“… Strikes again. This time, the police found the robbers tied inside the safe, and some strange object was said to be found nearby by a witness, but we were unable to get a word on what it was. We will update as more details arise.” the reporter says with the professional neutral expression they usually carry. “Now. Onto mo-

A hand suddenly pops up, grabbing the phone off my own hand, and closing the screen that was playing.

“That news network is trash,” Trixie replies as she shakes her head. “You’d be better off listening to a raving ‘end of the world’ lunatic,” she says, placing the phone back in my hand.

“We are in a library,” she responds blankly, pointing outside the room we are in where numerous shelves of books are visible through a small glass partition. "Books."

“Trixie does not,” she replies, turning away from me. “But if that’s the way you want it, perhaps we can use our time in… Other ways,” she says, turning back to me, donning a grin that would make the devil proud. “We are alone after all.”

“Umm…” so, yeah, we are in fact alone. In a public library’s private study room no less. “Er, we are supposed to be here for business, not pleasure…”

She rolls her eyes, tossing her jacket with an exaggerated motion. “You worry too much, your Discord isn’t going anywhere.”

So, if it wasn’t clear, we were having a meeting in the library after having received Fluttershy’s text days prior. Needless to say, I instantly told the guys… Well, all but one.

“Not to burst this ‘lovely‘ idea of yours, but… Did you happen to tell Pinkie about it? If you didn‘t that‘s okay!” I ask cautiously. Trixie hasn’t really been too happy with Pinkie related stuff lately.

“Tell!?” Trixie snorts expectadly, the look on her face changing about as dramatically as a burned out light bulb. “That pink girl won’t even acknowledge Trixie! Trixie tried, you know?!” she growls defensively for what is sadly not the first time. “Great way to kill the mood!”

I simply stare in silent, holding back my sigh. I have to admit that I’ve been content going steady with Trix despite our differences, but to say that I didn’t feel guilty over Pinkie would be a lie. If Flash’s reports of sorts have been correct, Pinkie has been in a dark mood ever since then, donning the brony trademarked ‘Pinkamena’ cut all this time. I have yet to see it, of course, since she has somehow perfectly avoided Trixie and I without fail whenever we try to find her. Still, it would be a lie to say I wasn‘t worried. It would also be another reason for me to feel bad about the whole situation, so at the very least I’m glad I’m not that much of an asshole.

“Lemon!” Trixie calls, suddenly standing close to me with an indescribable pout. Wait, I think that counts as describing it “Please, do not be disturbed by such events, the pink one is purposefully avoiding you, you tried what you could,” she says before shifting into a worried gaze. “Besides, Trixie is here for you… Is that not good?” she asks with a tiny smile.

“Of course it is,” I smile back, softly caressing the side of her face. Glad that I can count on her to cheer me up nowadays. Now, I may be feeling guilty about Pinkie, but that doesn’t mean Trixie has to get the shaft for this… Or maybe she does…? I’m missing the point… Or am I?

“Stop thinking,” Trixie orders, possibly noticing my puzzled look, placing a surprise kiss upon me and ‘sneakily’ sitting down on my lap. “You know… We are alone right now…” she reiterates, an idea forming in her mind. I can see it, she can see it, and if the planet were sentient, it would get a first class seat to the action... It would probably have better things to watch, but I like to think we are the best it can manage.

“Geez, have you always been this perverted? Are you sure you aren’t some sort of sexual deviant?” I ask jokingly… Well, mostly.

“Will you be quiet and kiss me?” she asks in an annoyed tone, closing her eyes, and inching closer to my lips.

“If you can’t beat them…” I mumble under my breath, simply giving into her clutches.

“Just finish quickly, please,” a voice calls outside the room, making me jump, which in turn makes me fall from my chair with Trixie who had been in my lap right behind, forcing a certain body part of hers to land on my face. Which one? Well, imagination is a precious thing.

After getting her goods off my face, I attempt to console her as best as I can before I head towards the door and open it to reveal the owner of the voice behind it - It’s Flash. And the sky is blue, water is wet, and the internet is made for porn.

“Sorry, did I interrupt something?” Flash asks me with this puzzled, innocent look that I can guarantee is fake. The little bastard enjoyed that.

“Nothing at all,” Trixie replies between gritted teeth, a very faint blush showing from those blue cheeks of hers. She is so cute… Better make sure she doesn’t hear me say that, I like living far too much.

“Good,” he replies satisfied. “So, how about we get straight to the point?” he states, closing the door behind him.

“Er…” I interrupt. “Shouldn’t we wait just in case Pinkie shows? Maybe?”

“Lemon,” Flash says my name in a serious tone, with Trixie unsurprisingly looking annoyed once again. “You already know the answer to that,” he says without any sign of doubt.

“Anything else?” he asks as if hurrying me up. You jerk, you are the one who got here las- Wait… Oh crap.

“What’s with that look?” Flash asks, noticing the change in my expression.

“What’s the matter, Lemon?” Trixie follows-up with a troubled look. She must feel my hesitance.

“Well, someone hasn’t arrived yet, er,” I say, growing increasingly nervous as I continue.

“It has already been established that Pinkie won’t come,” Flash intervenes.

“Will you spit it out?” Trixie barks, issuing the supreme order I had been expecting.

“Alright, alright! It’s Fluttershy…” I say, feeling the regret oozing as I finish saying the name. “She will be coming with us…”

‘So whats the address?‘ my message asks as I press the ‘reply’ button and send it on its way.

As I wait for her own reply, I begin to feel the closeness of the situation, making me nearly over-ventilate. I mean, how will I deal with this? Should I ask outright? Should I be subtle? Hell, should I do it at all? If he can somehow take me back home, will I actually do it? Should I go to his place, period? Everyone will be there after all…

I check the message with a pen in hand, but find myself surprised when I see something I didn’t expect.

‘Actually, I wanted t-’ the message cuts off suddenly, much to my surprise. I ready a reply, but just as I‘m about to type, my phone rings, easily scaring the crap out of me. And I have a good feeling on who the caller is.

“Um, hellooo?” I say again, but no voice comes through. “That you, Fluttershy?”

“Eep!” a meekly voice comes from the other side. That’s her alright. I wait for her to gather herself, and after an embarrassingly longer time than it should have been, I hear her voice again. “Y-yes, it’s me.”

We have made contact. “What’s wrong? I received an unfinished message,” I say straight to the point.

“So, what’s the matter, Fluttershy?” I ask, having succeeded in finally starting a proper conversation. “And if you don’t mind, could you get to the point?” I add impatiently. Sorry Fluttershy, no more meandering.

“W-well… I was hoping that I could come with you all… If that is okay with you.”

I nearly click my tongue in annoyance at her request. Much like an older brother who has just heard their younger sister say they wanted to come along to the party. I don’t have any siblings myself, but I have the feeling that those who do must have felt similar things. I feel you, bros.

“What made you decide on coming along now?” I question, hoping I didn’t sound suspicious at all.

“The truth is, I haven’t visited Mr. Heart in a while… I was hoping he and I could catch up, is all… Is there a problem?”

“Nothing. I was just curious is all,” I reply instead. How I wish to be able to answer with anything but that.

Setting the library as the meeting place, I finally hang up, releasing a wistful sigh.

"And you didn't think about telling us this beforehand!?" and of course, Trixie is the first to break it.

"It slipped my mind! I'm not perfect!" in my defense, that's a perfectly valid argument.

"What about what Trixie said about assuming things about her?” she asks with a piercing stare that would make the toughest person in the world bow down to her.

“N-not to?” I reply awkwardly. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have finished the story with that last bit.

“So," Flash interrupts. "What you are saying is that Fluttershy will be coming then?”

“Y-yes!” I reply. Based Flash coming to the rescue! I could just kiss you… Er, I mean, I would if I were a girl… If Flash were a girl… Great, now I’m imagining Flash as a girl… Damn it! Even when comparing him with me in my head she is hotter!

“That‘s a terrible plan, Lemon,” Trixie says, having fortunately been taken by the derail.

“Sorry Trix,” I apologize. “It was all I could do, what if I had said no and she had gotten suspicious? She might not even give me the address.”

“You have a point,” she agrees, her pursed lips showing her discomfort. “Trixie will have to apologize.”

Well, glad that having her as a girlfriend has the perks of her being nicer to me.

“So, when is she getting here?” Flash asks, getting back to the topic at hand.

I take out my phone and check the time. “Well, she should’ve been here by now… She shouldn’t be long.”

“In that case, Trixie is going to the bathroom,” she states, heading for the door.

“Just don’t take long, alright?” I suggest. “Fluttershy might get here soon.”

“Well, maybe Trixie will. Fluttershy can wait just as I did,” she finishes, looking back at me before slamming the door shut behind her. Okay, I deserved that.

“She is a bucket of sunshine, isn’t she?” Flash says sarcastically, taking the seat she had just occupied seconds before.

“Give her some credit, she’s gotten better,” which she has. She hasn’t really shown too much of what she was before, by which I mean the 'me being her assistant’ thing. Of course, that was probably just an act now that I think about it… God, I am oblivious.

“She really has…” he says simply, showing a tiny smirk. "What a surprise."

“Don't give me that crap, you of all people should notice, you knew her before me,” I remind him.

“Yeah… So, how are you? About Pinkie, I mean?” he asks in a jarring change of topics that nearly makes me tumble off my seat.

“Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to strike a nerve,” he says apologetically with hands raised and all. Yeah, I don’t believe that.

“Whatever! How would you feel if I pestered you about YOUR relationships, huh?” I ask on a whim.

“Yeah, you know?” I wonder... “Yeah… Why don’t YOU tell me about your relationships? Like…Yeah… Why don’t you tell me about Sunset, Flash?”

“Oh, shut up, you know an embarrassing amount of things about me, so how about you tell me a bit about your own, huh?” in all honesty? My argument is full of shit, but it’s worth a shot.

“Well,” he starts, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. That’s a first. “What exactly do you want to know about us?” … I can’t believe that worked!

“What are you willing to tell me?” I ask, growing increasingly curious. I know curiosity killed the cat, but cats have nine lives, so I’m sure a cat can spare one of those for me, right? “Maybe just about how you two met, maybe? And remember! You know an embarrassing amount of things about me, so don't skip any details!"

“I heard it the first time," he says annoyed. "Though to be fair, you are the one always blabbering about it…”

“Fine! It's a bit of a tale, but I'll attempt to be concise,” he takes a deep breath, and begins. “It all started in Freshman year…”

I turn around quickly, trying my best to run through the hallways, my guitar case heavily weighing me down. Stupid case!

“Geez! Ms. Learned is going to have my butt on a platter if I’m late again!” saying the words out loud act as a motivator, as my feet begin moving faster, I ignore the voices from the monitors who absentmindedly call after me before returning to them pretending to do their job.

“Ha! Not this time, Ms. Learned!” I shout in triumph as I make the turn to the hall in which my class resides. A month of getting lost is finally paying off!

“Woah!” a girl screams, and before I can gather what’s going on, I crash into something, and I’m flung backwards, painfully landing on my behind. “Hey! What’s the big id- Oh!”

“Huh?” I mumble, opening my eyes to see the complainer in front of me. “Huh...”

In front of me is the cutest girl I’ve ever seen number thirty-five, the first thing I notice is her beautiful hair, which shines brightly with an orange and yellow palette resembling the sun… ‘Sunset’ comes to mind when looking at her.

“If you want to hear the story, you’ll hear everything I say,” he says simply.

“O-oh my goodness! Are you okay?” she babbles, helplessly looking around between a book, me, and my case, not knowing what to reach for. Cute is certainly up there when referring to this beauty.

“It’s alright,” I say dismissively, getting on my feet and offering my hand. “Are you alright?”

She looks up, tentatively looking between my hand and hers before finally reaching out to mine and getting on her feet.

“T-thank you,” she says simply, accepting the book I hand to her. “A-and thank you again… For the book! That’s what I mean, and, oh…” she blushes, lowering her gaze and hiding behind her book. “I-I got to go! I’m sorry!” she dismisses herself rather loudly, running the opposite direction and disappearing in a classroom.

“Wow,” I say simply with wide eyes, my heart pounding loudly against my chest, signaling that I live and that what I saw really happened. “That girl… She will be mine!” I announce with gusto to the ceilings over me.

“Oh no! Class! My butt!” I yelp as I run for class, knowing full well that I am doomed.

-

“So is that’s how you two met then?” I ask, getting myself comfortable in my chair. If there is anything that libraries are good for, is good comfort. How else would I sleep in one?

“Hmm…” I tap my cheek in mock thoughtfulness. “Not really… That Sunset Shimmer sounded, what’s the word…? Well, nice. And actually cute! Are you sure this is the same Shimmer?” if there is anything I know about her, is that she is a manipulating, heartless bitch, not an adorable Fluttershy-like cutie.

“People change, Lemon,” he replies darkly, lowering his gaze. There is obviously more for him to tell here.

“Now, now, you are getting ahead of the story,” he says, waving his finger in a disgustingly smug manner. “Let’s start with how we became friends first, alright?”

“I appreciate the enthusiasm,” he tilts his head back, and twists his mouth as he recalls the next part. “I actually saw her again a month later…”

I eat my bowl of cereal without much of a complaint, cereal has always been my go-to food in school… It’s the only item that isn’t touched directly by the school staff, so it is at least guaranteed to be edible.

“Sun set alert at 6’o clock,” I immediately drop my spoon and turn a complete 180 to check; double tinted hair. Check. Bashful, yet proudly presenting of herself? Check. Number thirty-five? Hell yeah. That’s her alright.

“I didn’t know she had our lunch break!” I reply, watching as she walks. A good surprise indeed.

“Go talk to her, man!” Brawly urges, pushing me off my seat with that brute strength of his.

“Woah! Hold on! I can’t just ’talk’ to a beauty like her! I mean, just look at her!” I say, as she goes to sit down on her own on a seat off in the distance.

“Bro, she doesn’t have any friends… I say you can easily be the first to do so,” Ringo states with his usual smugness, pointing at the empty table.

“Unless you want me to give it a shot, bud,” Brawly says with a confident grin, standing up, licking his hand and pushing his hair back much like that old movie cliché. Didn’t know people actually did that.

“Woah!” I intervene, standing in front of him. “First of all! That’s gross man,” I complain, pointing at his still dripping hand. “And second, I am going to do so… Right now! Just watch me!”

“Woah, woah, woah, woah… Woah…” I interrupt, holding my hand up, while staring at Flash in disbelief.

I take a breath, a feeling of unease surging inside me. “Who the hell are ‘Ringo’ and ‘Brawly’!?” I ask in my bewildered state. “I’ve never heard of those two!”

“They are my bandmates and friends, Lemon, I’m sure you’ve seen them before,” he points out irritated.

I scratch the back of my head, trying to comprehend what he just said. “You have friends outside of us!?”

I walk through the lunch room’s aisles, watching the mysterious girl eat from afar. At least I assume so, as she has her back turned.

“Hello, did you drop from heaven… No, that’s stupid, er… Hi! I saw you from afar, and… Ugh, I can’t come up with anything!” I whisper to myself, coming up with things to start a conversation. It’s going terribly.

Before I realize it, I’m standing right behind her, her hair facing me with its full lusciousness. Come on, Flash, say something to that hair!

“Hi t-Woah!” I yelp, as the moment I take a step, I trip, looking in horror as I head towards the girl. “Watch ou-”

“And then? What happened?” I demand, jumping on my seat. “Come on, Flash, you can’t leave me hanging, man!”

He scratches his head, looking confused. “The thing is, the rest is a bit fuzzy.”

I stare with mouth agape, shaking my head in my confusion. “What? You were there!”

In a panic, I stand upright, getting a sharp pain in my head, my eyes going momentarily blurry as I try to get my bearings.

“W-what’s going on… Where am I?” I suddenly recognize the feeling of what I’m resting on - a bed. A curtain surrounds me, and I quickly realize where I am… “But… Why am I in the infirmary?” good thing I was here once before, otherwise I would have freaked out. I’m not one for waking up in a completely different place without my knowledge.

“O-oh no! I’m not one!” the voice says again. It’s female alright… Also very familiar. Wait!

“You sound familiar… Sun set?” the curtain suddenly opens, revealing the surprised face of the person I imagined.

“Wait, what? Did that really happen?” I ask with doubt. “It all seems a bit…”

“I was going to say ‘out of some Oriental crap’ but that can summarize it nicely,” I explain with a nod.

He rolls his eyes, not giving me a retort. “I’ll just continue, but I think I’ll skip the awkward part of it, if you don’t mind.”

“So yes, I’m not sure how it happened, but you fell so hard that you actually managed to knock me out…” Sunset explains, looking embarrassed.

“I don’t know why you are embarrassed about it, I was the one who fell on you! I’m so sorry!” I quickly apologize. If dad knew about this, he would kill me… Or even worst, not give me my car!

“N-no, it’s fine!” she says, waving her hands cutely. “Actually, it’s kind of good, in a weird way…”

“Well…” she fidgets, looking to the side as she plays with her thumbs. “You see, I’m new in town, I moved here from another state, and I’ve had difficulty making acquaintances, much less friends,” that would explain the lone eater thing.

And it’s the perfect chance! “You know, I’m not a person who pushes a struggling new student away. So what do you say to hanging out with me and my buddies? There is no membership to join… Ahaha…” Idiot! You blew it!

She gives me a wide eyed stare, blinking rapidly, before she begins shaking, and without notice, she bursts into a giggling fit that I would call cute, but I’m far too occupied thinking of ways to off myself right now.

“No, please! Don’t take this the wrong way!” she says, possibly noticing my misery. “It’s just this whole situation is ridiculous… I would be happy to!” she says, grinning ear to ear.

“But if you don’t mind, may I ask you what your own name is? I don’t have the psychic prowess you possess to guess yours.”

“O-oh! Right,” quickly drying my sweaty hand, I extend it to her. “The name is Flash! Flash Sentry! It’s great to meet you!” I say with an honest grin.

Sunset smiles back and extends her hand in return. “Sunset Shimmer. I hope we can be good friends!”

“Wow,” I simply say. There really is nothing I can say outside that… Oh, wait. I can! “You didn‘t say how you got together!”-

Flash laughs. “Come on, Lemon, did you really expect it to be a quick process?” he points out. “You can’t just get into a relationship so easily, these things take time.”

“Hi…” Sunset says with a small finger wave, and both greet her with a blank stare, their mouths hanging wide-open.

“Did she get brain damage? Or did you pay her to hang out with us?” he whispers with an apparent mocking tone.

“Shut up!” I groan, punching his shoulder, receiving a satisfying ‘ouch!’ as a reward for my effort. Ignoring the following complaints, I invite Sunset to sit down, which she graciously accepts as she places her tray down.

“So, Sunset, huh? Flash actually guessed your name right,” Brawly says. Much to my hand's dismay, which feels like punching him right about now.

“Guess?” Sunset says confused. “Flash, I thought you said you actually heard it from someone,” she says, turning towards me.

“Um, I, er…I felt it would be kind of creepy, you know?” ahahaha… Oh boy…

“Creepy?” she asks with a chuckle. “That’s actually kind of a cool guess,” she says with a smile.

“Suck up,” both Brawly and Ringo say in motion. You guys are terrible wingmen.

“Hah, hah,” Sunset giggles cutely before bursting into full blown laughter.

“S-sorry!” she says in an odd attempt of an apology, holding her stomach. “You are guys are just funny, you are all obviously friends!”

“We are also a band!” Brawly states proudly. “I play the drums,” nice segway.

“Cool! You guys any good?” she asks excitedly, ignoring their struggle. She is practically part of the group now.

“Er…” I accidentally let out the answer with that simple reply. “W-well, we are still not great, if that’s what you are asking, we are still getting started, since we just made the band like a month ago and all…” I explain. I wonder if any rock star started answering this question at some point in their early careers.
-
“Oh! Do you th-” she stops suddenly. “Never mind, forget I asked!”

“N-no, it’s nothing!” she waves it off. “I just met you all, it’s not cool of me to ask.”

“You are with friends now, girl,” Ringo says with a grin. “Shoot,” Brawly and I nod in agreement to that statement.

“Alright…” she stops, taking a deep breath. “You guys need someone to sing for you? I mean, I know it’s out of the blue, I’m sorry for asking!”

“A vocalist?” I say intrigued, the gears turning in my head. “Wait, you can sing?”

She nods slowly. “I was in a choir for three years, but I never really sang for a band, I would love to give it a try if I were to be able to… It’s okay if you don’t want, of course…”

We all look at each other, sharing the same grin before looking back at her. “Sunset, you are welcome to give it a shot!”

“So, just like that?” I don’t mean to be a negative person without reason, even towards Flash, but this sounds like it was made up.

“What can I say? We were all sorta infatuated with her… Not that the other two would admit it.”

“Well, I may be romanticizing bits and pieces,” he explains, turning his head to the side innocently. “But it’s pretty much how it happened.”

“Fine, whatever,” I scoff the dumb issue aside. “In any case, what happened next? Was she good at it?”

Now it’s Flash’s turn to scoff. “Lemon. She had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard.”

“Really?” I say without a hint of surprise. I mean, it’s pretty much impossible to find someone who sucks at singing in this universe… Unless your name is Scootaloo, that is. “Hold on. Are you saying she joined the band!?” I exclaim in surprise.

“Indeed. Heck, we joined the first talent contest as a full band with Shimmer as our vocalist,” he tells, looking up to the ceiling fondly.

“Nah, some violinist chick did. But we played with heart! And we didn’t go in for nothing,” he says, finishing with a jarring somber look.

He looks at me with a frown, shaking his head sadly. “The catalyst of the Sunset of today… But that wasn’t really your question, was it?”

“Well, the girlfriend thing happened the following semester, on a day close by, actually.”

Ah, yes. The day when many give their loved ones gifts… In between other things.

I have been waiting for this day since the last semester, I’ve been practicing this for months, and I am not to screw this up. It is time.

“H-huh?” I turn around, watching Brawly and Ringo giving me confused stares.

“I didn’t know you were one for art,” Brawly laughs, patting my back. “Nervous?”

Ringo comes up from behind, he pushes his glasses up, and looks me over. “Nice jacket. The eighties called, they want their jacket back."

What he is referring to, of course, is the black leather jacket I’m currently wearing. “Bite me.”

“I was simply joking,” he says with mock regret. “Trust me, you’ll be fine! This was some time coming.”

“No, no, let me finish,” he says defensively, raising his hands. “But seeing how you are my pal, I’ll be supporting you, as will Brawly.”

“Yep!” Brawly says, coming in the middle and putting his huge arms around us. “And if you chicken out, just know that I’ll kick your ass, bro!” he states cheerfully, holding the most honest look I’ve ever seen on him.

“R-right…” I mumble, gripping the package under my arm. This is stupid... Ugh, I can only hope I don’t get cold feet before school is over for the day. It’s going to go by very slow.

And the day did go by as slow as my brain could manage, the feeling of butterflies in combat never leaving my stomach as three thousand years pass in a crawl, the numerous people being disgustingly lovey-dovey in class didn’t help my situation. Thankfully, school was out before I knew it.

“Hey Flash!” she greets me with a smile. “Nice jacket! Ready to go home?”

“Ringo said practice was cancelled for the day,” she points out. “Did that change?”

“What? I di-” wait… Oooh… You clever jerk. “Right! It is, but, er, can you come with me? I forgot something by the gym… Lockers. Yeah.”

“Oh? Sure, but we better not take long, my dad will be coming to pick me up today,” she warns.

“Trust me Sunny, there is no way I won’t take a cop seriously. Come on,” I hurry her, and quickly, we make our way to the gym lockers, staying eerily silent on the way. Whether she didn’t want to talk or maybe I was simply not listening, I do not know, but we make it relatively quickly, and I stop by a random locker.

“So, where is it? I didn’t know you had a locker here,” she says casually.

“What do you mean? Why are we here then?” she laughs awkwardly. “A-are you going to pull a prank on me?”

A way out! No, wait! “No!” I yelp loudly. That is the last thing I want. “I would never!”

“Woah… What’s wrong? You are sweating, Flash. And dare I say acting jumpier than usual,” she says, noticing the mess I’m in right now.

“Oh!” she reacts quickly, putting her hands to the side and cute/awkwardly staring back. “W-what is it?”

“W-will…” I reach towards my backpack and bring out the package, I swiftly open it, and reveal it to her.

She stares blankly, looking at the contents of the package - a black leather jacket.

“What is this?” she asks, holding the jacket in front of her. “Is this for me?”

“W-well, yes, I mean, it used to be my mom’s, but I'm giving it to you, and, er, well…” I stop. Gah! This is ridiculous!

“Your moms?” she shakes her head confused. “But why are you…” she halts, her eyes widening. “Flash… Are you?”

“Dad said that’s how he met mom… And well, I’m sure you know my question, right?” I say lamely. Yep, hope is lost!

“Well, I’d like to hear it out of you, if you don’t mind,” she says with a serious face, loosely hugging the jacket.

“Argh! Will you be my valentine!” I say quickly, bowing and leaving my eyes closed. Did I screw up? Damn it! Not again, not ag-

“Huh?” I look up, and with widened eyes, I grin, as I see Sunset with the jacket snugly on her It fits her. “R-really?”

“Welp, that’s about it, hope you are satisfied,” Flash says with finality, fully stopping.

“Wait,” I say taken aback. “And what? What!?” I yelp. “What happened next?”

“I’m sure you know what happened next, there really is no need to go into the nitty-gritty, is it? Wouldn't be too concise,” Flash chuckles. “Your question has been answered.”

“Hmph! Killjoy,” I sigh. But admittedly, that did answer my question, so I suppose I can’t really complain. “Although I’m curious about something else.”

“Do you mean the ‘catalyst’ I brought up earlier?” he guesses correctly. “Yeah, I figured I might as well tell you how that happened.”

I look up thoughtfully. He set it up this way knowing I would ask, so I might as well hear him out. “Seeing how the Sunset of your story acts, I feel that something must have happened.”

“Well, listen, and maybe you’ll figure it out. But I’m sure you know of a certain event that you and I were involved with last year,” he says simply. And of course, I know what he means - we both meddled in things that weren’t our business.

“Well, let’s hope Trixie does the women stereotype justice and takes ages. Go for it, Flash.”

He nods. “Understood. And it is what you think - I mean, what else but that dance…”

“Fall formal P-Princess? Me?” Sunset asks looking embarrassed. “I couldn’t!”

“Are you kidding?” I say, sloppily passing her the event’s flyer. Dumb windy day. “You are one of the most popular girls at CHS now thanks to your voice! I say you have a chance at this.”

“But… Isn’t that Rarity girl participating?” Sunset points out. “She is the most popular girl at school… I don’t have a chance against her!”

“I say you do,” Ringo says knowingly. “Your popularity is higher than what you’d expect thanks to the talent contest.”

“And why not give it a shot?” Brawly agrees. “I say you have charm as an advantage.”

“W-Well… Can I have time to think about that? I have to ask… Er, well, you know?” she says timidly.

“Sure Sunny,” I say, putting my arm around her. “Only if you really want to, there is no rush, okay?”

“Hey Sunset,” Ringo calls, stopping us by the school’s statue. “Are you alright?”

“What!?” she snaps, making us all jump in surprise. “Oh! S-sorry, is something the matter?”

“Well.. For starters, what was that all about?” Ringo asks giving her a worried look. “You’ve been acting kind of odd for the past few days,” sadly, I have to agree. Sunset hasn’t been her usual cheery self for a bit.

“… Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind,” she says in a serious tone, holding her head. Just as a familiar cop car pulls up.

“If you are worried about finals, I can get Ringo to help,” I suggest as she walks towards the car. “Just no touching, you hear?” I joke, grabbing him and ruffling his hair, much to his delicious discomfort.

Sunset tilts her head without turning back and nods. “I’ll… Keep that in mind. Thanks,” and without another word, she boards her father’s car, and drives off.

“So she started acting weird… Did you guys not see that?” I ask a bit perturbed.

“Yes, but we thought she was only having one of those sudden girly moods… You know?” he says, dropping very obvious hints.

“Please don’t,” I say, palming my face. I’ve had enough about ‘girly moods’ for a year.

“You sure? You didn’t look too hot about it yesterday,” Ringo says worriedly. “Are you really up for it?”

“I already said I was. Are you doubting my ability to do this?” she growls, giving him a venomous look.

We look at each other, sharing similar looks of distraught that must be on my face as well “A-alright, we’ll do what I can to help you.”

She smiles and rests her head on my shoulder. “Thank you, because I already have a plan."

“Woah… That sounds like the Sunset I know,” I say surprised. “But you don’t need to go into more detail. I already know what happened.”

“Do you now?” Flash says, his words oozing with confidence in my words. Hey, I can be sarcastic too.

Flash continues staring at me, blinking occasionally… It’s kind of unnerving, really. “Tell me. Do you know how Sunset won it?”

He turns his back to me, letting his head down on the desk. “She won by default. The same way she won last year, and the year before that…” he turns back to me, giving me a familiar look of regret. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain it to you, do I?”

I choose to remain silent - I’ve given him too much shit about that situation already.

“So… Why did you let her do it? Why did you help her exactly? I don’t think I ever asked you about it,” I sure he feels bad about it, but I think it’s a fair question after what he did.

"You mean we, we all did it,” he looks up smiling sadly. “And would you believe me if I said that I just loved seeing her smile?”

“Hmph!” Trixie harrumphs loudly as she enters the room. “Didn’t take you for being such a sap, Sentry,” Flash remains silent, only the sound of his breathing in the room… Well, mine and Trixie’s too, but I like being dramatic.

“Trixie only heard your sappy finisher, don’t worry your pretty head about it,” she turns to me, sitting down on the chair next to me. “So, where is Fluttershy? She should’ve been here by now.”

“Sure,” Trixie agrees, kissing my cheek awkwardly. “If you need Trixie, she'll be checking the books... Like one is supposed to,” she says before walking out of the room.

Flash follows suit by getting off his seat. “I need some air, I’ll be outside checking for Fluttershy.”

I look up from my phone, remembering something that stuck out from his story. “Flash?”

Flash looks down a , telling me all I need to know. “As you know, we broke up near the end of last year, she actually moved during summer break, so I don’t know where she lives… And that jacket is the reason why I want to talk to her, I need to know, well, you know?”

I nod once. “Yeah, I believe I understand,” I say, which he takes as a signal to leave.

I look at my phone silently, sighing annoyed. “Living the life, huh?” I say, writing the text and sending in on its way.

‘Sorry. I won’t be going today,’ the message says. Which despite bringing up some questions, it also brings a sigh of relief.

“Phew… At least that’s one good thing,” I send a reply to ask for the address, and calmly place the phone down. Maybe, just maybe things are starting to look up for us.

“I like her consistency,” I grin happily, opening the text and r- “What!?” I yelp, reading the message over and over. No… Come on!

‘I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I can tell you that’ it reads, despite my best efforts to make heads or tails of it.

I just wanted to go to Equestria!

by Ditz

A Glimmer Left Behind