"Rainbooms rule! That was amazing!"
Sunset Shimmer watched as her ex-boyfriend, Flash Sentry, ran over and hugged Twilight Sparkle after the Rainbooms freed the entire school from the influence of the Dazzlings once and for all. If it hadn't already been clear how enamoured they truly were with one another, it was certainly clear now, seeing the two embrace. Sunset giggled with the other girls as they watched the blush on Twilight's cheeks become more apparent. All of a sudden:
"You may have vanquished the Dazzlings, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
A poof of smoke filled the air. After it cleared up, they saw Trixie clumsily trying to escape. Sunset was actually quite disappointed at Trixie's intrusion on the moment. Sunset was somewhat fascinated by this side to Twilight, as it was a quality that she didn't see in herself. While Sunset had dated Flash and a few other guys in the past, it was really only for personal gain. She was only using them either to have them buy her things, stroke her ego, or boost her power. The more she thought about it, she realized that she had never been in a proper relationship with a guy before.
When Sunset dated Flash, it gave her a bigger payoff than any of her other exploits. For a start, Flash was a good deal more popular than any guy that Sunset had "dated" before. He was the face of the rocker clique, the most popular and influential clique at Canterlot High. The rocker clique also included the school's DJ, Vinyl Scratch, who had just helped the Rainbooms defeat the Dazzlings after Spike found out that her headphones gave her immunity from the spell that the sirens cast on everyone else on the school. By dating Flash, Sunset incorporated herself into this clique, and reaped the benefits of being in it. Her hot-headed attitude intimidated everyone else in the clique, even Flash's band members, but Flash just insisted that it was her interesting way of communicating with people. Flash was also wealthier than any other guy Sunset exploited. Sunset could use Flash to get her expensive items she couldn't otherwise get without blowing her budget. He was also friendlier, more forgiving, and more trusting. He even helped her to learn how to play the guitar.
Even the best of guys had those limits, though. While Flash was mustering up the courage to say "I love you" to Sunset, he overheard a conversation she had with Snips and Snails.
"It takes way too much effort to keep up this facade of a relationship. Plus, I don't think I'll be needing him for much longer anyway," Sunset said.
"Are you sure 'bout this Sunset?" Snips responded.
"He gets us lots of cool stuff!" Snails exclaimed.
"Have you been using me all this time, Sunset?" Flash asked.
Sunset made a small attempt to explain herself, but it really didn't matter. That was the end of Flash and Sunset's relationship. Sunset didn't care that much at the time. The rest of the school was already afraid of Sunset, so she was able to rule the school with an iron fist. But when she tried to steal Twilight's element of magic in an attempt to get the power she was truly after, Twilight was able to step in, defeat Sunset, and win her crown back. In retrospect, Sunset was very grateful for what Twilight did. Without Twilight, Sunset would never have discovered the value of friendship.
The crown wasn't the only thing Twilight had won, however. In the human world, Twilight bumped into Flash Sentry several times. After bumping into each other at Sugarcube Corner, they became infatuated with one another. After Sunset had Snips and Snails ruin the Fall Formal decorations so she could frame Twilight, Flash helped to prove Twilight's innocence to Vice Principal Luna, allowing Twilight to run for Fall Formal princess so she could win her crown back. At the dance, he even danced like Twilight did when Twilight danced in a ponylike fashion.
Even though Flash and Twilight's relationship wasn't particularly deep, it was still a more legitimate relationship than anything Sunset's ever experienced. After Twilight returned to Equestria, Sunset continued to dwell on this fact. She found it very alarming that she has never dated for the sake of getting to know someone. She needed to write to Twilight about this. She picked up her magic book and pen and began writing:
Dear Princess Twilight,
Missing you already, and I hope you'll be back soon. Things are definitely looking up for me here at Canterlot High. But I know I still have a lot to learn about friendship. Hope you don't mind if I write to you for advice when I need it.
Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.
P.S. I've seen how you and Flash get along, and that got me thinking. I've never been in a legitimate relationship before. I was wondering if you could give me some advice on that too.
When Twilight received the message, she was startled. She wasn't qualified to give relationship advice. That was more for Princess Cadence, the princess of love, and not for Princess Twilight, the princess of friendship. Twilight and Flash weren't even officially girlfriend and boyfriend or fillyfriend and coltfriend or whatever their inter-dimensional connection could be called. She had only been to the human world twice and spent only a small percentage of that time with him. Then an idea popped into her head. Her friends at Canterlot High were high school students. Naturally, they should be able to give high schooly advice to Sunset. She wrote back:
Dear Sunset,
I'm glad things are brightening up for you back there. You can write to me anytime you want, and I'll try to respond as soon as possible. You can also visit if you need my help with a problem you need to solve.
Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.
P.S. Why don't you try asking the other girls to help you with relationships? I'm sure they'll be able to give you plenty of help on that. In a way, I'm just as much a learner on this subject as you are.
And with that, Sunset began her journey to learn all about what it means to be in a proper relationship.