...But It Often Rhymes

by Posh

Tears and Autumn

Sunset isn't used to a place where the seasons don't change by unicorn magic. She adjusts to Ponyville quickly, though, for Cheerilee's sake. It's her hometown, and she's eager to share it with Sunset at autumn, to gallop alongside her in the Running of the Leaves.

They're off quickly, with a stampede of ponies, through the Whitetail Woods. Their thundering hooves knock the leaves from their trees. Fiery snowflakes drift from skeletal branches, carpeting the earth in red and gold, and lapping like tongues of flame at the legs of passing ponies.

Sunset and Cheerilee are left in the dust.

Sunset's no athlete; she's honed her mind at the expense of her body, and the effort of keeping pace with Cheerilee quickly exhausts her. Eventually she collapses on a pile of leaves off the road, apologizing, and urges Cheerilee to go on without her.

Then she notices how lathered with sweat Cheerilee is, how heavily her body heaves with gasps of breath. For the first time, Sunset realizes that it's Cheerilee who's been struggling to keep pace with her.

Grinning, Sunset gathers a bundle of leaves in a glowing red sheath, and flings them at Cheerilee. Cheerilee responds with a predatory look, and leaps on top of Sunset. They roll about, grappling and laughing, the leaves cushioning their bodies and crunching with their motions. Dirt and leaf-bits cling to their sticky, sweaty coats.

Minutes pass, and they wear themselves out. Sunset lies on her back, catching her breath, and almost jumps as Cheerilee nuzzles her neck. Her cheek comes to rest below Sunset's throat; her mane tickles Sunset's chin.

"I'm glad you came out here with me," Cheerilee murmurs into Sunset's coat.

---

"I think someone spiked the punch," Twilight calls out over Vinyl Scratch's cacophonous dance mix.

Sunset sets her cup on the table in front of her, frowning, and almost challenges Twilight. But the punch does taste a little off. There's a subtle hint of something strong beneath the cloying sweetness of the brew.

Then she casts a look around the gym. As the night has progressed, the behavior of the seniors has grown wilder, their dance moves sloppier, and couples with hands already prone to roaming are allowing themselves to roam more freely. But it's been such a gradual change that Sunset hadn't even noticed until Twilight brought it up.

The thought makes her snicker.

"What?" Twilight calls, leaning closer to Sunset. "What are you laughing at?"

"Just thinking," Sunset says into Twilight's ear. "If you're right, then the difference between a drunken CHS dance and a sober one is razor-thin."

Twilight gigglesnorts. "It's pretty easy to tell, actually – you just gotta know who to look at."

She directs Sunset's attention to the far end of the room, where Applejack is sandwiched between Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Rainbow's grinding her butt against Applejack's hip, and Rarity's laughing as she squishes her bust against Applejack's shoulder, while Applejack stares at her drink in bemusement. At a table nearby, Pinkie's weaving confetti through Fluttershy's hair, and Fluttershy appears to be making a bird's nest out of the pieces that fall out.

Sunset almost laughs again, until she spots Flash and Muffins locked in an incongruously tranquil slow-dance against the beat of Vinyl Scratch's music. They rub their noses together and giggle as they lean in close for a chaste kiss.

She sighs inwardly when she feels Twilight's hand on hers. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm happy he found someone."

She means it wholeheartedly, too.

Then a green-haired boy in a dapper tuxedo approaches from the direction of the restrooms. Sunset points him out to Twilight with a grin.

Speaking of finding someone.

Twilight rises and tries to smooth out her dress, but Timber catches her hands and pecks her on the nose. "Hey, none of that," he says. "Wrinkles are in this season."

"Listen to him, Twilight," Sunset adds. "He clearly knows a thing or two about style. I mean, he had the sense to ditch the hat before showing up."

"You joke, but the school actually made me sign a form saying that I wouldn't wear my hat, per the dress code. That's on top of all the paperwork I had to do just to show up. Bunch of fascists." Timber snorts, then glances at Sunset's half-full solo cup. "You girls might want to avoid that punch. I think it's been spiked."

Twilight mouths "told you so" to Sunset before turning back to Timber. "We'll be alright. Sunset's got a pretty high tolerance—"

"All ex-hooligans do," Sunset adds, taking a sip.

"And I've barely touched the stuff! Even if I did indulge myself, it's like, pfft, I inhale stronger chemicals than this all the time." Twilight finishes with a firm nod.

Sunset feels a connection with Timber that she hadn't know was there as they both give Twilight the same incredulous look.

"In my lab, I mean." Twilight blushes. "When I'm, you know, doing science. And purely by accident!"

"Yeah, I totally feel you." Timber winks and backs toward the dance floor, pulling Twilight with him. "Sunset, you mind if I borrow Heisenberg here for a little while?"

Twilight punches Timber on the arm, her face halfway between annoyance and amusement, and Sunset laughs, waving them away. She watches as the happy couple slip into the throng of dancing teenagers. Twilight's herky-jerky moves make her princess doppelganger's pony-stomping look like the swan-like cavorting of a ballerina, but Timber stares at her adoringly, and tries his best to keep up.

Sunset sighs.

She doesn't particularly mind being single; there's a certain contentment that comes from it. Maybe it's the events of that morning, though, or the sight of Flash kissing his new girlfriend, or the old memories that keep resurfacing – it could also be the punch, come to think of it.

But it's hard to look at Twilight and Timber, and ignore how alone she is.

She drains the rest of her drink, wishing for once that she had a slightly weaker tolerance, and winces as a particularly heavy bass line drops.

If Vinyl cranks that any higher, she'll blow out every window in the building...

Sunset people-watches for a little while, letting her gaze wander around the crowd. Her classmates writhe and gyrate on the dance floor, or chat along the edges of the room; they grope, they cuddle, they nuzzle and kiss. Sunset wonders where the chaperones are, and a glance at her empty cup makes her wonder why the dance hasn't been shut down yet. Surely, someone's noticed the spiked punch besides Twilight and Timber.

She gets a partial answer to one of those questions when she spots a particular chaperone making her way toward the gym's back exit. Cheerilee's nice blue blouse and black skirt are downright extravagant, compared to what she usually wears to work, but they're easily outshone by the fancy dresses and tuxedos of Sunset's classmates. But now that she's seen her, Sunset only has eyes for her; the dancegoers are forgotten as Cheerilee slips out the back door, unnoticed by anyone else.

Compelled by a pang of worry, Sunset gathers her things – the green shawl that matches her shoulderless dress, and her purse – and rises from the table. She's dizzier than she thought she'd be; the punch hit her harder than Twilight would've guessed. But she manages to make it to the exit, keeping to the edges of the gym, and follows Cheerilee outside.

Freed from the cauldron of heat and hormones, the muffled music pounding from behind the heavy metal doors, Sunset takes a long, relieved breath. In front of her is Cheerilee; her back is to Sunset, her head is bowed, and her hand is pressed to her forehead. Sunset hears heavy sighs and sniffles.

She steals up on Cheerilee as stealthily as one can whilst tipsy and in stilettos, slips off the shawl, and drapes it over the older woman's shoulders. Cheerilee stirs, raising her head slightly and looking herself over. She spins and sees Sunset, and for a moment, excitement chases away her tears. Then she straightens, and her face shifts into a more neutral expression, offset by her sticky cheeks and reddened eyes.

"You should stay bundled up," Sunset says. "It's chilly out here."

"Don't you need this, though?" Even as she says it, Cheerilee's pulling the shawl tighter. "You're more exposed than me without it."

Sunset wraps her arms around herself as a breeze whispers past her bare shoulders. "I'm okay, honestly. Besides, it looks better on you."

It really doesn't. Cheerilee probably knows as well as Sunset how badly the shawl clashes with the rest of her outfit, but she keeps it at Sunset's insistence. "What brings you out here?" she asks, her fingers idly stroking the green fabric. "I thought you'd be inside, enjoying yourself. It's a big night for you all, isn't it?"

"It is." A dozen witty remarks flit through Sunset's mind. She decides to be genuine instead. "But I saw you walk out of the gym by yourself, and I was a little worried. Still am, by the way. Maybe more so."

Cheerilee sniffles, then chuckles darkly. "Caught the waterworks, huh? It's the stupid punch. The rest of the chaperones are all drunk, too, but they locked themselves in the teacher's lounge to sing karaoke. I just got all... weepy. Because alcohol makes me weepy. Or it makes me think about things I don't want to think about, and then I get weepy."

There's a beat before Cheerilee catches herself. Her eyes widen, and she cringes and curses. "I didn't mean to say that."

"Thinking about... what?" Sunset cocks her head. "Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing. Forget I said anything. This is stupid. It's selfish, and unbecoming." Cheerilee casts her gaze at the ground and tries to brush past Sunset, back into the gym. "I should just go home, and sleep this off, and—"

Sunset catches her elbow, and pulls her to a stop. Cheerilee turns her head slightly, and looks Sunset in the eye; their faces are inches apart. Sunset can smell the punch on Cheerilee's breath, the fruity scent tinged faintly with whatever got added to the bowl. She's positive her own breath smells the same.

Something compels her to lean closer.

Sunset fights the urge – she chalks it up to the punch – and takes a step back instead. But her hand doesn't leave Cheerilee's arm, and she can feel the teacher shaking as her eyes well with tears again.

"I take it back," says Sunset. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to. But I don't think you should be alone if you're this upset."

Cheerilee gapes at her, stammering. Then she scoffs and wipes at her eyes with the back of her wrist. "This is your night. You should be with your girls, having fun. Not outside, in the cold, with a weepy schoolteacher."

"What if I told you that this is where I want to be?" Sunset hesitates. "I feel like you need someone right now. And I can't leave a friend in need."

A guarded smile breaks across Cheerilee's face. "Friend in need?"

"Which part are you confused about? You're in need, and you're not my weepy schoolteacher anymore." Sunset pulls closer to Cheerilee, looping their arms together. "If you really wanna go home, I won't stop you. But maybe you should sober up a bit first, y'know?"

Cheerilee scowls. "I'm not that drunk."

"Err on the side of caution." Sunset chuckles. "Tell you what. You were worried we wouldn't see each other again after tonight, so how about I stay with you for a while, keep you company? We can go for a walk together. It's a nice enough night for one."

Cheerilee bites her lip, though her eyes say yes. "Your friends inside—"

"Will not miss me." Sunset winces. "That sounded kinda crappy, didn't it? I mean, they're all having so much fun that they won't— okay, that also sounds crappy."

Cheerilee's cheeks dimple as she laughs. Sunset's heart flutters, and it feels damn good.

Part of her wonders if this is too self-indulgent. The rest of her doesn't care. After four years of hiding her feelings, of fighting back old memories, she's earned a little self-indulgence. Even if it is just a tipsy, moonlit walk. Even if it isn't real.

Especially because it isn't real.

Comments

[Samey90]

Something tells me Sci-Twi is running a meth lab... After all, she wasn't in Crystal Prep for nothing.

Also, I can see where that "sexual predator Cherilee" from your blog comes from

[Poke-A-Dot]

I really feel like I am Sunset, in all her nervousness. The banter in this story is pretty good, very interesting! Your writing style is also pretty descriptive and nostalgic.