//------------------------------// // Eyes // Story: You Can't Help Who You Love // by Feather Flyer //------------------------------// The next day, Stella Luna came and sat at Shimmer and Twilight's table. And naturally, Shimmer was delighted by it. She and Twilight talked with her until the lunch bell rang, sharing many moments of laughter. The only time when their laughter ceased was when Sunset interrupted it with a rude remark that was quickly followed by an argument with her human self. The dispute was "resolved" when Stella Luna came in between the girls and told them both to calm down. Telling a girl to calm down is about the worst thing you can say to them when they are clearly upset. It eludes to you saying they're out of control, emotionally unstable, and just over the top. So when the junior told Sunset to calm down, it resulted in the opposite effect. Sunset gritted her teeth. "Calm down? Ha! I am calm! You just keep your buckin' mouth shut!" "...Bucking?" Stella repeated under her breath. The alien groaned before jabbing her finger at her chest. "You bucking humans are so annoying! Just get the hay out of my business and carry on, jackass. Let me handle this, you feral, muzzle-sucking jenny!" Shimmer swatted Sunset's hand away, her anger turned mostly into confusion. "Sunset, what the heck are you talking about?!" Twilight- who had been watching the whole time- raised a hand and pointed at the ceiling, clearing her throat. "She's insulting Stella with a slew of horse talk, I believe. She just called you"-her finger aimed at Stella- "a male donkey and a female donkey at the same time, if you didn't know what jackass and jenny meant. From my understanding, however, it is not possible for a horse to be both a male and a female. If that were so then they'd reproduce asexually and that's not the case--" "Shut up! I don't care about technicalities!" Sunset snapped. Shimmer frowned at her. "What's going on?! Why are you acting like...like..." The girl gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. "Like a bitch!!!" Twilight, Stella, and Sunset all remained quiet for a few moments. It was the first time they had all seen her so angry and her language caught them all off guard. Sunset's face twisted, from surprise to a smirk to guilt. Everyone's eyes shifted toward her in accusation. Why was she acting like that? It's not like the older girl did anything to her. So what was her problem? Before anyone could ask her this again, Sunset stalked off, her face red in embarrassment and anger. After that incident, neither dopplegangers talked to each other much less looked their way. Shimmer's POV It's been almost two weeks since Stella's decided to spend her free period in the cafeteria with Twilight and I. It's been really fun. I was able to forget some of my problems and just enjoy myself. Honestly, ever since Stella has come around, I think I've had the chance to relax for the first time after Sunset crashed into everything. Things seem normal again when I'm with her. No more thoughts about unexpected occurrences, no more fuming about what my double did to screw something up, no more worries in general. It's weird though. That first day Stella showed up at the lunch table Sunset had been a pain. The constant staring, her sharp tongue snapping out rude comments, the uncomfortable atmosphere she set...it no longer is there. As the days go by, Sunset seems to have distanced herself from us. That's fine by me since she's not being a nuisance anymore. It's not like I wanted her to show up and change anything in my life in the first place. The only good thing I ever got out of that was getting close to my best friend, Twilight. I just want my life back and it's finally coming back together piece by piece. I just hope it'll stay that way. I laughed hard and clutched my stomach as I rocked back in my chair. Twilight covered her mouth trying to stifle a giggle. It was useless in the end; she let it out in a funny sounding snort. Stella grinned, happy to see her joke had been successful. She had a knack for telling really funny jokes. They always got me in a never-ending fit of laughter. "That was priceless!" I said breathlessly, wiping a tear from my eye. Stella nodded before giving me a thumbs up. "It gets 'em every time." I took a few deep breaths before I felt the growing pain in my abdomen fade away. That tight feeling you get when laughing too hard always felt like a workout. I propped an elbow on the table and sighed from exhaustion. I hadn't felt that good in a while. We continued to talk about small things here and there, mainly about what Stella planned to do for the summer break. It was coming up in a few months and we all spoke of the days to come like they were a burden. Clearly, we were all ready for summer vacation to start. The bell rang and we stood up to head off to our next destinations. Stella Luna stretched before patting me on the shoulder. "It was a great chat, underclassman. Ya know, Hanging with the younger crowd isn't too bad." The older girl grinned. "Hey, how about you and your friend come to the movies with me on Saturday?" I nodded, perhaps, too vigorously. A small twinge had made itself known in my neck and I winced slightly. "S-Sure! I mean, we'd have to tell our parents and get permission, but I'd love to come!" The older girl chuckled before walking off. I watched her leave only to be tapped by Twilight on the shoulder. "Lesbian much?" I whirled around, my face red. "T-Twilight!" My best friend guffawed before heading out the cafeteria. I sped up to keep a pace alongside her. I hissed at her. "Don't say that out loud! Besides, I don't even like girls like that..." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Right." I sputtered. Was it really that obvious? As if she could read my mind, Twilight said, "You aren't exactly subtle about it." I sighed. "What do you mean?" "The blushing, the staring, the dreamy sighing...You're lucky Stella seems too busy telling her jokes to notice your behavior, otherwise she'd see a big rainbow flag flying right over you." "I-I do not do any of those things!" I whispered to her, but I knew the moment those words came out of my mouth she wouldn't be convinced. She waved her hand at me in a careless wave. "Yeah, sure. See you after school, Shimmer." I walked out of the school with the flood of other students minutes after the dismissal bell rang. Glancing around, I looked for a certain nerd with purple hair and dorky glasses. As I scanned the crowd, my eyes landed on a very familiar person. She was a long way's away near the front of the flock. Her red and yellow hair bounced lightly on her shoulders as she walked that arrogant walk of hers. It was Sunset. I blinked as she turned toward Canterlot instead of going to the parking lot for her motorcycle. She must not have ridden it to school that day. Something in my body made me move forward. I didn't know what but it was something that got my feet moving in her direction. I hadn't talked to her in a while. The last words we had exchanged with one another were short, insignificant sentences, and that had been nearly six days before. Normally, Sunset and I would have had many conversations, about 70% of them having turned into petty arguments. I didn't miss the latter but her absence was felt at that moment. All I saw of her these days was her figure sitting in class not saying a word. I stepped in time to Sunset's stroll, lagging a little. There was something about that confidence she had in her step that propelled her, making me have to catch up in a clumsy jog every once in a while. I watched her, hoping she'd realize I was beside her and acknowledge me. But she didn't. She kept going, her eyes focused only on what was in front of her. She doesn't see me... I reached out to tap her but refrained. Why am I acting like this? Sunset caused this period of silence between us, not me. I shouldn't be the one to start up a broken friendship. I kept walking for a few seconds before something hit me. Friendship? What we had was a friendship? No, no, no. That's absolutely the opposite of what was going on between us! We were more like sworn enemies than best buddies... But a few days before we had that fight, we were all fine. Unlike other times, she hadn't been a major jerk; she was actually sociable and a little funny. Teasing me about my dislike for coffee was a little annoying but something tells me she's always going to get on my nerves. She just wasn't as aggravating as she usually is. Anyway, why should I get her to talk to me if it's her fault? With this conclusion in mind, I slowed down to a causal walk, letting the distance between us increase. I watched Sunset 'power walk' ahead of me. She held her head high and moved with grace, weaving through the crowd of teenagers that made their way in front of her. With her swift movements she quickly widened the gap and disappeared from view. I had no idea as to how she was able to maneuver in those riding boots. Whenever I tried to move fast, the clunky things suddenly became dead weights and dragged me to a crawl. I pushed through the human wall and continued to walk. By the time I got to the bus station, the bus had left only ten minutes before. Looks like I'll be walking an hour plus again. "Shimmer! Heeeeeyy!" I turned around to see Twilight catching up to me. "I thought we were going to meet up after school. What's made you change your mind?" "Oh. I just am feeling tired after today. Just wanted to get home. I hope you don't mind," I tell her. She nods before sighing. "It has been a long day. School is a bit of a burden and that's coming from me! At least today's Thursday. We only have one more day before Spring Break." "...Spring Break?" "Yeah, Shimmer. Don't tell me you forgot about it!" I glanced at the concrete sidewalk. I had been too absorbed in my thoughts these past weeks to even remember things like that. I bit my lip and looked at my friend sheepishly. Twilight laughed at me. "Hey, I'm not judging. Normally I would forget myself. It's just that Stella was harping on the fact that it was only days away." "Oh right..." "Hey, are you alright? You haven't been yourself much, unless you count when your lover came around." I blushed. "She's not my lover." Twilight grinned. "If you say so. But you don't seem ok. You're a little out of it." "I'm alright." We walked for 15 minutes more before Twilight parted ways. She was going to meet up with her brother at the library after he got off his shift. As I continued on my way home more and more students dispersed in different directions to their own abodes. Looking up ahead, I could see Sunset. Images of her during the days we didn't speak came into my head. My counterpart would just say nothing to nearby classmates and work alone on partner assignments, her shoulders tense. She kept her eyes down on her papers and rarely looked around. And in each image she was alone... That wasn't like her. She had poor posture and slouched in her chair. Sunset always looked around the classroom, always seeming bored. She didn't talk all the time but when she did it was to pop a smart remark that got the class snickering and the teacher glaring. She was laid back most of the time, even when she got into small arguments with me. Sunset wasn't a complete loner like how she seemed these days. I shook my head. This can't all be the result of... that disagreement we had, could it? If so, then there must be something deeper going on with her. She never explained why she was being unfriendly around Stella. What could the reason be? I looked up as I came to an intersection. It was a busy street full of cars itching to get to their next destination. The light was green for the street I wanted to cross so I reached a hand out to press the crosswalk button without looking. Instead of feeling a hard, metal object under my fingers, I felt something warm and soft. I turned my head to see that it was another person's hand. I blinked once, twice, before I glanced behind me, not fully comprehending what was going on. Blue-green eyes. Brilliantly vivid blue-green eyes.... The beautiful turquoise orbs looked back at me, unfazed by the close proximity. There was a familiar mischievous glow to them like I had seen them time and time again. The amount of warmth I saw in their eyes was incredible. I felt my face heat up. I could feel their slow breaths brush against my cheek...Wait. Whoops! I pulled back quickly and looked away. Oh, this is awkward! I accidentally touched someone's hand and got engaged in a staring contest with them! "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to touch your hand! I really didn't mean to!" I felt my cheeks burn from embarrassment. I wish I was paying attention to my surroundings. I waited for a reply but it didn't come. Slowly I looked up and froze. Sunset looked back at me with the same lovely eyes I had just seen up close. I gaped. Wait, that was her?? She had been way ahead of me just a moment ago! How was it that she fell back to where I was? And I actually thought she had pretty eyes? I mean, she does. But my thoughts...they were a bit much. That's weird. But hang on. You were complimenting yourself. My eyes are absolutely gorgeous. Yeah. That's right. Just-- "You'll catch a fly if you don't close your mouth." I sputtered, snapping back into reality. "Wha---You? How? Huh...?" "I'm sorry, I don't speak that language," she said, her mouth turning up into a small smirk. I folded my arms and tried my hardest to frown. I was still quite surprised and it showed. "You...What are you doing here?" "Going home. You?" "S-Same here. Where's your motorcycle?" Sunset glanced at the cars going by, her hand still on the button, leaning lazily into it. In the distance, police sirens could be heard but neither of us paid it any mind. "It had some issues. Had to take it to a shop." She sniffed and rolled her eyes. "It didn't pass an E-check, stupid thing..." She stood there, watching the street for a little before frowning and shooting me a look. "Why're you watching me ?" I coughed and turned quickly to face the street. "I'm not watching you. And-And what are you getting all mad at me for? I'm the one who should be mad at you!" There was a brief moment of silence that allowed the sirens to be heard. They sounded closer than they had been only moments before. "Ah, yeah..." she murmured. "Are yo--" "Of course I'm still mad at you!!!" Sunset flinched. "Gee, sorry. I wasn't flipping out on you then. You know that, right?" "I do know that. But it doesn't matter. You were yelling at my friend!" "Friend? She was more like a predator..." "No, she wasn't. That's dumb, Sunset, and you know it." "You might not have saw it but I did. It was in her eyes." I scoffed. She was totally lying. "Right. In her freaking eyes...." I pointed at her in disgust. "I totally doubt that. Tell me, what's the real reason you decided to pick on Stella? She didn't do a thing to you!" "...Look, we can cross. Come on." Sunset stepped out into the street and moved on ahead, the little crosswalk sign showing a white stick figure. I ran out after her. And I wish I didn't. It all happened so fast that as soon as it passed, I was stunned and unable to comprehend anything. One moment I was running after Sunset crossing the street, and the next I was tackled backward as an ear-shattering roar sounded. There was a loud screech of tires burning rubber on the tar road. The dissonant noises of a car engine and wheels zipped by, the ruckus being incredibly loud for only a second before it rocketed away, the volume decreasing dramatically. It was no doubt a speeding vehicle that almost hit me. Someone was holding me, pinning me to themselves. I felt gravity grab hold of us, ready to take us down, and everything slowed as if time were coming to a standstill. All I saw was red and yellow curls. Locks of hair fanning out in front of me. My lips and chin were pressed tightly against a leather shoulder. I felt a hand support the back of my head, becoming a thin barrier between the ground and my skull. It was only a few seconds that I experienced this slow matrix moment; in a wink of an eye reality came back, our bodies twisting in mid-fall, and we fell. Hard. My vision blurred. In the air, there was nothing but the shriek of sirens. My arm scraped the ground, leaving it on fire. I gasped as my breath was knocked out of my lungs. I closed my eyes and bit my lip trying to keep in the scream that was scratching at my throat. Everything hurt. I had landed on my side next to my savior. Had we not shifted positions I would have had an even rougher landing. From the way we hit the concrete, there was more of an impact on them, having crashed right down on their shoulder blade. Since they had grabbed me my fall had been slightly broken. I blinked away the blurriness and saw that the other person was slowly sitting up. They turned their head to me and I stared back at them. Blue-green eyes. Brilliantly vivid blue-green eyes....