand to Sunset, who took his hand and stood up with him. “First thing’s first, I’m hungry.” Apparently this abrupt change of subject was just what they both needed because Sunset snapped out of it almost instantly. “Come to think of it, I’m getting hungry myself. You’ve been paying for all the rides, dinner is on me.” She said before she noticed he was starting to say something. “Nope! Nope! Turn down the macho man for once, and let me do this.” Flash smiled and threw his hands up in defeat and agreed. “Alright Sunset, you win.” They both went through the line of a nearby food stand that sold burgers and fries and got their food. They were making their way to a table when Flash stepped on a banana peel that he didn’t see, which caused him to fall backwards into someone else sitting at the table behind him, causing them to face plant into their chili dog. Luckily, Sunset caught his food out of his hands before he fell, but couldn’t grab his hand in time to stop him from falling. She cringed as he made contact with the other guy behind him. Flash was pushed off onto the ground by a taller guy, white skin, slightly long brown hair, clearly more muscle than Flash had, and wearing a purple ‘Mu Pi’ T-Shirt, which along with his purple gym shorts now had chili running down them. The guy in question picked Flash up by the collar of his shirt and glared at him. Flash closed his eyes as his foe lifted his fist. “I’m going to pound you into next week, you klutz!” He screamed into Flash’s face, rendering Flash too afraid to say anything, his eyes widened and teeth slightly chattering. “Oh, you really messed up this time.” The guy’s buddy said as he walked up behind him. His buddy was slightly taller than the first, with a sleeveless purple ‘Mu Pi’ shirt and shorter blonde hair. “Get your hands off of him!” Sunset commanded as she stood in a defensive stance. “Better teach your girlfriend to keep her yap shut.” He hadn’t got much more out before Sunset’s fist slammed his face. The once proud Mu Pi alumni was then seen slumped over and holding his face before looking back up angrily at Sunset Shimmer. “I don’t need your permission to speak, and I’m for darn sure not going to let you beat up my boyfriend. I’m only telling you one more time to back off!” She hadn’t noticed that Flash, while lying on the ground at this moment, had a smile on his face when he heard Sunset refer to him as her boyfriend. The guy stood back up and faced her, looking even more ticked off. But the conflict was quickly quenched by the clapping of hands from another source in the background. “Jock and Muscles…” a voice said with authority. “Get back to your meals and leave these tourists alone. Remember, when you wear the ‘Mu Pi’ colors, you’re representing our fraternity. We don’t want everyone else to think that we’re a band of thugs do we?” Their leader, while not the most stoic of personalities, had an air of confidence and exercised his authority he apparently had over these two ruffians. His voice and demeanor was pretty much what you’d expect from a college student who lives on a beach. Minus the constant need for using the endearing term ‘bro’ or ‘bruh’, much to the relief of many who talked to him. Jock, the initial addressee, begrudgingly scoffed at the two, shot them a glare, and went back to eating his meal, and his friend, Muscles followed suit. The source of the voice came out of the shadows and walked up to them. It had been the leader of the Mu Pi frat guys who Zephyr had seen the day before. “Hey guys, I apologize for my friends’ behaviors…” he said, extending a hand to Flash. Flash shook his hand cautiously. “My name is Jake Featherstone, the head member of the Mu Pi Fraternity House of Waytona University. I hope my friends didn’t rough you up too bad..” “Had you not stepped in when you did, things would have gotten ugly, so thanks.” Sunset said, Flash nodded in agreement. “Not a problem. You see, the Mu Pi’s are a proud alumni and sometimes our pride can get away from us and cause us to do… regrettable things.” He shot a sharp glare at Jock and Muscles, causing them to cower a bit. “We are one of the most athletic Frats in our university and we take deep pride in our heritage as the top of the top. However, sometimes in our self expression, we often forget ourselves.” “I see. Well, my name is Sunset Shimmer, and this is… my boyfriend, Flash Sentry. We, along with our friends, are from Canterlot University.” “Hmmm, yes. I’m quite familiar with Canterlot U. Your College has a reputation as being somewhat tough in the athletic and academic field. I would know, my cousin Gilda goes there and she’s always complaining about all of the ‘dweebs’ that attend there.” “Yep, that sounds like Gilda…” “As for your boyfriend, a little on the scrawny side I see.” Jake said, almost smugly. He quickly looked them both over before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. Flash deadpanned at that remark. Sunset crossed her arms with a deadpan of her own. “Well, Miss Shimmer. I would like to personally invite you, Mr Sentry and any other members of your group that you might have brought with you to our house party tomorrow night. It's one of our biggest of the summer, in fact it’s our ‘Welcome Back, Summer’ bash that we at The Mu Pi Frat house throw every summer. It's sure to be a banger.” While Flash’s expression didn’t change, Sunset began to lighten up as a result of the invitation, knowing that this development would make her friends, Pinkie and Rainbow in particular, excited. “Thank you, Jake. We will be there.” “Excellent.” Jake said as he handed her the card he had in his hand. “Well I won’t keep you. Enjoy your evening, and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.” He winked at her as he turned to leave. Sunset looked over at Flash with concern and looked him over to make sure he wasn’t hurt. “Are you alright, Flash?” “Sure, the only thing that hurts is my pride. But I also don’t have a good feeling about these Mu Pi guys… this party doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.” “How bad can it be? It’s no different than the frat parties at our university.” “I… guess you’re right.” Flash said, releasing some tension in his shoulders. “But still, a frat house is a frat house and they tend to be a riot, and not always in a good way. “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll run this by the others, and if the majority rules against going, we just won’t go. Deal?” “Deal.” Agreed Flash. “Well, now that that’s over with, I’m ready to eat.” He said, eyeing his inviting looking meal. “Thank you again, Sunset. For all of it.” “Of course.” Sunset said as she sat down to enjoy her food, looking up at him before she started and giggling at his face while he was chewing his fries. Flash smiled as much as he could while trying to finish chewing. Even though they were starving prior to their meal, they both felt full of a warm feeling as they spent time together in each other’s company. Applejack was starting to sweat with anxiety as the last couple of turns she took saw minimal improvement. She managed to score at least a few points in her last two attempts, but still the game was managing to stump her. She’d already taken five turns and was about to place down a sixth dollar bill but Ray placed his hand on hers. For a moment they looked at each other and blushed, but AJ quickly snapped out of it and jerked her hand back. “What are ya doin, Ray? Can’t ya see Ah’m tryna beat these hooligans?!?” She said as the Flim Flam brothers had gotten so used to beating her at this game that they resorted to taunting her by making faces at her. Ray had also snapped out of it as well. “Look AJ, I can’t watch this anymore. This has gone on too long, and these guys are just going to keep this up. It’s time to stop.” “No! Ah ain’t gonna let them win.” AJ stood her ground and was not keen on letting up. “Fine…” he said. He placed a dollar of his own down, and asked for a dart gun, to which the brothers gleefully inclined. Ray had hoped that this compromise would suffice with Applejack. “But I’m not letting you waste any more of your money. Let me take a crack at it.” To his surprise, she backed down, and moved away from the booth for him to stand in her place. “If ya think ya can do better, he mah guest…” she said as she moved over to the side and stood there watching with her arms crossed, and her scowl pointed to the taunting brothers, who’d since turned their attention to her friend. “Watch me…” Ray said, ignoring the smirking faces of the Flim Flam Brothers. Ray had been secretly planning this, however. He’d watched the brothers’ movements during Applejack’s agonizing attempts at mastering this game. Flam’s movements in particular caught his eye. He’d noticed that Flam could control which targets to hold into place by studying the movement of whatever unfortunate patron decided to take the challenge. And after a while of watching AJ struggle with it, he had an understanding of what he’d do when he was ready. Yeah, keep laughing, Ray thought to himself. He gripped his dart gun as the twins readied the game, and he too went into full concentration mode. But his mental strategy was a bit different than Applejack’s. He awaited the start of the game with a hint of anxiousness. Once given the start signal, Ray began deciding to halfway throw this first round. But part of it was him getting acclimated to how it worked as well. He wanted to build onto the twins’ hubris before he really let them have it. On his last shot, he scored one of only two points his entire round, fairing not much better than Applejack. Applejack scoffed at this. “Ah thought ya said ya could do better, Ray.” “Give me a second.” He returned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another dollar. “Alright, another round please.” “You kids really are a glutton for punishment…” Flim said as he took the next dollar that Ray handed him, and he gave Ray a fresh loaded shooter. Ray waited yet again for the game to begin. He closed his eyes for a brief second and once again went into full concentration mode. This time, he thought. This time he knew he’d had them. Ray would learn that the time between shots was irrelevant, and took more time between each shot than Applejack. He did so by aiming at one spot for a split second and then immediately and swiftly aiming at the complete opposite end. He did this a couple of times, scoring each time before Flam caught on. However, Ray was on top of this. One shot didn’t land, so Ray switched it up, knowing that now he’d need to start aiming and then firing. He’d change this strategy a total of three times, scoring big on each shot he actually did make, only missing two shots out of the total seven. The defeat on the Flim Flam brothers’ faces with their eyes widened and their mouths hanging open in disbelief was a satisfying sight, he’d outsmarted them. It would take them a couple of minutes to get over the sudden shock of losing to AJ and Ray before they’d return to reality. Applejack was both impressed and a little bit embarrassed in wake of this. “Ray, how on Earth did you pull that off?” “Pure skill.” It was not pure skill. But it was pure observation and a calculated strategy that won him the day, and the prize. He’d almost forgotten that winning came with a prize. Flim begrudgingly handed him one of the bigger sizes of the stuffed raccoons that they offered. The second largest. The biggest ones went to those with a perfect score. After collecting his prize, Ray turned back over to Applejack who was smiling, but then blushed with embarrassment and she quickly approached him and cleared her throat. “Ray, Ah’m sorry that Ah let them get in mah head like that. Ah got so caught up in trynna one up the Flim Flam brothers that Ah lost sight of us havin fun. It’s not often that we get to hang out one on one anymore, and Ah apologize if mah behavior ruined it.” “Nah!” Ray said with a chuckle. “I just didn’t like seeing you get flustered because of these clowns.” “Hey!” The brothers shouted at once, both being ignored. “The truth is, it was fun to pull one over on them for once. And honestly, our night was Zephyr Breeze free, we can’t forget about that. But, with that said, I’m just happy to be there for you whenever you need me. You’re one of my best friends, AJ. And I’ll never leave you hanging.” AJ chuckled herself at the thought of being free from Breeze for the night. “Now that, Ah can agree on. And thanks. Ah know Ah give ya a hard time at times but, yer fun ta hang out with. And Ah agree, you’re one a’ mah closest friends, too.” “I just find it a little funny that I was the one to calm you down. Usually it’s the other way around.” “Ah reckon ev’rythin’ comes around full circle in the end, sometimes.” Ray and AJ smiled warmly at each other for a moment before they both started to blush yet again. Ray saved himself when he remembered what he held in his left hand. “Uh, for you.” He said, offering his prize to Applejack. “No thanks.” AJ beamed, held up her hand and politely declined. “Seeing’ those varmints lose was a gift all its own. Besides, Ah think this thing fits you better.” Ray shrugged and didn’t argue, tucking the stuffed animal under his left arm. “Well then, what’s next?” “Hmmm…” AJ looked around. “Ya know, Ah’m still a little worked up. How about we go on a nice relaxin’ Ferris Wheel ride?” “Hey, that sounds good to me-…!” Ray said as they both started off in that direction. He quickly paused for a moment when he noticed a kid crying in front of another game that he’d just lost, and from what the lady Ray presumed was his mother had said, he’d run out of tickets. Ray, feeling no real attachment to the prize he’d won, walked over and offered it to the young boy. He figured the kid would appreciate it more anyway. “Thanks, Mister!” The boy said as his last tears melted away due to his sudden elation as he hugged the big stuffed toy tightly. Ray caught a grateful smile from the kid’s mom as he turned back to join Applejack, who was chuckling to herself as she watched it play out. “Gettin soft on me, Strike?” She said with a wink. “Soft? No. Let’s just say I’m in a particularly good mood tonight.” “Coulda fooled me.” She said as she playfully nudged him. After a series of rides and a few games, Flash and Sunset were beginning to get worn down. As their own ride on the Ferris wheel came to a close, they waited for their door to open so they could exit the ride. Once it did, Flash had gone into full gentleman mode, and helped Sunset as she stepped down from the seat they’d been sitting in. Sunset in her tiring form nearly tripped and fell onto Flash, who caught her. “Sorry Flash…” Sunset said sheepishly. “I’m not complaining.” He said with a grin as he held her in front of his face with their eyes meeting each other, his blue eyes looking into her green eyes and suddenly got lost in them. “Wow, I never noticed how pretty your eyes are before.” “Okay, stop!” Sunset giggled. “You’re trying to make me blush and I don’t like it.” “No, I’m serious!” He said. Sunset let out a light chuckle in response but didn’t say anything else on the matter, but she did start feel in her feet that she was getting tired. “Well right now, I’m serious about finding a bench. My feet are killing me.” Fortunately, the search was a short one as a nice inviting vacant wooden bench was just a few steps away from them. Sunset readily sat down and removed her shoes. She tilted her head back as she leaned against the back of the bench, her eyes were closed when her head came back down and opened once more to see that the bench was facing the beach. It was dark out but the reflection off of the moon lit up the water just good enough that it made for relaxing scenery. “This night went way better than I expected it to.” Flash said as he sat down beside her. “Me too.” Agreed Sunset. “Minus the tussle with the Mu Pi’s.” She laughed. “I’m lucky I was with you when that happened. It probably would have been a lot worse.” Flash said with a grin. Sunset laughed. “Yeah, probably so…” Flash Sentry reached over and held her left hand in his right hand. Sunset turned to him and smiled warmly at him yet again. He couldn’t help but blush and clear his throat. “I um… I was wondering if it would be okay if I uh…” he said with his eyes shifting to the left and the right. “Yes?” She replied hopefully. “…kissed you?” “Took you long enough, I’ve been waiting for it all night.” She said as she leaned in and readied her lips. Flash wasted no time as he too leaned in and for the first time in quite a while, Flash Sentry and Sunset Shimmer’s lips connected. And after a few brief moments, they separated. Both felt a warm sensation within themselves, and their hearts fluttered. They’d kissed before the first time they dated, but it had never felt like this before. “My turn.” Sunset said as she planted one on him. This one was equally as wonderful as the first one was. The moment had taken them so much that they hadn’t noticed the sudden arrival of a familiar face. “Oh… my… gosh!!!!” An enthusiastic voice from behind them shouted, surprised by what she’d just witnessed. It was Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie?” Sunset said, a bit surprised by the sudden appearance of her party planning friend. “How long have you been standing there?” “Not long, I got bored lying around the pool at the hotel, so I figured I’d come see what all the hullabaloo was about.” She beamed. “Oh my gosh! Flash and Sunset are together! You know what this means! We’ve got to throw a celebratory “Congratulations Party”!” “Does she always…” asked Flash. “Yes, yes she does. Well I guess the cat’s out of the bag.” Sunset sighed. “Thanks Pinkie, I’m sure it’ll be great. We’re pretty excited about this, too.” “Oh, oh… you two need a picture for your first post on social media as a couple. You mind if I give you a hand?” “Oh, yeah, sure!” Sunset said as she pulled out her phone and handed it to her. “Say pepperoni!” She said as she readied the phone’s camera. “Pepperoni!” Flash and Sunset said together as they tried to make themselves look as good as they could for the post. After the fact, Pinkie handed Sunset her phone back. “Thanks, Pinkie.” Sunset said as she was given her phone back. The picture turned out good, which was great for Sunset as she usually hated how pictures of herself would turn out. “You think the world is ready for the return of ‘Flashset’?” “Absotively possalutely!!!” Pinkie said. “You two make a cute couple! The cutest! Just don’t tell Singlight and Duskity!” She continued with a wink. “Just kidding, of course. All of you love birds are the cutest! I can’t choose. I’m just happy, because seeing you happy makes me happy too! HAPPINESS OVERLOAD!!!” “Easy Pinkie!” Exclaimed Sunset, unable to keep a straight face. “Sorry, my bad.” Replied Pinkie sheepishly. Her energy was contagious emotionally, Sunset had only wished her physical energy had been as contagious as well. “Any suggestions for one last activity, Pinkie? We’re both a little bit tired, but we think we have one more thing left in us before we call it a night.” “I know just the thing… The Tunnel of Love…” Pinkie said gesturing to it, as it wasn’t far from where they were sitting. “And it’s just right over there!” Sunset looked over at Flash in a way as indicating she was looking for his input. “That sounds like a good way to cap off the night to me. That is, if it’s not to mushy for you.” He playfully nudged Sunset. “When we get on the ride, you will see just how mushy I can be.” Grinning, she gently rubbed her forehead against his. This just made Pinkie let out the ‘daaaaaaaaaws’ and ‘aaaaws’ even more. “I gotta get out of here before your mushiness fills me up so much that I don’t have enough room for funnel cake!” She laughed. “See you later!” And with that, the pink blur known as Pinkie Pie sped off. They didn’t care about how mushy they were being. Flash took Sunset’s hand as she slipped her feet back into her shoes, and they walked on to the Tunnel of Love. As cheesy and cliche as it was, they didn’t mind. There wasn’t much that could bother them tonight. They were back together and on a dream vacation. They soaked it all in and would cap off this nearly perfect night on a romantic note. Compared to the more fast paced things they’d done on their hangout, the Ferris Wheel was a nice change of pace for Ray and Applejack. Earlier in the night, they’d thought about how cool it would be if more of their friends had joined them, but strangely they didn’t seem to mind hanging out one on one. Applejack was the least inclined of the girls to take selfies, she did every so often but not as much as the others. But the view from the tip top of a Ferris Wheel was too good an opportunity to pass by. So she made sure that both she and Ray got into view without completely covering up the scenery. Once she got it right, she tapped the camera button on her phone and snapped the shot. She wasn’t as good at photography as Fluttershy, but she definitely got lucky on this attempt. The picture looked better than she was hoping for. “Not bad fer mah first try.” She said, showing the picture to Ray. “My eyes weren’t even closed. Nice!” Ray commented. “Ah know, right! That never happens for me when Ah try it.” Applejack said, admiring the photo more. “Too good not ta post.” With a few sipes and clicks, she posted it to her slightly underused social media profile. “Dog gone it! Ah ain’t posted anything since Christmas…” “Get with the program, AJ!” Ray said jokingly. “You first.” She tittered. Their basket had done a few more rotations on their ride before it finally came to an end and the next movements they would make would be slower as the current riders would basket by basket be let off the ride. Within a few minutes, it was their turn to get off, and they exited out of the round basket and on to what they were thinking of doing next. It wasn’t a minute or two later when they found themselves coming into eye contact with two familiar faces. They’d almost halted completely when they saw them. Celestia and Luna were both walking in the opposite direction and were both right in front of Ray and Applejack. “Well that didn’t last long…” Luna said. “Howdy Miss Celestia, Miss Luna.” AJ greeted them. “Hello Applejack, Ray.” Celestia greeted them cordially. “It’s a nice night for a night out, don’t you think?” “Uh…yeah.” Ray said as he shook his head snapping himself out of his surprised state. “Fancy seeing you two here.” “Now before you say anything, just now that we are only here for our own vacation. We had no intention on encroaching on your getaway.” Celestia said quickly. “Ah get it.” AJ said. “Everybody deserves a vacation ev’ry now’n again. Ya chose a nice place fer it.” “Told you that we were overthinking it.” Luna said softly over to her sister who shrugged it off. “I mean as long as what you’re saying is true and you aren’t stalking us.” Ray said in a tone that he made sure was apparent that he was kidding around. Celestia laughed at this, while Luna simply rolled her eyes. The former beamed as she noticed that Ray and AJ had slowly inched closer together without realizing it. “Oh, well we didn’t mean to interrupt your date night. I didn’t know you two were going out.” Ray and Applejack blushed when they realized how close they were to each other and they each took a step off to the side away from each other. “No, no, no… we’re not a couple.” Corrected Ray. “We’re just hanging out and having a little bit of fun.” “I see.” Celestia continued to smile. “Naw, what he means ta say is…” AJ spoke up, unable to come up with anything better to say. “Celestia, don’t tease them, now.” Muttered Luna with a deadpan and crossed arms. “You’re right, you’re right.” Celestia said still finding it hard to keep a straight face. “I’m sorry, my mistake. I’ve had my fair share of sweets tonight and I’m a little bit fired up.” “I think we might need to go get some water.” Luna said with Celestia nodding in agreement. “It was nice bumping into you, but we must be going now. Enjoy the rest of your night.” And with that, Luna and Celestia went on their way. Ray and Applejack stood there for a moment of awkward silence. Both shifting their eyes, Ray tugged on the collar of his shirt and Applejack wiped her brow with her bandana. “Ah can’t believe they thought we were datin’.” Applejack chuckled nervously. “Yeah, that’s funny.” Ray chuckled equally as nervously. “As if, am I right?” “No kiddin…” AJ said. However, the idea didn’t seem terrible to her. However, she wasn’t keen on dwelling on it, and both were definitely in need of something to break this ice. Fortunately for them, they’d both gotten the change of subject that they’d mutually hoped for. For up ahead, they could barely make out the pink form of Pinkie Pie and the cyan with multicolored hair of Rainbow Dash. They’d had their one on one time, and now they found themselves happily trailing after their friends in order to meet up with them and do something fun. Once they caught up to Rainbow and Pinkie, they discussed a possible game plan for the rest of the night, and that’s when Pinkie nodded to the familiar game that AJ had run into the Flim Flam brothers earlier. When Pinkie gestured in that direction, Ray and AJ let out a desperate “NO!”, and then smiled sheepishly as Pinkie and Rainbow’s eyebrows were raised. “Okay” said Rainbow Dash. “Well, what about bumper cars or…” “Or Funnel Cake?” Pinkie shouted excitedly, hoping they would follow her lead on this one. “Now you’re talking!” Ray said excitedly as he and the rest of them followed Pinkie Pie eagerly to the nearest food stand. Elsewhere, in the carnival, the two sisters could be seen playing a basketball shooting game, like their students, they too had been cutting up and having fun with each other the entire evening. Celestia and Luna continued their friendly rivalry on the basketball hoop game they were playing. And while Celestia was doing decent at it, Luna proved to be the better shot. And the buzzer ran out with Luna having scored about fifteen more points than Celestia. “Well…” Celestia said, panting a bit after that little bit of a workout. “You always were the athletic one.” “Good game, Sister!” Luna said. “You made a valiant effort.” She reached her hand over to Celestia, who took her hand as Luna helped her upright after being hunched over for a couple of minutes. Celestia’s phone had continued to go off a few times throughout the day, and it seemed to be coming from Professor Iscorde. As it had done before, it rang again. Celestia didn’t like ghosting him, but she knew him and knew that he was only looking to chat. However, she was quite busy at the moment, so she made a mental note to get back with him later. “Iscorde again?” Luna asked, to which Celestia nodded in response. “If he calls again, you should let me answer it.” “No, no… I’ll get back to him later.” She said as she turned her phone off completely. “Now, I’ve been hearing about this roller coaster. You ready to give it a go?” “You’re asking me?” Luna tittered. “Of course I’m ready, it’s you I’m worried about.” “Oh please, roller coasters don’t scare me.” She said as her eyes widened when she heard the screams of the people riding the thing. This didn’t escape Luna, who giggled and grabbed her sister by the hand. “Okay, maybe a little bit.” She smiled sheepishly with a faint tint of pink blush on her cheeks. “Don’t worry, Tia. I’ll be right beside you the whole time.” She said comfortingly. “Thanks, Lu Lu.” Celestia smiled, immediately feeling better. “Onward we go!” Jock paced back and forth angrily, muttering to himself and gritting his teeth in frustration as the Mu Pi members congregated back to the parking lot, having had their fun for the night. “Use your words, Jock…” said Jake Featherstone as he leaned against a nearby pole. “What’s with you inviting those Canterlot people to our fraternity party?!?” He sneered. “And why did you stop me from pounding that pretty boy (‘Crash Gentry’ was it?) into the boardwalk?” “Because…” said Jake with a roll of his eyes. “I want to know more about these Canterlot College people, and what better way to know who they are by having them come to our party where we can observe how they work as a unit. They’re on our turf, and they need to be shown who the kings of the beach are. Besides, if we go around punching every punk we find, we’re only inviting more trouble than what we bargained for. When we get back to the house, I want every bit of available information on these Canterlot students we can find. Then we can give them a proper welcome to Waytona Beach.” “So it’s one of those ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ kind of things?” “No, it’s a ‘size up your opponent’ type of thing. They need to be shown their place and where they stand here.” “Okay…” Jock said, reassured. “I was beginning to worry.” “There’s nothing to worry about on Waytona’s sandy beaches as long as you are a Mu Pi.” Jake said as he stood on the table as he faced his Mu Pi brethren. “My brothers, tomorrow we party! Party hardy!” “Party hardy!” They echoed. “We will show these Canterlot invaders who rules this beach!” “Mu Pi!” They shouted. “Say it again!” “Mu Pi!” “One more time!” “MU PI!” “And no one stands in our way!”