A Brand New Beginning

by StoryWeaverKP

The Storms of Conflict

Chapter 4: The Storms of Conflict

The delicate tastes of hot cinnamon and apple cider splashed on Flash’s tongue with a velvety nature, and the beads of unease and discontent slowly eased their grips on him. He sipped from his cup a little more before he delved back into the confines of his ‘school’ note book. Whereas it took little effort to conjure his imagination from the depths of his mind for his fiction, this project proved to be more arduous.

A history textbook lay open beside the notebook, and he constantly switched his attention between the two.

Sugar Cube Corner was quite busy that afternoon, and yet, Flash didn’t mind the hustle and bustle of the old neighborhood. Most of the patrons had been current students at Canterlot High, although he recognized a few faces. They kept to themselves, which was fine by Flash. He just had to get this paper done. A soft pop song played on the overhead radio system, which suited the quant sweets shop perfectly. Every time the front door to Sugar Cube Corner opened, a tiny bell would either herald the new patrons or give mourning to those who had left. He couldn’t help but peek up every time this happened. This was his neighborhood, and it was such a robust place to call home.

The bell jingled, and Flash glanced up again.

Sunset stood in the doorway, but she wasn’t alone. Her slender arms were wrapped around the large limb of a taller man. A rather handsome, rugged kind of fellow to be specific. The man had a mixture of spikey blond and ocean blue hair, and he wore a mechanic’s jumpsuit. Blond and blue stubble poked out from his face, although it wasn’t thick enough to be considered fashionable. At first, Sunset laughed and smiled, talking to this … person with such comfort.
And then she noticed Flash at the back table.

Her eyes widened, and she immediately stopped talking. Naturally, this caused the gorilla of a man to study Sunset, and then follow her line of sight.

The man asked loud enough for Flash to hear “Is that guy bothering you? Do I need to go take care of him?”

Flash couldn’t help himself. His fists bawled, and his stomach tightened. For all his life, he had been the cool guy, the person all the other fellas looked up to. Never before had he been one to back down from a fight, be bullied, or manhandled. Yeah, Sunset’s boyfriend was bigger, older, and jacked, but Flash wasn’t out of shape, and he wouldn’t be an easy target.

Sunset just stood there, and so the boyfriend started to move toward Flash’s table. The entire restaurant got quiet. No one, not even Mr. and Mrs. Cake said a word, nor did they move. It was as if Sugar Cube Corner had become a saloon in one of those old western films.

Flash started to get up from his chair.

Sunset said loudly, “Stop! It’s not like that. He’s just a classmate of mine. Seeing him reminded me that we have a really big paper coming up. I totally forgot about it.” Sunset’s voice trembled.

The boyfriend turned to regard her. “You forgot an assignment? That doesn’t sound like you at all. You never forget important things like that.” He started to turn back to Flash. “Besides, I don’t like this punk’s attitude.”

Sunset got in front of him, placing herself between him and Flash.

She stared up at him. “I know I said we should go out to eat, but would you mind taking me to your place? I have to start on this paper.” She paused for a moment. “It’s a ten pager.”

The boyfriend asked, “What about dinner?”

“We can get Chinese or something.” Sunset grabbed his hands. “I tell you what, if you help me with the paper, we can snuggle and watch more of that violent TV show you like.”

The boyfriend’s eyes lit up, and he grinned from ear to ear. “You mean Psycho Murder Island Chronicles? But you hate that show.”

Sunset wiggled a little in front of him. “Please?”

The boyfriend peeked over Sunset’s head and gave Flash the briefest of death glares. To be honest, Flash couldn’t tell if he was sending one back or not.

Without saying another word, Sunset dragged her boyfriend out of Sugar Cube Corner. The bell jingled, and she didn’t even look back.

Slowly, Flash sat back down at his seat. Many of the other patrons averted their eyes, but there were a few that openly stared at him and whispered to one another. Flash didn’t pay them any mind though. His heart crackled, chipped, and even splintered, and emotional debris fell within him like a snow storm on an open field.
He’s just a classmate. Just a class mate. Not a friend, not an ex-boyfriend, not someone she had been spending a lot of time with recently, but… just a class mate.

Flash’s shoulders slumped and he hung his head over his opened textbook. His chest vibrated with a raw aura of pain. It hurt to breathe. Tears welled in his eyes.

Someone placed a plastic cup in front of him, and so Flash looked up.

Mrs. Cake smiled at him, but her eyes carried the true sense of her feelings. She held her hands together against her chest and tilted her head.

“It’s on the house, dearie,” Mrs. Cake said.

Flash opened his mouth to speak, but only silence flowed outward.

Mrs. Cake placed a hand on his shoulder, and she gave him a slight shake. “You don’t have to say anything. Believe me, I have seen enough young people in my years to recognize what just happened.” She paused, and her eyes became a little more motherly. “You may not believe me, but it will get better as the days pass.”

Flash chuckled nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was nothing going on. Just a big misunderstanding.”

Mrs. Cake’s eyes sparkled with intelligence. “If you say so, dearie. The drink is still on the house.”
She walked away, back over to Mr. Cake, who stood behind the counter. He didn’t say anything, but he regarded Flash much in the same way his wife did.

Flash turned his attention to the notebook. A deep sigh escaped him. There was no way he was getting this paper done tonight, not with the emotional WrestleMania going down in his soul at this very moment. It was a pay-per-view event, and the combatants were especially feisty. He collected his things and placed them in his bag.

However, he didn’t get up to leave. Flash grabbed the drink, took a sip from the straw, and sank into the delicious and comforting arms of cinnamon apple cider.

***

Flash walked away from his car, and moved toward the dorm entrance. A great numbness had taken hold of him, although a few choice thoughts flickered in the chaos that was his mind. For starters, Professor Discord had not assigned a new paper yet, since he had just collected the last paper assignment during last class period. Secondly, knowing Sunset, she was probably still composing a paper… or at the very least making it look like she was. After she was done… there would be cuddling.

His insides squirmed at that thought, and yet he lacked the mental strength to dissolve such images. Sunset would be nestled against that man’s chest, and his hands would be roaming while the screams of horror and mayhem resounded in the background somewhere. Since they were going out, Sunset wouldn’t stop him, and she might even ease back into more suitable positions to allow for even greater touching. She would moan. He would kiss her on her neck. Buttons would become unclasped, and shirts would be discarded altogether.

Damn it!!! Why was he doing this to himself?! He made a vow that things would be different. Flash moved through the dorm hall front door.

Sunset was his friend, nothing more, and …

He stopped for a moment. No, he wasn’t even a friend. He was her classmate. Boyfriends and girlfriends were the people you tended to get closest to, in more ways than one. If she couldn’t call him a friend to her boyfriend’s face, then was he truly one at all?

Flash started moving again, and he climbed the stairs to his floor.

It didn’t matter. Flash knew what he had to do. He really only had to address one question, what was best for him? What would make him the most happy? This whole Sunset ordeal caused him anything but happiness. Oh sure, it was super happy at the start. Weeks ago, a delicate, yet palpable sense of lightness and hope had lifted him well above any of his other concerns. Just being around her and breathing in the same air made the entire world brighter. It was fake though, or rather, it was all a giant tease. Granted, it wasn’t Sunset’s fault, and it wasn’t his… but his insides still writhed in anguish. This sort of torment couldn’t stand. If he just allowed himself to have the same sort of unrequited love he had back in high school, he’s be the same pathetic, shallow, and undefined person he was before.

This was his chance to start anew. If he wasted it, his whole life would be the same old re-run over and over. Flash didn’t want to be the discarded love interest anymore. He deserved to be the damned hero. It was his life after all.

His phone buzzed as soon as he got to his room.

Sunset: What was your problem?

Flash stared at his phone, and the numbness had taken on a new form. It grew hotter, and the feelings inside became more vibrant and spikey.

Me: What do you mean? I don’t have a problem.

Sunset took a few seconds to respond.

Sunset: Yes you do! You stared at me when I walked in like I had stomped your puppy into mush. What’s going on with you?

Flash sat on his bed, and the longing he had once felt for the bacon-haired beauty rolled around within him, although it wasn’t alone. His longing had taken on a violent lover, a lover named despair. His eyes watered. He typed so many things, but erased them and started over.

Me: You’re the one who led me on to thi- (deleted)

Why were you staring at me li- (deleted)

You’re so confusin- (deleted)

Its because I lov-

He stopped and stared at those words. Invisible hands gripped his heart, and it ripped his precious organ in two. Tears trailed down his face, and the longing became engulfed in the despair.

Me: Its because I lov- (deleted)
I don’t see why you’re getting so worked up over someone like me. After all, I’m just a classmate right?

As soon as he hit send, his nerve endings became electrified all at one. Flash’s eyes opened wide, and his mouth fell open.
What had he done? Oh no!

For many long moments, Sunset remained text-silent. In place of her response, the little bubble with the three dots appeared, and then they stopped, and then they started again. This happened for nearly two minutes before she finally responded.

Sunset: Maybe we shouldn’t see one another anymore. Bye.

Any shred of strength left within Flash’s core shattered in a loud and savage kaboom. He tried to blink away the tears, and yet, they still cascaded down his cheeks.

After everything they had been through, it was over. Their friendship had died, and over something so small.

Flash started to text again.

Me: I’m so sorr- (deleted)
Please forgive me, I- (deleted)

He winced.

Me: I love you.

Many moments passed by, and the send button sat at the tip of his thumb. Flash shook his head.

Me: I love you (deleted)

His thumb danced across the screen, and he sent another text.

Me: Hey, are you doing anything at the moment?

A few minutes went by, and Flash just stared at his screen. When his phone jingled in his hands, he nearly dropped it.
Aria: Oh sorry, I was jamming out to some Wubcake. She’s sooo talented. I’m not really doing anything. Do you want to see me? ;-)

Flash swallowed hard, and yet his heart urged him to continue forth.

Me: Can you please come over? I know this is going to sound strange, but I need you to just hold me.

Aria: Are you okay? Did something happen?

Flash closed his eyes, and his prayers went to not only the gods of this world, but to the mysterious Princess Celestia as well. “Please let this be a nightmare. Please help me to wake up. I need to wake up right now. Please!!!”
When Flash opened his eyes, he still sat in his room. His cheeks were stained with tear-streams. Sunset’s last text remained present, and every bit as soul-damning.

Flash responded to Aria’s text.

Me: Please.

Aria: I’m already walking into your dorm hall. I’ll be there in a moment.

Flash placed his phone on his dresser, and he closed his eyes again. Despite the blackness that clouded his vision, great strife and sorrow danced in the unseen veil. The barest hint of whispers mocked him, and perhaps it was his imagination.
The voices seemed to jeer a little louder. “Serves him right.” “Screw that waifu-stealer” “I hate Flash Sentry.”

A knock at the door drew him from the whirlpool of despair, and he moved to the door. Flash had only managed to crack the door open , but Aria pushed herself in. She closed the door behind her, gazed into his eyes, and then wrapped her arms around his body. Aria’s head pressed against his chest, and she squeezed tighter.

“I’m so sorry,” Aria said. “I really wish I was wrong, but I’m here for you.”

Flash embraced her, and he let out one long shutter.